Gigantic tower-thorn demons were the only things Serenity could make out at this distance, but they didn’t really tell him much. It wasn’t that he couldn’t think of what they might be; instead, the problem was that he could think of half a dozen different things that might form individual thorns and be called “demons”. The word demon was nearly as generic as “monster”, after all. The only thing it really told him was that there might be other thorny demons in the area.

They were probably Thorn Demons. Unfortunately, Serenity knew of at least three different creatures called Thorn Demons and he was fairly certain that at least two of them had multiple subtypes.

Serenity knew he’d learned everything he could from a distance, even with Aide’s help. He had to get closer.

He moved cautiously into the ruined city. If he was lucky, his chimera form would be close enough to being demonic.

At first, it seemed to be; Serenity saw several other figures moving cautiously around the edges of the city and none of them reacted to him even though he was certain they saw him. No two were identical; while he didn’t see anyone else with wings, he did see demons with extra arms, legs, and once a second head. Some were built differently - at one point he’d have sworn he saw a naga disappear around a corner - but most of the demons he saw were more or less humanoid.

They all had something about them that told Serenity they weren’t right, however, and it wasn’t simply their cores even though he could tell that they all had monster cores. They all had features that were warped somehow; for some it was as simple as spikes that emerged from each joint, while others had faces that looked like a frozen mask; most seemed designed to elicit either terror or disgust.

Serenity could understand why they were called demons.

Other than a few that clearly grew their own weapons or armor, like his own dragonscale, they were all armed and most were armored. Unlike Serenity’s gear, however, it was all crude, generally little more than wood or bone carved into an appropriate shape for weapons and poorly tanned leather for armor. Serenity knew he couldn’t discount it; if the items were made from strong enough creatures or plants, they could easily exceed his own weaponry.

Well, perhaps not easily for his ax and certainly not easily for his armor. Still, it was possible that either could be better; materials from something like the Tier Eight that lived in the Palace Dungeon could be close to as good as either, even without the best craftsman working on them.

He was nearly two hours into his trek into the city when he heard shouts from ahead. He moved against a wall, then crept forward quietly. He sucked at stealth, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to stay unnoticed in someone else’s fight. He would succeed only if they weren’t paying attention, but having your attention become fixed on your opponent instead of your surroundings was common in a fight.

Moments later, a four-armed figure in roughly tanned wolfhide ran past Serenity, screaming as he ran. Serenity had a momentary impression of bright red spots on his face and back.

What the bright red was was almost immediately clarified as a monster came into view.

No, Serenity corrected himself, not just a monster. A demon.

It was bright red and glossy like a plant, running on at least a dozen small legs in a circle at its base. It narrowed from its base until about its midpoint, where it split like a trio of leaves to reveal the inside of the “thorn”. What rose from the center of the thorn-demon was the top half of a bright red nearly featureless humanoid; instead of proper arms, it had a pair of tentacles that spat small red thorns. The only clear features on its head were its eyes.

If the “leaves” were closed, it would look like a far smaller version of one of the giant tower-thorn demons Serenity had seen in the city skyline.

He recognized this type of thorn demon; it was a particularly nasty one. They were called Demon Thorns of Pain, and the thorns they threw at others were agonizingly painful. Even worse, they had to be cut out, because they melted into the flesh they impacted within only a few minutes and started to spread, causing intense levels of pain the entire time.

If the thorns weren’t cut out, they would eventually turn the victim into another Thorn, wiping out their individuality and sentencing them to an eternity of pain. In groups, they seemed to somehow merge with others of their color to become larger and more dangerous, but Serenity had never been interested enough to know more than the fact that it could happen.

They were one of many creatures that were routinely exterminated when they were found anywhere other than a dungeon; inside a dungeon, they were not considered worth killing a dungeon because they could be managed even by groups that wouldn’t normally take on something of their Tier. You had days to deal with the side effects of the thorns; all you needed if you were quick was a knife and a healer. You weren’t going to miss a thorn; they made sure you knew where they were.

At least he now knew what was in the city, so he could prepare for it.

The Thorn Demon ran past Serenity without taking its attention off the demon it was attempting to infest. Serenity was glad this one hadn’t noticed him, but he was certain they would become more common as he went deeper into the city, closer to the three towering Demon Thorns of Pain. They weren’t exactly communal but they did tend to cluster, and this was a large cluster to have three that were so large.

As Serenity saw it, he had four choices.

First, he could continue as he had, heading deeper into the city and trying to stay unseen. He expected that would last for a bit longer, but eventually he’d have to fight a Thorn Demon. One wouldn’t be a problem, but he knew there were likely to be far more than one. He was aiming to avoid the three giants, but cutting straight through the city was likely to still take him through infested areas.

Serenity was fairly confident that his scales and his armor would stop thorns, but his skin wouldn’t. He’d have to be certain that he wasn’t hit in his head or hands. He could probably kill the thorns with an appropriate use of Death Field, but it would still be painful to be hit and he had limited mana; too many Thorn Demons would be a problem.

It wasn’t a good choice.

His second option was to simply go around the edge of the city, hoping that the population of Demon Thorns of Pain was low on the other side as well. It would add time but it would probably be safer. Admittedly, he didn’t know what he’d find, but it was unlikely to be worse than a bunch of Thorn Demons. If the outskirts of the city were more cautious demons and beyond them were demon beasts, all it would cost was time.

The uncertainty and lost time made it a choice Serenity didn’t like, but it was still better than the first choice.

The third choice was to go ahead and cut through the city but to do it in his Sovereign of the Origin form. It should be completely safe from Thorn Demons; he doubted they would even notice him in that shape. If they did, they probably wouldn’t care.

It was safer than either of the previous two choices. Unfortunately, he really couldn’t move quickly in his Sovereign form; it would probably be faster to circle around the city even though that would probably take three times as long as walking through the city.

His last choice was the one he’d thought of before leaving Lowpeak: to take the form of one of the demons. In this case, he’d need to take the form of a Demon Thorn of Pain. He wasn’t entirely certain how they worked, but they weren’t generally supposed to attack each other, so it would probably be safe. It would certainly be faster than either going around the city or cutting through the center in Sovereign form, since Thorn Demons could move quickly; the one he’d seen chasing the other demon was keeping up with it.

The only downside to it that Serenity saw was that he’d be taking on another Form. Sometimes taking a new Form affected him; the Sterath BattleLord’s certainly had. On the other hand, the BattleLord was higher Tier than Serenity and the act of taking his body was a real fight that Serenity could have lost; perhaps it wasn’t so surprising that he’d left a lasting impression that bled over onto Serenity’s other forms.

Serenity knew what he was going to do. He didn’t like the answer, but it was obvious. He had to compromise on something.

In a way, it was funny. Vengeance had known a few shapeshifters over the years and almost any of them would have been thrilled to learn new forms to shapeshift into as easily as Serenity now did.

Three hours later, Serenity floated down one of the many ruined streets. He passed a collapsed building that partially blocked the street; directly on the other side of the blockage was the first Demon Thorn of Pain he’d seen since the red one that drove him to implement his plan. This one was standing over a relatively human-looking demon; it was hulking, with claws and spikes scattered across its flesh. It lay on the ground shaking slightly, clearly overcome by the Thorn Demon’s painful thorns.

Serenity couldn’t make out any colors in this form, but he was certain they were both luridly colorful. All of the demons he’d seen so far were; few were the simple black-and-red of so many Earth images.

He snuck up on them. He didn’t need to expend any particular effort; the Thorn Demon never even looked up.

Once he was close enough, Serenity expanded and enveloped both demons.

[Form gained: Demon Thorn of Pain]

[Form gained: Minor Demon of Terror]

[Form gained: Minute Demon Thorn of Pain {swarm form}]

Serenity somehow knew that the last two forms came from the demon that was once on the ground; it had been in the process of being converted by the Demon Thorn of Pain. The Minute Demon Thorns were usually individual but they would merge to become one being as they took over the body of whatever they were converting.

They were a swarm form for Serenity because they could not individually maintain sapience.

Serenity internally shuddered at the thought. He never wanted to use that form.

Serenity shifted to his new Demon Thorn of Pain form. He realized immediately that the “of Pain” wasn’t simply because they brought pain; they were always in pain. His Pain Resistance did an excellent job of reducing it to no more than a mild annoyance, but he knew that what he considered a mild annoyance would be agonizing to someone with a more normal Pain Resistance.

It seemed likely that successful Demon Thorns of Pain also developed a notable Pain Resistance. If they didn’t, it would be hard to function.

Serenity glanced down at himself. He looked very much like the other Thorn Demon he’d seen, though unlike that one he wasn’t a monochromatic red. He was a deep blue that shaded into purple in places, especially lower on his body; it reminded Serenity of his hair and scale colors.