Is that a Wisp?
chapter-1012

Krune noticed how even though Hazak was brimming with power, emanating pressure that was suffocating, he felt like a mountain that was about to crumble down. Having not eaten anything for two years, it was barely skin and bones, looking like it might die if it starved any longer.

Unwilling to lose such a valuable subordinate, Krune intended to feed it first. He cooked up a large batch of yellow fishes, watching Hazak devour them like crazy. With that, its physique readily grew in size as it digested everything at rapid speeds.

It seemed like at this pace, it would recover within a week. In any case, that was considerable recovery speed. As it continued to eat, Krune didn't say anything, watching it gorge itself with the food, feeling some satisfaction that his cooking was that delightful.

However, once Hazak finished its meal, it prostrated on the floor, saying, "I, Hazak am extremely blessed to eat food made by you, Sir Pestlor."

'This guy…' Krune massaged his forehead, feeling a headache once again as he sighed, thinking of dealing with Hazak's behavior later. He then asked Hazak, "How do you demons usually deal with the issues of hunger, thirst, and other things?"

"We never have to worry about that," Hazak replied. "Within the miasma, all our needs are naturally met. So, ever since we are born, we begin marching towards the human cities."

"You begin to march since you're a baby?" Krune was shocked, wondering just how even demon babies were capable of walking right after being born.

"We are born just like this," Hazak said, pointing at itself. "And right from that moment, our strength is fixed. I was born a Red Demon, same for every other demon, including the Black Demons."

'Black Demons are Demon Gods…' Krune nodded, asking, "Then, how are you born?"

"From the Demon Nest," Hazak replied. "I don't have clear memories since I was there for a short time, quickly heading out right after I was born. I began to march towards this city right after that, so my memories of it aren't clear enough. But from what I know, it is a colossal creature that sucks the essence of the world and condenses it into its eggs, giving birth to us demons."

"Does a Demon Nest have any combat abilities?" Krune asked.

"I have no idea." Hazak shook its head, bowing in shame for its lack of information.

"Well, that's fine. So, your strength is fixed once you're born, right?" Krune sighed, muttering, "It's a bummer since I hoped to learn of the demon's way of growing stronger."

"Actually, when I was born, I was the weakest Red Demon," Hazak spoke. "But as I walked through the miasma-filled region, my body absorbed it and began to grow stronger. To be frank, I hadn't even grown a tenth of my potential as a Red Demon by the time I arrived at this city. I was defeated and captured by the humans after that. If I hadn't rushed to be here and had remained within the miasma for a couple of decades, I would have reached the peak as a Red Demon."

"I see, that makes perfect sense." Krune nodded after hearing that. "That's why the Black Demons never fight. They're just taking their time to grow."

He then frowned, asking, "Then again, why do the Black Demons never fight the humans? Isn't the purpose of the demons to fight the humans?"

"Yes, but for some reason, the Black Demons are only interested in sitting things out while observing the war between humans and demons." Hazak frowned. "I can say with assurance that they know of something that's preventing them from attacking the human cities."

'Wait a minute. It might be simpler than that.' Krune frowned, thinking to himself based on his experience, 'Unless a human obtains the Demon Core of a higher-tiered demon and consumes that Essence, he wouldn't be able to reach the respective tier. So, in such a way, if no human ever kills a Black Demon, they would never be able to reach Tier 6. And, since the miasma is poisonous to humans, they also cannot venture deep into the miasma lands barring the swarming demons.'

'So, it might just be their scheme to prevent humans from reaching the highest tier possible in this layer.' Krune then asked, "Have you ever seen a Black Demon in person?"

"Yeah, there's one sitting on the bottom of the stairs always," Hazak replied. "It likes to stare at our marching forms all day for no reason at all."

"That's definitely weird," Krune muttered before waving his hand to stop thinking about it. "Well, let's just rest for the time being. I have no plans of moving until I increase my strength."

"If there's anything I need to do, please tell me, Sir Pestlor," Hazak said.

"Can you control your strength?" Krune asked.

"I haven't tried it before. But with some training, I should be able to do that," Hazak responded.

"Great, then help me with my training." Krune replied, thinking, 'With Hazak around, I think I can plan on recovering my items from Raka. But first, I should reach the peak of Tier 4 before that.'

Krune instructed Hazak in controlling its strength and many forms of combat suited to its abilities, telling it better ways to wield them since he had first-hand experience in creating and evolving their source monsters.

As for his own abilities, Krune was consistently gaining a kilogram daily. And with every increase, his body's potential continued to increase. And by that, as he trained, he also increased the size of his Cloud Whale.

When he arrived at Layer 2, the limit of his Cloud Whale's length was 8 meters. And now, it had already reached 14 meters. At this rate, he would reach the peak of 25 meters within another couple of years.

By that point, he would be able to tap into its full potential. Just the air currents he would be able to create around himself would be significantly powerful, powerful enough to possibly make him fly.

Normally, he would have headed towards the battlefield to fight the demons even while in disguise to train his abilities. But with Hazak, he no longer needed that. The strongest Red Demon was his training partner, a partner that was rather glad to bleed for him. Not only that, he was a partner that wasn't even scratched by the strongest of his attacks.

So, Krune was able to gain all the necessary battle experience from the comfort of home.