3 The Demon's Nes

After being embraced so suddenly, Ren was left quite startled. A good few moments passed before he came back to his senses, yet the man didn't have any intentions of letting him go.

Instead, he continued to hug and sniff him like a pot of luxurious old wine.

Ren grimaced while making futile attempts to free himself, but the man's strength was too extreme even for his well trained body. It was only when he noticed a familiar shadow on the opposite tree that a flare of hope appeared in Ren's heart and he stopped moving at once.

An arrow was shot, but the target merely clicked his tongue before catching it with bare hands, as if it was a task as easy as playing catch.

Despite the failed attack, Ren was given an opening and he escaped the man's hold at lightning speed.

'If I were to be hugged, I would prefer a delicate young lady leaning against my chest. Not the other way around!'

The stranger blankly stared at the instigator, who happened to be Yuan, "So persistent. Am I not allowed even a few moments of bliss?"

Ren spoke with contempt, "Who is he?"

"Young master, rather than asking who he is, you should be more concerned about what he is."

When the two looked back, the man had disappeared. Instead, a little white fox cub was rubbing itself against Ren's robes.

The latter was instantly exhilarated, "Shin, here you are!"

The moment he bent down to pick up the little fox cub, his collar was tugged from behind and his feet left the ground as Yuan carried him to a nearby raised rock.

Yuan didn't even care when and why the fox cub was named Shin. He only chided, "Young master, focus!"

A guilt ridden Ren stared back at the fox cub, and watched with unbelieving eyes as the adorable little creature clicked it's tongue and slowly transformed back into the man in white.

Ren wondered out loud, "Why does he still have his clothes on after transforming?"

Yuan, "..."

Shin, "..."

He then chuckled, "If you wish, I can transform naked as well. Has this young master become so bold after merely sharing a bed every night?"

...Every night?

Recollections of a faded memory slowly began to resurface within Ren's mind.

He pointed his fingers rudely, "You!? It's you! You're the man appearing in my dream every night?"

Shin, "..."

Ren, visibly flushed, "You're the one who always hugs me. You're that pervert from my dream."

Shin, slightly aghast at being called a pervert, "..."

"You are actually Shin? Are you a dream demon? Where are my magic beasts? Did you…. Did you kill them?"

Shin, losing his patience, "Wrong!"

He sighed and began to explain, "Who said that me hugging you in your sleep was a dream? It was all real."

Ren was angered speechless.

"And why does hugging you make me a pervert? You embraced me when I was a fox, so why can't I hold you when I am a human? Besides... I use flame type magic. I need warmth when it's cold."

"And lastly, I did not kill your magic beasts. I simply asked them to hide. But now..." Shin glanced at Yuan and faked a disappointed sigh, then waved his hand casually.

At once, as if he had just initiated a chain reaction, magic beasts started to pop up everywhere - countless heads surfaced from underwater, from behind the leaves, and even from beneath the ground!

The tiny adorable eyes peered at them blankly, obediently waiting for the next order from their new boss.

Ren sighed with a complicated feeling. Although he was still angry, his anger was somewhat appeased after discovering that the beasts were safe.

However, Yuan had other concerns. He had been guarded against Shin since the first time they had found him, and even now the suspicion remained the same, if not more.

With narrowed eyes, he asked, "Who are you? You… cannot be a magic beast or a mage. They don't have the constitution to transform. If I were to put my finger on it, then I would say that you are-"

RUMBLE!

The sky overhead was deluged with dark energy, and the boom of thunder caused even the magic beasts near them to tremble with fear. As for Yuan's last few words, they were easily drowned by the unforeseen pandemonium.

From a distant part of the forest, exhilarated and celebrating howls of demons floated over in waves of terror.

Shin knitted his eyebrows as he stared at the sky, "Did your clan head leave the main house?"

Ren nodded slowly. It was only last night that clan head Yasuo received an emergency call for an inter-clan meeting and left right away.

Shin conjured an object and threw it towards Yuan. It was a square amber with a phoenix engraving trapped within. The moment Yuan caught it, he suddenly felt as if his entire body was many times heavier. He couldn't speak, nor could he move even when he saw Shin casually approached him.

Once close enough, Shin spoke, "There's somewhere else you must be right now. Use the stone to stimulate the clan's barrier."

After speaking, he lifted his palm and struck at Yuan's shoulder, the latter's surroundings warped and he disappeared instantly.

Ren almost lost his footing, "What did you do?"

Shin didn't attach much attention to Ren's words and busied himself in carefully examining the four corners of the sanctum. He answered simply, "I sent your friend back to the clan. You should come with me."

"..."

Ren drew out his sword and pointed at him, "I don't know what your intentions are, but leave this place at once."

Shin, Sigh... there we go with the swords again.

He gently tapped the blade which immediately dropped on the ground in the form of a molten puddle. Ren had encountered so many strange events today that him standing there in an attacking stance, while merely holding a sword's hilt, didn't seem strange to him at all. He was simply frozen.

In the next few quick moments, Shin set up a barrier in the sanctum, whispered a few words to the more powerful beasts - who nodded obediently as if they were young children receiving direction from their parents - and then picked up Ren and dashed away with him on his shoulder.

As for Ren's reaction, he flailed wildly like a fish out of water.

"Do not struggle. Your clan is in danger, I am only trying to help you."

"What makes you think I will believe you?"

"Well... You do not have another choice."

Ren thought, With such brute strength and powers, of course I don't have another choice!

After a few moments, he began to grumble, "Then why can't we teleport like you did to Yuan?"

"Because I used a spiritual tool earlier, and I don't have any more of it."

Ren pouted.

Shin bolted faster, the speed increased to the extent where the passing trees were reduced to mere blurs, and even the usually spirited Ren was feeling grumpy and nauseous.

The further they traveled, the more Ren was ascertained about the place they were headed to, and when Shin finally stopped at a desolate clearing and dropped Ren on his butt, every hair on his body stood on its prickly end.

He hissed, "You brought me to the demon's nest [1]!"

(A/N: The demon's nest is a part of the forest situated far in the west which is a territory of demons. No one's been there so they don't know what kind of demons reside there.)

"Correct."

It was said that if one were to walk west for two whole days and nights, they would reach a place where the trees turned black, the sun hid away behind the clouds and even the air overflowed with suffocating poison. That place was precisely the demon's nest.

It was where the most bone chilling and gruesome stories of demons originated.

The villagers had always lived in fear of demons, and ever since these nasty devils became rampant in the forest, they would kidnap children, animals and even steal away the villager's belongings. The forest was already scary enough. The thought of entering the demon's nest would make even the clan head shudder, so it was only natural for Ren to be scared witless as he stood alone in the devil's lair.

Ren got up and grabbed on Shin's robes, "Hey, don't you know that demons love to devour magic beasts? Why don't we get out of here? Or… could it be... You brought me here as a human sacrifice?"

Shin, who was amused by Ren's erratic behavior since earlier, puffed a laugh when he heard the last sentence.

He flicked his forehead and chuckled, "That's not a bad idea. But... since I've taken a liking to you, I wouldn't want you dead so quickly."

He rummaged through his robes and took out a palm sized shiny black stone. Although it looked ordinary, a closer look showed that it emitted a faint glow, as if it had a minimal spiritual reserve of its own [2].

(A/N: Since a spiritual tool can be used to control elements/powers that are not inherent to a mage or a practitioner, it is thought to possess spiritual energy of its own)

Ren's eyes widened as he stared. He recalled being over the moon when he found the rare demon core the other day, but when compared to this, it was nothing more than an ordinary pebble.

If the other clans saw such a pure mass of spiritual energy, there was no doubt that there would be bloodshed.

While he was busy staring, the glow the stone emitted slowly became more radiant. Shin held it, turned around in a circle, and began to walk in the direction where the glow was the strongest.

Scared that he will be left behind, Ren immediately got on his feet and followed after.

The part of the forest comprising the demon's nest had an intense concentration of dark energy. It was the first time Ren had encountered such horror, which was why his spirits were immensely spooked, and he quietly and ccautiously followed Shin for the rest of the way.

Noticing his fidgety behavior, the latter smiled, "Are you scared?"

He gestured with his hand, " Come here. I will cast a spell on you to relax your spiritual flow."

Ren obediently walked over and waited. But then he wondered, why does he have to go over to have a spell casted on him? And why is he even trusting this man to cast a spell on him in the first place? No matter how you look at it, that's not right!

But before he could move, the man in front of him bent down and kissed him.

Like a gentle breeze brushing against his pouty lips, the feeling was short and fleeting. Yet, the warmth it incited lingered for longer than it should have.

While Ren broke out in a furious blush, the man in white laughed heartily and continued on his way.

---

The kiss did indeed seem to have relaxed Ren a great degree. Not only did he keep up with Shin's hastened pace through the rest of the way, he was even throwing random punches at the man whenever he felt like it.

"Why don't you stop hitting me? Do you really wish to be offered as a sacrifice?"

Ren shuddered, then rebuked, "I will not stop unless you apologize, and also tell me what we are doing here when the clan is in danger!"

Shin chuckled and ruffled his hair, to which Ren replied with another punch.

"All I can tell you is… your father was correct. The spiritual fluctuation of this forest did indeed result from a spatial rift [3] which was opened a few weeks ago."

(A/N: A space rift is basically a rift in space lol. It is a link between the mortal world and another dimension known as 'the void'. More details will be given later)

"How can you be so sure?"

Shin,"Well... I am the reason the rift was opened."

Ren, "..."

Ren, "???"

"Before I was teleported over to this world, I was being hunted by an enemy. The only hope of my escape was this spiritual tool, but the spatial rift I conjured also sucked in the demons that were chasing after me. I was too weak and barely managed to save myself by transforming into my weakest form…"

"I escaped their clutches but couldn't retrieve the other half of this tool. The space rift was left open while I hid myself in the forest near your clan. Despite hiding all traces of my presence, my condition was still unstable [4]. That must be why the creature you met the other day probably still managed to track me. If it weren't for the two of you, I would have met my end that day."

(A/N: Means that he was still very weak so he couldn't hide his whereabouts completely)

"But now, the situation is different. I will repay your kindness."

When the words were spoken, the spiritual tool in Shin's hand burst with radiance. It bounced and turned, as if the deadpan appearance it had a while ago was nothing but an illusion.

Shin, "Come, there may be something here that interests you too."

The two walked over to a certain spot, and through the gap between the tree trunks, they caught sight of a clearing some distance away where dense dark energy whirled wildly.

All around, the space churned and seemed to have been split by force - a large spatial rift was created from which dark energy leaked out.

In the center of the field, a large mass of solidified spiritual energy oscillated up and down and seemed to be powering the swirling dark energy of the rift in space. The mass was in the shape of a shiny black stone, which when kept next to the one Shin held in his palm, would make perfect twins.

Ren noticed that since earlier, the air around them had a strong smell of rotting corpses. He scanned his surroundings and noticed a human body lying before the void.

While he was wondering what a human body was doing in the demon's nest, a movement from the void [5] caught his attention - a sharp claw slowly forced its way out of the thin slit, followed by a fist, then an arm, until the entire figure of a pitch black demon appeared into the light.

(A/N: I already mentioned that a spatial rift connects the mortal world to another dimension. This other dimension is the 'void'. It's a pitch black space which houses millions of creatures of the dark)

Ren was almost speechless, ".... a demon?"