Two days before the Second Trial of Selection, the mood within the Tengu clan was rather mixed due to the upcoming trial and the fact that the clan’s representatives that attended the Banquet seemed to be rather unnerved for some reason. However, their leader was still acting goofy the day afterwards, easing the tensions of the Tengu clan members.

Attending the Banquet was mandatory, even if there was a risk of encountering enemy clans; luckily, those who attended, namely, Ren, Kizilkoz, Akjan, Sento, Orin, and Korkau, all came back alive. None else dared to go, even Aijasyl chose not to attend from fear that Altyn clan members might recognize her after the market encounter and subjugate her then and there.

However, it seems like there was some kind of an incident, to which each one of the demons reacted differently. It was obvious something happened even if they were saying everything went all right.

Kizilkoz locked herself within the forge, telling others not to disturb her until it is time for the second trial. Her murderous expression and her steaming red aura made the Tengu clan members nod and agree in fright. What could have caused this patient blacksmith to completely lose her cool like this?

Screams of anger and mad hammering was very clearly audible for some time. Every Tengu clan member thought that she might be making some kind of a new tool or a weapon while screaming loudly ‘Curse you! Die~! Die~!’ was a novel way of doing so. None was brave enough to enter and ask her what was wrong, they were afraid that she might take one of the swords she had forged and launch it at them.

Orin went to train with Sento once again; his motivation for getting stronger sky rocketed. Even if he did get beaten up, all over again.

“Boss did not kill Demon King, if he told me so himself, I believe him.”

Orin apparently trusted Ren completely, instead of forming some kind of ideas, as soon as they arrived at Karatengu clan territory; he asked Ren whether the matter of him slaying the Demon King was true. Ren denied it completely, and Orin, chose to trust the words of his leader. Even if he naively believed him, Ren appreciated his comrade’s faith in him.

The one who took it the worst, at least in mental faculty-wise, was Korkau. Considering he did once try to assassinate the Demon King and paid the price for it, he couldn’t believe Ren Karatengu managed to actually succeed where he had failed. The revelation was simply earth shattering in his case.

“I thought he was at the level of Demon Lord at most, but he managed to kill Demon King, I stood no chance against him from the start. And yet, if he intended to kill the Demon King, why did he save him first?! To make the Demon King let his guard down? Or maybe to have an opportunity to get close to him for a perfect moment to strike…..I don’t know anymore!”

He clutched his head, breathing heavily; it was obvious he was suffering a mental breakdown.

Once proud leader of Jou clan, he was reduced to a terrified and frightened demon. He once thought that he could rise to the top for he had the makings of the king, he could get stronger, stronger than anyone else. In the world of demons, might is the one thing that decides who lives or dies. Strong must rule the weak that is the general belief for many demons.

He even boasted that he would become the future Demon King, because as far as he knew, he was one of the strongest. It was just the matter of time before he would become the Strongest.

It took him months of imprisonment, torture, and liberation by the same demon who led to his downfall, to understand that he was a weakling. The world he knew was a well, and once he managed to look beyond the well, he only then realized how small he was.

Before he had the worst luck of encountering Ren Karatengu, he thought that if he could reach close to the Level of Demon Lords, he could potentially surpass all of them, thus having the chance to usurp the Demon King. But then, the enigma known as Karatengu Ren showed up in his life. Everything went downhill from there.

He did not kill Korkau. No, he did something much worse. He broke him, in both mind and body, even if indirectly. He took everything Korkau worked hard to build. And now, Korkau is bound to him by contract as his servant along with his sister, for whose sake he accepted serving Ren Karatengu in the first place.

From the very beginning, he stood no chance.

Such realization sent him into the depth of despair, choosing to mindlessly focus on plowing the fields just in order to escape his reality. Tengu clan members just let him do so because of how fast and efficient he was, so focused he was on the job that he did not realize he was doing for more than his daily quota. He was like a workhorse, finally accepting that is the only thing he is good for.

As for Akjan, she did not seem to be affected by what she heard, instead telling Ren, who was trying to explain himself.

“No matter what happened, it does not change anything. Not for me. I will still follow you, Ren.”

Her confident smile did not waver in the slightest.

At least someone is happy.

He thought so without realizing he was the reason for her happiness.

Ren was thankful that at least Orin, Akjan, and Sento did not overreact.

As soon as he arrived back to the Karatengu territory, Ren told his grandfather what had transpired. Instead of accusing him or getting angry, Korgan simply asked.

“So, Kokjan Ras attacked you, thinking you killed her father. Why would she believe such nonsense?”

“Grandfather, do you believe I did not do it?”

“Of course, why would I doubt your words? I believe in you completely, my grandson.”

“Thank you.” Ren sighed, feeling the tension leaving his mind. Knowing his grandfather trusted him was like lifting a boulder off his shoulders.

“However, it is a good thing you made a contract with Kizilkoz that forbids her from betraying you, at least until the final stage of Selection, you will not have to worry about her till then. But be cautious, while me and your allies will not believe such a lie, same could not be said for her. A child who wants revenge will pounce upon anyone who she deems to be guilty of causing her clan’s downfall.”

Korgan stood up and faced the window.

“Had she not been bound by contract and attacked you, I would have executed her immediately. As to why I let her stay in our territory for now, it is because of my respect to her father, Akil Ras.”

He paused.

“While she cannot harm you directly, she could do some things to harm you indirectly, if they do not conflict with her contract. If such thing happens, be cautious. You father was betrayed by those he chose to trust as his allies, causing his downfall. I understand that you might want her to be your ally out of consideration for my sworn brotherhood with Akil Ras, but be careful, otherwise, I fear you shall be stabbed in the back by the same demons you chose to trust.”

“I understand.” Ren gulped.

“But I am impressed that you managed to think far ahead and make a contract with her to prevent betrayal, well done.”

Ren nervously laughed. He chose not to mention that Kizilkoz herself made the contract on the spur of the moment; he was not the one who proposed it, she did. To think her wanting his help had backfired on her so spectacularly.

“Young master does not need to worry, if everything you said is true, then until the final trial, you don’t need to fear her, you can use her until reaching that stage. But when the time comes, I can easily subdue her, and young master can participate in the Final Trial without worrying about betrayal.”

Sento Draco said with a smile.

Subdue her? What the hell is he thinking? Is he saying that once the time comes and she goes rogue, he will dispose of her? Too scary!!! I am really glad he is on our side….

“Thank you, Sento” Ren was a little frightened by Sento’s enthusiasm, but in the eyes of Korgan and Sento it did not seem like fear, but mark of confidence.

Korgan and Sento were both Demon Lord level demons, but they could not help but admire the ambition of this young lad. Even though he was weak in both body and mana, his mind was sharp and his actions have made his bravery and strong intentions crystal clear. In their minds, this young Karatengu had a goal- to become the Demon King.

If only they could know how wrong they were….

After Ren left the room, Sento addressed Korgan.

“Young master really thought everything through, didn’t he?”

“That he certainly did.” Korgan proudly answered.

“Still, I do not understand, why does he not have horns or use his own mana? The only mana I saw him use is the one he borrowed from the fox demon girl. As for his horns, I thought he was concealing them, but that does not seem to be the case.”

“Well….” Korgan beckoned Sento to follow him, now they were outside the mansion, watching Ren working with other Tengu clan members in carrying supplies. Ren now ended up tripping with all the things he was carrying falling on him, burying him underneath, the other Tengu clan members helped him up. Apparently his body was too weak but he was still trying.

“You might want to take a look for yourself with your Demon Eyes.”

“Alright.”

Sento did just that, his golden reddish eyes changed to glowing white.

What he saw made him gasp in surprise.

Demon eyes have the capacity to see the mana within the bodies of those they gaze upon.

Within Ren’s body, a single point on his right side was glowing with life, it was his mana point.

“His mana points….he is supposed to have seven on average, but I can only see one.”

As he looked closer and closer, his demon eyes inspecting Ren without him noticing, he made another discovery. A invisible mark on Ren’s forehead, but the mana signature on his skull was unmistakable, it was a seal.

“And his horns, they are sealed within his skull.”

“Exactly.”

“How in the world did he lose six of the seven of his mana points? I heard of some who were injured severely and ended up being unable to use some of their mana points, rendering them less powerful, but never to this extent….”

Mana points, the locations within the body of a mortal being, responsible for producing mana. One average, one has seven of those, some talented individuals have more than that. It is not unheard of that a demon could have twenty mana points.

If those points are damaged, then the mana points will be disabled and no longer work, thus they will be lost. If one has seven mana points, only six can be used in order to cast magic or utilize mana. One mana point is responsible for keeping the body alive, while the other six can be used for the purposes of mana utilization.

“Yes. It is rather serious condition he has. Without a doubt his body had been injured severely in the past, rendering most of his mana points unusable, now only one remains, keeping him alive.”

“Does he know about that?”

“I believe he already knows, and even if he does not, I don’t wish to break his heart. He already feels self-conscious about not being able to use his own mana, telling him that he is unlikely to ever achieve that will only rub salt on his wounds. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him.”

“I see, so that’s why you taught him Absorption, even though it an extremely dangerous Demon Lord level skill.”

“I couldn’t let him go without a chance of survival, even if that skill has its risks, if he manages to utilize it at least on basic level, then his chances of coming back alive would increase. Absorption in a sense is advanced form of Mana Control, skill which Ren is very proficient with. His willpower is strong enough to control mana of those who are inferior of will.”

“I am surprised he is capable of controlling mana despite being unable to produce it.”

“Same thought occurred to me as well, while I was training Ren to use his own mana to produce flame, he instead ended up bending my flames to his will. I found it odd and inspected Ren with my demon eyes, and then I discovered what you just saw for yourself. No wonder he couldn’t produce flames on his own no matter how much he tried. I thought he had trouble manipulating his mana points, but then it became evident he had no mana points he could use.”

“What about his horns?”

“That is all another matter altogether. While he does possess horns, they are sealed away within his skull with a powerful seal, a seal that was unmistakably cast by a member of Karatengu clan. The type of seal is unmistakable.”

“Do you mean…”

“Yes, I examined it already, the mana signature on the seal is that of my son, Ymit Karatengu. It seems like Ymit cast a spell on Ren’s horns to seal them away indefinitely.”

“Why would he do that to his son?”

“I suspect it was because of his circumstances, Ymit must have ended up somewhere where he had to conceal his identity as demon. As you know, some demons in our base forms are not too different from humans, with exception of horns of course. He must have wanted Ren to be able to blend in with the humans without the risk of exposing himself as a demon. However, the seal he used is very powerful, and I cannot dispel it, nay, only the Demon King can safely dispel it, and the one I knew is already dead.”

“So, Demon Lords cannot dispel the seal?”

“It might be possible by stronger Demon Lord, but it is very dangerous, Ren’s life will be at risk, I am not willing to risk it. Only Demon King’s power can dispel such a seal without any problems.”

“No mana, no strength, and no horns. He is at a severe disadvantage against the other demons.”

“Do not forget, he is already aware of his weaknesses. In place of what he lacks, he has tactical mind, bravery, and ambition to rise to greatness. If it is him, I believe he can succeed despite the odds.”

Korgan wasn’t joking, he truly believed his grandson could reach his goals, but he was still scared. Scared to lose one family member he had left. In his heart, he knew he had to let his grandson walk towards his destiny, he just hoped that his path would not be cut short like those of his predecessors.

Even if he was weak, Ren managed to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time, clearly his mana disability was not holding him back.

Ren singlehandedly beat Korkau Jou, a powerful demon who tried to usurp demon king, and eventually had him become his vassal.

He gathered members to once declining clan, rebuilding it from scratch. Without a doubt, he was a perfect leader.

When faced with enemies, he managed to triumph against all odds. His recent victory over Kas clan was a clear indication of his desire to take victory from the jaws of defeat.

Having a grandson with such strong ambition to become the Demon King was Korgan’s source of joy but it was also the source of his fear.

Ren already encountered a member of Altyn clan and somehow managed to beat him, but Korgan feared what would happen if Ren encountered the other Altyn clan members during second trial.

Those who participated in Selection in the past could not do so again, so Korgan and Sento could not lend their aid to Ren.

The only thing he could do is believe in his grandson.