Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 994: Demon Preschool

”Probably to strengthen the Elemental Dimension,” Kyle said. ”Their Formation Arrays are probably consuming a ton of Energy. Without more Elementals, it might run out.”

”No,” Sebastian and Star Genesis said at the same time.

Kyleʼs brows rose, and his head moved back a bit. ”Okay, sure, guess not.”

”You donʼt need to make Elementals, Kyle,” Sebastian said with a helpless sigh. ”The Elemental Energies are so dense that countless Elementals are born every second. Making an Elemental isnʼt hard, as long as you have sufficient Elemental Energy. Making a beast is much harder and takes more effort. Turning a beast into an Elemental is like exchanging a Grade Six Energy Stone for a Grade Four Energy Stone. It makes no sense.”

”There has to be a different reason,” he added.

”But what reason?” Star Genesis asked from the side. ”I canʼt imagine one. No matter how much I think about it, it makes no sense. Thereʼs no point. You could argue that itʼs a defensive technique by the plant, but the plant didnʼt gain anything out of this. It spent a valuable Comprehension Fruit in exchange for what?”

”Safety?” Kyle asked. ”The Demon wonʼt return to get more fruits.”

”Kyle, you remember the concept of protection money from Earth?” Sebastian asked.

”Ye- oh!” Kyle said. ”Yeah, okay, I get it.”

”Exactly,” Sebastian said. ”Beasts are more likely to protect their treasures instead of consuming them. Itʼs an inherent instinct. If they find a renewable source of power, they will nourish and protect it instead of eating it. Beasts are not humans. This entire Cosmos has an obvious bias towards humans. It would not want its living tools to steal valuable resources from its favorite little babies, the humans.”
”Yes, yes, I get it,” Kyle answered. ”But then, why all of this?”

”No idea,” Sebastian said. ”The only reason I can think of is that the Demons want to reduce their population, but they can just kill and eat each other to keep their population low.”

”I also canʼt think of anything,” Star Genesis said. ”I think our best course of action is to keep going. If we see more of these events, we might be able to find a reasonable explanation. Speaking of, Sebastian, when will you send your Elemental to the Elemental Dimension?”

”Not yet,” Sebastian answered. ”Weʼre still too close to the barrier. I want a trillion kilometers between my Elemental and the barrier. If my Elemental dies, I die.”

Star Genesis nodded. ”Then, we should continue towards the east.”

”Sure,” Kyle said. ”Weʼve been here for a while anyway. Might as well continue.”

Kyle ordered the Demon Car to keep going towards the east as Sebastian and Star Genesis entered another heated discussion.

Kyle listened to them, but there wasnʼt anything he could contribute. He used to be amazing at making Formation Arrays, but Star Genesis had left him in the dust. He couldnʼt even compare insights with her anymore. At the same time, Sebastian knew a whole lot about Spirits and Elementals, which made sense, considering his Elemental. He had probably learned a ton about Elementals when he had created his.

Kyle knew many things from many different categories, but his two friends were specialists in the relevant topic.

As they kept traveling, Kyle noticed a change. Earlier, he had seen his first Mortal Demon, but now, he was seeing a lot of them. It seemed like the first Mortal Demon had come from one of the groups here.

ʼHuh, so thatʼs how Demons grow stronger,ʼ Kyle thought. ʼI always wondered how the fighting in the Abyss worked. I mean, beasts need to fight, kill, and consume other beasts to grow stronger. I can see how it works now, but I also think this is only a part of it. At least, it doesnʼt explain the existence of some of the more specialized Demons, like Burrowers or Destroyers.ʼ

Since Kyle was rapidly moving through the Abyss, he only saw snippets of different areas, but the areas were all in different states. It was like looking at countless individual photos of different people. With enough photos of life, one could see how life worked.

The Demons were not working alone but in loose groups. There were no leaders in the groups. It seemed more like a loose organization where members could join and leave whenever they wanted.

Every group was located on a Law Well, and all of the members shared the Affinity of the Law Well. Most of the time, the Demons were just sitting close to their Law Wells, feeling the Elemental Energies and getting more familiar with them.

Sometimes, the Demons left their Law Well to look for opponents. While traveling across the land, they very quickly found fitting opponents, and after a big fight, the winner would consume the loserʼs Beast Core. Yet, instead of also consuming the body, the winner transported the body back to their Law Well. When they got back, they dumped the body into the Law Well, which would turn the body into fuel. Afterward, the victorious Demon would rest beside the Law Well again.

Eventually, a dominant group would emerge, killing almost all of the enemies in the surroundings. The lack of enemies would agitate the dominant group, and when a sufficient level of agitation was reached, the Demons moved in a group and assaulted another Law Well.

They would kill all the Demons around that Law Well, after which they surrounded the Law Well. Then, they all released elemental attacks, destroying the Law Well. Yet, even after the Law Well was thoroughly destroyed, they kept spreading their Element around the vicinity.

Time would pass, and eventually, one of two things would happen.

One, a new Law Well of their Element would appear below them.

Two, their old Law Well traveled to the new location. For example, the storm representing a Yang-Wind Law Well would move to the new location. Alternatively, the lava of a Yang-Fire Law Well might stretch further and further until it reached the new location, after which the earth would heat up until there was a new one. Some rivers might wave and move until they got there.

After reporting everything to his friends, Kyle got an answer.

”The base of a Law Well is a dominant Elemental,” Sebastian said. ”Elementals are attracted by dense Elemental Energies that fit their Affinity. The Demons benefit from the Energy of the Elemental, but the Elemental also benefits from their Energy. By going somewhere else and releasing their Elements, the Demons are making the Elementalsʼ current position unattractive, while making a new position attractive. At the same time, theyʼre also filling the surroundings with their Element, making the opposing dominant Elemental weaker.”

”This relocates the Law Well. Even more, by killing and partially consuming other Elementals, their Elemental grows in level. After enough fighting, it will upgrade and advance a level. Yang-Fire might turn into Yin-Fire, but it might even turn into Minor Fire.”

”Even more, the further east we go, the higher the average power of Demons gets. If they travel west, they wonʼt find worthy prey, but if they travel east, they will find a lot of battles and food. At the same time, the Law Wells will also become stronger. Have you seen any powerful Demons?” he asked.

”Yes,” Kyle said. ”Most of the time, the powerful Demons are just passing by. Theyʼre probably on their way to the frontlines, but sometimes, I also see Transcending and Primal Demons dumping their newborns somewhere before leaving.”

”Makes sense,” Sebastian said. ”Thatʼs probably how they raise their newborn. If we keep going east, we will probably see some changes. At some point, the actual leadership of the Demons has to get involved. Otherwise, there wouldnʼt be so many Demons charging towards Humanity.”

”Right now, weʼre watching preschool. We donʼt know what school looks like.”

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