During their trip back to Alysia, Austin tried to broaden his knowledge about supernatural stuff by asking Eris a bunch of questions.
Despite seeming cold and distant, Eris turned out to be quite welcoming. She patiently answered all his questions in a way that was easy to understand.
Austin had also convinced Eris to agree to his proposal of dropping the formality and starting to address each other by their names.
Without realizing it, they had finally arrived at the room where Alysia was supposed to stay. She stayed what appeared to be a spacious living area, lounging lazily on the couch while watching TV. Her posture brought to mind a cat soaking up the sun.
Currently, she was dressed in a simple white shirt that exposed a lot of her skin, paired with pink hotpants. As he approached, he even noticed the strap of her bra visible through the sheer fabric of the shirt. The hotpants accentuated the curve of her buttocks.
"Oh? You're here. Have you finished dealing with them?" Alysia asked without taking her eyes off the TV.
"Yes, they were more ordinary than we originally thought. Austin even managed to beat one of the Alphas," Eris informed. She then went to grab something and tossed it in Alysia's direction.
It was a blanket.
Alysia looked at her with a questioning expression.
"Please be mindful of your appearance, young miss. There's a guy here."
"Oh, but I don't mind."
"But I do, young miss. Look at him; can't you see his eyes practically glued to your ass right now?" Eris explained.
Austin coughed in embarrassment but didn't divert his gaze.
"Ah... I see," Alysia let out a long 'ah' as if she hadn't noticed his earlier gaze. She slowly began to sit and stretched her limbs like a cat just awakened. He was taken aback because her movement caused her shirt to ride up, exposing her bellybutton and more. Unfortunately, before it revealed her bra as well, Eris's voice interrupted.
"Young miss..." Eris said helplessly.
"Hm?" Alysia blinked her eyes, both cute and innocent.
"Nevermind," Eris shook her head.
As if her fun had been interrupted, she pouted, but soon her face returned to a serious expression as she turned to Austin. "Alpha? Did you really beat him?"
"I don't know if he's an Alpha or not, but I suppose you could say I beat him. He tried to sneak attack Eris, and I just instinctively reacted by giving him a low kick. Who knows that, a single kick of mine would break his bone? Since he was unable to move, it was easy for me to hit him for the rest of the minute." Austin shrugged.
"One kick?" Alysia immediately stood up and began to scrutinize Austin curiously.
Austin silently wondered about her intentions when he witnessed her abruptly lift her right leg and unleash a whip-like kick toward his head. The kick was swift and unexpected.
However, for some reason, he had a feeling that he could still catch it. He instinctively moved his body and reacted by catching her calf before it made contact with his head.
Thud!
He successfully caught her calf, and Alysia quickly wriggled and pulled her leg.
As she got back on her feet, she stared at him in slight astonishment. "Hoo, not bad. You've really improved so much. Looks like my blood really works well in this case."
"Blood?" Austin mumbled in confusion.
"Just so you know, the strength of reincarnated demons is determined by the blood of their summoner. The higher the rank of the summoner's blood, the more powerful their reincarnated demons turn out. That's why, in most cases, high-ranked demons are the ones who have these reincarnated beings as their servants. It's not common for mid or low-rank demons to have them, as their blood is generally considered inferior." Alysia explained.
Thanks to Eris's teachings, Austin understood what Alysia was talking about. In the Infernal Realm, demons were categorized into three ranks: low, middle, and high.
The low-rank demons occupied the lowest tier of the hierarchy, often serving as cannon fodder in wars. Their destinies were predetermined from birth, with no chance for improvement beyond a certain level. In simpler terms, they had limited talent, and there was no way to alter it.
Middle-class demons had it better, having superior bloodline abilities and wielding authority over the low-class demons, almost like local tyrants.
As for the high-ranked demons, they possessed even more formidable bloodline abilities and regarded themselves as noble entities.
But within the high-ranked demons, a distinct hierarchy existed! Among them, 72 noble demon clans stood on one of the highest positions, collectively known as the 72 Pillars.
"Are you one of those high-ranked demons?" Austin asked curiously.
"Yes! Feeling admiring me all of a sudden?" Alysia flipped her hair flamboyantly.
Before he could respond, Alysia's expression turned stern. "Just so you know, your sister is also a high-ranked demon."
"Satella?"
"Hmm." Alysia returned to the couch, crossed her legs, and began explaining, "That purity and pressure, no doubt about it. She's definitely a high-ranked demon. She's... your adoptive sister, right?"
"How did you know?" Austin instantly exclaimed before furrowing his brow. "Did you run a background check on me?"
"Well, how else would I learn about you?" Alysia replied, but quickly added upon seeing his angry expression, "Don't blame me. Do you think I would just reincarnate any random person as my demon servant? When we first met, I didn't even know your name. What if you turned out to be a troublemaker with unruly behavior? Do you think I would benefit or suffer losses?"
Austin took a moment to digest her words and realized her reason was understandable. Moreover, Alysia had chosen to save him while she could easily abandon him that night. And after recalling that Satella had told him about her past trauma, it can only happen because Alysia introduced him to Agatha. Austin's expression turned better.
Sighing to himself, he apologized. "Sorry for accusing you."
"It's fine, it's fine," Alysia awkwardly waved her hands. "Anyway, let's get back to the topic. Since she's your adoptive sister, it's easier to guess about her origins. She's likely a child born from an illicit relationship between noble demons and those of lower standing and was thus abandoned on Earth."
"Go on," Austin urged her, noticing she was awaiting his response.
"You've probably come across stories set in the medieval age where a noble impregnates a commoner, and both the children and the mother end up being hunted and killed to protect his reputation, haven't you? That's likely the backstory for your sister. Her biological mother probably knew the grim fate awaiting your sister, so she sent her to Earth for a better chance at survival." Alysia told him.
"She went through a lot," Austin sighed. "Luckily, my mother discovered her and adopted her. I can't imagine how she would have lived without my family. But I do know that my life would be so lonely without her."
"How cringe!" Alysia made a disgusted face.
...
"Alysia, is it normal for me to keep feeling hungry?" Currently, Austin was still in the same room as Alysia. While the former had her attention fixed on the TV, he on another hand kept devouring the food maids had delivered to the room.
However, even after eating for a few minutes, his appetite showed no signs of diminishing.
Finally, Alysia turned her gaze away from the TV and looked at Austin seriously.
When their eyes met, they both blurted out at the same time.
"Are you experiencing 'Demon Hunger'?"
"Is this 'Demon Hunger' I'm going through?"
"Wait, that's not right. It's only been a few days since you became a demon. With those ritual ingredients, you should have stayed sated for at least a month. Hmm, tell me all your symptoms. Every single one," Alysia demanded.
Austin obediently told her what he was feeling.
"It is indeed Demon Hunger, but why did it happen so quickly?" Alysia glanced briefly at Austin before stating, "Hmm, it's likely related to your abnormal growth. You've acquired three runes, and as a result, your morphing phase was accelerated. To sustain that rapid growth, your body naturally absorbed the remnant energies of the ritual ingredients."
"Hmm, hmmm, that's got to be the explanation. I'm so smart!" Alysia unabashedly praised herself.
"Then, do I have to start consuming negative emotions now? And where do I even find those? Can you give me some guidance?" Austin inquired.
"Well, there's actually another method to satisfy Demon Hunger besides consuming negative emotions, and it's way more efficient and easier too."
"It's consuming souls!"