In the entire demon realm, the only demon Simon loved and trusted with his life was his mother. The past fifteen years he had lived with his mother was like a ray of light that pierced the darkness he had chained in the depths of his heart.
She was his best friend, his only family, and the one person he spoke to about nearly everything that happened to him in the demon realm.
What he stole. The kids that tried to bully him at age six but ended up having their asses whooped by him. The kids that tried to befriend him. The young girls that asked him out. What he did during the day. What he saw while taking a stroll throughout their tribe. What his plans for the next heist were, and so many more topics to converse about.
Simon literally told his mother everything, and it was a no-brainer for him to tell her about the Devourer's blood essence he stole.
Although some might say it was better not to tell her since the less people that knew, the better.
Who knew what methods the Merchant had in locating the vial of Devourer's blood essence, but Simon's trust in his mother was strong.
Which son wouldn't trust his mother naturally?
"I didn't steal the sword, but I did steal this."
Lyssa was at first confused when she saw the vial in Simon's hands, but then her blood throbbed as it instantly realized what was in the vial before Lyssa's brain could.
"Is-Is that a blood essence?"
Simon nodded. "Yeah. A Devourer's blood essence."
Lyssa frowned. "A Devourer? I've never heard of a demonic race with that name."
Simon shrugged. "Same here."
He walked past his mother and placed his sword on the makeshift table made out of stone.
"We might not know what a Devourer is, but if I'm able to absorb it, my bloodline talents would drastically increase since this blood essence is definitely of a high grade."
Lyssa looked at her son with a worried expression. "Are you sure about this? A blood essence like this definitely costs a lot of money, and the merchant would definitely look for it. What if he finds out it's you?"
Simon smiled at his mother. "Don't worry about that. I took precautions to make sure that doesn't happen. I'll try to absorb the blood essence very quickly so that there would be no trace of it."
Lyssa furrowed her brows and tried to speak, but Simon went to the only room they had in the house, not allowing his mother to speak.
"I'll see you later, mother. Your son's future is about to look much more bright than it was. You'll soon become the mother of the next demon king."
Lyssa's mouth was left open, and all the words of caution and anxiety she wanted to say dissipated after Simon entered the room without waiting for her response.
"Just be safe, Blackmoon. That's all I want."
She gave one last glance at the room Simon was in, and then she went outside. She sat in front of their house and decided to keep watch in case somebody ended up at their doorstep.
Meanwhile, Simon had a pondering expression as he looked at the vial in his hands.
At the moment, he was facing a bit of a dilemma. Should he absorb the Devourer's blood essence directly and use it to improve or change his bloodline's grade?
Or should he allow his Blessing to absorb the skill of the blood essence?
"If I directly absorb the blood essence of the Devourer's blood essence, my Lesser-grade bloodline would either be devoured or completely changed by this blood essence since it's looking like the Devourer's blood essence is most likely a Noble-grade bloodline… I doubt it's a Common-grade bloodline… Probably a Royal-grade…"
Simon had slightly furrowed brows as he observed the Devourer's blood essence.
"If my bloodline completely becomes that of a Devourer, there would be visible changes to my physical appearance and aura. I don't know what it would be, but if anybody sees me… especially the merchant who is familiar with both my aura and that of the Devourer's aura, he would most likely know that I stole it and absorbed it."
Simon frowned deeply as he thought of this problem. This was something he had thought of while he was talking to his mother.
Directly absorbing the Devourer's blood essence was dangerous, and that left him with only one other choice.
To use his Seven Stars Blessing.
Simon had used some members of the Duskfang Tribe, mainly his mother and some unfortunate bullies, to figure out how his Seven Stars Blessing worked now that he was a demon.
And he realized that his Blessing still worked the same way it had always worked when he was a hero.
He could only have seven skills, and when it came to bloodlines, he could not have the bloodlines themselves but a skill from the bloodline.
Simon had hoped that his Blessing would allow him to become a demon who could have six bloodlines, but unfortunately, he could not.
He could only obtain the skills of a bloodline.
And Simon knew that he needed his Blessing to get the skill of the Devourer's blood essence.
"Although I would not be able to increase my talent and gain the physical benefits of absorbing a bloodline of such a high grade, getting the skill of a Noble-grade bloodline or a Royal-grade bloodline at my current level is not bad in the slightest."
"With this skill, at least I'll be stronger."
Simon opened his right hand, and a dense black smoke began radiating from his hand as he activated his Blessing.
"I don't know which one I prefer, the white light or this black smoke whenever I activate my Blessing."
A soft chuckle escaped Simon's lips, and then he uncorked the vial and poured the blood onto his right hand.
The moment he did, his vision changed, and he appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.