Death... and me
chapter-2012

*Crack!*

The Lizard's skull was hit by Rean Starlar Piercer, breaking apart while it was still in midair.

'Death Style, Shadow Bind!'

Several Dark Vines shot out of the shadows on the old trees, latching themselves around the Lizard's body. The tree made cracking sounds, but due to the number of vines, they were able to hold the enormous Eight-legged Lizard weigh. The Lizard stayed suspended there as the light in its eyes faded away.

"That's about it..." Rean looked at the Lizard from up close. His attention then turned to the dark swamp water below, but it was still as calm as ever. "Seems like the swamp won't act if the body doesn't touch it."

"Makes sense," Roan added. "Otherwise, we would have been attacked by it a long time ago."

Rean nodded before touching the Lizard's body.

*Vup!*

Sure enough, he was able to send the dead body into the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. Right after, he entered it too. 'Roan, I'll try to work something out with this guy's materials. Perhaps the skin can really help conceal our presence.'

Roan didn't mind, as he had already brought Luan outside once again. 'No problem. I'll go ahead. Use my to come out when you are finished there.'

Inside the Dimensional Realm, Kentucky took a look at the Lizard and especially the hole in its head. "What a great smell..."

Before Rean could do anything, Kentucky's beak moved at lightning speed, piercing inside the creature's brain. Kentucky then pulled out a slightly large Demon Core that shined with Dark Element. "This thing is great! There is a lot of Dark Elements concentrated inside. I'll take it to use in my cultivation, okay?"

Rean shrugged his shoulder while he shook his head. "No can do. I don't know if I will need this core for the coats I'm planning to make. If you want a Demon Core, go outside with Roan and get your own."

"Tch, so be it." Kentucky could only throw the Demon Core to Rean before his body disappeared. Sure enough, he went straight out to move with Roan and Luan.

There, Roan took the chance to ask him. "By the way, can you fly in this place? It was the Space Laws that brought Rean and me down, so I believe it shouldn't work. Give it a try anyway."

Kentucky looked up and nodded before his wings flapped. Immediately, his body raised in the air... just to stop around 30 or so meters above the trees. Kentucky flapped his wings even faster, but that helped little with his altitude. Before long, he descended halfway to the trees' line while gasping for air. "Holy shit, this thing is truly hard. Even my own Space Power can't fight the space power in this place. My wings alone can't go up, either."

Roan looked at that and nodded. "As we expected. Still, you can fly a few meters, it seems."

"Yes," Kentucky answered. "If it is only 10 or so meters, I can keep myself in the air. The problem starts after 20 meters; 30 or so is the limit. If I go all out, I might be able to push myself to 40 meters, but I wouldn't last more than a few seconds at that altitude."

Roan then jumped on Kentucky's back with Luan. "10 Meters is already good enough. At least we can keep going while we fly."

Luan found it risky. "Is that a good idea, father? Without trees, rocks, and other things to use our legs, it would be quite complicated to dodge an attack since Kentucky can't move above this height."

"It's fine," Kentucky didn't seem to mind it. "I can't go up, but my speed isn't affected in lateral movements. Not to mention I do have the highest defense between us all."

Roan warned Kentucky. "Just make sure you don't get dragged into the Dark Swamp Water. I don't know if it will affect us, but I would rather not risk it."

Kentucky nodded and immediately flapped his wings, flying in the direction Luan pointed at.

Inside the Dimensional Realm, Rean used his blades to cut the Lizard's skin, separate its flesh from the bones, and things like that. "I'm not very good with leather work, to be honest. Perhaps I can use chain mail to attach the leather or something like that."

[Does it really conceal the beasts' presence. No, first of all, are they Demon Beasts? This Lizard did have a core, after all.]

"No idea," Rean could only say. "The core was indeed similar to a Demon Beast's one. However, I can also feel that it is different from the Demon Cores in the Realm of Gods. Perhaps they were Demon Beasts before and evolved into a new type. Perhaps they were like this from the start. Who knows?"

Rean worked on the leather for a few days following that. Now and then, he would see a new creature's body falling inside the Dimensional Realm, courtesy of Roan and Kentucky outside. None of them had their Cores anymore, though. Kentucky ate them all. Nonetheless, their skins and bones did help Rean with his work.

Finally, Rean worked out three coats that were able to cover his group's entire bodies. It's just that he could feel anything different from them, even after trying to keep their properties as intact as possible. "Hum... Is this thing really right?"

*Vup!*

Suddenly, Rean appeared outside, right on Kentucky's back, who was flying. "I finished the coats. Let's give it a try."

Roan and the others nodded. Kentucky quickly changed back into his humanoid form while Roan and Luan landed on a rock below. Rean threw the leather attire for them to wear. They didn't look very good, but they didn't hinder their movements while they did indeed cover their entire bodies.

Rean nodded in satisfaction. "Well, let's go. If we don't get attacked anymore, then they are working."

The answer came just a few minutes later.

*Roar!*

Another monster jumped out of the Swamp Water, attacking them straight away. If anything, it seemed to be very well aware of Rean's group location.

"Well, it seems like their skin isn't the only thing that keeps them hidden..."