Prime Originator

After making his decision, Leon began hopping through the tree branches as he made his way west of the central tree in the Ashenwood Forest.

The rustling movements of leaves came from the western direction.

It didn't take long before Leon paused his steps and entered stealth mode in the treetop, having detected the incoming group not far away on the ground.

It was a group of mixed demon races.

There were seven horned demons, five feathered-wing demons, and four scaly-tailed demons for a total of sixteen demons in the group.

'Seems like there are no Greater Demons among them,' Leon silent determined the demon group's strength.

Shortly after, he spread out his divine sense to scan the area.

'No other demon group detected within a 100-yard radius of this area. Therefore, I shall deal a swift blow to this group of Lesser Demons.'

Leon's eyes flickered with a cold glint.

Swish~!

"Who—!"

Before a Three-Horned Lesser Demon could finish barking in alarm, Leon swooped down like a black flash and slammed the Three-Horned Lesser Demon's thick head into the ground with his bare hand.

Crack!

Leon crushed the Three-Horned Lesser Demon's head with brute strength, killing the Three-Horned Lesser Demon on the spot.

"E-enemy attack!"

"Kill him!"

The alarmed group of Lesser Demons quickly shouted and surrounded Leon.

However, Leon quickly transformed his hands into black saber-like aura blades of darkness before hacking out at the Lesser Demons in quick succession, briefly forming dozens of black lines around him.

Puchi!

The Lesser Demons spurted blood out from various parts of their bodies before fourteen of them dropped to the ground, diced into many pieces, all killed in a short instance.

"W-what!"

The last feathered-wing Lesser Demon froze in shock at the instant death of all her comrades before realizing she was no match for Leon.

Leon briefly spared the last Lesser Demon to secure and preserve the quality of demon blood from his kills, storing them in empty pill bottles with tightly sealed caps before pocketing their weapons.

The feathered-wing Lesser Demon saw that as her chance to leave.

However, the feathered-wing Lesser Demon did not even take five steps before a heavy pressure suddenly locked her down, making it difficult to move.

Gravity!

Leon had used his earth-metal fusion ability.

Leon grabbed the feathered-wing Lesser Demon by the neck a few moments later and dragged it into the treetop for interrogation.

Click!

With a snap of his fingers, Leon erected an extremely weak Nihility Barrier around them.

Although the barrier was too weak to destroy anything, it was still enough to rob the world's colors and block all sound from getting out.

"W-what kind of power is this?"

The female feathered-wing Lesser Demon glanced around at the monochrome area with a look of shock before she quickly shook her head.

That wasn't important.

"P-please spare me!"

The feathered-wing Lesser Demon quickly pleaded for her life.

Leon slightly knitted his brows while staring at the feathered-wing Lesser Demon, who had lost all her thoughts of aggression and retaliation against him and desperately clung to her life.

"If you answer my questions honestly, it might not be impossible for me to spare you."

"P-please ask away, Your Excellency! I will tell you everything I know!"

The feathered-wing demon sat in a kneeling position with complete attention and compliance and without any intention to escape.

It was impossible even if she wanted to.

Leon glanced at the feathered-wing demon's attitude before he nodded with approval.

The feathered-wing demon's willingness to comply will allow his interrogation to proceed smoothly—but only if she spills the truth.

"Do you have a name?"

"Yes, my name is Saresha, Your Excellency, Sir!"

"What clan do you belong to?"

"I belong to the Low-rank Clan of Dark Fae,  Your Excellency, Sir!"

"You can drop the honorifics when you answer…"

"Yes, Your Excellency—"

Leon shoots the dark fae a glance before she corrects herself.

"I-I mean, yessir!"

"Good enough."

Leon shrugged.

The dark fae was confused by Leon's simple questions, but little did she know that he was simply testing her honestly.

Shortly after, Leon began to ask more serious questions.

"It's been quite some time since demons came to this forest. So why did your group choose now of all time to come?"

"T-that is because Lord Suron noticed a change in the sky above the forest, so Lord Suron tasked our group to investigate it, sir."

Saresha answered honestly without daring to look up.

"Who is Lord Suron?" Leon questioned before further adding, "He doesn't sound like anyone important if he only sends Lesser Demons for the investigation."

"Lord Suron is just a Lesser Demon like us, sir. However, he is a member of the Evil Eye Clan, one of the Nine Great Clans in the dark land, while we are only from Low-rank Clans. The disparity in status allows Lord Suron to order us as he pleases."

"I see…"

As Leon continues his round of questioning, he gradually learns of the strict hierarchy within the demon race ruled by nine great demon clans.

The Dark Fae Clan, one of the weakest demon clans in the dark land, has no choice but to accept the demands of higher-ranking clans, let alone the Evil Eye Clan, one of the nine great demon clans.

Because Dark Fae Clan was so weak that it could be bullied left and right by other demon clans, Leon no longer finds it surprising that the Dark Fae Saresha was so submissive and cooperative.

After learning of the Evil Eye Clan's ocular specialty, Leon understood how the Lesser Demon Suron noticed the Darkness Energy movement in the Ashenwood Forest.

Nevertheless, Leon furrowed his brows with some doubts.

He spread out his divine sense for another scan of the area but detected no other demon within his range.

"If your Lord Suron noticed the change in the forest, then other members of the same clan would have also noticed the change in the forest. So why is it just your group that came?"

"T-that is because…"

The Dark Fae Saresha began panicking under Leon's doubtful and inquisitive gaze, feeling nervous even though she had been honest and cooperative with his questions.