The sphere pulsed once, then slowly unraveled back into mist, spreading like smoke from a forbidden altar.
"Fear won't stop it. Pain won't save them. Once it clings to them… they'll crawl to me, begging to be broken."
He then opened his mouth and swallowed the mist, which fused back with his blood, going dormant, waiting for him to call it.
He then unfolded his tails, which were acting as a barrier.
There weren't any changes with them.
He then grabbed the demon corpse from beside him and devoured it, after which he jumped upwards, immediately ascending.
Standing at the edge of the hole, he gazed upwards at the giant crimson sun that illuminated the entire Demon Cradle with bloodlust.
If lower demons gazed at it too long, they would enter a frenzied state, even more frenzied than their natural state; they might even devour themselves.
Speaking of lower demons, any demon below the blood core rank is known as a lower demon. The ranks of demons: Bloodling Rank, Crimson Bone, Vital Blood, and Blood Core. That's all he got from his inheritance memory. Once a demon reaches the Blood Core Rank, they undergo a qualitative transformation where their strength increases to the point where demons at the Vital Blood Rank would faint just from the aura their body radiates.
The crimson sun floated directly above the center of the Demon Cradle, and at the center is where all the strong lower-rank demons gathered, 'where lustful demons gather.' He thought as he licked his bottom lip lustfully. He couldn't wait to devour the lust their union would produce. Just thinking about it caused his blood to pulse and his large member to harden.
He then shot off, blurring towards the sun at maximum speed, his tails creating a slight colorful trail behind him.
Whoosh!
…
Weeks blurred together. Forests soaked in baby demon blood. Their Corpses broken and consumed. But now there was sand.
Endless.
Dry.
Red.
Setting below the crimson sun.
A red desert, rolling, endless, that stretched into the distance. He stood silently, gazing at the sand flowing from his palm with curiosity. 'Blood.' He then gazed at the desert before him, his eyes narrowed.
His tail and nose twitched as he sniffed for the scent of a demon of his rank, preferably female. His strength hadn't improved much in these months. The quality of the blood and flesh of the baby demons wasn't enough for him.
He needed something of his level.
Plus, eating using demons as fuel for his growth wasn't free from negative effects. Eating too much would slowly pollute the flesh and mind.
Disgusting mutations and madness.
Not that most demons cared for such things. But he did. He cared for sanity and his appearance. Well, appearance not so much, but would he still be a Lustborn if he were a deformed demon?
Fortunately, because of his noble rank lineage, he had other methods of increasing his strength.
'Crimson Caress Sutra.'
His eyes flashed crimson for a second as he muttered. This Sutra was a strengthening technique from his bloodline, which allowed him to use lust as a forge, wielding it both as flames and hammer, slowly refining his mind and body into an embodiment of lust.
His eyes shone with lust.
He was desperate for the brimful energy of lust that a demoness of his rank would produce.
His glowing tails dimmed, and his aura vanished. Over these months, he had learned how to fully control his aura.
He then lowered his body and shot off silently into the distance.
Whoosh!
Unlike the region behind him, where mostly mindless baby demons roamed, this Blood Desert should housed demons of his rank and even worse, demons at the Vital Blood Rank who, if confronted directly, might be fatal. After all, none could be considered weak. All demons who made it to such ranks were master killers, killing their way from a mindless baby demon to his rank, then from his rank to their rank.
He traveled for ten kilometers before he sensed another demon. Coming from below him. His gaze dropped to the sand beneath his feet.
His eyes narrowed. Immediately after, his legs contracted as he jumped backward, crossing a distance of 100 meters.
A heartbeat later, the spot where he had stood sank. Then a hideous demon shot out from it and landed fifty meters before him.
The demon was bull-like, standing 3 meters tall on all fours. Its fur had a sand-like texture, and its three horns shimmered with sharpness. Its eyes shone with madness and hunger as it stared at him, licking its lips.
"Flesh… meat,"
It moaned in a rasping tone, as if it hadn't spoken in years, black slime oozing from its mouth, sizzling on the ground.
Veal's eyes shone with calmness and disgust. It was a demon at his rank and a male. 'No threat. And useless.' He didn't even utter a word. His tail started glowing and vibrating like a coiled rattle.
Zzzz!
Then boom! The sand below him exploded as he launched at the demon. He immediately crossed the distance between them, his right claw aiming at the demon's throat, and his tails struck toward its eyes with bone shattering force.
Swish!
The air screamed from the force behind his attacks.
But right as he was about to make contact, the demon finally sensed him. He could see the surprise in its eyes. Then something unexpected happened.
The sand twisted unnaturally. Then a wall surged up between them like a summoned shield and,
Bang!
Veal's attacks smashed into it, the impact creating a shockwave that tore across twenty-meter radius, creating a mini sandstorm.
Veal's eyes narrowed. His tail and hand pulsed with greater power and,
Crack!
The wall shattered like glass.
"!"
Revealing three pointy giant horns lunging straight for his head.
"Die!" the demon roared.
Veal didn't panic. 'Let's see just how physically strong I am.' The muscles in his arms pulsed as they flashed and caught the horns that were inches away from impaling him,
Boom!