"I want to face the beast that is close to the Dragon that we saw in the human realm. It would be better if it's a beast slightly weaker as well," Ryder clarified to make sure that Rale didn't bring him to the strongest dragon in the Demon Realm.
In Rale's head, Ryder was an unorthodox Prince who was possibly as strong as Dukes but didn't like to use his real power. This impression of the guy was something Ryder preferred, but he didn't wish for it to become troublesome for him; thus, he clarified.
"Understood. I know of a perfect place where we can find beasts from the weakest to the strongest," Rale answered as he nodded his head.
"That's better. Let's not waste time then. It's been a long time since I hunted in the Demon Realm," Ryder stood up strongly as he took the lead. He walked towards the door of the throne room.
Rale followed after him.
" Let's see how much I have grown in this world as well," Ryder thought.
Demon Realm was not a Kingdom or an Empire even though it was collectively treated as an Empire.
In truth, it was an entire realm of its own where only Demon Realm existed. People used different methods to enter and exit this realm. There was no such thing as borders with other Realms.
There were many duchies in the Demon Realm, which were ruled by the Dukes who were under the Emperor. In the absence of the Emperor, High Dukes were the ones that kept an eye on the order of the Demon Realm.
As it was such a big place, the populated land in the Demon Realm accounted for only fifteen percent of the entire Realm. Over fifty percent of the Demon Realm was forests where beasts roamed freely.
The rest of the thirty-five percent of the area was covered by water in the form of rivers, lakes, and more.
The forests had many strong beasts that were enough to threaten anyone, but the Dukes and the High Dukes didn't bother with them. No matter how strong the beasts became, they were always weaker than Dukes, let alone the High Dukes who could kill them with a flick of their fingers.
As the beasts were no threat, no one bothered with them except in the times when they felt like hunting.
In one of the many vast forests, there was one unique one.
It was a forest where beasts of all strength lived in harmony. The strong beasts didn't kill the weak ones. It was as if there was a brotherhood in the beasts of here. They didn't interfere in each other's business.
No one knew why it was like that. It was one of the mysteries that seemed unsolvable as beasts fought in all other forests except this one.
There was also a rumor about a unique beast existing here that was one of its kind. No one knew how this rumor started. People searched the entire forest in search of this beast, but no one found him. In the end, it was called a false rumor, and everyone forgot about it.
This forest existed pretty close to the Royal City of the Demon Realm, and it was the exact place where Rale was bringing Ryder for hunting.
Janus was still sitting on the Golden throne, lost in the thoughts of the past, when he suddenly stood up.
His face had turned pale suddenly as he closed his eyes and placed his focus on Ryder.
"What is this presence I feel near him? Why does it seem exactly like his presence? How could this be possible? How could he still be alive? He was killed right before my eyes!" He exclaimed as he opened his eyes.
"Asteria... Could it be that you are still alive?" He mumbled as he disappeared.
The massive hall once again became empty as Janus also left.
Ryder and Rale landed before a dark forest.
"Is this the place?" Ryder asked.
Rale nodded his head as he answered. "This is the forest where we will be hunting. It was one of the favorite hunting grounds of His Majesty as well. It has monsters from all ranges. You can find monsters as weak as a Demon Child to one almost as strong as a Duke."
"That's good. So I can find a proper opponent for myself and for Diamond Tiger Beast, who needs weaker Beasts. You can also find beasts to face yourself. It's good for us all," Ryder smiled.
"Let's get inside," he muttered as he started walking towards the forest.
Soon, he took his first step inside the forest.
As soon as Ryder's feet landed inside the forest, the winds started flowing at high speed. Ryder's robe was flapping due to air. His hair was also flying.
Deep inside the forest, a green pair of eyes opened right at that moment, gazing in the direction where Ryder was coming from.
Without placing much focus on the winds, Ryder continued stepping inside.
Janus was standing in the middle of clouds in the open. He didn't seem to be on earth, though. The clouds were dark blue in color. There was a small pond in the middle of the clouds that were showing Ryder.
"I can't go down myself, or the attention of all gods will be on me. That's why I've been handling things differently, but if he is actually alive, it would really be shocking. Should I step down myself?" He muttered, frowning.
"It would change everything if Asteria is actually alive. How did no one know about him if he didn't die that day, though? He died on the same day as him. I know how my brother is alive, but how can he be alive as well? It doesn't make sense."
" The only one who could have made it possible is the God of Life and Death. But the God of Life and Death would never do this. I am sure of it. How then? Did the God of Life and Death actually do it?" He wondered.
" I should go ask the God of Life and Death. That's the only place I can get my answer from," the silver-haired boy said.
He brought both his hands together and clapped lightly once.
As soon as he clapped, the space before him split apart, which created a rift in space.
The rift kept getting bigger and bigger. It only stopped when it was as big as a door.
Janus stepped inside the spatial rift.
"Janus? What brings the God of Beginning and Endings to me?"
A beautiful woman was sitting on her throne. The woman seemed to be barely thirty years old. Her hair was light green that came down to her waist. They seemed to be the color of nature itself, which appeared to be full of life.
Her eyes were open, which were silver in color. The woman somehow seemed like she was unable to see as her eyes had no focus in them. Janus knew that it wasn't the truth. It was just the way her eyes looked. There was a certain kind of charm in her eyes, but sometimes that charm seemed to be filled with death.
Just a single gaze from the woman was enough to threaten anyone.
The woman was known as the God of Life and Death, who was one of the High Gods.
"Do I need a reason to come meet the lady of Life?" Janus answered softly.
"Hahaha, lady of life, huh. Good name. It's so intriguing. Some people associate me with only death and call me Demon of Death, while others call me by my full name. You're the only one who calls me the Goddess of Life," the woman answered softly.
"What else shall I call you? When it was decided that everyone will attack and kill my brother, you were the only one who decided to stay out of it, saying that you didn't want to be part of a High God's Death. I can't associate you with death after that. You respect life more than death, as I see. So it's only right that I call you lady of Life," Janus answered softly.
"You just had to remind me of that day, didn't you? I still find it unfortunate that it happened," The green-haired woman muttered.
"Morning is unfortunate. My brother deserved it," Janus answered as he shook his head
"True. You did support it, but I still can't. That day, your brother isn't the only one who died. Twenty-five High Gods, Seventy Mid-Gods, and Three Hundred Low-Gods also died that day. This wasn't worth it," The Goddess of Death answered.
"This was to be expected. We all knew how strong my brother was. We all expected casualties. Even though we lost half the gods, we at least managed to kill him. The result was certainly worth it," Janus answered casually, not seeming regretful in the least.
