Since his reincarnation, he had only possessed the bodies of a demon dog and a demon snake... As for humans, he tentatively tried to "gently touch" the child's forehead, just as he had done before.
If anyone else had been present, they would have seen the black mist touch the child's body and disappear in an instant, as if it had been absorbed.
Suddenly, the still potion bubbled up, and Ronan sprang up from the bucket, banging his head on the table.
Ignoring his swelling forehead, he clutched his head with one hand and pressed his chest with the other, doubling over in a coughing fit.
He had swallowed a mouthful of potion the moment he "came back to life." Half-opening his eyes, they burned at the corners. After what felt like an eternity, he finally managed to catch his breath. Supporting himself on the edge of the bucket, he lifted a leg and, with great effort, climbed out of the potion, which had reached his chest.
After successfully entering the child's body, Ronan suddenly felt a bit lost.
Because he had been soaking for so long, his entire body was drenched. The potion smelled awful, his bare feet were cold on the ground, and potion dripped continuously from his hair, leaving him sticky all over his body.
He cautiously took a step.
Perhaps it was because he hadn't used a human body in so long, but he felt clumsy. Holding onto the edge of the table, Ronan staggered like someone walking for the first time. He wobbled, nearly falling but quickly regaining his balance.
The children locked in the cage had only seen the old man fall. They didn't understand what had happened to him, and out of fear, they huddled together.
Ronan walked toward them, his expression particularly stiff.
There were numerous cages built into the walls of the room, and from some, creatures emitted unpleasant screeches.
Ronan wiped his face and suddenly froze, staring at his own hand. It was chubby, with burns on the back. Remembering something, he raised his hand to touch his right ear.
It hurt! His body's instinctive reaction sent tears sliding down the corner of his eye.
Entering this body meant becoming this "person." It had been the same when he possessed the demon dog and demon snake, and now that he had become human, Ronan endured all the pain this child had suffered before.
Peering inside his shirt, Ronan saw scars covering his chest, along with a few fresh cuts.
"Bastard..." He couldn't hold back from cursing again, finally stopping in his tracks.
His voice had changed—clear, full of childish innocence. Judging from what he had observed earlier, the original owner of this body was only seven or eight years old.
The children in the cage were staring at him in terror.
Ronan spoke softly, "It's okay now."
He tried to comfort the children, but they just stared at him blankly.
Ronan stretched out his hand and tried to pry open the cage door.
It didn't budge... The body he was in was too weak. Frustrated, he had no choice but to walk back to the experiment table. As he passed the old man's corpse, he gave the head a vicious kick, then dragged a stool from the corner, using it to reach the highest cabinet.
When he had been in the body of the demon snake, he had noticed the old man retrieving many important items from this cabinet.
His hand fumbled through the drawer for a moment before pulling out a large ring of keys. He also found a few pieces of stale bread, which he tucked into his shirt before returning to the cage.
The children would need to climb the stairs themselves soon, and Ronan hoped they would gain some strength by eating something.
He passed out the bread. The dull-eyed children immediately reacted, scrambling toward the food. Ronan gave each child a piece, then crouched down in front of the cage and began trying the keys one by one.
On the seventh try, the cage door finally clicked open.
Even with the door open, the children huddled inside, not rushing out as one might expect.
Ronan was patient. Speaking gently, he coaxed them out, leading them toward the exit.
"Grandpa..." A slightly older girl hesitated, staring at the old man's corpse in fear. "He'll get angry."
The old man's body was lying right in the middle of the room. The children took only a few steps forward before stopping, too scared to move.
Ronan turned around, "Don't you want to find your parents?"
These kids were very young, some as little as four or five, and the older ones maybe six or seven. At Ronan's question, they started to cry again.
"Alright then, line up and hold onto my hand. I'll help you beat him." Ronan kicked the old man's corpse again. Seeing the children relax a little but still too afraid to move, he pulled the white cloth from the table and draped it over the body.
With that, he led the children to the wooden ladder. He climbed up first and found a switch next to it. Flipping it, the wooden panel overhead automatically opened.
Ronan finally saw natural light filtering through the gaps in the roof tiles.
After being sold to the old man that night, the house had been pitch black, and Ronan hadn't had the chance to look around. Now that he could see, he noticed the house consisted of a living room and a single room on the left side, cluttered with various items. Herbs hung on the walls. Unlike the "luxurious" setup of the basement, the old man's home above the ground was quite simple.
After pulling each of the children up through the opening, Ronan collapsed on the ground for a moment to rest, the kids gathering closely around him.
He quickly checked their bodies. They were all injured, and even the little girl without visible wounds seemed very weak.