Shaula: “Akjan, can you believe this? Right after he finally transformed into his demon form, he reverts back to his human self. Unbelievable!”

Akjan: “There, there” she patted her friend’s back.

Both of them were in Shaula’s room. Akjan just happened to walk in and catch her friend sobbing into a pillow. Now Akjan was acting as some sort of a pseudo pillow by letting Shaula rest on her lap.

Apparently Shaula was expecting to see more of Ren’s demon self, but much to her dismay, he was back to his human form.

And when she requested, no, more like begged him to transform back, he simply shrugged and said “What are you talking about, Shaula? I have never transformed”

Shaula: “Just like that! One minute he is a splitting image of Lord Ymit, and now he is back to a puny human! Waaaa…”

When it concerned Lord Ymit, it was one of the few topics that could send someone as composed as Shaula to stream waterworks. Worse yet, Ren was the only thing that remained of the clan’s beloved leader.

Akjan: “No need to cry. He transformed once, so he should be able to do that in near future…”

Shaula: “Near future?! If he is not taking our situation seriously, we might not even have future! What we need is a leader! A young and brave Tengu demon, not a human idiot!”

Aijasyl: “It is not like he is a fool, you know. He did solve the food shortage problem, even if it was with rather unconventional means, and we no longer have to worry about Bukka clan invading our territory, since their leader pretty much agreed to a truce. Overall, demon or not, he did a splendid job as the leader of the clan”

Shaula: “Uuuh…You can only say that because you have not seen him in his demon form! I swear, it was like Master Ymit had finally come back home…”

Then, an idea came into her head.

Shaula: “Speaking of his demon form, you are a half human too, are you not, Aijasyl? Why have I never seen you in your human form?”

The question ended up making Aijasyl shiver a little.

Aijasyl: “It is not something I like others to see”

Shaula: “You are among friends here; there is nothing to be ashamed about. Could we please see it? Your human form, I mean”

The young green haired salamander demon saw the looks of expectations from her friends, especially the fox demon, whose eyes seemed to be begging her to unravel her secrets.

Aijasyl: “You too, Akjan?”

Akjan: “Sorry, curiosity got the best of me”

Aijasyl: “Fine. But please don’t laugh at me”

It was an instantaneous transformation. A large puff of smoke obscured their vision before revealing a humanoid underneath it.

Aijasyl was wearing the same kimono as before, it is just all the scales and markings on her skin had vanished, and most importantly, her horns were nowhere to be seen.

Otherwise, she looked identical to how she looked like before; even her hair was the same shade of green.

Shaula: “How can I put it…It was not as impressive as young master’s transformation”

Aijasyl: “Obviously! I am not a crow demon!”

Another puff of smoke and Aijasyl was back to her normal form.

Shaula: “Speaking of…Where is young master?”

Lotus: “He said something about taking a walk and catching some fish while he is at it”

Shaula, Aijasyl, Akjan: “Lady Lotus!”

Lotus: “Sorry, I ended up overhearing you guys…I hope I am not interrupting…”

Shaula: “Of course not, come in! Come in!”

The young dragon demon was at a loss for words, just like that, they let a member of another clan in. Granted, she was betrothed to the leader of the Tengu clan, but being welcomed like this was a rather strange feeling.

Lotus: “But maybe it’s not half bad…”

* * *

“Damn it!”

The rock ended up sinking right after being thrown.

Not willing to give up, he threw yet another rock that ended up sinking right away.

“Damn It!”

Ren: “Uhm, Zirc?”

Zirc: “Refeng?”

Just like that, the awkward meeting between the two turned into a fishing contest.

Ren: “Now that was a surprise, I didn’t expect I would find you here today”

Zirc: “I just had to get away; I couldn’t let my clan see me like this”

Ren: “Sounds rough, being a clan leader and all”

Zirc: “That is not the problem. It’s the crow.”

Ren: “Crow? What do you mean?”

Zirc: “The crow, for goodness sake, Refeng! That damn Ren Karatengu!”

Ren: ‘Ok, why is he talking about me, did he find out who I am?’

Before Ren could start to panic, Zirc proceeded to tell him exactly what had transpired just several days ago: the attack upon the Altyn clan, his duel with the crow demon, and how his enemy managed to escape.

Ren: ‘What the hell was that? That was not me. There is no way… It can’t be me. Sounds too damn powerful and deadly. Even with preparation, I couldn’t pull off something of that magnitude…Who exactly is this guy? Why is he out to ruin my reputation?’

Zirc: “And worst part is that father was so scared of this crow’s power that he forbade us from attacking the Tengu clan until I become the Demon King. Tengu clan has three Demon Lord level demons, so father thinks there is a chance I might get killed and Altyn clan will lose its greatest candidate for the throne…What a load of bull! If I had just five more minutes, I would have cut him up and cooked him into a pancake!”

Ren: ‘Zirc, you scare the hell out of me sometimes, you know? And by sometimes, I mean, every time we meet. If there is someone reading my thoughts, please help! I am sitting right next to a homicidal Phoenix demon and he is out for my blood!’

Ren: “I see….”

Zirc: “Oh, believe me Refeng. Ren Karatengu will not know what hit him!”

Zirc proceeded to set the fish he just caught aflame, turning it into ash within three seconds.

Ren: ‘I don’t like what happened to that fish’

Zirc: “Ever since that day, I couldn’t help but think of all the ways I am going to torture him. First I will skin him, and then I will put him in a giant pot of hot oil, no, that would be too merciful…What about cutting him up with a tiny knife and putting salt on the wounds to make it even more unbearable…Ha-ha-ha….What do you think about that, Refeng?”

Ren: ‘Oh goodness. This guy is a maniac. I need to scram out of here as fast as possible.’

Zirc: “What’s the hurry, Refeng? Here, have some fish, it sure tastes better cooked than raw, right?”

Ren: “Right”

Ren: ‘Dear Great Ones, just one question, why?’

Anyone but his sworn arch enemy would have been fine.

Ren: ‘It just had to be this guy’

The rest of the day ended far faster than either one realized.

Zirc: “Well then, see you around, my friend!”

Ren: “See you later!”

Ren: ‘Yeah, much, much later, please, dear Great Ones, I do not wanna encounter that guy ever again. I thought I was going to have a heart attack from all the graphic images he painted with his words alone…’

Ren: ‘Still, who is ruining my reputation? Well, it doesn’t matter, since it is obvious Zirc got the wrong guy. If that was not the case, he would have attacked me right away’

* * *

Meanwhile…

Master Korgan: “Oh no…Not them again….”

He was holding a letter in his left hand.

Sento: “Let me see that…”

After reading through the contents, Sento smiled.

Sento: “It seems like your colleagues want to meet up with you to catch up”

Master Korgan: “That is exactly what I am afraid of! Why now….of all times….”

Sento: “I don’t see what the problem is, I mean, you and I are both Demon Lords, and so are they, so it should be no problem, right? In fact, I have been dying to get to know this generation’s Demon Lords…”

Master Korgan: “Absolutely not! I will meet them alone!”

Sento: “Is meeting them even necessary?”

Master Korgan: “Of course it is! Without the Demon King to suppress them, the ones with most power in the Kalkan Kingdom are the Demon Lords. Not going to the meeting is tantamount to a declaration of war, and they far outnumber us with their combined strength. I need to find a way to avoid conflict with them...”

Sento: “Why are you freaking out so much, buddy? Weren’t you guys on amicable terms?”

Master Korgan: “Not even close”

Sento: “Oh”

Master Korgan: “Keeps this secret from Ren. He already has enough on his plate to worry about”

Sento: “Gulp, got it”

Sento: “By the way, when is the meeting held?”

Master Korgan: “In five days”

The Great Ones proceeded to announce all of a sudden.

Now Master Korgan’s face took on an expression that was strikingly similar to that of his grandson when a situation was completely out of his control and he had no idea what he was doing.

Master Korgan: “What is up with this TIMING?!”