Death... and me

'Oh, right!' Only then did Ume return to the main topic. 'Focus on my blood. With your Divine Sense, you should be able to distinguish between your own blood and mine. Don't use your Dark Element on it since you don't want it to be destroyed.'

Following that, Ume's feather approached Kentucky and landed inside Kentucky's feather crown. The moment he did that, the rampaging blood inside Kentucky's body calmed down a bit. 'I will help you as much as I can. Now, I prepared my blood so that it would target the seal that's suppressing your bloodline. Your job is to not let your blood fight it back. Even though we're parent and child, your blood won't care. It will try to get rid of the intruder.'

Kentucky tried to calm down amidst the pain. "Alright... let me try."

Kentucky did what he could to let his father's blood spread throughout his entire body. As that happened, Kentucky's heart rate increased several times, making him feel like he would explode right there and then.

'Don't worry, a Minokawa's heart isn't that weak. It'll be painful, but it's not really a danger to you. Even if you receive any injury, you can use that healing skill of yours. Open your defenses and let my blood work.'

Kentucky nodded as he resisted the feeling. At first, it was really hard to do that. However, little by little, Kentucky's body began to get used to it. Not only that, he could now feel that so-called seal. It was as if it was present in every single cell of his body.

Compared to Kentucky's body, the feather's blood was almost nothing. With that being said, it had a lot of work to do to reach every single cell of Kentucky. It's just that every time it attacked the seals, it lost some of its own power. It was just like Ume mentioned. The blood he left behind would only be able to lift Kentucky's Bloodline Seal slightly. It would be over way before the seal could really break apart.

Time passed, and three days went by in a flash. By now, Kentucky had gotten used to the feeling of having his father's blood circulating in his own body. Well, that was greatly in part due to the feather helping him. "Phew... I can feel the blood working. I can even tell that my own strength is increasing. However, this process is very, very slow. How long will it take?"

'At this rate? I would say six years, at the very least. In the end, I left way too little blood behind, and its effectiveness has reduced thanks to the passage of time. Then again, it will take at least that amount of time before my blood's power finally disappears. However, you better not complain. Six years is basically nothing compared to the strength you'll get.'

Kentucky was taken aback to hear that. "Six years! That's way longer than the time given to me! Also, won't your Divine Sense disappear in two to three years?"

'It will, but there'll be no need for me to intervene anymore by then. In fact, there isn't a need for me to intervene even now. It's just that without my help, the process would have taken even longer due to a more difficult start. I'll let you know when my Divine Sense is close to being completely used up.' Ume then asked something else. 'Though, what do you mean by time given? Do you need to go somewhere else? I strongly recommend you give up on this idea. During the time your bloodline is awakening, you won't be able to use even a tenth of your strength. Your body is way too busy dealing with my blood and the seal removal.'

"Sigh..." Kentucky could tell that his father wasn't lying. "Fine... I guess Rean will have to come and pay a visit to this country sometime in the future."

'Rean?' Ume asked back. 'Oh, right! Now that we got the blood under control, how about you tell me more about this healing skill of yours? Was it this Rean who taught you that?'

Kentucky pondered over it for a bit and then talked more about the twins and Celis.

'Oh! You truly are a lucky Minokawa. To think you would find your own Divine Demon Tree and a World Swallowing Cedar at that. You might not know this, but the number of Divine Demon Birds compared to Divine Demon Trees is thousands of times higher. You might even get into a war between Divine Demon Birds for the right to make the pact with that Divine Demon Tree.'

Kentucky was surprised to hear that. "That bad?! Holy shit!"

'Don't worry,' Ume reassured Kentucky. 'Now that the pact is already made, no one can change it anymore. A Divine Demon Bird and a Demon Tree can only make this pact once in their lives. Even if one of you two dies, the other won't be able to replicate the pact with someone else. Since Celis is already in the pact with you, no other Divine Demon Bird will waste their time trying to separate the two of you. Well, they might attack you out of jealousy, but that's a completely different story.'

Ume continued, 'In any case, that Rean and Roan you've been traveling with are quite the figures. To think they're stronger than your actual self. I can tell that there are a lot of secrets you can't talk about. Regardless, for them to reach this level while originating from the Mortal Realm is truly remarkable. I can tell that they'll shine in the center of the Realm of Gods for sure. Well, that and probably get a lot of enemies in the process. Anyways, good luck with that.'

Kentucky narrowed his eyes, asking in response, "Won't you ask why I keep traveling with them?"

'For what?' Ume asked back. 'You and they have helped each other so much and obviously benefited from your relationship. I want nothing more than to see you become even stronger, and it'll be even better if your close friends become just as strong. They do seem worthy of being trusted, after all.'

"That's true..." Kentucky agreed on that point.