As Simon jumped from tree to tree in order to quickly locate the withered tree, his mind could not help but recall the scene of the Odrasil offering him the crimson fruit.
The leader of the group of thirty had not lied about many of the benefits of the crimson fruit.
If he had taken the fruit and eaten it, his lifespan would increase by at least a decade and his demonic energy would also experience a drastic increase.
The crimson fruit seemed like a fruit every demon should have and desire, but the side effects of the crimson fruits were terrible and vile.
The crimson fruit looked like a fruit, and if one tasted it, it would be one of the sweetest and most euphoric fruits one had ever tasted.
But those who knew, knew that the crimson fruit was not actually a fruit but the heart of the Odrasil.
Unlike other demons, Odrasils could regenerate their hearts even if it was completely destroyed.
They would not die even if one were to thoroughly disintegrate their demon hearts.
Odrasils often ripped out a fully grown heart of theirs, stored it, and recreated a new heart.
Whenever an Odrasil ripped out their heart, the heart becomes similar to a fruit, making many individuals not to realize that they were actually eating the heart of a demon.
The Odrasils called their fruit-turned hearts the Longevity Fruit, but other demons and humans who knew just how dangerous a ’Longetivity Fruit’ was, called the fruit the Vile Fruit.
Once an individual ate even a tiny piece of a Vile Fruit, they were already enslaved by the Odrasil who owned the fruit.
At first, it won’t be obvious, but the individual would slowly change.
They would begin to crave for more Longevity Fruits, and when they find out that they could still gain benefits from it, they would keep on wanting more and more.
Up until the human or demon became addicted to it, and they began to do anything to get another Longevity Fruit from the Odrasil.
It was like cocaine, but just extremely more powerful.
And once an individual went a certain period without taking a Longevity Fruit, they would begin to go crazy while feeling so much pain and extreme emotions.
Crying for no reason, screaming for no reason, thrashing for no reason, and even killing for no reason.
At some point, individuals would begin to hurt themselves by peeling off their skin and eating them because they’d realize that their blood had a semblance of the Longevity Fruit’s taste.
Simon gritted his teeth as he recalled scenes of how Earth nearly suffered a catastrophe they could nearly not recover from, all because of the Odrasils.
Humans would chew on their fingers, on their arms, shoulders, on their legs, on their feet, on anything that tasted like the Longevity Fruit.
It was an extremely terrible scene to behold, and that was not even the worst of it.
The more Longevity Fruits a demon or human ate, the more their bodies began to change to that of an Odrasil.
The Odrasil were nearly at the top of the list of demon races he hated and was disgusted by, and it was not only because of the side effects of the Longevity Fruits, but mainly because of what the Odrasil did to any unlucky soul that ate a Longevity Fruit.
Any human or demon that ate an Odrasil’s Longevity Fruit would become the Odrasil’s slave, and the tastes and desires of an Odrasil were just purely disgusting.
’Some of those kids seemed to have eaten the fruit of that Odrasil. How unfortunate and fortunate for them. But if I’m able to kill it before they get too addicted to its fruit, then they might be saved.’
’However, that’s none of my business. Whether all the kids die or not is none of my business and neither do I care in the slightest.’
’However... I seriously hate Odrasils. It’s a shame I couldn’t wipe them out back then because of the Demon King of Death.’
’Maybe I can do that in this life. Wipe them off the face of the demon realm.’
Simon came to a stop in front of a shimmering crimson barrier. Behind this barrier was a withered tree.
There was nothing else around the withered tree, and he frowned slightly.
’I’ll start wiping out the Odrasils with that boy... I’ll kill him.’
Simon’s eyes flashed, then he cautiously touched the barrier.
The barrier rippled for a moment, then he felt movement inside his robe.
"What?" He furrowed his brows slightly.
Before he could figure out what was going on, a hole appeared in the barrier, and he nearly stumbled forward.
He instantly took control of his balance, then he curiously looked into the hole before reaching into his robe.
He brought out the condensed shadow essence with furrowed brows.
There was nothing wrong it and neither was there any change to it, but Simon knew that it had done something to make a hole appear in the barrier.
"Aren’t you the overly cautious one."
A voice sounded out from inside the barrier, and Simon’s eyes flashed with a sharp light.
His head snapped to the withered tree, and he saw another Veilmaster sitting with his legs crossed in front of the withered tree.
’I didn’t notice him... Living in a clan full of assassins who excel at hiding their presence might be truly troublesome.’
Simon frowned, and the Veilmaster scoffed and gestured at Simon to enter.
"Why are you still standing there? Aren’t you here because you passed the first trial?"
Simon blinked, then he nodded and entered the hole.
The moment he did, the hole closed and Simon felt a strange chill sweep over him.
The moment he felt this chill, it instantly reminded him of...
’Death... That aura of death the bastard demon king used to carry around him.’
He looked at the withered tree and frowned.
’What is that tree?’