Wiping his mouth, Lidien held Lily's arms so tight that his grip could hurt a normal person.
Lily, with her reinforced physique as a demon, simply smiled at Lidien lovingly.
"Shall we?"
As the sound of agonizing screams resounded throughout the forest, Lily and Lidien both walked without anyone bothering them, though a loinclothed person, thin and with jagged teeth, tried attacking them. Soldiers blocked him, even as one was bitten to death.
Lidien looked at the dying soldier, holding his bleeding neck, looking at him with eyes wide open.
"Uhh... Sis, you could heal him... right?" Lidien pointed at the dying man, his hands slightly shaking.
Lily stopped and smiled at him.
"Why would I? Dying from a bunch of Hungers means they're not good enough... right?"
Hungers, the Ash stage Demons of Gluttony, though they are the lowest ranking sinners in the path of gluttony, are still much better compared to soldiers who only train with their weapons.
As Lidien gripped his head from the sudden injection of information, he learned that Blessed and Demons have their own hierarchy.
As for him, the old owner had evolved from the Blood stage, middle... to the Hell stage, last... as a Demon of Wrath, after his Soul Shard was fractured further by intense rage.
And, if Demons have Ash, Blood, and Hell as stages, the Blessed have Dawn, Sky, and Prime.
Though the only Blessed he had seen was Lily, a Dawn Blessed of Light before being corrupted and becoming a Hell Demon of Lust, she was the only former Blessed he knew...
However, being corrupted from blessed made her remain a Demon... still, she could use her previous Blessed ability.
And if she wanted to be a Blessed of Light again, she would need to purify her Soul Shard, with the consequence of not being able to use her Demonic powers.
The reason was simple... becoming a Demon is much simpler than becoming a Blessed.
Since Demons only require an intense emotion corrupting them to fracture their Soul Shard, the Blessed either need a Blessing from a God or must absorb an Essence of a specific path and continuously understand its true meaning to purify their Soul Shard, enlarging it and evolving to become an Angel.
'So, that's why he became a Demon because of anger... he was a Demon to begin with, just leveled up... should I also try to be angry to evolve into a Greater Demon of Wrath?'
Yet, not being human doesn't mean someone is weak.
All beings have dormant Sparklines, unlike Blessed and Demons who awaken them after becoming one. Humans need extensive training to awaken theirs.
If the Soul Shard is the core that defines who you are, then the Sparkline is a passage that defines what you can do.
Lidien watched the soldier bleed to death and heard heavy steps rushing before another person, a burly man covered in tattoos, holding a twin battle axe in each hand, arrived before them. He was covered in blood, yet no wounds could be seen.
When the man accidentally met Lidien's eyes, he bowed down abruptly... though it went unnoticed unless focused on, Lidien could see he was shivering just from the eye contact.
He knelt in front of Lily and said,
"Ma'am Lily, we need to hurry up and get back home immediately... hundreds of Hungers are coming to raid this area, based on the scout I sent further back."
Lidien stared at Mad Dog, and he couldn't help but feel irritated and angry just from the look of him. Remembering what Mad Dog had done, He was the one who had initiated the attack to enslave the previous Lidien's tribe.
As Mad Dog saw Lidien's eyes becoming crimson, he glanced away and gently bowed.
"Prince Lidien... we need you to get out of here... as soon as possible..."
Lidien smiled, a wicked smile, while licking his lips.
He crouched down and lifted Mad Dog's face.
Then tapped it.
"Good dog..."
Mad Dog gritted his teeth, but still, he smiled forcefully.
'You thought I'm the same as the old Lidien who is gentle and pathetic? That even though you enslaved all his tribesmen, including him, he didn't fight back? Then you're all wrong.'
'I don't have a grudge or anything... it's just these memories and emotions are so thick that I want to murder you...'
Lily laughed and helped Lidien to stand.
"Oh my little brother... why did you do that?"
Lidien laughed innocently, yet his fang stuck out.
"I thought he was a dog, Sis... I'm sorry..." Lidien pouted.
Lily hugged him, her leg lifting from behind.
"Oh my cute little brother, he's really a dog... his name is Mad Dog, so it's okay... right, Mad Dog?" Lily stared sharply at Mad Dog.
"Y-yes, Ma'am Lily..."
Lily led the way, still holding Lidien's arm, towards the red carriage.
Despite the ongoing battle, soldiers dying protecting them, Hungers growling with their insatiable hunger, they walked peacefully. Though Lily was unbothered by the blood, Lidien still couldn't get used to it.
"Sis... are we still far away from home?" Lidien asked, trying to look away from the bloody sight in front of him.
"Yes... a week of travel... don't worry, big sis will protect you... always..."
As they entered the red carriage, Lidien was surprised by how luxurious it was inside, a table big enough for six people, wine on it with delicacies, and it also had a female servant inside, nonchalant and just waiting for orders.
Upon sitting on the couch, Lily immediately clung to Lidien, making him move aside, but the carriage wall betrayed him.
"Say, Lidien... can you still remember me? The things we did when we were alone? All the nights we spent together..."
Lidien tried to push Lily away, but he couldn't.
"Y-you're sounding like we did something taboo here..."
Lily smiled, so captivating that Lidien couldn't help but look away, because if not... He didn't know if he could treat her as an adoptive sister.
'Damn... now I know that the Demon of Lust is the succubus of this world.'
"S-sis... please... let me sleep, I want to rest..."
Lily then got up, pulled Lidien gently, and led him to another room that was only separated by a thin red curtain.
"Here, my little brother, you can rest now..." Lily kissed Lidien's forehead before sitting back on the couch.
Even though Lidien was not yet tired, he forced himself to sleep to escape the succubus in reality, not in his dreams.