Derivan, fully transformed, appeared before the king in the blink of an eye. Before the king could do anything, he took a powerful blow to the face that sent him flying toward the palace, which he smashed straight through.
"He's stronger than I thought," Idejak thought as he picked himself up from the ground.
A second later, he noticed Derivan gathering an energy sphere in front of him, growing larger with every passing moment. When the sphere reached the right size, Derivan fired it. Idejak was forced to teleport to a safe distance, because when the attack struck the palace it caused a massive explosion, destroying not only the palace but also more than half of the kingdom.
"Holy shit… what a fucked-up power," Idejak said, terrified by the effects of Derivan's attack.
Derivan sensed the king's presence and instantly appeared behind him, then knocked him to the ground with a single blow to the head. He jumped on him and plunged his sharp demonic claws into Idejak's abdomen, slashing him open. All that could be heard was the man's blood-curdling scream.
"Is this the end? Damn it, I should've killed him right away. I may die, but at least I'll take you with me."
Suddenly, black markings appeared on Idejak's body. Moments later, his body began to glow brighter and brighter, until it finally exploded, destroying a large part of the kingdom.
At the same time, Ronibo and Ranika were approaching the kingdom of Dedho. They were close enough to see the massive explosion.
"What's going on over there?" the woman asked, startled.
"I have a bad feeling about this we'd better hurry," Ronibo announced. "Please, Derivan, be safe."
Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Kasegi, Borner was sitting in the king's study, looking out the window.
"Did something happen, venerable Borner?" Karona asked.
"No, nothing nothing at all."
[Flashback]
Young Ronibo stood facing a group of bandits. "Sorry, but you're not going any farther."
"Don't be ridiculous." One of the bandits charged at Ronibo. The boy dodged the attack, then grabbed the bandit by the arm and slammed him into the ground.
"Anyone else?"
"So why are you just standing there? He's alone and there are five of us!"
This time the whole group rushed Ronibo. Of course, their numerical advantage changed nothing Ronibo defeated them one by one. After dealing with the bandits, Ronibo took an item and headed to a place resembling a campsite, where another young boy was waiting.
"What took you so long?"
"You could've chased them yourself, Mikado."
"Hey, can you guys not argue for even one day?" Another young boy, Matomiro, stepped out from behind the trees.
"You can't reason with that bastard," Ronibo said, pointing at Mikado.
"We'll have to decide who takes first watch," Matomiro announced.
"Let's play rock, paper, scissors," Ronibo suggested.
"Alright."
The three boys played. Matomiro won the first round, and Mikado won the second.
"Damn it."
"Good night, hahaha," Mikado mocked.
"Shut up."
Ronibo went to gather wood for the campfire, then sat down and began to think about his life.
"Hey, why are you so lost in thought?" Matomiro asked.
It took a moment before Ronibo snapped out of it. "Matomiro? What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? I came to relieve you your shift is over."
"Oh, right. Sorry, I was so deep in thought I didn't notice," Ronibo replied with an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head.
Matomiro sat down beside his companion. "You know, someone on watch shouldn't be this distracted. What if someone suddenly attacked us?"
"You're right. Sorry it won't happen again."
For a while, the two friends sat in silence, watching the fire.
"Listen, Ronibo, there's something I want to give you," Matomiro said, pulling two bracelets out of his pocket.
"I didn't know you liked girly trinkets," Ronibo teased.
"These aren't ordinary bracelets. You and Mikado know that I'm a demon of the Shonetsu race. There are situations when we lose control and transform into a demonic form called Senero, which has three stages. The first stage is the release of demonic choki, revealing demonic traits like fangs, claws, or eyes. The second stage resembles the demonic form even more for example, wings grow and hair becomes longer. In the final, third stage, there is a complete transformation into a Shonetsu. There were times when I completely lost control and transformed, unable to tell friend from foe I even injured Mozalie once. When I regained consciousness, I decided never to let that happen again. I found someone who created these bracelets. They not only track choki, but can also suppress any kind of choki, even demonic."
"I understand."
"I'm giving you one of them so if I ever lose control, you'll be able to stop me."
"You can count on me."
"Thanks. Now go get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day."
[End of Flashback]
"We're approaching the kingdom of Dedho," Ranika said, making Ronibo stop in his tracks. "What's wrong?"
"Ranika, it would be better if you stayed here," the man announced, surprising the blonde woman.
"What? Why?"
Ronibo didn't even look at his friend. "It'll be very dangerous there. This situation might be too much for you."
"What are you talking about?"
Now looking at Ranika, Ronibo said, "Listen to me. I know what I'm saying."
Ranika crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine but if you don't come back within two hours, I'm going in."
"Alright but on one condition. If it turns out to be too dangerous for you, you'll run immediately."
Ranika nodded in agreement. Ronibo then set off toward the city, which he reached several dozen minutes later. He was shocked by the scale of the destruction.
"Judging by this devastation, it must be Derivan's doing. Who would've thought these bracelets would be used on your son," Ronibo thought.
Soon, Ronibo spotted his student. Unfortunately, Derivan noticed him and attacked. Ronibo was forced to activate Dragon Manifestation to avoid the blow.
"So it's come to this. Without this power, I wouldn't stand a chance against him. And with the time limit I have, that puts me in a bad spot. I need to bring him back to normal as quickly as possible."
Ronibo clasped his hands and, using lightning magic, fired a powerful stream toward Derivan. With a wave of his hand, the Shonetsu unleashed a massive shockwave that destroyed the attack and devastated the surrounding area for dozens of kilometers. Ronibo didn't give up and summoned a blue-flame dragon, attacking his student.
"Alright now!" Ronibo activated a spell embedded in the bracelets and tried to suppress Derivan's demonic choki, but Derivan broke free of the earlier attack.
Before Ronibo could finish, Derivan appeared beside his master and sent him flying into the rubble of a building with a single punch to the face. The ruins collapsed immediately after.
"Man, you're as impatient as ever," Ronibo commented as he dug himself out of the debris. I'll have to restrain him somehow to suppress his power, he thought, planning his next move.
Derivan fired demonic energy projectiles from his mouth. In response, Ronibo created a wall of blue fire in front of him. He didn't expect that when the projectiles hit the wall, it would explode, throwing him several meters backward.
"That probably wasn't the best idea."
Before Ronibo could get up, Derivan appeared above him, trying to strike. Luckily, Ronibo rolled aside, causing the demon to hit the ground. Without wasting a second, Ronibo fired a powerful lightning bolt that struck Derivan and caused an explosion.
"You didn't see that coming," Ronibo said as he leapt into the air and created a massive blue fiery dragon. "Blue Fekila!"
Derivan hadn't managed to regain his balance after the previous attack, and another one hit him. Ronibo formed a lightning arrow and hurled it at his student, striking him in the abdomen. He immediately began suppressing the demonic choki.
"This is my chance!"
Ronibo steadily suppressed Derivan's power. After a moment, he noticed the transformation receding and his appearance returning to normal. After several minutes, Derivan's power was completely suppressed, and the boy collapsed unconscious to the ground.
"Phew, it worked. Matomiro those bracelets of yours finally came in handy," Ronibo said. He walked over to Derivan, picked him up, and together they left the city.