"Wow. There are even more beasts now. Was the Three-Tailed Shadow Wolf an alpha?"
The familiar voice of Thorgan drifted into his ears from behind, and Simon’s pupils constricted into pinholes.
His right hand moved a split second later, and he swung his fist to the back on reflex.
Woosh!
His movement was so fast and precise that not even two seconds had passed after Thorgan spoke.
Thorgan’s pupils constricted, and he quickly placed his right hand in the path of Simon’s fist.
The darkness gathered around his hand, forming a gauntlet which helped him to stop Simon’s fist.
Bang!
Thorgan stood his ground with a deep frown, and so did Simon as he stared at Thorgan with an utterly cold expression.
Both of them stared at one another, then in the next second.
Crack
Crack!
Both of them fell to the ground as the branch they stood on cracked and broke in two.
The tree was high, and if the two fell on the ground, they’d break their bones or get injured one way or the other.
Simon flexed his right hand, and his claws shot out of it.
He pierced the tree with his claws and used it to slow down his descent.
Long claw marks could be seen on the tree as its bark was split into five.
As Simon fell, his gaze was on Thorgan who had his arms folded with a calm expression despite falling.
He did not try to stop himself from falling, and Simon stared at him coldly.
Thorgan also tried to stare at him coldly, but his expression faltered the colder Simon’s expression got.
"Fuck yo- hm! "
Thorgan’s words were cut off as he reached the ground, but he did not crash into the ground with his legs broken.
No
Instead, he fell into the shadow on the ground like a man falling inside water. Only difference is that the shadow made no sound compared to water.
When Simon saw this, he narrowed his eyes, and his suspicions were confirmed.
’Shadows... He has a shadow affinity, and it’s ridiculously high. Who is he?... An orphan? Bullshit.’
Simon came to a stop while hanging on the tree, then he retracted his claws and calmly fell to the ground.
Thud
A second after he fell, Thorgan slowly rose from the shadow he fell into, and both he and Simon stared at one another.
The tension between them was palpable.
"Sorry."
Thorgan already knew why Simon was angry at him, and it was because he had suddenly appeared behind him, scared him, and as a result, ruined Simon’s hiding spot.
He knew this, but his pride and stubbornness did not want to apologize to Simon at first. In fact, he wanted Simon to apologize to him for attacking him from out of nowhere.
’Damn it. There’s just something about his expression that reminds me of brother. It’s so scary and pressuring to look at.’ Thorgan looked away, and Simon exhaled deeply as he reeled in his anger.
He looked around, and just as he expected, the pack of shadow wolves and the candidates were all looking at both of them.
’Things just got a lot more annoying thanks to him.’
Simon wanted to say a million things, but he decided it was better not to.
What’s done was done. He’d rather use his energy and time to say something else.
He looked at Thorgan. "How are you able to use chaos as a Fiend? That should only be possible for Archfiends."
There were multiple reasons why Simon had been so anxious about facing the Dread Beasts who were comparable to Archfiends.
It was not only because they were a lot physically or had a lot more demonic energy than him, it was because an Archfiend could begin to use and control their chaos or magic like how humans loved to call it.
Every demon is born with an element they have an affinity, and this element reveals itself after the demon’s chaos flame is birthed.
However, a demon could not use or control the element they have an affinity for until they become Archfiends.
When a demon becomes an Archfiend, the demon can no longer be treated as cannon fodder or trash.
And this is one of the reasons why the rank of a demon’s bloodline is very crucial.
A demon with a Lesser Bloodline, regardless of the rank can never become an Archfiend.
Which meant, the demon would never be able to control his or her chaos.
This was why Simon was hoping during his Coming of Age that he awakened at least a Common Bloodline, because only a demon with a Common Bloodline could become an Archfiend.
And in elite clans and kingdoms, very few opportunities and resources would be available for a demon who is not an Archfiend.
’The gap between an Archfiend and a Fiend because of an Archfiend’s ability to control their chaos.’
’I believed that the main reason why Thorgan was able to battle a Prime Dread Beast on his own as a Supreme Fiend is because of the Bloodline Suppression which those of Royal Bloodline can use against those with Noble Bloodlines and the rest.’
’The alpha has a Minor Noble Bloodline or a Prime Noble Bloodline at best, and although the alpha is a Dread Beast, Thorgan’s royal bloodline should be able to suppress it and make the alpha weaker, which would then allow Thorgan to battle the beast much more easily.’
’At least... that was what I believed.’
’But for him to be able to control his chaos at a young age? How is that possible?’
As Simon had these thoughts and a lot more, Thorgan scratched his cheek with a wry smile.
"I told you I have that bloodline."
Simon narrowed his eyes, then he looked at the shadows on the ground.
"And you’re not a Velari? Velari are one of the few races I know have a high affinity for shadows."
Thorgan chuckled with a light, cheeky smile. "No, I’m not... And I most likely have a better shadow affinity than a Velari."
Simon’s lips twitched when he heard Thorgan’s subtle but not so subtle bragging.