After the breakfast, Vritra decided to go out hunting. He was quite close to reaching the next level, and there wasnât much to do in the castle anyway â the atmosphere there was quite eerie.
He told the crown prince about it, who arranged the carriage. Sonia planned to go out to the market today, so the prince decided to accompany her.
Soon, Vritra and the three women were seated inside the carriage. Because the chimera had exploded, the Dark Knight and Hellmancer needed even more time to finish their absorption since they had to absorb much more energy now.
It wasnât long before they arrived in the âSmallâ forest. The carriage driver parked it there and went ahead to rest in one of the nearby hotels, while Vritra and the others entered the forest.
"Are we gonna follow the same routine as before?" Fiona asked.
"Yeah, just be careful while fighting. I will be close by and Iâll watch if the Grieves or anyone else is present around here." Vritra said as they walked a bit deeper into the forest.
Soon the two groups split. Vanessa, Fiona, Diana, Ghost, and Ghoul were hunting in one area of the forest, while Vritra went even deeper. Since he had already obtained the 2nd Legion rank stone, he was trying to find some way of gaining a lot of experience points.
"You know, when I was younger, I used to go hunting with my father, and he was so protective that once a demon hit me and I only got a scratch on my body, yet he burned down the entire nest of demons in rage." Yasmine spoke, remembering a time that had been lost forever.
"Yeah, I saw him in your memories, and he was indeed very powerful. But there is one thing thatâs bugging me. Though I didnât want to talk about it before since it might make you remember those memories." Vritra said while flying across the forest at a normal pace.
"It is fine, tell me. Between us, you donât ever need to hesitate about speaking anything. I want to be the first person you share any of your secrets with." Yasmine replied, her voice sweet as honey, making Vritra smile.
"Sigh... how far is the Dragon Kingdom from here? I just wish I could go there right away." Vritra said, his teasing wife could be so sweet sometimes.
"It isnât too far. After leaving the White Kingdom, we can easily reach the Dragon Kingdom through the teleportation portals, but the journey there will be very dangerous, so take your time.
I love our time together like this as well. But after I get my body back, we wonât always be together like this... sigh." Yasmine said. Because of him, she had started to enjoy her time even in her current state.
"Anyway, as I was saying before, the incidents of your fatherâs death, your motherâs disappearance â they were all too strange. And then even that attack on you. It feels like something big is going on among the dragons. And the demons started targeting the dragons after that ceremony, right?" Vritra asked.
"Yes." Yasmine nodded. Of course, she had thought of all this too, but everything was still a mystery to her.
When dragonsâ children reach the age of adulthood, the entire kingdom orchestrates a big event in which all the dragon children awaken their field and can finally reach the 1st Legion rank.
"You were awakened with the fire attribute, right?" Vritra asked.
"Yeah, thatâs what appeared at the time of awakening. Do you think all the chaos the demons caused was somehow related to my awakening?" Yasmine questioned. It really did seem the demons had started to target the dragon race, especially after the awakening ritual.
"Maybe. I just want to say, we canât trust any of the dragons, even if they were close to you like family before." Vritra replied, releasing a long sigh.
"... Yeah, I understand. I had my doubts too. I trust you, and thatâs enough. I donât need that kingdom or those people. I have done my best as their queen for all those years, and now I just wish to live my life however I want." She said in a firm tone.
"And we will do just that. After you get your body back we willâ" Vritra was speaking but suddenly he paused as he heard someone speaking in the distance.
"Man, hunting humans these days has become so difficult. Itâs been a month since I last tasted a human. They are growing strong too fast and have all sorts of hidden weapons â those cheating bastards." The first person spoke in a rough tone.
"Haa, just donât mention human meat to me. Youâre making me hungry. Have you heard of that viral news? The Human Empress has been chasing one of the demon lords. I think something important was stolen by that demon lord." The second person said.
Vritra observed the two from a distance and was a little surprised to find that they were demons.
âHuh, they are speaking the same language as meâ oh wait, I can understand any language.â Vritra thought. Both of the demons were at the middle stages of 1st Legion rank.
Before killing the two, he decided to get a bit more information out of them.
"Oh, and where is the damned Human Empress right now?" a third voice sounded from beside the two demons.
"The last I heard, she was in the other continent. But the chase is still going on, so the demon lord and the Human Empress are seen at several places, even inside this continent." The first demon answered casually.
"Hmm, but I donât understand one thing. Why is the number of demons around here so low? Shouldnât we demons be wreaking havoc everywhere? But I havenât seen any incidents happening in a long while." The third voice asked again.
While observing the surroundings, the second demon answered: "Of course, all of us have been too quiet for a long time now.
Donât tell me you forgot about Plan White? We need all of our power to take down the White Kingdom, so we are just laying low for now to make a great comeback."
"Ah, right, of course I remember that. But my memory has been too bad lately. Sigh, I even forgot the location back to our base. Can you tell me?" the third voice sounded.
"What? How can you even forget that? You should eat more human brains. Haa, such a good thing, and they are really good for your brain. Anyway, come back with us, we willâ" While answering the question, the first demon finally felt that something was amiss.
Werenât there just the two of them? Then where had the third voice been coming from? The two looked at one another with terrified expressions before looking to their left â where Vritra was calmly standing.
{Sin Points Gained: Baffled +2}
{Sin Points Gained: Confused +2}
"A HUMAN?!!" the two demons exclaimed in shock as they jumped back and stared at Vritra in bewilderment. They hadnât sensed him at all just now.
"Hello there, donât mind me and continue with your discussion, fellow demons." Vritra said, a big smile spreading across his face.
The two demons stared at him for a little longer and they did sense a sort of demonic presence around his body.
âââ
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