Chapter 33: Strange Demon part 2

Reji's guiding philosophy has always been to refrain from using violence.

This stance is unrelated to whether he belongs to the human race or the demon race.

Had the boss of the Lunari Trade Group chosen to trade with him honestly, Reji would have had no reason to harm him.

Unfortunately, the other party chose a different path.

Reji didn't mind then, adding a bit more to his "infamously wicked" reputation.

This stance also has nothing to do with being human or demon.

In a blink, only Azno, the boss of the Lunari Trade Group, remained standing.

Reji decided not to kill him yet, after all, he was still waiting for him to "generate gold coins" for him later.

Seeing Azno now terrified and pale, the subsequent cooperation should be smooth and pleasant.

If it ended here, it would be a straightforward operation.

However, Reji had a habit, shared by most players: [looting].

Of course, not by physically touching the corpses.

Reji directed a "check" towards the young mage lying dead on the ground, both to see if there were any valuable loot on him and to confirm his death status, to avoid any oversight in finishing him off.

However, when the information panel returned to Reji's view, he furrowed his brows.

Firstly, the young mage had no items on him. It was clear he had come in haste and looked down on them, hardly prepared for anything.

But that wasn't the main point.

What truly puzzled Reji was:

[Bru (Deceased) (Demon Egg Parasitized) ]

The state of death was expected.

But what was this Demon Egg Parasite?

"Sherman, check his body," Reji immediately commanded.

Sherman, thinking Reji meant to search the body, extended shadowy hands from behind and quickly stripped the deceased young mage of any coverings, revealing nothing noteworthy.

This was consistent with what Reji's detection spell had shown.

"Open his body," Reji ordered again.

Upon hearing this, Azno, the already trembling boss of the Lunari Trade Group, nearly lost control of his bladder, sitting down hard on the ground with lips turning pale.

In his eyes, Reji had become some sort of crazy killer.

Sorcery Demon Dian also cast a surprised look at Reji, not expecting the king to take an interest in corpses.

Only the Wisdom Demon Leo, sensed something amiss. Being the apostle who understood Reji best, he didn't just watch but stepped forward, approaching Bru's body alongside Sherman.

Following the new order, Sherman reshaped the shadowy hand into a scythe, targeting Bru's chest with the precision of a skilled surgeon, following Reji's instructions to perform the "opening" procedure.

Initially, there was nothing unusual.

Just a bit of bloodshed and the sight of various organs, slightly grisly but nothing out of the ordinary.

However, as Sherman's shadow scythe reached a spot just below Bru's chest and slightly upwards towards his abdomen, the smoothly moving shadow scythe hesitated.

Then, Sherman, as if finding something, accelerated the scythe's movement. In just a few breaths, within Bru's dissected body, Reji saw an...Egg.

A dark purple egg.

The egg, about the size of a palm, had a layer of tiny tentacles on its surface, deeply embedded into Bru's flesh and internal tissues, merging as if glued together, pulsating and absorbing Bru's blood as its nourishment.

Seemingly sensing the change in its external environment,

The egg began to move.

It seemed to consciously shift through those tiny tentacles buried in the flesh, attempting to hide deeper within Bru's body, seeking more concealed blood and organs.

Unfortunately for the egg, Sherman's shadow scythe quickly blocked its path, and perhaps the egg, finally realizing that its host Bru was dead and the body was no longer viable, ceased its movements and instead rapidly expanded. With a "pop" like an exploding balloon, it burst, spewing a mix of filthy blood and flesh as cover for its escape.

In the midst of the egg's explosion, a shadow shot out from within, clearly aiming to dash towards Azno, the only other living human nearby.

Unfortunately,

"Aghaaa!!"

A sound akin to a baby's cry but far more piercing and sharper echoed through the air.

The parasite, having barely made it half a second, was abruptly seized by another powerful hand, gripped tightly like in a vise, rendered completely immobile.

Wisdom Demon Leo furrowed his brows, examining the creature that had emerged from the human body, hatched from an egg.

It was smooth all over, hairless.

Its body was covered in slime, with rotten patches visible all over its skin, its face ugly, resembling a young Decay Demon.

Its lower half sported several wriggling tentacles, similar to those of a young Breeding Demon.

Its upper body had two arms, sharp as blades, remarkably akin to those of a young Sword Demon.

It had multiple eyes, resembling those of a young Wicked Demon.

From its back, one could almost see the traces of undeveloped wings.

This parasite's appearance was like a bizarre amalgamation of young demon types, presented in a grotesquely incongruous form.

Leo was certain.

There was no such strange juvenile form within the demon race.

Even considering mutants.

However, after double-checking, even looking towards Sorcery Demon Dian for confirmation, Dian shook his head, indicating he too did not sense any demonic essence from this parasite.

On the other hand, it was evident from the "incongruous" parasite's fierce resistance that it saw Leo as an enemy and an alien.

In the demon race, apostles and the Demon King share a strong lineage bond with all demons, especially during their youth, who would naturally show a strong affinity towards them.

Just as Leo was about to observe further, unexpectedly, the parasite began to rapidly shrink and dehydrate, perhaps due to being separated from its host.

By the time Leo reacted, within a few breaths, what had been a bizarre and incongruous parasite transformed into a shriveled husk in his hand.

*Silence*

Everyone presents including the three apostles and Reji, had only one thought.

'What is this?'

A millennium later, within the bodies of humans, exists... an egg of a creature resembling demons?

It's too bizarre and absurd.

The question needed to be traced back to its source.

Reji's gaze returned to the "egg's" host, the young human mage Bru.

No.

Perhaps a more precise identity than "mage" was warranted.

After all, only one force used the "sun" as a motif on their robes a thousand years ago.

And even after a millennium, Reji believed there wouldn't be a second.

That force, known to Reji, demons, and humans alike, among the many faiths and sects, with the most followers and the largest scale.

Like the dawn breaking the darkness, like the radiance of the sun shining bright — the Radiant Church.