Waking up hiding within a small cave, shielding themselves from the rain, Shaula and her companion ended up falling fast asleep.

When she woke up, she found her head rested on something very soft.

Opening her eyes, she saw that it was her master staring down at her.

“Looks like you slept well”

“Young Master!” Shaula ended up crying out.

Position of her head was on his lap, in a sense; he was giving her a lap pillow.

“What was I…How could I…”

“Hope it’s not a bother, but we need to start moving, time we have is not unlimited.”

Her master was speaking in such a calm and reasonable fashion while she was gushing and overreacting like a silly girl.

Looking at his strong and focused gaze, Shaula couldn’t help but think to herself ‘He looks so cool.’

He was completely different from the impression she had of him before.

Before, she thought he was a weak fool, sort of like a younger brother she had to watch over constantly, lest he got himself into more trouble than he already was in.

But now…Now she saw for herself how much of a fool she was to think like that.

He was not a brainless idiot, nay, he was a bonafide warrior, true leader of her clan.

Standing up, trying to avoid Holy Water, now both of them walked forward, along the path the river travelled.

On the way, they did encounter several demons, none of them were from Tengu clan, and in almost all cases, when they did not retreat they would attack, thinking of two of them being at a disadvantage due to being outnumbered.

They were quickly proven wrong, much to their horror, when Ren would pounce on them and literally crush their skulls with a mighty squeeze of his fingers.

Crow’s claw, a versatile technique that made users hands momentarily harder than steel. It was internal application of earth type magic within the body instead of using it externally to manipulate substance.

Those who used earth magic mostly used it externally, allowing them to create earth based substances or manipulate pre-existing earth for their means.

However, any type of magic can be used internally rather than externally, in order to enhance the user’s body.

Members of the Karatengu clan had invented many techniques that were passed down from one generation to the next. Crow’s Claw one of such techniques.

A more experienced user could not only make their hands harder than steel, but any part of their body as well, making it a very versatile technique in combat.

‘I did not see Master Korgan teach him such skill, as far as I knew, Ren was struggling even with simple spells and had to rely on manipulating someone else’s mana and even that was limited…Then how in the world could he learn of Crow’s Claw? And master it to such an extent…’

As she saw her master Ren catch a sword with his fingers, she gasped, not even a scratch was present on his hands. And now, he proceeded to break the sword by crushing it just with his fingers.

No doubt about it, not only did he know how to use the Crow’s Claw, he has truly mastered it.

“Don’t think I can’t see you.”

Ren now proceeded to lunge towards Shaula, who could only express pure shock.

‘Why would young master attack me?’

She thought when she heard a sound of blood sputtering.

Ren was in front of her, his hand extended, going right into the flesh of his victim.

Then, Shaula realized the blood was not hers, but of a demon behind her.

Apparently a snake type demon, known for their expertise in concealment type magic, managed to sneak up on her.

She did not even sense him approaching, but her master reacted instantly.

“How did you…” the snake demon behind Shaula choked on his own blood, Ren’s hand had pierced through his abdomen.

“No matter how hard you try, nothing can escape my eye.”

Ren proclaimed confidently.

Now Ren proceeded to retract his hand, making the snake demon fall down on the ground like a clump of flesh and meat.

“If you wish to be of use to me, you should be more careful. Enemies are everywhere, letting your guard down is same as telling them ‘Feel free to kill me’. Do you understand?”

“Yes, young master.” Shaula, still very shocked at what just happened, answered after gulping.

She almost ended up getting killed.

‘If young master was just a second late, I would have been dead. I was careless and let down my guard. But…I was lucky. Lucky to have someone like him for a leader’

As she looked at his proud back, she noticed that he was wearing a different set of clothing, they did not have Karatengu family emblem on them.

‘Did he get changed? Maybe it is to attract less attention, after all, Karatengu clan’s banner is well known, and if Altyn clan members were to see us….it would be a disaster. That must be it! He thought so far ahead…’

Action after action he kept proving to her how wrong she was about everything.

Within half a day, they ran into no less than fifty enemy demons, but each time they were driven back by the sheer power of her young master.

Of the fifty or more demons that attacked them, only about ten survived and it was only because Ren did not feel like chasing after them after they proceeded to run for their lives.

“The first trial apparently did not weed out enough weaklings, so many low ranking demons managed to make it to second trial. What an annoying bunch.”

Ren shook his head and sighed.

‘He says this after single-handedly crushing them into pulp! Young master… just what kind of a monster are you?’

Before seeing Ren’s true self, she thought that he could never live up to his father’s honorable example.

Ymit Karatengu was a late bloomer, not a prodigy, at least not in the beginning, but he became stronger after his brother, Omir was killed by Altyn clan.

Before his brother’s death, apparently Ymit would slack off on training and not care much about anything other than chasing female demons…But Omir’s death changed all of that.

Ymit became more serious and determined, and with hard work, his true power bloomed.

Shaula only knew Ymit after he became strong, she only heard about his previously lazy self from the servants who knew him when he was younger and Master Korgan’s words.

So, in her mind, Ymit was always someone to look up to. An unreachable peak, someone who was so ahead that no demon had any hope of catching up to him…

…Until today.

‘Young Master Ren….Now I understand. Others were not wrong in placing their trust in you. It was I who was the foolish one for doubting you. I should not have expected any less of son of Ymit Karatengu….Like father like son indeed.’

Then, Shaula found herself losing consciousness. And just like that she fell.

When she woke up, she found herself being carried by Ren.

“Young Master? What is going on?”

“Simple sleeping toxin, apparently one of the demons who attacked us resorted to using it, but I managed to not inhale it, but it seems you were not as lucky. I performed a simple detoxification spell on you, so you should be fine in a little bit.”

“Young master?”

“Yes”

“Do you pretend to be weak just in order to catch your enemies off guard?”

“Of course. Announcing your power, no matter how strong you are, is a foolish action. It is best to keep your enemies, and even your allies, believe you are a weakling, to have them let their guard down, and when they think they’ve got you, strike them down with all your might. That is the only way of truly winning in this world.”

“I see. So Young master lives by this philosophy.”

“It has kept me alive so far, so yes.”

So it was true. All the tomfoolery, all the silliness, all the crazy antics and even bizarre naked sleepwalking patterns were part of him making others let their guards down.

It all made sense now.

‘Master Korgan must have seen past his mask and saw his true self. That must be why he believes young master can achieve his goals…’

‘…and others were keen enough to pick up on it as well, eventually. Only I kept my eyes closed to the obvious. What a fool I was. I couldn’t recognize a diamond when it was right before my eyes!’

If a common demon were a gravel, Ren would be a diamond, no, a brilliant. He was that much of a prodigy.

‘It has been less than half a day of us being stranded together, but he already saved my life twice. Tengu clan is lucky to have him for a leader, no, I am lucky to have him for a leader.’

‘But wait, doesn’t that mean…all the rumors of young master having grand plans were true? I must confirm.’

“Young master, do you truly wish to become the king?”

Ren now closed his eyes, deep in thought.

Shaula who was still on his back awaited his response.

Finally he spoke.

“If none better shows up, I shall take the throne for myself, for that is the only way I can achieve my desirable outcome. To that end, even if I were to become the Demon King, then as long as the ends justify the means, I shall gladly take up the throne.”

Her suspicions were confirmed.

He truly wanted the throne of the Demon King and he had the power and might to walk fearlessly towards his goal.

Shaula couldn’t help but tear up a little bit.

“Young master….” She muttered, half crying.

“Yes?”

“I am sorry I have ever doubted you.”

This was her master, a mighty demon, and the true leader of Karatengu and Tengu clans, Ren Karatengu, the demon she now knew without a shred of a doubt was destined for greatness.