Yamiru was momentarily stunned, but he quickly came to his senses.
The other party had seen him in his demon dragon form and had immediately assumed he was one of the demon race, right?
Moreover, from the tone of this demon called Maliza, it seemed that the demon race in this era was affiliated with various demon kings.
Yamiru immediately recalled.
Last night, as he scanned the surroundings, the six distinct demon auras scattered far and wide had given him a whole night of mental pollution.
By comparing the two, it was clear that the six demons he had sensed last night must have been the six demon kings of this era.
Though they all called themselves demon kings, these six were far more terrifying than the Demon King Piccolo! Yamiru thought to himself. Even the weakest demon king he had sensed was hundreds of times more powerful than Demon King Piccolo… And this demon in front of him, Maliza, who had venomous fangs all over his body, claimed to serve a demon king named Samuel.
This Samuel demon king…
Yamiru silently thought to himself. The powerful righteous energy he was heading toward was near a particularly strong demon aura! Its power was even greater than that of his uncle Bardock when he had just been resurrected. From the distance, it seemed that this was probably the demon king Samuel, to whom Maliza was loyal.
And just like how the demons created by Demon King Piccolo were loyal to him, this demon, Maliza, was loyal to Samuel. Yamiru immediately understood the demon race structure of this era—six powerful demon kings ruled over different regions, each commanding numerous demon subordinates, controlling this ancient human world.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that Yamiru had not responded immediately, the venomous snake-like demon, Maliza, became a bit cautious. His tone grew cold, and he released a dangerous aura.
It wasn't a good time to fight, Yamiru quickly thought. He then spoke, "I don't know which demon king I belong to."
Maliza skeptically asked, "What does that mean?"
Yamiru said in a calm tone, "I think I'm just an ordinary human."
Huh? Maliza's eyes narrowed, and the venomous snakes growing from his body immediately hissed, seemingly ready to shoot venom at the so-called human demon dragon on the large rock.
"I don't remember what happened. When I came to my senses, everyone in the mountains had already been killed by me, and I... became like this." Yamiru, as if not noticing the demon's reaction, stared blankly at his claws, speaking to himself. "You ask me which demon king I belong to? I don't know."
"..." Maliza was also stunned. The murderous intent he had started to gather immediately stalled. "So you're... a self-transformed new demon?"
"A self-transformed new demon..." Yamiru muttered to himself.
Maliza muttered, "How strange. Are there really such foolish humans in this day and age?"
Yamiru asked, "Aren't we the same?"
"It's been years since we've seen something like this, including myself, almost all of the demons... are created by the six demon kings' auras," Maliza explained. "As for someone like you... well, after self-birth, I haven't even heard of anyone like you."
Yamiru felt a shiver in his heart and silently thought, 'Not seen for years... Indeed, the Hell energy has been leaking into Earth for many years! It seems that ordinary humans who turn into demons because of their evil thoughts have probably already switched sides and cleaned up their acts in the early days. The remaining humans are all those who are irreconcilable with the demon race, and even if they can't see the Hell energy in the air with the naked eye, they must already be aware of the 'danger' in the environment...'
"You turned into a demon by yourself? You must have been quite the human villain in your past life! Hahaha."
Maliza looked at Yamiru and laughed in a rather malicious way.
Hearing this, Yamiru immediately shot him an icy glare.
Maliza, with ill intentions, sneered, "I'd advise you not to harbor any hostility toward me. A guy like you... just a moment is enough for me to make you die in agony!" As he spoke, a venomous snake on his body stood upright.
Yamiru immediately withdrew the slightest hint of hostility.
For someone like Yamiru, who was skilled in martial arts and energy control, emotions like "hostility" and "killing intent" were completely unnecessary actions. Maintaining them consciously felt awkward. It was like a king trying to mimic the thoughts of a rookie—it was possible, but it felt uncomfortable…
Seeing that the guy was wise enough to understand, Maliza nodded in satisfaction, and the several venomous snakes on his body began to swirl around.
At this moment, Yamiru asked, "You say you belong to Lord Samuel, so what about me? Can you tell... which Demon King I belong to?"
"You? I've never seen anyone like you..." Maliza rubbed his chin.
A situation like this, where one has transformed independently, without a master Demon King—Maliza truly didn't know! He quickly said, "Although you're a demon transformed through self-conversion, the demonic energy that transformed you comes from the land ruled by Lord Samuel. Your demonic energy belongs to Lord Samuel, so naturally, you belong to Lord Samuel!"
Demonic energy belongs to which Lord Samuel? Yamiru's expression remained unchanged. He wondered how that high and mighty god would react if he heard such words...
Before Yamiru could respond, Maliza ordered in a commanding tone, "Anyway, come with me. After all, you won't be able to fit in the human world, right? Hahahaha." Laughing recklessly, he sped off ahead.
Yamiru stood there for a moment, looking in the direction Maliza had gone. Finally, he leaped and followed after him.
The direction Maliza was heading matched the objective of Yamiru's journey.
One of the six powerful demonic auras must belong to Demon King Samuel, and the powerful righteous aura Yamiru sensed was roughly in the same direction!
Were the two fighting?
Or perhaps... that strong righteous energy had already been captured by Samuel?
With his identity as a demon, Yamiru followed Maliza, who was flying ahead.
Not bad speed... Maliza smirked, not looking back but slightly increasing his pace.
At the same time, he used telepathic communication to contact the powerful presence far ahead: "Lord Samuel! I've discovered a self-converted demon out here. He seems unable to find his place. Should I bring him before you, or would you prefer I dispose of him on the way..."
Hmm? Yamiru keenly noticed the change in Maliza's speed.
So that's it, this guy... he can indeed sense auras! Yamiru's heart sank.
After Maliza appeared, Yamiru had been continuously drawing in the hellish energy from the air, like threads of silk.
With each additional bit of hellish energy entering his body and merging with his existing strength, Yamiru felt his mind surge.
"But this demon seems unaware... Is he pretending not to notice, or is he not as sensitive to energy fluctuations as I am?" Yamiru thought while closely following Maliza. However, even so, after confirming that Maliza could sense energy, Yamiru didn't stop absorbing the hellish energy from the air to increase his power; in fact, he sped up the process.
The strength gained without effort was truly intoxicating.
However, Yamiru quickly quelled the rising evil thoughts and expanded power within his mind with his firm will and superior martial arts philosophy.
While running, he flexed his claws, and his dragon tail, like an iron whip, swayed behind him.
His high martial arts realm allowed Yamiru to quickly adapt to the enhanced power. After a few breaths, his demonic energy, which had surged several times compared to his usual human form, could now be controlled like an extension of his limbs, as though tempered through countless trials...
Not knowing how long they had been running, Yamiru suddenly sensed something unusual at the side of the road ahead.
"Wait!" Maliza suddenly stopped, stepping into a small pit in the road. He flared his nostrils, revealing a sinister and terrifying smile. "I think I smell human scent..."
Yamiru remained silent, watching as Maliza sniffed around like a dog. He didn't look in the direction of the faint aura he sensed but instead communicated with the other party through telepathy: "Don't panic, stay calm! The more nervous you get, the more easily the demons will smell your scent..."
Even Yamiru could clearly smell a similar scent between his own nostrils. Even without sensing the aura, he could tell there were humans nearby.
Really starting to act like a demon now! Yamiru thought.
"Who... who are you? Is it Lord Annin? Did they rescue you..." The human hiding by the roadside, through telepathy, did not calm down but became even more frantic, his mental fluctuations intensifying. "No, you're not... you're not..."
"I found you..." Maliza's snake-like demon flicked aside the roadside weeds, revealing a human man who appeared haggard. The snake's eyes, just like Maliza's, glowed blood-red, flicking its crimson tongue and hissing as it bared its fangs, striking a thin shadow toward the human.
The haggard human man looked desperate, but his gaze flashed for a brief moment, and with a "thud", a writhing snake head fell into his arms. He panicked and shook it off.
"You bastard..." Maliza's face darkened. "Would it have been so hard to let yourself live a little longer?"
He turned around and saw the dragon-like demon slowly lowering his fingers.