Only about a thousand demons born from millions of demonic creatures? Quite rare.
"Don't you live with other demons?"
Why does this lord have so many questions? Kael shook his head. "No, we demons prefer to live alone."
"What about your parents?"
"They only meet when they want to breed, and even then, they only live together for a short time."
Hmm... should I say that it's to be expected from a creature that evolved from a "demonic beast"? Its habits are... quite carefree and uninhibited.
Ronan recalled the mountain of corpses he had seen earlier. As he descended, he had noticed the bodies of a few demons. It seemed that after this massacre, the number of demons in the Black Forest would dwindle even further.
"When did the massacre happen?"
Whenever this topic was brought up, Kael's voice became unstable, revealing the deep psychological scar it had left on him. "Over a month ago."
Over a month ago? Ronan frowned inwardly. If his sense of time wasn't too far off, he had reincarnated into this new world right around those days. How fortunate that he had narrowly escaped such a disaster.
"Do you have any other siblings?" His topic jumped too quickly, catching Kael off guard. He instinctively responded with, "Huh?"
"Did your parents only have you?"
"Yeah, because it's difficult for demons to have offspring."
"What was that white banner?" Ronan remembered the flag planted at the top of the corpse mountain, standing out ominously against the sea of blood and dark clouds.
"It's..." Kael froze in place. His rigid posture revealed the fear deeply rooted within him. When they left the corpse mountain, he hadn't dared to glance at the flag. "The Holy Church of Light."
"The Holy Church of Light?" Ronan tilted his head, the mist around him swirling slightly.
"Yes. You must avoid them. The Holy Church of Light is the nemesis of all demons. They'll utterly destroy us."
"Are they humans?"
"They are terrifying—very terrifying. You have to avoid them," Kael emphasized, waving his hands frantically.
Seeing that merely asking the question had shaken him so much, Ronan decided to change the subject for the time being. "Are you hungry?"
"Hungry?" Kael had been running for a while and finally slowed down after distancing themselves from the corpse mountain.
"I'm hungry." If he had a stomach, it would have been growling by now. Noticing Kael's ostrich-like body was clad in a fur coat sewn from animal skins, Ronan deduced that demons had a certain level of civilization. With some hope, he asked, "Do you have any food?"
"We'll have to look for it." Kael patted his belly.
Ronan half-commanded, "Go on then."
Kael led him through the forest for a good while before they finally arrived at a pond.
The pond was bordered by lush aquatic plants, making one side resemble a wetland. Ronan drifted forward, leaving Kael's shoulder. He had no idea what kind of food they could find in such a small pond. Were they supposed to catch fish?
Kael stepped barefoot into the wet mud, his hands scratching around, much like a chicken searching for food.
Ronan drifted to a nearby rock, staring at the blue sky, letting his mind wander.
Soon, Kael returned, holding a large leaf. Ronan floated up, looking at it eagerly...
If his facial features could support an expression, he was sure his current look wouldn't be pleasant. His voice dropped, sounding displeased. "What is this?"
"Food," Kael said innocently, oblivious to Ronan's unease, as he moved closer to the rock with the leaf.
"Food?" Ronan's stomach churned as he saw the fat, wriggling white worms on the leaf.
"Yeah, it's delicious." As he said this, Kael picked up one of the worms and popped it straight into his mouth, swallowing it without even chewing. He then smiled, trying to please, "Very fresh, would you like to try, my lord?"
Though he wasn't human anymore, he definitely hadn't turned into a bird!
Ronan's gaze unconsciously lowered, and when he saw the yellow-haired demon's feet, his bit of anger quickly faded. Well, no wonder—he was literally standing in front of a bird. He couldn't really blame him.
But the idea of eating worms... Ronan glanced at the leaf again, seeing the insects squirming, with a few already about to crawl off the edge.
"Ugh!" One more look and he felt like retching. "Isn't there any other food?"
"Other food?" Kael tilted his head, his yellow lips pouting slightly. Then he quickly turned away, saying, "Wait here, my lord."
This time, Ronan didn't stay behind. He floated after Kael.
He watched as the yellow-haired demon continued deeper into the pond, just like before, bending down, hands searching through the water.
Ronan frowned.
It didn't take long for Kael to pull something white and branch-like from the mud, thick in the middle and thin on both ends. He washed it in the water and, in a considerate gesture, snapped it in half before handing it to Ronan.
Staring at the new "food," which was full of tiny holes, Ronan wasn't entirely sure. "Is this... lotus root?"