“My Beresien Alix Sleight has such a cute smile.” Bode extended a tentacle tip and gently poked the cub’s round little belly.

The little one found it ticklish, immediately covering his tummy with both hands and using his tail tip to poke back at the slime’s extended blue tentacle, as if trying to stop him.

The slime and the cub, one using a tentacle, the other a tail, poked back and forth, having a great time.

Worried the cub might get cold, Bode soon covered him back up with the clothes, but the little demon clearly hadn’t finished playing, wriggling around underneath.

Nearby, Bazel frowned. “What did you just say? What Sleight? Are you calling the cub that?”

Bode, while making funny faces to amuse the cub, replied, “That’s the name I came up with for the cub. How about it? It’s a great name, right? Took me ages to think of it.”

Bazel: “Never heard such a tacky name in my life.”

Lance: “A name like that would give you nightmares.”

Nick: “It’s ugly and tongue-twisting. It’s quite an achievement to think up a name so embarrassingly bad.”

Bode: “…”

Bode struggled to contain his anger.

He knew exactly what kind of characters these guys were; taking them seriously meant losing.

Stay calm, stay calm…

But the three demons were going too far, actually discussing just how terrible the name was.

Bode couldn’t stay calm anymore, snapping back, “Ha! As if you could come up with any better names!”

Bazel lifted his chin slightly, casting an arrogant and smug glance at the other demons. “I already thought of one. Golden Eyes Coron Bazel the Second. How about that? Doesn’t it sound impressive and imposing?”

Silence…

Nick pretended he hadn’t heard that awful, self-serving name. “How about William?” he mused.

Lance shook his head. “That name is dime a dozen. I know at least ten demons named William.”

“Hey! Didn’t I suggest Golden Eyes…”

Bode completely ignored Bazel. “Let’s think properly. A name sticks with the cub for life; we can’t be too casual about it.”

“Is Golden Eyes not good? What about Dark Wings then?”

Lance looked at the cub’s adorable appearance and suggested, “How about this? Let’s think of a nickname first. It’ll be easier to use day-to-day. The formal name can wait until the cub is old enough to choose for himself.”

The other two demons thought that was a good idea.

“A nickname? Starting with a nickname isn’t bad. Hmm~ let me think. Look how sweetly he smiles, how about Tian Tian (Sweetie)? This name is as cute as the cub.”

Bode looked earnestly at Bazel with his beady eyes: “Can you please shut up? You’re too noisy.”

Who knew Bazel was so terrible at naming things?

Nick looked at him disdainfully. “He’s a little man, why call him Tian Tian? Did you even use your brain? Wait, do you even have a brain?”

Lance pondered for a moment. “Let’s call him Baobao. Many demons call their cubs that, it works for boys and girls, and it means he’s our treasure.”

Bazel, repeatedly shot down by his companions, immediately scoffed, “How is that name any different from Tian Tian? Don’t all babies get called Baobao? Did you use your brain at all?”

“I think this name is good,” Bode immediately looked at the cub. “Baobao, you are Baobao.”

The little demon immediately played along nicely and smiled, waving his arms and legs under the clothes.

“Look! He likes this name too!”

Nick also leaned over the bed to tease him. “Baobao.”

Bazel stood alone off to the side: …

These bastards must be deliberately targeting him!

The demon cub, nicknamed Baobao, looked up at the demons above him: a smooth, bouncy blue slime; a handsome Nightmare Demon with blue hair and lashes; and a pitch-black Shadow Demon.

The three demons made various funny faces to entertain him.

Soon, another glittering golden demon joined the circle around him.

The four demons each had distinct features.

Little Baobao was so amused by them that he waved his arms and legs excitedly, ‘ah-ah’-ing with delight.

But after a short while, the little demon suddenly stopped smiling.

His eyes went wide and round, his little hands clenched tightly, and he pursed his lips, looking very serious.

His pale, tender face turned pink.

Confused, the demons leaned closer to observe.

The next second, a foul smell wafted over.

The four demons immediately executed a tactical lean back.

Bode leaned back so far he actually fell off the edge of the bed.

The cub had pooped…

Okay, this was normal.

All cubs did this.

The demons looked at each other, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Bazel was laughing too, but as he laughed, his smile froze.

Shadow Demons and Slimes didn’t wear clothes.

Lance wasn’t picky about attire, so his clothes were made of cheap fabric.

Only Bazel was particular about his dress, always wearing the most comfortable, softest, highest-quality garments.

They hadn’t prepared any clothes for the cub in advance.

So, what the little one was currently lying on, and covered with, were Bazel’s best clothes.

“Aaaah! My clothes!!!”

Bazel’s heart-wrenching scream startled the cub, who was concentrating hard.

Coupled with the uncomfortable warmth beneath him, the little demon immediately burst into loud tears.

Unlike the previous whimpering cry from hunger, this time the little guy was genuinely scared, crying his lungs out.

“Quick! Bazel, take away the soiled clothes! Nick, wipe Baobao’s bottom! Bode, get some warm water!” Lance calmly directed.

One of Bode’s abilities was corrosion; he could secrete highly corrosive liquid from his body, but he could also break down substances to produce potable water.

He extended a tentacle tip, and a large blob of clear liquid appeared.

Nick looked left and right, then up at Lance. “What should I use to wipe him?”

Everything they used was too rough for a cub’s delicate skin.

Lance glanced sideways at Bazel, who was brimming with tears, hands trembling as he removed the clothes from under Baobao.

Lance stated ruthlessly, “Just tear off a few pieces from Bazel’s clothes for now and make do.”

Bazel froze. Before he could say anything, Nick had torn off the hem of his magnificent, gold-threaded coat.

Wearing the half-torn coat, Bazel wanted to explode, but everyone was busy and ignored him. Holding the two soiled garments, Bazel stood there feeling utterly wronged.

Once Nick had wiped Baobao clean, Lance used a cloth dipped in warm water to wipe him again, leaving the little one spotless.

But Baobao was still crying.

The demons immediately took turns holding and comforting him, making funny faces.

The little guy was crying hard.

Lance, sweating profusely from trying to soothe him, looked up and saw Bazel standing there like an idiot, clutching the dirty clothes.

Remembering it was Bazel who had scared the cub, Lance snapped impatiently, “What are you still standing there for? Go burn the dirty clothes, don’t leave any smell.”

A cub’s scent could attract demonic beasts, and there were plenty of demons in the Demon Realm with keen noses.

It was better to be cautious.

“But my clothes are very expensive.”

It was rare to see Bazel get frustrated like this; after all, the dragon was greedy and thick-skinned.

Bode snorted, “Then wash them and wear them again.”

Bazel’s former life was so extravagant he’d wear a new outfit daily and discard the old one.

Although he had fallen on hard times, washing clothes soiled by a cub’s waste and then wearing them again was still, currently, a bit difficult for him to accept.

Slowly carrying the bundle of clothes to the palace entrance, Bazel prepared to incinerate them with his dragon breath.

His breath was powerful and could burn them clean in an instant.

Placing the clothes on the ground, he silently mourned his departed garments in his heart, then unleashed a breath of fire.

“BOOM!”

The palace door exploded.

The freshly cleaned palace shook violently, showering down dust.

The cub, startled by the sudden explosion, stopped crying for a second, then wailed even louder.

The thick smoke from the explosion slowly cleared, revealing a soot-covered demon within.

Bazel stared blankly, coughed once, and black smoke puffed out of his mouth.

The other demons were startled too, then quickly resumed comforting the cub.

Nick yelled angrily, “Baobao was almost calmed down, what the hell are you doing now? You can even cause an explosion just burning clothes!”

Bode was also furious. “Bazel, are you too old to control your magic? Or are you deliberately trying to make Baobao cry?”

The ashen Bazel slowly turned his head towards them, looking incredibly wronged. “It wasn’t me! I’ve used dragon breath for years without any problems! The magic elements in the air are much denser than usual! That’s why my dragon breath suddenly detonated!”

As everyone knows, demonic power is the standard measure of a demon’s strength.

Powerful demons possess a high concentration of magic within them, as they need it to fuel their abilities.

There are also magic elements in the air, but usually in low concentrations.

Take Bazel, for example: using his own stored magic, his dragon breath could destroy a city.

But using only ambient magic, it might just light a bonfire.

Each demon’s internal magic is unique, like an identity marker.

This was why they chose to hide in the Forest of Calamity.

Elsewhere, using magic might reveal their identities.

Demons at Demon King Eris’s level could even sense their magic fluctuations from miles away.

The Forest of Calamity, however, had high concentrations of chaotic magic elements.

Simple abilities could be performed using external elements.

For slightly more complex ones, channeling even a tiny bit of internal magic would get mixed up in the forest’s ambient magic, making it impossible even for the Demon King to detect them amidst countless fluctuations.

But now, within the underground palace, the magic elements were clearly far denser than usual.

And all these elements were converging towards the cub, constantly being gathered and absorbed.

Normally, demons could only utilize external magic elements compatible with their own.

Yet now, all sorts of different elemental types were being absorbed by the cub.

The little demon passively absorbed the magic elements while crying.

Then, amidst his tears, his head suddenly lolled to the side, his eyes closed, and he stopped moving.