Chapter 2232: Transformation Ritual

————It will probably take another two hours~~

————

As the space shifted, the bustling noise unique to a downtown area reached Poson's ears, which caught him by surprise. Generally speaking, although portals were not necessarily built in downtown areas, the surrounding region was usually subject to strict control.

The portal in Hermisi seemed to be built in a public area of the downtown district. Listening carefully, Poson heard not only the sounds of merchants hawking their goods and children playing, but also the unfamiliar languages of other races.

Just as Poson felt puzzled, Yinsiluoda had already made contact with a strange Gold Elf on the street outside the portal. They exchanged a few brief words, and then called Poson over.

"This is Elder Pading, who is responsible for outreach for the local community and is also a member of the Hermisi Family. He will be the one taking us on a tour of the local community shortly."

Before coming, Yinsiluoda had already communicated with Poson that the so-called local community was actually a Demon Descendant community, though it was inconvenient to use the word "Demon Descendant" directly in public.

Poson nodded and bowed to Elder Pading. Elder Pading was a man of few words; he merely sized Poson up slightly, nodded, and then turned to walk away.

Seeing this, Yinsiluoda gave Poson a gentle push and reminded him, "Keep up!"

"Mm."

……

Soon, Poson's group officially entered the Hermisi urban area. One side of the bustling street they emerged onto from the portal was lined with small shops, while the other side featured a landscaped garden with neatly trimmed trees presented in elegant shapes.

Pedestrians flowed endlessly along the street, while children played in the garden on the other side. Seeing this scene, Poson, who had originally not understood why the portal was built in a downtown area, felt his mood become calm.

This atmosphere of daily life reminded him of his childhood; the small town where he lived back then was just as lively yet incredibly peaceful. It was a pity that the city that gave him birth and raised him had been destroyed by the flames of war, and later became a part of the Elan Kingdom.

Perhaps he would never see his hometown as it once was for the rest of his life.

While sighing in his heart, Poson also had his own guesses as to why Yinsiluoda chose Hermisi as the first stop of the tour. On the way, when Elder Pading stopped to buy things, Poson also bought a few toys filled with childhood memories.

Walking and stopping like this, it took Poson's group several times longer than normal to walk out of this street district. Just as Poson was wondering in his heart how much further the Demon Descendant community was, Elder Pading suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Actually, we just passed through the destination of this trip."

"We just passed through it?"

Yinsiluoda's expression was calm, clearly having known this all along, but Poson's heart was not so tranquil. He had originally thought that no matter how the Demon Descendant community was built within a city, given that they were hunted by the various nations of the Northland, there would always be something special about it.

Not just in terms of concealment and protective measures, but also in terms of mindset.

But what did he see? It was exactly the same as an ordinary Elf community. The concealment and protective measures might have been more exquisite, which was why he couldn't discover them—after all, he was only an ordinary Elite Mage himself.

But the mindset of the Demon Descendant residents was so peaceful, which left him very puzzled. If it were him, knowing that the whole world was hunting him, he could never be this relaxed and enjoy life.

Thus, he couldn't help but ask his first question since arriving in Hermisi: "Are those—the community residents—performing?"

This was a very reasonable suspicion, but his words could also be interpreted as an insult to the local community. Yinsiluoda hurriedly apologized to Elder Pading.

At this moment, Poson also knew he had said the wrong thing and hurriedly remedied it: "It's just that the atmosphere of daily life in the local community is so rich that I found it hard to believe."

Elder Pading frowned but did not explain too much, only saying, "You can stay and live in the local area for a while to see if they are performing."

"Of course they aren't performing. What kind of performance could make an entire community coordinate so tacitly? Only the most real life could be this 'tacit'!"

Yinsiluoda's words served as a period to this not-so-pleasant conversation. Poson had no objections to this. Recalling the experience just now, he didn't think he was worthy of a performance by an entire community; it was indeed his own misunderstanding.

And after accepting the fact that what he had just seen was the Demon Descendant community, Poson's perception of Demon Descendants changed once again. As he had said, the atmosphere of life here was so rich that it really didn't look like a settlement for a race suffering from constant pursuit.

And this also reflected another fact, which was—Demon Descendants were actually not essentially different from normal Elves, and both sides could coexist peacefully.

……

During the subsequent tour, Elder Pading's words became more frequent, and Poson also learned more information about this Demon Descendant community through this.

For example, although the residents here were all Demon Descendants, the vast majority of their Demon Bloodline was inherited from their parents and ancestors, rather than acquired later in life.

First-generation Demon Descendants were mostly highly skilled Spellcasters who did not lack the means to control their bloodline, but their descendants were not necessarily able to control the bloodline, and thus needed someone to help them conceal it.

Furthermore, due to the instability of demonic power, Demon Descendant children would mostly seal their Bloodline Power before their minds matured, only gradually unlocking it after their minds matured to attempt to control this powerful force.

Thus, various settlements were formed, but settlements like Hermisi that were built directly inside a city were very, very rare. At least, this was the only one Poson knew of at present.

……

Poson stayed in Hermisi for two days in total. During this period, he even met two new Demon Descendant friends, but when those two new friends didn't display their power, he couldn't distinguish whether the other party was a Demon Descendant at all.

Just like the friends who grew up with him, they were the most normal Elves!

After leaving Hermisi, Poson and Yinsiluoda transferred through Taiweimansa to return to Evereska, then changed their appearances before re-entering Yierlan.

"This time we are going to a temporary stronghold of the Midian. Some new friends will be undergoing the Transformation Ritual there, and you will see the power of Demon Descendant strength with your own eyes."

On the way, Yinsiluoda did not forget to instill his own concepts into Poson: "Possessing a Demon Bloodline does not mean one is born evil. Power has no distinction between good and evil; only the user's own will does.

"I also participated in the Drow War four years ago and even went deep into the Underdark to hunt down demons. We possess a Demon Bloodline, but that does not mean we are demons.

"We are still Elves, just ones who have mastered more powerful demonic strength. We can understand the outside world's concerns, but if it evolves into targeting and persecution, then that is completely unnecessary."