Death… And Me

Chapter 3316: The Focus

”Hahaha!” Rean couldnʼt help but laugh, always finding it funny to tease Kentucky. ”Alright, alright. I can see that as well. So, where the hell did you get this Demon Tree?”

”Oh, about that...” Kentucky finally began to explain.

By the end, Reanʼs happy expression turned into one of annoyance. ”I say... you do know that we entered this city together, right? If you caused that commotion outside, that also means you will be linked to us.”

”Hmph!” Kentucky snorted. ”You speak as if you had forgotten that Iʼm also a light and dark element user. I obviously used th body transformation technique of yours before entering the Tamers Guild. No one should be able to connect both of us.”

Rean sighed in relief. ”If thatʼs the case, then it is fine.” With that resolved, Rean focused on the little girl, who was actually very old. ”Letʼs take a look at her soul and see what happened during all this time she was imprisoned.”

Reanʼs Light Element entered the girlʼs head, which had a hard surface as a trait of her race as a Demon Tree. It truly didnʼt feel like the skin of a humanoid race member. Nonetheless, Reanʼs Light Element easily reached her soul before gently entering it. Rean was being very careful to not cause any damage.

He kept his eyes closed all the while, but his expression changed little by little. Initially, he didnʼt seem that worried. But the further he investigated, the worse it became. Finally, he took his hand away from the little girl, shaking his head. ”This is not good. Her soul is not damaged, but it wonʼt wake up anytime soon either.”

”Really?” Kentucky and Rifindio didnʼt like to hear it. ”Why? Is there a seal or something like that inside?”

”No,” Rean shook his head again. ”Itʼs just that her soul took form while she was already imprisoned.”

Demon Trees and other plants usually donʼt have offspring like other races. They lay their seeds, and if one of them is lucky, they might gain sentience one day. Almost all the Demon Trees in existence have parents who were simple, normal trees, and that included the Divine Demon ones. It is extremely unlikely that the seed of a sentient demon tree will give birth to another sentience. Of course, Trees and plants that came from Divine ones have a better chance of becoming Demon Trees.

”I believe I know what happened here,” Rean continued to talk. ”The Tamers Guild most likely received this Demon Tree while it still didnʼt have a sentience. Chances are she was still a sapling when she was first planted there.”

Kentucky and Rifindio understood the problem.

It made sense if one thought about it. First of all, you wouldnʼt find Divine Bloodlines outside the Demon Beatsʼ Territories in most cases, let alone an insignificant city like this one. Yet, they had a Divine Demon Tree planted there. Rean was certain that it wasnʼt a Demon Tree yet when it arrived, but simply a normal Parasol Tree.

Pretty much all plants in existence have a chance of acquiring a sentience and becoming a demon plant. The Tamers Guild knew that the chances were extremely low, but it was also because of that that it managed to get the saplings, or maybe an even earlier stage, the seeds of a real Divine Parasol Tree.

It was no doubt very expensive, but as a guild, it had the financial backing to try something like this. There was no doubt in Reanʼs mind that this little girl wasnʼt the only one, but just one of many saplings or seeds acquired during that time. No one expected any of them to truly become a Divine Demon Tree. It was all up to chance.

Yet, lo and behold! One of them, this little girl, managed to gain sentience! And since she came from a Divine Parasol Tree, she too became one. Too bad the guild anticipated such a possiblity, thus the formation that was built around her trunk.

It kept her sentience dormant from the moment it first appeared together with her Core. For the Tamers Guild, that was a great deal. Just having a Divine Demon Tree around it would indirectly affect everything in the guild. It was pretty much how Celis affected the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm back then, but on a much smaller scale.

”In the end, her soul doesnʼt have any problem; it just has never been awake before,” Rean concluded. ”Of course, all I just said is a conjecture, and I might be wrong. However, I know souls better than most experts in the Universe, and I might actually be the best one at it in this Universe as well. Iʼm willing to bet on what I said with almost 100% certainty.”

Rean returned his attention to Kentucky. ”You did the right thing back in the Tamers Guild. Instead of trying to communicate with her normally, you actually sent your intention. Had you tried to truly speak through Divine Sense, you definitely wouldnʼt have received any response. Well, you were already extremely lucky that she understood you wanted her to transform, especially since that was most likely her first time doing it.”

”So...” Kentucky looked at the little girl. ”Could it be her humanoid form looks this young because her mind is that of a child?”

”It might really be the case,” Rean agreed with Kentucky there. ”It didnʼt have a chance to grow, being imprisoned by the formation all this while. To be honest, the transformation of Demons into Humanoid Forms is kind of a mystery in itself. Even today Iʼm not entirely sure why you guys gain such an ability after a certain cultivation realm.”

Kentucky looked at Rifindio. ”Do you know why?”

”Eh?” Rifindio quickly shook his head. ”Iʼve never even thought about that before, let alone know the reason. Who knows? It might be due to laws or something like that.”

”Well, whatever.” In the end, Kentucky decided to focus on the girl instead.