A gust of wind swirled past, sending dust drifting through the air.
A handful of demons straggled along in a long, drawn-out line. With a demon lord among them, no demons dared approach along the way, leaving those trailing behind with no choice but to go hungry.
Ruger glanced around. The two-headed demon had already moved far away.
Fortunately, the succubus lord's territory was not far from the Flesh-and-Blood Battlefield. That was relative, of course, but it was at least much closer than the territory of the lord in Bonebreaker City. A mountain was visible in the distance.
Judging by the changes in the other demons' expressions, that had to be the succubus lord's lair.
The demons roaming the Sinking Expanse followed an unspoken convention: the stronger a demon was, the more it liked living up high. Even among the stupid, almost bestial demons, the stronger members of a group sprawled on the slopes while the weaker ones lived below.
A small mountain suited the succubus lord's peculiar standing.
Suddenly, apparently impatient with their slow pace, the red-skinned demon spread his wings and flew over, abruptly hauling several of them into the air.
He flew toward the succubus lord's receding back.
The demons all looked bewildered. They had kept their distance from that figure partly out of fear, and partly in hopes of finding an opportunity to slip away and hunt something.
Ruger's nerves tightened. He had been scooped up too.
At the same time, he marveled at how much better this demon could fly than that great bird. He could reach impressive heights.
Suddenly, Ruger felt the grip on him loosen, and he plummeted toward the ground.
He raised his eyebrows in midair.
What he had feared most had happened after all.
Still, there was one thing he did