Two human-like creatures stood in the shadows beside a road.
A strange pressure leaked from their bodies. It was like aura, but far creepier.
These two were the same ones who had come out of the rift earlier.
"It’s here," said the bare-chested man with a sword strapped to his back.
"Yes, General. We’ve finally found it," replied the woman with twin horns.
The man then raised his hand casually. The gesture looked simple, nothing special...
But on the other side of the road, inside a small house...
Derek had just begun his cultivation. Suddenly, his body lifted from the crib and floated into the air. He drifted toward the window, then slipped outside, flying straight toward the man with the sword.
Derek’s eyes widened. ’Wait! Is it them? But why so early?’ His heart started to pound faster. And it increased with each passing second. ’They weren’t supposed to come for another twenty-four years.’
He didn’t need even a second to recognize their aura. He knew at once. ’These are the demons for sure, the ones who had brought humanity to extinction.’
As his sight was still facing toward the house, he couldn’t see which demon it was. ’Is it the upper rank ten? Shit! What should I do? If I start crying and anyone wakes up, they will be killed for sure.’ Different thoughts circled through his mind as his body continued to float backward. Then, suddenly, he stopped. A hand had grabbed him. And turned his body around.
Finally, Derek could see them.
His heart almost froze. Standing in front of him was none other than Upper Rank One.
He hadn’t seen her before, but the way the digit one was glowing in both her eyes made it obvious who she was.
’Even the upper rank ten almost crushed the whole world last time. But this time, the one at the top is already on the move?’
’Damn it! How did this happen? How can I save humanity? I haven’t even regained my past strength, and they’re already here. Rank One at that... But...’
Suddenly, something else froze his heart. Something far stronger and dangerous. Like a colossal existence.
He instantly looked at the figure beside the twin-horned woman. He could hear his own heartbeat, feel the heaviness in the air.
’What is this feeling? How can he be this strong? He’s even stronger than the upper rank one.’ Thoughts raced through his mind until finally, a chilling realization struck him.
’Is he... one of the three generals?’
"It’s a human child. Then how did it awaken the bloodline?" The man with the sword frowned, his tone laced with suspicion.
’Bloodline? What is he talking about?’ Derek’s thoughts spun in confusion.
The twin-horned female spoke up from the side. "Doesn’t matter, General. The traces of bloodline power are clearly in his body. Let’s finish our work quickly and return. If we don’t get back within forty-eight hours, we might die here."
The General gave a slow nod. Then, raising his left hand, he conjured something terrifying.
A sphere materialized in his palm. It was very tiny, barely the size of a rice grain, yet it radiated a sinister black-blue aura that felt monstrously strong. The instant it appeared, Derek’s entire body trembled.
Countless life-and-death battles had sharpened his instincts. So he could easily grasp it.
The destructive force packed inside that tiny speck... it was enough to flatten an entire city in a blink.
’This... this power... Is he going to kill me?’ His thoughts spiraled, panic clawing at his chest. ’But why? Did something happen in my past life as well? If so... then how did I ever live past twenty-five?’
His mind was a total mess.
Just as the General was about to thrust the sphere into Derek’s body, just as Derek thought it was all over, the General’s hand froze mid-air.
Derek saw it. The source of this content ɪs n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
The mighty demon’s hand... it was actually trembling.
Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as his gaze shifted... slowly, fearfully... toward the small house.
The horned female stiffened instantly, her body tense, her eyes narrowing as she too turned to look at the house.
Derek blinked, utterly baffled. ’What’s going on? Why do they suddenly look so terrified?’
"Who’s there? Come out!" the General barked, but his voice quivered despite his effort to sound commanding.
The female instinctively dropped into a fighting stance, her aura rising.
From within the house, a figure stepped out. At first, the shadows cloaked his face. But when his features finally came into view...
The General staggered back, his legs trembling violently, as though the earth itself had been pulled from beneath him.
The upper rank one felt it too.... the suffocating presence radiating from the man. Yet, instead of fear, confusion clouded her eyes. She wanted to ask why her General looked so utterly broken. "That person in the house is surely strong, but no way he is stronger than our general. Then why? Why is he looking so terrified?" She thought.
"General, what ha..." The female was about to ask something, but the words died on her lips.
Because the General’s next trembling words shattered her mind.
"U... Uncle? You’re still alive?"
Her heart stopped. Horror spread across her face. She too stumbled backward, as if struck by lightning.
She knew exactly who General’s uncle was. There was only one.
The brother of the Demon King.
The one second only to the king himself. The second-strongest existence in the entire history of the demon race.
But someone was even more shocked.
His thoughts spun wildly. ’This guy even has an uncle? And that uncle sounds even fiercer... Damn it! Vanessa, I am really sorry. I failed your grace.’
As these thoughts churned, Derek’s head turned slightly, almost against his will.
The figure who had sent two terrifying demons into panic.
The instant Derek’s gaze fell upon the man, his entire body froze. His heart seemed to stop beating, and his mind went blank.
’What the hell... what’s going on?’
Because the figure was none other than...
Rudeous Hale, his father.