“Stand for Ildir God of Punishment.”

Each village stood with a single blank stare off into the portal…

The weird thing was I could see straight through? The only way I could tell was the faint disturbance of mana that filled the air coupled with the single circle of gold floating before the gate. Was it like a one way mirror?

A rough voice groaned from the portal…

“What happened to the demo child? Why hasn't she been delivered to the temple.”

One of the villagers' low and squeaky voice broke though. Stepping out from the crowd he hobbled pushing his way to the front before kneeling before the two knights.

“The- The girl had run into Rot Wood forest, we had only recently recaptured her and Tortured her helper. But last night a few of us were killed while the rest were preparing the materials for the offering… We'll be sending a new escort as soon as possible.”

With slight glances up he waited silently for Ildir to respond…

“..Well make sure to send her by tonight. And don't mess it up this time.”

One of the guards Quickly stepped through the portal once again. Leaving the remaining Knight standing solid in place.

“All leave one of my guards here. He’ll return with the demon child.”

Within the next second the faint golden glow snapped out of sight. Leaving the guard standing motionless in place. While I couldn't see the front of the armor I could still make out the single blade mounted to their hip, reaching around 5-6 feet… along with the armor that gently shined against the sun it seemed like a pretty tough fight. Before the village could get to his feet I quickly moved back towards the grass covering of the field. Quickly darting back the way I came the best I could, I made my way back to the camp next to the forest entrance.

Rushing down the path I quickly pushed through the branches, quickly jumping over the fallen trees that dotted the path back to the Den. Before finally bursting from the woods right in front of the Den I was quickly Greeted by Brue talking amongst the others outside the Den before they noticed.

~ Immediately their attention fell on me.

“Fang, I'm glad your back, You're hurt anywhere right? ” Dawn quickly searched my body looking for any new wounds or cuts…

“Dawn leave him alone; he just returned.” Dusked softly spoke before turning back to me.

“Come in and till us what was at camp… I heard a little from Snow a moment ago but more just bits and pieces..”

Turning, the rest of them quickly headed for the cave entrance. Taking a couple steps forward I stood still for a moment… if it's this easy to get back to the Den…

“Fang, come on!”

I started walking once again inside the Den.

Anki, is there a way to hid the Den?

*Ping

Well there's a couple different ways but… Most of them you can't use.

Fine then, tell me something I can use. Stepping inside the warm air of the fire pushed against my fur. Walking farther into the den everyone was Patiently sitting around the fire… waiting.

*Ping

The best idea would be to take over the whole mountain… Then you'll be able to move or hide things on the mountain using Authority of realm lords.. It may take some time.

Or you could start the basics of human cultivation and enchanting or Demon Mana traps.

At your current level these two are the only usable options.

Staring blankly at the options… It just brought more questions. How would I practice like a human? And don't I already have control over the mountain?

My blank expression must have been obvious Dawn quickly moved closer before gently pushing my shoulder with her head.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything's gonna be okay.”

*Ping

Well if you change your Form using Realm lord magic as a medium for your transformation magic rather then demon mana, The world will be required to follow the lord's magic… even if you can only hold it for 2 hours you'll be considered human as long as you're in that form. ;) a pretty good loophole huh?

And you only control the mountain peak… just around 0.03% it definitely does not reach the Den entrance…

Thanks for all your help Anki…

Leaving out the parts about Alex i told everyone everything i saw… including the Knight stationed at the village

…

..

.

It didn't take long for Dusk to ask questions about the camp.

“How many? Do we know where they are holding Mearie? Why are demons needed by the gods?”

I couldn't answer any of them… The others were rather silent the rest of the night.. Winter and Bure quietly went to lay down in the back of the Den. Dawn quickly followed moments after saying goodnight. Dusk, Snow and I were left silently by the crackling fire.

Standing up next to the fire and turning I headed out of the Den, Without noticing Dusk must have followed because by the time I reached the outside of the Den I could feel his presence walking slowly behind me…

Now that I look at it for my father… I'm much larger compared to him while standing it was even more obvious, he only stood round half my size…

Before I could even finish my thought Dusk quietly asked

“Do you think we can stay here?”

The thought startled me… I stood silently in place before turning to look back at Dusk… But he wasn't looking at me. Putting his back to me he stared at the entrance of the Den.

Stumbling with a few steps i slowly made my way to his shoulder. “we aren't going anywhere. Dont worry.”

Without looking him in the eyes again I quickly turned rushing myself back to the mountain path. Taking a look back Dusk still quietly sat looking at the entrance of the Den…

“Dad!”

Dusk headshot straight to me, his eyes widened. Quickly turning down the mountain path I shouted behind me.

“Get some sleep with mom, All take care of everything, Don’t worry!”

Moving faster up the mountain path I was quietly greeted by the warm frost of the blue snow beneath my paws. A warm sensation ran through my body. Taking a deep breath… I couldn't get the sound of the “gods” out of my head. His voice I just couldn't hold back… it finally just burst, Letting out a crude laugh that echoed through the Mountain side. Like a dragon's roar it echoed through the mountain shaking and moving anything in its path. The cackle was probably loud enough for the villagers to hear… It took me a second to finally calm down and my body was shaking…

*Ping

That's one hell of a laugh…