《The Hardships of a Demonic Monarchy》


 Prologue: Well that was short-lived.

    My name is Alexander. It is a very common, almost overused name. It is a Greek name meaning ¡®defender of men,¡¯ such a name was bestowed upon the conqueror, Alexander the Great. Alas, I am no Alexander the Great; I am but a modern young adult fresh out of high school. If I had to say a narcissistic comment about myself, it would be: I am a bright kid.


    I took a few college classes while in high school, considered a brainiac to all my friends. A smart choice for me would be to go to college and then find a high paying job. After a while settle down with some pretty little thing, that might just be interested in my money, have a few kids, grow old, then die.


    That would have been smart; I mean that is an almost guaranteed path to success. However, that is not what I wanted. I wanted to travel. I wanted to not be another boring life. Call me a typical teenager for wanting to be different and perhaps special. I¡¯m just tired of this monotonous everyday life. I wanted to embrace everything this life had to throw at me. Ups, downs, I want all of it. So I¡¯m going to travel the world! Or so my thoughts went. After working a full time at a Barbecue Restaurant for a few months, I acquired the necessary funds for international travel. The program I was going with was slightly shady, but hey, who cares?


    I make my first flight over to Japan. Actually, this is my first flight that was west of Oklahoma, and the first to go internationally. I was excited, I must say. The United States has some decent sites and all, but one can¡¯t contain the enjoyment of leaving the country!


    Ah, my flight has arrived in Tokyo! It took three days to get here. I¡¯m slightly exhausted from the flight. Smell that? That is the smell of Japanese air conditioning. Ah¡­ not much different than Oklahoma¡¯s air conditioning maybe if I step outside¡­ I take a quick look around my surroundings at the terminal, oh, there someone with piece of paper with my name on it. Yes.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I make my way to the man dressed in business attire; he sees me advancing toward him and sticks a hand out for a handshake. Oh, polite. Nice, firm handshake. He motions me to follow after the greeting. Seems he doesn¡¯t know much English. He then leads me out of the airport and into a black SUV looking vehicle. Hmm, this seems very sketchy, but I put up with it and climb in. Shortly afterward, the SUV squeals out of the parking lot and heads into a decrepit looking building. I have a bad feeling about this, look there is even goose bumps on my arms!


    I feel a sudden bash against my head, rendering my consciousness out of commission. Bummer this is happening, when I said I wanted to experience everything in life, this is not what I had in mind. When I regained my senses, I tasted blood in my mouth. The next thing I noticed was the bright light above my face and straps across my wrists and ankles. Oh God no.


    Looking around I could see many shady looking people with scalpels with blood on them. Next to them were bloodied organs¡­ I would have urinated all down my leg if wasn¡¯t for my bladder, being on the table beside my kidneys.


    I open my mouth, but no words come out. This is seriously no good; at least I can¡¯t feel a thing. However the act of moving my mouth drew the attention of the man leaning on the wall across the room. He slowly walks around to my side while putting his hand in his inside coat pocket, pulling out a hand gun of some sort. He says something, that guess is in Japanese. With the apologetic look on his face he pointed the barrel at my forehead. And he pulled the trigger.

 Chapter 1: A decisive trip to another world.

    I had my eyes glued shut ready for the death to be delivered to my face. However no death arrives. I¡¯m puzzled by the lack of death. I open my eyes. I take look around and discover I¡¯m unbound, no large hole in my abdomen, no sketchy doctors hacking away at me. No shady business people and no abandoned buildings. Just immaculate white space as far as the eye can see.


    Suddenly A voice resounds in my head, ¡°Greetings, you have died.¡± Oi, you can¡¯t just add that to a greeting so nonchalantly, it feels too bizarre to handle. Well, at least I know that man early did in fact deliver death to my face. Good job, guy. ¡°Now I have two options for you, one you could go to paradise or two be reincarnated.¡±


    I learned my lesson on shady deals, ¡°Details.¡±


    The voice acted confused, ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°You heard me, I want details! And don¡¯t go skipping out on anything; I also want the reasons too. No matter how mundane it is.¡± I demanded of this shady voice.


    ¡°I see. Sense you are the first to ask for details in over 20,000 years, I will answer.¡± Wait, 20,000. Was everyone dead set on paradise? ¡°Ok, so option number one, paradise. In your world,


    there are many religions that worship a creator. Well, that creator does exist. He also created a heaven, which is roughly as the many religions depict. If you choose to reside in paradise, you may be able to spend the rest of eternity in pure bliss. Or you may be able to hold the highest honor of being an angel of the Creator.¡± He seemed to pause for a short while, that is where I spoke up.


    ¡°Pure bliss for all eternity? That sounds creepy. Angel work sounds interesting but for all eternity? Sounds boring, next.¡± It was really hard not letting out a bored tone, so an indifferent one is the one I let out.


    ¡°Creepy¡­¡± the voice mumbled. Seeming to be a little down, the voice continued, ¡°Option number two, reincarnation. This is kinda like another chance at life; however, time doesn¡¯t turn back, so you will have a brand new life that has nothing to do with your former one. And because of rule and regulations set by the Creator you are not allowed to be reincarnated in this world. You have to be sent to another world.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, you serious?¡± I can¡¯t help but feel giddy to experience more of what life has to offer. Hang on, where is the catch?


    The voice reluctantly continues, ¡°The catch is, all other worlds are not protected by the creator. He created them all, but only watches over Earth. He might move on to a new world in a few trillion years¡­¡± The voice seemed to go on a tangent. Feeling my impatience, he precedes the explanation, ¡°There are many gods, and not all of them are fair. The Creator is the main god and as such no other god can mess with his domain. However, he only wants to concern himself with one world at a time, till he grows bored and moves on to the next.¡± Ah, I see. So I may find some bizarre and unfair things in the future.


    ¡°So which will you choose?¡± the voice reiterates the question.


    ¡°I get the reincarnation, but why paradise? Why is that an option? I never been religious, so why? Shouldn¡¯t I go to hell?¡± It wasn¡¯t necessary to know, I just wanted to know how it worked though.


    The voice seemed tired; as if this was a question he answered often, ¡°You died for trying to achieve your dream. I mean usually people get here anyways; however they don¡¯t have a choice. Some get tossed into hell, yes. However those guys really deserved it, like the guys that took your life. Now, have you made your decision?¡±


    I acted like I was pondering, but the answer was obvious, ¡°Reincarnation.¡± With my announcement, my vision started dimming.


    ¡°Enjoy your new life!¡± with that my vision turns off like a computer screen.


    ¡­


    I first became self-aware half way through my tenth year of life. It was like I just woke-up one day; however, I still had the memory of the last three years or so in this child¡¯s body. Along with those memories, I have the memories of the desire to travel the world and being cut up like a science project as a result.


    With the memories comes the familiarity with my body. Now I say that not only because hey, new body, but because I was no longer human. Not human you say? Then what am I? Did I hear you say dog? No, no, no, I am no mongrel. I am a demon. Not the residents of hell, no, but a race that has intelligence similar to the human race on this world. I have purple skin that shines somewhat. My hair is Jet Black and long enough to almost cover my pointed ears. My eyes are completely black, even the whites. My parents were somewhat the same.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    My education that I received from my parents over the years has taught me many things. Such as a simplified version of fourth grade education of the US back on earth. Currency was real easy; one copper coin is worth a cent, one silver coin is worth a hundred copper, and one gold coin is worth a hundred silver. Also, the history of this world was taught to me, this world is also known as Zugrielia.


    Along with history, I got to learn the geography and the changes of the countries and their domains. This was pretty cool from my view point. Our country¡¯s name is the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil, which is located in the demon realm. There are no kingdoms, since everywhere is under the control of our Demon King. There is only one continent on Zugrielia; it was a super-continent like Pangaea named Iacela. And on this continent, it was basically split in half between the Demon Realm on west and the human race¡¯s Imperial Domain, an empire that united the multiple kingdoms like our demon realm, to the east.


    There were many wars between the many countries in the past, even the Great War was fought between the untied Demon Realm and the Imperial Domain. It was very bloody. It also happened 200 years ago, so some demons remember participating in it. A peace treaty was made between the two rulers that basically open borders some years later when a new human was crowned. Now don¡¯t get me wrong, there is still discrimination, but no one is brave enough to act on it.


    That being said, within the Demon Realm there are many races of demon. Such as pixie, elf, toll, and goblin. Basically it was anything that wasn¡¯t human. Among the demons there were those that are considered True Demons. There aren¡¯t many out there, but all were nobles. Among the True Demons, they were separated into elements they had affinities for. Like water, fire, earth, air, and void. Our Demon King is a Fire Demon.


    Speaking of Nobility, there were Ranks when it came to the True Demons. Barons were at the lowest tier, there were one or two Barons under a Count. Two or three Counts under a Duke. Anywhere between three and six Dukes under a King, and two or three Kings under an Emperor. We are strong enough to step into the royalty of kings. Among demon history there has never been a Demon King strong enough to be a Demonic Emperor. When you go up a tier they had control of more land that came with that power. It was exactly like Medieval Europe on Earth.


    Since True Demons were already not that well numbered, void demons were considered the rarest, even before the Great War. After the War it was only my family left. There are four of us left. Void Demons are basically extinct, being only dad, uncle, mom and me. Because of the tragic loss of the other Void Demons, my parents inherited all the Void lands. They have enough lands to form a kingdom.


    There were no laws to prevent a kingdom from forming, it¡¯s just that demons are long lived and no one really inherits enough land. We did. Maybe we will create a kingdom.


    You can easily determine the race of demon by appearance alone. Like dwarfs are short and stout, Elves have long ears and slender bodies. Fire Demons have blood red skin that felt really warm to touch. Water Demons have blue skin that looked scaly like a fish, and Earth Demons have brown skin that looked kind of like clay. The Air Demons had bird wings and talons; they could almost be mistaken for harpies. Then there are Void Demons, they have purple skin that looked as smooth as glass and ears as sharp as elves.


    Some of the True Demons deviated by look from what they inherited by birth, like some had tails, horns, or wings. It depended on your skill. From what I understand everyone gets a status screen, skills, abilities and such when they are an adult. Like an RPG on Earth.


    Speaking of becoming an adult; today marks my 18th Birthday! My parents told me that in usual cases since I¡¯m of noble blood, I would have a fianc¨¦ that I would live with in a villa paid for by the families. However, we are the last Void Demons around, so that was not an option unless I personally go find some noble¡¯s daughter. They gave me the option of what commoners¡¯ do, that is to go out in the world for the coming of age, only to return to inherit the parent¡¯s property should they accept. I accept this option, it is way better than sitting around.


    <hr />


    Taking Art for this book. I have no money to pay, so it is basically something to do for fun or spare time. Either way, I will post the drawings at the end of the chapters.  If one really catches my eye I will make it the cover art of the book. As it stands, my cover is just an altered picture of me in microsoft paint. Thanks. The link is right here...--> http://royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=33631</a>


    <hr />

 Chapter 2: A journey begins.

    I set out from my parents¡¯ castle earlier today, and ah, does it feel nice. My parents¡¯ castle is located on a snow peaked mountain, looking much like a winter fortress. Our castle is not as grand as the Demon Kings, but from the wealth we¡¯ve acquired from owning all the void demon lands, it is almost on par.


    Enjoying this nice mountain air I make my decent toward the foot of the mountains. My destination is the world, baby! Hang on; I kind wanna try this out since I¡¯m technically an adult. I make a whisper to the wind, ¡°Status.¡±


    As soon as I utter these words a window appears in front of me. Here is what it looks like:


    Name: Alexander Phendahl


    Age: 18 years old


    Race: Void Demon


    Level: 1


    Titles: Heir to the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil, Survivor of a dying Race


    Strength: 10


    Vitality: 10


    Dexterity: 10


    Intelligence: 60


    Wisdom: 10


    Charisma: 10


    Health: 100


    Mana: 1100


    Stamina: 100


    Skills and Abilities


    Void Space:


    Allows infinite storage of items, putting everything in a stasis until take out. Allowed to even put living things, or a corpse in the void


    Mana Manipulation:


    Allows the direct manipulation of mana, ability to create new personal spells. No need for chanting


    Analyses:


    Information on objects and people will be displayed when used.


    Hmm, more than ten times the amount of mana as health, impressive. Wait, a corpse? What kind of sicko does this thing think I am? That aside it looks like normal stats of a level one. Hmm, I would use the Void Space now, but I want to train my body so I¡¯m carrying this backpack the size of me packed full of supplies for my exploration.


    Among the equipment is a black bladed sword with a silver handle, this nice sword is an heirloom of the family, it has been around for a very long time. I was looking at this fine sword when my foot lost it holding and my backpack sent me tumbling down hill.


    Feet overhead, face full of dirt. My day was going splendidly! I kept rolling until a magnificent tree stopped me with a bone breaking halt. Good thing my body was on the other side of the bag, I may have had a fatal injury. I had to claw at the dirt to get back up. It was not the most graceful move I¡¯ve ever pulled. And pretty sure I just threw the family heirloom in the distance somewhere. Oh crap¡­ was not what I was thinking because that is the Void Sword; it will be returned to my Void Space when I wanted it to.


    Man, decreasing the altitude, I¡¯m getting more oxygen, but it is getting really warm. From carrying this backpack all the way down, I feel drenched in sweat and I feel very wobbly. Golly, I¡¯m in pain. Ah, a town! I went too far south for it to be in my parent¡¯s domain, so it¡¯s probably the Dukedom of Shienriech. The Dukedom of Shienriech is ruled by the Windbars, an Air Demon family. This little town of Reslem is in their domain.


    I kind of drag myself to the front gate; the guards instantly recognize me from afar and offer to help. I need to keep training! The guards recognize me because there are only four demons in the world with my skin color.


    With the day coming to close, I force my screaming muscles into walking into an inn to stay for the night. I made it through the doors just on sheer willpower. The inns keeper looked at me and with face of understanding he said I could pay in the morning and that my room was the first room down the hall. He tossed the key, which I barely caught.


    With the door closed behind me I let go of my backpack. It hit the ground with a thud. I shuffle over to the bed not even caring if the equipment was alright; my conscious went into oblivion before my body hit the bed.


    *PING*


    I wake up to this sound and see a screen in front of my eyes.


    Status update


    +5 Strength, +3 Vitality, +3 Dexterity


    Hmm, well I kinda want to see my status now. ¡°Status.¡±


    Name: Alexander Phendahl


    Age: 18 years old


    Race: Void Demon


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.Level: 1


    Titles: Heir to the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil, Survivor of a dying Race


    Strength: 15


    Vitality: 13


    Dexterity: 13


    Intelligence: 60


    Wisdom: 10


    Charisma: 10


    Health: 160


    Mana: 1100


    Stamina: 200


    Skills and Abilities


    Void Space:


    Allows infinite storage of items, putting everything in a stasis until take out. Allowed to even put living things, or a corpse in the void


    Mana Manipulation:


    Allows the direct manipulation of mana, ability to create new personal spells. No need for chanting


    Analyses:


    Information on objects and people will be displayed when used.


    Well then. I¡¯m still a little sore from yesterday, but since it¡¯s already almost noon, I think I had plenty of rest. With a morning stretch and cracking of my joints I think it¡¯s time for breakfast. Making my way to the inns keeper, I stop by at the counter and voice my question, ¡°Oi, how much for breakfast and a weeks¡¯ worth of boarding?¡±


    Taking a moment to calculate, he said, ¡°20 silver and 51 copper coins. That includes last night¡¯s stay.¡± His green shifted into a look of concern, ¡°You, are you ok? Did you get lost?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m ok,¡± I say this as I fish out 30 silver coins, ¡°Here, keep the change. And no I¡¯m not lost; I¡¯m going on an adventure.¡± Looking at the inns keeper, I can easily identify he is an elf¡­ maybe he is a wood elf. You can tell by the bark colored skin. ¡°Wood elf?¡±


    Looking surprised, he questioned, ¡°How did you know? Most people confuse me with the Cliff Elves.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°Cliff Elves have more prominent eyebrows.¡±


    ¡°You got some sharp eyes. As expected of the Void demons.¡±


    With the close of the conversation, I grab a tray of eggs and meat and head to the nearest table to dig in. Hmm, it kinda tastes like mom¡¯s cooking back on Earth. Tasty it goes without saying. I wordlessly eat the rest of my meal and leave the inn.


    Ah, it¡¯s starting to heat up for the noon temperatures. Well, better find my way toward an adventurer¡¯s guild. Why join an adventure¡¯s guild? Well, I wanna make a living. Aren¡¯t you rich? Your point? I don¡¯t want to rely on my wealth, and I wanna travel.


    Ah, this appears to be the spot, It kind of reminds me of the old western styled spittoon in America. The sign board hanging outside has a pair of crossed swords. If it just dawned on you that there is an adventure¡¯s guild in a demon territory, well humans aren¡¯t the only ones who do quests. They just made it popular. If you just now figured it out there is one here, you might be a little slow on the uptake.


    I push open the double swinging doors to enter. No one pays me any mind as I walk to the receptionist. The receptionist being a cute little pixie, standing at roughly two feet high. Her hair is put in a messy bun; her eyes being a little big for her tiny face. Truly cute. She is hovering with her six tiny wings resembling that of an insect. A pixie.


    Noticing my staring, she became flustered, ¡°May I help you?¡± She asked blushing.


    ¡°Hmmm, oh, yes. I¡¯d like to register at this Adventure¡¯s guild.¡± An adventure¡¯s ID card, kinda works like a driver¡¯s license in the US, is what I can compare it to.


    ¡°You just need to pay the registration fee, 3 silver coins please.¡±


    I fish out 3 silver coins, and hand it over. She stashes it away and hands over a blank metal plate. She speaks up when she relinquishes grip on the card, ¡°This plate will display your name, age, level and rank.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the plate glowed and told the information.


    *PING*


    Status update


    Rank update, rank F


    As if confirming my rank, she said, ¡°You start as Rank F. You can rank-up with enough experience completing quests. You can pick up quests on the quest board in the back of the room. Also, the more you rank up the more rewards you get.¡± She said the last part with a smile. As I turned around, she called out again, ¡°Oh before I forget, you can only do requests that is your rank or below, or you could die.¡± I nod as I approach the board.


    Wow, there are sure are a lot quests out here.


    <hr />


    The Status Screen actually looked liked a table in microsoft word... I had to retype it so it would fit better. This sucks. :-/

 Chapter 3: My first quest is too high level!

    I take a look at some these quests, and some are just outrageous. Like one says to subjugate a Rock Dragon. Those things are big as mountains! What¡¯s more their armor is literally made of stones. Geez. Oh here is one that looks doable. It¡¯s for rank F!


    Collection Quest


    Collect 5 pounds of Water Crystals


    Reward: 2 Silver and 5 Copper Coins


    Recommended: Rank F


    It¡¯s perfect! I know just the location as well. Ah yeah! I head out the doors and make my way west of Reslem, straight toward Water Rock Mountain. It¡¯s a mountain that contains the materials I need to complete this quest; it is located in a forest chalked full of demonic beasts. Most are push overs though.


    Speaking of that forest, I just arrived at the entrance. Hmm, the vegetation seems a little thick; I¡¯ll have to put my backpack in the Void Space. It is getting easier to carry since yesterday; perhaps it¡¯s the status update. As soon as I throw my backpack in the Void Space, I get an update.


    *PING*


    Status update


    +3 Strength, +1Vitality


    Cool, I guess since it wasn¡¯t as strenuous as yesterday, that¡¯s why I did not get as much points. Still cool though. As I was reading the pop-up, a slime monster popped out of the bushes.


    ¡°Oh hi little guy, you must be a slime?¡± Slimes are not very strong, however if they manage to pin you down, they can dissolve you with their corrosive bodies.


    The Slime started to inch towards, but unexpectedly it jumped at me. With little time to react I threw the Void Sword at it. And¡­miss. I then roll to the right as the slime falls into the location I was just at. That was a little close.


    I grab my Void Sword from the Void Space and threw it at the slime. Sensing the sword coming, it jumped out of the way. I had already bolted toward the slime, and before the blade even struck the ground I already drew from the Void Space, at that point I slashed the Slime in half before it could land. As soon as both halves hit the ground, that marked the end of the battle.


    *PING*


    End of Battle


    10 experience gained, 10 more till level up


    Oh good, it informs me how much I have left to get to the next level. Now that is convenient. Well then, I guess I shall enter the forest now. Climbing over the bush the deceased slime popped out from earlier, I enter the forest.


    Marching on in the forest, all I can hear is my footsteps crunching the leaves below my feet, bugs buzzing in the background and the occasional tweets of a bird. Ah, the life of an adventurer is¡­ lonely. It has been half an hour and I want to talk to someone.


    Upon wish for a companion, one appears! Just that it is a Silver-fanged wolf wanting to snack on my face. Seeing this beast drooling beside me, I freeze in my tracks and we just stare at each other for 10 minutes. This could be bonding; I could be friends with this misunderstood creature¡­ Yeah right! This thing is feral! I could die.


    With cold sweat just forming a waterfall down my back, I make a move to take a step back. The sudden movement caused the Silver-fang to lunge at me. I drew my sword and make a desperate slash, to no avail. It had caught the blade with its teeth, that is as hard as silver. No good, huh. Well one option left. I bolted.


    I know, I know. Not a smart move, but hey, I like my face. While in a full on sprint, I ignore the one rule that everyone says, I took a peak back. I nearly wet my pants. There were not one but four Silver-fangs chasing me. And they are gaining on me pretty fast. Ah, fudge.


    Then a suicidal idea occurred in my mind. As I was dashing through the forest dodging the trees, I made a quick pivot that turned my body 180 degrees from its original direction. And flung myself at the now bewildered Silver-fang in the middle, with my momentum and thrust of my sword, my blade entered the Silver fangs mouth and exited through the back of its head. Instantly, death had invaded its eyes, turning them empty.


    I am no idiot however; I do not stay and marvel what I had just done. I used the rest of my momentum to continue forward past the other Silver-fangs. By the time I ran 50 feet, hid behind a tree. This was about the time other Silver-fangs turned around to continue the chase. I know they had lost of me and heard their rapidly approaching footsteps. Just as they were about to pass the tree I was hiding behind, I used all might to swing my blade horizontally to the unsuspecting Silver-fang.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    The Silver-fang¡¯s running speed plus my horizontal slash in a head-on collision equals the beheading of the Silver-fang. And just as the blade made its way past the spine, I used the centrifugal force to throw the blade at one of the oncoming Silver-fang and pierced its heart.


    This left one Silver fang alive. And quickly came to a halt seeing its fallen comrades. At this slight pause, I rushed toward it. The poor Silver-fang tried to turn and run at the same time from fear, but it fell on its face. I brought my whole weight down with the blade and stabbed the Silver-fang in the brain, effectively ending its life. Ah, I plop down on my butt and take a breather.


    *PING* *PING* *PING* *PING*


    End of Battle


    150 experience gained, 140 more till level up


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 2


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 3


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 4


    That¡¯s cool, but the last window caught my attention though.


    You have unassigned stat points


    With each level up you receive 15 unassigned points, you can assign these points to your stats to permanently raise those stats, or you can use these points to buy skills and abilities in the purchase screen. Some of the skills and abilities you can achieve through events or training.


    Well, with all these level ups, I might as well look at my Status, ¡°Status.¡±


    Name Alexander Phendahl Age 18 years old Race Void Demon Level 4


    Titles Heir to the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil, Survivor of a dying Race


    Strength Vitality Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma


    30          28          28         75                  25         25


    Health Mana Stamina


    460         1400                 500


    Rank F Unassigned Stat Points 45


    Skills and Abilities


    Void Space


    Allows infinite storage of items, putting everything in a stasis until take out. Allowed to even put living things, or a corpse in the void


    Mana Manipulation


    Allows the direct manipulation of mana, ability to create new personal spells. No need for chanting


    Analyses


    Information on objects and people will be displayed when used.


    Slow Time Lvl. 1


    Through combat experience, you have learned to slow the world down for a few seconds, at least in your perception. The higher the level, the longer the effects.


    It appears my huge adrenaline rush that I used to kill the Silver-fangs unlocked the skill Slow Time. Also upon leveling up, I figured how each stat affects me. The Strength stat affects my Stamina and actual physical strength. The Vitality stat affects my Health and my overall constitution to pain. The Dexterity stat affects my speed and ability to use weapons effectively. The Intelligence stat affects my Mana and overall IQ, useful for coming up with tactics. The Wisdom Stat affects my Mana regeneration speed. The Charisma stat affects your influence over people.


    It might be worth completing this quest, but golly is this way too difficult for an F Rank!


    <hr />


    I kind of fixed the table issue. I had to change the original text font (Old English), Sigh. If only people were to used to it''s beauty...

 Chapter 4: My first trait purchase.

    After resting for a good hour, my Stamina has recovered a bit, so I stand up and stretch. Stretching is good for you. Ah, I should probably loot the Silver-fangs. I walk up to each corpse and cut out the teeth and cut off the meat of the bodies to be used tater. This is pretty tough to do without a serrated edge.


    An hour later I resume my march to the mountain arriving there just before dusk. That took a while. I pull out my camping gear and set up camp¡­ is not what I did. I walked over to a wall of the mountain and crack my fingers. All right it is time to put that Mana Manipulation Skill to good use. I envision the earth as soft as putty and as moldable as clay; with the most concentration into my Mana, forcing it to gather in my hands. ¡°Earth Molder,¡± I say as I clasp my hands together and drive it into the solid rock, sinking in like a hot knife through butter. Slowly, I push the rock apart making a fissure appear big enough to put a door on.


    I slip into the newly formed fissure. Using my hands to keep pushing the rock apart, I form a huge hallway. At the end of the hallway I mold the rock walls into a spacious room to set up as my base. Satisfied I walk to the entrance and grab the rock walls on each side and bring them together closing myself in. I quickly cancel the ¡®Earth Molder¡¯ and pull out luminous stones to light my base. Heading back to the room, I take out my sleeping bag and instantly fall asleep.


    ¡­


    It should be said demons do not have dreams. That is why I can wake up so quickly. This is kind of a bummer because I missed dreams. I look around, ah, my base. Feels good not to be chewed on while asleep, which is precisely why I hid in a cave. Thinking back on yesterday¡¯s events, I remembered the unassigned stat points. Hmm, I wonder, ¡°Purchase Screen.¡±


    *PING*


    Purchase Screen: Available Traits


    Twin Horns  5 Used for Head butting enemies. If done right, it can impale them. Horns will appear on either side of the forehead. Useful for winning arguments.


    Demon Wings 30 Wings sprout from the back, ability of flight and glide is unlocked.


    Devil¡¯s Tail 20 A tail that can be used as an extra limb, will grow; attacks can be learned as well.


    Void Step 40 Like teleportation, the user can step into the Void and reappear elsewhere.


    Claws 10 Who needs fists, when you have claws? Talon like claws replace finger nails. Retractable, of course.


    Demon Eyes 25 Depending on the skill tree the user chooses or the user¡¯s mood, the eyes will have different effects; such as paralysis, fear, energy steal, or even death. If looks could kill¡­


    Hazy Aura 45 Much like the ¡®Eyes of a Demon¡¯, it affects opponents with various effects. A Misty Form becomes unlocked.


    Oi, oi! What¡¯s with those descriptions? They¡¯re down right wrong! Oh well.  They seem useful enough, I get a few. I¡¯m kind of excited, because apparently there is more when I get more levels!


    *PING*


    Traits Bought


    Void Step and Twin Horns


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    A searing pain went through my forehead that made my forehead break out in a sweat. It felt as through something was trying to break through my skull! Agh! It hurts so badly! I fall to my knees, grinding my teeth in pain. After a few minutes the pain slowly subsides, then completely fades. I bring my hands to my head and feel two curved horns that had sprouted from my head. Oh, splendid.


    After packing my camping supplies, I walk over to the closed entrance of my cave and I use Earth Molder to get out into the light of the morning sun. Ah, now time for the ascent; surely I¡¯ll find a natural cave for the water crystals. Making my way up, I try testing my new skill Void Step. I focus at an area that is up ahead on a higher elevation. I try maximizing my concentration on that particular spot. Nothing happened.


    Maybe I am missing something. Reading over the information, I figure it out. I picture me walking through a portal to the Void to get to my destination. When I open my eyes, I see a black swirling mass in front of me with streaks of purple swirled in. It looked interesting. Now I envision the area up ahead and see that the swirling mass made the image in mind. Whoa.


    I throw my body into the mass and I land on the ground in said area. Turning around I do not see the swirling mass. Hmmm, this will come in handy for escapes¡­ or creative combat. Thinking of a few ways to use the Void Step, I found myself in front of a cave in no time. Oh this is what I needed. Travelling into the cave, I notice most of the cave walls are barren, not single crystal to be found.


    Walking down the long hallway-like cave I find a huge cavern sized room. The room was like stepping into a work of art, it was so dazzling. Water crystals were embedded in all the walls and the stalagmites glistened from the water. It was simply enchanting. It took a few minutes until I snapped out of my daze. Looking around I could just get what I need and get out.


    Looking at the back wall, it had far bigger crystals, that one of them could complete the quest. Making my back there, I feel like someone is watching me. The hairs on the back of my mind are on end, but then my intuition tells me to dodge. I dodge just as a torrent of water speeds past me overhead. It had enough power to put pressure washers to shame.


    I look over at the direction of where the attack came from. Rising from a body of water at the center of the room was a giant, blue, lizard-like head atop a long, scaly neck with dorsal fins. I heard of these; they are a rare species of Water Dragon that live in caves. Cave Pool Dragons. They like to hide in seemingly shallow pools of water and attack unsuspecting prey. Besides being deadly, they are beautiful creatures.


    Seeing this one, I felt a though I had really bad luck. After a while it looked like it was concentrating on me. Then its body left off a faint blue glow.


    *PING*


    You have entered a dungeon.


    You can¡¯t escape using Void Step


    <hr />


    Dang, MC, you are in quite the predicament, aren''t you?


    Oh bite me!


    Oh but why?


    You know why! You are the one who wrote this mess!


    All for the entertainment!

 Chapter 5: Dungeon skill?

    Oh great. I was in this fearsome creature¡¯s domain with no exit. I began to notice the increase in water; it was only at my ankles earlier, now it was at my armpit. Then the floor gave way. I had to kick my legs to keep afloat. This is bad. To make matters worse I lost sight of the dragon.


    Using my sensing technique I expand my Mana past my body a send it out in pulses to act like sonar. Immediately I feel my mana return to me from the direction right below me! I quickly use my void step and dive to the area to my right, teleporting a few feet away. It was just in time, as I look back I see the dragon rise from the depths and see it clamp its mouth shut at the location I was originally.


    It seemed to notice it didn¡¯t eat me; it looked around and spotted me. Its dark pupils turn to slits against its yellow eyes. Then it opens its mouth and it hissed out me. It sent shivers down my spine; however, I formed an idea. ¡°I must hate life,¡± I mutter to myself as I look at the pillars around the room. There were five total, one central and four surrounding it. I swim over to a pillar and turn around to notice the dragon following close behind. I had to Void Step close to the pillars to avoid being chow.


    Climbing up the pillar, the dragon had attack a few time. It launched itself at the pillar to eat me several times. ¡°Earth Molder,¡± I whispered as I drove my hands into the pillar drawing out the iron to make the pillar no stronger than stone. The dragon reared its head back for another strike and sprung forward. This is the part where I flee to safety. I quickly launch myself into a portal to reappear on the second pillar.


    The dragon had broken through pillar with ease. Taking my time this time I send a lot of iron into my Void Space and quickly make the pillar as weak as possible. The Cave Pool Dragon noticed me near the second pillar. In a rage, it rushed at me again. Striking again. Missing again. I can its frustration building up. It must be mad at the fact I keep slipping away.


    I repeat the process twice more. I had arrived at the central pillar, but I do not have time to weaken it. Huge torrents of water are blasting at me. Oh, did I offend? This dragon is seething with rage and completely beyond rational thinking. It keeps blast water at me, only to hit the pillar.


    Eventually it arrived at the pillar to continue its attack on me. It changed its style however, instead of striking, leaning back and striking again, it started to just chase me, taking bites out of empty air.


    I see it is really desperate to kill me, a little too desperate. It got close enough to me that I slashed at it with my sword instinctually. I was hit with major rebound. Those scales are so hard, there wasn¡¯t even a scratch. Seeing the chance the dragon tried to strike at me but I had already jumped into my Void Step and arrived on the other side of the pillar. I was about to soften the pillar, put seeing so many fractures running up and down it, I pass on it.


    The dragon blindly struck the pillar out of rage, smashing it to smithereens. Seeing the ceiling starting to sag, I quickly use a portal to hug a wall at the edge of the cave. Just as I reach the wall, the cave ceiling crumbles falling on the dragon¡¯s head. A few pieces smash into the dragon with sickening crunches. Quickly the dragon was covered in rubble.


    Seeing nothing move, I ran over to the far wall and extracted a few baseball sized water crystals and stuff them into my Void Space. I make my way toward the exit, only to realize there was no exit. Like the scene in movies, the rubble behind my back moves and the dragon explodes from underneath it. Oh great.


    I take a look at this tattered dragon and see that I am the target of its extreme hatred. Hmmm, how to deal with this¡­ I jump into the air and pass through my portals ending up at the ceiling. Grabbing onto the rock, I well all my power into my legs as the dragon searches for me. I kick off and shoot through the air like a meteorite. The dragon seemed to notice me; to keep it from taking advantage of the fact I was in the air, I threw my sword. The Void Sword found its target, an open wound at the side of the neck.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Once the sword pierced the open wound, it let out a roar of pain. Right at where I want it. I collide with my horns first, bashing against the skull. The head bounced off the floor from the force of the impact. I walk up to the extremely weakened Cave Pool Dragon and put my foot on the lower jaw and my hand at the upper jaw. I forced its mouth open and pulled my sword from the Void Space. I send a silent prayer for its soul and shoved my sword through the back of the head angle upward, hitting the brain.


    Feeling the tense jaw go lax, I confirmed it had died. With its death, the water levels went down to the level of mere puddles. What¡¯s more, the exit was visible.


    *PING* *PING* *PING* *PING**PING* *PING* *PING* *PING*


    End of Battle


    4,000 experience gained, 940 more till level up


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 5


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 6


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 7


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 8


    Skill Learned


    Due to the unassisted defeat of a monster, Cave Pool Dragon, that outranks you by many levels, you have learned one of its skills as a reward.


    Skill Learned: Dungeon Create


    That is a lot to process. I guess I¡¯ll look at my Stats now, ¡°Status.¡±


    Name Alexander Phendahl Age 18 years old Race Void Demon Level 8


    Titles Heir to the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil, Survivor of a dying Race


    Strength Vitality Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma


    50                   48     48                 95              45               45


    Health Mana Stamina


    860        1800 900


    Rank F Unassigned Stat Points 60


    Skills and Abilities


    Void Space


    Allows infinite storage of items, putting everything in a stasis until take out. Allowed to even put living things, or a corpse in the void


    Mana Manipulation


    Allows the direct manipulation of mana, ability to create new personal spells. No need for chanting


    Analyses


    Information on objects and people will be displayed when used.


    Slow Time Lvl. 1


    Through combat experience, you have learned to slow the world down for a few seconds, at least in your perception. The higher the level, the longer the effects.


    Void Step Lvl. 1


    Like teleportation, the user can step into the Void and reappear elsewhere.


    Twin Horns Lvl. 1


    Used for Head butting enemies. If done right, it can impale them. Horns will appear on either side of the forehead. Useful for winning arguments.


    Dungeon Create Lvl. 1


    Dungeon Create is a skill used by Dungeon Masters that can create a space that is controlled by the Dungeon Master. Should the Dungeon either die or choose for its destruction, the dungeon will revert back to its normal space. Dungeons also take on the characteristics of the Dungeon Master.


    It seems like I¡¯m turning into a monster. The average citizen is only a level 2, and barely at that too. Ah, I think I¡¯ll loot the corpse first then just sit back for a while and relax before going back out there.


    <hr />


    Chapters are coming in fast right? it will slow down at chapter 15. Sorry.

 Chapter 6: One bloodied sausage please.

    I exit the cave seeing that it is almost evening I make a quick descent down the mountain via Void Step. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain I use Void Step once more to get closer to the entrance of the forest.


    *PING*


    Skill Upgrade


    When a certain mastery of a skill has been reached, the skill will level up giving more options with the skill and abilities


    Void Step Lvl. 2


    Like teleportation, the user can step into the Void and reappear elsewhere.


    Lvl. 2 Allows the usage of multiple portals that let weapons and spells pass through for creative combat.


    Oh? This will get interesting. It looks like this system sees my desire for creativeness. Feeling good about the thought of new techniques I feel that same presence that was in the cave. It wasn¡¯t the dragon that was watching me, someone or something else was.


    I looked around but could not see the stalker around. I guess it sensed I knew it was looking for it, and the feeling vanished. Just as I had eased up I heard a scream in the distance followed by the sounds of struggling nearby. The screams appear to be feminine. I rush toward the scene. What I see is two Fire Demons pinning a woman down on the ground, one had the arms, and the other had the legs.


    Upon further inspection I could see that the woman had her clothes ripped off. The Fire Demon who had the legs let them go to undo his trousers. Seeing this, the woman struggled even more, she yelled, ¡°Please, no. Just let me go. Let me go!¡± Since she had her legs free she tried to kick him, but he was between her legs so it was of no use. The Fire Demon got his trousers off and had a disgusting smile on his face.


    Still hidden in the bushes I use my Void Steps second ability to putt a very small, unnoticeable portal near the Fire Demons pelvis. Drawing out my Void Sword, I quickly stabbed the blade into the portal and withdrew it. Looking back at the scene, I see a bloodied sausage shape hit the ground underneath the Fire Demon.


    After a moment or two, the Fire Demon realized what happened and howled in pain. His friend seemed to be on alert. Not knowing my presence, he looked around the bushes to the left of me. I jumped into a Void Step and appeared behind him. I used this moment to perform an assassin-like kill and slit his throat from behind.


    Lifeless, the body slumped to the ground. I threw the body through a portal that I placed above the Fire Demon that was mourning over a bloodied sausage. The body fell on top of him and caused him to be pinned down momentarily. ¡°Who is there? Show yourself! Do you know who I am?! I¡¯ll make you pay,¡± His eyes had lost all sanity in them. He slowly stood up was looking everywhere being paranoid. He then saw the woman and tried to advance toward her, I guess to use her as a meat shield.


    I chose the moment before he grabbed her to appear out of thin air in front of him. ¡°Waaaaaaah! Where did you come from?! Who are you?¡± He promptly fell on his butt and his red skin was getting so pale it looked pink.


    I walked out toward him kneeled down to his level and brought my face within an inch of his and with as much fierceness as I could muster, I said in a whisper, ¡°I¡¯m your executioner and you have been found guilty.¡± He froze solid. Petrified. With one hand on his shoulder and the other on the newly drawn Void Sword, shove the sword deep into his heart. I lean in and whisper into his ear, ¡°I hope you have a safe trip to Hell.¡± I twist the sword, yank it out and stand up in one move. With a swish, I flick the blood off the black blade.


    *PING*


    End of Battle


    900 experience gained, 40 till next level


    Remembering the victim was still here, I look back at the frightened woman. Well I guess to say woman was a bit much, she almost fell into the girl category. I would not argue if someone said she was 15. The only thing she had on was a giant metal shackle around her neck. A Slave Band is what it¡¯s called. She looked pretty cute too. I mean besides the fact you can tell she has been malnourished for a long time.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    She had long black hair that reached her shoulders and even though her eyes were red from crying¡­ hold on they were also red. She has Candy Apple Red eyes. Despite the frightened look she had in them they were pretty. Also, she has a black tail with a white tip at the end. Wait, a tail? I take look at her more closely and notice black ears at the top of her head.


    ¡°So you are from the beastman tribes of demons. Hmm, well there are no more bad guys,¡± I flash the warmest smile I have and extend my hand to help her up. She immediately flinched and started to scramble to back away. Ouch, that struck me deep. Well, I saved her from those perverted men so she should be rather safe if no monsters attack. I let out a sigh.


    I pull one of my spare shirts out of the Void Space and throw it to her. I turn around started to head to the city. I here scrambling noises and I take not even three steps before I feel my shirt being tugged on. After I stop, she huddles close to me as if to hide herself. I slowly turn around and pull her into a tight embrace, I don¡¯t know why but instinct told me she needed a hug.


    After a few moments she started crying. It started low, like a whimper but then grew into a loud sob. She was frightened to her wits end and I understand the need to let it out. I whisper into her ear that everything was going to be ok and that it was going to be alright. I started stroking her hair to try to soothe her. Eventually she stopped crying and was sniffling. So cute.


    ¡°Do you feel any better?¡± She nods slowly. I then straightened up; I was practically kneeling to her level. She comes up to my chest and that is it. Noticing her still naked body, I point to the shirt tightly grasped in her hand, I said, ¡°I¡¯m going to turn around and let you put that on.¡±


    A frightened look reappeared on her face and she grabbed my shirt again as I was about turn around. I look at her in the eye; her eyes seem to plead not to be left alone. I sigh, ¡°Ok, I give.¡± Though she still did not put on the shirt herself, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. With that in mind, I take the shirt from her and step behind her. ¡°Raise your arms.¡± I instruct her. She listens and raises her arms,


    I then slip the frilly nobleman shirt over her and cover her in it. There clothed. Not the best situation, since it was only a shirt. It did cover all the important areas. Since it was a shirt made for nobles to wear, it was made with fine quality silk. She seemed fascinated with it. Remembering how frail her body is, I take out some firewood from my emergency stash in the Void Space along with Silver-fang meat. I quickly build a fire pit and used the spell ignite to catch the logs on fire. After a while the meat starts to smell good from being cooked. I look over at the girl who is clinging to me and drooling at the same time as staring at the meat.


    It was cute and gross at the same time¡­ if that¡¯s possible. When the meat is done cooking I give her some on a plate I brought from home. I take a seat near the fire and try to start to eat only to have the girl sit in my lap. ¡°Hey, why are you sitting here?¡± I question her. She starts to whimper, oh god my weakness. I sigh, ¡°Fine, do as you like.¡± She then happily ate while in my lap. We just quietly eat for a while then it struck me that I don¡¯t know her name.


    ¡°Mind telling me your name?¡± I question her.


    She then looks down, looking teary-eyed, "I don¡¯t have one. I am but a slave.¡± You got to be kidding me.


    I think for a moment then I suggest, ¡°Do you want one?¡± She could just pick any in the world and that would be her name.


    Sitting up quickly, she looked at me with pleading eyes, ¡°Will you give me a name?¡± Why you push this on me? But those eyes, girl, you know how to pull my heart strings.


    After thinking for a bit, I suggest ¡°Aria. Do you like it?¡±


    She repeated the name to herself a few times then looked at me with a big smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s perfect!¡±


    <hr />


    The first heroine appeared! MC are you happy?


    Ahh, sure. She is pretty cute... wait what do you mean first?


    Hehe.


    Come back here and tell me! Oi!

 Chapter 7: Deadly cute Aria.

    After an hour of chatting, I found out she is 16 and from the wolfman tribe but only through heritage. She was born a slave, which means only a noble can set her free. Since I am no noble yet, I do not have the power to release her. I also learned that those Fire Demons from earlier were Barons of the neighboring city. This was the first attempt of raping her, though she already knew their lust for her. Her parents are both dead, they died from some disease that their malnourished bodies couldn¡¯t handle. No family and a starving slave, I pity her.


    Ah, I have gotten sleepy from today. The magic swirling around me turns blue as I send my mana in to the field to use the skill Dungeon Create. As soon as it activated, the walls of the newly formed dungeon were not see through but instead had black and purple whirling dust obscuring the view of the trees. The Sky turned black with no stars and the air turned cold as if we were in the Void itself. I do this so no monsters attack us during our sleep. I draw out some blankets we won¡¯t freeze to death. Why no sleeping bag? I only had one. I lay down and sleep quickly claims my consciousness.


    True Demons do not have dreams, but we can have good sleep. During my sleep I felt my blankets get real heavy but it wasn¡¯t anything that was unbearable. So my foggy consciousness was once again KOed by sleep. I finally stir at about noon, but it is pretty hard to get up so I pull the blankets off to see why.


    The reason was because of a little ball of fur, namely Aria, was curled on my chest. She was little ball of cuteness, that if she said go die, I might comply¡­ well, probably not. Her cuteness is deadly though. Thinking about her, the ball of fluff started to stir. She unfurled and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She looked at me and said, ¡®Good morning.¡± I return the greeting but I was still curious.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, but why are you on my chest?¡± I inquired.


    ¡°To keep warm,¡± she replied bluntly. She let out a yawn, stretched and readjusted herself on my chest as if to go back to sleep.


    You know it must be about noon; however the sky is still black. What is going on? Oh, yeah the dungeon skill. I deactivate it. The sky brightens up and the black and purple fog dissipates. When all traces of the dungeon are gone I get another window.


    *PING*


    Skill Upgrade


    Dungeon Create Lvl. 2


    Dungeon Create is a skill used by Dungeon Masters that can create a space that is controlled by the Dungeon Master. Should the Dungeon either die or choose for its destruction, the dungeon will revert back to its normal space. Dungeons also take on the characteristics of the Dungeon Master.


    Lv. 2 Allows the spawning of monsters if mana is poured into it. Also the terrain is now customizable.


    Interesting. I subconsciously start stroking Aria¡¯s hair. It was so soft; it felt like a massage for the hands. It practically begged to be touched, and Aria smiled as I continued. I pause for a moment when I remember the ears at the top of her head; I out and touch them. Ah they feel nice.


    Aria seemed to like it a little bit and was looking at me. From ears I ran my hands down her hair and went to her tail, petting down the length of it. This seemed to make Aria turn into putty. When she regained her composure somewhat, she sat up slightly and stared into my eyes. Her eyes were pleading for more. Ah, so cute; I had to comply. I simply take my hand and brush through her hair from ears to the tip of the tail. She quivered a bit and started panting with blushed cheeks. Her eyes are full of anticipation


    I remember this from somewhere; oh a dog from Earth acted like this as did most domestic animals. I push that thought aside and decide to try experiment with this. I have one hand rub the back of her ears, and the other hand to continue to pet her from ears to the end of the tail. *quiver**quiver* She was practically shaking with pleasure. Aria¡¯s red eyes were at half mass and her panting was getting a little rougher. She started to snuggle up to me as if she were trying to bury herself inside me while I continue to pet her. The hair and fur seriously felt relaxing to touch; I could get addicted, if I haven¡¯t already.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Because of her position on my chest I could feel her panting near the base of my neck. It almost felt erotic. I soon find myself rubbing the base of her tail, the pleasure center of cats and dogs. She immediately lets out a moan and inches closer to my face and started to lick my cheek. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy, even after I change to just petting her. After a while I just lay there with my hand on her head. I then make the resolve of getting up. I first made Aria straighten up. When she sat up straight, I felt a small warm liquid on my belly under her legs. I guess petting was a turn on. I might keep that in mind.


    Sitting up with her in my lap, I took out some of the left over Silver-fang meat from last night¡¯s dinner. Since the Void Space keeps things in a stasis, the food was as hot as it was last night. I did not even bother with plates and just ate barbarian style this time. After a few minutes I bit a little more than I could chew because I got distracted, so a half of the meat was still hanging out my mouth. Seemingly waiting for the opportunity, Aria brought her face really close really fast and bit into the other half. Our faces are really close, ah boy.


    Staring into the Candy Apple Red eyes of Aria, I could see that they were filled with mischievousness, after a moment she started pulling on it. For some reason unbeknownst to me, it woke my competitive side and I started to get a better bite to get better grip on the food. I started to see the meat tear in the middle so I quickly took a bigger bite to prevent it from doing so. However she had the same idea and we ended up having our noses pressed against each other. Both of us feeling rather embarrassed, we pull the meat our separate ways. I almost choked to death from a combination of embarrassment and lodge food in my throat.


    I could feel the blood rush to my face, probably making it violet-red. At least I¡¯m not the only one sporting a blush. I can see one already on Aria¡¯s face. So cute. Well now that breakfast is done. I guess it is time to escape the forest. But before I do that, I grab some of my suede leather pants that noble¡¯s frequently wear for outings. I instruct Aria put them on. She has to keep them on with her hands holding them up. I hem up the bottom and started cutting away and stitching the material until it fit her just right. I know how to sew, no need to judge. With everything done I toss the blankets and sewing equipment in the Void Space. I feel as though I¡¯m being watched from afar again, but I ignore it as I start walking through the brush of the forest.


    ¡°Hey what did you do with the blankets? Where did you pull breakfast from?¡± It seems she hasn¡¯t heard of Void Demons. I chuckle a bit. Then get a little depressed remembering how few we really were. The title ¡®survivor of a dying race¡¯ was not a lie. We are almost extinct.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a Void Space. We Void Demons, one of the five True Demon species, can use it. We have the power over Spatial magic. The Void Space is like our little piece of the Void. It can carry any amount of items and of any weight. It is truly infinite.¡± I inform her, ¡°Of course there are so few of us that we can be called extinct because of it. There are only four us in the world, and you are looking at one.¡±


    When I finish speaking, I see a spark of wonder in her eye. It was as if she saw a miracle. Then I could see a little pity in her eyes seeing that I¡¯m the last of my kind.


    ¡°No need to worry, I am ok. I still have my Mom, Dad, and Uncle Ares. Most of us died in the Great War. Besides if there were more of us, I wouldn¡¯t be here right now. I would be sitting in my castle with a fianc¨¦, rotting away. I like travelling around.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ok. Since you put it that way, I guess its ok. I never heard of Void Demons, my owners always said there are four different types of True Demons.¡± She half mumbled the last part.


    Hearing only four types of True Demons, that really hurt. That meant, they thought we were already extinct. It¡¯s not like our numbers can¡¯t come back. Even if we mate with a Lesser Demon, the offspring will be of the stronger race. The idea of nobles being with peasants is unheard of. On top of that, each race of True Demon would rather keep to their own race because of heritage of land issues. That is why they think we are a dead-end. It was quite depressing.


    <hr />


    I think writing at night might influence my writing a little. Bare with me please. I will try to keep this PG-15... try. I may go to point with no return, idk. :)

 Chapter 8: A crown prince?! Me?!

    Seeing my depressed state she tried to reassure me of everything will be ok. However, she couldn¡¯t find any words to help, so she just snuggled up to me while we walked. To not let her get depressed from not succeeding, I sucked it up. In no time, we made it to the exit of this forest; I guess time flies with company. I sneak a look at Aria and see that she is relieved we left the forest where she almost got raped in.


    The guards stopped us at the gate for identification. I hold up my Adventure¡¯s Guild card. Looking at the card and looking at the slave collar around Aria¡¯s neck, they were satisfied. Before opening the gate, they said, ¡°We know who you are, but regulation is regulation.¡± Ah it appears my purple skin precedes me. I crack a smile at the funny thought of the twisted phrase. With a ¡®thanks¡¯ they let us in the town of Reslem.


    We make our way through the abnormally bustling town and into the Adventure¡¯s Guild. Seriously what happened in this town? Did the Demon King make an announcement or something? Since there was hardly any news in the Demon Realm, even someone ranking up with the Adventure¡¯s Guild caused gossip. But this was over doing it.


    Making my way to the desk lady I hand over my ID card to her, ¡°Here you go; I want to complete the quest I signed up for a few days ago. The collection quest for F rank.¡±


    The pixie takes it from my hand and starts reading it for any creatures that I defeated during the quest. ¡°Alrighty, you collected 7.59 pounds of the requested 5 pounds of water crystal,¡± she touched a small area of the metal plate for more information. ¡°It looks like you slayed some monsters while on a collection quest. Hmm, let¡¯s see here. Ah, you slayed one slime, four Silver-fangs and a C-C-Cave Pool D-Dragon?!¡± she couldn¡¯t contain her surprise. She kept reading, ¡°And two Baron Ranked Fire Demons!¡± She went very pale and broke out in a sweat.


    ¡°Ah no need to worry, it says here it was a righteous execution of those Baron ranked Fire Demons. They were trying to rape this poor girl here.¡± I pat Aria on the shoulder, making her presence known.


    *PING*


    Title Gain


    You have gained the title: ¡®Protector of the Innocent.¡¯


    Various good deeds will upgrade this title, misdeeds will lower it.


    *PING*


    Rank Up


    You¡¯ve reached Rank B


    Seemingly drenched in sweat, she looked at me like she was looking at a monster. Then it was like a realization struck her, ¡°I guess it makes since you are about to be the Crown Prince of the future Astral Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± clearly I heard wrong.


    ¡°Your parents are going through the processing for their Kingdom. They are naming it the Astral Kingdom. Is something wrong?¡±


    My mouth had dried. I have no idea if that is good news or not. I wanted to be a traveler not some arrogant prince. ¡°No, no. nothing is wrong, I¡¯m just shocked that my parents went with my Uncle¡¯s wishes to form a kingdom. How close are they to being done?¡±


    The pixie seemed to think over this, ¡°I heard the coronation is all that is left. They need you to be there to hold the ceremony.¡±


    I guess it¡¯s going to be a few months, no need to return right away. I mean they didn¡¯t send a messenger after all. I collect my reward for the job plus a bonus for Ranking up. It turned out to be three Gold, two Silver, and five Copper coins. Turning around I see someone fling open the double doors.


    Oh, she seems familiar. The silver skin, the green eyes, those sharp ears, and that maid outfit. Why if it isn¡¯t Melinda the head maid of our castle in the Great Dukedom of Drayasil. She happens to be a Mountain Elf by the Way. She had a flustered look on her face as she looked over the crowd frantically. I have a bad feeling about this. Our eyes meet and she marches over to my location. Drat.


    ¡°Young Master Alexander. You are requested to return to Drayasil. The Mistress has fallen ill.¡± She immediately bows and continues, ¡°It is requested by Master Alastair, the Grand Duke.¡± She then grabs my wrist and half drags me to the awaiting carriage outside. We are, of course, followed by Aria. When Melinda sees this she stares daggers at her, making Aria flinch.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°It is fine, I happened to save this girl in the forest.¡± Hearing my explanation, her attitude did not improve, but she did allow Aria to board the carriage. The carriage is about to take off when we are halted by a new person. The person at front of our carriage comes around to open the door. She seemed a little taller than Aria, had Blood Red skin, and a pair of small leathery wings on her back. She was dressed in a black dress with ruffle patterns. Her hair was curly and black that hung near her shoulders.


    She puffed out her chest and was about to speak but before she could, Melinda grabbed her by her clothes and pulled her in the carriage. She seemed to be pressed for time. At once, our team of six Skeletal Horses took off. The carriage lurched forward. The Fire Demon seemed to quickly get seated. She was about to begin before she was interrupted again.


    ¡°Who are you and what do you want?¡± Melinda had all but lost her cool. I think things might be a little worse than ok at the castle.


    The Fire Demon seemed to lose her haughty nature that she had a moment ago. She spoke out in a timid voice, ¡°My name is Louise Burnheart. I¡¯m the successor of the Burnheart Barony.¡±


    Remembering her purpose she seemed to get energetic again, ¡°I came here because I noticed that this scoundrel had stolen my slave! I was using my clairvoyance to keep track of my slave for the last few days. And this Barbarian kills my brothers and takes my slave! Not having the decency to return it.¡± Her solid yellow eyes almost caught fire from her rage.


    I could almost hear a snapping noise in Melinda as she looked at Louise. She released a pressure that seemed to smother Louise, ¡°How dare you talk to your superiors like that! How Dare You! Future Baroness? Ha! This young man in front of you of you is the successor the Grand Dukedom Drayasil! In a few short days he will become the Crown Prince of a new kingdom! Your Baroness title won¡¯t even hold a candle¡¯s flame under water compared to him. What do you say to keep your pitiful life?¡± Melinda¡¯s eyes were holding rage and extreme killing intent.


    Her eyes widen as she realized who I was. She was shaking in her boots from sheer fright; she opened her mouth multiple times, but no words came out. She reminds me of a fish gaping at the air. It was with good reason too. It was considered treason to belittle nobles that out rank you, especially by more than one rank. A Grand Duke means the Duke holds more than two dukedoms. So it means he was half a rank higher than the average duke. That means a Baron is two and half ranks lower than me. It was a crime punishable by death to insult a Duke if your rank was lower than Duke.


    Of course neither of us were nobles yet so it didn¡¯t matter. But she didn¡¯t register that yet.


    ¡°Her.¡± I mumble in the tense atmosphere. Both were a little confused so I elaborated, ¡°The slave is a ¡®her¡¯ not an ¡®it¡¯. Also she has a name.¡± I touch Melinda¡¯s shoulder to ease her off of Louise¡¯s case, which she calms down a bit. I was afraid she was going to wet herself from the intense fear. I then nudge Aria, ¡°go on tell her your name.¡±


    Aria, shaking a little, built enough courage to talk, ¡°M-my name is-is Aria, Young Mistress Louise.¡± She then bowed her head.


    Louise seemed conflicted with someone else naming her slave, but didn¡¯t voice it. Taking quick glances at Melinda, she spoke to me saying, ¡°That is my slave, even though you are part of Dukedom¡¯s family, Reslem is not part of the territory that the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil rules over. So you can¡¯t forcibly take my slave.¡±


    Hmm, that is true but with this in mind I can¡¯t free Aria. Maybe if I strike a deal with her¡­ I think I¡¯ll make her owe me using my decent charisma stat to help me. ¡°Hmm, I think you owe me for you rash behavior from earlier, I¡¯m not interested in your life, however I will let you the hook if you join me in my travels. Besides, we are entering the Great City of Starwind, the capital of the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil!¡± Looking out we can see the newly built palace. New kingdom, new palace. All I can say is, those Earth Demons are fast builders.


    <hr />


    No idea if you guys like reading these. However, I do find it amusing to write my thoughts down while I post the chapters.


    I''d like to thank the imaginary hobo for inspiring me to write about his friends life and deeds in his life. Oh wait that''s about talking bananas, nevermind.

 Chapter 9: A cruel fate.

    This city is on par with the imperial cities of the Imperial Domain and the Demon Realm. Truly, a grand spectacle. In the city, you can see the major sectors that divide the city. There was the Noble¡¯s District, with the palace at the center, in the North. There was the Commercial District, with various shops and the Merchant Guild at the center, in the West. There was the Holy District, with a few churches and a Cathedral at the center, in the East. By the way the local Archbishop resided in the cathedral. Then last but not least, there was the Commoner¡¯s District, with the residence of the commoners and an Adventure¡¯s Guild at the center, in the south.


    Speaking of religion, I heard there were two deities that reside in this world. Icaldir and Anelia. Icaldir is a god the humans worship, a supposed god of light. Anelia is the goddess the demons worship, a goddess of darkness I suppose. I don¡¯t think the inhabitants know that Zugrielia was created by the Creator and left in charge of these two. No skin off my nose.


    Needless to say, the cathedral here worships Anelia. Of course we do not discriminate so there are a few churches here that worship Icaldir; they were only allowed to only because I asked my parents to be more open minded. Besides being of a high ranking nobility family, helping the religious folks was one of the reasons for being popular here. I was also popular with the Construction Guild for proving a sand/concrete mix was a far stronger building material than wood or plain stone. I was pretty popular due to the fact it was strong but also you could put stones in it to give it a different look. The small number of humans here also thought I was a nice guy for proposing a law of equal opportunity in jobs. All in all, the city had a nice atmosphere with good productivity it had not seen since the founding of Drayasil.


    The carriage stopped in front of the entrance of the palace gates. We were let in by the guards when they saw my face. We quickly entered the front door, where we were greeted by all of the palace staff.


    ¡°Greetings Young Master Alexander and company.¡± Everyone made a bow to complete the greeting. I replied with my greeting and sent them on their way to do their chores.


    ¡°Hey, Melinda, wasn¡¯t this a mid-sized castle a few days ago?¡± I inquired to the head maid.


    ¡°Yes, indeed it was.¡± She nodded. ¡°Since your family owns a kingdom sized dukedom for several years, your family had gathered kingdom sized taxes for all those years. Your family¡¯s massive wealth employed all the best builders in all of Zugrielia to build this massive city and palace.¡±


    I knew were rich but not that rich. I guess it makes since though when it was put into perspective. We also didn¡¯t have any nobility under us in this dukedom. They had also died in the Great War. Not only did we receive the taxes for the dukedom but also the baron level and count level taxes as well. However along with more money, we have just as much responsibilities. So much so, I think Dad may die from stress.


    The head maid looked pressed for time again and rushed us down a corridor, ¡°Come now, your mother and father waits.¡±


    We hurried until we got to the bed chamber of my parents. Upon entering one could smell the stench of disease. It was bearable so we continued in until my father noticed us. He was intently focused on my mother; even so he motioned us forward. It had looked like all the stress of running a dukedom and my mother¡¯s illness caught up to him. He looked as though he had aged a few hundred years.


    His once silky, Jet Black hair had turned Ghostly White, his smooth handsome face turned haggard and full of wrinkles. Mother was even worse shape, but caused by disease. Her forehead was sweating profusely and being continuously wiped by a nearby maid with a damp cloth. She was in her night gown that was dampened with sweat. Her once beautiful Royal Purple skin was now a color of Lavender. All around the bed was purple dust. This dust had originated from Mom¡¯s body. It meant death.


    There was an Earth Demon Doctor at the foot of the bed. He was packing his medical supplies in his bag, getting ready to leave the room. He looked at me and said, ¡°Your mother and uncle have been diagnosed with Soulless Anemia. She only has a few days to live. It is only contracted through birds, so she must have gotten it from not thoroughly cooking a pheasant or egg.¡± I knew that, I knew all of it. What I wanted was him to say everything was going to be ok. I wanted him to say it was going too alright. That he had a cure.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    No such words left his lips.


    In fact there was no cure for it. It was a really rare thing to get infected by and it killed the patients all the same. Be they saints or sinners, they died the same. It was impossible to cure with medieval technology. The best thing to do was spend time with the patient. The disease chipped away at the soul itself, turning it into powder that manifest in the material plane, or so it is said.


    I think I know why she got it. My mother was a person who loved to bake. She would only allow family to help her. Whenever she made cookies, we would all stand around the kitchen eating the raw cookie dough and laugh the knight away making a huge mess with flour. The maids gave us an earful in the mornings but we would laugh afterwards. Such fond memories can never be had anymore. My mother was dying. Soon I will not have a mother. Remembering fond memories that I¡¯ll never have again, I shed some tears while looking at the ceiling.


    I then heard a small voice that called out to me, ¡°Alex, my dear, no need to cry. Mommy is right here.¡± I looked down to see the frail women look at me with watery eyes. My vision had flooded with tears as walked over to my mother and kneeled down near the bed; getting at eye-level with Mom.


    ¡°There is no need to be sad. I am not dead. Even when I do die I want you to be as happy as when you were little. I will be watching you from heaven from the day I do pass. Also you have many subjects that need you. You cannot mourn over me when they need you. The same goes with your Father. I need you to promise me, you will not mourn for me.¡±


    Blinking the tears from my eyes, I nodded my head. She nodded her head in approval. At this time we could here sniffling near the doorway. The two girls were already moved to tears at the scene. My father had already left the room to check on Uncle. My mother looked over at them and made a small motion to bring them closer.


    ¡°Ah what lovely ladies you brought here. Is one of you my son¡¯s girl friend? Or is being a trouble maker and perhaps wooed you both?¡± Mom asked questioningly. Oh, mother.


    At this comment, Aria blushed. This didn¡¯t escape my mother¡¯s view. Louise spoke up though, in a humble tone, ¡°I am here to thank your son for saving my slave from my miscreant brothers.¡±


    My mother raises an eyebrow, ¡°Oh, you aren¡¯t interested in a future King? Or the strapping young man he is already? He is quite handsome, so you are here to only thank him?¡± Louise also blushes. Mother then turns to me, ¡°By the way, you left here so scrawny, but it looks like you picked up some muscle already.¡±


    I examine my body, hmmm, she¡¯s right. I caught her earlier comment about me being a player, but before I could ask about it, she already shifted her attention to Aria. ¡°Excuse me but can I have your name? My name is Duchess Persephone Phendahl.¡±


    Flustered Aria answered, ¡°Ah, yes, m-my name is Aria. It was a name granted to me by your son.¡± She then glances at me from across the bed and blushes again.


    My mother then looked pleased, ¡°Ah, even if the Burnhearts chose to fight against it, since you have caught my son¡¯s attention, you will be freed.¡±


    At this, Louise looked pleasantly shocked. ¡°How do you know of my family¡¯s name?¡±


    My mother laughed and got lost in her memories, ¡°Your mother, Emily Burnheart used to be one of my closest friends. That was back before I was a Duchess and before she was a Baroness.¡±

 Chapter 10: Satan attends the coronation.

    In the distance we heard bells. Lots of them. It took a moment then Mother said excitedly it¡¯s the coronation! She quickly shooed me out the room where a lot of maids took my place. The door had shut and I was left dumbfounded. A few of the servants led me to the throne room that was chalked full of people.


    Looking around there could be all 66 Dukes here. All the Dukes were lined against the wall. And along the big red rug that went from the thrones to the exit, were a lot of Archbishops that wore ceremonial robes, held burning incense in one hand and a staff in the other. Among the Archbishops, I saw Archbishop Reagan, Starwind¡¯s own Archbishop. The thrones themselves were on a raised platform that was a few feet higher than the rest of the room. It was three very wide steps to get up. There were three thrones. One was a giant elaborately designed throne that was placed in the middle with a slightly smaller one to its right and an even smaller one to its left.


    Father was already seated on his throne. He was talking to a man that fit the description of Satan on Earth. As compared to my dad¡¯s black feathered wings, he sported a giant pair of red, leathery bat wings. He was approximately six and a half feet tall and had huge muscles, truly a mountain of a man. He towered over my father, who by the way was five foot and seven inches. He also had a long, red tail that had barbs on the end as compared to my dad¡¯s tailless posterior. My dad had tiny horns protruding from his forehead, while the man had giant ram-like horns. In between those horns a big flaming crown floated on top of his head, it was made of fire that produced a small glow. Oh my, it¡¯s the Demon King himself.


    He noticed my presence and motioned me forward. He introduced us, ¡°Alex this is the Demon King Magnus. Your majesty, this is my son Alexander.¡± We shake hands, my hands looked puny compared this guy, and it¡¯s like half the size of his! Looking him in the eye see yellow flames that some Fire Demons have for eyes. He also produces a powerful aura that makes me want to kneel before him.


    In a deep gravelly voice, he smiled, ¡°So this is your son! My, has he grown. Look at you, you even have horns now! We were just discussing the new partnership of the new Monarchy. Since you are old enough, I¡¯ll have you join. Fine by you?¡± he points the question at my dad, which he in turn nods.


    Catching me up to speed, the Demon King continues, ¡°Since I¡¯ve know you and your father for quite some time, we have suggested becoming allies. Of course since we will be both Kings, I can no longer hold any power over him. Meaning he is no longer my subject. If I become the Demonic Emperor, then I would be able to, but alas that is but a dream.¡± He gets lost in his dream for a bit until my father clears his throat. ¡°Right, also I have agreed that should any of the remaining Dukes show loyalty to him, they can be his subjects. Which I believe the five surrounding Dukes decided to do this.¡± He saw my puzzled face as to why, ¡°Back in the day of the first Demon Kings, we made it to be a goal to be a Demonic Emperor, but being a Demon King is just that, a King. If some of our Dukes gather enough land or support to become a King, we could suppress them, sure but the humans would use that moment of weakness to take advantage. So it is better for me to let them split off and become an ally. It is better to fight a war with more allies than by yourself.¡±


    Toward the end of the conversation I see my mother approach with maids helping her to her throne. She nods to Magnus as a greeting then shoes the maids away. During this time the Demon Queen comes by to greet Mother, they then strike up a chat. Satisfied that Mom is alright for the time being, I promptly sit down and look around the room from my own throne. I see Uncle Ares make his way to his place beside Mother¡¯s throne. He looked way worse than Mother. He was dressed in a military uniform but he looked very ill. His eyes were hollow, his feathers were falling out, he was sweating bullets and he was off white, tinged with purple. He was scary to look out. You could see the purple dust around his shoulders and chest that signified what he was ill with.


    Stolen story; please report.


    Catching my eye, he looked at me and smiled as if everything was going to be alright. He was always an upbeat person; it seemed nothing could drag him down. He motioned me look across the crowd of people, and I did just that. Only this many True Demons congregated when a Demon King is crowned, which is not often. Now it is happening for the first time in history that it is not a Demon King. Among The many Dukes and Duchesses I see a Lesser Demon. It was a High Elf. Out of the Original 72 Dukedoms, there are only 66 Dukes, and one was a Lesser Demon. I heard the story before. Sometime during the Great War, the Humans made a few atrocities in a certain Dukedom, the Dukedom of Oclen. The dukedom is at the southern tip of the continent, bordering the Imperial Domain.


    The castle had been surrounded and everyone inside had their bodies butchered and littered across the castle. Even the Dukes Family, the Aiceazhals, couldn¡¯t defend themselves from the surprise attack. The whole city would have burned to the ground in chaos if it wasn¡¯t for the quick wits of a General that had been posted in Oclen. He quickly rallied the men and pushed back the Humans and even chased them into a nearby human kingdom, where they were forced to retreat. Despite his quick wits, it was too late to save the Aiceazhals. Needing someone to rule the Dukedom, the Demon King had already dispatched all the other nobles into battle so he gave the rights to that General. This Elf is that General¡¯s descendant. His name is George Almer.


    His skin was a lovely golden color; he also had yellow eyes and bright blonde hair. Truly a golden brick.


    The doors that lead outside opened up and in slowly marched the Dark Pope Constantine. With the silver skin that marked him as a Mountain Elf he looked sharp in his dark robes. He was followed by three Cardinals.


    As he stepped closer to the throne, the Archbishops started doing a chanting in a dead language that got louder as the Dark Pope got closer, saturating the air with power. When the Dark Pope got up the stairs, the chanting stopped. Father stood up before the Dark Pope and kneeled. The Dark Pope lifted is staff far above his head and declared ¡°The Dark Goddess Anelia recognizes you as a King! Long Live King Alastair Phendahl! May his descendants prosper!¡± It was then that all the energy in the air flew over to us and swirled above our heads.


    Above Dad¡¯s head was large crown similar to Satan¡¯s¡­er¡­ the Demon King¡¯s, but this one was black and radiated white specks. It reminded me of the night sky. Above Mom¡¯s head was a similar crown only a little feminine. Above my own head was a smaller version of Dad¡¯s crown. I looked over at Uncle Ares and see a marking on his forehead that had the same effect as the crowns. It marked him of the Royal family, and he loved every minute of it.


    *PING*


    Title Change


    Your title has changed from ¡®Heir to the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil¡¯ to ¡®Crown Prince of the Astral Kingdom¡¯


    Strength +25, Vitality +25, Dexterity +25, Charisma +50


    Oh wow. I am now a Prince that will be interesting. As I was thinking that the Dark Pope had left already. At this time Satan, I mean Demon King, congratulated Father.


    Father stood up and declared to the remaining 65 Dukes and Duchesses, ¡°In my name, let us have a Ball!¡±


    <hr />


    The MC is not is not biased on how the Demon King looks, I swear! Right? Right?


    ...


    Answer me!


    ...sure.


    You...

 Chapter 11: A simple dance with royalty.

    We were all moved to a massive Ball Room that even had an observation floor above us. Not only were the Dukes and Duchesses here but also their families and few of the Counts and Barons were here as well. I could see everyone was either moving about trying to find a dance partner, or conversing on the second floor. Nearby on stage, there were imps with various musical instruments. Most of the men were wearing formal attire; the ones with wings wore splendid vests or jackets that were specifically tailored to them. The women wore magnificent Ball Room dresses.


    In the crowd I spotted Uncle talking to shy looking Cliff Elf. She seemed a little on fair skinned side when it came to Cliff Elves. She was doing quite a blush while looking at my uncle. Hmm, I see a situation occurring between these two. I just happen to be near the wine when the music started. Looking around it was relatively close to the dance floor. So like in my previous life I started to back away with the intention of just watching from afar. That is when I felt a pull on my sleeve. Hmmm?


    Turning around I saw a pretty little Fire Demon that reached the height of my chin. She wore a solid black ruffled dress that went down to the floor; it also had an open back to display her shoulder blades. In the front, it had a low cut showing off the top of an exquisite pair of breasts. Looking at the ruffles of the dress, you can see that each ruffle was black fading into a deep, dark purple. Quite a beautiful dress. I didn¡¯t know is possible to make so a dress in this world; if it had sparkles or glitter, I would be convinced she smuggled it from Earth. The wearer of the dress was no way inferior to its beauty.


    She had a small round face of that of a 15-16 year old girl; probably her age. Her long, wavy, black hair was pushed into a pony tail that left a few locks loose. Kinda sexy, I have to admit. Her red skin was flawless of any marks or blemishes. She had a full lower lip with a slightly smaller upper lip, the lips being a slightly darker red than the rest of her skin. They were a pair of lips you had to fight not to cover them with your own. Floating above her head was a small crown of fire, marking her, the daughter of the Demon King. Her yellow eyes were looking upward at me, expecting an answer.


    Shaking myself out of my daze, ¡°Oh, I apologize; I didn¡¯t catch what you said. May I ask you please repeat it?¡±


    She giggled for a moment and looked away for a moment then resumed her stare, ¡°I was asking if I could have this dance. Well then may I?¡± She gave a slight blush before sticking out her hand, palm down. She stares at me intently. I let out a sigh; I can¡¯t bring myself to deny a beauty so I make a motion that was common in Europe. I quickly kneel before her and grasped her hand with one of my own and kissed the back of her hand, then quickly led her to the dance floor. Wait, was I supposed to kneel and do that or simply bow and do that¡­ oh well.


    I¡¯m no longer the man I was on Earth, and I have had a few years of formal dance lessons taught by my mother. I was fairly confident in my dance skill. We quickly start the dance positions of one hand on her hip and one clutching her other hand. Her free hand was on my shoulder. It was a pose for a Waltz. With our chests almost touching, it is as though were getting intimate. The introductory music is at an end and it is now time for the first dance movements composed for this piece. The tune was very melodious and slow, the kind of peaceful music you would use to put your babies to sleep. If you listen to the bassoon like instrument, it would difficult not to keep pace.


    Starting with the left forward, we walk forward three spaces followed by a twirl then walk back three paces to quickly do a partial, flourishing twirl that made you face 90 degrees to the right. At one point in the dancing I made sure to bring my left foot far behind her as the music kicked up a bit. The point in me doing this is to ready for this position. I take my right arm and bar it behind her lower back and use the rest of my body to lean in causing her lean back in my arm. We got really close to the ground. Doing this also took quite a bit of strength. She had both her hands on my shoulders, which gave me a free hand to stroke her cheek. I wiggle my eyebrows and quickly stand her up finishing with a twirl, bringing her even closer.


    Her face turns a deeper shade of red before she mumbles, ¡°You¡¯re quite impressive. Are you showing off?¡± She gave me an accusing look.


    I had to laugh, ¡°No, no. You are surely mistaken. I did however become good enough to surpass the dance instructors at the age of 15, at that point. I really can¡¯t help it when the music comes on, my body just moves. Also I can¡¯t help but show off in front of a beautiful lady.¡± It was at the end of the song that I saw everyone left a huge space for us to dance. At the finale of the piece, everyone was applauding around us.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    At this she became flustered, I then felt a tap on my shoulder, I turn and see Satan¡­ the Demon King Magnus. The music had died down and was going to start another piece.


    In his deep voice he asked, ¡°May I step in?¡± I had already separated myself from his daughter moments before so I make a welcoming gesture as I bow and start my exit.


    I was trying to walk off the dance floor when I felt another tug on my sleeve. I saw a human girl! She had light blonde hair that was put into a bun, and had the eyes that sparkled in an Aquamarine color. Her dress matched her eyes in color and was of a simply design. Although it was simple it was still beautiful in that it looked like it shined in the lights. She had a more slender figure than the Fire Demon princess. Of course this lady too, wore a small crown; however this one was made of metal that had intricate design. Another princess has appeared. Her eyes were staring at my face then slowly looked up at my own crown. At an instant I could tell she was captivated.


    I wave my hand in front of her face to snap her out of it. She fell out of her daze and focused on me again. She quickly threw her hand in the same position as the Fire Demon princess out of embarrassment. This time I bow as I kiss the back of her hand before clasping in mine as I lead her to a more remote section of the dance floor.


    The music that played no was even slower than the last one. This was a piece where you were supposed to sway with your partner close to your body. I would use this time to also ask a few personal questions I forgot to ask last time. I had one had at the lower side of her back and the other grabbing her right hand.


    ¡°So what is a human, such as yourself, doing in the Demon Realm?¡± I ask off handedly.


    ¡°My family wanted to congratulate the demons who rose to a Kingdom. It is a shame we couldn¡¯t see the coronation.¡± She seemed a little bummed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think out siders are allowed in if the whole Demon Realm is here. However when it comes to my coronation, there will only be the Dukes under us, so it will be more open. At the point you are more than welcome.¡± I tried my best at reassuring her. She seemed pleased with my answer.


    ¡°You are as they say you are.¡±


    Oh, that got my attention, ¡°What do they say about me? And who is ¡®they¡¯?¡±


    She chuckles a bit, ¡°The humans that reside in your domain. Ever since you made some suggestions to your parents, their lives have been much easier. You even made it possible for the Church of Light to be in the capital city!¡± She was practically praising me now.


    ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do. When I take after my father, there may be even more projects.¡± I said modestly. She looked at me in and grinned.


    I made her do a sudden twirl and then continued swaying. Then it struck me that I didn¡¯t know her name. ¡°It may be late for introductions but I am Prince Alexander Phendahl of the newly created Astral Kingdom. May I ask whom I have the pleasure of dancing with?¡±


    ¡°You certainly may! My name is Princess Ashley Greenwood of the Imperial Domain.¡± I felt as though a bomb had dropped. Are you freaking serious?! An imperial princess is here and I¡¯m touching her casually?! I guess the princess notice my jaw knocking on the floor. She quickly said, ¡°Oh please don¡¯t do that. I am still a princess, and fifth in line for the throne anyway. We are practically peers. Peers!¡± she stressed the last part as well.


    My mouth was still dry, but I manage to say, ¡°It is nice to meet you. Let us get along.¡± She simply nodded and curtsied as the song came to close.


    <hr />


    So MC, what do you think of the events so far?


    Your kind of foreshadowing is a pain.


    Why do you say that?


    I say something that ''couldn''t possibly happen", then does... or the times when I can kind of predict what''s going on... again a pain.


    Ah you wiener! Because you are a wienie, I think you will ''enjoy" this next chapter.


    What are implying?


    You''ll see...:)


    *Shudder* (whisper) please no. please no.

 Chapter 12: Master story telling prince.

    I made my way to the wine table. On this wine table we had the void lands specially grown blue grape wine. It kind of reminds me of a certain sugary beverage on Earth, but with alcohol. It tasted phenomenal by the way. I had already a glass in my hand and was sipping away at it. It then felt like I was in a spotlight of sorts. I turn around and see against the wall many people watching me. Most were women who wanted to dance with or have a casual chat with a prince but not brave enough to approach. They just simply stared at me. It was almost unsettling to be stared at so intently by so many.


    A few moments pass by before one of the ladies looked like gathered enough courage and stepped away from the wall. All eye focused on her as she bravely marched toward me. Ah if it isn¡¯t our favorite baroness to be.


    ¡°Greetings Louise.¡± I made a smile.


    ¡°My Prince.¡± she nodded. She then relaxed after a bit seeing as to I didn¡¯t change even if my title did.


    ¡°Hmm, I want to take a break from dancing. Why don¡¯t we gather some people off that wall and go to a nearby table and have a chat?¡± I suggest. At the suggestion I could see her shoulders slump for a moment. I don¡¯t mind it though as I casually stroll to the wall of say 10 or so girls. ¡°Evening ladies, I am looking for a bit a good fun conversation. Care to join this Baroness to be and I?¡± At my comment, the ladies looked at each then shook their heads vigorously. I then lead them to an empty table at the back of the room.


    ¡­


    It had been several minutes before the girls could relax around me but the conversation had been well so far. Everyone was between the age of 16 and 20, most being the daughters of Dukes and some of Counts. At the moment I was telling the story of eliminating the Cave Pool Dragon.


    ¡°And then what happened?¡± Camilla Raincave, a Water Demon, had asked, captivated by my story.


    ¡°There I was minding my own business, do no one any harm. Just trying to fill the request of water crystals. You know what happened next?¡± I toss out the question.


    All the girls replied, ¡°What? What happened next?¡±


    ¡°I saw a huge torrent of water just whoosh over my head and out of a small, measly, little puddle popped out this HUGE snake like thing with a massive head. It had giant fangs and small frills behind its head. Then on either side of its head were the biggest yellow eyes you have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°Whoa,¡± the girls were amazed now. A few more people started to gather around the table now, mainly soldiers.


    ¡°It was a giant Cave Pool Dragon!¡± I exclaimed. It caught a few more people¡¯s attention. ¡°For a moment it did nothing but stare at me with those big eyes. Then I felt the water level rise to my chest! Now I¡¯m no Water Demon,¡± a few girls giggle, ¡°but I was at disadvantage. I was going to swim out of there as fast as I could but do know what that sneaky thing did?¡±


    A few of the nobles joined in, ¡°No, what did it do?¡±


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°It created a dungeon space!¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    ¡°Yes way. And the floor beneath seemed to give way as well. I had to swim to keep afloat. To makes matters even worse, it started to swim after me, it was so fast. But then¡­¡± I trailed off.


    Everyone was leaning forward in their chair.


    ¡°It disappeared; I couldn¡¯t see the little thing. It dove under water. I then sent my Mana into pulses to see if I could find it. Then I found it. It was right below me, readying for an attack! It was coming at with a tremendous speed. I swam as fast as I can but it shot out of the water and snapped its mouth shut at my location!¡±


    ¡°How did you get a way?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s simple, moments before I used a very useful technique. I threw myself to the side and safety landed near a distant location.¡± I stood up and jumped into a Void Step and landed on top of the table. The crowd was shocked. ¡°It was then that I noticed five pillars as the center of the room. Needless to say, I out witted it to make it crush those pillars bringing down that ceiling. Crushing it.¡±


    ¡°Did it die?¡± a curious question asked by Michelle Windbar.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t notice it until I saw the entrance was still not open. That is when the thing sprang from the rubble! It was of course not unscathed but it was still alive. I teleported to the bit of ceiling that had remained and kick off, launching myself through the air. When it noticed me I threw my sword into an open wound and while it was distracted I rammed into it with my horns, slamming it into the floor. When it was lying on the floor I took my sword and stabbed it in the brain making sure it had died before I looted its body and got what I came for. The End.¡± I said with a grin.


    Everyone who was intensely listening made a big applaud after hearing the ending. Most people disbanded, being satisfied with the story. It looked like it was everyone who was on the first floor came to listen to my tale. Some remained though.


    ¡°That was most magnificent Prince Alexander! Most splendid indeed! This tale isn¡¯t made up is it?¡± questioning glance was made by Rhea Grounds and Earth Demon.


    I shook my head, ¡°It¡¯s all true. Don¡¯t believe me? I have proof.¡± I quick recover a 12 inch Cave Pool Dragon fang. I pass it to her, and her eyes glow with amazement as she looks at it. I chuckle at their new found amazement. Ah, that was fun.


    Looking up at the second floor, I saw my dad motioning me to go dance in a funny manner. I sigh and once again join the now empty dance floor.


    <hr />


    So MC is wasn''t to bad right?


    Bad? That was lame, it was like a copy and paste of another chapter!


    Why you! Fine, I''m going to make you regret it. This next chapter shall make you... very happy!


    Is it another copy and paste, fufufu. Bring it!


    You asked for it!

 Chapter 13: Satans daughter becomes my Fianc茅?

    I look around the dance floor filling up with the nobles and their children. They still kept a distance from me; however, they seemed a little more relaxed. That was when the Fire Demon princess from earlier approached me. She smiled as she got closer and I returned the smile.


    She looked up at me when she came to a comfortable talking distance, ¡°May I?¡±


    I looked around and shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t see why not, Princess.¡±


    ¡°Chloe. You may call me Chloe.¡± She smiled a little brighter.


    ¡°Well then, Chloe, want to dance?¡± I say this as I motion a bow. She chuckled and rolled her eyes.


    ¡­


    After dancing with Chloe, Louise, and a few women the Ball came to a close. The nobles had their fill of entertainment and had started leaving one by one after congratulating the new king one more time. Only few remained including the Demon King. Speaking of the Demon King, he was chatting up my father. I went to the gardens outside.


    There were many flowers that resembled that of Earth¡¯s own. In here in this immaculate garden, it was peaceful. The very air was relaxing, I think it was some kind of nature spell put on it, but it was still beautiful. Looking at the beautiful garden, I could see a section of flowers that closely resembled the rose, Demon¡¯s Blood Rose. This type of rose was three times bigger than the average rose and its colors were blue and purple, with blue fading to purple, inside to out. What was unusual about this rose was that there were no thorns.


    Studying this rose, I feel a presence behind me and slowly turn around to meet this person. Oh, Princess Chloe. ¡°Is there something I can help you with?¡± I ask. She feigned thinking with tilting her head and putting her finger next to her lips.


    ¡°Hmm, I do believe I was looking for a newly made Crown Prince. Do you know where I would find such a person?¡± She slowly smiled at me while coming closer.


    Smiling myself, I said, ¡°I do believe you just missed him. However if you want I can leave a message.¡± A few laughs escape from us, ah this is fun.


    ¡°Do you know how the life of royalty goes? The privileges and duties the princes and princesses are? Like governing the people and such?¡± She questioned. She started stepping up closer.


    ¡°I know some things, but then again, I just became royalty you know?¡± Not seeing any connections, I just state the obvious. She then walked over so closely that whispering would easily be heard between us.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Well one of those duties is finding a suitable marriage partner. One that would help either ally two countries or to help with ruling one and continuing the bloodline. Such is one of the biggest duties a prince or princess has. They are usually arranged though.¡± She said so as she ran a finger down my chest.


    Oh. Marriage hadn¡¯t even entered my mind. I guess it makes sense though. ¡°I-I see.¡± You know seeing a demon in the dark with burning yellow eyes is usually scary. However sense becoming a demon myself, I consider it beautiful. I was pretty broad minded in my previous life anyway. Looking at this princess under the moon light was making my heart race. As she drew closer, the urge to kiss her luscious lips grew. I was about to do so until I felt another presence. Turning my head I saw Imperial Princess Ashley. I almost sigh out in relief.


    ¡°No fair, Princess Chloe! You shouldn¡¯t get a head start.¡± She pouts. Haha, so cute. She quickly walks up to me and grabs my arm to pull me away. Hmm, this must look amusing to an onlooker. However I am no onlooker and this is painful.


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s my boy!¡± I could hear my father laughing together with the Demon King. I knew it. I would say I can¡¯t say believe it, but that would be a lie. I actually sigh in defeat this time. At the sound of laughter the two princesses stop pulling on my arms. That was when my father and the Demon King stepped out of the shadows of the building. Along with them was my mother. My father stepped up and announced, ¡°Under the starry sky, the Demon King and I decided to arrange a betrothal between the two of you!¡± He then pointed at Chloe and me.


    My mother had a slight smile on her face, ¡°Oh my, were we disturbing you three? I know the moon is lovely in this garden but refrain from doing something in the open. Or maybe someone will get jealous.¡± After saying such things, she stepped to the side to reveal Aria sulking behind her. She appeared thoughtful for a moment. Will you save me, Mother? ¡°Polygamy is also an option.¡±


    I hang my head as my last ray of hope shattered. Why, why must you drop bombs my beloved parents? I quietly look up to see the girls have competition like fire burn in their eyes. I wanted a normal life¡­ was not what I was thinking. Ah, this might be difficult, but at least I won¡¯t have any boring days.


    <hr />


    Haha, how do you like that Mr. MC?


    You just gave me a Harem, what''s wrong with that?


    Two of them are Princesses.


    So? Better right?


    Wrong! See, there is the possibility that if you choose one, the other nation will attack yours out of heart brokenness,


    What?! How could you do this to me?!


    Relax, its only a possibility, though it could very well happen. :)


    Why you!


    Hahahahaha, lol!

 Chapter 14: A mornings cardio workout.

    I walk into my bedroom on the third floor of the main corridor. Observing the room, you can find these things: a King sized bed, two night stands, one massive dresser, a huge mirror that took up a whole wall opposite of the bed, and a giant red rug on the black stone floor. On the bed were black satin sheets that look like they could send your consciousness to oblivion by laying on them.


    Looking into the enormous mirror I could see a dressed up, purple skinned figure staring back at me. My black hair was still a shaggy mess despite the maid¡¯s best attempts. It still looked good in my opinion. My solid black eyes matched my hair; it could almost give a sinister look. I looked at my horns poking out of my hair, situated on my forehead; they still looked small compared to the Demon Kings. I don¡¯t know if I want bull horns like him though, maybe something a little more graceful. Speaking of the Demon King, he said something about a tail¡­ I might do some trait purchasing tomorrow.


    Satisfied with the mirror, I quickly change into some loose fitting, silk pants. I don¡¯t like sleeping with shirts. After changing I dive into bed and sleep quickly claims me. I thought I heard something creak before I fell under the spell sleep had cast on me, but I blow it off as a maid doing chores.


    ¡­


    It was morning; I could tell that from the sun hitting my face. However, there was a familiar weight on my chest. Looking down at my chest I could see a fluffy black tail attached to Aria. Remembering the creaking last night, it was probably the door opening. Hah. Whatever, I¡¯ll just wake her up.


    Hmm? I can¡¯t move my arms. Looking to my left I saw the Demon Princess Chloe, to right, is the Imperial Princess Ashley. Oh gods, why is this happening? If someone came in, they might misunderstand! ¡°Umm, guys¡­ guys¡­ Guys! Wake up.¡± Maybe I can make them get out before someone gets here.


    Creak. Clang. At the doorway is a maid flustered maid. She was a Meadow Elf that had been hired recently. Olivia I recall. Seeing the people on the bed, she dropped a platter of food. Oh crap.


    Hearing the clatter of the metal pan, the girls began to stir, no time for that, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not what it looks like! I can explain.¡± I say frantically.


    ¡°Please excuse me for disturbing you!¡± Olivia had her face flushed with red, she then dashed away. Great.


    Aria had shuffled around a bit until her head was just under my chin; she cuddled until she got comfortable. She closed her eyes and quietly fell back asleep. Chloe slowly opened her eyes and leaned in from hugging my arm.


    ¡°Good morning, my Darling.¡± She said with a purr almost mixed in her voice. She brought her face half an inch away. Before I could get my question out she covered her mouth over my own. She brought her hand over to my cheek as she invaded my mouth with her tongue. Her skin was heating up to almost stinging, but it was still at a temperature that felt stimulating. After a few moments she pulled back to peer into my eyes.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    She pulled face in and continued press her lips into mine. My mind had gone fuzzy with pleasure. It had my heart had increased in tempo with the increase with my own temperature. I then felt my right arm start to move when I heard Ashley ask, ¡°What is the meaning of this? Princess Chloe, I said no head starts!¡±


    Chloe had slowly pulled back on her intense kiss and looked up at Ashley, ¡°Isn¡¯t it natural for lovers to greet each other like this in the morning?¡± Finished what she was saying, she went in to continue, but my face was grabbed and forced to look at Ashley as she brought her own to do the same. She was sporting a massive blush that went from ear to ear. I have no idea if it was healthy for my heart to be beating this fast in the morning.


    ¡­


    A few minutes later after the two started arguing, I had to cut in, ¡°I need to get dressed, I¡¯d rather not have you guys watching me so can you leave me for a while?¡± They started to turn a deeper red before they let go of my arms and got up. It was then that I realized they were wearing the same styled night gown only different in colors. Ah, Mother must have given it to them.


    They reluctantly left the room. Ah, finally. Sitting up, I forgot about the weight on my chest. The weight then slid to my lap that is when I remembered Aria. Looking around, she looked confused by waking up so suddenly. Turning around she looked at me for a moment before pushing me down. She had her cute face hovering a few inches above mine. My heart started to pick up its pace again.


    ¡°What are you d-mph?!¡± I couldn¡¯t get the question out before my lips were crushed under hers. Pulling back I could practically see her breath as she pants. She brings her lips over my mouth and pushes her tongue into my mouth exploring it. This time she lasted longer before she had to pull away catching her breath. Her eyes were dilated, screaming for more. She came again at me for a third time, but this time I used my own slippery tongue to invade her mouth. Her hands were trailing down my chest as she deepened her kiss.


    The making out seemed to end abruptly when she was yanked by the two princesses that had also forgotten about Aria. When we separated, we were both heavily panting for. The princesses quickly exited the room with Aria.


    I didn¡¯t move for a while, waiting for my heart to slow down from its intense exercise. When I felt that it slowed down enough I got up and moved to my dresser. I pulled a few drawers and picked out various clothing and changed into them. They were a smooth, tan leather pair of pants, a white, fluffed blouse along with a pair of sturdy leather boots. I had also donned on a dark purple petit coat. This is basic, standard travelling gear. It looked good though.


    Taking another look in the mirror, I mumble ¡°Purchase Screen.¡±


    <hr />


    Oooh, Mr. MC!


    Leave me alone!


    Why? I have done nothing wrong.


    You make my life miserable!


    Miserable? You? no. You aren''t miserable! With gifts comes a price tag.


    YOU ARE NOT A MERCHANT!


    Hehehe.


    Get back here! You little-!

 Chapter 15: A complete demonic look.

    *PING*


    Purchase Screen: Available Traits


    Twin Horns -- Purchased.


    Demon Wings 30 Wings sprout from the back, ability of flight and glide is unlocked.


    Devil¡¯s Tail 20 A tail that can be used as an extra limb will grow; attacks can be learned as well.


    Void Step -- Purchased.


    Claws 10 Who needs fists, when you have claws? Talon like claws replace finger nails. Retractable, of course.


    Demon Eyes 25 Depending on the skill tree the user chooses or the user¡¯s mood, the eyes will have different effects; such as paralysis, fear, energy steal, or even death. If looks could kill¡­


    Hazy Aura 45 Much like the ¡®Eyes of a Demon¡¯, it affects opponents with various effects. A Misty Form becomes unlocked.


    I think I¡¯m going to continue the look of a proper demon. I look over a few of the traits and pick the ones I had my eyes on.


    *PING*


    Traits Bought


    Claws, Demon Wings, Devil¡¯s Tail


    Wait, wasn¡¯t there pain associated with this? Just as the thought passed through my mind, it hit me. I could feel my own Mana actually flow from my chest to my back and arms. With the searing pain rushing through my veins, it felt as my own blood had turned into molten lava. I doubled over in agony.


    Gritting my teeth so hard I felt as though they would break, I had bent down on to both of my knees. The pain then doubled as the area it affected condensed. I had heard a monstrous roar that I later realized was my own voice, ¡°AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGG!!! AAAHHHH!! GAAAAHHH!!!¡± I could feel the flesh peel away around my fingertips as talons ripped through. On my back I could feel the excruciating pain of bones rearranging, splitting and growing. I heard the tearing of my cloths as a pair of giant, black wings entered my view.


    The pain in my arms subsided, but the pain in my spine seemed to only get started. Hearing my screams of agony the door banged open with knights charging into the room. The pain had gotten so bad, I could no longer yell out my pain and my vision had gone red. I¡¯m afraid I may have popped some vessels in my eyes. However, I do not care as I feel my spine stretching with the vertebrae forming new bones at the ends. With the completion of the tail I could feel the pain starting to evaporate. I sigh out of relief and proceed to stand up. I feel the Mana start moving back to my chest, then it suddenly shot up to my face and concentrated around my eyes.


    My hand clutches the dresser for support as it feels like someone stabs my brain with a hot rod through my eyes. After falling back down to my knees I cover my eyes with both hands. My eyes they fell like they are melting. Someone please help! My vision cleared up and the pain subsided and faded back to nothing as the Mana went back into my core.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.I stand up and wait. Nothing, nothing happens. Then¡­


    *PING*


    Traits Gained


    Demon Eyes, Beastly Fangs


    Beastly Fangs? I touch my canines to find a sharp prick on my fingers. My canines were indeed longer. Speaking of fingers, the ends of my fingers had turned into dull, inch long talons. The description said something about being retractable. When I thought about it my fingers turned back to normal.


    Looking around, I could see many frightened faces of soldiers and a very worried king. Seeing that I was alright, Father just smiled being so relieved. It was then he said, ¡°So it¡¯s true that you beat a Cave Pool Dragon. It seems you have acquired enough power to obtain all those traits in such a short time; your story can only be true. That¡¯s my son for you!¡± he declared loudly.


    I snuck a look at the mirror to see something unexpected. I looked like a fallen angel on Earth. Inspecting further, I could see I developed red irises, so it looked really evil in a field of black. I had massive black feathered wings that were bigger than my own father¡¯s. Also I felt another sensation in my pants, the sensation then was met with curiosity. I reached in the back of my pants and pull out a tail. It was the size of my arm in length and two inches in diameter.


    It bent and twisted to my will, much like the rest of my body. When my curiosity with my tail was satisfied I moved my attention to my wings. It wasn¡¯t much room for stretching them so I walk over to the window and open it. That was when the girls burst into the room shoving their way past the troops. At that moment I threw myself out the window when they looked me with shocked expressions.


    My room was on the third floor, but the ground was rapidly approaching. I used my skill, Slow Time to slow everything at an extremely slow pace. I quickly open my wings and spread them, with a quick thrust my wings gracefully came down lifting me in the air. Slow Time had ended however I was no longer falling. A few powerful beats of my wings, I was in the sky, soaring like an eagle. I take a quick look at my wing span seeing that it reached about two and a half times my height


    Wings¡­ let me tell you had how they differ between the races. Void Demons have black feathery wings; Fire Demons have red leathery bat wings. Water Demons don¡¯t get wings, they instead get fins, Earth Demons get bat like wings much like the Fire Demons. Air Demons have colorful feathery wings much like a parrot some are solid white though.


    I used some of the air currents to keep from using too much energy. I circled the palace a few times before I dive through my window. Landing, I need to work on landing. As it is, I crashed into the wall beside the door. Getting a face full of stone, I stood up rubbing my face. Ok, landing is what comes next. I don¡¯t think my face can take much more of this.


    <hr />


    That''s it for today. I ''m done torturing this MC for now.


    Thank God!


    I''m not through with you calling me a cheesy writer who can''t even simple story on his own!


    I never said that! I only said-


    What? That I need to rely on reader''s suggestions for plot development?


    No, I-


    *tear slides down face* I know, I know. I don''t need to but I love reading comments, sometimes they affect my stories. I''m sorry!


    Please, don''t leave my life in the hands of strangers! I''m begging you!


    *sniffle* ...It''s too late...


    Noooo!

 Chapter 16: The underlying problems of the King.

    I was probably outside for a good ten minutes, so all the soldiers and the King already left, however what I saw on my bed was two very mad princesses and a beastman girl on the verge of tears. Oh boy, I can tell this will be a lovely chat.


    Chloe spoke first, ¡°What crawled in your head to give you the idea to jump out of a third story window? You could have died!¡±


    Ashley was in total agreement, ¡°What if you couldn¡¯t fly? You would¡¯ve become a big purple stain on the ground.¡±


    I let out a sigh from this tense atmosphere. ¡°I wanted to test them out. I¡¯ve always wanted to fly. Besides I was in full control.¡±


    It was then, Aria leaped off the bed and tackled me into a hug, sobbing. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to die!¡± Awe.


    I began to stroke her head as I reassure her, ¡°I¡¯m not going to die.¡± It looked like the princesses weren¡¯t satisfied with lecturing me, however since Aria was acting the way the she was, they stopped. The princesses gave out an hmph before exiting the room. As I continued to stroke her hair, I notice something different. I kneel to have a look.


    Where there was a giant, shackle-like collar was now replaced with a thin dog collar. Upon noticing me studying the new collar, she chimed in, ¡°You parents filled out some paperwork and my slave ownership transferred to you. I¡¯m your slave, Alex!¡±


    ¡°What?! I thought you were going to be freed.¡± I turn around; ready to march to my parents, ¡°I¡¯ll fix it.¡±


    ¡°Nooo! You can¡¯t! I wanted to be your slave.¡± She was tugging on the back of my shirt trying to stop me. I stopped in my tracks.


    ¡°Why would you do that?¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s because I w-wanted to be with you¡­¡± She said bashfully, her dyed red.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that; we could still hang out after you were freed.¡±


    Aria gave me a sad look, ¡°If I became free, I would get pushed away and forgotten about.¡± She looked up at me with pleading eyes. Muuu, why do you do this to me? My heart is kinda like putty in your hands!


    ¡°Fine,¡± I gave, she looked overjoyed, ¡°You can be my official slave, however unofficially you are free. Got it? You can make your own decisions.¡± She nodded her head vigorously. Good.


    She then skipped out of my room, while I was putting my thoughts together. I mean, someone wanted to be my slave. That was strange. Whatever, it is not like I can wrap my head around it. I guess I take a stroll through the city.


    ¡­


    Noble¡¯s District. Since we are in the Void Lands, there was no one above Lord except my family. So basically it was just a bunch of rich people that could afford to live here. Most True Demons were above Lords when it came to power, I think there are only two that are Lords in the far west of the Demon Realms. Why are there no barons and counts? My dad. See father gained some trust issues when he partook in the Great War. Yes, he is that old.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I believe the story he told me was that it was with his battalion, they were sent to aid the Southern Dukedom of Oclen. They arrived when an elf had already fended off the humans from completely destroying the city. When they arrived they were given orders to chase the humans into their own lands to avenge the fallen.


    Well, when they crossed borders and entered a kingdom of the humans just south of Imperial Domain¡¯s capital; treachery had taken over the battalion. They were spies, human sympathizers that turned against their own brothers. Half the battalion turned against the other half. Almost completely wiping out the battalion. The Battalion by the way had quite a few Void Demons.


    Earlier, before they were shipped off to fight each member in a garrison had to tell their weaknesses to their battle mates. That was the work of a general that was a traitor, his treachery was later known. Given their weaknesses, the battle field became a blood bath.


    My mom was not yet old enough to fight, so she was not a participant in the war. The only thing that saved my dad¡¯s life was Magnus. At the time Magnus was second in line for the thrown. His brother was killed in action later in the war. A bond formed between the two as they rose up and suppressed the mutiny. This happened in more than fifty battalions. The Demon Realm may have otherwise won the war if not for wide scale mutiny. They very well could have lost the war if not for the quick wit of Demon King William ¡®the wise¡¯.


    When the war was concluded, each side did a body count. We had lost over 1.5 million lives. Not much compared to Earth, but on Zugrielia, it was devastating. It was shocking to see the only survivor of the Void Demon race that participated in the war was my father and his brother Ares. On the Civilian side was only my mother. There were no other Void Demon children, because demons are long lived and don¡¯t need as many offspring. Not only that, but Void Demons had a drop in fertility a few hundred years before the Great War. My mother was the youngest of all the Void Demons. Given another year, she would¡¯ve also participated in the war.


    The two had never felt so alone. Everyone they knew, dead or traitorous. Since the ones that traitorous were executed, they were also dead. Childhood friends, family, all but some acquaintances were all dead. My parents went through years of depression with only each other for comfort. Even Magnus had to leave whenhis father died; he had a country to run now.


    If wasn¡¯t for my Uncle, they might of died that way. He did everything in his power to cheer them up.  He did all he could do to keep them alive, him and the staff. He could maintain a decent atmosphere but nothing above it. He was getting desperate, and then news that my mother was pregnant came about. It seemed to slap them into reality. They had decided they weren¡¯t going to have their child go through this kind of life style. As months went on, they adopted a cheery attitude.


    Even if their attitudes were changed, his trust in other people did not. Even with all offices below my father were open, he decided to do them himself. It always him busy. Not only was it incredibly inefficient, it was also very taxing on his mental health. He was still doing well; it was only a matter of time till he would lose to the stress. Now that his wife and brother, his mental support, were terminally ill, I fear for the worst.


    <hr />


    Hmm, Mr. MC. You have a pretty messed up family history.


    Why are you even writing this now? Is it not a little late for this?


    Hmmm... it explain to the readers why the distribution of power is screwed up in your country.


    Oh, ok. I thought you wer going to-


    Maybe it''s FORESHADOWING!!!


    NOOO!!!! Why do you do this me. Come here let me teach you a lesson!


    Lololololololololol.


    Get back here! Oi! OI!

 Chapter 17: Skill progression.

    You know, I have travelled around this city since I could remember, well in this life anyway. There were many kind people inhabiting this city. They were always going out of their way to greet me. I always felt welcome. Unlike the stories and history of nobles on Earth, the villagers seemed to like the nobility, in the Starwind City anyway.


    Walking a mile or two from the palace I decide I would like to fly instead. I mean I have the wings might as well. I slowly inhale a big breath and take off in a sprint. My wings began to up and down as I bolt across the road. I throw myself in the air and I lift off the ground for a few feet and touch the ground. I still had a lot of forward momentum so I when I touched the ground I kept running and I threw myself in the air again. I made it 15 feet in the air before I was forced to come back down. I pushed myself even harder, running even faster. I could feel lungs starting to burn.


    Once more I fling myself into the wind, almost in a dive like form. My wings beating faster and faster, I was lifted higher and higher until I felt as though I would gravity no longer could hold me. I felt free as I soar across the sky. Needless exercise? Hmmm, well maybe. However it would build strength in my wings. What if I need to fly faster, farther, or even to avoid something in mid-air? That would require more strength than I have now. Now that I think about it, I should polish my skills.


    Thinking I could level up a lot of my skills, I make adjustments in my flight. I veer to the right and aim for Ancestral Park in the Commoner¡¯s District. Thinking back I could have easily died at the Cave Pool Dragon¡¯s lair if I did not have Void Step. I guess I¡¯m really lucky I bought those traits beforehand.


    Thinking to myself I flew over intersection of the two main roads, crossing it, I had entered the Commoner¡¯s District. Not too far from here is the park¡­ Let¡¯s see, ah! There it is!


    ¡°That took a while. Oh, no I forgot to practice landing!¡± I shouted at myself while coming in for a landing. I was coming in a little hot so I open my wings and tilt them up for a major slowdown. I quickly activate Slow Time. The world appeared in slow motion again.


    I was about twenty feet off the ground when I felt confident I was going slow enough for a smooth landing. I got closer and closer to the ground, and then Slow Time ran out. I was only a few feet off the ground when it did, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need it now. I my feet had finally touched the ground. Feeling relieved, I folded my wings. Mistake, as soon as I did I ended up swallowing dirt.


    I didn¡¯t have a firm stance when coming down. Almost, I was this close to getting it. Ah, oh well. Dusting myself off and spitting out what I could of the dirt in my mouth. I look around to see if anyone was here. Oh good, no one is here.


    Concentrating on the Mana in my core I forced it out of my body. My body gave off a blue glow which condensed then dispersed. Purple and black mist started forming, obscuring the vision of the outside world. The air got cold as the sky blackened. Ah if I recall, since the Dungeon Skill was level two I form monsters. Oh I can be the god of this new world! Haha, at least of this Dungeon. I feed more mana into the dungeon until some black mist starts forming a mass in small pools in various places. The mist condensed and formed silhouettes of Silver Fangs and evil looking goblins with wings and spears. Those goblin things¡­ They look familiar. Ah, gargoyles. The Gargoyles quickly took to the air and the pack of Silver Fangs started to move away from me.


    I move the will of the Dungeon to make me a target. Immediately the Gargoyles start glaring me with their red eyes. At the same time, the Silver Fangs began moving in circles around me. There the training grounds are set. I want to now work with mana manipulation to develop some spells.


    One of the many Gargoyles in the sky threw a spear in my direction. As the spear began closing distance quickly, I activated Slow Time jumped to the side, pulled the Void sword from the Void Space and cut down the incoming spear. I did a half spin and let go of the Void Sword. Letting go of the time, the sword sailed through the air and struck a Gargoyle in the chest. Impaled, it fell to the ground and on the way down turned into a fog of black mist that slowly dissipated into the air.


    I gather man into my hands and manipulated the oxygen in the air pulling it to my hand. All the oxygen was swirling around my left hand, more and more gathered. The Silver Fangs started staggering a bit; one that was the furthest out even fell over and turned into mist. Some of the Gargoyles fell from the sky. Very cool. I shall name it Oxygen Flux.


    Ignite you say? Well, I am a bit of a Pyromaniac? It would explode and I am the closest to it, I just got be smart. However I will throw it at a Gargoyle. I compact the now nearly tangible ball of oxygen. I send out even more mana to my hands building up potential friction and pressure. A Silver Fang figured out it was easier to breath near me and started to advance toward me. When it came within a few feet, I slammed both my hands together on the ball of oxygen.


    The built up pressure, oxygen, and friction produced an inferno that in gulfed the Silver Fang in a wall of fire. It was so hot I could feel the chilly air of the entire dungeon get very warm. The poor Silver Fang, not even a yelp. When it was all clear, the wolf had disappeared. Along with it several Gargoyles as well. Inferno Wall. I¡¯m naming this Inferno wall.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    I increase the spawn rate a bit and even more of these guys show up. With the Mana still in my hands I ball up my fists and slam them into the ground while in a kneeling position. When the mana left my hands and into the earth, I willed it to move toward some unsuspecting Silver Fangs. When it arrived beneath them I commanded it to rise up quickly. The earth did just that.


    Moments later there were three impaled Silver Fangs. Stone spikes had pierced their bellies. Then they turned to fog. Earthen Spikes.


    It was then I dive to then ground when I barely dodged an incoming Gargoyle. Mid dive, I fell into a Void Step and reappeared right above them. Taking out the Void Sword, I dived at them and started hacking and slashing. Few blocked the initial swing but fell to the second one. Some dodged and flew away.


    One came from beneath me and pushed me with their spear. I was forced to slow down and back up a bit. This one had a look of complete and utter confidence in his hand to hand combat. Maybe if I can scare him a bit. I gaze into his and muster as much killing intent as I could into. So much I felt myself straining a bit. After a few moments, his smile drops and his eyes widen in horror. He immediately turned and flew off as fast he could. I throw my Void Sword into a Void Step. The sword reappeared and stuck into his throat. He quickly exploded into fog.


    Satisfied I began to move my gaze some other Gargoyles. Before I could go after them I felt my arms get latched onto. I would¡¯ve used my newly developed detection skill if it wasn¡¯t for the mana required to maintain the dungeon, monsters, and the mana used up from the previous experiments. I could draw in the mana from the surroundings, but for that I had to be relaxing.


    At the moment I was far from relaxed, and then I remember some of my other features. I looked at the guy on right, ¡°Hey I wanna tell ya something very important¡­¡± I slammed my head into his face, making my horns leave large holes in his face. He let go to clutch his face. I used my tail to choke the guy on my left, as soon as he let go I sliced off his head did I a quick turn and stabbed the Gargoyle, who was starting to recover, in the chest. I leaned in close and whispered, ¡°You might want to get that looked at.¡±


    I started feeling my mana reserves starting to get low. ¡°It was just getting fun too!¡± I let the Gargoyles all fade and only leave a few Silver Fangs. Still high up in the air, I dive down and snatch a Silver Fang off the ground. It was extremely heavy so I ended up dropping it. Because of the tremendous momentum he ended up flying a good distance before hitting the ground, killing it instantly.


    I slowly flew toward the ground and lightly landed on the ground. Looking at the remaining Silver Fangs they were on extreme alert. Hmm, they do have a good reason. I take my Void Sword and stab it into the Void Step. My target quickly evaded it. Oh, they are on too high alert. Or my attacks are getting readable. That won¡¯t do!


    I reopen the Void Step however; I visualize the opening to be inside the Silver Fangs stomach. I then stab my sword into the Void Step, this time the poor wolf could not evade and had a black blade sticking out of his belly. It collapsed and turned to fog. Couldn¡¯t dodge that could you?


    The other Silver Fangs decided to run at me at the same time. I manage to make eye contact with of them sending them on a different path. Looking at the oncoming one I extend my claws and bare my fangs at it and took toward the opponent. Before we were upon each other, it leaped in the air. At the same time I swept my arm with blinding speed, and clawed its face. Its weight still crashed on top of me. Pinning me on the ground it tried to bite at me. I had one arm pinned and the other keeping the teeth from connecting with my face.


    You know what? I feel like biting back! I lunge my face and raked my teeth across its throat. And grabbed as big a mouth full as I could get and ripped it out chunk after chunk. With each chunk, the Silver Fang got more vicious, more desperate. Eventually I tore out its throat. The Silver Fang instantly turned to fog. Before I could stand up, the last Silver Fang was on top of me. I but this time I had both hands free, so I grabbed it by throat with my left hand. With my right hand, I shoved it between its ribs, forcing my hand around its heart. I grabbed the beating organ and tore it out. By the way, heart removal is a lot harder than it looks.


    Once the heart left the body, the Silver Fang returned to fog. Ah that¡¯s it for today¡¯s training.


    *PING*


    <hr />


    Oooooooo, MC, you getting hecks a strong!


    I feel like I can finally have my revenge on you for making me have a screwed up life!


    Oh I wouldn''t if I were you...


    Hahaha, I finally caught you, I''ll make you pay now!!! hey what are writing?


    ...


    *WHAM* ouch! why did I punch myself? wait... no..


    (grin) You forget, I''m the author!


    NOO, I was so close!


    Hey, MC, one question for you! Why are hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?


    *sob*

 Side Story: Aria

    ¡°You, slave, it appears the sewage is backed up, I need you to go down to the sewers beneath the house and clean it,¡± a middle aged woman with a large wart on her face was ordering me. Her name was Therrexis Burnheart. A Baroness.


    I stand around for a moment longer than was necessary; she looked at me and raised her left hand and brought down a force that was sure to break my right cheek, it had sprawled on the floor holding my cheek. ¡°I said GO. I want you down there now.¡± She barked.


    I quickly scrambled and left the room behind me. The entrance to the family¡¯s sewer well wasn¡¯t that difficult to get to at least. I manage to get there without being hit again. I lift the lid to the entrance and climb down. When I was sure I was left alone, I sat down on the floor and brought my knees under my chin and I wept.


    I cried for a few minutes with no one but myself to hear my cries. My parents had died from a disease that had been going around town just last year. I was left alone at the slavery auction and was eventually sold off to the Burnhearts, a local Baron family I heard. My life here is miserable. I get daily beatings and I hardly get any food. I wish I had someone hold me while I cried. I wish my mom was still here.


    Pulling myself together, I look around the tunnels to see where the blockage maybe. Is it this one? No¡­ This one? No¡­ Here? No¡­ None of these are blocked. The fumes of this place are starting to make eyes water. Seeing no blockages, I make my way up the latter to escape this stinky place.


    Just when I raised the lid to take a breath of fresh air I saw a face in front of mine. It was a square-ish face of a handsome guy, down to the chiseled feature of his jaw. Flawless red skin, brownish-black hair, he was currently smiling at me. It was Dathinos Burnheart, the current Baron and master of the house. Seeing the face suddenly really did startle me. He drew back his fist and punched me in my already swollen cheek. The sudden pain caused me to lose my grip and I fell down to the bottom of the floor of the floor. Looking up, I could see his face at the entrance.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to keep you in here for a few days. You see the Slave Inspector is coming by to see if we are keeping up in maintaining your rights as a slave. It was only recently but there was a law that our Duke adopted from the Dukedom of Drayasil. I believe he called it the Phendahl Rights. I don¡¯t get it but I am not giving rights to a slave. I will just say you ran away. Sooo, have a nice day!¡± with that, he closed the entrance; I could hear the rattling of chains and the clink of a lock.


    I try standing up and immediately crumple back down. My ankle had been twisted, I¡¯d be lucky if it wasn¡¯t broken. The swelling of my right cheek had reached the point of blocking out half the vision of my right eye. I curl up on the floor and cry. I feel as though death would be a better alternative to this life. I just want it to all end.


    I don¡¯t know how long I was like that, but I do know I eventually fell asleep. I knew I had fallen asleep due to me waking up shivering from the cold stone floor. My eyes were getting really heavy as it got colder and colder with each passing hour. Maybe I¡¯ll freeze to death. My clothing consisted of a dirty pillow case with holes and stains on it and a giant, shackle-like slave collar. I would like to fade in my sleep. I slowly close my eyes once, twice, and once more. The last time I did not open them.


    I dreamed of being with my parents, and we were all free. We were some sweet desserts and laughing together. We were truly happy. I grabbed my mom¡¯s sleeve and looked her in the eye and said, ¡°I love you Mom.¡±


    She gazed into my eyes with a warm smile and said while stroking my hair, ¡°I lo-¡±


    I bolted up right; I had been splashed with cold water. Looking at the where it came from, I could see a head at the entrance. It was the Baron¡¯s oldest son Zaebzhar. He looked down me with a big smile and said, ¡°You can sleep when you¡¯re dead. Here, this is your food for the day.¡± He tossed something that had made a splat on the ground a few feet away from me.


    Upon further inspection it was a rotting apple that was already covered in flies. I heard the shutting and locking of the lid above. Soaking wet, I couldn¡¯t help but shiver. I am cold, wet, and starved. The air is foul and I was given a toxic looking apple as food. I wanted to cry, why must they do this to me? I have nothing to them, why do I deserve this. Perhaps it is for being worthless, this must be the punishment.


    Feeling the hunger from not eating starting to take over, I glance over at the mush of an apple. Flies were already swarming it. No, I can¡¯t bring myself to do it. I can¡¯t. I slowly drag myself over to the apple and pick it up. When I picked it up, I quickly brushed off as much of the flies and grim as possible. I can¡¯t eat this, it¡¯s not food.


    My stomach starts aching again and again from the lack of substance. Something takes over in my mind and I can easily recognize it. It was my beast half that had overridden my civil part of me out of hunger. I almost took a bite of it but quickly took control of my mind to stop. I chuck it away and shook my head. I cannot eat that.


    Again my body act on its own and started to move toward the apple. No, I don¡¯t want to. I might die! Something in my head said I might die if I don¡¯t eat it. I couldn¡¯t resist the urge to move to the apple before I found it a few inches in front of my face.


    I lost to the instinct, I took as big I bite could out of the mush. What I tasted was pure, revolting bitterness. The sewage I could taste in the air was sweet compared to this, however I couldn¡¯t hold back from stuffing my face with this awful mush. As I took bite after bite, choking down the apple till I was licking the mush off my fingers, I wept. When it was done, I felt like throwing up but my body wouldn¡¯t let me. This vile taste was left in my mouth as I felt getting more and more nauseated.


    The pains in my stomach had settled for only ten minutes before it came back in sharp pangs of intense pain. It felt as though I was being punched over and over, again and again in the stomach. The best I could do was holding my stomach in a curled up position on the floor with sweat running down my face. ¡°Ah, please. Ahh, Please Stop It. Someone, help me! Ah, AGGHH. Hah, AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!¡± the pain had gotten worse and worse until it was unbearable. Screaming and crying hysterically went on for hours and hours till I lost consciousness.


    ¡­


    I have no idea how long I have been unconscious but it seems most of the pain had subsided. My ankle still throbbed, my cheek still stings, and there were still pangs in my stomach, it was just more bearable now.


    *Clang*


    Looking up from this prison I could see the face a little Fire Demon. She had a small, childlike face with black, curly hair that just barely hit her shoulders. She peered into the entrance and spoke with a tenor voice, ¡°Can you climb this ladder?¡±


    I stand up and put a little pressure on my damaged ankle and wince in pain. I might be able to climb this ladder. This could be a trick, but her face looks too innocent for that. Using all the strength in my arms to pull my body up was a very strenuous task, but eventually I made it outside.


    Sunshine was so bright I was squinting, when my sight had adjusted I discovered the little girl studying my ankle. Looking closely in this new light, I saw that it was swollen to the size of a newborn¡¯s head. Not only that, it was also purple.


    ¡°That does not look good at all! Here, I¡¯ll help you to the tool shed over there.¡± She helped me stand up once more and let me lean on her for support, she was only a little taller than I am, limping to the shed. Once we made it to the wooden construct, she set me on the floor and quickly shut the door.


    She rummaged through a few shelves and grabbed a few supplies before she returned in front of me. She mumbled to herself, ¡°I am gone for a few months and they go and get a slave, seriously, what were they thinking?¡±


    She took a knife out of her pocket and warned me, ¡°This is not a threat. This will hurt, but I need to drain the blood from the wound.¡± Before I could protest she already sliced a deep line into my swollen ankle. I was expecting to hurt quite a bit but my ankle was so much pain, I only felt a prick. I was just marveling this when this little girl put a small board of wood on either side of my ankle and tightly bound it in cloth. They more she wound the cloth, the more pain I felt. I started getting dizzy and then I fainted before I could scream.


    By the time I woke up, it was dark out. But something was in the air. Something that smelled delicious! Looking around frantically I could see a plate that a piece of cooked pheasant. Before I knew it I already inhaled the food. I could hardly taste it; I had consumed it so fast. What I could taste, was heavenly and warm. Remembering the crisp texture and the juices that flowed when I bit into made my mouth water again.


    Over the next few weeks, my ankle got better and my overall health also improved. I learned the girls name to Louise Burnheart. Since coming to this shed, I have not been bothered by the other family members of the Burnhearts. Louise said I was being treated as her pet. She taught me some things she had learned in her lessons. These lessons included nobility ranking, etiquette, government, arithmetic, history, and general politics.


    She told me the only reason her parents are leaving me to her, is because she said she would go to the Slave Inspectors otherwise. There were a series of laws that passed in the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil that went for the better treatment of slaves, banned discrimination of races, and encourage equal opportunity in the workforces. The Windbars were trying to get a better relation with the Phendahls, so they passed the laws in their own Dukedom of Shienriech.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Knowing I wasn¡¯t going to be beaten as badly or as often and fed more made me feel more at ease. I was not allowed to have a full meal, but Louise did her best to get me the table scraps and leftovers. I was so thankful I was moved to tears. When my ankle got better, I tried to help Louise in any way I possibly could. Mostly the only I could help the baroness-to-be was to carry her things when she went shopping.


    I know my own met nothing to anybody, but Louise asked for it anyway. I felt special when I was with Louise. Today was another shopping trip, so I went along with her as I usually did. We were just looking around the fruits and vegetables for today, but Louise wanted a new dress so we went to the shopping district and visited a clothing shop.


    When we walked through the doors, she turned and looked at me, ¡°I already know the dress I want, I saw it last time was here. Just stand here while I go try it on. Ok?¡±


    ¡°As you wish, Young Mistress Louise.¡± When she received my affirmative, she smiled and said a few things to the clerk. After a short conversation later, the clerk gave her a black, ruffled dress. She took the dress and disappeared behind a wooden door to try it on.


    As soon as she disappeared I felt something slip over my head and into my mouth. I couldn¡¯t scream for help. I couldn¡¯t tell Louise something was happening! Just as the cloth tightened a figure stepped out in front of me.


    ¡°Now, now. A slave should not been seen nor heard. So we are going to take you to place were you can¡¯t be seen.¡± The voice belonged to Louise¡¯s older brother Zaebzhar. My eyes widened when I realized who this was. No, no, no, oh please no.


    He gave a grimacing smile and grabbed me by the back of the neck and started forcing me out of the door. ¡°Come Flonach, let¡¯s go have some fun!¡± he called out to his brother.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are,¡± replied a similar looking guy, his younger brother.


    ¡°Hold it, what are you doing?¡± the clerk had called out to the brothers.


    ¡°This slave is property of the Burnhearts; do you have a problem with how we conduct business, Commoner?¡± Zaebzhar viciously questioned the frightened clerk.


    The clerk nervously looked around and shook his head, ¡°My condolences, carry on.¡±


    The brothers smirked and dragged me out of the shop. When we walked down the streets, the people we crossed, just averted their eyes to what they saw. No one will help me. No one is my friend here. Louise where are you?


    Walking for miles, we had long since left Reslem, and entered a nearby forest. The older brother called for a halt with a satisfied look on his face he said, ¡°Our family decided you are of no use and was agreed that you should be disposed of outside the public eye. If you are looking for the help of Louise, she won¡¯t help you. I mean, she is a Burnheart after all. I think she was getting tired of you as well.¡±


    He pushed me hard enough that I lost my balance and fell to the ground. The younger brother had pulled out a dagger and traced my cheek. He looked at me with immense lust, ¡°Hey bro, she has gotten a little prettier, so why don¡¯t we have ¡®fun¡¯ with her?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea little bro, here grab her hands. Yeah, like that.¡±  He brought his face really close to mine before he let out a whisper, ¡°Ever since we got you, we¡¯ve wanted to this. We haven¡¯t been able to do it because our parents don¡¯t want you to conceive a child with noble blood. It would¡­ sully our family name.¡± He took his hand around the edge of what cloth I had and ripped it off exposing me to these monsters.


    When I was fully exposed, they started to drool a bit. After wiping away the drool he removed the cloth around my mouth and I let out as loud of a scream as possible. After I let it out, I was quickly slapped across the face. Zaebzhar laughed and said, ¡°Yes, scream more and more. No one will hear you; no one will come to save you!


    ¡°Please, no. Just let me go! Let me go!¡± I try to fight back in vain. He pulled himself between my legs, rendering kicking useless. No, I don¡¯t want this please. No, help me! Someone help me! He smiled that same disgusting, lewd smile he had when he started this. He quickly unbuckled his trousers and the fell to the ground.


    There was a small tower of flesh that twitched slightly. My eyes widen in horror seeing it get closer and closer to me. There was a sudden blur that appeared beside the fleshy thing. When the blur disappeared, the thing dropped to the ground and took the look of a bloodied sausage. A few seconds later Zaebzhar howled in pain and doubled over. He quickly scrambled for the bloodied sausage.


    When his brother fell over in pain, Flonach let go of my hands to investigate a slight movement in a nearby bush. Dagger drawn, he began shifting through the bushes. I was scared out of my wits, I was fixing to get raped and killed by these monsters, but there was something really scary was happening.


    As if to add to the dosage of scariness, a purple demon stepped out of the air behind Flonach. The demon slipped his hand in front of Flonach¡¯s neck and slashed his throat wide open. When his body went limp, the demon took his body and threw it into the air where it vanished. Where did it go?


    Hearing a yelp, I turn around to see Flonach¡¯s body lifeless and on top of Zaebzhar. Zaebzhar was pinned under his dead brother was looking for the assailant frantically, hollering, ¡°Who¡¯s there? Show yourself.¡± It seems the Demon was in his blind spot, ¡°Do you know who I am? I¡¯ll make you pay!¡± He shoved off his brother and quickly ran over toward me with bloodied sausage in hand. When he got within five feet of me, the demon disappeared and reappeared in between us.


    His back was to me, I could tell he towered above in height, which wasn¡¯t saying much. Zaebzhar fell down in surprise of the sudden appearance of this demon. Zaebzhar had paled when he saw the man, turning his skin pink. Zaebzhar cried out, ¡°Waaaaaaah! Where did you come from?! Who are you?¡±


    The demon strolled up to him in a slow, intimidating way and kneeled down to face him. Seeing the scene had me frozen in place with sweat pouring out. When he brought his face within an inch of Zaebzhar¡¯s, an orange puddle of blood and urine formed on the ground beneath Zaebzhar¡¯s pelvis.


    The demon let out a voice so menacing and evil, it sent shivers down my spine, and I tinkled a little myself. He whispered, ¡°I am you Executioner, and you have been found guilty.¡± He put one hand on the now petrified Zaebzhar¡¯s shoulder, and withdrew a long black bladed sword with a silver handle. The sword¡¯s blade seemed to embody all of the definition of darkness. The Demon spoke again, ¡°Have a safe trip to Hell.¡± He then effortlessly impaled Zaebzhar through the heart.


    Zaebzhar¡¯s body became lifeless and slumped to the ground. The man slowly stood up and flicked the blood off his blade before the sword vanished. The Executioner seemed to remember my presence and turned to face me. It was the first time seeing his face through the whole scene. He had long, black unkempt hair and smooth, purple skin. He had a sculpted face with solid black eyes. His eyes were like looking down an abyss of nothing, but they were curious.


    After he looked over me once and seemed to fix his gaze on my tail and ears. Once he was done he tried to walk toward me and said in a light voice that didn¡¯t hold the same evil it had earlier, ¡°So you are from the beastman tribes of demons. Hmm, well there are no more bad guys.¡± Even though it didn¡¯t hold the venom from before he was still a monster, so I flinched at every word, every action.


    Just as I backed away, it looked like understanding came into his mind. He gave off a pained expression and sighed as if to say he gives up. He pulled out a shirt out of the air and tossed it at me, causing me to flinch once more. Seeing he gave me a shirt, I question his reasons. Why would he do that? Wasn¡¯t he a monster?


    Then I understood that he came to save me. When I look back at him, I saw my savior was walking away. No wait! Please don¡¯t turn your back on me! Please no. Don¡¯t leave me! Fearing for him to disappear I scramble to get up and chase after him. When I caught up I grabbed his shirt. When he stopped, I huddle close to his back, clutching on to the shirt. Please don¡¯t leave me alone.


    He turned around and pulled me into a nice warm hug. It was a hug that seemed to be made of security and comfort. I felt the problems of the world melt away. Just like my mom used to hug me when I got scared. I couldn¡¯t help it, I started to whimper. When the demon noticed he began stroking my hair and whispering that everything was going to be alright. It was like there were words no truer than these. I began crying louder and louder. All the emotion I had bottled for years had come out overflowing. I cried and cried and this demon hung on to me tighter and tighter until it had passed.


    He gave me a warm smile and looked at me with kind eyes, ¡°Do you feel any better?¡±


    <hr />


    So, Aria what do you think of your chapter?


    (eyes sparkle) Wow, it''s so long! It''s amazing! Are you sure I can have it?


    You certainly may. You deserve. Do you mind me asking a few questions?


    Not at all! You are the Author-sama!


    Alright, can you tell the readers what some of your likes dislikes are?


    Oh, I like meat and my head being patted, and... and... and food! I dislike being scolded and being left alone! It''s scary!


    You did have traumatic experience when Louise left you. At least you met the MC.


    Oh I like him too!

 Chapter 18 : They did WHAT?!

    End of Battle


    2,450 experience gained, 150 more till level up


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 9


    Skill Upgrade


    Dungeon Create Lvl. MAX


    Dungeon Create is a skill used by Dungeon Masters that can create a space that is controlled by the Dungeon Master. Should the Dungeon either die or choose for its destruction, the dungeon will revert back to its normal space. Dungeons also take on the characteristics of the Dungeon Master.


    Lv. 2 Allows the spawning of monsters if mana is poured into it. Also the terrain is now customizable.


    Lvl 3 Upon mastering the dungeon skill, allows the dungeon to not be limited to the place of origin, size is alterable, integration of other skills such as Slow Time to create a unique atmosphere that slows the entrapped opponents. More creativity is now available with the Creation of the Dungeon.


    Slow Time Lvl. 2


    Through combat experience, you have learned to slow the world down for a few seconds, at least in your perception. The higher the level, the longer the effects.


    Lvl. 2 Allows Slow Time to last longer, become slower, and the user to be quicker when skill is active.


    Void Step Lvl. MAX


    Like teleportation, the user can step into the Void and reappear elsewhere.


    Lvl. 2 Allows the usage of multiple portals that let weapons and spells pass through for creative combat.


    Lvl. 3 Upon mastering the Void Step, it allows the teleportation to the Void itself. Why not make the opponent fight on home turf?


    Hmm level 9? Ok, I do feel myself do getting stronger each time I break through a level. Whoa, wait, did that say the Void? I can travel there? And if I were to make a Dungeon there as well? Oh the strategies are flowing in now! Looking up at the dark sky, I smile to myself.


    After relaxing for a few minutes I get up and dust myself off. Since my training was done, I better head to the palace and get cleaned up. Maybe afterwards I¡¯ll go socialize with the commoners. I turn around and walk over to the edge of the dungeon. After I made the thought of cancelling the dungeon, the sky got brighter and the misty walls slowly dissipated.


    Just beyond the wall I saw a sight I really did not want to see. Standing a few feet away from the rapidly vanishing wall was my mother, the Queen, accompanied by Aria, Louise and the princesses. Not to mention they were surrounded by a garrison of soldiers with their swords pointed at me. In the background I could see nervous commoners forming a crowd. Well, so much for a peaceful day.


    When she saw me, my mother wore a face of sheer rage. Oh crap! Is it too late to escape? Knowing my mother, I was probably doomed as soon as I got up this morning.


    ¡°WHAT ON ZUGRIELIA WERE YOU THINKING!!!? I leave you in the care of these ladies and you go and ditch them to terrorize the commoners? What is wrong with you? Several complaints of a high ranking monster or low tier dragon setting up a dungeon in the Commoner¡¯s District! I almost called for your Uncle Ares as General of the Army to deal with this. You are lucky I had a hunch it was you. Not only that, but you left poor Aria all alone! She was crying non-stop until we promised we would find you!¡±


    I look over at Aria and see that the skin around her eyes had indeed turned red from crying. I also noticed the princesses snickering beside her. So me getting in trouble was funny? I walked over to Aria and patted her head. No doubt she was still upset. My mother then made her way to a carriage in the distance. This was going to be a long ride home, is what I thought as I followed her. The crowds and knights had long since disbanded.


    ¡­


    After being scolded by my mother the rest of the afternoon, I was scolded by Melinda for making my mom do unnecessary things, well into the night. The only thing that was worth noting was that the Burnhearts were on their way over today. They were going to meet my parents about something.


    Aria had not left me alone since yesterday, it wasn¡¯t like I was going anywhere, but she stayed extra close anyway. I guess its fine. Seeing the maids scurry around tidying everything was actually pretty amusing to watch. So I chose to sit on the on the stairwell that was centered in front of the entry to the Palace to watch them.


    Seeing Aria¡¯s puzzled face was also cute, eventually she asked, ¡°Is something happening today?¡±


    ¡°Oh, have you not heard? The Burnhearts are visiting. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s to formally go over the slave transfer, but I think they will stay to catch up with mom. I do not know.¡± At the mention of the Burnhearts, Aria paled and went really silent.


    ¡°Aria? Aria?! What¡¯s wrong? Is something the matter?¡± She wouldn¡¯t even look at me. I was about to question her again, then we were interrupted by Melinda.


    ¡°Young Master Alexander and company, you are requested to the meeting room by the King and Queen, immediately. The guest had arrived a few minutes earlier.¡± She gave a brisk bow and walked away. I got off the steps and went to the east wing with Aria clutching the edge of my shirt tightly.


    We finally got to the meeting room, entering it I heard laughter. My father noticed me entering and put the spotlight on me. ¡°Here he comes now! Dathinos, Therrexis, this is my son Alexander. Alexander, these are the retainers of the Windbars. Barons I believe?¡± the man in front of him gave a nod. My dad continued to smile.


    I grasped the Baron¡¯s hand and looked him in his yellow eyes. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Alexander Phendahl.¡±


    ¡°Why hello, my name is¡­ You! What are you doing here?!¡± Dathinos noticed Aria¡¯s presence and was yelling at her, this caused Aria to try to make herself as small as possible behind me. What was this situation?


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Excuse me? Do you have a problem with her?¡± I glare at the Baron. Therrexis also turned around to see the commotion and also noticed Aria. She gave her a glare as well.


    ¡°There is a problem here in fact. What is this slave doing here?!¡± He was growling practically.


    My dad then stepped in, ¡°Actually that is what we called you in here for. We are looking for the transfer of this slave. My son has taken her under his wing and we wanted to make it official. So we were...¡±


    The Baron cut in, ¡°Rejected. She probably had the help of some mercenaries and had my sons killed. They then spread rumors that we were evil. The commoners look at us with disdain. Commoners, I tell you. They watch us closely now. I¡¯m going to have this slave thoroughly punished. This slave is coming with me now.¡± He goes and grabs Aria by the hair making her utter a yelp. Before I knew it, I had my claws piercing the Baron¡¯s wrists. He let go of his grip and I let go of mine. He backed away rubbing his wrists. He frowned then sneered, ¡°You can¡¯t have her we aren¡¯t even under your Kingdom!¡±


    ¡°That maybe so, but while you under this palace¡¯s roof, you adhere to the rules. I will not have you come near her during the duration of your stay.¡± My dad seemed a little irritated he was interrupted earlier. Way to go dad! ¡°We still have other matters to discuss. Alexander you are dismissed.¡±


    I gave a small bow and left the room. I took Aria in my arms and jumped into a Void Step directly to my room. Once we arrived I continued the hold Aria to calm her down. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that there was something not right here.


    Once she had stopped shaking I asked, ¡°What happened when you were living with them?¡± She remained silent and looked away. I then push with, ¡°If you do not tell me anything I cannot help you. If I cannot help you, you be forced to go live with them again.¡±


    She quickly peered into my eyes with a sense of urgency and had tears that formed in her eyes and began to flow as if a dam was broken. For the next hour she told me about the beatings she received, the isolation she went through. The poisonous things she was forced to eat, the places she had sleep in. I was looking for anything that violated the laws the Windbars past in Shienriech, but this¡­ this was brutal. I was now shaking, shaking in absolute hatred and rage.


    I am going kill those arrogant, self-centered Nobles. They deserve far worse, but ending their lives is also efficient. Reading my intentions, Aria stopped me.


    ¡°No, please don¡¯t kill them. They are Louise¡¯s parents, even if they are bad people, she still loves them.¡± She had eyes pleading. You have a very large heart Aria. Hearing her story did not lead me to hate the Baron and the Baroness but my respect for Louise skyrocketed. For Louise to protect Aria against her own family, it made me want to plant a kiss on her face for that act of selflessness and bravery.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Aria. I will spare them from death, but I will end this quickly. You know, the Burnhearts were not the only ones that came by to visit. Duke Adolf Windbar came by to improve relations so he could get accepted as a Duke of the Astral Kingdom.¡± I may have to pull a favor to get his help though.


    ¡­


    I knocked on the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. After a muffled movement on the other side of the door, it opened. The figure that stood before me was a demon with green wings and green feathers for hair. His skin was about the same color as a human, but he was far from it. He stood at about a foot above me. It was Duke Adolf Windbar of the Dukedom of Shienriech.


    He let out a tenor voice despite his large build, ¡°What can I do ya fer, My Prince?¡±


    I look up at the tall demon and say, ¡°Greetings. I hear you are looking to join the Astral Kingdom?¡±


    He leans on the door way and replies, ¡°Ya, but it appears, yer old man, the King is gonna turn me away.¡± He looked a little dejected.


    ¡°You know, I could persuade my father of your good character and let you in.¡±


    His eyes widen, ¡°Really, could ya do that fer me?¡±


    Now for the favor, ¡°I will convince to sign the documents, but after he does, I wasn¡¯t full power over the handling of a few Barons.¡±


    He looked excited for a moment then said, ¡°It¡¯s not the Rainwalds right? If so, I will have ta decline. I made a promise ta diplomatically protect ¡®em.¡±


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s the Burnhearts.¡± I corrected.


    ¡°Ah, no problem. Can I ask why?¡± He asked confused.


    I jab my thumb behind me to point at Aria, ¡°This slave has been abused by them for a very long time, violating the very laws you had passed.¡±


    Adolf¡¯s face turned red, ¡°They disobeyed? They disobeyed me? And the prince knows about it? Do not worry; I will do all in my power to punish them!¡± I kinda laughed a little at how well hated this pair was.


    ¡°No, no. I want to handle them, I just want full control of their punishment.¡± I once again placed my request; he scratched his head and looked at me seriously.


    ¡°Make sure they won¡¯t repeat their mistake.¡± He advised before he disappeared back in his room. I guess I got his permission. Now to inform my parents, while the Burnhearts are getting comfy in their room. With Aria in tow, I make my way toward my mother¡¯s bedchambers.


    <hr />


    Mr. MC, what are planning?


    ...


    MC?


    ...


    The MC likes lamas so much he would marry one! Lamas are like God''s greatest creation that the MC would... Hello? Nothing?


    ...


    I guess he is seriously planning for the revenge on the Burnhearts.

 Chapter 19: The Burnhearts burn.

    It was evening before I was able to tell my parents what was happening. I told Aria¡¯s story and requested the cooperation of my parents. My mother looked very gloomy. She had say Therrexis was her best friend before they were ruling over their subjects. I guess seeing your own friend become twisted when a new light is on them must hurt. I had sympathy but I stressed the need to do this, she reluctantly accepted. My father was against it at first because the plan required him to accept the Duke under his Kingdom. Knowing my father¡¯s trust issues, I knew he didn¡¯t trust many, those that he did, he trusted his life to them.


    I was one of the few he trusted, so I played that card to help Aria, ¡°Dad, I know you don¡¯t know him but I trust him. I can read people easily and he is trustworthy.¡±


    My father pondered for a while, and then mumbled, ¡°You are good at judging people. Ah, fine. This once, I will do this just once. I will accept his fealty and sign the documents.¡± He left the room and headed for the office.


    My mother stopped me before I could leave the room, ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± she asked in a strained voice. I looked at her with all the seriousness I could muster and nodded my head. I was dead sure about this.


    Hours later, we were all summoned to the King¡¯s throne room. I was seated in the Prince¡¯s chair, my mother in Queen¡¯s, and my father standing above a kneeling Duke Adolf. My Father spoke with commanding tones, ¡°Do you swear fealty to me, and the Astral Kingdom?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I swear the fealty of me, my descendants, and my entire Dukedom to the Astral Kingdom!¡± swore the Duke.


    ¡°Do you swear to answer the call of arms, no matter the opponent?¡± My father continued.


    ¡°My military is under your command.¡± the Duke said resolutely.


    ¡°I hear by dub you, Adolf Windbar, Duke of Shienriech, and Duke of the Astral Kingdom! Rise, Duke Adolf!¡± My father loudly proclaimed.


    Adolf rose and turned to the crowd. Cheers came from all the palace servants and other guests staying over here. Adolf looked like he accomplished a great feat. He turned and nodded at me as if to thank me. I nodded back. Everyone was cheering and congratulating the Duke. All except the Burnhearts.


    ¡­


    We were all outside the palace entrance seeing the Duke off. It was then I heard a scream from behind me. Turning around I saw Dathinos forcefully dragging Aria toward a carriage of their own. Really? Kidnap and dashing are we? Seriously did these guys have no soul? I walked up to the Baron and punched him square in the face.


    When finally got up and Aria got behind me, he spat, ¡°Fine, you can have the little whore! She¡¯s your problem now!¡± He started to walk off, but I wanted to punish him thoroughly.


    I piped up, ¡°Your boys were pathetic. They didn¡¯t even stand a chance against me.¡± He stopped in his tracks. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s right, I killed them. And now the commoners even look down on you. You must be feeling incredibly low on the totem pole. I tell you what since I¡¯m feeling generous; I¡¯ll strike you a deal.¡±


    Therrexis walked up to the now seething Dathinos. Hehe, first, I crush their pride, and then I get them to willing fight me out of hatred. That is the plan.


    ¡°I challenge you to a duel. If you win, you get to take back Aria and go on your way. What do you say?¡± I say with a smirk


    ¡°I want your head. I couldn¡¯t care less about that wench, I want your head. Scratch that, I will thoroughly punish her and have your head!¡± he looked furious. I thought it would take more to get him this mad, I guess I was wrong.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to hear what I get if I win?¡± I say mockingly.


    ¡°Your race is extinct for a reason! You must¡¯ve ambushed my sons with mercenaries! You are all weak!¡± He was spitting each word with disdain. His already red face was even redder than before.


    ¡°That means your sons must be even weaker than a dying race then.¡± I continue to fan the flames.


    ¡°I accept your challenge!¡± He said as he spread his wing and took off the ground, rocketing toward me.


    I jump back into a Void Step and appear beside Therrexis. She looked really startled that I appeared beside her but started to attack anyway. I quickly shove her into a portal behind her where she was transport to appear in front of the Baron. They crashed splendidly onto the ground. Both were on their feet, but I was already behind them.


    ¡°Hmm we are attracting a very big crowd.¡± I say surveying the crowd. Even Adolf paused to watch with interest. ¡°Let¡¯s go elsewhere!¡± I suggest, while I grab both of them and use Void Step to appear in a new land, devoid of people, devoid of life.


    The air was inky black and there was purple fog that appeared on the pale yellow ground. To add to the eeriness, there was absolutely nothing anywhere. The cold air robbed you of all warmth. Despite being cold and creepy, I strangely felt at home, weird. There was a something in peripheral vision thought caught my sight.


    It was too late to dodge as a red fist connected with my face and sent me sprawling on the ground. My cheek throbbed as I look up at the Baron and his wife glaring at me. He cracked his knuckles and then his whole body caught fire, Therrexis followed suit. He gave me a sinister smile and said, ¡°That was for earlier. Now the real fun begins.¡± He then runs at me again.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I give a smile and push out my mana, turning the air around me blue before it expands outward until the dungeon is formed. I Void step away so I could concentrate a little. When I put a good distance between us, I fed much of my mana into the dungeon, setting spawns of monsters and giving the dungeon skills. I gave the dungeon Void Step and Demon Eyes. Doing this made it to wear I couldn¡¯t use them myself but the dungeon will have them to aid in a creative environment.


    Jumping back, I barely dodged an incoming fireball. The massive amount of mana was seen as the purple got so thick you couldn¡¯t see the ground. Then they stood up. Rising out of the ground everywhere, were skeletons. The skeletons stood up lifeless, then the Purple fog around their feet flew into their eye sockets, their bodies gave a jerk before the calmed once again.


    Each skeleton had their heads hung down, but slowly started looking at the Burnhearts. The bones turned black, their eye sockets glowed red and the skeletons became shrouded in black and purple mist. They grabbed black swords at their feet and glared at the Burnhearts. The Burnhearts were looking around frantically at all the skeletons. There wasn¡¯t even an ounce of anger from earlier, just sheer terror. I think they were under the effect of demon eyes of the skeletons. I¡¯ve called them, the Void¡¯s Army, and the Burnhearts are on their territory.


    Some of the skeletons had skeletal wings and had taken flight. Since they were black, and top of that covered in mist, it was hard to track their movements. Those creepy glowing red eyes were the only thing that stood out, but it caused terror in its victims because of the Demon Eyes. This might have been over kill but hey, they deserve it.


    They then charged the Burnhearts. They drew their own swords and desperately tried fighting back. They took out a few of the skeletons that came first, but they rose up and started attacking in frenzy. The Burnhearts were back to back and were extremely battered as the army attacked wave after wave, with no end in sight. Slice after slice their blood was slung across the ground in all direction. With blood loss and fatigue, they eventually fell and couldn¡¯t get back up on their own. I called off the attack, the skeletons back away as I approach the fallen Burnhearts.


    They were covered in wounds and their eyes were looking everywhere absolute terror. They were totally devoid of any sanity. They were basically frightened beasts. I instruct some skeletons to hold down their arms and legs.


    I kneel down and tell the Burnhearts, ¡°There is a code I live by and encourage others to do the same. It is ¡®Do onto others, what you expect other to do onto you¡¯, knowing this, you probably wanted this to happen. Well,¡± I stand up, ¡°you got what you wanted.¡± I slam my foot down onto Dathinos arm. A snapping sound could be heard along with the roar of pain coming from Dathinos mouth. I followed suit with his other arm and Therrexis legs.


    Screams of pain came from the two and just as they died down a fraction I broke something else to raise the volume. I was starting to enjoy it, as cruel as it was. Even if this was cruel, picturing the things they did and the things they planned on doing to Aria kept me going. I ordered the skeletons to turn over the screaming pair.


    As they did so, I put my foot on the center of Baron¡¯s spine and said, ¡°I am going to strip you of one of the things that mark you as a Noble. May you forever remember this lesson.¡± I put a hand on each wing. The wings were leathery, but were also bloody and full of holes due to the earlier battle. Grabbing the base of the wings I push my foot down and pull up with all my strength. As the screams of agony grew louder and louder, I could hear snapping sound coming from the wings. Eventually I heard a tearing, then I jerked up and I was standing with a pair of severed, giant bat-like wings. Under foot was a man twisted in pain, screamed in every moment of this living Hell. Soon his wife joined him in the same horrific agony of having the wings torn off their bodies. I order their release.


    When released of their skeletal bonds, I picked both of their near-lifeless bodies and cancelled the dungeon. When it cancelled, the skills returned to me and I walked into a Void Step and through them onto the ground in front of curious onlookers. The crowd looked at them with horror. Looking at their broken bodies, they were almost unrecognizable.


    Before they lost consciousness, I told them with as much of menacing atmosphere I could muster, ¡°On the accounts of multiple acts of treason, you are hereby banished. Leave this kingdom and NEVER comeback.¡±


    They finally passed out. I threw them in their carriage and told the driver to dump them off somewhere outside the kingdom.


    *PING*


    <hr />


    Wow, you... you were pretty ruthless back there.


    They deserved it. They were going to kill Aria if I had not intervened, I may not have killed them, but boy I made it to where they wished I had.


    So what do you think the others will think about it?


    What do you mean?


    Well that was pretty brutal, no matter which you look at it. You even ripped their wings off. What will Louise think of this?


    I don''t expect her to forgive me, I will accept whatever she throws at me.


    ... I hope you are able to keep those words.

 Side Story: Demon King... I mean Satan... wait, no I meant Demon King Magnus.

    My name is Prince Magnus Ronnor Heatkran. I am the second in line for the throne of the entirety of the Demon Realm. Over the last few years the new Light Pope in the Imperial Domain, has been preaching an aggressive gospel. One that was meant to demonize the, well, demons. He eventually got into the head of the Emperor, shortly he declared war. Subjugation of the Demon King and slaughter of the demon races.


    In my head he had gone absolutely bonkers and thought it was just a fool spouting nonsense. However they began mobilizing their troops into the Dukedom of Caslor, it was at the center of the border. They burned down several villages in a month. It was then we mobilized our own forces, I asked my father if I could join the ranks to experience battle first hand.


    That is how I came to join Demonic Armed Forces. I am currently receiving Basic Combat Training at Fort Otrary in the Dukedom Zostait, lying on the ocean border at the Northwest edge of Iacela. Even though I had the prince¡¯s crown above my head, I was treated no different at Basic. As long as I didn¡¯t act like a spoiled brat I was somewhat left alone.


    It was tough, the days were long and there wasn¡¯t enough sleep. Today marks the beginning of week two. It was when a large, metal waste bin was thrown down the stone floors of the Barracks. Everyone was out of their beds in a flash at attention in front of their bunks. Well I say everyone, but Private Phendahl was still sound asleep. This was not going to pretty.


    Our Drill Sergeant was doing morning inspections. Our Drill sergeant was a Gem Pixie. Gem Pixies were especially known for their short height, short temper, sparkly skin, and their gem hard fists. No one dared comment on their unmanly appearance. No one was insane in enough to do it. This Pixie goes by the name Drill Sergeant Rubyfist.


    Drill Sergeant Rubyfist was doing head count and saw he was one private short. At that time he got everyone to start push-ups. He quickly found Private Phendahl snoozing in his bunk. He got really close to Private Phendahl¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Are you having a lovely sleep, Private?¡±


    At this Private Phendahl open one eye and mumbled, ¡°Oh it¡¯s a pretty, little fairy man. I must still be dreaming.¡± He then closed his eyes and continued to snore.


    The Drill Sergeant smiled, but that smile did not reach his eyes. The skin around his knuckles turned red. He clenched his fist and smashed it on his face.


    *CRACK!*


    The sound was really loud it was followed by the screams of the Private. The Drill Sergeant turned around and spoke in his megaphone voice, ¡°You ladies will be down stairs for warm ups at 400 hundred hours. After warm ups, we are holding the Company Run, then you ladies can have chow. That is all. As you were.¡± With that, he left the room.


    Everyone got change into Physical Training Gear and started heading out of the room. All the exercises didn¡¯t even cause me to break a sweat. This was nothing to the back breaking; muscle destroying my father gave me. At least I didn¡¯t have it as ruthless as my brother. He was the Crown Prince and was going to be crowned Demon King. Like me, he is joining the army for better experiences of war.


    Over the course of the next few weeks, Private Phendahl eventually learned to not sleep in through continuous black eyes. Speaking of Phendahl, I hear his brother was in the second platoon. He was the model soldier over there. Through leadership and diligence, he led his platoon to be most victorious in all the competitions. I want to trade the brothers right now.


    Oh well. It¡¯s not like our Private Phendahl didn¡¯t have any merits. Despite being a little on the lazy side, he was a very good comic relief. Funny people are more appreciated in Basic Training than anywhere else, in my opinion.


    Graduation at last! The other soldiers went through muscular hell, but I was finding it kind of boring. But now it was graduation! I hear there was supposed to be a ceremony. We were all in our barracks getting ready for the ceremony when Drill Sergeant Rubyfist came through the door.


    ¡°At ease!¡± someone yelled out. Everyone stood at ease (feet apart, hands behind back) that the mention at the words.


    The Drill Sergeant walked to the center of the room and declared, ¡°As you were.¡± He continued as we began to move around again, ¡°You are now soldiers of the Demonic Armed Forces. Congratulations. You all have done well, even Private Phendahl.¡± He paused for a few chuckles to die out, ¡°As you all know, we are at war. And as such, there is no time for your ceremony. Instead of each of you going to a designated battalion, General Resius as ordered the Basic Training battalions to form their own battalion upon completion of Basic.¡±


    Everyone was letting confused murmurs, but the Drill Sergeant cut in, ¡°We are at WAR. Such orders are to be expected. AH, speaking of orders, The Dukedom of Oclen is under siege. This Battalion is to go to Oclen to drive out the humans and prepare for a counter attack. You move out today. The carriages are outside. Also, once again, congratulations on passing Basic.¡± He walked of the room.


    ¡°You heard the Drill Sergeant. Change into Battle Uniform and load into the transportation.¡± Everyone got changed again and headed out the door. Marching to the other side we met up with other platoons and companies. What greeted us was an endless amount of horses and carriages. Everyone was boarding all them in a surprisingly orderly fashion. I wasn¡¯t particularly paying attention to which one I was boarding, When I boarded the closest carriage there were already three people in them, one of which I knew.


    ¡°Oh look, Ares its Heatkran!¡± Private Phendahl yelled out. The one he was talking to looked like an older version of him, a bit more muscular, and a bit taller. He gave me a glance then his eyes widened.


    He quickly slammed his fist on top of Private Phendahl¡¯s head, ¡°Alastair, you moron! That is the Demonic Prince Magnus! He should have been promoted to Captain! How dare you speak to him so casually!¡±


    I wave my hand to dismiss it. I then correct him, ¡°I actually declined the promotion, and I am just a Specialist. Besides he was in my platoon, I know him quite well. You must be his brother?¡±


    He nodded his head. The both had horns on their heads, but it looked like the older brother had a pair of giant, black feathered wings. I liked the look of feathered wings better than my own leathery dragon wings. I took notice of the third person in the carriage as I entered; he was also a Void Demon, he did not have wings but he had a tail, he kept to himself. It was normal to see quite people here in Basic, my guess was that they dreaded the war. At first it was eerie because half of the whole battalion was the same way. If someone said they were planning something, it would almost make since.


    Even though I noticed him watching me when I wasn¡¯t looking, but I completely disregarded it as continued the conversation with the Phendahls. After a few days, multiple breaks, we became closer and closer, we were practically best friends. The mysterious guy I came to know as Private Janus was all I learned from him. I learned that the Phendahl brothers came from a small Dukedom called Drayasil up in the very North.


    Drayasil was two Dukedoms Northeast of Zostait, putting Drayasil at the most northern part of the Demon Realm. They say that it snows most of the time in Drayasil and the surrounding Dukedoms. Which by the way, the six most Northern Dukedoms were nicknamed the Void lands, because they stay in Void Demon¡¯s possession since time immemorial. There are some that say that it is almost as cold as the Void itself. There is a theory that Void Demons originally came from that dimension, making them superb masters of time and space.


    The Phendahls spoke of all the fond memories they have had in their home, that it got me to miss my own. Sometimes they spoke in such detail, I felt if I went to their capital, I would know my way around. The fifth day into are travel and we had crossed into the Dukedom Oclen, just a few hours out from the capital city of Afrea. Looking out the window, you could see smoke from here.


    ¡°Ah, man. Will there even be a city to save?¡± I mutter to myself. Not knowing the atrocities that had happened in this city already.


    All the carriages had arrived just side the walls of Afrea. We all got out and got in formation. We marched toward the gate and saw that the gate had been broken down. The Void Demons were ordered to check the situation of the city. They all stepped forward and disappeared.


    Void Demons were awesome in my opinion. Not only did they make the perfect scouts, they also held enormous battle potential. Enough to change the outcome of any war. There weren¡¯t wars between humans and demons, but we won all the wars Void Demons participated in. They were so powerful, a few centuries ago, the Demon King himself and all the previous Demon Kings were Void Demons. The last Void Demon that was a Demon King was discovered to be infertile so he adopted my Grand-Father as his son.


    The Void Step, the signature move of a Void Demon. While being their most dangerous weapon was also where they were most vulnerable. I learned this in Basic when we were covering the weakness of our comrades. The thing was, their weakness was almost impossible to take advantage of. It was known that they had to jump or fall into the Void Step in order to teleport. So they had to be immobilized for it not work. The weakness was if you were lightning-quick, you could pull them out of their portal. They said only Void Demons were capable of doing that. If you did manage to pull them out of their portal they would be paralyzed for a short time. You had to be lightning quick because the portals only stayed open for a fraction of a second, which was no problem to the masters of time, Void Demons. They were also heavy sleepers.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The scouts made their reports. Everyone in the castle had been butchered; most of the civilians were either injured or dead. We received Intel that General Almer had already fended off the humans and was on the other side of the city rallying troops for a counterstrike. We move toward the General¡¯s forces as quickly as possible.


    When we met with the General¡¯s small Army we departed for the humans that butchered the Nobles. Instead of going by carriage, we marched so we would be prepared for any kind of ambush. Most people would send the Void Demons to do all the fighting because of their battle potential was unparalleled. We did do that a war a few centuries back. After the war, the Void Demons threw a revolt due to being the only ones in that war. They of course won, and a law for equal demon war time was passed. That was a peaceful revolt as well, compared to what they could actually do. They were practically monsters.


    We crossed the human borders and we were actually outside the city walls of a city I believe went by the name Lumberton, the capital of the Redwood Kingdom. Since it was evening, we set up camp and planned on sieging the city walls tomorrow at dawn. We had just had some chow and getting ready hit the sack.


    Hours had passed and everyone was asleep, I would have fallen asleep long ago if it wasn¡¯t for this itching feeling something bad was going to happen. I heard a rustling sound and I turned around to see who it was. It was Private Janus standing above the sleeping Private Phendahl with sword in hand. No, no, no.


    I get up and sneak over behind him, I intend on catching him but screams in nearby tents woke the two brothers. Seeing Private Janus above Private Phendahl set them in alarm. Janus swung down the sword.


    ¡°Alastair! NO!¡± The older brother cried out.


    WHAM!


    I brought my fist with as much force as I could onto his head, forcing him to stumble. Phendahl moved beneath him and stood up. This caused him to fall, but he fell into a Void Step and vanished. Where did he go?


    More rusting sounds came behind me, turning around I could see a skirmish happening between the older brother and Janus. They disappeared and reappeared with clangs of a dagger and sword. I couldn¡¯t even keep up. I grabbed Phendahl and quickly exited the tent.


    ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you doing that? You could¡¯ve vanished too.¡± I raise an eyebrow.


    ¡°Void Step? I want get it until I turn 18.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I insisted that I join the army, my parents made it to where Ares wasn¡¯t too far away.¡±


    We were just running when Janus caught up with us. He just appeared beside me aiming for my throat, but I was prepared. I grab him by the neck and activated Ignition. My mana surged into my skin, igniting the air around me. In consequence it also set ablaze to the Void Demon. His screams filled the air as he burned alive.


    After I threw the corpse on the ground, another Void Demon appeared, but it was only Ares.


    ¡°Oh good, you got him. Ah, he gave me the slip.¡± He bent over and caught his breath. An Earth Demon came behind him and aimed for him.


    ¡°Hey, hit the ground.¡± Ares hit the ground and I slammed my arm into the face of the rock hard demon, it rendered him unconscious and made me think my hand might have been broken from impact.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Phendahl gasped.


    Turning around I could see Phendahl defending himself from the talons of an Air Demon. I rush to his aid and shield him from a swipe of claws. The talons swipe across my chest leaving a heavy gash in my flesh. I smile a bit. I am part of the Royal bloodline, my crown signifies this. With that, came an ability only really skilled Fire Demons can use. I send the very fire shimmering around into my blood, activating Molten Blood. My blood turns from a deep red into a shining orange. I thrust my hands into my new wound and remove them. My hands are now covered and I fling the blood at the Air Demon.


    On contact, his flesh sunk in and sizzled, his feathers even caught fire. He attacked more desperately, inflicting more wounds on me, causing his hands to melt in the process. I reach for his neck and snap it. He falls onto the ground, embers and all. Ah, I actually never got to use that before, it is a neat trick though.


    Hours roll by in continuous fighting as we figured out they took out most the units before they were suppressed. The first victims of the battle were Void Demons. They were killed in their sleep. There was only one Void Demon that was part of this mutiny. All the others were targets. When we had suppressed the rebellion, we conducted a head count. Only a third of us were left. What was strange was there were only two Void Demons survived this. I think someone is behind this, and whoever they are, they are targeting our biggest weapons.


    The sun had risen above the horizon and we heard an alarm being sounded beyond the walls. Not having enough troops to fight, we retreated. When we returned to the Demon Realm I had the fastest messenger deliver the news to the Demon King. The messenger returned with news that the same treachery happened in all the battalions. Void Demons were all slaughtered.


    After the news of mutiny spread, morale bottomed out. We were going to lose this war. All the sacrifices would have been for not. Not only had the Void Demons being slaughtered, but also news of the Crown Prince, my brother, died in combat also came in. He had been betrayed by the very demon he was defending. Stabbed in the back with a long sword, it pierced his heart.


    I wept when I learnt my big brother died in such a way. After the mutinies had been suppressed, we filled our prisons with those that we let live for later interrogation. Battle after bloody battle, I saw the brothers faces grow more and more grim. Friends, family, they all died, they only had each other. Fighting with them, we survived the onslaught of human hordes.


    Then one day we heard that Emperor Lanslet Greenwood had passed away from a heart attack. His son, Godfrey Greenwood, had taken the throne. He called for an audience with the Demon King for a peace talk. One week later, the war ended in a White Peace. Nothing lost, nothing gained, was supposed to be the terms. However, there was so much mental scaring of the Demonic Armed Forces, I don¡¯t know if they would ever recover, especially the Phendahl brothers.


    We found that there was a Void Demon Noble who was too young to participate in the war. She was I the same state of shock and depression when she found out that none of her friends and family will return from the battle field. I introduced them to each other. They cried when they found another that survived other than themselves. They always stuck close to each other, the three of them. Besides me, they didn¡¯t allow anyone else to get close to their little circle, they were afraid of more betrayal, more so apparent in the brothers.


    After the grand funeral held for my brother and all the fellow soldiers that died in battle, everything was eerie quite in the Void Lands. The commoners stayed inside their homes. The churches remained empty, the shops gathered dust. The Nobles District was lifeless. When entering the city, it made the jolly soldiers accompanying me, speak in nervous whispers.


    It went on for fifty years. Ares, try as he might, he could not raise the spirits of his brother and his sister-in-law. I tried to help in the poor brother¡¯s endeavors, but to no avail. Fifty-four years after the Great War, my father passed away in his sleep. I couldn¡¯t return their home; I had a nation to run. It grieved me to leave them in such a state, but there was nothing I could do. I heard nothing, not even a whisper from the Grand Dukedom of Drayasil until 126 years passed.


    It was like life was breathed into the Dukedom. The shops reopened, the churches filled, the streets were busy, and the Lords started being active again. What was the reason for all the reforms happening to jump start their economy? Why had the atmosphere seeming turned from eerie and desolate to cheerful and bustling? One answer, the Duchess was pregnant. It seems the parents made a resolve to raise their child in a happy environment.


    I can¡¯t wait to meet their miracle child! I wonder how he will turn out¡­


    <hr />


    So Ares, you are older than Alastair?


    Yes, I am, I remembering holding the goofball in my arms when he was born.


    So how come you didn''t take the Dukedom throne?


    Political life was never for me. I did have the throne at first but I chose to do Amnesty and pass the throne to the next in line.


    You passed up the throne?


    Yeah, it was an attempt to pull him out of his depression with a distraction. It didn''t work, but after a century, I''m glad I did.

 Chapter 20: I will not let my mother die, I just wont.

    End of Battle


    900 experience gained, 4,370 till level up


    You have leveled up, you have reached level 10


    Upon reaching Level 10, a few of your traits are customizable, such as the tail and horns.


    Interesting¡­ Ah more windows appeared. What do they say?


    Title Change


    Title has changed from ¡®Protector of the Innocent¡¯ to ¡®Punisher of the Wicked¡¯


    +10 Strength, +10 Vitality, +10 Dexterity


    Earning the title ¡®Punisher of the Wicked¡¯ grants an upgrade to the analysis skill


    Skill Upgrade


    Analysis Lvl. 2


    Information on objects and people will be displayed when used.


    Lvl. 2 Allows the user to accurately judge a person¡¯s will, due to high intelligence and to a string of events. Be it Good or Evil, they will be judged.


    Title Gain


    You have gained the title ¡®Commander of the Void¡¯s Army¡¯


    Earning the title ¡®Commander of the Void¡¯s Army¡¯ enables the bearer to summon the Void¡¯s Army outside of Void.


    Skill Unlocked


    Order to Arms Lvl. 1


    Being the only inhabitant of the Void to visit the Void in more than a century, you have been nominated ¡®Commander in Chief of the Void¡¯. The warriors will follow you in to combat. Maximum soldiers to call out of the Void: 5


    Title Gain


    You have gained the title ¡®Dungeon Master¡¯


    Earning the title ¡®Dungeon Master¡¯ allows more options to the dungeon to be, and allows the dungeon to maintain itself while the master is away. The Dungeon master can now set up multiple Dungeons.


    More traits are available in the Purchase Menu.


    As the carriage left a trail of dust, I turned around to see many slack jawed commoners, maids, and the Duke. Duke Adolf slowly started clapping his hands and walked toward me. With my new upgrade to the Analysis skill, I immediately knew he was the right choice to add him to the Kingdom.


    ¡°Ma boy, that looked like a fate worse den death. You gave ¡®em a good thrashing, you even tore off der wings!¡± His wings twitched a little. ¡°One question, where¡¯d ya take ¡®em? Ya disappeared for a while.¡±


    ¡°I took them to the Void. I gained a few tricks from the trip as well.¡± I say proudly.


    He looks amused, ¡°The Void? Isn¡¯t that the homeland of your people?¡±


    I gave a shrug. I wasn¡¯t sure, but I have heard of that theory.


    ¡­


    I enter the castle to find Louise. I found her sitting in her chair looking at the ceiling, as if a scene was replaying in her head. I knock on the door, bringing her back to her senses. After she acknowledged my presence, I walked in and closed the door.


    Before I could speak she interrupted, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill them?¡±


    I was taken aback, so I said, ¡°Pardon?¡±


    She repeated, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill them? I was watching the whole fight. I used clairvoyance to watch. I saw you were holding back so you wouldn¡¯t kill them. Why?¡±


    Ah, I see, ¡°Aria told me the story. There was pain, much of it. I wanted to kill them as well. Along with that pain, there was a friendship that kept her alive. She valued your friendship, that she wanted me to spare them, not as people but as your parents.¡±


    She was getting a little chocked up, ¡°She said that?¡±


    I nodded, now to bring up a pressing matter, ¡°So now that I ruined your parents¡¯ lives, I owe you. I will accept anything you wish to cast on me. Aside from that I guess you are now the Baroness¡­¡±


    ¡°I decline the office. I have a no desire to the rule the fiefdom; the commoners know about my parents, they¡¯ll likely suspect me as well. As for you owing me, if it¡¯s anything I want then,¡± she blushed a little before continuing, ¡°I originally followed you to see how you would treat Aria, but my new goal is to become your bride.¡±


    She started to approach me slowly and wrapped me in a hug. Wait, what? I question, ¡°Wait, you do realize I killed half your family, and put the other half in critical condition right? They could die within a few days, and now you want to marry the monster that is killing off your entire family?¡±


    She looked dissatisfied for a moment, ¡°Geez, I was trying to work on the mood. Monster? You? Not even close. You are a monster when it comes to punishing the real monsters. My family¡­ No better yet, those monsters that call themselves my family are the real monsters. I didn¡¯t see it until I was 12.¡± She paused then continued, ¡°It was when I was coming home from shopping, and that is when I saw a peasant family. They were begging them to forgive them.


    I don¡¯t know the offense but ¡®dad¡¯ invited them into a basement for negotiations, not knowing what they were up to, I followed secretly. My brother, Zaebzhar, was already down there. They drugged them, tied them up and beat them for days.


    Eventually starvation killed them off. It terrified me. So I watched my family¡¯s action more closely. They had ghastly high taxes, killed off peasants that offended them, bribed and threatened the cowardly Counts so they wouldn¡¯t tell the Duke. They were parasites Alex. When I knew where the money came from, I was sickened, so I worked for my own money; I chose to go to a boarding school. When I graduated I was going to move out. That was when I learned they got a poor slave to abuse. Since I wasn¡¯t shopping with their money, they had enough to purchase her with ease. So it is partially my fault that she wound up in that situation. Alex, I always wanted to help the commoners, but there was nothing I could do. You are a hero Alex.¡±


    I was just thinking how awful her family when she pushed me onto the bed, I then received an Ultimatum, she said, ¡°Since you discarded my family, I am going to need a new one. And since you owe me, you have no right to decline. So, you have two options,¡± she climbed on top of me, ¡°Either you marry me, or you give me a child.¡±


    I started looking around for an exit, ¡°Can you give a few days to¡­¡±


    I was cut off, ¡°Rejected.¡± She moved in closer till she was inches away from my face. ¡°Choose now, I will not let you escape. If you refuse to make a choice, I will make one for you.¡±


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    It¡¯s not like it¡¯s not tempting, it¡¯s just I have no idea what kind of consequences will happen later on. So I choose option number one, ¡°Marry! I will marry you!¡±


    ¡°Oh, will then I can¡¯t wait to have many children with you! <3¡± She leans down lays her lips over mine.


    Just then the door swung open, Princess Chloe and Aria fell to the floor while Imperial Princess Ashley was standing above them saying, ¡°No fair! I get Chloe, but now even an ex-Baron¡¯s daughter is your fianc¨¦e? I¡¯m also pretty sure Aria has the ticket to be concubine number one. I am feeling left out!¡±


    I was to make a comment on them spying on my, or why they are even here but we all heard a scream from down stairs. The room below this is my Uncle¡¯s! I jump out the window and used my wings to slow my descent to the ground. Once I touched down I climb into the already open window to see a Cliff Elf freaking out, pacing beside my Uncle Ares. His skin had gone from the light purple to Bone White. There was purple powder and black feathers were everywhere.


    ¡°No, no. no. no. Uncle!¡± hearing my calls he slowly opened his eyes, ah he is alive! Good, there is still time! I put my mana into the air, it shimmered grey as I slowed down time to an almost stand still.


    I watched my uncle closely; his feathers were all but gone, and his face looked twisted in pain. Slowly he lifted hand; I grasped it, suddenly time picked back up to normal time. He just cancelled my skill!


    I looked at him with confusion; he just shook his head and let out a hoarse throaty voice, ¡°I was ready¡­ when I came down with¡­ this. You are a blessing¡­ to this family. You pulled this¡­ family from depression before¡­ you were even born.¡± There was a twinkle in his eye as he looked at me.


    ¡°Why?¡± was all I could mutter.


    He ignored my question and continued, ¡°I heard¡­ you got to¡­ the Void. It has been awhile¡­ since I went there¡­ myself. It must have¡­ been lonely. Hey, Al can I¡­ ask for a favor?¡±


    I smile sourly, ¡°You know I hate being called Al. Yes, tell me anything. What is it?¡±


    He let out a sad, sad laugh, and said, ¡°Can you please¡­ treat Mariona like family? It seems¡­ I am unable to¡­ do it myself.¡±


    The Cliff Elf stopped pacing and kneeled beside me, began stroking Uncle¡¯s face, ¡°Please, do not leave me! I... I am with child! Please, please don¡¯t leave us! You can¡¯t leave! Please don¡¯t¡­¡± she was crying so hard she got choked up at the end.


    Uncle Ares raised a slow, unsteady hand and touched her face, ¡°I have¡­ to go¡­ my love.¡± his words getting weaker and weaker until they were but a whisper. His hand went limp but the Elf grabbed and held to her face and continued to beg. His spoke once more, ¡°Live¡­ on¡­¡± The light in his eyes faded. When Mariona noticed this, she cried uncontrollably and had her arms across his chest.


    I heard stomping followed by the door being slammed open. The King had arrived with an urgent look on his face. He strode into the room and bent over my Uncle. When he learnt he was no longer in this world, a grim look came across his face. He looked at him and was shaking his head for hours. Eventually he reached inside Uncle Ares shirt and removed a pair of worn out dog tags. He studied them for a long time. When he looked up, he noticed the grieving Mariona.


    He walked over to her and patted her on the shoulder. He then slipped the tags over her head and left the room without a word. She looked at the dog tags and her cries were rejuvenated.


    Hours later we had the body moved to cemetery. There were many tears, and stone faces in the crowd. A Colonel was in the crowd, he was the one that said the eulogy. No one in my family could do it because of we would get choked up half way, so we had to have his closest peer do it. My father had uttered a single word; he just stared at the coffin, even when it was covered in dirt.


    Days would go by and my dad would still be at the cemetery watching the grave. Eventually mom pulled him from that spot and into the castle. The very next day my mother couldn¡¯t get out of bed. We were all crowded in the room with her.


    ¡°Come now, I will get better soon.¡± She lied. ¡°I just need some rest. This room is getting a bit stuffy, so if you could¡­¡± she trailed off. Immediately everyone but my father and I left the room.


    ¡°Ah, good. Hey don¡¯t look at me like that. I will be fine. You know what I am going to sleep, weather you are here or not!¡± She said defiantly, she twisted the covers over her head. Seeing any further conversation was not going to happen, we left the room.


    I decided to make a resolution right then and there, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m going to leave the palace to look for someone to fix this.¡±


    Dad just shook his head, ¡°We had the best doctors here, and the most pious people out there come here. None could save her. Be they saint or sinner, this¡­ this curse can¡¯t be cured.¡± My dad walked away with his head between his hands.


    ¡°We¡¯ll just see about that.¡± I whispered to no one.


    I turn around and pour every drop of mana I had and formed an invisible dungeon small enough for to cover this room. I gave my Slow Time skill to the dungeon. With all my mana poured into it, it froze the very air. I am not going to let my mother die on me! My Uncle may have accepted his death, but I won¡¯t let my mother accept hers. I just won¡¯t.


    I walked out of the room and walked briskly to my room. All the girls were sitting on my bed; Princess Chloe spoke up, and said ¡°We¡¯re coming too.¡±


    <hr />


    So you have a nice harem going on here. Who all is in it? -Author


    Shut up. -MC


    A Demon Princess, An Imperial Princess, An ex-Baron''s Daughter, and A Slave? Want a maid as well? -Author


    What? No. Why? -MC


    Well they do have a lovely uniform. -Author


    I guess they do have that. -MC


    Oh, hi Ashley! -Author


    Wait, what? -MC


    So maids is it? Can I be a fiancee if I dress as a maid? -Ashley


    You set this up! come back here you crumbly author! -MC

 Chapter 21: Im sorry for your loss, want to have sex?

    I look at the serious looks on the girls¡¯ faces. Of course in my head, I want to dissuade them as much as possible, but I know it would be futile. So to save my breath, I ask a question, ¡°Are you sure you want to do this? It could be a dangerous journey.¡±


    The girls look at each other, and through some kind of unfathomable girl communication power, they look back at me and nod their heads in unison. To that, I let out a sigh to admit my defeat, causing the girls to smile.


    ¡°Alright, alright, we leave tomorrow morning.¡±


    Chloe stood up and walked forward, ¡°Hey, I have been meaning to ask this, but do you have a destination in mind?¡±


    Curious gazes from the other girls gave the impression they were wondering the same thing. I pondered for a moment. Then I came up with, ¡°We are going to travel down the main road toward the Dukedom of Caslor. I picked that place, because it¡¯s basically the center of the continent, so a lot of information collecting there. After we get some¡­¡±


    Ashley spoke up, ¡°You know there are these monks that have mastered the arts of healing. They are constantly coming up with new treatments all the time. They are called the Eastern Robed Monks. They reside on the isolated shores of the Rosewood Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Eastern Robed Monks? I¡¯ve never heard of them. If they are so medically inclined, how come my father did not invite them?¡± I inquire.


    Ashley spoke as if it was known fact, ¡°They live on a shore in isolation. They isolate themselves to pursue two practices: Medicine and Devotion to the god of light, Icaldir. The only ones who know about them are the Royal family of the Rosewood Kingdom and the Imperial family. They are allowed to keep to themselves if they keep making discoveries. Like one discovery they made was that maggots make a good treatment for dead or diseased flesh. They don¡¯t like to eat living tissue.¡± Still medieval practices, but the medical practices were like around pre WWI, so they were just a little behind. Maybe if I show them that penicillin makes a good antibacterial¡­


    Aria flinched at the comment, but Chloe and Louise looked too sick to continue listening to Ashley, so I had to cut in before she continued. ¡°Is there any way to bring them here?¡±


    Ashley gave it a thought for a moment then slowly shook her head, ¡°I am sorry, they really do like their solitude. Maybe if you were a pious man, they might help.¡± I was to speak up, but was interrupted, ¡°I mean a REALLY pious man.¡± She had a look in her eyes that begged me to at least understand that much.


    ¡°I see.¡± I wasn¡¯t so stupid to not understand her. I was somewhat pious, I did believe in a higher being, but not enough to be fanatical about it.


    Aria had recovered from Ashley¡¯s gruesome discoveries, and had a confused look on her face. I was about to ask if understood what we were talking about when she asked another question, ¡°I remember when you first rescued me; you pulled firewood, food and clothes out of midair. You called it a Void Space as I recall. When you pulled the food out the next morning, it was still warm. Does that work on living things as well?¡±


    Ah, I see where she is going, ¡°It is as you say, my dear Watson.¡± Each face gave off an intensely confused expressions, I just brushed it off and continue, ¡°I can store things in the Void Space. I can store, well, basically anything I want. Any size, living, dead, inanimate, you name it. The things I store even go into a stasis until taken out, meaning, no matter how long it is in there, it will be the exact same as when it was taken out.¡±


    The girls gave hopeful smiles and began to chat, but I silenced them with, ¡°There is a condition though. If the item, object, or person is living, I have to have consent.¡±


    Chloe, who was slowly getting closer to me, asked ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask your mom?¡±


    I sigh once again, if only it were that simple. For the last few days, I have begged, plead, demanded, asked, and tried to persuade my mom into it. All of which, ended in a resounding no. I made the argument that it would affect the people her, friends and family, if she died. She would respond with, she was going to be at the goddess Anelia¡¯s side in a better place, and that her friends and family should be happy and not sad. I would say we might find a cure, she would respond with, I might not, and then I would have my hopes crushed. For every argument I brought up, she made a counter-argument.


    ¡°If only it were that easy. I fought tooth and nail with that stubborn woman.¡± I gave a big yawn and continued, ¡°I even stayed up late trying to talk her into it.¡±


    Louise noticed Chloe¡¯s small movements and began making some herself, while saying cautiously, ¡°You are as stubborn as your mother. Over the last few weeks I noticed a lot of similarities between you two.¡±


    ¡°Stubborn? Me? Why do you say that?¡±


    She then slowly says as she gets closer and closer to me, ¡°Well I was watching you, to keep an eye on you of course. After your argument with her you still put a time frozen dungeon around her room, despite her wishes.¡±


    ¡°Ah you saw that.¡± With Chloe and Louise slowly walking towards me, I felt as if I was about to be pounced on by a predator. To keep the nervousness out of my voice from this eerie feeling, I look up and continue, ¡°Why were you watching me? Is not like I mind, but still that¡¯s kind of like an evasion of privacy.¡±


    ¡°With the death of your Uncle and your mother being not too far away from that herself, I made sure to keep an eye on you.¡± She sounded like it was the obvious thing to do.


    Hmm, well I do appreciate the concern but¡­ ¡°Do I look like the suicidal type?¡±


    ¡°Well no, but I didn¡¯t want the future father of my children to weasel his way out of his promise.¡± so blunt. I turn my gaze from the ceiling to her. She had gotten a lot closer to me than I realized, on her face was a complete look of seriousness.


    ¡°You know, it is well known that Void Demon fertility is really low for some reason. I may not be able to have that many children.¡± I say while slowly backing up.


    This time Princess Chloe responded, ¡°That¡¯s fine, Fire Demons have a really high fertility rate! My father has 13 children. I am sure if you keep it casual, you will have around six children. However, we Fire Demons are a feisty breed. We could go. All. Night. Long.¡±


    I gulped. I always wanted to start a family, but more than six children?!


    Looking around at my surroundings, I could see Chloe closing in on my right and Louise on my left. Ashley was still on my bed, curiously looking through my night stand. Oi! That is totally an invasion of privacy! I was about to comment on it, but I noticed Aria was no longer on the bed. Where¡¯d she go?


    Just as I thought that I was tackled by three people at the same time, Aria being the third. Because I was caught off guard, my wings spread out when I fell, I fell pretty hard near the door way I was standing next to. Louise and Princess Chloe were on top of each wing, effectively pinning me down. Their weight didn¡¯t hurt them at all, however if I tried to move out from underneath them, I would be pulling a ton of feathers out. I was not ready for that kind of pain yet.


    Aria was sitting on my chest as per usual; all three of their heads were really close to mine with smiles on their faces. I am a bit confused but before I could ask, Princess Ashley asked accusingly, ¡°What is going on? Why are you on top of him? Why wasn¡¯t I invited to join?¡±


    Aria looked back briefly at Ashley, ¡°Master is being so serious lately! So¡­¡±


    Louise shot a glance over at Ashley and continued, ¡°We are going to help cheer My Prince up!¡±


    Princess Chloe didn¡¯t take her eyes off mine, demanding my entire gaze, said offhandedly, ¡°As to why you weren¡¯t invited¡­ We demons have a connection that you humans can¡¯t even imagine, so great is the connection, we can even communicate! My Darling¡¯s connection with me is even deeper.¡± Her face was getting closer to my own with Aria and Louise following suit. They then started putting light kisses across my face in short, light pecks.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Between Aria and Chloe¡¯s bodies, I saw Ashley hang her head solemnly.  Oh, she feels left out. I quickly correct Chloe¡¯s words, ¡°Ashley, don¡¯t listen to her, there is no such connections. They just saw each other¡¯s movements is all.¡± Ashley got up from the bed and walked past us. Once she had, I couldn¡¯t see her anymore. I thought she was going to leave the room, but the footsteps stopped and a shadow loomed over my face.


    Looking up I saw the look of determination in those green eyes of hers. She was already sporting a massive blush across her face. She leaned down and stole my lips with her own. Her kiss wasn¡¯t as skillful as Princess Chloe¡¯s, as demanding as Louise¡¯s, or as lust provoking as Aria¡¯s. But her kiss seemed to be very innocent that was over shadowed with a competitive nature. Gradually, the kiss deepened as she got used to it. She even started to explore my mouth with her tongue.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s my turn.¡± Louise separated us. Ashley still had a bit of drool on her lips and was in a daze. She immediately covered my mouth with hers and had invaded my mouth with her tongue. The kiss was so passionate, I had my own tongue wrap around hers, and they wrestled around inside our mouths. Aria was licking the side of my neck, while Chloe was nibbling the top side of my ears. I was in so much pleasure, I thought I was about to explode.


    That was when I heard the door open.


    ¡°E-Excuse me Young master- Ah!¡± I couldn¡¯t see her, but I knew who it was. It was the maid that continuously opened the door in the most awkward of situations, Olivia. Given the situation her face was probably Beat Red.


    I heard her footsteps start to go backwards. ¡°Hold on! What is it you need?¡± I say as I struggle to get up, but to no avail.


    ¡°A l-letter was d-discovered in y-y-your un-uncle¡¯s room. It w-was addressed to y-you.¡± Olivia stammered. I heard footsteps move around us and then she came into view. She walked over to my nightstand and placed an envelope on it. She then covered her eyes with both her hands, though she left gaps between her fingers as she hurried away.


    Once the footsteps disappeared, the girls returned their previous erotic making out. Aria had lifted my shirt just a bit and was tracing my muscles. Ashley had recovered and was trying to steal a kiss from me away from Louise.


    Once our lips had parted I tried to stop them by talking, ¡°Hey aren¡¯t you guys w-mmph?!¡± Princess Chloe succeeded in stealing the kiss and was forcing her tongue into my mouth. She pulled back and licked her lips. It was so sexy my mind blanked for a moment, just as I was to ask again, she dove down and started kissing and then bit into my bottom lip.


    I felt my shirt start to stretch. Looking down I saw Aria wiggling her way inside. As soon as Chloe released my lip, I spoke quickly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys wondering about what¡¯s written in the letter?¡±


    Everyone paused for a brief moment and looked at each other. Again with the female communications! They all seemed to reach an answer mentally between themselves and looked back at me, together they smiled and said, ¡°Not at all!¡± and resumed the make-out session.


    My shirt stretched even more and then Aria¡¯s head popped out of my collar. She was hugging my torso so closely; it was like our skin was touching, partly because I could indeed feel her soft, bare skin touching mine. Wait that meant¡­ I look over next to my belly to see a pile of clothes that were identical to the clothes she was wearing earlier.


    Due to having more nutrition than she previously had, she developed the now larger mounds I could feel pressing against my chest. It took all I had to suppress an oncoming nosebleed from the ever increasing blood pressure. I then gaze into the red eyes of the smiling face of Aria. Her eyes were fully dilated and she was heavily panting as she neared her mouth toward mine. She gave her lips a lick, then my own before she hurriedly pressed her soft lips onto my own.


    The kiss was getting deeper and deeper. I could feel Princess Ashley and Princess Chloe trying to separate us to no use. I felt like I was about to melt. The thing that brought me back to my senses was the feeling of my pants being unbuckled.


    I could hear Louise snickering to herself, ¡°Since things are getting this heated up already, why don¡¯t we step it up a notch?¡± At once I felt Chloe give up on separating us and moved to help Louise. Ashley stopped only to watch them intently. Was no one caring for their own purity or shame? Well I think Fire Demons are born without shame and the Beastman tribes sometimes don¡¯t have clothes. The only one who should be in control of themselves is the human.


    Ashley help! Oh, her eyes are dilating. Well there goes that. Aria had long since stopped the kiss and had moved onto licking my cheek.


    They had successfully removed my pants, leaving only my boxers and over stretched shirt on. They then started to unbutton themselves. Being a healthy young man, I couldn¡¯t help the fact that a tent had been pitched in my underwear.


    As tempting as to keep going, and trust me, I wanted to keep going, I had to end this before we couldn¡¯t turn back.


    I let my mana swirl around us with a blue tinge before I set up the Dungeon. The air instantly cooled with the black and purple mist. The sudden drop in temperature caused them to shiver and snap back to their senses. Since my wings were unbound, I slowly stood up and tried to walk over to the nightstand before I fell over.


    I was so focused on getting them to their senses; I forgot that Aria was still inside my shirt. When I started the fall I noticed Aria still there, so I quickly hugged her tightly so she wouldn¡¯t get hurt by the impact. I had fallen on top of Aria with my arms wrapped around her. Despite the air being cold, I was still as comfortable as earlier, meaning my tent was still pitched.


    Aria¡¯s body heat was also so warm that it didn¡¯t even affect her. I was on top of her so our lower halves were snug against each other. I tried to get up multiple times, but fell over every time. I was overly conscious of where my tent was rubbing up against. Aria had closed her eyes and started to grind her lower half onto my own, letting out moans of pleasure. The tip of my underwear had got drenched in something wet. This caused me make quite the slimy mess in my underpants, causing it to become massively sticky.


    Behind me I heard more panting and moaning. Turning around I saw three beautiful women in their own undergarments panting and shivering. I previously thought they were shivering from the cold, come to find out they were shivering in pleasure. Thinking back, Fire Demons had really hot skin, so the cold probably felt really good, so why was the human pleasure?


    I heard Aria give a really loud moan before she passed out. A small puddle was forming between our legs. Turning back once again I saw the other three starting to crawl toward me with lust covering their eyes. That was when I noticed the dungeon not having its usual eerie aura but one full of passionate lust. It then hit me that dungeons took after the characteristics of the user.


    I quickly cancel the dungeon, but they are still advancing toward me. Oh I don¡¯t think my underwear is enough to protect our virginities this time.


    <hr />


    So are you taking Louise''s offer and extending it to the other three?


    That was not my intention?


    Don''t you want children?


    I-I do. But not now! I have to much to do!


    I know. I know. Cure your mother, right? Is that right?


    Yes.


    Well, having sex does prove as remedy for some headaches I don''t believe it will cure your mom.


    We didn''t have sex! Not officially anyway!


    Hmmm... I wonder if you can say that with the next chapter...


    (gulp)

 Chapter 22: My Uncles last confession.

    The erotic dungeon is cancelled; however the girls still aren¡¯t letting up. Hmm, think, think! I need a plan. First I need to be freed of this pleasure pretzel that Aria has me in. I draw me sword and cut away the shirt that bound me to Aria. When the last of the threads was severed, I jump away in the nick of time. Had I lingered a moment longer, I would¡¯ve fallen prey to the girls that were hunting me. I had quickly stood up on the bed, trying to keep as much distance between us.


    Putting away my sword, I glance at Aria and come up with a plan. I moved my gaze toward Ashley, the one most susceptible to magic and activate my demon eyes. I put as much lust I could possible transmit into the gaze. Instantly she jolted straight up and screamed like someone electrocuted her, she then passed out with a small, clear puddle forming beneath her pelvis.


    I move my gaze from the convulsing princess to Louise. She jolted straight up just like Ashley, but did not faint right away. Instead she let out intense, erotic moans. She leaned back until she was supported by her elbows. She had her legs wide open, leaving me with a clear view of her dripping wet panties. She moved her hips higher and higher with moans getting louder and louder. She too, screamed as liquid from her panties dripped faster forming a small puddle beneath her.


    I focused my sight on Princess Chloe. She had gotten on the bed herself, without a single article of clothing, much like Aria.  Do you no longer care? I stared intensely at her as well. She let out an intense shiver, nothing more.


    ¡°Sorry, My Darling, we are the same rank demons. Therefor it¡¯s going to take a lot more than just a gaze to satisfy me.¡± She said as she knocked me down. She directly sat on top of my pelvis. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this?¡± She asked as she touched the sticky glob that had seeped through my underwear earlier.


    She pulled back her hand and studied her fingers. We saw a small line of sticky liquid connect her thumb and index finger. Oh boy, ¡°Uh, that¡¯s um¡­ well, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s¡± oh god this was embarrassing me.


    ¡°Hmmm, did the little doggy make you feel good? Well I can¡¯t lose to a doggy, now can I? Hmmm, I think I¡¯ll give you my first time.¡± She said with a lewd smile. Oi! This was to cheer me up from my Uncle and Mother, how did it end up like this?


    I must at least protect her from herself. She put her hand into my underpants and grabbed the pole that supported the tent. ¡°Mmmm,¡± I groaned slightly. Ah, I need to hurry and get her to pass out. I quickly activate the dungeon again. The combination of the effects of the dungeon and my demon eyes raised her already high body temperature even higher.


    She let go of my tower of flesh and let out highly erotic moans. I need to give her more stimuli to get her to stop before the deed is done. If she keeps moaning like this, this close to me, I may end up jumping her.


    I gather mana in my hands and I grabbed her glorious mounds of flesh. They felt like freshly made dough in the bakery. The felt so soft and yet¡­ firm. I kinda wanted to play with them but now was not the time for that! I sent my mana in electric shocks. She moaned harder and harder, twitching a little. Even the crown above her head seemed to glow little brighter. On the fourth pulse of electricity, she screamed and fainted. A puddle had once again formed, but on my soaking wet underwear this time. She fell forward and landed with her face near mine.


    Ah, that was really close. Way to close. I had already made my underwear nice and sticky twice by now. I was way too exhausted to push the naked princess off of me. I quickly cancel my Dungeon and was about to let sleep envelope me, but then I noticed my late Uncle¡¯s letter right next to me on the nightstand. I grab the envelope and open it to read the contents.


    It read, ¡®Dear Al, I write to you as I know my time is coming to an end. I want you to know that I am proud to be a part of this family. I knew the day that you were born, that you were destined for greatness. You absorbed knowledge as if you were a sponge when you were little. You repeated your lessons flawlessly. Academically, you had no peers. Some of your decisions were not always the best. But then again, the young always act on impulse.


    You¡¯ve always helped the people. You opened your parents up to more people than I ever could. If I think about it you were helping people before you were even born. Every day I watched you grow, my mind was at peace. I watched you to grow up to be a fine young man. It¡¯s a shame I couldn¡¯t watch my nephews a nieces be born, or my own son for that matter. I have the feeling you will try to save your mother, even if she wishes otherwise.


    I know who can help. But first, they need your help.


    We are not alone.


    We are not the last four Void Demons. There was one more survivor. His name is Hallham Janus. He was at the camp when the mutiny of the Great War happened. He would have killed Alastair had Magnus not stepped in. Magnus inflicted heavy injures and he was thought to have died. He lives. I did not know he was alive until shortly after Magnus was crowned the Demon King.


    He came after us in the dead of night. No one knows but I. I had challenged him in the Void and won. I showed misplaced mercy and did not finish him off.


    I had picked up some skills years prior to the battle and mastered them, one them being my sealing and cancelling techniques. Instead of killing him, I banished him from the Void by sealing his power to use the Void Step entirely. By doing so, I lost the ability to enter the Void myself. Your mother and father were never strong enough to enter the Void, so for more than 120 years, no one has entered the Void.


    I don¡¯t know who he works for, but the destruction of the Void Demons goes much deeper than a simple mishap in the Great War. Now that I am at my end, the seal on his powers will break. I must ask you to save the Void, for she is surely in danger. Your Uncle, Ares Phendahl.¡¯


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. There is another Void Demon out there? He is trying to control the Void? Uncle Ares sealed his power? Just who was Uncle Ares? Why is the Void in danger? Why is this Janus guy trying to kill off his own kind? I had so many questions, but the demon to answer them was no longer alive. Feeling the incredible amount of frustration fatigue, I close my eyes to relax. I quickly lose to the powerful of sleep and fall under its spell.


    <Alex¡­ ¡­ ¡­me¡­>


    Huh? What was that? I must still be awake, demons don¡¯t have dreams. It was the sound of a little girl¡¯s voice as well. I am not a lolicon! There is no way I would dream of little girls even if I could dream!


    <Alex, save¡­>


    There it is again. I open my eyes and see no one there. Puzzled I close my eyes once more


    <¡­ ¡­ time, running out¡­>


    Once again, I open my eyes and see no one is there. Just what is going on, I sit up and I scan the room¡­ twice¡­ three times now and I don¡¯t hear anything. I lie back down and close my eyes once more.


    <Alex, I¡­ the Void¡­ help¡­ Janus¡­ please, I¡­ of you!>


    Then silence, I hear nothing but breathing, I see nothing but the back of my eyelids, as I return to my dreamless sleep.


    ¡­


    I wake up find myself in quite the predicament. I have a naked Princess Chloe hugging my left arm. Apparently my right wing came unfolded during the night, which has the scantily clad Ashley sleeping on. In between Ashley and me, was an almost nude Fire Demon, Louise, hugging tightly on to my right arm. On top of my chest, was of course, the fully nude Aria curled on my chest with the remainders of the shirt draped on her back. Aside being surrounded by beauties in various degrees of nudity, I had a tent pitched that looked like was never coming down. To add on top of that, the usually black wool was now covered in white stains. It was also very crusty for an added uncomfortable factor.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Once again, I hear the door open with a very familiar stuttering voice. Olive had walked with breakfast for five.


    ¡°E-excuse me, Young M-master Alexander, are you¡­ Ahh!¡± She took notice of all the weird, white stains on the stone, the clothes everywhere, the half to fully nude girls surrounding me, and the little clothing I had on as well. Adding to fact that the whole palace could probably hear us, it didn¡¯t make things any easier to explain, if I even could.


    ¡°S-s-sorry for-for the intrusion!¡± her face was a deep shade of red. She set the food down on the nearest dresser and ran of the room as quickly as she could. At least she shut the door. I saw Aria¡¯s ears and nose twitch as she smelled the breakfast.


    Slowly she sat up and yawned. She leaned forward and licked my face. ¡°Good morning Master!¡± She looked around and noticed the current dress code; she focused on me again as if she was going to start where we left off. But her stomach growled and so she pouted. I had to laugh at this bizarre scene.


    ¡°Haha, ah, good morning Aria, it¡¯s fine. Go eat. I don¡¯t think my endurance would last another assault, so please, go eat.¡± I begged. She giggled and jumped off of me. The jostling woke up Louise. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Looking around she also spotted me and quickly climbed on top of me, rubbing tent.


    ¡°Oi, what are you doing?¡± I ask hurriedly. My limit was tested to the max last night, so my limit was frighteningly low this morning, and she was rapidly approaching it.


    She paused for a short while, then continued, ¡°I am attempting to make babies, what does it look like?¡± so blunt!


    I quickly looked for an escape route in the conversation, ¡°Marriage! I said I would marry you!¡±


    ¡°Ah, but I really want children though¡­¡± She said as she started rubbing herself as well.


    ¡°How about a deal? You can have as many kids as you want, after marriage. Deal?¡± I was sweating bullets now. Just a little slip of the fabric and a little more rubbing and I would be father before I knew it.


    She stopped and considered it; slowly she climbed off and declared, ¡°I will keep you to your word!¡± She then walked over to the food to join the staring Aria.


    I think the lust filled atmosphere woke up Chloe. I was settling down just a little, but my limit was dropping like a rock. I am going to explode before the morning is done!


    Chloe looked at me with great amusement. She had turned her up turned gaze down toward my tent. She ran one hands done my belly and was rapidly approaching the camping grounds. I quickly grab her wrist with my free hand.


    I then begged, ¡°Please, I won¡¯t be able to control myself any further, I don¡¯t want any regrets, so please I beg of you, eat a pancake!¡±


    She looked extremely enthusiastic to continue but obeyed and joined the food circle that was forming on the ground. The last to wake was Ashley. Ashley sat up and was rubbing her eyes. When she sat up, it freed my right wing allowing me to sit up. Ashley took notice of our state of appearance and sported a massive blush. She looked away from me, but she looked excessively cute. Having no more business on the bed we grab our respect plates and make our way toward the circle.


    Passing Chloe I felt my undergarment get yanked down. With my feet all tied up, I quickly trip and fall. With my tent removed a rifle was then exposed. With nice cool breeze blowing against it as it descended. I was not the only one who fell however; Princess Ashley had her panties around her ankles as well. We fell on top of each other. My rifle had just barely brushed the skin when it had set off and shot multiple rounds at the sitting target, Princess Ashley. This rifle was better calibrated than most rifles, so every shot hit the target.


    Ashley had become the first victim of this deadly rifle. I was losing control of my body along with my mind going blank. I would¡¯ve gone to the point of no return had I not seen the tears in Princess Ashley¡¯s green eyes. My primal urges had been completely silenced at the very deadly sight of those tears.


    I was mortified of what just happened. There wasn''t chance of pregnancy from this, but I probably mentally scarred this girl.


    ¡°No, no, no, no, no, are you ok? Ah, man. Let me get you cleaned up. I¡¯m so sorry! What I have done is inexcusable. I should have been more careful. Please, tell me what it is you desire and I will make it happen.¡± I was practically tripping over myself to see if she was fine.


    Ashley looked at me and said, ¡°No, no. It¡¯s fine; these are actually tears of joy.¡± She gave me a smile.


    ¡°So then¡­¡± I start to speak after the initial horror passed.


    Once again I was cut off, ¡°No takesies-backsies, Alexander! You said you would give me anything I wanted, and I want a golden ticket!¡±


    ¡°A golden ticket?¡± I repeated. I have a feeling I know where this is going, and that I¡¯ve seen it before. I glance over at Louise who was staring at the scene in fascination, then back at Ashley, ¡°A golden ticket for what?¡±


    ¡°To become your bride! I¡¯ve always wanted to become a bride to a hero, just like my mother used to tell me when I was little.¡± She said with a blush. It would have been cute too, you know if there wasn¡¯t my rifle¡¯s ammo all over her. I picked up my torn shirt and started to dampen it with my saliva. She continued, ¡°I always dreamt of the d-mmph?!¡± I had put the rag on her face and started to clean her up. ¡°Hey that was rude!¡±


    After I was done with her face and began wiping down her belly, this is where most of the ammo had gathered. After a few minutes I moved up to her chest not even thinking about it. I was just picking up the ammo wherever I saw it. I was quickly made to realize where my hands were when I heard a moan escape from her lips.


    ¡°Wha! I¡¯m sorry! I wasn¡¯t paying attention. I was¡­¡± I immediately shut up. I saw for the first time a truly sad look from Ashley for a moment before she hid it with a smile again. I have no idea why she is so fond of me. I have no idea why she was the only representative from the Imperial Domain that night. I especially don¡¯t know why she is so fixated on become my bride. But that sad, sad look that had appeared so fleetingly was enough. That look was enough to break my heart.


    I pull a very surprised Ashley into a hug and whisper in her ear, ¡°I don¡¯t know what is wrong, but I will help in any way I can. If that includes marrying you I will.¡± I will do anything to prevent that look from returning to this pretty face. I couldn¡¯t see them but I felt the tears hit my shoulders.


    In a whisper almost too small to here, I heard her say, ¡°Thank you.¡±

 Chapter 23: Rise to the chef gods tycoon.

    After we ate breakfast we got dressed, in the same room. There was not a trace of shame, due to the events last night. The change of clothes for the girls came from an older maid, named¡­ I actually don¡¯t remember her name. I suppose she was the one to bring the change of clothes because Olivia was too embarrassed, not that I blame her.


    Ah, looking back at last night, man I wouldn¡¯t have had to fend them off if I knew we would stick around the palace for a few months. Geh, I could cry from this, but it was for the best. What if one of them got pregnant? The baby itself is not a problem, however if one does get pregnant and we get stuck travelling for a few months, that would not be wise.


    In a perfect world, if that happened I could send them back to palace or cancel the adventure for a while. However, also in that perfect world, there wouldn¡¯t be a need to find a cure. Ah, when I find a cure, I will absolutely not take a ¡®no¡¯ for an answer! I will have them! I guess when we return, I¡¯ll hold a surprise marriage ceremony. I wonder what expressions they¡¯ll make¡­


    ¡°Hey, Alexander, are you thinking of something naughty?¡± Princess Ashley inquired.


    Ah, I¡¯ve been found out. I guess I couldn¡¯t keep my thoughts from showing on my face. I thought about denying it, but decided to come clean. With a dramatic voice I say, ¡°Ah! It is as you say my princess! I just can¡¯t help myself from fantasizing what I¡¯m going to do you when we get back from our trip!¡± I take my hand stroke her cheek.


    Ashley gazed into my eyes with a kind of longing in them. As if she just understood my words she turned her head quickly sporting an enormous blush. Haha, oh that was fun. Hehe¡­ Oh. Turning around I saw the jealous faces of three girls staring at me¡­ I could include them in this conversation but I¡¯d rather leave before the word of our activities spread to far in the palace. I¡¯d rather not have those looks of curiosity, envy, lust, and disgust staring daggers in my back.


    I change the subject before it even began, ¡°Hmm, when was the last time you guys went shopping?¡± Everyone but Aria got excited at the mention of shopping. Aria became really quite. Ah, I need to confirm nothing will happen to her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Aria; I will not turn my back on you while we are out. I have everything I need already in my Void Space. The items you guys need to purchase are, a comfortable weapon, a few changes of clothes, and a few stocks of food. Ok, now everyone grab onto each other.¡± As I instructed we were holding hands. We did a quick jump in the air and fell into the Void Step beneath our feet.


    When we landed back on the ground, we were at the center of the Commercial District. The Merchant¡¯s Guild was right behind us; I had them follow me to a map post on the building¡¯s wall. ¡°Alrighty, along this street are many clothing shops, such as these ones,¡± I point to a few squares bordering a road on the map, then pointing to a few small shops, ¡°These are smithies, here you¡¯ll find weapons.¡± Pointing at many smaller squares, ¡°These are little food stalls. They are much cheaper if stick along this road. This building here is the Merchant Guild, it is not the biggest building, but it is the tallest. If you get lost head here, this will be the meeting point in a few hours.¡± They started to disperse, but I just remembered something, ¡°Oi! If you want a big discount, just say my name.¡±


    With bigger smiles, they all nodded before heading down the road, leaving me with Aria. Aria had a cute, confused expression, she then asked, ¡°How do you know your way around so well? Oh and why will they give a discount at the mention of your name?¡±


    ¡°Well my young grasshopper,¡± she looked a little confused at the reference, put I continued, ¡°I used to insist on helping the maids with the shopping. My reasoning was so I can learn about trade transactions, but my real goal was to study the city I live in and get closer to the people who share this glorious city as home. As to why they give out such large discounts is because I helped them develop a certain trade system that has made them all extremely prosperous.¡±


    I remember those few weeks of trying to get them to follow the free trade system and a certain system that I excelled at in certain games on Earth. They respectfully refused to do it. So I made a challenge, those who adopted the system and still struggled to make four times the amount they were used to making would receive a stipend each month from the castle for a time. That got them so fired up. The smarter of the merchants, usually Water Demons, listened intently to my process.


    The process required them to take some stock into a nearby certain cities that had inflated prices for the merchandise. They will sell it there, travel to another city to and buy some of the same stalk at deflated prices, and repeat until enough money was gained. The all the merchants set out to the cities I mentioned. Eventually this process will spread, but until then it would make Starwind City the most prosperous in the world. Even then some of them still weren¡¯t satisfied with the plan and refused to participate, so I opened a stall of my own and set out for travel of my own, though of course limited due to not being an adult. I did travel with Melinda so I could do it. I set out for certain ingredients.


    By the end of the third day, I had my own employees. They travelled to the places Melinda refused to do with me. I paid them handsomely as well; the ones that remained in the shop had helped install stoves and shelves for cooking. I had made it a bakery. I was rolling in cash at the time, so I expanded my shop until I owned a massive building on the money I solely came up with on my own. I taught the employees how to make sweets such as cupcakes and pastries that weren¡¯t even invented on Zugrielia. It had quickly became a tycoon on its own. I had planned to close it after the challenge was done, but the demand for the sweets was so high, I felt guilty for the thought of closing it. With much money to be thrown around, there were a ton of sweets created by all the employees, many did not get on the menu but became famous either way. Eventually they figured out the recipes to candies on their own.


    At the time, my 18th birthday was approaching so I gave the ownership to the hardest working employee. She happened to be human, which shocked most of the employees, but I explained the equal opportunity laws that had passed months before. The human¡¯s name was Maddison Appleroot. Her story was that she had no family left due to a flu like disease that had spread around in her town. I hired her even though she had nothing to offer at the time. I hired her because I saw the resolve in her eyes to become the hardest worker and make a name for herself. She travelled from a faraway human kingdom, to make a start in life.


    The person most shocked at me handing Madison the rights was Maddison herself. Before I made it official I made connections with a poor farm in the nearby village that bordered the Commercial District. The village¡¯s name was Cometa, in that village; I had formed a contract with the poorest farmer with a decent sized plot of land. He would send in the needed supplies for the excess demand of the bakery/patisserie. In return he would receive a hefty sum of gold. I gave him a huge deposit to start his farm renovation for the three field rotation process. Growing wheat in plot, soy in another, and cotton in the last.


    When I gave Maddison the rights, I basically gave her control of the Commercial District. In a few months, they grew and bought rights to several clothing and food markets. Maddison had a monopoly on candy and most sweets and was working on the monopolization of other materials and goods. Even a famine came over this Kingdom that shop will never go out of business with the buying and selling of stock. Even though had grown like a cancer, she still remembers me and is grateful. Most of the time I got free stuff from that shop.


    Remembering that had me subconsciously walking in that direction. I turn to Aria and ask, ¡°Would you like to try some sweets?¡±


    Aria began to smile from ear to ear; shaking her so vigorously I thought it might fall off. Aria was starting to skip alongside me, humming in delight.


    ¡­


    We had arrived at a massive caf¨¦ styled shop at the place I had set up shop many months before. I thought they had changed locations until I saw the sign it read:


    Sister Appleroot¡¯s Sweets.


    Ah, they changed the name, well since I am no longer the owner, it does make since to switch the name on the sign. I sighed and walked into the door. We were greeted by a Water Demon dressed in a maid¡¯s outfit. That¡¯s right. I created a maid caf¨¦, well without coffee at first. It grew extremely popular with the commoners. It had maids and I was not ashamed in the least, I mean come, their maids.


    ¡°Good afternoon Master and Mistress. I will show you to your¡­¡±


    ¡°ALEX!!! Is that you?!¡± I look over the counter and see a very voluptuous woman with Auburn hair scramble over the counter and practically bulldozed through many customers as she came toward me. This eccentric woman is the owner, Maddison.


    The Water Demon maid had a horrified expression and quickly moved far away¡­ wait a moment, I turn my view back on to the rapidly approaching Maddison. She looks like she is going a little fast¡­ Oi, she is ten feet away and she doesn¡¯t seem to have the intention of slowing down! I try to dodge the oncoming train but to no avail! I received the full impact of a shoulder lodging itself in my stomach. The impact was so strong, my feet left the ground and we quickly landed outside the shop.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°It¡¯s you! It¡¯s really you! Alex it¡¯s been so long!¡± She rubbed her face on my chest.


    ¡°Oi, what if it wasn¡¯t me? You could have killed a random customer! Even if it was me, you have killed ME!¡± I stressed the graveness of her actions. This seemed to fall on deaf ears. I sigh for the third or fourth time today.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, there are only four Void Demons! Besides you, only your Uncle comes out of that palace! Speaking of, I haven¡¯t seen him in a while.¡± She trailed off.


    Oh. I guess not many merchants attended the funeral a week ago. The word was spreading slowly though. The word four rang in my head. Even with Uncle gone, there was still four according to his letter. My train of thought didn¡¯t seem to leave my face blank, it made Maddison inquire, ¡°Alex? What happened? Did something happen to him?¡±


    With a voice that was way quieter than I wanted, ¡°He is dead.¡± Her eyes widen, ¡°He had contracted Soulless Anemia.¡± She got off me and went silent, she moved her mouth but I cut off her apology, ¡°If you apologize it would bring down the good mood that my companions worked hard at improving.¡± I say with a smile.


    Maddison remained silent for a moment then said, ¡°As long as you¡¯re ok with it.¡± From the door way, we heard a small noise. We turned our gazes toward the door to see a very worried Aria looking between the two of us.


    Maddison chuckled and I got up to pat Aria on the head, which had calmed her down a little. Maddison led us back into the shop where we were met with many curious onlookers. With a glare from Maddison, they quickly began stuffing their face with food looking anywhere but at us.


    Looking around I could see many new decorations and renovations, ¡°Wow, you aren¡¯t doing too bad.¡±


    She walked past the line and got behind the counter and motioned us to front of the line, ¡°Haha, you handed me an empire that would take an act of a deity to destroy! Bwhaha!¡± she raised her voice and loudly proclaimed to the heavens. She then continued, ¡°This isn¡¯t even our only shop!¡± We have several branches in this Commercial District and one in just about every city in the whole world!¡± What are you, McDonald¡¯s? ¡°Ah, so what can I do you for?¡± as she leaned across the counter.


    I took a glance at the menu and blanched. This menu almost had every kind of food you would find at a food court in America. They didn¡¯t have the same names, such as Smashed Potato, Oily Chicken Legs. You could figure the connections; they were identical to Mashed Potatoes and Fried Chicken Legs. Fried foods were new to this world, along with usage of milk in some of the foods. Whoa, did I see cereal up there?


    Regaining my composure I said, ¡°I would like to buy in bulk please.¡± When she nodded, I began to list some things I needed, ¡°I need four pounds of various spices, 40 meat slabs: pork and bovine, five gallons of milk, five pounds of dried oats and barley, three pounds of sugar, thirty tomatoes, eight pounds of potatoes, three gallons of oil, a two pound block of dried, hard wheat (for noodles) and 400 pieces of hard candy please.¡± She had written the last of it down and hollered the order through the window behind her.


    ¡°Such a big bulk, are you ever going to come back again?¡± She asked in a worried voice.


    I pondered for a moment, ¡°I will someday, I am going on a potentially long trip. I had packed all kinds of silverware but not enough food. By the way, I have a new recipe that I doubt you have. Mind if I go into the kitchen?¡±


    Before I had the word kitchen out, my collar had been grabbed by the very eager Maddison, and I was dragged across the counter and into the enormous kitchen filled with at least a hundred cooks. Aria was following very closely behind me, she seemed at a loss on what to so. I will have to explain things before she has a minor panic attack.


    I was then lifted up in the air and set on my feet in front of a gargantuan stove. Maddison called out across the kitchen, ¡°Come all you aspiring chefs! Watch a master at work! We had snagged a certain Crown Prince and Founder of this very company! Remember to put your projects on the back burners! I do not want another fire.¡± We were completely surrounded by what seemed like an endless amount of cooks. Some faces I recognized, many I did not, and the ones that I recognized had a sparkle in their eyes. I turn to calm Aria from earlier to see the very same creepy sparkle in her eyes as well.


    I had asked for the tomatoes, oil, sugar, a block of dried wheat, Parsley, Oregano, various other spices, ground beef, salt and water. When I had the necessary ingredients, I started to boil the water in a big pot. I grabbed the block of dried wheat and had it soak in a little water before slicing it into very thin noodles. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to make noodles, but this method worked. I then moved to the tomatoes and mashed them up as finely as I could in a smaller pot, adding a cup of sugar, oil, and a combination of spices that made it taste like Italian Seasoning.


    I turned the heat under the tomato sauce to very low temperature; I had the ground beef starting to sizzle after I put the noodles in the boiling water. I had added a little water to the tomato sauce. After I finished browning and straining the beef, I added the tomato sauce and mixed the two. Once the noodles had gone tender, I grabbed a small load of noodles and put them on a plate and covered them in the sauce. ¡°Ah, this is my favorite food,¡± I say as I turn of the stove and look for a table to sit at. Ah, I completely forgot about the crowd. Most of the cooks had a notepad in hand taking notes.


    Maddison who was also taking notes had fire in her eyes when she heard it was my favorite, ¡°May I?¡± as she pointed at the stove. I gave a nod after I fixed a second plate for Aria.


    As I walked out the kitchen doors the crowd dispersed, with Maddison yelling, ¡°I want you all to perfect this by tomorrow!¡± They all moved to their own stoves and began to mimic their notes.


    I found a small table and sat down both plates while Maddison set hers down as well. We all sat down and I began to stir it with a fork before I had a bite of this nostalgic master piece. ¡°Ah, this is called Spaghetti. To me, it is my most favorite invention in the world.¡± I say as I encourage them to eat up.


    Aria had slurped the noodles and slung the sauce on them all over her face. Awe so cute! She screamed in satisfaction, ¡°Hyaa! This is really good! So rich in flavor! I had no idea you were a master chef!¡± Ah this praise is going to make me blush. On Earth, my cooking skills could be found in the average homes of America; here the food was so bland or bad, that my foreign food was almost considered the best thing they¡¯d ever eaten. I was really an amateur, but some revered me like a chef god.


    Maddison gave a small frown after a small bite and lowered her head. ¡°Ah is it no good, Maddison?¡± I asked.


    Maddison slowly lifted her head and I could see tears streaming down her face as she had the look of downright worship in her eyes. She began to speak in a hushed tone, ¡°As expected of the Chef God! Every time you come up with a creation or advice, only a miracle of food is created!¡± She stood up with her fist clenched at her heart, and loudly proclaimed, ¡°This is clearly not food for us mortals but for the gods! This must be ambrosia!¡± I might say this again, but chef god. It felt embarrassing, so when I taught her a many of my recipes and told her to experiment on it to come up with more creations, she came up with a reaction very much like this one the last time I was here.


    ¡°You exaggerate! Quickly sit down and eat before it gets cold!¡± I say hurriedly. She did as was told and held a look of praise every time she took another bite. I left riches to a nut case! I take another sigh as I eat more of this spaghetti. It did turn out pretty good.


    ¡°Wow, I did not know you were a god!¡± Aria had spoken with sauce all over her face and a twinkle in her eye.


    ¡°Not you too! Look, I am mortal!¡± I exclaim as I draw out the Void Sword and run my hand against the black blade. When I pull my hand back, a small stream of black liquid oozed from my hand. It didn¡¯t hurt until the air blew against it.


    I showed my hand to Maddison to show my argument; she quickly brushed it off, ¡°That is a mere trick you use to blend in with the mortals!¡± Meaning I had to die in front of her to prove I was only mortal. Hmmm, as tempting as it was to prove her wrong, she might still disbelieve claiming it to be another trick. This woman. Sigh.


    It really did not help my argument when I made the ton of food I ordered disappear. I quickly paid for the food, even though they insisted it was free, I still left the money on the table. I said my farewells to my old friends before exiting the shop. With Aria munching on hard candies in tow, I made my way to the best tailor I knew of.


    <hr />


    Hey Author-sama, I thought you were redoing chapter 22?


    Oh. Is that you Louise? I was going to do it, however, I lost the chapter I was working on. The file was deleted when the computer went on the fritz.


    Eh? So you give that poor excuse when My Prince could be a father of my babies right now?


    ... You don''t have any children. You speak as if you do.


    There as good as real! The only thing left is to do take his seed!


    Oi, come back! Come back to reality! Stop drooling!


    Hah... hah... I will have many children their names will be....

 Chapter 24: The Black Feathered Dress.

    Arriving at ¡®The Sewing Needle¡¯, I spot their spool and cross needle logo. It did brighten my day a tad every time I saw this surreal logo. I have no idea if this world has anything like pirates. Since it is faster to travel by land or sky, sailing wasn¡¯t widely used, unless you were going to one of the many small islands around Iacela. I mean Iacela was the only continent and it was a big contiguous land mass, so not much sailing happened.


    I walking in the store I was greeted by a red bearded Dwarf. He was undoubtable standing on a stool behind the counter. ¡°Why if it isn¡¯t the Crown Prince! What can I do you for?¡± He smiled.


    ¡°I would like to some adventure outfits for little Aria here.¡± I say as I jab my thumb in her direction. As if she felt the attention falling on her, she looked up from the candy she was happily munching on.


    ¡°Ah, good evening, I am Aria.¡± She said in a hushed tone. She immediately returned to eating her candy. I step closer and pull her under my wing¡­ literally. I had my black feathered wing spread over her body trying to make her feel secure. I could feel the tense aura she was giving out a moment ago almost fade to nothing.


    The tailor looked amazed, ¡°My, my, you have gone and grown yourself a pair of magnificent wings. The feathers would make great materials for a dress I have been working on.¡± He said as was staring at a feather that had come loose and floated through the air.


    ¡°Then how about I purpose a trade? There aren¡¯t many demons with black feathers, and you have a desire to make a dress with black feathers, which means you would want to sell the dress eventually. So how about I trade my feathers for the dress?¡±


    The old tailor¡¯s eyes grew in fascination but quickly returned to that of a business man, ¡°How many feathers are we talking?¡±


    ¡°My wings have been shedding quite a bit lately, even they are shedding, and the growth rate evens it out. So about 650-ish black feathers.¡± I say trying to guess how many feathers I kept. Among the feathers, I kept one of my Uncle¡¯s feathers, as did my mom and dad. It was a custom among the Void Demons. It wasn¡¯t that well known, even before the war. I will continue to keep that feather, for it was beautiful. It was different than mine, because where mine was straight black; his had a small purple tip.


    The old tailor couldn¡¯t contain his excitement, ¡°Deal! I have the dress mostly ready, I just need a few hours to add the feathers. Have a look around for what you¡¯re interested in.¡± He hopped down his stool and came by to get the measurements off a very flustered Aria. After he was down he received a large sack of feathers from me and disappeared behind the doors beyond his counter.


    I walk over to Aria and pat her head. ¡°Ok, now what do you think you could move comfortably in?¡±


    She gave a thought then answered, ¡°Umm, do you remember when we first met?¡± I recalled that time and pictured a very naked Aria. She continued with, ¡°You magically pulled a shirt out of the air and gave it to me.¡± She had whispered in fondness.


    Ah, that. ¡°You know those were just immediate provisions. Why not find something more feminine? Like this for example,¡± I picked up a shirt that would draw out her developing curves.


    She shook her head and said, ¡°No I like your clothes!¡± She was adamant about it.


    I let a sigh escape my lips and thought for a moment. ¡°Ok, fine. How about I propose a compromise?¡±


    ¡°Compromise?¡± she repeated


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s where we meet in the middle of opposing demands. I want you to buy something that will suit you, and you want my clothes. How about I get you a matching set?¡± I asked carefully.


    She turned it over in her head a few times, and then slowly agreed. I then set out to find a pair of tanned leather pants and frilly noble man shirt along with suede leather boots. A matching set to my adventure garb.


    When we found the necessary equipment to match mine I called the tailor out to hem up the clothing, he sped through it and quickly returned to the back. I think he is obsessing with the dress. Oh well, I look over the stitch work of his speedy hands. Despite not doing his best, it was still a hundred times better than my own. It was so well made that I was a regular customer. I mean I had torn through many of my clothes through exploration of some woods near the palace.


    With new clothes for Aria, we moved out to the Merchant¡¯s Guild, it hasn¡¯t been too long but I suppose we could meet up with everyone if we wait there. When Aria had arrived we had idle chats as we munched on more sweets. After an hour or two we heard the laughs of Louise, Chloe and Ashley as they approached the guild.


    ¡°So you guys stuck together all day?¡± I inquired.


    ¡°The original plan was to go our separate ways but, we wanted the opinion on what we chose to wear.¡± Louise said as the others giggled. They each had bag full of clothes, I guessed.


    ¡°Alright I¡­¡± I noticed what they were wearing. It was a white frilled top with a tan leather bottom with a pair of suede leather boots. The very same outfit I chose for Aria. ¡°Why are you guys in the same thing?¡±


    Chloe busted up laughing and Ashley shyly looked away. Louise spoke again, ¡°It seems we like the look you carry yourself in. We all appeared to have the same idea.¡± She said as she pointed at Aria¡¯s apparel. You got me there. I smile to myself.


    ¡­


    After chatting for a few hours dusk had settled, so we moved in the direction of ¡®The Sewing Needle¡¯ to pick up Aria¡¯s dress. I figured they must¡¯ve got dresses as well so I say, ¡°It might be awhile before we can have a nice dinner again, and so do you guys want to eat out formally?¡± Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at me for a while. Was it something I said?


    Chloe had a little mischief in her eye, ¡°So are you asking all of us on a date?¡±


    Louise was nodding to herself as if understanding something, ¡°As expected of the father of my near future children.¡± Near future?


    Ashley looked away, ¡°Such a player.¡± What? I was just¡­ well I guess I was a player now.


    Aria¡¯s tail was wagging in anticipation as she stared at me with those red eyes.


    Everyone was now chatting excitedly as we entered the old tailor¡¯s shop.


    ¡°Oi, Old man, are done with the dress?¡± I called out to the old man.


    I heard a strained voice in the back as if it was choking on tears, ¡°It is complete. My masterpiece is done! Oh I gave my all to this very dress!


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The girls stepped into their own changing rooms before the tailor came out with a folded fabric in hand. When he got a foot away he kneeled down and presented the dress with tears in his eyes. The merchants of this city are way too passionate!


    I humbly accept it and present it to Aria. She took it and stared at me, not moving a muscle. ¡°Is everything ok? You need to get changed.¡±


    She mumbled, ¡°I want you to be with me. I¡¯m scared. I don¡¯t like tailor shops, so please¡­¡± Her voice started trailing. She looked up at me with pleading eyes. You know this bends me to your will! With a sigh I lead the way to small changing room. I guess I¡¯ll get changed as well.


    With both of us in the same room, it was cramped. Even more so with my wings, I had my back turned to her as I tried to peel off my pants. I was grabbed from behind. Aria had buried her head in my wings. I was about what she was doing but I could feel her shaking. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± is all I could mumble before I turned around. It was much like the first time we met, I couldn¡¯t leave her alone or turn my back on her.


    The dress was unfolded as I picked it up. I was left in awe. The dress was absolutely gorgeous before it was even on a body. I put it on the floor for Aria to step in. The now very naked Aria had stepped into the dress and allowed me too slowly pull up the dress until I had the shoulder straps over her shoulders. When the dress had been donned on her, I take a step back to see her do a small twirl. From front to back, there were no feathers that faded to small feathers that gradually went back to larger feathers. All the feathers were facing down, diagonally away from the center. The dress also formed a small train that trailed on the ground. The back of the dress had a huge opening that exposed her shoulder blades and went all the way down to her tail. The front had a small dip that exposed the top of Aria¡¯s cleavage. This was truly a divine sight to behold.


    ¡°How-how does it look?¡± Aria asked with a flushed face. On impulse I leaned in and kissed her. I couldn¡¯t help it, a shy Aria in an elegant dress was too much for my heart.


    When I pulled back from the kiss, I whispered, ¡°Like a goddess just stepped out from the heavens.¡±


    Aria then stared at me in a daze. Oh, did I break her? While she was in a daze I quickly changed pants into a black pair of slacks. Since the room was tiny, I would have to put on the black petit coat in the lobby. I take the still dazed Aria by the hand and lead her to the lobby.


    Louise was the first one done and she stared at me in complete, unfiltered envy. ¡°Yes?¡± I ask timidly under her unrelenting stare. She took a look at Aria in total awe and returned her look of envy. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what the Old man was creating!¡± I desperately tried to defend myself. She stood up and walked over to me.


    I noticed the elegant deep purple dress she had put on. The ruffled skirt came a little past her knee caps and the top seemed to defy gravity as it was strapless and was staying in place despite her movements. Her red skin made the dress pop in color; it was a splendid view as well. By the time she approached me she stood on her toes and brought my face in toward her own and made covered my lips over hers. When she pulled back she seemed satisfied a little but I knew why she had felt envious. So I lean forward and recommence the kiss making it deeper than before.


    She had let out a surprise ¡®mmph?¡¯ but quickly took pleasure in it. As she felt had surrendered to desire I back off.


    Turning around to if we were alone, I quickly realized that we were not.


    Princess Chloe was looking at us with a look of a predator spying its prey. She had a dress that was much like the Cinderella dress but a much darker blue. With the plain skirt that reached her ankles and a raised swirl pattern that went all the way around her top. She looked like a proper princess in my opinion. I didn¡¯t notice she was airborne before it was too late. She had me pinned under her and had stuck her tongue in my mouth. I returned the motion and fought over for dominance in our mouths with the tongue. I had the feeling if I was ever left alone with this princess; we would be doing many, many naughty things until dawn and a little after as well.


    I was very susceptible to her lust filled aura, but as it was, Ashley and Louise managed to pull back Chloe before it turned out that way. Looking at Ashley she had on a dress that was Canary Yellow that also reached her feet. Instead of frills or ruffles, it had a twisted look, like someone had twisted the whole dress. It didn¡¯t look as awkward as my limited vocabulary made it sound but looked rather stunning. When I got to my feet I had put my lips on the flustered Ashley. After we pulled back, gazed into each other¡¯s eyes, me in her sparkling green eyes, and her into my black and red eyes. The gaze was awkwardly broken by the sniffles of the old man behind his door.


    I left 90 silver coins on the counter before leaving. I know I agreed to a trade of my feathers for the dress, but with all the passion going into the dress, I felt guilty and paid. As we walked out of the store I saw an Earth Demon started to walk in but I stopped him.


    ¡°The old tailor is emotionally unstable, I would give him a break for tonight.¡± Afterwards I left the confused Earth Demon behind as we made our way to ¡®Sister Appleroot¡¯s Sweets''.


    <hr />


    Hmm, things getting a little heated in a public building? Have you no shame?


    T-that''s not what happened!


    You stammered. You liar.


    I did not! You are hearing things you lousy author.


    I wonder if you are type of exhibitionist?


    Get back here! I only want to gut you! It will only hurt a lot!


    Ahahaha.


    Come back here!


    <hr />


    Taking Art for this book. I have no money to pay, so it is basically something to do for fun or spare time. Either way, I will post the drawings at the end of the chapters.  If one really catches my eye I will make it the cover art of the book. As it stands, my cover is just an altered picture of me in microsoft paint. Thanks. The link is right here...--> http://royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=33631</a>


    <hr />

 Chapter 25: More of the Chef God?

    Ah smelling the aroma was incredible. The smell of Italian foods severely clashed with the German maid themed caf¨¦. Oh well, it¡¯s not like the people of this world can tell that it clashed.


    The smell made all the girls drool, despite their best efforts, they couldn¡¯t help it. It was cute and gross, at the same time, to see the girls in elegant dresses drooling over a mere smell. Hmmm, disgustingly cute, that seemed like a very familiar thought. As I watched the very long line I began to see people being tossed in the air. Oh boy, here she comes. As soon as she stepped into my line of sight I took a few steps to the right and watched as she ran into a wall, face first.


    ¡°Awe, Alex that was mean!¡± She complained. I learned my lesson; there was still a bruise on my stomach from last time.


    ¡°It smells like you have perfected the Spaghetti, right?¡± I inquired.


    Maddison rubbed her head for a while, and then she said, ¡°It is you say. We even experimented a little on it. We have some people using cheeses and bigger noodles. Baking some of them, boiling others, and even frying some them.¡± They¡¯ll eventually find Lasagna, frying the noodles will eventually lead to stir-fry and other Asian cuisines. These guys are basically food scientists now. Instead of opening a restaurant empire, I probably should have opened a science lab. I shall reflect my actions now.


    Maddison had gotten up from her failure of a tackle and got us to follow her to a table that could seat all of us. We all sat down, even Maddison. ¡°Umm, Maddison¡­¡± I started.


    Maddison interrupted with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve said it before but call me Maddie.¡±


    I gave it a thought, but I got intense stares from four sets of eyes. I had to humbly decline, ¡°I shall decline your offer.


    Maddison kept her smile but had a sinister look in her eyes that sent a chill down my spine. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    I take a look at the surrounding girls and quickly made my decision, ¡°I will have to humbly decline.¡± I may fear my former employee a bit but the four girls that I intend to take as my brides are much scarier. Louise in particular, she seemed to put all her focus into any given one thing. It was a little frightening; I¡¯d rather not get on her bad side.


    Maddison lowered her head and whispered, ¡°I see.¡± She then threw back her and hollered, ¡°Oh my goodness! It¡¯s the CHEF GOD!!!¡± I could feel the blood drain from my face, as I heard a thundering sound emitting from the kitchen. You, what have you done! She sat back and smile as she waited.


    The sounds of giggling, running, stomping and other miscellaneous sounds of a stampede could be heard. Wave after wave of cooks appeared around the table we were sitting at. Cheering me on and on, I could feel all the blood pump back into my face at full force with embarrassment.


    Chloe was laughing and pointing at me, ¡°Haha, a chef WHAT?! Bwhahaha!¡±


    Along with Chloe, Louise joined the laughter, even Ashley was giggling. Aria was just still staring at me in amazement.


    I look at Maddison with rage, ¡°You, you did this on purpose!!!¡±


    She looked around and said, ¡°Ah, you guys perfected your Spaghetti early, right?¡±


    All the cooks were shaking their heads vigorously; it kinda looked like a ripple going over the crowd. It was mildly amusing, if they weren¡¯t surrounding us.


    She made a thinking pose and said, ¡°I guess if you guys are done early, then we can have Alex¡­ mmph?!¡±


    I stuck my hand over her mouth and whispered in her ear, ¡°Are you trying to cause a scene?¡±


    She whispered back, ¡°You know what you have to do.¡±


    Gah! This woman! Ah, whatever, ¡°Have it your way Maddie.¡±


    With a satisfied smile she claps her hands and draws attention to herself, ¡°All right, I know you guys left your projects on the fire, so you all go back to the kitchen and don¡¯t even think about coming back out! I said I did not want another fire!¡±


    All the cooks left pretty slowly in a deflated mood. It was sad to see, but I was not going to eat everyone¡¯s creations tonight. Huh, I guess Maddie won this fight. Ashley looks at her and then back at me, she begins to give a really hard stare.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I ask.


    She stares for a bit longer and then says, ¡°How do you know this person? And speaking of, who are you?¡±


    ¡°We¡­¡± I started.


    Maddison interrupts yet again, ¡°I am Maddison Appleroot! I own this company.¡± She declares proudly while puffing out her chest.


    Ashley, Cloe and Louise jaws drop, Ashley slowly whispered, ¡°You don¡¯t mean the Maddison Appleroot? The owner of ¡®Sister Appleroot¡¯s Sweets¡¯?¡±


    Maddie¡¯s chest puffed out even further, ¡°In the flesh.¡±


    The three girls gawked at her then Chloe said, ¡°Your company has a shop everywhere even in the Demon Realm capital! So¡­ how do you guys know each other?¡± She looked at me.


    Maddison answered in my stead, ¡°He is the very founder of this shop, when it was under a different name of course. He was the one that set up this empire, made it to where only an act of a deity can bring it down! He just gave me the ownership before he opened more stores. He made all of this possible, especially when I had nothing to give, he still hired me. Through blood, sweat and tears I did the most I could to repay him this debt. Then what does he do? He hands the title to me to start an adventure of his. I am also aware that he made it to where everyone has the same opportunity to work. Clearly he is a god, a Chef God!!!¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Is it hot in here? I swear, every time she calls me that I feel as though the blood in my face would explode. I glance at the girls who received this information. They were staring at me as if I descend from the heavens. No! Don¡¯t be fooled! Gah, why is it she always does this?


    A Water Demon maid came by with a cart with plates of giant piles of spaghetti, setting one in front of each one of us. I looked at Maddison, ¡°Umm, Maddie. We didn¡¯t order yet.¡±


    She smiled as she picked up a fork, ¡°I know, but you said it was your favorite food, so I figured I would get the senior chefs to make them.¡± She took a big bite of the spaghetti swirled on her fork, and her shoulders sank in satisfaction.


    Oh well, I take my first bite of this delicious dish before I inhale the rest of it uncontrollably. It¡¯s not that it was better than mine, it¡¯s just I always act like this when I eat spaghetti, was clearly master race of food.


    ¡°What¡­ This¡­ This is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten.¡± Ashley declared. I glance at the girls and almost spit out the water I was drinking. Each of them were dressed gorgeous dress, they were stunning, really. But they all had spaghetti sauce all over their faces with huge smiles. It was really adorable, I guess. More bizarre than adorable though.


    I could hear slurping from Aria. Her eyes were shut with pleasure riddled across her face. Louise was following suit with her spaghetti, glancing a few times while inhaling the spaghetti much like I had. Chloe was half way done with hers before she looked at it curiously, ¡°So this is his favorite, huh?¡± She whispered.


    ¡­


    After quite some time, we had eaten our fill, talked with Maddie, dodged some cooks, and exited the building. If this was on Earth, she would fail as a company with how horribly she treats her customers when I¡¯m around. Because of foods that they make, they get customers that seemed to not be able to live without the flavor after they¡¯ve tried it.


    I lead everyone to an inn called ¡®Sloth¡¯s Inn,¡¯ it was just a little down the road from ¡®Sister Appleroot¡¯s Sweets.¡¯ When we walked in, I could feel the stares of a few curious women, and a few from jealous men as I walked in with four girls at once. I ignore the stares and walk to the clerk.


    The clerk had white hair that was long and pulled into a man bun of sorts, along with a long pointy face. His skin was a dark Ashen Grey color, with his irises being a deep red; these features claimed him to be an old Dark Elf. Despite their intimidating looks, they were widely misunderstood. They made sharp remarks, as if they had problems with everyone, but if you watched one and study their actions, you¡¯ll see that they had everyone else¡¯s interest at heart. They were an entire race of tsunderes.


    As I approached the old elf, he gave a once over look and said, ¡°Are you brats trying to sleep in my inn? I don¡¯t think you deserve this wonderful inn.¡±


    I smile at him and say, ¡°We would like to spend one night, please.¡±


    He snorted and replied, ¡°Well, what makes you think¡­¡±


    He was cut off by a little girl, ¡°Now, now, don¡¯t be mean to our guests. He may not sound like it but he is a big softy.¡± Looking closer to this little girl, she had black hair that flowed down to her waist and a small face with large golden eyes. Her skin was the color of fresh snow, meaning she was a Snow Elf. Most Snow Elves were as gentle as the falling snow, until you angered them. They would have the fury of a massive blizzard when angered. She continued, ¡°Daddy is always like this.¡± The old man looked away. Haha, this old man.


    She looked from each of us to the next and asked, ¡°So how my rooms?¡±


    I was about to speak up when I was once again cut off, what was today? Ignore the Prince day? All the girls chimed in unison, ¡°One.¡±


    The Snow Elf¡¯s face let off a blush as gazed at me, ¡°That will be 49 silver and 3 copper coins.¡± Oi don¡¯t blush while demanding payment. Ha, oh well. I fish out 50 silver and instruct her to keep the change. In return, I received the key and I headed up to the room.


    Upon arrival we open the door to the decently sized room with an oversized bed. I am grateful for the bed, so completely ignoring everyone else, I walk over to the bed, well I say walked. It was more like a shuffling of feet. I don¡¯t know, scratch that, I did know why I was tired. Shopping, Maddison, more shopping, more Maddison. I was exhausted. I swiftly dived into the bed and sank into its absolute softness. Before I knew it my conscious walked into a dark alley and got jumped by sleep.


    <hr />


    Oh Chef God!!!


    Shut it!


    The Chef God has spoken!


    You don''t cut it out I ''m gonna-


    Not divine punishment! Anything buuut that! Oh noooo!


    You''re having too much fun with this... I hope this doesn''t become a title.


    ...Good Idea!


    NOOO! DON''T YOU DARE!!! I will KILL you!


    Hehehe.

 Chapter 26: I attempt to eat poison.

    *PING*


    It wasn¡¯t even an hour into my much needed sleep that I had multiple nightmares about the Void and it calling me and now I get a message. This was not my night.


    I open my blurry eyes to focus on the screen before my eyes. As it came more and more into focus I could feel a heavy weight on my back. It was way too heavy to be Aria, but I need to see what the message says.


    Title Gain


    You have gained the title, ¡®Chef God¡¯


    This title is honorary not giving you the powers of a god, but you have enough devotion from the masses to receive the title. This title grants total influence over chefs and cooks.


    You have got to be kidding me. This was not a title I wanted. Well I guess I am still mortal. I wouldn¡¯t want to be that kind of lame deity anyway.


    With a sigh I use my senses to find out who was where. It appears that Ashley, with no particular outstanding traits, was hugging my left arm. Chloe, and her bright flaming crown, was on the outside right of me. Louise, and her small wings, was on the outside left of Ashley. And Aria, with her bushy tail, was between me and Chloe, hugging my right arm. All of them were under my wings, using them as blankets.


    I wouldn¡¯t have minded any of this, but¡­ who was on my back? Since I was on my belly, I couldn¡¯t turn my head to find out. I guess my shifting around finally woke whoever was on top of me.


    Whoever they were, they stretched and got close to my ear, tickling it with their breath. Then an all too familiar voice whispered, ¡°Where do you think you are going, my god?¡±


    I began sweating bullets as I realized who it was, ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I watched you and your¡­ party, leave my store. I realized that you all had so much fun; I wanted to be a part of it. So I followed you, and when I knew you were asleep, I snuck in the room. I waited for you to since my presence. Is it just you or all Void Demons dead to the world when they sleep?¡± Maddie questioned.


    What is this maid clad psycho doing here? Ah, I give up, with a sigh, ¡°What is your real objective?¡±


    Maddie seemed to impose pondering before she spoke up, ¡°I want to be your prophet, or at least your first priestess.¡±


    I let out another sigh, ¡°You do realize I am very mortal, right? Please understand.¡±


    Maddie let her hands start idling stroking my feathers as she continued, ¡°I know you have a mortal body, but I also know it is only a matter of time before you become the real deal. So I am going to stick to your side till you do.¡±


    It would be a lie if I said I wasn¡¯t curious about how she came to that conclusion but I just let it go. After I gave up, I felt sleep start to step into the ring with my consciousness. I look behind my shoulder at the smiling Maddie and say, ¡°Do what you want, but your¡­ god, wishes to go into a slumber. Please let me do so.¡± I could hear her giggle, but sleep performed the knockout punch on my consciousness.


    ¡­


    We had all awoken a few hours later. There was a little bit of a stir about Maddie being there but it quickly calmed down. After eating breakfast, we set out for Dukedom of Caslor. As I recalled Caslor was at the center of the continent, located in Barren Mountain Range.


    The Dukedom itself was a series of cities and districts located in huge caverns found under the mountains. I¡¯ve never been there, but it was definitely on the list to go to. As if caverns and mountains made it perfect for the rulers, the Duke was an Earth Demon; he goes by the name Duke Manfred Gravelmin.


    We had just exited the Grand City of Starwind, and headed toward Caslor on the main road leading up to it.  This road had no name for the longest time, but around 50 years ago it had been given the name ¡®The Circle¡¯. It didn¡¯t get the name because it was a huge circle, but because it passed through Drayasil, Caslor, Shienriech, Askines, and Raprana. Drayasil had a Void Demon Duke, Caslor had an Earth Demon Duke, Shienriech had an Air Demon Duke, Askines had a Fire Demon King, and Raprana had a Water Demon Duchess. It was a circle of the elements.


    Walking down The Circle, we had quickly passed into Reslem, Shienriech. It had been the home of Louise and Aria for a while, as we walked onward, we had heard that a new Baron had been chosen. This Baron is the first human to have a fiefdom west of the Imperial Domain. His name is Oswald Frant. He won the contest I proposed to Duke Adolf. It wasn¡¯t a contest of strength but a contest of wit. He was but a lowly commoner but now he and his family have moved into the Old Burnheart Manor. He seems trust worthy so, Adolf kept him.


    From the idle chats we heard from passing by some commoners, Louise had said this was the most cheery she had ever seen Reslem. She also mentioned the count in charge of this place must have it easier without the Burnhearts around. I did a quick scan and I did notice that the commoners were indeed merry. The also appear to be setting up for a celebration of the new Baron¡¯s Arrival.


    Passing through Reslem, we made our way out of Shienriech. The border between Shienriech and Caslor happens to be the foot of the mountains leading to Caslor. It had been a full day when we hit the border so I called a halt to our small squad and told everyone to set up camp.


    They all promptly sat on their butts as they let out moans of aching bodies. Well, I say all, but Aria was still standing in front of me, and Maddie was surveying the surrounding. You know it was kind of bizarre to see someone dressed like a maid scan the surroundings like a professional survivalist.


    As Louis, Ashley, and Chloe rub their aching feet, I pull out the many blankets I took from the palace out of my Void Space. And spread them on the ground for everyone. I also removed some firewood, pots, pans, silverware, and various ingredients for food. After everyone had settle down around the fire, Chloe got up and approached me and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of this, My Darling. I mean, it is a wife¡¯s duty after all.¡± The girls behind her seemed to be fired up by the invisible challenge.


    Before everyone could protest, I said, ¡°Ha, if you want, why don¡¯t we have you all have a small contest of who can make the best dish? Maddie can cook, but you are not allowed to participate in the contest. You are a professional cook after all.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Maddie gave of a quick shrug as she grabbed some of the ingredients and made her own fire. All but Aria followed suit. I asked Aria out of pure curiosity, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you cooking?¡±


    Aria shook her head while approaching closer to me, ¡°I can¡¯t cook; besides I was thinking¡­ maybe¡­ I could have some of yours?¡±


    I take a quick glance at the three waging war against the stomach and at the Maid who was busy making her own creation. They all looked very busy, so I think I¡¯ll start my own and they won¡¯t even notice. I quickly move my gaze toward Aria, ¡°Alright, give me a moment.¡±


    ¡­


    Roughly Forty-Five minutes roll by when we all finished. I decided to make enough for everyone just in case one was¡­ unsavory. I look at Aria¡¯s excited face, and exclaim, ¡°Finished! Now would like to have some?¡± It was received with a vigorous nodding and drooling. Just as I fixed a plate for her, three plates were shoved in my face.


    I look up to see two proud Fire Demons and a determined human. Looking back down at the plates I almost couldn¡¯t believe the smell. One plate had a very large block of wheat that was covered in chunky tomato sauce. Another had the noodles so boiled, it turned to paste, and also the sauce was almost watery; it was clearly soup. The last one looked like spaghetti, but it was the wrong color, the sauce was almost brown, and the noodles were black, from massive amounts of seasoning.


    Looking up again I tried to plead mercy but the plates were pushed further toward me. Looks like no way out of this one. I accept each plate and set each one in front of me. Before I begin I look up at them and ask, ¡°Did any of you taste these?¡±


    They looked at each other then back at me and to my dismay they said in unison, ¡°We wanted you to be the first to taste it.¡± Good intentions, smiling faces, a lovely atmosphere, and my death rapidly closing in. This sure is swell.


    I grab the first plate and I notice Chloe starting to fidget. I cut into the huge¡­ noodle? It was so weird to cut pasta like a giant thanksgiving ham. I put some of the chunky sauce on it and bring it up to my mouth to taste it. It quivered like Jell-O before I had it in my mouth. As soon as it hit my tongue, I could taste the overpowering taste of tomato. When I began chewing the slimy mess, I mimicked the pastas quivering. The texture was awful. I glanced at Chloe, who was smiling back. I gave a faint smile before moving on.


    I grab the second plate and I can see Louise staring intently my way. I change to a spoon, and almost felt my face make a sour expression before I could control it. The taste wasn¡¯t bad; it actually had the flavor of spaghetti. The thing is I don¡¯t think spaghetti should be a soup. And the paste made my tongue flick away in my mouth. I did a very quick smile, and moved on. Seriously the quick smile was all I could muster up. I was starting to feel ill from these.


    I grab the final plate and looked up see Ashley failing to make an indifferent look. I take my fork again and twist it into the noodles. As it approached my face my nose twitched and my eyes watered from the smell. I didn¡¯t smell particularly bad; it¡¯s just that a large amount of spices will do that to you. I quickly shove it in my face and almost gag in the process. The Noodles were covered in Black Pepper and the Sauce was covered in Oregano. The texture wasn¡¯t bad at all for a first attempt, but the taste¡­ the taste was the pure definition of dreadful. I gave Ashley the same smile I rendered the others.


    I take my time before I speak, fearing I would gag. When I felt I was in control I spoke out, ¡°This is so¡­ good, that I want you guys to try your¡­ masterpieces.¡± I barely manage to get it out but once I had the girls were all overjoyed.


    Each one grabbed their plates and took hefty bites. As soon as the deed was done, their face lasted for a moment before they dropped to that of sheer disgust. Ashley even gagged.


    Chloe spoke first, ¡°This¡­ this is absolutely¡­ absolutely the best¡­ thing I¡¯ve ever¡­ eaten.¡± It was almost hilarious seeing her try to speak that blatant lie.


    Louise was next, ¡°This is¡­ delicious! So much so I want more!¡± Wow, you sure are determined to say it isn¡¯t that bad.


    When I turned to see Ashley, I see her face was pale and she was wiping her lips. Wait did you vomit? She whispered, ¡°This¡­ is... the¡­


    best. Hmph!¡± She covered her mouth very quickly. Oi, you don¡¯t have to try so hard!


    I let out a chuckle and hand them a plate of my own spaghetti. They then threw their creations over their shoulders before the dug in.


    Chloe looked at me and spoke between bites, ¡°I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t have to worry about eating the rest of that dreadful slop.¡± That poor creation.


    Louise was scooping in the spaghetti as quick as she could, ¡°Truly, the best.¡± No comment on your failure?


    Ashley had forgone the fork and was eating it with her hands, if I didn¡¯t know any better; I would say she was trying to wash out the flavor of creation with mine. Oi, slow down! You might choke!


    I sigh at the sight of the princesses and I felt a small tug on my sleeve. Turning to my right I had Aria¡¯s pleading eyes bearing into mine. I was about to question what she wanted, I saw her raise a plate from under my eyes. Ah, seconds.


    Giving her another plate, I made my own. I got half way through my plate when I saw Maddie approach. Maddie had a square pan full a solid brown material that gave off the most pleasant of smells. Brownies. She came over and set a few of the brownies on each plate before munching on some herself.


    ¡°Do you want some spaghetti?¡± Ask as I scoff down the delicious brownie.


    After a moment she gave a short reply, ¡°I already ate some.¡±


    What? ¡°When?¡±


    She took a bit longer before answering, ¡°It was when you were testing your body against poison.¡± And you didn¡¯t see it fit enough to save me? What kind of devote worshipper are you?


    <hr />


    Sooo...


    Don''t you say a word.


    ...How was the ''poison''?


    Why, I autta... HMPH?!


    Watch it, you may blow chunks if this keeps up.


    I think I''m gonna lie down.


    Haha, don''t fall asleep, you may never wake up.


    Ugggh, that sounds nice right about now.

 Chapter 27: Useless Upgrades?

    After some minor food poisoning we decide it is time to turn in. If things went according to schedule, we would enter Caslor¡¯s central, The City of Cross Roads. In that city happens to be another main road, The Merchants¡¯ Trail. The Merchants¡¯ Trail goes perpendicular to The Circle. This road goes in a more or less straight line from the Demon Realm to the Imperial Domain. Meanwhile The Circle from the Northern Void Lands down to Caslor and heads west, going parallel of The Merchants¡¯ Trail. These roads intersected in The City of Cross Roads.


    I can¡¯t wait to find information on a possible lead to a cure. I was actually getting kind of restless. I guess to pass a few minutes off my hands I guess I¡¯ll go over traits and skills. I mutter ¡°Status.¡±


    *PING*


    Name	Alexander Phendahl	Age	18 years old	Race	Void Demon	Level	10


    Titles	Crown Prince of the Astral Kingdom, Survivor of a dying Race, Punisher of the Wicked, Dungeon Master, Commander of the Void¡¯s Army, Chef God


    Strength	Vitality	Dexterity	Intelligence	  Wisdom	Charisma


    90	                 88	       88	                   120	            75	        120


    Health	Mana	Stamina


    1760	2400	1800


    Rank	B	Unassigned Stat Points	90


    Skills and Abilities


    Void Space


    Allows infinite storage of items, putting everything in a stasis until take out. Allowed to even put living things, or a corpse in the void


    Mana Manipulation


    Allows the direct manipulation of mana, ability to create new personal spells. No need for chanting


    Analyses Lvl. 2


    Information on objects and people will be displayed when used.


    Lvl. 2 Allows the user to accurately judge a person¡¯s will, due to high intelligence and to a string of events. Be it Good or Evil, they will be judged.


    Slow Time Lvl. 2


    Through combat experience, you have learned to slow the world down for a few seconds, at least in your perception. The higher the level, the longer the effects.


    Lvl. 2 Allows Slow Time to last longer, become slower and the user to be quicker when skill is active.


    Void Step Lvl. MAX


    Like teleportation, the user can step into the Void and reappear elsewhere.


    Lvl. 2 Allows the usage of multiple portals that let weapons and spells pass through for creative combat.


    Lvl. 3 Upon mastering the Void Step, it allows the teleportation to the Void itself. Why not make the opponent fight on home turf?


    Twin Horns Lvl.1


    Used for Head butting enemies. If done right, it can impale them. Horns will appear on either side of the forehead. Useful for winning arguments.


    Dungeon Create Lvl. MAX


    Dungeon Create is a skill used by Dungeon Masters that can create a space that is controlled by the Dungeon Master. Should the Dungeon either die or choose for its destruction, the dungeon will revert back to its normal space. Dungeons also take on the characteristics of the Dungeon Master.


    Lv. 2 Allows the spawning of monsters if mana is poured into it. Also the terrain is now customizable.


    Lvl 3 Upon mastering the dungeon skill, allows the dungeon to not be limited to the place of origin, size is alterable, integration of other skills such as Slow Time to create a unique atmosphere that slows the entrapped opponents. More creativity is now available with the Creation of the Dungeon.


    Order to Arms Lvl. 1


    Being the only inhabitant of the Void to visit the Void in more than a century, you have been nominated ¡®Commander in Chief of the Void¡¯. The warriors will follow you in to combat. Maximum soldiers to call out of the Void: 5


    Demon Eyes


    Depending on the skill tree the user chooses or the user¡¯s mood, the eyes will have different effects; such as paralysis, fear, energy steal, or even death. If looks could kill¡­


    Devil¡¯s Tail


    A tail that can be used as an extra limb will grow; attacks can be learned as well.


    Demon Wings Lvl.1


    Wings sprout from the back, ability of flight and glide is unlocked.


    Claws Lvl. 1


    Who needs fists, when you have claws? Talon like claws replace finger nails. Retractable, of course.


    Beastly Fangs Lvl.1


    Your canines have grown; maybe it¡¯s time to join the beastly folk.


    Wow, I¡¯m gathering a lot of skills and titles. Oh, as I recall, I¡¯m allowed to customize some of my traits. I mutter, ¡°Customize traits¡±


    *PING*


    Customize Traits


    You can customize any and all traits at the expense of all your unassigned stat points


    Okay, I guess I should purchase the last purchasable trait, I say ¡°Purchase Hazy Aura¡±


    Trait Purchased


    Hazy Aura


    I did not feel the usual pain from the usual trait purchases but I did feel very in tune with my mana, as if I could easily turn into it at a moment¡¯s notice. Unsettling, really. After I finished purchasing this trait I begin customizing my traits.


    Customize Tail


    Same Length, Barbed Tip	Same Length, Hammer Tip	Double the Length, Whip-like


    Oh, hmmm. I guess whip like would fit my style better.


    Customize Horns


    Long, Sturdy, Bull horns	Powerful, Curved, Goat horns	Deadly, Split, Deer Antlers


    Well, just about every demon I know who have horns are either bull or goat so in order to be a little different, I chose the antlers.


    Customize Claws


    Detachable Claws	Finger point Talons	   Miniature Dagger Claws


    Detachable? I¡¯m guessing the ¡®finger point talons¡¯ replaces my fingertips with talons. I think ¡®miniature dagger claws¡¯ means my claws become the size or sharpness of a dagger. Detachable, I have no idea¡­ well I suppose it could mean that my claws can come off on command, maybe to serve as a projectile. Or maybe perhaps, it will be like shark teeth where there will be more to replace them as they come off. Both sounded like it would come in handy so I chose the vague detachable claws.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Customize Wings


    Protective Feathers   	Graceful Flight	  Wings of the Seraph


    Oooh, I was looking forward to this! Let¡¯s see, protective feathers, I¡¯m guessing my feathers can either be manipulated or they become very hard, either was good for defense. My high vitality gave me resistance to pain, made me a little more durable, but it did not help with protecting me. Graceful Flight sounds like better control over flights, maybe better maneuverability. Wings of the Seraph, if I remember correctly, seraphs had multiple wings. I think six? It would fit perfectly with Protective Feathers, though I would need to get Graceful Flight to counter the hindrance of having more than one pair of wings. I choose the feathers.


    Customize Fangs


    A True Carnivore	The Orcish Bite	    Vampire¡¯s Best Weapon


    I think these are self-explanatory. A mouth full of razor-like teeth, a massive under bite, or extremely long canines are my choices. I think the mouth full of razor like teeth is a better weapon, but it would get in the way of enjoying good food. I think Vampire fangs are retractable¡­ I choose the vampires fangs.


    Demon Eyes Specialization


    Fear	Paralysis	Death


    Death, I choose death. Isn¡¯t a main character supposed to choose non-lethal routes? I already killed two people. I could have just done to them what I did to the parents, but no one was there to stop me, and I couldn¡¯t forgive attempted rape, period. The parents were better off dead any way. Basically, I am no Batman. I do not care if someone deserving of death dies.


    Aura Specialization


    Possession	Invisibility	Death


    Hmm, death would be redundant, possession was interesting but I do like stealth. Whenever I played games on Earth I always liked stealth features. I chose invisibility. Think about it, being untouchable and can¡¯t be seen, it¡¯s like erasing your existence.


    Well now that I am all done, I brace myself for the oncoming pain. I close my eyes and wait. There was a mild tooth ache, pinching alongside my tail, prickling under the finger nails and a slight sting in my eyes. Also my horns grew very uncomfortable and I could feel my head get slightly heavier. No intense, agonizing pain, just a mild case of being uncomfortable for a few minutes.


    Hmm, I guess that was it. That was all that was¡­ wait, why was I on the ground? It seems the lights are fading as well. Oh it appears I have passed out from pain.


    ¡­


    When I came too, I was no longer at my camp site. I saw no one around me but the surrounding looked really familiar. The black sky the pale yellow ground and the black and purple fog, with the frigid air. It was really hard to begin to say where I was¡­ hmmm¡­ The Void you say? No, no, it couldn¡¯t be, but why? Why was I here? How did I get here?


    Taking a few more moments to scan my surroundings, there was a mountain behind me. Since the air was an inky black, it was really difficult to see in the distance, I always assumed that the Void was infinite flatland. Surrounding the mountain, this took me by surprise, were quite a few lifeless trees. They were blackened and leafless. Nowhere else I looked was there any signs of vegetation, except near this mountain.


    Just to be sure, I turn around and take a leap into the air. I unfurled my wings and created powerful gusts with my wings to get me off the ground. I flew in a straight line at a high enough altitude that I could get a clear visibility of the grounds and any signs of life, past or present. None, I found none. There were piles of rubble scattered here and there. It looked as though there may have been a civilization forever ago. I have no idea, it could be natural but they looked like it could have destroyed ancient buildings.


    Besides a possible ancient buried city site or two, there was very much to look at. No sign of life, vegetation, nothing. I decide to return to that mountain. Flying for a solid fifteen minutes, it came into view. As I got closer I noticed it wasn¡¯t a few dead trees, but a forest of them was surrounding this mountain. Ok, so through some minor observations, I can deduce that something freaky was going with this mountain. As if to confirm the freaky factor I could see a shrine on top of this mountain. I couldn¡¯t make out the exact shape quite yet but it seemed like that¡¯s what it was.


    When I knew I had passed over the threshold of the mountain, the very foot of the mountain, I could feel my stamina being sapped away. It took just about all I had to keep in the air. It was as if the gravity had been turned up several times. My horizontal speed came to a standstill and my altitude was dropping with each flap of my wings. The gravity seemed to get stronger and stronger, so instead of resisting, I willing came down to the ground.


    As soon as my foot touched the ground, the intense gravity stopped. Huh? Wait was there a flight ban on this place? Also, earlier I felt so in sync with my Mana, now I can¡¯t even feel its presence. I need to test this out. Expanding my wings upward, I crouch and leap into the air beating my wings furiously. I got no more the six feet off the ground before the intense gravity set in. Ok flight ban is a thing here, so how about magic?


    I try to send mana into my hands, willing as much as I could. I couldn¡¯t feel a thing. Maybe it¡¯s there, but I can¡¯t feel it. So I make up my mind and spread my fingers and jab my fingers into the ground, ¡°Earth Molder!¡±


    The pain I felt was unbelievable, I swear I almost broke my entire left hand doing that. Rubbing my left hand, I confirmed that I am indeed cut off from my Mana and flight. So this mountain is strange, and I don¡¯t like it. But I have to investigate why I was pulled up into the Void.


    <hr />


    So those upgrades you got.


    Shuddup.


    But aren''t they so useful in your situation?


    I said Shuddup.

 Chapter 28: Obstacle Course.

    My flight and my mana are both cancelled, so I can give one more thing a try¡­  I take a quick hop backwards and I¡­ fall on my butt. It seems like all my special abilities have been cancelled on this mountain. This is going to be a pain, I thought these very words as I put one foot in front of the other in a repeated cycle. Looking up this mountain, I felt this was going to be tough, I started kick a small rock I had found on the path. Swing, kick, swish, clack, clack, clack¡­ swing, kick, swish, clack, clack; I repeated tried to kick the pebble along to distract my mind.


    When it came to finding things to do, I was a master. I made it a goal of mine to see if I could get this small pebble to the top of the mountain. I was starting to become attached to this little guy. I would kick it a few feet ahead then walk up to it to kick it again. It was a very sadistic relationship, but it was my only one in this silent Void. Seriously, if it wasn¡¯t for the clacking of the pebble, I probably would have gone deaf from the silence, or insane.


    I give the rock another kick and watch it bounce a few feet ahead before the ground under it gave way made a huge pit. ¡°Awe dude, my pet rock,¡± I groaned. It took me a little bit but I finally registered the pit. ¡°What the-,¡± How come I didn¡¯t notice this before? Why was there a delayed reaction? It felt like my mind was going through morning time grogginess all over again. When I acknowledged the grogginess it slowly lifted up.


    Walking around the pit, I continue along the path. Why had I become so attached to that rock? I had walked quite a distance before I felt something get caught on my ankles. Looking down, I saw a trip wire. I have watched to many action movies to not know what is going. I quickly throw myself on the ground.


    Not a moment later and I felt something rush past me. When I was on the ground I turned over onto my back and saw a ginormous, log swinging above me. That was way too close for comfort. What was this, an obstacle course? That could¡¯ve killed me!


    There was just a little more till I was at the top so I press through. There were a lot of dead, black trees along the road, but one appears to have fallen across this path. The trunk was pretty big though, I had to climb on top of it to get a better view of the path. When I put my hand on the fallen tree, I felt like I had touched cold, rough stone. I climbed on top of this log and hopped down. What should have been two or three feet happened to be a really long fall. I jumped right into a pit! I couldn¡¯t see the bottom, but I didn¡¯t want to. I beat my wings with all my might, straining on each beat. Slowly, I began to rise in the air and to the ledge of this insane hole.


    My ascent was slowing down and the gravity was picking up. I was mere inches from the lip of this pit. My muscles were on fire, my stamina depleted, and my desperation sky high. My ascent stopped, and to my horror, I slowly made a descent. No, no, no, this can¡¯t happen! No! I had not even reached the ledge. I was clawing and kicking, anything to gain a few more inches, as I made my descent.


    Then my hand got snagged on something. My lifeline was a big root sticking of the wall of this place. I couldn¡¯t believe my fortune. This dreadful mountain had taken away my best arsenal and scattered my focus.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    I would have given up on the mountain if I wasn¡¯t already near the top. I trusted the strength of the root as I swung my body back and forth and used momentum to climb on top of the root and carefully climb up, out of the pit. I lay on the ground for a few moments just absolutely exhausted. After a solid minute of catching my breath, I sat up and looked around a bit. This trek up this mountain will be tough, I thought.


    ¡­


    Many pitfalls, trip wires, and other traps later I finally made it to the top. I realized was the top due to an archway greeting me to the top, with a tiny altar. The altar looked like it was made from the same material the ground was made from. I go to the altar and examine it closely. It had a really smooth surface that rose upward into a statue of the most realistic looking angel I have ever seen. The statue was the same white-ish color as the altar; wings were flared up as if it were to take flight. It was only a miniature statue of about two feet tall, but on the altar it was about the same size as me. On either side of the statue were two, massive torches alit with beautiful flames. The statue also had its hands extended toward me with a small dark wood bowl. In the bowl was a mysterious silver liquid.


    It was enticing for some reason; I really wanted to drink it. I felt my hands slowly rise up to the bowl; meanwhile I stare deep into this strange fluid. As I stared more and more, I was drawn in, more and more. Before I knew what was happening, I had lifted the bowl from the angel, and had risen the bowl over my head and poured the contents into my mouth, splashing my chest and flowing into my boots.


    Immediately I was whiplashed into a super conscious state, with roar a voice in my head screamed


    ¡°NO!¡±


    It was the same voice from before, I was about to speak to it but no words came out. That¡¯s strange, despite drinking a liquid, my throat feels incredibly dry. My mouth tasted really funny, my throat burned and I felt really sick to my stomach. Ever so slowly it got worse and worse. In only a few moments my throat went from a slight uncomfortable feeling to gulping magma. My core was simply on fire. So much pain, I doubled over on the ground. I could not scream, my voice had been robbed from me, my vision started to blur and spin. My head felt as if an icepick was jammed into my temples, and as if I swallowed gasoline and chased it down with lit matches.


    The only thing I could do is close my eyes and let the pain pass. A moment rolls by and the pain gets worse. Another moment rolls by and it slowly abates. One last moment, and pain vanishes. I open my eyes and find that I am not at the mountain top. I am in a hallway of some sort. Everything is cracked and grey, smoke is in the air. This place was a mess. I slowly follow the hall into an open space.


    The only way I can describe this area, is it looks like an underground coliseum. Except everything is on fire, the fire being black.

 Chapter 29: Deception

    Amidst the charcoal flames, I see a figure in the middle of the chaos beside something that is sticking out of the ground. Is that an altar? Why is he here in all of this? What happened here? Why am I here? Did he bring me here?


    With these questions running through, my body instinctually moved forward to the figure in the smoke. As I got closer and closer, his figure came out a little clearer. The details came slowly, I noticed he had a tail, dark hair, a slender figure, then I noticed he had purple skin.


    He had a soldiers uniform under the late Demon King Orpheus. It was red in color with gold trim. I close enough to see his face. He had a neatly trimmed beard and a solid square face free of blemishes, brandished with a crooked smile.


    ¡°Oh, you came, how wonderful.¡± He spoke out in a gravelly voice.


    ¡°Did you bring me here?¡± I wanted to clarify.


    ¡°Hmm, well, if I had to say, you brought yourself here, I just supplied the means.¡± He gave a slight chuckle.


    Slowly, I asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    He looked at me as if I was slow, then laughed at himself as if he forgot to give me a piece of the puzzle. ¡°My apologies, I lured you here.


    Did you really think that your uncle knew about me and left it up to you to save the Void? No, I altered his letter when he wasn¡¯t looking. He might not have even remembered me at all.¡±


    I was shocked, it kind of made sense but ¡°why?¡±


    He let loose another crooked smile. ¡°The letter had some truth to it, to make it more real. There is a reason why there is an extermination of the Void Demon Race put into effect. There was a seal on my powers that the death of your uncle broke, however, I could have used you, your father or your mother to break the seal. The spell was placed on me by a traitor to our cause. One way to break such a flimsy seal is by kill your fellow species member.¡±


    No way he could have killed my uncle, he died from Soulless Anemia. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re thinking of the Soulless Anemia he died from. It¡¯s true he died from that, however it isn¡¯t a disease that everyone thinks it is. It¡¯s a poison. After the people started noticing that people were dying in a very particular way long ago, my¡­ organization found out that birds could carry the poison without being affected, we decided to inject some pheasants every once in a while. So when they started searching for a cause to the deaths, they found the pheasants and guessed it to be some rare disease. By the way my organization coined the term.¡±


    ¡°Why are you telling me this? I couldn¡¯t keep my voice calm, it was starting to mirror my anger, I tried to keep inside.


    ¡°For that reason right there! I inform you that your family isn¡¯t dying from an unfortunate outbreak in disease, but from an assassin¡¯s poison. Me, being the assassin.¡± He laughed to himself.


    I was outraged and he wanted this to happen. Other¡¯s pain and suffering caused him joy. He was truly a sick man. ¡°So why were you ordered to assassinate all the Void Demons? Aren¡¯t you a Void Demon?¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    He subsided his laughs a little and snorted, ¡°I so wish to tell you ¡®cause I felt like it¡¯, however since you are on my targeted list, I will tell you. It is for ultimate power. Power of that beyond a king or an emperor, the power of a god. I know, I know, ¡®but where does genocide come in¡¯¡± He said in a mocking voice. He continues, ¡°Because in order to obtain this power according to ancient scripts, there were more than just your average humans you see today. Long ago, the scripts says, they were beings with demon like powers in human like bodies.


    The name of the race has long since been forgotten. They had died out, but before the last one died he had been granted one wish. The wish being godhood. They had demon like powers but human like bodies, also meant they had the life span of a human as well. The purge of that race was led by demons, the reason was unknown. However, the one whom was given godhood, do you know of his name? You should, it¡¯s all the rage in human religion.¡±


    I was stunned by the information he gave me, I do realize information changes over time, and it¡¯s easy to understand how this information could have changed into that of religious text, if it were true. ¡°So you exterminate a race and you are granted a wish.  Easiest race to exterminate would be the one with fewest in numbers, being the Void Demons. All in the name of a wish? That¡¯s nuts!¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°Well, we are banking on it being a wish that will be granted on to us, however, if it comes up to be that there is no wish, which there may be not one, we get rid of one of the most powerful races of demons. It¡¯s a win-win.¡±


    ¡°So why here? How did bring me here?¡± This is all that¡¯s been bothering me.


    ¡°Hmph, well, it was because I needed to trap a god as well. And what¡¯s better is that I can force her to bring her creations to this place.¡±


    He glanced over to the altar to his left. My eyes are drawn to the altar and I laid eyes upon a tragic sight.


    I saw a woman elegant in form, skin as black as knight and feathery wings and long, wavy hair equal in color. She had on a long, snow white dress with gold trimmings. She would have been absolutely perfect in any sense of the word beauty, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that she was covered in cuts and chains that bound her to the altar, almost in a sacrificial fashion. Some of the carvings in her flesh went so deep, oh so deep. There was so much blood it had looked as though she had paint splashed upon her. Her blood was different though it wasn¡¯t the usual color, it was gold and seemed like it was thicker too like it didn¡¯t want to flow but it was forced to by the knife that was still embedded in her leg.


    Looking back at the culprit, I couldn¡¯t believe what was happening. ¡°What have you done?¡±


    ¡°Hey I wouldn¡¯t be too hasty if I were you.¡± He looks over behind his shoulder and I see my parents unconscious on the ground.

 Not a chapter. FanArt

    Shoutout to grecosky for the fantastic drawing.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Shout out to exlaking for incredible artwork.


    Shout out to Starborvsky for the wonderful artwork.


    Shoutout to Hebin for the art.


    Thanks guys for bringing my characters to life. I appreciate it.

 Chapter 30: An ancient arena, a new battle field.

    NO! Why are they here? Why is my mother here? She is out of the Stasis Domain. Seeing her all banged up and laying in a pile of dust meant that she had been there for a while. Father, he clearly fought back. His jaw was obviously broken and eyes blackened, not only that but his breathing was irregular in his unconscious state meaning some of his ribs had been broken. And the culprit to such atrocities stood before me. Oh, the rage that seethed through the very fiber of my being.


    ¡°Hmmm, it seems you have calmed a little. If you are wandering how I got your mother out of that poor excuse of a Domain? I smashed it of course. It¡¯s a skill I developed myself.¡± He smiled to himself, ¡°Your mother was already unconscious, however your father,¡± he chuckled, ¡°Your father was¡­ fun. He actually thought he stood a chance.¡±


    That¡¯s it! No more words, this monster has outlived his welcome. He shall not receive any mercy. As the thoughts crossed my mind, I decided to close the distance between us by throwing myself into a sprint. Throwing my hands into a Void Space I pulled out my trusted black blade and thrusted straight at his chest only for me to fall right through his image. What? Where is he?


    I can use my abilities now so that¡¯s good. Quickly I concentrate my mana as fast I can and disperse it into the air to form a Domain. As the air changed from black to blue mist, the barrier of the domain was set up. However at the completion of the Domain, before I could feed it skills and set spawns, the mist did a visual shatter like we were in a glass bowl and it was just smashed with a hammer. Ah, his ability.


    No Domain, fine, I¡¯ll just have to creative with Mana Manipulation. Bending down into a 7kneel and flex all the muscles in my back and wings. Winding myself and springing upward into the sky and quickly I observe my surroundings. It was at that point that I felt the blunt force on the back of my head that blurred my vision.


    I fell a few feet, but my sight cleared and I gained control over myself once again. I did a quick turn only to see Janus smile as he dissipated into an ominous red mist. I don¡¯t like the look of that red mist. From the red cloud I hear, ¡°Haha, do you know this skill? It has a few specializations, you might really appreciate my specialization.¡±


    I only remember three branches of Hazy Aura. I don¡¯t know if he got special treatment and more options but I do remember Death being an option. I have no love for dying, so I¡¯ll try not to get caught up in his mist¡­ that sound very¡­ weird.


    As I pondered on a strategy, I noticed he got really close, really fast. Actually, a little too close for comfort. The mist was so very close, that I could see the individual particles. If I breathed in, I would¡¯ve inhaled some that glowing mist. Suddenly the mist retreated a few feet and slowly made its way back toward me. A moment later I realized that his almost intangible form was affected by the beat of my wings, air flow.


    Air flow? Oh, I have an idea. When he got within a certain range, I beat my wings with all my might, torpedoing me backwards while pushing him back with a mighty gust of wind. While traveling backwards, I tucked in my wings and dived toward the ground. Coming a few feet from the ground, I spread my wings and nearly halted my descent toward the ground. Slowly I set my feet upon the ground and looked at the descending mist.


    Janus¡¯ misty form started to take shape when the cloud reached about fifteen feet of the ground. As Janus gained more and more shape, his steady drop gained momentum. Fully materialized his feet had touched the ground. I guess due to the lack of wings, he couldn¡¯t find his way to the ground very quickly. Be it as it may, his skill specialization is very concerning, but I got an advantage, and judging by his cool determination, he has faced this same dilemma before.


    It looked like he had a strategy. That had me just a tad bit worried. With a smirk he rushed at me at full speed, pulling out a curved, red bladed sword from his Void Space. I rose up my sword in a defensive pose and received his strike. When the swords collided, there was a loud clashing sound, but my sword was getting pushed closer to me. Man, he was strong.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Our swords were grinding against each other and it took a while, but I finally was able to deflect his blow to the left. Before he could take another swing I lunged forward and gashed his leg wide open. Jumping backwards I saw that he had not the faintest grimace. He dashed forward and right before the swords reconnected, he turned into his red foggy form. If it wasn¡¯t for my reflex to spread my wings and helped me narrowly escape his touch.


    Some of the red mist clouded together to form a smiling face before dissipating back into the red fog. Since the fog is slow moving, I have a little time. I concentrated my mana into the palm of my hand, half of my full supply. When I had a nice bowling ball sized, shining, blue orb, I slammed the orb into the soot covered ground.


    This arena is still in the Void, soooo¡­ I shall use my skill, Order to Arms! The pale yellow ground, blackened with soot turned royal purple and spewed the same colored fog. The fog spanned out thirty feet in each direction, making it sixty feet in diameter. The red fog kept at bay as if was waiting to see what I was up to. Out of the thick purple fog, fifty columns rose and figures formed out them.


    Skeletons stepped out of the pillars of smoke lifeless until the smoke poured into their eye sockets. Shrouded in purple smoke, they had ragged, torn up silver armor. Each had black blades with silver hilts, much like my own.


    The floor is still heavily saturated in my mana. Judging from the red mists clouding together, he still intends to watch. Perfect.


    I chose ten of the fifty and pumped them to the brim with the left over mana. The skeletal structure stretched and thickened to about and a time and half more than the normal skeletons. It was very obvious, or at least in my viewpoint, that it was more powerful than the normal skeletons. Hmm, I will call these Sergeants, and the normal will be called Privates. I will use these Sergeants to lead the Privates.


    Yes, I will use the higher ranked to carry commands down the chain, leaving the higher ups with more authority and decisions to call themselves.


    It would be easier to fight organized combat this way. Still, ten would take a lot focus I could use on the battle. I stuff two of the already full Sergeants and overload the mana capacity. So imbued with power, the two skeletons¡¯ purple smoke shroud condensed into bluish


    skin, giving off a certain haze. I will call them Captains.


    I know that I could handle coordinating with two Captains and let them delegate commands. With my preparations done, I put my full focus onto Janus. His form had solidified and he just stared at me and my army. Well it was less of an army and more like a Company or two¡­ The 1st Captain is in charge of Alpha Company, the 2nd will be in charge of Bravo.


    Everyone was still standing on the mana saturated ground, so I quickly created a temporary mana network and sacrificed my Hazy Aura to Alpha Company and Slow Time to Bravo Company.


    ¡°That¡¯s why they wouldn¡¯t answer my calls. You have taken the reigns as Commander of the Ancient Void Army. Well, this is my first time seeing them but according to the scrolls from long ago, you are supposed to be able to call forth a massive Army. It looks like you haven¡¯t mastered it yet.¡± He did a creepy chuckle, ¡°It was supposed to be me! I assassinated the previous commander! The scrolls said kill the commander, get control. I only needed to arrive back here. But that stupid traitor put a seal on my powers.¡±


    ¡°Looks like I beat you to the punch. So your beef is with me, let my parents go!¡±


    He shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I need them dead, along with you. I am letting no one leave.¡± Energy powered out of him and made thickened the air. It then exploded out trapping everyone in the Arena in a dome of red energy. Red fog covered the ground and out of the fog came a horde of gargoyles that took to the air and slew of giant lizards.


    Two Armies faced each other in this ancient arena made into a new battle zone.

 Chapter 31: The Twists and Tides of Battle.

    I¡¯m trapped in his domain? No matter, I may have the disadvantage, but I will have his head. His creation of the domain shattered my mana network. I only needed it because it was the only way to give them a leg up without creating a domain myself. It had served its purpose.


    However the opposing force that stood before me and my men had completely cutoff my direct line of sight of Janus, my parents and the supposed goddess. I made a chain of command to help me but I feel the maximum efficiency isn¡¯t being employed. Since I only mustered this amount of manpower, the chain of command was adequate. This thought only ran through my head because number wise the opposing force was the size of about a complete Army of 45,000 compared to my men, standing about the size of two Platoons at 52 soldiers. It made me realize how huge this coliseum really is.


    I admit I didn¡¯t think I distributed the Mana into the most efficient way possible, but that wouldn¡¯t have mattered in the face of that many. What we lacked in numbers we made up in skill. I Turn to Alpha Company¡¯s Captain, ¡°Alpha, take to the left, swing right to central. You will be surrounded at that point. Hold position until reinforcements from Bravo provide aid. Make sure you use your abilities.¡± Quickly turning to the remaining Captain, ¡°Bravo, take to the right, head central. Due to your abilities, I expect you to do the most thinning of that horde. Until other orders are given, eliminate every enemy starting from the center. Dismissed.¡±


    I was saluted before the Captains went to their respective Companies and carried out their missions. I only lent out Hazy Aura and Slow Time so I wouldn¡¯t be defenseless. Alpha Company headed left and started emitting a green haze before their bodies disappeared while they marched unto the ever approaching mass of monsters. Bravo had practically disappeared too. Only when you payed close attention to a Gargoyle turning to mist could you spot these speed demons.


    Well they weren''t particularly fast, but when they used Slow Time, it appeared so. The number of opponents decreased in an astonishing rate. A smile spread across my face. I need to join in this action!


    Running at full speed, I jumped into a portal that put me in front of a very surprised Giant Lizard. With a mighty momentum still behind me, I stabbed my sword straight into the thick-skinned reptile¡¯s brain. Before my momentum completely died, I spun with the still in my grasp, effectively wrenching from the deceased and stabbing it directly into the next lizard¡¯s head as well.


    Seeing as I was started to be surrounded, I let go of the handle of the sword and bare my fangs at the approaching Gargoyles. The ones that stared into my eyes stunned them, if given a choice they would¡¯ve fled, however they were forced to attack, so they were only stunned. I concentrated on one and it had immediately died. Utilizing the Death specialization of Demon Eyes, one by one they died. I had killed five this way, but it took much concentration to do it with multiple enemies.


    Deeming Demon Eyes ineffective I poured mana into my claws and tried clawing a nearby lizard, of course my claws dug through the flesh like putty due to Strength: 90. I noted that Detachable Claws wasn¡¯t something as creepy as my fingers becoming projectiles. Instead it turns out that they were a mana extension that came out in a fifteen inch length. It was if my claws were actually a foot apart away from my fingertips only attached by a string, however they were still firmly attached to me. I could only make this observation because there were streaks of missing flesh that appeared on the reptile. Excellent.


    Using Mana Manipulation, I transferred this ability to my recently fetched sword. Swinging it at a nearby pile of walking meat, it shredded skin, muscle and bone in one go. This sword has a chainsaw effect now. It¡¯s a shame there wasn¡¯t the roar of the chainsaw that usually accompanied such a scene, it was however replaced by the screams of its victims.


    Running and slashing I left a trail of corpses that slowly turned to red mist. The more I slayed the thicker the red mist got. Eventually I was walking through red miasma. On a good note, the numbers of the Giant Lizards and Gargoyles dwindled down to maybe about 1,200.


    I noticed that Alpha and Bravo Company had met in the middle and was already spreading out from the center. That explains that outrageous drop in number in such a small amount of time. Searching the battle field, I quickly found the rat.


    Janus had set my parents on the altar alongside the unconscious goddess. He had a wicked grin on his face. In the back of my head, I heard the same voice that pleaded for help earlier, ¡°Alexander! Stop him!¡± Goddess? Looking back, the goddess chained to the table was definitely conscious. She was trying to shrink away from her captor but was unable to due to the chains.


    He was preparing for something. Jumping into a Void Step I appeared behind and slashed at his head. He unexpectedly dodged and took advantage of my opening and slammed his elbow into my diaphragm. Winding me, I drop to my knees as oxygen fails to fill my lungs.


    As I started recovering from his counter attack, only to receive a heel to the face. Unpleasant pain shot across face upon impact, I landed a few feet away and watched him as he studied the battle field. He seemed miffed at what he saw.


    ¡°You are a little more outstanding than I imagined.¡± He smirked then continued, ¡°¡®Why is recovery slow?¡¯ is probably what you are asking yourself. Answer: I am disrupting your mana flow one hit at a time.¡± He walks over to the altar and stabs his own arm, letting blood overflow. Next he stabbed the knife straight into ribs of the goddess. She only managed to muster out a wheeze sound.


    He glanced at me, then proceeded to take some of the blood from the goddess and wipe it on his own wounds. Ecstasy was then smeared across that smug face. As I stand up, he glanced at me one more time and just our eyes connecting did I feel like I was hit by a train. He developed pupils that had taken on a golden color. It sent out a force that knocked me well across the field.


    No good. I need to stop him before he gains any more power. I try opening up a portal to step through only to find that it ended in a failure. Right disrupted mana. Good thing it doesn¡¯t cost in mana to maintain my men.


    The last monster on the field just turned to red mist and right as Alpha and Bravo were about to advance toward Janus, the ground split across the Arena. A fissure had appeared and with the appearance, the red miasma flowed into. A moment later, the ground roared to life with a mountain jutting from the newly created fissure. This mountain shot of the fissure with great force that caused massive quakes to happen, I couldn¡¯t stand.


    I stare in amazement as this mountain starts to shake at a mile high in the black sky. No. That¡¯s a tier three dragon, a Catalyst Dragon. Its scales looked as though they weren¡¯t scales but rock. These things were known to become mountains when dormant only to wreak havoc on the lands, completely changing the topography of the map. They were thought to have gone extinct well before the rule of even the late Demon King Orpheus.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    My men started attacking the Catalyst Dragon only to find out they were doing nothing to its wellbeing. I noticed that there was a red aura that seemed to flow from its skin, must have been the miasma from earlier. I remain seated and I don¡¯t dare move an inch.


    Me beat that thing? It would only be possible through my abilities, which right now are on the fritz. So my best option then is to target its master whom is using at as a way to buy time to perform some ritual. Not good. Not good at all.


    I looked at Janus expecting him to continue his sordid behavior, only to have my expectations betrayed. Janus wasn¡¯t preforming some blood ritual like I had presumed he would have been doing but instead was intensely focusing on the Catalyst Dragon. I concluded that he must keep a certain concentration to keep the Catalyst Dragon in control.


    Just as I had come to my conclusion, the mountain of a beast turned threw its head back and let out an ear piercing, head splitting roar. I would say that I would hear echoes in the distance, but that would be a lie. There was an odd silence and a high pitched ring. I might be temporarily deaf. Along with ringing, a slight drip from the ears, I had felt shaken to my inner depths. This was a noisy beast to say the least.


    I had no time to agonize in pain, this mountain had a bone to pick with me. Alpha and Bravo Company were attacking nonstop, but leaving no results. Throwing myself into the air I could see the whole area that was under Janus¡¯ Domain. This Mountain had taken up precisely half the allotted space within the domain.


    My powers on the fritz, my army useless before the opponent, there is very few things I can actually do. However, I do have a small advantage. Due to it being obnoxiously large, it specializes in large scale destruction, not so much on specified targets. So as long as I stay out of the danger zones, such as under foot, away from mouth, etc., I should be fine.


    So I began flying around the inner circumference of the barrier bidding time. Occasionally it would let out roars, but I could no longer hear them. When I came near the completion of my first lap, I noticed that the underbelly of the mountain made a soft glow. What¡¯s it up now? Glowing got ever increasingly brighter until the shine shot up toward its throat climbing toward its throat. By the time it reached its jaw, the mountain open its mouth as if to create another roar, just to spew boiling magma toward my general direction. Oooh, here is my time to shine! I always wanted to be marshmallow, not. I saw no need in me being reduced to nothing, so I dropped from the air, tucking in my wings to increase my speed. I didn¡¯t even try to slow down at the end, I just crashed on the far below, dealing with my pain. I tried to escape as quickly as I could before I fell once again due to my ankle. My recovery factor was returning to normal, but the recovery was not fast enough.


    Looking up I saw the dragon angling his jaws to match my location. The river of magma was approaching at a highly uncomfortable speed. The heat wave had hit and I felt my skin tighten and my feathers stiffen. As the imminent death closed in and the heat became unbearable, I felt my arms jerk back and my body being lifted from the ground transported at high rate of speed. I peered to right to see Alpha Company¡¯s Captain, to my left, Bravo Company¡¯s.


    As they rescued me, the flow of magma ceased. The Catalyst Dragon had only stopped for a brief moment, appearing to charge up another attack. Its already bright underbelly had sent up another more ammunition to sustain its assault. We had made it to the barrier before had narrowly escaped being roasted by evading upwardly.


    When the stream of lava had come in contact with the wall, the Domain had shattered like smashed glass. The red aura had dimmed and the dragons barrage ended and it had appeared the Dragon was more keen in destroying the ancient coliseum walls.


    I dismissed Alpha Company¡¯s Captain and ordered Bravo Company¡¯s Captain to round up the troops. Within seconds everyone was accounted for, save the ones fallen in battle. I put down a mana network and reabsorbed Bravo Company. The mana I received from them was a fraction of what it took to call them from the Void, but at least I got some back. What I really wanted was Slow Time, the ability that allowed them to assemble so quickly.


    I took note that Janus had thrown a fit when the Dragon broke through his barrier and was no longer listening to his commands. Summoned a pet that you could barely control and not contain? He should have seen that coming. I noticed that his fit had quickly come to a close; he was quick calm himself down. He then marched over to the altar just a few feet away.


    This was an opportunity I couldn¡¯t pass up. Since my powers had recovered fully, I decided to jump through a Void Step while using my Slow Time and appeared three yards behind Janus. At my full speed, I dashed behind him and threw a round house kick at his head. His body rag dolled before connecting to the altar and bouncing off an inch or two. I fully expected him to stand up so I could beat him into the ground, I did not expect him to turn into the mysterious red mist.


    I backed away immediately but since he was in this form I could affect him with currents so I sent my mana into the air and created gusts of wind using my wings to pump the air. The air was easier to do my bidding than I anticipated, the red mist had been far, far, far away.


    Before he was blown too far away, he quickly reassembled his body. Even though there was a massive distance between us, he quickly covered the gap by Void Stepping toward the altar. He next had me frozen in my tracks.


    ¡°Alexander, don¡¯t look!¡± The Goddess pleaded with urgency. She seemed to grasp the situation before me. The Goddess, who had bleed thick gold blood, cried silver and was clothed in a shining white robe across her midnight black skin, tried to get me to look away. She pleaded, ¡°No, no, no. Alexander, please look this way. Don¡¯t look! Alexander? Alexander!¡± Her cries had faded as I watched Janus take my frail mother¡¯s body into one of his arms.


    Persephone Phendahl, the mother I was born from in this world. She was there for me through thick and thin. I wasn¡¯t close to my family on Earth, but she oozed so much motherly affection that it more than made up for it. My mother, whom enjoyed eating cookie dough, enjoyed making messes, and above all things enjoyed laughing with her family, was held in the enemy¡¯s arms.


    I couldn¡¯t move a muscle as the knife that dangled in the air above her body, plunged straight into her weak chest.

 Side Story: Janus

    I was born in the Dukedom of Ecresh, in the Void Lands. Ecresh has been annexed by the Dukedom of Drayasil since then. I wasn¡¯t born in the lap of luxury, but I wasn¡¯t poor either. I was taught by father the way of the warrior.


    By the age of four, my father taught me the life of a warrior. From unpleasant foods to back breaking training sessions, I was shown that life thoroughly, every day. It was grueling but it built me up to the man I am today.


    By the age sixteen, I said farewell to my family, and I joined the Demonic Armed Forces. Basic didn¡¯t come close to my father¡¯s training. I breezed through it, working out when there was spare time.


    By the age eighteen, I developed my powers that Voids Demons get at eighteen. It was slow at first, but I made it my own power in the end. Though I was always jealous of flight, I made do with what I had, even if I didn¡¯t have wings.


    By the age twenty-one, I screamed through the ranks and was given an offer to join the ranks of the Demonic Special Forces. I declined at first, I claimed I need time to think about it.


    By the age twenty-four, I had been promoted to Lieutenant. It feels like I went up the ladder only to take a step down with this rank. That was my opinion. Then the opportunity to join the DSF came again. I accepted. DSF, a regiment that had been set up by the late Demon King Orpheus and had continued through the continuing reign of Demon King William.  Our uniform is still that of Demon King Orpheus¡¯ Army.


    I was shown so many things that the regular army never showed me. Taught many things as well. The training that the army paled before my father¡¯s, however, I felt reinvigorated from the training DSF gave me. DSF, I loved it.


    By the age thirty, our commander stepped down from DSF. Upon his retirement, new training programs were sent in motion. Death matches were set up to scare off those unwilling, and to weed out the weak. Void Demons were pitted against each other exclusively, otherwise DSF would be only made of Void Demons.


    I never developed wings, but that never stopped me from obtaining victory. They all thought I had a disadvantage from not having wings, which put them in a false sense of security.


    DSF got new recruits every month, so the commander wasn¡¯t really concerned with regulating the fights more they were, which led to there being only two Void Demons in all DSF. This led to the last match of Void Demons in DSF. We closed our doors to recruits around that time. The regular army didn¡¯t know of any of the things DSF did, or of any the reforms. DSF was an appendage of the regular army, however, DSF had its own mind. Had regular army known, we would have been severed long ago.


    By age thirty-eight, I was promoted to Major. I gotten close to the commander, I could never remember his name but I got away with it by calling by rank, General. The General had ambitions, ambitions that inspired me to follow. I had none myself, like a moth drawn to a fire, I was drawn to the General¡¯s ambitions. I heard stories on where the ambition came from; I had heard that the General inherited some ancient scrolls from the General¡¯s dungeon delving father obtained.


    In these scrolls described a way to get any wish to come true. There where ways to trap a god, get them to grant your wish, however, if you wanted the status of deity yourself, a catastrophe had to happen. You had to be the sole survivor your race.


    The world is very populated now, but a long time ago there more than just five types of demons, more than one type of human, there was even a race that wasn¡¯t human or demon. The scroll was detailed in the races, describing each one.


    The other race of humans had really short life spans and equally low fertility rates. They had bodies of humans, but powers almost surpassing demons, but due to genetics died out, the last one had his name printed in the scrolls, Icaldir. It was strange the name of his race is lost but his name is here.


    The extinct race of demons was called the Night Demons, they appeared to be masters of darkness and were most powerful during the moonless night. The script seemed to have been copied from an even more ancient script that has probably already perished. Most of the details are missing, but it looks like it emphasized that they absolutely couldn¡¯t turn down a challenge. You also knew you were near one when you saw black fire somewhere in your surroundings. The cause to their extinction was unknown but the last one¡¯s name was Anelia.


    If either Pope knew of these scripts they would probably seek to destroy them. As for the race that was neither human nor demon, they vanished. Race not known, there was no extinction, they just vanished. The description says that they looked like humans with wings and a disk that floated over their heads, known to be halos. These halos are the only things that remain that can prove that they even existed in the first place.


    By the age thirty-five, I read the scrolls. I knew the truths, the traps, all of it. I knew the true ambition of the General. The General could never be a deity the traditional way, wiping out all his race would a monstrous task that would last a whole life time. If only the fertility rate was dismally low and population already low to begin with. That¡¯s where the plan came in.


    I was already close to the General, so I was going to be the saving grace, for his ambitions to come true. And oh, did I want them to be realized. I would slaughter my fellow members of the Void Demon race and become a god and then help the General achieve the same status.


    I¡¯ve known the General for a long time, I¡¯ve known that the General hates being looked down upon. The General wants to be in a position where that would be impossible. Being a ruler is out of question due to bloodlines not being in the General¡¯s favor. However, the General could transcend kings and become a god, was probably the logic behind it all.


    The end goal was set, the means to achieve it had all but been completed, so how do we initiate this without the world coming out to take our heads? As we pondered this over the course of a few months with a secret council with a few key players in DSF and regular army, we found our solution. The Light Pope looked as if he had maybe a few years left, so we would raise support for a Cardinal that was controlled by us. When this Cardinal became Pope, he would preach that we are evil and poison the minds of humans. Eventually we would go to war, during that time, mass mutiny would happen everywhere on our side. That would be our chance to exterminate the Void Demons.


    We would go in as recruits in the regular army, as for the key players already in the army, there is a reason why they are called key players. They are perfectly placed to make this work. The Demons would sure to lose the war due to the mutiny.


    By age forty, the Light Pope died. Our Cardinal was not chosen. New Pope elected.


    By age forty-six, our Cardinal died, we spent a few years grooming a new one.


    By age seventy-two, the truly long lived Light Pope took his last breath. Our Cardinal was again not selected. New Pope elected.


    By age seventy-three, the pious Dark Pope died in an accident, a new Dark Pope elected, and interestingly enough, he is a Mountain Elf.


    By age seventy-five, our Cardinal died again, time to groom another one.


    By age seventy-six, Demon King William¡¯s first born is born.


    By age eighty, Demon King William¡¯s second born breathed his first breath.


    By age ninety-four, success! The Light Pope died and our Cardinal was elected. He slowly spread the anti-demon gospel. Tension is building.


    By age ninety-seven, it worked better than we thought it would have. The Light Pope has poisoned even the ear of Emperor of the Imperial Domain. The Emperor has declared war! Here is our chance.


    I reenlist in the army as a brand new recruit at the age of ninety-seven, working under cover. I¡¯ll just stay silent lest anyone discovers me. Basic Training went by like a gust of wind. I met a prince in Basic but I paid him no mind. Our objective was the Void Demons not the royal family, but if they get in our way I won¡¯t hesitate to dispose of them.


    My Battalion was heading to the Dukedom of Oclen to help the besieged city, but we had several stops even though it was urgent, this was due to a key player in a high position, this allowed me to Void Step to the Void Lands and silently, stealthily assassinate the families of Void Demons. Through customs, every assassination I made, I collected a feather of each body, if available. I collected very beautiful feathers that differed from the others. Some had purple tips and some had a single red stripe that ran through each feather. I believe the colors signified the properties of the wings. I may not have wings myself, but I just might make a pair out of the ones I collect.


    I almost cleared everyone in the Void Lands, save for a little girl. This girl was the only one that saw me in my mass killing spree. She was very good at hiding, I feel as though I almost found her but my time was up, I had to regroup with the Battalion.


    The reason I was the only one able to go to the Void Lands without anyone else in the Battalion being able to is due to the fact that there I was five times everyone else¡¯s age and had experience to match. Some of these saps don¡¯t even have the ability to Void Step yet. I¡¯ll get the girl later, right after the mutiny I suppose.


    I guess I could have my way with her sense she will be the last one I have to get rid of. I¡¯ll take it nice and slow, taking my time. I carried these thoughts with me throughout the day until we got the signal to start the mutiny. I guess I will take care of the Phendahls first.


    I had my sword in hand and it was pointed at the younger brother¡¯s chest. This imbecile won¡¯t know what hit him.


    ¡°Alastair! NO!¡± the older brother cried out.


    WHAM!


    I sank to my feet. My consciousness had gotten really hazy and seems like I taste blood. When the younger brother moved out from beneath me his foot caught mine causing me to fall. Quick thinking let me fall into a Void Step. I appeared behind the prince got ready to stab him, only to be blocked by the older brother. I try to reappear behind him only to see him matching my speeds and blocking all my attacks. It was so angering and embarrassing that my next Void Step was out of the tent, which is where I saw the prince and the younger brother chatting. So I reappeared beside the prince and at his throat.


    I did not expect the prince to have such quick reflexes, he had grabbed my neck as if he expected me to appear beside him. As he was latched onto my neck, I noticed the air around his skin start to buzz, next thing I know I was in agonizing pain. Yellow light was dancing across my vision, my throat hoarse from screaming, and my skin busting ripping and peeling away at the fire.


    My body made a thud sound on the ground, this was the only thing that let me know that I was on the ground. I was in so much pain that I couldn¡¯t tell at first. This sort of pain was more than the stinging pain of burning skin on a flame, no, it was an all-consuming pain that left you in your own personal hell. There was no one else, only you and this pain that resonated in your soul.


    I believe the pain start abating not because I was getting used to it, but only because my nerves were getting damaged. It was only then that I was able to open my eyes. There was a battle field set before my eyes. Right in front of me was the prince snapping the neck of an Air Demon that had also been set ablaze. Looking closely at the prince I could see that the lava like fluids on him was actually his own blood.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    When they turned to aid their brothers in combat against the mutiny we caused, I took that time to roll into a Void Step far away from the battle scenes. I wound up in DSF headquarters. Before I could speak to the General, I was rushed to our most skilled healer, Syllis.


    Syllis is a Nymph of the Common Ruffleberry Tree, a tree she keeps close-by. Usually you don¡¯t find Nymphs outside their forest because they can¡¯t stray far from their trees. However, Syllis is special, her tree started in a planter. So she can move her tree around, effectively making her more mobile.


    By the time my body made it to her operation table, she had completely freaked out. ¡°What happened to you? Who did this to you? Are these burns?¡± She was horrified at the sight of my body, that much was evident. I mean, Nymphs are naturally afraid of fire, so this would naturally not sit well with one. However, I couldn¡¯t answer any of her questions. My consciousness looked as though it would fail me.


    That cursed prince, I¡¯ll make sure he¡¯ll pay for this, as for those Phendahls, I¡¯ll make sure to pick up from where I started. As I thought these very thought, I passed out from the pain and exhaustion.


    ¡­


    My consciousness had come in and out occasionally and every time that it did, There was Syllis working away at my body. Of course I couldn¡¯t talk to her, I would pass out before I could. I could see her face before each time I passed out though; it was a face of passion.


    I know that it was probably just nothing but gratitude but I felt an attachment to my savior. When I regained consciousness for the final time on the operating table, I felt confident that I wouldn¡¯t pass out again, I grabbed the hands of Syllis, who¡¯s hands were hovering over me pouring light green aura over me. Sitting myself up, my body protested with a phenomenal amount of pain, but the pain meant I was alive. Green aura faded slowly as did the forest like scent gave off.


    I was still holding the hands of the now fidgeting Syllis. She was complaining at first that I should be resting but she had gone quiet when our eyes met. ¡°Thank you. You saved my life, I am forever in your debt. I know that Nymphs are usually seductresses and usually in no need of a long term mate. I also came into understanding that you are in search of said long term mate. You are as unusual as you are beautiful.¡± I lean in and rest my lips on a very flustered Syllis.


    I know, I know. Her skin is green, she is part plant, but hey being almost a century old and not having a lover was also unconventional as well. So I guess it works out. The flowers in her hair secrete a natural aphrodisiac, but if you kept your head clear you could see her other redeeming qualities. Along with her passionate side of wanting to cure patients she was truly beautiful to look at. When she found something cute or embarrassing she would blush and she blushes a deep blue.


    When our lips had parted, I was going to look her in the eye but was interrupted with another kiss that was filled sparked with passion. Lust had filled the atmosphere, and those flowers helped make it thicker by secreting more aphrodisiac, making my head go numb. I was bathed in immense pleasure, as I tried to get closer to Syllis, I am suddenly jolted back to my senses as pain reawakens in my body.


    Noticing something was different, Syllis gazed at me from my lap then it suddenly hit her, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I am so stupid, please forgive. Ah, I should get back to healing you.¡± Frantically apologizing and jumping off of me to continue healing me, made me smile. As she started the forest scented therapy again I stood up, was again breaking her concentration.


    Pain had riddled my body but I was able to move on my own, I walked closer to Syllis and placed a finger on her chin to tilt her head to look at me. ¡°No need to apologize, we will continue where we left off when I¡¯m done healing.¡± I did a quick kiss before staring into her teary eyes, ¡°Is that ok with you?¡±


    When she saw that I was fine, she made a resolute face, ¡°Yes, but are you serious about you owing me?¡±


    I saw where this going from a mile awhile, ¡°You may ask anything from me. Anything.¡± I stroke her cheek as to signify this.


    She got really flustered at whatever thought went through her just now and she sported magnificent blue blush that spread across her face.  ¡°Then, then would you be willing to¡­¡±


    Pushing her further, I say, ¡°Hmmm? I apologize I can¡¯t exactly hear you¡±


    She shrank just a little and seemed to get quieter, ¡°That is, that is¡­ will you¡­¡±


    I believe one last push will do, I bring my face closer her to hers to about one inch, ¡°Ah, this is better. I might hear you know.¡±


    Her whole face practically turned blue from the blush taking her whole face. ¡°Will you marry me?¡±


    Just as she said these words the door flew open as someone barged into the room. Ah, my most trusted Lieutenant, Lieutenant Usunaar Rohorn. He has always been shoot first, apologize later type of elf, as is most evident in his entering in such a way. ¡°Ah, you are awake. Still burned up I see. Come with me.¡± Upon saying those words he left the room as abruptly as he entered.


    Hearing his words, I looked at the only mirror in the room and see that indeed I am covered in massive burn scar tissue.


    Hmm, Syllis is well known for her healing magic but only in emergencies. She isn¡¯t very good at cosmetically healing, however my Lieutenant Rohorn is outstanding at it, as is most of the Shadow Elves.


    They are very good at cosmetics and at assassinations. Like the Dark Elves they blend into the shadows really well because of their skin, however unlike the Dark Elves they are a little more chaotic and blend in so well with the shadows that they become invisible. They absolutely hate bright lights.


    I was about to walk out of the door, that is when I noticed Syllis¡¯ deflated, almost defeated face. It was a shame to see that on a beautiful face. So as I passed through the doorway¡¯s threshold, I said, ¡°just wait a little longer, my future bride.¡± Her face perked up when she heard my words. That was the last I saw of her face due to the fact that I had some where to be.


    I had to struggle to catch up with Lieutenant Rohorn, but when I do I order him to slow down a bit and give me a status report. ¡°Sir, you have been out of commission for six years now. We lost in our mutiny, The Great War ended in a white peace. Also, as expected there was investigation in the mass mutiny.¡±


    ¡°So the General¡­¡±


    ¡°The General had someone be a look-alike to take the fall.¡±


    Curiously I asked, ¡°So a white peace, how¡¯d that happen?¡±


    He replied, ¡°Emperor Lanslet Greenwood died, his heir, Emperor Godfrey Greenwood called for a peace treaty.¡±


    ¡°So how is DSF holding up?¡±


    He slowly replied, ¡°The mutiny was resulted in an a wipeout on our side, so there are very few members left in DSF, forcing us to open our doors to recruitment in the regular army again. Also, there is friction amongst the veteran members.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, that¡¯s serious, so where is our destination?¡±


    He once again replied before turning off to the stairs, ¡°The basement level, to the magic circle room. Orders are to fix you up.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± I followed him down the stairs, slowly and painfully. When we reached the end of the stairs we walked past several rooms until we reach the magic circle room.


    This room was a giant circular room designed to have magic circles drawn in them and activated in such a room. The room was special as it was built under a layline; geographical lines that ran through the continent, these lines gave off thick auras of mana. Being under or over one made magic circles more potent. Magic circles themselves were made for the purpose of either: summoning, healing, or general large scale magic spells that simple mana manipulation can¡¯t achieve.


    Magic circles were powerful but ineffective in battle as they took time to make, and had to be perfect in order for them to work. They were all unique, no two were the same, but in my opinion, all were beautiful. The Lieutenant stood outside the circle as I made my way inner most part of it. When I was at what I guessed at the most centered I could get in the massive circle, I signaled for him to start.


    He entered a trance and I witnessed his essence of his mana go from his body and into the dark lines of the magic circle turning them bright green. Slowly the lines glowed and afterward the very air in the circle grew heavy with mana and even shimmered with the stuff. Since I was in the middle of it, I could feel every fiber of my being, being infiltrated with the mana in the air. I looked at my arm and saw the flesh nit itself back together as the pain ebbed away.


    Eventually the burn marks went away and I felt refreshed, I felt strong. It was then that something felt very off, just as I thought that, the lines turned red and the air got thicker. I felt my mana being stripped away and my fatigue building in a strange way. Something is very wrong, I tried running over to Usunaar, only to find myself at a slow walking pace. When I came to about five feet from his defenseless body did the magic circle cease to function and regained his consciousness.


    ¡°There, all done. How do you feel?¡± He asked me with an upturned smile.


    ¡°Like crap. What did you do to me?¡± Maybe it was just a part of the process.


    He straightened his back before replying, ¡°You see how a magic circle curse works, is you have to give something before you can make it work. Normally you would sacrifice something, but I decided aiding your healing was good enough for it to work.¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand at first on what he was getting at, then it hit me, ¡°YOU WHAT?!¡±


    He just laughed, ¡°I just cursed you with rather nasty, ancient curse. No abilities or mana until you fulfill a task. Your task:


    ¡®Kill your fellow Void Demon.¡¯¡±


    I was exasperated, ¡°Why¡¯d you¡­¡±


    He interrupted, ¡°I could say to better motivate you to do your task, but that¡¯s not true, this would hinder you. It makes your task impossible. I loathe you, so why would I let you become a deity?¡±


    I lunged at him only for him to dodge and strike me in the back of the head, robbing me of my consciousness yet again.


    ¡­


    I woke to elevated temperatures and smoke in the air. This was on fire! Running through the rooms and making my way upstairs, dodging debris and ceiling cave-ins. I almost got hit several times as I made my way up, desperately trying to escape. Fire, fire everywhere, why does it have to be fire? Frantically running, I passed through the halls aiming for the exit I run faster than I ever had in my life. Smoke filled my lungs, pain filled my entire being as adrenaline worked overtime and I started to tear muscles trying to get out.


    Exit I must exit, I can¡¯t die, not here. I don¡¯t want to die by fire! Suddenly Syllis¡¯ face popped in my head. She must have escaped already, there¡¯s no way that she¡­ Just in case I turned into the operation room just beside the exit.


    ¡°Syllis! Syllis! Are you in here? Please tell me you aren¡¯t!¡± I waited for a moment or two before I exited the room, the moment before I do so, I notice a burnt Ruffleberry tree in the back of the room. No. Walking to it I saw the collapsed body of Syllis at the base of the destroyed plant. Examining the body, checking for pulses and other forms of life signs, I saw none. Lieutenant Rohorn, where ever you are, you are a dead man.

 Side Story: Janus Part Two

    By age one hundred three, I lost my fianc¨¦ and swore to kill her assailant. I would kill him for her and myself. How dare he take my abilities like that? He left me the abilities of that of a lowly human. I left DSF in search for him. I will aid the General when I complete my tasks.


    By age one hundred eight, I found him. The General said everyone thinks I¡¯m dead so I should disguise myself to help myself get around. The disguise came in handy, I tracked the elf to the most northern human kingdom, the Kingdom of Gearwood. I found him, drunk in a local pub there, so I befriended him over a few rounds of alcohol. When it was closing time, the bartender told me to take him home confusing me with a buddy of his. I took him into an ally and slit his throat, ending his life. I celebrated.


    By age one hundred nine, I ended my celebration and started my search for key items, requested by the ancient scrolls, required to trap a god. This will take a long time due to some dungeon diving and history I¡¯ll have research in order to obtain said items.


    By age one hundred ninety eight, I finished gathering the materials for the trap, the only thing left to is to go to her place of origin. Unfortunately, that had been lost in the records, so the next best thing would be the birth place of the race. That was impossible for me if the theories proved true, unless I killed a Phendahl. I couldn¡¯t sneak up on them due to them being in their castle all day and me not have the necessary abilities to get to them, so I will have to this the old fashioned way.


    I heard that they had a kid almost two decades ago, and he appears to have gone on an adventure of sorts, he might have guards with him, best to steer clear for a while No matter, he will be on the list for extermination. However, I will focus on the occupants in the castle. I gather the herbs required for a not well known poison.


    Actually funny thing about this poison, people think the effects of the poison are symptoms of an imaginary disease. They named Soulless Anemia, not too shabby of a name, if I might say so. What made this made this even more ironic is that the poison was created from an extract that came from boiling the flower of Drayasil Duchess¡¯ favorite plant, the Demon¡¯s Blood Rose.


    They say that the rose was weird because it had no thorns, ah but it does. The thorns just aren¡¯t visible on this pretty flower, but oh were they deadly. Only a select few know to boil this flower to get the poison. This will be trial and error, but if my months of research prove to be useful, then the Phendahls purchase their pheasants and eggs from the local farm I decided to visit one night. I poisoned every fowl there. Interestingly, fowls are unaffected by the poison but carry it until a person eats their meats, poisoning them to death. Thus the misunderstanding that you catch the ¡®disease¡¯ from raw pheasant or their eggs.


    From an inn close by, I waited for the news of their deaths. A few days role by before word got out that the duchess and the duke¡¯s brother had fallen ill. In a few days they transformed the castle to a massive palace, it was always magnificent to see the Realms best Earth Demons at work. Then they invited everyone to the coronation of the duke to become a king to the new Astral Kingdom. I heard it was because the duke wanted his wife to experience being a queen before she dies, romantic I guess.


    I¡¯ve lived for almost two centuries, and I was without my skills and abilities for half of it due to a curse. Now I was going to get my abilities back. Why didn¡¯t I go after the Phendahls earlier? They were on major lockdown, I have a little leeway now. The coronation, by the way, was huge. I didn¡¯t attend, obviously, but after a few days, I decided to check on my victims. I noticed that the duchess was still fighting it, but it won¡¯t be long.


    As for the brother I knew that he only had till morning, just by looking at him. It was late at night when was writing a letter to someone, probably his goodbyes. I wait a few hours after he lays down next to someone else for the night. Confident in knowing that he was sound asleep, I decide to sneak through his window and open his letter. It looks as though it was address to the brat.


    I could kill him now, or I could make the family grieve more. With this letter addressed to the boy, I decided to alter it a little making the boy come after me on his own. It might even be amusing as he set out to find me. I set some truth in it for it to be a little bit more believable, but made some details a little off as to not give away everything. I snuck out of the palace window and waited back in my inn listened to word on the streets for a while.


    The next morning, Aries Phendahl died. The curse was broken and my mana came back as did my abilities, the first thing I did was set out for the Void.


    Being in the Void I tried summoning the Ancient Void Army. After hours of trying, they didn¡¯t answer my call at all. It was uncommon knowledge that the Phendahl family had control over the Ancient Void Army. You either inherited the title of commander from the previous owner by hand down or killing them to take it for yourself. If the Phendahls was in control, then the title was handed down to Aries, the oldest brother.


    Technically speaking Aries should have had the title as duke as well, but I guess he gave that to his younger brother to cheer him up from his pouty fit, however, I don¡¯t believe he was commander of the Void Armies. The title should have been Aries¡¯, whom I killed, so I should have the title. So, why was it not working? As I pondered this I Void Step around the Void, trying to find an Arena but I only came across a mountain with dead vegetation and traps. I decided that I would run the trial of the mountain. Running to the top, I realized that no abilities were to be used, no matter, I went a century without them, what¡¯s a trip up a mountain?


    At the top was a shrine that a cup full of weird liquid, drinking said liquid made my consciousness slip from me, and by the time I regained my senses I was in an ancient arena. A coliseum to be precise, what made me smile ear to ear was that I had a feeling that this place was also connected to goddess.


    I returned to palace once again to check up on the new Queen. While I was away, they set up a time dungeon around her, she must not have much time. Throwing out my own aura I easily shatter the barrier. The queen was just lying in bed, would be what a passerby thought, but she was defiantly dying. Throwing her over my shoulders, I Void Step back to the Void to drop her off then I go back to the palace to find the king, I might as well use this in my plan to lure the goddess.


    I found the king pacing in his throne room, obvious worried about his wife, but unaware that she was no longer in the palace. I Void Step behind him to render him unconscious, but he sensed me behind him before I could strike. He blocked my strike with the Phendahl stylized blade of Void metals, but upon looking at my face his block faltered a little.


    ¡°You! Why are you here? How are you not dead?¡± He looked a little shocked at my familiar face.


    Sarcastically I said, ¡°I just felt like dropping by and saying congrats on becoming a king. Though I was in support of your brother being king, sorry.¡±


    His face erupted in fury, ¡°HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF HIM!¡±


    He rushed at me with his black sword in a series of slashes, I took a step back and appeared behind him and struck my fist in the back of his head hard enough to make him lose consciousness. I then administered a powerful dosage of the same poison that went by the name Soulless Anemia. He was heavier than his frail wife, but I managed to bring him to the Void and placed him near his wife. Hmm, for this to work I need an altar of sorts.


    Void Stepping to a church, I stole a golden altar and set it in the middle of the coliseum. Arranging the king and queen in such a way and the various materials around in a circle like so. I had to make sure all the crystals were ground into a fine dust and make several rings on the ground. Next I had the metals ground into dust as well and write words in ancient, dead language by mixing purified water with the metals, using this mixture as the ink. Next, I had my mana condensed into tangible ropes. I had these ropes connect the crystal rings into one giant circle. Next, I had to have the object that took me the longest to find, a personal object of the goddess when she was mortal.


    This object was a dagger made from a very outlandish metal that seemed to gain strength in darkness, it was mostly black with a red outline. I stabbed this object in the center of the rings and I walked over to the edge and turned around. I was about to perform a ritual that hadn¡¯t been done in millennia, the summoning of a deity. Pouring more mana into the magic circle, the items dissolved to nothing, and then there was a brilliant flash, so bright that I had to shield my eyes.


    When the light had subsided, I looked back to see a very beautiful figure before. Her skin was inky black, her robes were pure, sparkling white, that covered her lust inducing body. Also, I noticed black flames had popped in several places around us.


    ¡°Why have I been summoned?¡± She looked very confused as to why she was where she was at. I didn¡¯t blame her for being confused.


    ¡°I summoned you, and you will grant my wish.¡± I respond with my most resolute answer.


    Looking at me she seemed to look me over once or twice, ¡°What is your wish?¡±


    ¡°Godhood. I want to become a deity.¡±


    ¡°You are not the last of your race, I cannot grant your wish.¡± She gave me an apologetic look as if to blame it¡¯s the rules.


    I felt a smile press on my lips as I say, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that won¡¯t take long,¡± I looked at the Phendahls briefly.


    The Goddess followed my line of sight and took a step back as she realized what I had planned. Taking the obvious opening, I Void Step behind her and sent her sprawling on the ground. As she got up she just glared at me, ¡°I could destroy you, is that what you want?¡±


    ¡°If you could, you would¡¯ve done it by now. I summoned you in a mortal body. Not much you can do here.¡± She blanched when I called her bluff.


    Void Stepping behind her I grabbed her, kicking and screaming, I dragged her to the altar and chained her to the altar. I guess before I go after the boy, I¡¯ll have a little fun here.


    ¡­


    I had pulled my knife from the sliced up goddess. The blade glistened with the golden blood of the goddess. Looking at the face of my victim I could see she lights went out not too long ago. ¡°Hmm, blood of gold and tears of silver? Interesting.


    The scrolls were right, she was practically mortal when summoned. But if I did kill her, she wouldn¡¯t really die, she would just be released. So I got to be careful about cutting her up. I then felt the presence of someone watching me.


    I turn around to see the boy was early for his appointment. Oh well. So I straightened up and said, ¡°Oh, you came, how wonderful.¡±


    He looked thoroughly confused, ¡°Did you bring me here?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well, if I had to say, you brought yourself here, I just supplied the means.¡± I looked over to the goddess and realized that it was probably her doing, I gave a slight chuckle out of amusement.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He looked more confused, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I looked at him as if he was slow, then I laughed at myself. I forgot I set out that letter for him. ¡°My apologies, I lured you here. Did you really think that your uncle knew about me and left it up to you to save the Void? No, I altered his letter when he wasn¡¯t looking. He might not have even remembered me at all.¡±


    He looked truly shocked, he only asked, ¡°why?¡±


    A smile escaped my lips again ¡°The letter had some truth to it, to make it more real. There is a reason why there is an extermination of the Void Demon Race put into effect. There was a seal on my powers that the death of your uncle broke, however, I could have used you, your father or your mother to break the seal. The spell was placed on me by a traitor to our cause. One way to break such a flimsy seal is by kill your fellow species member.¡±


    He looked as if he had a hard time connecting the dots so continued, ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re thinking of the Soulless Anemia he died from. It¡¯s true he died from that, however it isn¡¯t a disease that everyone thinks it is. It¡¯s a poison. After the people started noticing that people were dying in a very particular way long ago, my¡­ organization found out that birds could carry the poison without being affected, we decided to inject some pheasants every once in a while. So when they started searching for a cause to the deaths, they found the pheasants and guessed it to be some rare disease. By the way my organization coined the term.¡±


    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Why indeed?


    ¡°For that reason right there! I inform you that your family isn¡¯t dying from an unfortunate outbreak in disease, but from an assassin¡¯s poison. Me, being the assassin.¡± I laughed at my own cleverness.


    He looked as if his top would blow at any moment, ¡°So why were you ordered to assassinate all the Void Demons? Aren¡¯t you a Void Demon?¡± I could only snort and inform him of what I learned from the scripts.


    ¡°So you exterminate a race and you are granted a wish.  Easiest race to exterminate would be the one with fewest in numbers, being the Void Demons. All in the name of a wish? That¡¯s nuts!¡± He seemed stunned by the information.


    But I could only shrug, ¡°Well, we are banking on it being a wish that will be granted on to us, however, if it comes up to be that there is no wish, which there may be not one, we get rid of one of the most powerful races of demons. It¡¯s a win-win.¡±


    ¡°So why here? How did you bring me here?¡± This is all that¡¯s been bothering me.


    ¡°Hmph, well, it was because I needed to trap a god as well. And what¡¯s better is that I can force her to bring her creations to this place.¡± I take glance at the altar to see if the goddess was still there. Confirming that she was I looked back at the boy.


    The boy was looking at my masterpiece in horror, when he looked back at me it looked as if he would jump at me at any given time, ¡°What have you done?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I wouldn¡¯t be too hasty if I were you.¡± I warned as I purposefully glanced at his parents¡¯ bodies. The boy froze.


    ¡°Hmmm, it seems you have calmed a little. If you are wondering how I got your mother out of that poor excuse of a Domain, I smashed it of course. It¡¯s a skill I developed myself.¡± I smiled, ¡°Your mother was already unconscious, however your father,¡± he chuckled, ¡°Your father was¡­ fun. He actually thought he stood a chance.¡±


    The dumb sap actually ran at me with sword in hand, Void Stepping into the sky, I dispersed my body into a fine mist of Hazy Aura. Looking down I noticed that he set up a Domain of his own pretty fast, he might be able to set one faster than me. Of course I shattered it as soon as he made it.


    He then had the idea of flying into the air but didn¡¯t realize he was flying straight for me, so when he got close enough to me I partially rematerialized myself and smashed him in the head. He fell a few feet before he turned around and spotted me. It looked as though he recognized the Hazy Aura skill, ¡°Haha, do you know this skill? It has a few specializations, you might really appreciate my specialization.¡±


    It looked as if he was pondering on which one I could have. Well, good thing he doesn¡¯t know. I don¡¯t have a specialization, I can turn into mist and get into tight spaces, nothing aside from regular mist. But he looks wary of my mist anyway. He then pondered for a while on what I assume would be a strategy, he got so caught up in it he did notice me approach at all. I got really close to him, he completed flipped when he noticed but I got caught by the slight gust that came off his wings.


    This didn¡¯t go unnoticed to the boy, he noticed that my misty form was affected by air flow. No matter, I faced this time and time again in the Death Matches in DSF. They all thought they were clever figuring it out much like this boy, that was until they found themselves dead. I thought of the Death Matches as I descended to the ground far below.


    Remembering those events it reminded me of my weapon. I ran at the boy at full speed taking out my family heirloom, a red curved blade, and struck down for him to receive the strike. The boy¡¯s sword slowly got pushed toward his body, he was just as weak as I thought he would be.


    He was able to deflect the sword to my right, his left. I was about to take another swing, that was when I noticed that he took a cheap shot and gashed my leg. He jumped back to look at my face, I was used to pain so I made no expression, I did hover dash at him again, but I wanted to scare him this time. So right before our blades connected I turned into mist and almost touched him again. I do have to admit, this boy has some fast reflexes.


    I let him get away a little to see what he will do next. I even flash a smile out of the fog to aggravate him more. I noticed a highly condensed blue mana ball in his hand before he slammed it into the pale yellow ground. The ground turned purple in a thirty foot radius, the  purple ground spewed purple fog. Out of the fog fifty columns rose and gave way to fifty black skeletons. Each Skeleton was clothed purple smoke and silver armor, each had silver handled, black bladed swords as well. So this is where Phendahl¡¯s got their swords from.


    The boy pumped mist into ten of the skeletons until they grew a time and a half bigger and thicker than the normal ones. He then summoned two more and pumped them with far more mana than the other ten. The fog around condensed around the skeletons forming a bluish skin. I observed that he used the ground that still held some of his mana like a mana network and delegated kills to the small army.


    To be honest I did complain a little, ¡°It was supposed to be me¡­¡±


    The boy actually had the guts to say, ¡°Looks like I beat you to the punch. So your beef is with me, so let my parents go!¡±


    I had to shake my head, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I need them dead, along with you. I am letting no one leave.¡± I let energy pour out of me and thicken the air. It then exploded out, trapping everyone in the Arena in a dome of red energy. Red fog covered the ground and out of the fog came a horde of gargoyles that took to the air and slew of giant lizards that took the ground.


    That shall keep him busy. Turning my attention back to the parents and the altar I had an idea, I want him to suffer just a little more before I snatch a way everything, including his life. Grabbing his parents I set them by the altar beside the goddess who was now awake and grasping the situation that had taken place. ¡°Alexander! Stop him!¡±


    The boy thought he could get the jump on me, but I dodged a slash at my head when he appeared behind me. I elbowed him in his diaphragm, rendering him unable to move. When he was about to stand up I kicked him in the face, sending him flying. That was when I wanted to look around at the battle field. What?! My army was practically gone.


    ¡°You are a little more outstanding than I imagined.¡± I marched over to the altar and stabbed my dagger deep within my own arm, letting my black blood ooze over, I then stab the dagger straight into the lower ribs of the goddess, she was only able to let out a wheezing sound.


    I glanced at the boy as smeared the golden blood across my own wounds, I was suddenly hit with a wave ultimate pleasure. With the pleasure came immense power, I felt more invigorated than I had ever thought imaginable. This stuff was good.


    I made eye contact with the boy and thought one word: move. The boy was sent sailing across the field. I noticed that the last of my army was gone, but that¡¯s fine. Forgoing the magic circle, I used the immense amount power flowing through my veins into summoning a tier three dragon. The power transfer gouged the very ground creating a ravine letting all the fog escape its depths until a huge mountain appeared before us.


    I had to send orders telepathically for it to obey me, it did take a while to do so. But when it started to attack the boy I turned my attention back to the altar and walked over to the goddess once more. Ah, it was risky stabbing her in the ribs but it will be fine. I decided to bottle up some of the golden blood before I continue in torturing the goddess more.


    Just as I sliced into her elbow and led the blade down to her ring finger. I was about to trace each finger with the knife until I witnessed my Domain Shatter in the background and just like that the Catalyst Dragon all my commands and started to do its own thing. Admittedly that irritated me. Through a bit of pacing I calmed down a little. I decided to end things here and go after the brat myself.


    It was then that I felt a powerful force smash against my temple, I almost passed out from the impact. I rolled on the ground for a bit before dispersing my form again. I did not expect him to release an ultra-powerful gust that sent my form quite a bit a ways from the altar. To fix this issue I Void Stepped beside the Queen and supported her body with one arm and had knife in my other hand.


    ¡°Alexander, don¡¯t look! No, no, no. Alexander, please look this way.¡± The goddess¡¯ pleas fell on deaf ears as he watched helplessly as I pierced his mother¡¯s heart. I then drop her body, which fell to the ground as I walked over to the king I noticed the boy was frozen but not broken. I guessed his might be weak right now so I peered into his mind and saw that he was now clinging to the thoughts of not his parent¡¯s but of a group of girls that was in a familiar location.


    I racked my brain on where this might be and as I did I didn¡¯t notice that the king woken up or that he walked past me. When I came to my senses, he was already clutching his dead wife¡¯s body, rocking back and forth, weeping. I walked behind him and stole his life in one quick flick of the blade. He crumpled over his wife¡¯s body, lifeless. I plucked a feather off his wings and stuffed it into the Void Space. Just as I did so I remembered where I saw that scene with the girls, they were outside of Caslor. I jumped into a Void Step and I grabbed one of the girls that was close to me and Void Stepped back into the arena.


    Looking back at girl I brought, it happened to be the one with a wolves tail and ears, A beastman? He cherishes a beastman as well? Hmm, oh well. I look at him dead in the eye as I hold the little girl with a knife at her throat.

 Side Story: Aria Part Two

    Today is a happy day. There haven¡¯t been many because of various circumstances recently, but today is happy. Last night got a little out of hand, I admit, but it was totally worth it. We tried to take Master¡¯s mind off things with a little distracting.I learned that Princess Chloe is prankster along with Louise, it must be a Fire Demon trait. It was evident when they pulled Master¡¯s and Princess Ashley¡¯s undergarments down. I saw it as well, the flesh between Master¡¯s legs. It¡¯s stuck in my head, and I wouldn¡¯t mind seeing it again, or maybe¡­Anyway, after breakfast we told to hold hands and jump.


    When we landed on the ground we were in the Noble District of Starwind City, the Astral Kingdoms capital. We then looked at map and split up into groups. Master really knows his way around the city, and he is also really popular as well, just by saying his name you get discounts.I was really curious, so much so, I had to ask him why. After a weird comment that he sometimes made from time to time, he told me an amazing story that took place just a few years ago that he started.


    He then took me to shop for sweets. While we were there, some weird lady tackled him, I thought she was going to attack but they seemed to be old friends the more they talked.After Master said a few words to this Maddison lady, she dragged him into the kitchen. In the kitchen he started doing kinds of things over the stove that seemed very professional like. After a few minutes the very air was tasty, it almost divine. A few more minutes later and we sat at the table with his creation and we got to eat it.


    The first bite, my mouth twitched, my tongue wiggled beyond my will and I swallowed it before I could taste it. I remember thinking that was weird, so I tried it again but this time I made sure to taste it before swallowing. Honestly speaking, this was absolute best thing I had ever eaten in my entire existence. It was like I found the very reason for my existence. I tried to savor every bite but I kept eating it faster and faster before it was all gone.


    For a while I just stared at my plate, until I heard Master smile. Yes, I heard his smile. Every time Master smiles, his lips part just a little, and when they do, they make this very faint sound that no one else notices. It¡¯s a very lovely sound to me.After the delicious meal, we went to a Tailor Shop, where I had my first ¡°compromise.¡± I made a compromise with Master and ended up getting clothes just like his, which the next best thing to actually getting his clothes. Master then gave the tailor a lot of his feathers.


    After a visit with the tailor, Master made his way toward the Merchants Guild, where we were to meet with the others. It was pretty funny that everyone decided to where the same thing as Master, but only I will get his clothes. We decided to hang around the steps of the Merchants Guild and chat around for a while.There were a few angry merchants that approached us and were about to yell at us, but stopped as soon as they saw Master¡¯s face. I found it strange that this happened more than once, actually quite a few times, but each time they just turned away. Master wasn¡¯t giving off any threatening aura, so why were they acting this way?


    When dusk started creeping on us, Master decided to go back to the tailor, saying something about dinner. It was then that a date was mentioned that everyone got all giggly and nervous, I was shaking as well, I couldn¡¯t wait, and didn¡¯t dates involve food? My mouth was watering already.


    When we arrived, the tailor was overjoyed to have completed his work; he was even moved to tears. He barely gave it to Master before he had to return to the back of the shop to resume weeping in joy. From that point Master presented the dress to me and told me to get changed, showing me to the dressing room. It might have been because of my bad experience at clothing shops, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to go in the room by myself. I would almost shut down just thinking about it.


    ¡°I want you with me. I¡¯m scared. I don¡¯t like tailor shops, so please¡­¡± This was all I could say, but I looked up at him to at least understand this much. After a few moments, Master gave me a curt nod and led the way to the small room.


    Upon entering immediately, Master turned his back toward me and started getting undressed. Between me and Master was a wall, a wall of feathers separating him from me, with me being close to the exit. I could be taken away at any moment and no one would notice, no one would stop it. I would be alone, helpless. At that moment, Flonach¡¯s and Zaebzhar¡¯s faces popped into my head, I couldn¡¯t take it anymore.My body ignored my will and I found myself hugging Master from the backside. Feeling his gentle warmth underneath the feathers, put my heart at ease, I never want to leave Master¡¯s side. With a little shuffling I found myself in a warm embrace that reminded me of our first encounter. I was crying back then.


    This was a tiny room that barely fit the two of us, I kind of liked this aspect of it. Since it was so tiny, Master was forced to undress me and slip me into the dress. The dress was absolutely beautiful, I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m wearing it. Not only was it beautiful but it was also made from Master¡¯s feathers. A piece of Master that I can keep close by me at all times, I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    I noticed Master staring at me with a certain look in his eyes, knowing how he was feeling was raising my body temperature as I couldn¡¯t help but move my body closer to his at an already close distance.I asked even though I vaguely knew the answer, ¡°H-How do I look?¡±Without skipping a beat, my mouth was connected with Master¡¯s, and it seemed as if Master wanted to take right there in that small room, it seemed as if I was the only thing he could see at that moment. I know he said something, but to be honest I was incoherent until I smelled that delicious spaghetti.


    I didn¡¯t realize we had already walked to Sister Appleroot¡¯s Sweets, but they already holding a conversation with the shop owner. I then heard that this wasn¡¯t the only shop that she owned but that they were all over the place, including the Demon Realm¡¯s capital and all over the Imperial Domain. I didn¡¯t really get it but she owned a lot of stores, meaning she was really famous. She then said something even more outstanding, that she actually inherited this massive company from Master. I knew he was amazing but I didn¡¯t think he could run a business.


    After many hours of laughing and eating delicious food, it was very late into the night and Master wanted to go into an inn. There was a mean elf that frightened me a lot but Master talked to a nice little elf and wound up in one room due to all of us wanting to be in the same room. Master just dove into the bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow, I immediately snuggled up against him, to hear his nice even breathing. This was the best part of sleeping with him was listening to his breathing it was like a lullaby.


    A few hours passed, everyone had already taken their positions in bed and was fast asleep, it was at this time I heard the door open and I recognized the familiar stature of the shop owner of the food place walk in. I was about to ask why she was here but I didn¡¯t to wake everyone else so I remained silent. She then crawled on top of Master¡¯s back, but he didn¡¯t stir, he never does. There was no movement on her behalf so I fell asleep assuming she did as well.


    When we awoke, everyone made a fuss that big sister Maddie was tagging along, but it didn¡¯t go much beyond that, since everyone knew that she probably had many connections that would bode not well for people that angered her. At least that¡¯s what Louise told me. After a rather bland breakfast provided by the Inn, we set out for the City of Crossroads in the Dukedom of Caslor.


    We walked all day, but not without boredom. Eventually we started coming up with games, most of them ending because of confusion of score or boredom, though Master came up with simple ones that were interesting. It was an all-day walk and eventually we walked across the borders of the Shienriech Dukedom of the Astral Kingdom and the Caslor Dukedom of the Demon Realm.


    At that point we stopped and set up camp, for dusk was drawing close and we were all exhausted. Master told everyone as we were setting up camp, ¡°We have official crossed the border into another country!¡±


    Chloe got close to him and said, ¡°Well, this border is a fresh one, so no one notices the crossing of lines yet. However, I have a feeling you will change that.¡± At that comment, Master smiled and Chloe then continues, ¡°Perhaps we can erase these borders with time and children, being a prince and princess of different countries could-¡±


    Master cut her off, ¡°Oh, but you aren¡¯t next in line for the throne are you, so our children, won¡¯t be combing the countries, now will they?¡±


    As he said that Chloe leaned really close, ¡°Oh, so now you are agreeing with having children with me?¡±


    Master got really flustered, after a few minutes everyone fighting over Master, he quickly escaped. It really made me sad because I was about to pounce on him before he could escape, so instead I decided to follow him. I noticed that he stopped behind the tent and closed his eyes and what I saw amazed me, his skin rippled with mana, changing some of his features.His horns grew a fork in them as if they wanted to be antlers, and his claws had mana congregate over them. His feathers developed purple tips on them, much like his uncle Ares, and his tail grew thin and elongated.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Lastly his frame developed a hazy aura that made it hard to see him for a little while and his canines elongated. I watched his metamorphosis with interest. When he opened his eyes, he looked confused as if something that was meant to happen didn¡¯t.


    Master then shook off the confusion and started to take a few steps then began to fall, he had passed out and was sweating profusely. I rushed over as fast as I could go only to notice that he vanish mid fall.


    Where did Master go? Is he pulling a prank on me? I waited a few moments before searching again. I don¡¯t smell him, where is he? I don¡¯t see him. Did he leave me? Am I abandoned? Where did he go? I don¡¯t want to be abandoned, please don¡¯t go! I don¡¯t want you to leave me! I promise I will be a good girl, so please don¡¯t leave!I searched the tents, I asked everyone else and we searched for hours well into the dark, I would have continued but they told me I would get lost and to stay in the campsite. I don¡¯t know where Master is, I need to find him, but I can¡¯t. I am so useless. That maybe the reason why he abandoned me, I am so useless.I am so sorry please come back, I will get better, so please¡­ don¡¯t go.


    I don¡¯t know when it happened but I fell asleep, and my face felt gross from the dried tears. So rubbing my face I took note my surroundings, it was morning and I was surrounded by both the princess and Louise.  Big sister Maddie was across from me in the tent, ¡°Relax. We know where the boss went.¡± She must had seen my face, ¡°No, he didn¡¯t abandon you, and no we can¡¯t see him. It looks like someone dragged him to the Void. Much like what he did the Burnhearts.¡±


    Now I was confused, ¡°But who would do that?¡±Maddie looked at Louise, ¡°Someone who is no friend of ours. He seems tough and it seems Alex will have a tough time against him. Truly this will make for a good book in his scriptures, I just don¡¯t have the right to see it. Its shame Louise can¡¯t see into the Void very well using her clairvoyance.¡±


    ¡°When did you-¡±


    I was cut off by Ashley, ¡°It was when you passed out from overexerting yourself, silly.¡±Louise spoke up, ¡°Well I can¡¯t see very well in the Void and it takes a lot of energy to look into Void but from what I can tell, he is climbing a mountain of some sort. I need to get some rest to regain some of that energy.¡±


    Everyone else nodded and laid down to get some rest. But before they fell asleep, Princess Chloe looked into my eyes with an absolute calmness that was completely queen like, ¡°You are not worthless, and I am sure that My Darling doesn¡¯t think of you as such as well. So be at ease.¡±


    She then rolled over and let out slow even breaths that usually accompany sleep. I was alone yet again. It took all that I had not to break down again. I slowed down my breaths and thought to myself over and over, ¡®he does care, I am not useless, he loves me.¡¯ After doing this banter for a while, I felt the tightness in my chest start easing up a little at a time.


    I wasn¡¯t completely relaxed but I was enough to move around now. Exiting the tent I look around and see that there was breakfast prepared already and that my portion was the only one left. I sat down cross-legged to dig in to the meal. It didn¡¯t smell as good as Master made it was more delicious than a lot of things I have eaten in the past. I ate two-thirds of the plate before I felt tired of it. Remembering last nights¡¯ scene in my head, I remembered further back to the dress that made me feel so beautiful and safe. Master offered to store but I wanted to keep it in my bag, for it was beautiful. Remembering the black feathered dress I walk over to my leather bag and pull out the soft silk and feathers.Looking at the dress, something changed. The feathers that were once solid black, now had purple tips. Just like last night when Master¡¯s body went through some changes, his feathers changed as well. I decided to put on the dress.


    Slipping all the feathers across my skin, I felt safe, secure, and warm. I smiled a bit as I held myself. I felt better as if Master was here with me. After a while I remembered where I was and so I started doing chores. I gathered the dishes into one pile and trash into another. The fire was now absent and been reduced to burning coals. So I decided that I will be useful for a change and fetch some firewood.


    After a few hours of sweat, I gathered a small pile of firewood and built a nice fire. The others were still resting, I guess they didn¡¯t get any sleep last night. I was already early evening but I let them sleep, I kept the dress on and not dared to take it off. ¡°Ah, Master. Where are you?¡± I say to myself.


    *SNAP*


    A twig crunches to right of me, and a dark voice raised a question, ¡°Then why don¡¯t I show you where he is?¡± I couldn¡¯t get so much of as a peep before I was grabbed and the scenery changed before my very eyes. The ground was pale yellow, the sky inky black with purple hazes in the distance. We were surrounded by ancient architecture and black fire everywhere. In front of me in this alien environment was altar with a pitch black lady that was bleeding gold and two lifeless purple corpses. Upon further inspection my blood ran cold as I easily recognized who they were. A kind mother and a serious father of Master, their bodies lay on top of each other.


    No, no, no. Why are they here? A sharp blade pricked my neck as I looked at the scene laid out before me. I realized that I was captured a little too late, due to all the bizarre things I just seen. I tinkled a little, all the while I shook like a leaf and my nose began to run. I¡¯m going to die.


    Looking to beyond I saw Master. I felt a little relieved until I saw his face, the light had left his eyes, and his aura released a haziness that made it hard to focus but he emitted bloodlust that would only be satisfied with death.  Was this Master? He was so terrifying that I don¡¯t know if he will come back to his senses. Will his kindness that I have grown to love be back or will he remain the executioner forever?


    The guy who had me at knife point yelled at Master, ¡°So what will it be? The girl or you? We can continue this game if I kill this girl, I know there are more at your camp.¡±


    Master¡¯s body vanished suddenly and the man muttered, ¡°So it¡¯s going to be that way, well more fun for me.¡± He got ready to slice my neck but I was suddenly knocked to the side by something blunt. Looking backward from where I was, I saw nobody, not even the bad man.I heard clashing of metals all around the Arena. When the sparking stopped I saw them for split instances before the vanished. As I stood up, a clash of swords crashed beside me with Master the only one staying behind. He scanned the area briefly before the bad man appeared behind him throwing his arm into a stabbing motion aiming for Master¡¯s back. Master was close enough so this allowed me to push him out of the way of the knife.


    Unfortunately I was not as lucky as master and I received the knife right under my ribs.The knife didn¡¯t penetrate the dress for some unknown reason. However the blunt force did make me drop to my knees as it had knocked the wind out of me. He meant to kill Master, I don¡¯t know how- oh the purple tips of the feathers gave a faint glow, I guess it was the feathers that shielded me.¡°


    ARIA, NOO!!! I will KILL YOU!¡± Master doesn¡¯t know that I was only winded, but I couldn¡¯t tell him that I¡¯m alright because I couldn¡¯t catch my breath. I could only Listen for a short while.¡°Huh, well, I guess time for a new toy. Be back in a moment, he stepped backwards and vanished into thin air but simultaneously Master rushed forward and grabbed unto him and pulled the bad guy out of the air.


    ¡°Not so fast you Slimeball. I¡¯m going to make this hurt.¡± It appears that the bad man was paralyzed from being pulled back from where he was just at. Then the most gruesome scene I have set eyes upon started.


    Master started at the hands and feet and flayed them, skinning and shaving off flesh, occasionally stabbing his sword in to the arm or leg. A few times he chopped off a finger, a toe or a whole hand. When the paralysis wore off screams echoed into the air as the bad man gained control over his own vocal chords. Master then started to repeated punch him in the face until none of his teeth remain and his consciousness had been obliterated.


    The bad man was nothing but a pile of unrecognizable pulp, but he was still breathing even if it was rugged. Seeing as that the bad man had been subdued Master walk over to me and was found shocked when he learned that I had not perished, I can tell that he couldn¡¯t express how happy he was to know that I wasn¡¯t dead. He started crying from all the stress, sorrow, anger, and relief hitting him all at once. Sitting up I pulled him down to cry unto my shoulders and held as he mourned for his parents.


    After the cries died down, we heard a gentle voice from the altar, ¡°My child, come to me.¡± It was so soothing that the scene that was laid out had been shoved to back of our minds, and I could feel that he was calming down little by little as we approached the altar.

 Chapter 32: A Dance of Feathers

    I am not sure when I started crying or when I stopped, but all I know is that I was struck with a sudden sadness, that started to ebb away. I had blacked out till the point where I was already walking side by side with Aria toward the goddess chained at the altar.


    After we approached her I noticed the chains a little late, so to ease the awkwardness just by a bit, I severed the chains and free the goddess. The goddess sat up and tended to her wounds and said, ¡°You have gone through much pain my child. Right now, you may be questioning why you are calm right now.¡± She paused long enough for me to nod my head and proceeded, ¡°Right now I am guarding your mind from falling too much into despair. I do this because you have a kind soul, and this may warp it if it is hit with the brute force of this tragedy. You done me a great service my child. I will hear to any request you may have.¡±


    ¡°Parents,¡± I want them back, it was too soon for them to leave this world. I can¡¯t run things in their place, people rely on them¡­ I rely on them. ¡°I want my parents.¡±


    The goddess¡¯ wounds had all but disappeared and she had already wiped away her tears with her horribly stained dress that still looked like art. She paused for a moment and then replied, ¡°Is this what you wish for? Right now, they are in paradise and to join my side upon my return, are you sure you want them to be brought back?¡±


    Paradise? Out of everything they went through in their lives, they deserved this. I can¡¯t take this away from them. ¡°No, I can¡¯t do that to them. I¡¯d never hear the end of it.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but give a bitter smile at my frustration.


    ¡°You can see them whenever you want, one of your skills recalls Void Demons of the past temporarily.¡± The goddess informed me.


    ¡°Really? I can? How so?¡±


    The goddess thought for a while and then answered my question with another question, ¡°What happens when you use your power as Commander of the Void Army?¡±


    ¡°It summons a skeleton.¡±


    ¡°What happens when imbue them with power?¡±


    ¡°They gain flesh,¡± seeing where this was going I continued, ¡°more power means more flesh and if I use enough power I call back specific Void Demons.¡±


    The goddess only smiled if to confirm this, she then stood up and came within arms distance of me. She started to stroke my hair as if I were a close relative. ¡°You know, for the record I am allowed to dote on you.¡± I could only look at her, seeing my puzzled face she laughed, ¡°I may or may not have had a hand in the creation of the Void Demons, so you can simply think of me as your third mother.¡±


    ¡°Third?¡± I was confused until I remembered that I did not start here.


    ¡°Yes, we haven¡¯t had someone from the Creator¡¯s realm come here in ages, all the souls here are basically recycled. Wiped clean, and put up for the market.¡± Did she really make light of reincarnation?


    ¡°So why are you allowed to dote on me now not and before? What happens now, that you can?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t allowed to because, we never met in person. I use to dote on Aries, however he gave me the cold shoulder when he met that elf girl. He preferred her over me, and now that I think about it, I don¡¯t know how I feel about that.¡± She puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.


    The light conversation made me forget about my dead parents briefly, upon remembering I felt slightly guilty. It was a little aggravating not being able to experience the full emotion but I suppose it was for my good. I walk over to my parents and I remove a feather from my father¡¯s wings and just stared at it. A few minutes later, I was joined by the goddess and I noticed that their bodies slowly sink into the ground until they were no longer seen.


    I recognized it to be the goddess¡¯ doing so I just grabbed the smoothest looking of rubble and etched an epitaph into them and set the gravestones where their bodies were. The goddess then spoke up, ¡°The feathers¡­ Do you know anything behind the custom?¡±


    After mulling it over in my head I could come up with a few examples on what it could mean but I just left at, ¡°My mother never told me, only that it was something you were supposed to do.¡±


    ¡°It was a tradition started by my family in a few generations before me. It was said, at the time, ¡®a demon¡¯s essence was left behind in the feathers if they had them.¡¯ Some demons had done it for a while before my family, but we made it tradition.¡± She looked back as she reminisced in her past, ¡°It was such a profound thing to do in my opinion, ¡®to have your loved one with you at all times, and when your time was up, you could dance with them with your very own feather¡¯, I made it instinctual when I created your race. So when you saw a dead member of your own race it was then made instinctual to pick one feather.¡± She smiled.


    I could see that be a weakness of the race but it looked as though no one thought of it as one and I¡¯ve never heard of anyone exploiting such instincts, so I thought that it was fine. Upon hearing the goddess¡¯ fondness for the feather collecting traditions, I thought of my request.


    ¡°Hey, goddess-¡±


    ¡°Anelia, call me Anelia.¡±


    ¡°Hey Anelia, I just thought of my request.¡±


    The goddess perked up, ¡°Oh? Then let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    ¡°I want your feather¡­ if that is possible.¡±


    The goddess seemed stunned at first by the request, then she smiled a most pleased look I have seen her wear yet. ¡°You most certainly may. Though, my original feathers have disappeared long ago, I will grant a few of your feathers my mark. They will look as mine had long ago.¡± Saying this, she ran her fingers through my feathers and a few of them changed from having purple tips to having a downward facing silver crescent. ¡°There, and all of your descendants will have the mark on their body in some way.¡±


    She smiled at me once more and repeated, ¡°I am allowed to dote on you, remember that. Of course in me doing so, you have to answer my calls.¡± She left it as a deal, as if I had already agreed to it. Oh well, it was very mother like, so I left it at that.


    I was considering Void Stepping after saying goodbye to Anelia, but then I was curious about a matter, so I stayed. ¡°Umm, Anelia?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, yes, my child?¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Creation. Not the very beginning, but the creation of my race and how you came up with it.¡± I said.


    The goddess once again looked at me as if she was really impressed about something and continued smiling. ¡°I am glad we have met today, let¡¯s see creation of your race.¡± We had walked back to the altar and sat down with the goddess sitting across from me and Aria in my lap. The goddess then continued, ¡°Long ago, there were a total of eight races; Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Night Demons, along with Humans and their powerful cousins, the Superians. There were Angels here and there, but they didn¡¯t stay long.¡±


    The goddess tilted here head up as she continued, ¡°I am sure there was another race before that though, since there are now three of us. I¡¯ve never seen him, and Icaldir won¡¯t say anything, so that remains a mystery.¡±


    I had to cut in, ¡°Wait, there are three gods?¡±


    She slowly shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him, but I can sense him. Icaldir won¡¯t tell me about anything before my time so I don¡¯t know about it.¡±


    I guess I understand, ¡°Anyway, you said something about Angels?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes the Angels. They had wings like demons, but had halos. They are supposed to be the handymen of the Creator and other gods. However, this world is really dense with magic and it pulled them from the realm the gods use to watch over Zugrielia, straight to Iacela. After whoever was in charge saw this, they stopped using Angels and just left the ones in the world be. I heard that from one of them when I was a kid. They disappeared when I turned twelve. I suppose they were recalled by the creator.¡±


    I looked at her in amazement then I saw a little inconsistency, ¡°Wait, you said there eight races, you included your own along with the race the Icaldir was a part of.¡±


    ¡°I am impressed you caught that. Indeed, we were mortal at the same time. I never saw him in his mortal form, because I was on the other side of the continent. His ascent into godhood happened when I was two hundred five years old, so he is one thousand years my senior when it comes to godhood, but I am older than him, so that puts us at a tie.¡±


    ¡°I see. So you lived to be over one thousand?¡±


    She stuck her chest out proudly, ¡°I lived to be one thousand two hundred fifty three years old, before I ascended to godhood. Not many got to be that age, I hear it doesn¡¯t happen at all now, I also didn¡¯t know that my race was being hunted either. You may not know, but the Night Demons¡¯ biggest weakness was the inability to turn down challenges. I was married and I was challenged with never accepting another challenge, I came close so many times. My husband, his name was so hard to pronounce, everyone just called him General¡±


    ¡°Before I knew it though, I was the only Night Demon. The other one was my baby, which he died at the hands of my husband.¡± She looked stricken with unfathomable sorrow, and then continued, ¡°He then turned on me and I ran for my life. I couldn¡¯t trust anyone, so I kept running. I couldn¡¯t sleep through the night, because of everything that just happened. When dawn hit I was standing in the presence of a god, Icaldir. He gave me the option to join his side in godhood, so I took it, having no ties to the world below.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t speak as I watched silver tears slowly form at the edge of her eyes. After a moment she continued, ¡°It turns out he was after immortality, and I was going to be the last target to achieve it, because there is a grace period between being last mortal to being a deity. He didn¡¯t get what he wanted, but I don¡¯t know what became of him.¡± She wiped away the silver again, ¡°So, remembering my loved ones I wanted to make a race in their likeness, but I forbidden in doing so. Next I wanted to make a race with no faults, yet again I forbidden in doing so. I had to make a race that had as many faults as did perfections.¡±


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    That made sense; many games on Earth play the same rules when putting stats into character designs. She continued, ¡°Playing with the DNA a little, I took my own DNA and altered that. I made the skin purple, the wings span wider, and the standard height a smidge taller. You already know about the abilities, which by the way stemmed from my love for travel, but I had to argue to keep these with the few faults I gave the race. The system requires a certain level of faults to balance out the advantages, the worse the disadvantage; the better you can make the advantage, but that is vague. So through some heavy negotiations, I got away with low amounts of faults.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how my race came to be. In a way, you really are my third mother.¡±


    ¡°See I told you.¡± She smiled, ¡°Oh, and Icaldir was the one responsible for creating the lesser Demons. He got a creating rampage, and is responsible for all the ones you see today. He is a little miffed that despite being the one that created them, they worship me.¡± She giggled a little.


    ¡°Hey, goddess, I mean Anelia, can I make another request? I swear this is the last one for today.¡± I begged.


    The goddess let out a loud chuckle before answering, ¡°What is it, my child?¡±


    I looked up at her and said, ¡°I know that it would be possible for me to achieve this on my own, but it would very taxing to maintain. I would like the skill to open permanent and semi-permanent portal.¡±


    The goddess took a moment to ponder, ¡°I am allowed to dote on you, so why not? It will come with a price though.¡±


    She stood up with me, ¡°Then, I choose to not be able to taste things that are not meant to be eaten.¡±


    ¡°And how is this a disadvantage that would offset this skill?¡± She raised an eyebrow. Aria looked just as curious.


    ¡°I won¡¯t able to taste poison. I could die you know, I would say that is a disadvantage.¡± I gave a sarcastic tone at the end to emphasis the last sentence.


    The goddess looked at me in awe and said, ¡°How clever, that¡¯s the kind of negotiation I used. Very well, you pass.¡± She rubbed her hands together then pointed at me, instantly releasing a bolt of surprisingly painless electricity. With the bolt came a surge of energy.


    *PING*


    Skill Unlock


    Structural Portal


    This ability lets the user to create a portal that can be used by different entities at different times. You can even link place you haven¡¯t been to, but this cost more Mana to complete.


    Well, that felt awesome. After an hour of chatting with the goddess, I decided that I had better leave, but I had the sneaking suspicion that I would see her again.


    I took Aria into one arm and the near lifeless body of Janus in the other and Void Stepped into the camp base. It seems the girls are asleep despite being evening. My guess is, they slept all day.


    And then a few screens popped up before my eyes.


    *PING*


    End of Battle


    60, 910 experience gained, 50,620 more till level up


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 11


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 12


    You have leveled up, You have reached level 13


    Title Change


    Your title has change from ¡®Punisher of the Wicked¡¯ to ¡®The Tormentor of Evil¡¯


    +15 Vitality, +15 Strength, +15 Dexterity


    Title Gain


    You have gained the title, ¡®Anelia¡¯s Favorite¡¯


    You have unlocked this title through various events, this title significantly raises the unseen pious stat. Religious figures will show more respect to you now.


    That will be very interesting, and handy if I need to pull a favor from a priest.


    Skill Unlock


    Due to your meeting with a certain deity, you have learned the skill:


    Structural Portal Creation


    Alright, that will come in handy when I inforce some new laws I just thought up. I wave off the last two screens that showed an upgrade to some of my abilities and upgradable traits. I will deal with that later. My presence has now gone unnoticed; I only realize this as I am tackled by three masses. Looking at the pile on top of me I recognize the shapes to be Louise, Chloe, and Ashley.


    ¡°We were so worried, we didn¡¯t know if you¡¯d make it back at all.¡± Chloe looked at me with tears in her eyes.


    Ashley slowly got off of me while leaving the statement, ¡°I know it wasn¡¯t your fault, but please don¡¯t leave us like that again. It honestly scared me.¡±


    All the while Louise and Maddison did not say anything. Louise did not let go, but I was able to sit up, and with them gathered around me, I said, ¡°We have to return to Palace, and shortly after we will head to the Demon King. I need to set up a coronation, I have a kingdom to run.¡± A pang of sorrow hit me then ebbed away, thanks to the goddess. ¡°My only question to you guys is, do you want to stay with me afterwards? It¡¯s going to be a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, and quite frankly, I could use the help.¡±


    They all look at other with their mental communication and looked back at me and all exclaimed in unison, ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Alright, to the Palace. Grab unto me, I have to carry this one.¡± I say as grab the lump of nearly dead flesh at my feet. We fall into another Void Step before arriving inside the throne room of the palace back home.


    I quickly take notice of the busy surroundings. Maids were scurrying everywhere, when caught sight of me, they rushed over and I quickly found out that it was Melinda, the head maid. She looks me up and down frantically and yells, ¡°Where have you been? Oh, never mind that your parents are gone. Help us find them!¡± Her yelling caused all the maids to stop momentarily.


    Another quick pain of loss hit me, ¡°I am sorry, I cannot do that. They are dead.¡±


    Melinda stopped dead in her tracks, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They are dead, they died in Void at the hands of this scumbag,¡± I say the last with as much disdain as I could muster while simultaneously throwing the near lifeless corpse on the ground.


    ¡°Is he?¡±


    ¡°No. Does the Palace have a dungeon? If so, take him there. I want him bound up to where he can¡¯t move a muscle. I will deal with him later.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to kill him?¡± She asked, expecting a yes, but when shook my head, she asked astounded, ¡°Why not? He killed your parents!¡±


    ¡°Oh, and I do intend to make him pay. By rotting in the dungeon and being physically and mentally tortured for the next few centuries. It¡¯s a fate worse than death. And when I find that he grows used to one form of torture, I will come up with another one. His mind, body and spirit will be decimated, completely obliterated with no chance of mending in the slightest.¡±


    Melinda seemed pleased with my sentencing, though a little horrified that I could come up with such things, she dragged the body to a hall that jutted to the left of the room. I walked to wing at the right and made an immediate left that was something like that of a meeting room, I will have it later remodeled to be a receptionist area. Toward the farthest wall, I activated my newly acquired skill and made archway outline in the middle of the room.


    I turned toward Chloe, ¡°We are about to enter your father¡¯s throne room, but in order to that I need you to place your hand on the wall and picture with as much detail as possible.¡± She nodded her head and did as I said. While she was concentrating, I fed my Mana into the archway until a blue glow formed and spun faster and faster toward the middle of the archway. I felt my mana sapping away very quickly, until I barely had any left, did the image of room on the other side appear.


    The room was splendidly grand, with red carpet that trailed to the center of the room, walls that seemed to never end going up, and a giant trail of fire behind the throne, setting the room aglow. We all stepped through the portal and looked in awe as we instantaneously arrived from side of the country to another. We were surprised but not as surprised as the Demon King, whom was slack jawed since the portal opened.


    ¡°Evening, Father.¡± Chloe bowed to the Demon King.


    ¡°Evening, Daughter. Why are you here, and how- never mind I don¡¯t want to know that answer. So, why are you here?¡± He said as he recovered a bit.


    ¡°I have some bad news. My parents are dead, I have captured the culprit while he was in the Void, put not in time to save my parents. I have him in my dungeons and will deal out the sentencing tomorrow at the earliest. But moving on to the subject at hand, I don¡¯t exactly know how to set a coronation, so I wanted advise from you.¡±


    While the Demon King pondered for a while, he looked at me and said, ¡°You first send invitations to everyone you know. Whether they show up or not is completely up to them, unless it is your vassals, they are required by law to show up. The only way for you to be recognized as a King by other Kings is if you get crowned by a Pope, though not mandatory, it is tradition.¡±


    The Demon King then continued, ¡°Next you set a date, and then on that date, when the Pope enters your throne room, you kneel before him he shall crown you. He will leave, and you are a King. At least that¡¯s how it¡¯s been for me, afterwards I throw a ball dance.¡±


    ¡°Ah, thank you. Consider yourself invited, oh, and I hope this portal doesn¡¯t bother you. It allows instant travel between your Palace and mine.¡±


    ¡°I will attend and indeed? That will make it a lot easier to visit, if only we had this convenience earlier. Oh, well. I have a meeting here in a few minutes, so can I ask we adjourn?¡± With that we bid each other good bye, seeing that people were entering the throne room.

 Chapter 33: You cant escape.

    Walking through the portal once more, we re-entered my palace. I made an objective to round up the guards, so I made my way to the barracks that was just outside the grounds. Instead of Void Stepping or creating a portal, I chose to walk there, since it wasn¡¯t far and I could gather guards as I pass them on my way.


    ¡°So, what are we doing? Do you have a plan?¡± Chloe seemed anxious to know the details, especially since her dad was involved somehow. Ashley and Louise seemed just as anxious but for different reasons, it seemed as though they were sensing trouble coming up.


    ¡°Relax, everything will pan out in the end. I will find out who is behind the plot to get rid of my race, but I doubt they will do anything anytime soon. Besides, I have a prisoner to sentence, a few programs I want to set in place and invitations I need to send out.¡±


    Louise seemed unsatisfied with my answer, ¡°But it seems like this is not the end of it though.¡±


    To that I replied, ¡°I know it isn¡¯t, however there is a kingdom to run and I can¡¯t go anywhere until I stabilize everything. I¡¯m going to set up some programs and regulations that keep the people occupied while I investigate. Trust me, I have got this under control.¡±


    We then walked in the barracks where we were greeted with a salute followed by the order of attention. Everyone was as still a statue, so I ordered, ¡°At ease, I have a mission for you all, but I need all of you here. Is everyone present?¡±


    A nearby Captain responded with, ¡°No sir, we gather everyone shortly.¡± He then whistled to five others and they followed him out the door. I chose a rather comfortable seat and centered it in the middle of the room and waited. By the time the rest of the guards arrived, I had finished writing all the invitations and placing my seal on them.


    ¡°Troops, soldiers, guards, I have mission for all of you. I have no idea if the maids told you or not but my parents are no longer with us. No, your mission is not to catch the suspect as I have already done that. I need two of you to go guard the dungeons, and two of you to inform Duke Adolf of the news. I also need to invite the other dukes to a coronation that will be held in two weeks. The two guards that will inform Adolf of the news will also give him the invitation. I will need groups of three to go out to each dukedom. Be hasty in this, I want the farthest Dukedom of Fuspijan to hear of it within the week, so that way they have a week to travel back. Understood?¡±


    Most of them agreed however a few guards raised some questions like, ¡°Isn¡¯t Oclen directly opposite of the Astral Kingdom? Isn¡¯t Fuspijan that Island Dukedom? A week is pretty short to travel that big of a distance.¡±


    I answered their questions, ¡°Yes it is, however because of the location of Starwind City within the Astral Kingdom, Fuspijan is the direct opposite. And yes, the Fuspijan Dukedom is an Island, so that means either an Air or Water Demon has to travel there. If your training by your superiors is as good as I think it is then a week should be plenty of time.¡± At that point I made sure to glance at the Captain and he just stared at the soldiers as if to say not to embarrass him. ¡°All except for the squad leaving for Fuspijan, dismissed.¡±


    The room then preformed an exodus, with only me, the girls and three guards left in the rooms. The guards consisted of two Air Demons and one Water Demon. If there were all Air Demons then the trip would run smoothly, however Water Demons don¡¯t have any wings. So I asked them, ¡°Hey who threw the groups together? What are your names?¡±


    The Water Demon responded, ¡°Private Nikaia. Captain Ceobal put us in squads a few weeks ago. I don¡¯t know why he wanted us to go to Fuspijan, probably to see us fail like usual.¡±


    The tallest Air Demon agreed, ¡°Private Arne, yes, since we fail at most things, we have become a laughing stock in the guard.¡±


    The last Air Demon then chimed in, ¡°Private Detlef. We haven¡¯t been promoted like the rest of platoon. He even stopped giving us proper training, so that we may continue to be used as an example of weakness. It¡¯s been going on for four years now.¡±


    ¡°I see, well it¡¯s time to pay that captain a visit.¡±


    They all jumped up in full alert, ¡°Please don¡¯t do that! He will know that we complained to you and make us do extra duty.¡±


    ¡°Haha, no need to worry, I won¡¯t mention that we even talked, I¡¯ll just make a wager with him.¡± I try to persuade.


    Private Detlef asked, ¡°What is it you wager?¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s asking a lot but trust me. I got this.¡±


    They grudging accepted my vague proposal and wait for further instructions, while I made my way toward the palace again, undoubtable where the Captain of the guard would be. After I sent the girls off to the room, I searched the palace and I found the Captain in the Ballroom patrolling. I waved him over and he joined my side as I walked with so he could continue his patrolling.


    I initiated the conversation, ¡°So I noticed that the squad that is meant to reach Fuspijan capital city of Halo¡¯s Keep is not on par with the rest of the soldiers. Do you think that they¡¯ll make it to their destination on time?¡±


    The captain slowed his pace and scoffed at the thought of the three of them, ¡°Those three have the training of the Astral Kingdom¡¯s finest. If they botch this, it¡¯ll be extra duty for a month, scratch that three months!¡±


    ¡°Ah, well if you say so, then it must be true. But man to man, do you really think they¡¯ll make it? They seem kinda weak to me, kinda laughable.¡±


    The Captain wore a smile and said, ¡°I am not the only that thinks so, alright. Sir, to be honest I don¡¯t think they stand a chance of completing the mission. I will just use their weakness as example for the rest of soldiers. It helps raise moral and keeps performance up.¡±


    He smiled as if he was the sole reason why are military was as good as it is now. Scumbag. ¡°Alright, how I make a bigger example then? If they are not to complete their quest within the allotted time, they will discharged from the service.¡± The


    Captain looked like he could roll with the idea, but I continued, ¡°However if they were to complete such a task in time, then you will be forced to resign for failure of leadership and misappropriation of power.¡±


    The Captain looked a little fidgety at first but then, as if he reminded himself on who we were talking about, he straightened up and looked me square in the eye, ¡°I will have their resignations in two weeks sir!¡± With that he continued his patrol and left me. It appears he is so confident in the outcome that he didn¡¯t even take it as a threat.


    ¡­


    Back at the barracks, I hear the call of attention and I motion for them to be at ease, ¡°Alright I gambled with your careers.¡± With that they groaned, ¡°But not worry, his is also on the line as well.¡±


    Arne complained, ¡°What¡¯s the point if we lose anyway? We have no chance, and we could have even left an hour ago!¡±


    ¡°Ah, but we are going to cheat a little. I hate corruption with a passion. Don¡¯t tell anybody, but I am going to fix this Kingdom¡¯s feudal corruptions very soon as well. If everything goes accordingly, then the Demon Realm and possibly the Imperial Domain will do so as well.¡±


    The three then relaxed a bit but Nikaia chimed, ¡°How are we going to cheat? Fuspijan is so far away.¡±


    Three pair of eyes landed on me once again, ¡°Follow me.¡± is all I replied. We marched from the barracks back into the palace¡¯s West wing and walked into the portal room without being spotted by the Captain. ¡°Alright, you see this?¡± When they nodded, ¡°This is a portal, I created it two hours ago. This portal leads straight into the throne room of the Demon King¡¯s palace.¡±


    They stared at it with awe, ¡°But that¡¯s in Askines!¡±


    I answered with, ¡°Indeed it is. My Mana reserves are back to full so I can create another one to a Dukedom that is close by unless one of you has been to Fuspijan?¡±


    Nikaia then spoke up, ¡°I have family that live in Fuspijan! I think they live in Featherfall, just East of Halo¡¯s Keep. I visit there often from my hometown Stuxumt!¡±


    ¡°Stuxumt¡­ Stuxumt, isn¡¯t that in Raprana?¡± I inquired?


    ¡°Yes it is! To outsider¡¯s it¡¯s just a lot of water and only a lake to them, but we call it home. Most of the busy cities are underwater including the capital.¡± She started to trail off and reminisce on old memories.


    "Alright since you have memories inside Fuspijan, I need you to place your hand on the wall and remember a specific place in great detail.¡± She agreed and placed her hand on the bit of wall beside the other portal. Activating the skill, an archway appeared around Nikaia¡¯s figure, I then fed Mana into the archway and felt the familiar sensation that left me exhausted a second time today.


    The Blue energy spun from the outer edges of the archway until it met up in the center and then presented a room with a bed in the middle of it. The room was dark and it looked as the view of the room was coming from the closet. Everything looked a little empty and tidy, so I assumed that it was just Guest bedroom. I will erase this portal after they comeback.


    Turning back to the very impressed Privates, I said, ¡°There, that¡¯s it. I will close the portal after you comeback with the Duchess. You may go anytime you wish, you may explore the area a bit. Just do me a favor, commit the inside of the room to memory in great detail. I wish to have a connection there. Until then, I bid you safe travels, I must turn in.¡±


    They all stared at the portal as if they still couldn¡¯t comprehend it. I smiled to myself a bit, I couldn¡¯t help but to show off, now could I? Oh well, I need to return to my room otherwise I might be drawn to war by the girls upstairs.


    After climbing the stairs and walking down the winding hall way, I opened the door to my room. The sight before my eyes was absolutely amazing, there was a Ashley stepping out of her panties, Louise just in her underwear, Chloe in nothing but panties trying to put her shirt on, and Aria stark naked. Maddie was in the back doing who knows what, wait was she going through my belongings?


    The door I was holding made a noise so they all looked at me, once I had all eyes on me I shut the door as if it didn¡¯t happen. A lot of noise and rumbling later, the girls were pulling on one side of the door and I was pulling on the other.


    From the other side I heard Chloe say, ¡°Hey, come on in! Why are trying to stay out there?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m trying to protect your purity!¡± I reasoned.


    Louise spoke up, ¡°You already promised me children, so come on in!¡±


    ¡°I said after marriage! Besides I have an exhausting day and I just need some sleep. Please understand.¡± I pleaded.


    Silence, they stopped pulling on the nob and said nothing in return, I was about to ask what happened then I noticed that the doorknob turned red hot with my hand still attached. Quickly I let go and began blowing on my hand as a first instinct. When I let go, the door opened and I was pulled into my own bedroom.


    Chloe was looking at Louise, ¡°I told you it would work.¡± I was then herded onto the bed where I was laid face up wings spread beneath me. So I couldn¡¯t move Ashley and Maddie got on my left wing and Cloe with Louise on my right. While Aria snuggled up on my chest.


    ¡°We realize that you¡¯ve had a long day, and that you need rest. We promise we take this to far, after all we won¡¯t stop when it comes to after the marriage. By the way when did you say we would get married? I¡¯ve already told father about it, and he is all too eager.¡± Chloe smiled.


    ¡°Wait, what did you tell him exactly? I don¡¯t want your father going to war with over a marriage date issue.¡± I gulped.


    ¡°Well, I might have told him it would be in a few weeks¡­¡± She drew a circle on my chest before looking me in the eye.


    I looked at all of them one by one, ¡°Ok, since the Demon King knows, and Louise¡¯s parents might as well be written off as dead, and Aria doesn¡¯t have any parents that I know of, I will have to make a trip to the Imperial Domain tomorrow. After that, we will have a ceremony date. It will be after the coronation though. I will also get my own parents approval.¡±


    Louise gave me a sad look, ¡°My Prince, isn¡¯t your parent¡¯s¡­¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Yes, they perished in the Void, however, I can call them back briefly every once and a while. I can¡¯t tonight because I am exhausted.¡± Four of them looked impressed, Aria just smiled a bit.


    Ashley then fidgeted, ¡°Are we really going to the Imperial Domain tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Yes, indeed. I will also invite the humans to the coronation as well.¡± I added, dismissing her nervousness. ¡°I see that you are nervous for some reason, I can¡¯t exactly move to comfort you, but know this, I will solve whatever problem that you may have.¡±


    Ashley visibly relaxed after hearing those words. ¡°Thank you,¡± was all she said.


    I was about to respond but my mouth was covered by Chloe¡¯s, she had immediately invaded my mouth with her tongue, I tried to fight back but my forces were caught off guard, making my fight useless, all the while turning this surprise into a passionate kiss. After a moment she pulled back and we both started to pant for more oxygen or for each other, I couldn¡¯t tell.


    Next Louise used her tongue as reinforcements and started the next wave of attack and pleasure on my already routed forces. Though at first there was no sign of attack, her tongue did slip by mine as if to coax it out of a hiding hole, then slowly swathed over it as if trying to get a taste of it. Her attack wasn¡¯t as sudden but it was just as erotic. After she pulled away, I was already getting light headed because of the exhaustion from earlier that day and the constant oxygen deprivation, it was really doing a number on me.


    After she pulled away I felt Aria snuggle up to face as she decided to lick my cheek. Then after a moment she dove into a kiss, there wasn¡¯t as much tongue as the others, but the innocence behind it was turning me on none the less. They may have pinned my wings but they didn¡¯t pin my arms. Reaching up, I meant to grab her arms to hold her back. I ended up touching her hair, which made me have the urge to stroke her hair and mess with her ears.


    After stroking her hair a few times, I felt completely at ease and by the time she pulled away, I had already passed out, KOed by a long day and stress.


    ¡­


    Waking up I saw that some position had changed but it was still more or less the same, with me being pinned. I did notice that Maddie had gone out of the room for some reason. My stirring did awaken Aria, who was still on my chest. Seriously if this girl doesn¡¯t stop this, I won¡¯t be able to sleep without her there on my chest. Maybe that was the fur ball¡¯s plan all along.


    She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and saw that I was awake. She didn¡¯t say a word to me as she leaned over and stole another kiss before happily lying closer to my face. She rubbed cheeks with mine and went back to sleep. Oi, stay up at least.


    My hands start to idly stroke her hair, massaging my hands with the threads of hair that my hands glided by. It was really relaxing. After an uncertain amount of time flew by the others started to stir and wake up on their own. Each giving me a hot morning kisses before getting up freeing me from my prison of flesh. Forgetting about Aria cuddled up next to me, I sat up and Aria slumped to my lap.


    Everyone started getting dressed without too much of a fuss, I kinda just sat back and petted Aria. Aria was content with it and stayed where she was at in her night gown. I then stood up and demanded everyone¡¯s attention, ¡°Alright today¡¯s schedule. I am about to go say ¡®good morning¡¯ to our prisoner, he should be awake enough for the greeting. I want you girls to not see any of it. Next up is a construction of a circular room I¡¯m going to use as a lobby for the portals; that should be a breeze with the Earth Demon builder experts. Next will be the welcoming of Duchess Periphoia, and the sequential firing of Captain Ceobal. Afterwards I will construct several portals in the newly created room; that will take me a few hours and would like some company. I will then head with Ashley to the Imperial Domain. After we get things done there, I will summon my mother and hold a conversation there. When it is all said and done, it will be about evening when I get done.¡±


    Chloe spoke up, ¡°Why are you going to Imperial Domain again?¡±


    ¡°At least pay attention Chloe, I said I was going over to the Imperial Domain to settle some business. Invitations and the what not, I will be back to talk to my mother afterwards, then we are free for the next week and a half, with only greeting Dukes and Duchesses when they arrive.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so can I come along?¡± She inquired. After she raised her question, I noticed that the other girls stopped what they were doing to listen to my reply.


    ¡°Absolutely not, it is the Imperial Domain after all. I know that segregation and racism has died down, but if I bring more demons with me it will look like an invasion when I pop into the Grand Palace. So I hope you understand.¡±


    Chloe looked depressed but nodded and everyone continued getting dressed and filed out to the kitchen to see what was for breakfast. Walking down the stairs, the smell of chocolate was overwhelming. It took me back to my days on Earth, a few days before my departure to Japan, I woke up to my father making me chocolate pancakes and bacon, using the bacon grease to cook the eggs. Dad¡¯s breakfast was the best. Coming back to my senses, I walk into the kitchen to see Maddie making a giant chocolate cake. She was covered in flour and sugar and there was chocolate everywhere.


    ¡°Oh hey guys, I was struck by inspiration to make something. So I made a cake. How¡¯s it look?¡± Maddie pointed the question to me.


    ¡°Well I see you took my lessons to heart, especially that making a mess is clearly the most fun way to do it.¡± To that she smiled, but I continued, ¡°However you messed up. Cake is not a breakfast food. We will give this to the staff of the palace, in the mean time I will fix us something.¡± Looking around I realized something was off. ¡°Hey, Maddie.¡±


    She looked up from her defeated posture, ¡°Hmmm?¡±


    ¡°Where are the maids?¡±


    She scratched her chin trying to recall, succeeding in rubbing more flour on her face, ¡°I believe they are in the pantry.¡±


    Rushing to the pantry, I open the door and out falls at least fifteen of the maids. ¡°Why¡¯d you trap them in there?¡±


    She shoved her nose skyward, ¡°They were telling me to stop, and tried to take over cooking.¡±


    I just looked at her for a moment, ¡°It¡¯s their job to take care of the Master and guests. Of course they would try to stop you. However mom used to cook around here too, so it¡¯s not like you can¡¯t reason with them.¡± Maddie looked defeated again, and just sulked off to a corner. Ah, I better say good morning to the scumbag, but I got keep everyone here, ¡°Hey, Maddie, I have a job for you. Teach them how make pancakes, with my favorite flavor.¡± The girls all perked up and crowded around Maddie.


    With a smooth distraction, I walked out of the room and headed to the hall past the throne room. Walking down the long hall I gazed at the portraits of my parents that lined the halls. Each one brought a pang that stung my heart briefly before the pangs magically left. I will thank the goddess eventually. I reached the end of the hall that turned into a stair case, to go up would mean going into the East Tower, to go down would mean to enter the Dungeon.


    So I descended down the spiral stair case and with it tossed away every shred of humanity I had. This puss ball screwed up and I will let him know that with every fiber of his being, for I will break his body, then his spirit, then his mind. Walking down the long, dark corridor beneath the palace, I passed by some empty cells. Some of the cells actually had inmates, but they were quite. They aren¡¯t my concern as of yet, my concern lays within the torture chamber.


    Walking into the poorly lit room, I stepped into the light that barely shined. When I came between the light and Janus, he woke up and glared at me. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not how you say good morning, especially to your good host.¡± His face sunk low, this look made him seem very pitiable since his face was hung low and his arms strung up in rusty shackles. The bruises and cuts I left on him yesterday seemed to have healed slightly. I need to fix that, so I punched him in the nose, breaking it again.


    He glared at me with a blood flowing from his face and tried to speak up but the only noise that came out of his throat was a hoarse grumble, it was clearly unintelligible. So I loosen the straps on his neck and he went into coughing fit. Looking around the room I saw a pot that had been put on boil, no doubt for the tea that the guard was going to drink.


    Grabbing the boiling pot I walk over to the dirt bag, ¡°I see, you must be parched, here have a drink.¡± I neared the boiling pot of water toward his face, his face just inched away the closer I brought it. So I grabbed a cup off a nearby table and pour the boiling liquid into it and I set down the pot with only the cup in hand.


    ¡°I said, ¡®Drink!¡¯¡± Grabbing a fist full of hair, I yanked down, forcing his head to look up and for mouth to open in process, I immediately toss the liquid down his throat. His body convulsed in agony as his esophagus blistered and rasp wailing could be heard from him which prompted me throw more scolding water down his throat. His hoarse screaming became gurgles as he was forced to swallow some of the water given to him.


    After a bit I stop and sit down and look at his face twisted in pain, ¡°You know humans would have died by now, because they have more fragile bodies. However it¡¯s a different story when it comes to us demons, when we are involved we can come up with some creative tortures that won¡¯t kill us immediately like it would a human.¡± I stand back and I pull a silver knife from my Void Space. I grabbed his left hand, his only hand, and I cut off his last few remaining fingers.


    With his fingers in hand, I stab my knife in three locations, each just an inch away from his heart. I then stab each finger into each wound near his heart and leave them there. Using some of my Mana, I infuse the fingers¡¯ nerves with mana, making them spasm. The fingers just wriggled with an inch of his heart on three sides.


    The slime ball was able to pull off just a grunt with each stab of the knife but his composure broke when the fingers started to move. Next I pulled out a Demon¡¯s Blood Rose. I section of into five bits and threw them into the boiling water. As I waited for the rose to react to the water I put mana into fingers and I start tracing his veins and arteries in his right arm. I blocked the flow of the veins and accelerated the flow of the arteries.


    His arm swelled up instantaneously, gorged with blood, his arm turn from purple to black, growing to twice the width it started as. His screams were reinvigorated, but right before his arm popped I restored the flow and went back to the rose.


    Extracting the soggy petals, I laid it upon the table and chopped it to fine bits, the petals oozed a green liquid now. I scraped the ooze into a jar and threw the petals away.


    Looking back at the murderer, I saw that he was eyeing the poison really hard. ¡°Ah, yes, what did you call it, ¡®Soulless Anemia¡¯? I would inject all of it into you, killing you within a few hours, but I want you to suffer for the rest of your life.¡± I trace his arm one more time and it swells to the size it was before, I then dip my knife into the poison and jab it straight into his arm, repeatedly. I end it with completely cutting off the circulation, leaving the arm to rot and decompose under the poison, while leaving the host to feel everything while not dying.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just let you rot here for a few days before I come back here.¡± I say as I exit the room. Upon exiting I look at the guards and tell them that they are free to use his body as a dart board. Looking closely at one of the guards I recognized him to be of the flamboyant nature and I ring him in and say, ¡°And of course you could use him to ¡®satisfy¡¯ your needs as well as experimentation.¡± With that he blushed and smiled as he began to brainstorm the possibilities.


    I think he must have been really frustrated lately to accept my offer that quickly. I smile to myself as I exit the dungeons and rejoin the world above.

 Chapter 34: One Tower, One Duchess, and One Less Captain

    Stepping back into the halls, I found myself surrounded by pretty, pouty faces. Though, Louise looked as if she knew what I was doing, but didn¡¯t disapprove.


    I just flash a smile, before saying, ¡°Hey, everything is alright. We need to contact the Construction Guild, for the next portion of our day. Everyone take my hand.¡± They did as I requested, and we all took a step forward and ended up being transported directly in front of Construction Guild.


    Stepping through the door, I could smell all the earthen materials found in cement and other building components. I walked over to the first Earth Demon I came across and I tapped him on the shoulder, ¡°Yo, how much would it cost to build a circular tower with a radius of fifteen feet with four stories? Oh, and it needs to be in intricate design.¡±


    I had only realized he was jotting the dimensions down on a notepad only when he turned around mumbling to himself. It sounded as if he was trying to come up with a fair price in his head. When he came to a solution he looked at me dead in the eye and said, ¡°That will cost approximately: 145,063 gold and thirty coppers¡­ Wait, wait, wait. I know you. Crown Prince? Oh, there is no need to pay, you do run this nation now. We will be grateful to help.¡±


    I shake my head, ¡°Too late, I will pay you what I owe.¡±


    The Earth Demon had sweat going down his face, ¡°And if we refuse to accept?¡±


    Did he think I was going to ¡®make him sleep with the fishes?¡¯ ¡°Look, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous, if you really, truly desire no payment from me, let us at least strike a deal.¡± His face became that of a businessman¡¯s. ¡°I want you to put the Guild¡¯s Seal somewhere on the building, as proof you guys built it. It will bring some fame to your dying guild, when you do a magnificent job building the tower, maybe more job opportunities will open up. Also, you guys will be granted access to the first floor of the Tower.¡±


    He looked at me suspiciously, ¡°What is the purpose of this building, if you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡±


    I look him square in the eye and tell him, ¡°It will be a means of being everywhere at once. Imagine instantly travelling from here to the bustling city of Flamerest in Askines, or perhaps Halo¡¯s Keep in Fuspijan. Or perhaps you fancy going to the Imperial Domain, you could be in Thornston in the Rosewood Kingdom.¡±


    His face fell, ¡°You¡­ wait¡­ what? Are you saying anywhere? How is that possible?¡±


    I tossed around the idea if I should I tell him, ¡°Let¡¯s just say each archway you make on the walls, that will be a gateway to specific location. I will have strategic points all over the Zugrielia.¡±


    It took him a few minutes to get over the awe of the idea, he then straightened up and grabbed my hand with his large stony ones and shook it vigorously, ¡°You got yourself a deal.¡±


    After shaking hands, I tell him to meet me at the palace courtyard around noon. Turning around, I addressed the girls that were standing behind me, ¡°Now we must go back to Palace now that my business here is done. Next on the agenda is to officially receive the Duchess of Fuspijan. This will lead to subsequent firing of Captain Ceobal, I will hopefully root out the remaining corruption in my Kingdom.¡± The girls looked at me as a leader with a cool head, although I only thought of myself awkward calling the Kingdom mine. It didn¡¯t feel right, but I have a duty to this nation and its people, now that my parents were no longer able to play the leadership roles.


    These thoughts went through my head as we reappeared in the throne room and walked out into the courtyard. We walked out to place surrounded by the entire Palace Guard. They all were informed to show early as usual, only instead for drill they showed up for the receiving of the Dukes and Duchesses. The lower ranks were probably grateful for morning exercise being cancelled.


    As planned Nikaia, Arne and Detlef escorted Duchess Periphoia through the thick of the forest with four of her personal guard following closely behind. Unbeknownst to the guards they only circled behind the Palace and pretended to just arrive. I made it a point to watch the Captain.


    Captain Ceobal stood resolute in his stance of attention, though a noticeable line of sweat and eye bewilderment was evident on his face. I must say it was amusing to see him fret over his near future and try to remain at attention. Moving my attention from the Captain to the Duchess, I noticed after she left the tree line she slowly approached the soldiers that formed a path from the courtyard up the stairs, towards the Palace entrance behind me.


    By the time she got to me, she spoke innocently but loud enough to for the Captain to hear, ¡°We were travelling really fast, it was almost instant, am I the first one here?¡±


    I then turned toward here and flashed the brightest smile I could, ¡°Why yes my Duchess, you are the actually the first to arrive, despite Shienriech so close. It has been roughly half a day since I issued the order of inviting all of the Dukedom nobles to my Palace. I gave them two weeks. Actually,¡± I motioned for the Captain to join me, ¡°I had a running bet with this man here. He didn¡¯t believe these fine soldiers to return with you in tow within two weeks. Not only have they accomplished that, but they also arrived first.¡±


    With my words out, the Duchess made a show of being impressed even though she already knew of the deal. The Captain however looked nervous and was looking at her up and down, to see find out if she was the real deal. I then demand the attention of everyone nearby. ¡°Captain Ceobal. In front of the Palace Guard of which has been under your command. In front of these witnesses today, for corruption, misappropriation of power and failure of leadership, I hereby relieve you of your duty. Since this problem has not been addressed before, I am not throwing you in prison but will be satisfied with relieving you. Farewell, civilian.¡±


    I turned my back on the ex-Captain, and escorted the Duchess and her personal guard into the Palace just as Duke Adolf flew toward us with a few soldiers in tow. As he landed by Duchess Periphoia, he looked her up and down, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be. S¡¯that Periphoia? It is! Ah, I¡¯m woulda got ¡®ere earlier but I hadda wait for ¡®em.¡± He jabbed a thumb at a few guards that just now started to catch their breath. He then looked at me, beaming, ¡°You gonna be king? I can¡¯t wait.¡±


    Ushering him inside with the Duchess I nodded before I spoke, ¡°Yes, I shall be. In two weeks, I will hold my coronation. And after wards there will be a wedding ceremony, you are invited to that as well. You are welcome to stay as long as you like.¡±


    For the next few hours we chatted and greeted a handful of Dukes from nearby Dukedoms. I expect most of the Dukes and Duchesses to appear over the next few days only leaving the furthest ones to arrive a while after that. After a few talks about Foreign policy with the Demon Realm, I dismissed myself from the conversion to walk over to the Ashley, who had been sitting on the stairs.


    Ashley noticed my arrival and stood up, ¡°Are we ready to go, Alexander?¡± There was a mix of anxiety with eagerness. I guess it was a mixture of wanting to go home and not wanting to, and maybe her problem she had back home had something to do with it as well.


    I grabbed her by the hand and guided her to the empty conference room that I had been using as a temporary portal room. Dissolving the portal to Private Nikaia¡¯s guest room in Fuspijan, I felt a slight influx of Mana. I guess I get a little back from dismantling them. With some of the Mana I gained from the portal I used it to repeat the process of opening portals to the Throne room of the Imperial Palace. Stepping through the portal we were immediately surrounded by guards, as expected. I raised my hands and waited.


    None of the guards recognized me, since we never met, but they did notice my princely crown floating above my head and my purple skin. After a few moments there was chatter amongst the guard. Questions that ran along the lines of; ¡°How did they get here,¡± ¡°Is that a Void Demon,¡± and ¡°Isn¡¯t he that prince from that new kingdom?¡± After a while the noticed Ashley from under my wing, with the notice, they quickly stood at attention and said not another word.


    From beyond the wave of guards I heard an old voice bellow out, ¡°Who dares interrupt my meeting? Is there an intruder? Why are you standing still?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t see too well but I assumed that the voice belong to Keith Greenwood, current Emperor of the Imperial Domain. He is the son of Emperor Godfrey Greenwood, the Emperor who called a truce at the end of the Great War. At his voice the, the guards parted to give us full view the old Emperor sitting on his throne, the Imperial Prince, Sterling, standing beside him, and the backside of a rather large, robust Earth Demon kneeling in front of him, wearing the Demon Realms military suit. I think he is either the highest ranking General or maybe a Colonel, I couldn¡¯t tell, the symbols look to much alike.


    Since I was standing in presence of an emperor, I decided it would be rude to talk from across the room, I slowly approached the throne and kneeled beside the Earth Demon and spoke. ¡°Pardon my intrusion, I wished to speak with you at the earliest time possible. It is an urgent matter that I would like to discuss with you.¡±


    The old emperor raised an eyebrow, ¡°Oh, it seems there are more urgent matters that keep popping up, I will get with you in a moment, or you might be able to join to the conversation, as it does seems to revolve around you. You are indeed the Prince of the newly formed Astral kingdom, correct?¡±


    I nodded my head but steered the conversation back to the part that it pertained to me, ¡°You said this involves me, your grace?¡±


    He nodded and closed his eyes. It appears that his age and a huge amount of unseen stress has caught up with him in one moment. When he leaned down to look me in the eye, ¡°The reason for your visit, is it to declare war on me, The Imperial Domain. A realm that has been around for at least a millennia, withstood many wars and has been passed downed from many Emperors to myself. You dare challenge me?¡± The more he went on, the angrier he got.


    I didn¡¯t say anything because I was taken aback by such a wild accusation. When I was able to speak it started out a little too stern, ¡°Look your majesty, I don¡¯t know where you got your claims, but that isn¡¯t what I came here for. Actually you might say that it is a way to prevent a war.¡± The old emperor listened to my words and nodded.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The emperor leaned back obviously relieved but turned his attention to the Earth Demon, ¡°Forgive me for not being able to say your name, is just addressing you by rank sufficient?¡± When the Earth Demon nodded, the emperor continued, ¡°Your concerns have been heard, but if it is as the Astral Prince has said, then I need not to be worried, depending on his solution. Though it is worrisome, with all the activities coming from Astral Kingdom, lately.¡± He looked back at me.


    I looked up at the old emperor, ¡°Worrisome, what is worrisome?¡±


    The old emperor sat back and looked up at his ceiling that was high above us, obviously glad that I wasn¡¯t deliberately trying to cause him worry for war. ¡°A few of them are minor problems that could escalate, but one that has been pressing on my mind, that now has me confused. I was informed that my daughter had been kidnapped shortly after she ran away from the Palace. I see that she is escorting you today. Are you here to return her?¡± Inquired the old emperor.


    ¡°Actually, I did not kidnap her to begin with. I simple met her at my parents Coronation Ball, I had assumed she was the sole representative of the Imperial Domain. I had no idea she is a runaway. However I have gotten to know her for a while now, and would like to ask something of you that could lead to a long lasting alliance.¡±


    The old emperor stared blankly at me for a while, ¡°You ask for hand in marriage, Astral Prince?¡± After I nodded my head, I could feel Ashley¡¯s blush from behind me. He spoke in a complete relaxed tone, ¡°I am afraid that you are too late, I would love to have an alliance with you, but I would rather a closer tie with the Demon Realm, which happens to be a larger nation than your own, my apologies. I know your nation happens to be really close with Demon Realm itself due to family being friends and all, if I were to have a tie with either country, I would be on good terms with the other. I do realize that, I however am looking out for the best interest of my people. Might a war break out, I would rather go against you than the entire Demon Realm, for military reasons.¡±


    I look the old emperor in the eye and put as much malice as I could into my voice, ¡°Ho, you think you stand a chance against me? I have yet to set up a few programs that will triple my military power, without actually increasing manpower.¡± I could feel Ashley wanting to protest but before I let her voice her opinion, I continued. ¡°I am not here to declare war on you, I merely came here to announce my coronation in a few weeks. I am here to invite all the humans, who wish to come. After the coronation, perhaps a week or two after, I will hold a marriage ceremony. Whether you intend to come to either ceremonies is up to you. If you are looking for a fight, I would rather you wait a while, but if one is necessary now I am willing to have a go. I fought an army myself and came out on top anyway.¡±


    The emperor displayed an emotion that in between impressed, terrified and angry at the same time. ¡°You are bluffing, the Astral Kingdom has yet to be even in a war. I am sure your mommy and daddy would try to prevent one. And besides boy, I know you are young, younger than I. I wasn¡¯t even born when the Great War had ended, I¡¯ve only had to handle civil wars. What do you know of war, boy?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me, Old man, it will be your undoing.¡± It took me a moment to notice that I was towering over the old emperor.


    The old man looked terrified, but I let off and backed away. The Earth Demon had said nothing the whole time, he must¡¯ve been well trained in diplomacy, but I remembered he was a General of the highest rank. He probably has been around since Demon King Orpheus. I don¡¯t know why but I felt an ancient aura coming from him¡­ It just felt powerful. Despite him kneeling, it felt I was at his feet for some reason.


    I look back at the old emperor before I left his throne room, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be on bad terms with you, because I want to unite the whole Continent under one building. It will be an instantaneous crossroads if you will. In the tower I am having built today, over the next few weeks, I will have key places connected to that building. Should we get things sorted out, and you accept my proposal, I will tell you in great detail how it works and the exact function of it. So to bring up on my end, I will hear the other issues you have with the Astral Kingdom.¡±


    The old man relaxed a little but the Imperial Prince seemed to puff up with anger as I insulted him or his ancient relatives. The Old man raised an eyebrow, ¡°You would hear me out? Clearly you have no grasp of diplomacy, or that you are master of it, I cannot tell at the moment. Your idea does interest me, as I have had the same dream when I was wee lad such as yourself. One of the few problems my realm faces, is that all of the population is rapidly moving west.¡±


    ¡°West? Do the humans have a migration pattern?¡± I played dumb. ¡°Or perhaps there is something in the west?¡±


    The Imperial Prince glared at me, while the ever increasingly senile old man laughed, ¡°Ah, well there is indeed something in the West. It is a shame that something is not in our borders.¡± He looked me in the eye, ¡°Everyone has heard of your accomplishments and freedoms in your country. I would very like to have the same system that you are putting in place that allows for such productivity and prosperity but I fear for the many noble factions that would have my head if I were to take such actions. Also, I hear that there is affordable food that would put the finest chefs in the Imperial Palace to shame, available everywhere. Tasting it leaves you craving more leaving you unable to eat the food you had previous eaten your entire life. I had allowed some the restaurants to open within my borders, but only a few. I feared it was some sort of attempt of spying, but the peasants are many and the restaurants are few leaving the occupants busy. However these said restaurants are plentiful in your fiefdom and even in the Demon Realm. So we are going to experience a mass exodus in the next year that will decimate my nation as a whole.¡±


    I listened to the old man and realized that my beneficial actions may be the end of the Imperial Domain if I were to leave things as they were, however, ¡°I am sorry that I started making these radical reforms that started not only affecting my country but yours as well. This was a problem that I considered and had planned to address before it actually became a problem. I actually had a method of doing away with the unchecked, uncontrollable migration that would harm both of us. Your government would collapse over the sheer drop in numbers leaving all at once, there would be nobody to govern and there would be nobody to do the jobs. I would have nowhere to put everyone, leaving many homeless and my resources would deplete over time eventually putting me in your situation. I do have a plan, but I would like for you to agree on my terms, or we will both face the end of our nations, yours before mine.¡±


    The old man started to stroke his beard, ¡°Boy, I had you figured wrong. I had you pegged for a hot tempered, young blood who would surely be the cause of many lives being lost. I, however, realized that you are more adept in this than I previously imagined. You have perhaps have enough wit to pull this off. I decided to agr-¡±


    The old Emperor was cut off by the Imperial Prince, ¡°Father, are really going to believe in him. He obviously did this on purpose, come on listen to what he is saying, does it really make any since to you? How would population growth affect him to point of ruining his nation? If anything, he would have more manpower than does now. He is trying to buy off time then declare war on us while we are weak. We can¡¯t just sit around and-¡±


    It was now the Imperial Prince who was cut off, ¡°You will be silent!¡± The old emperor demanded, with his voice the Imperial Prince said no more but fumed in silence. The old man continued, ¡°Where were we?¡±


    I looked at him almost mystified of how well he handled him, ¡°You were about to agree to my terms, I would however would like to list them before you actually agree. First I would like to take your daughters hand in marriage, shortly after I am coroneted. Next, I hope you perform a census on all of your people, I would like for you to have all of your citizens identified by the government. This doesn¡¯t take much, when you delegate the orders to the kings and dukes who will give the orders to their respective counts who will hire officials to go door to door to have everyone identified. Give them identification papers, with each person having their unique number, birth date, and place of birth printed on it. The government, you, will create a special department for handling this for as long as you remain a nation.¡±


    The old emperor looked very intrigued so far, ¡°So what will this do young Prince?¡±


    I then replied, ¡°It makes it easy to keep track of citizens.¡± He looked confused for a while, so I continued, ¡°If you make it required to present identification papers, or the very least their ID number to do certain actions at certain facilities. Such as buying a home, moving across to a new country, joining the Armed Forces, or even just becoming a government official, they would need to have their papers or ID numbers.¡± The old man seemed to figure out what I was getting at. ¡°Also, in doing so, we would need to set up a passport system, allowing citizens to move between the countries, while simultaneously allowing the countries to easily regulate the flow. Do keep note however, this allows you to have further control over your citizens as that you would have the general sense of what they are up to, I would caution you not to take advantage of it, or the people will find exploits the weaknesses in the new systems and there will probably be several revolts.¡±


    When the old Emperor got the warning, I continued, ¡°That being said, in a few years, it would be easier to track down criminals, since everyone will be in your system. I will be doing the same thing in my country, and I will try to get Demon King Magnus in on this as well, the Passport System won¡¯t work unless we all do this, or rather, it wouldn¡¯t be efficient. Lastly, I would like permission to open up instantaneous travel to each of your Kingdoms, Dukedoms, and maybe even the Counties. I will tell you the system I will have in place for them as soon as you agree to these terms.¡±


    The Old Emperor looked thoroughly pleased with my plan, however he expressed his remaining doubts, ¡°Why? Why would go this far, where do you benefit from all this? I see that it is indeed helpful, but it seems like you hardly benefit at all, but your citizens would reap most of the benefit. Why would you go so far as to do this, surely you have stayed up day and night to think of this highly complicated system, you would like to implement. It¡¯s like you are trying to create a government from scratch.¡±


    Except I got most of these ideas from Earth, but since copyright doesn¡¯t exist here, I think I¡¯ll borrow a few ideas. I turned to the Old Emperor, ¡°By controlling and limiting what the population does in a small amount, will increase their freedoms to other things, that will lead to better morale and better productivity. If your people are happy, your country is happy. Anyway, I¡¯d go this far to assure the future, for the future is in the children, the next generation. This generation is more or less set in their ways and if they decided to change locations, such as all of them entering my country all at once, it would go well for them until the whole country slowly sinks into poverty because the resources will become scarce. Well it would affect everyone, but it would affect the children the most, because they would have to be raised in said poverty, having them lead miserable lives. It wouldn¡¯t take much for a local to take command, and turn their misery into anger, and that anger becomes a revolt, that turns into a civil war. Now, as I said, ¡®if your people are happy, your country is happy.¡¯¡±


    Now the old man was slack jawed, ¡°How, how do you know all this, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±


    To that I answered, ¡°I used to travel a lot, I would observe people in my surroundings everywhere I went. So, do we have an agreement?¡±


    The old man then pondered for a while, the General and the Imperial Prince both waited for his reply. The Old Emperor then spoke aloud, ¡°I understand that you have more to tell me about Identification papers, I can tell by your eyes that there is more to it, despite it already being so complicated. I also realize you can¡¯t give me the details unless I agree to your terms, it must confidential information, but I would like to ask you something in return before I give you my answer.¡± When I nodded, he inquired, ¡°This wedding, am I expecting Grandchildren already? Have you two¡­¡±


    ¡°No we haven¡¯t! Dad, why are you always like this!¡± I turn around to see that Ashley was blushing profusely while yelling at her father. The old Emperor just smiled as he took a few insults and chuckled, ¡°Alright, alright, I agree to your terms. All of them. I am expecting many great things from you young man, don¡¯t you fail me now. Now please tell me about this instantaneous travel you were talking about. Is that how you traveled here?¡±

 Chapter 35: A Little More Detailed, Please.

    After a few hours of chatting with the Old Emperor, I showed him how the portals worked, how many I would need to set up, and the strategic locations I would like to put them. I then went to great detail on how the IDs would work and how we would use them for passports, how people would go through processing just get certain things, I told him to have everyone ID number hooked up into an account that would keep track of all their records, medical and criminal. As long Counties kept their records locally and the Dukedoms over their own Counties held copies, things would run smoothly and efficiently. The General was the first one to dismiss himself, not saying a single word the whole time I was there, though he did eye my wings pretty thoroughly.


    I then dismissed myself, claiming I need to meet with Construction Guild. When I turned to Ashley, she seemed in a very cheery mood. A little more relaxed now that her problem seemed dealt with. I unknowingly solved whatever problem she had, though I¡¯m guessing it was the impending war I narrowly evaded. Good thing the emperor was slightly senile.


    As we passed through the portal, Ashley looked up toward me with her burning green eyes, ¡°Father has recognized you, agreed to your terms, and is even interested in seeing you succeed. You are indeed praiseworthy, and I love you.¡±


    I looked down and whispered, ¡°I love you too.¡± I then leaned down and kissed her for a few seconds before parting, ¡°Come now we must catch the Construction Guild.¡± I grabbed her hand and ran toward the Court Yard where the Construction Guild came with the designs I had given them. They were all huddled around it as if to commit it to memory.


    I walked over to the huddled group and demanded their attention. ¡°Alrighty, there has been a slight change in plans, and with it a slight change in how you will be repaid. I have found there was a flaw in my design. It is way too small for what am envisioning. I need it to be a round based tower still, however, I need it to be three hundred feet in radius, bringing it up six hundred feet in diameter. Instead of four stories high, I want it to be seven stories high. I want two hundred archways along the walls on the first four floors, sixty five on the fifth and sixth, and thirteen on the top floor.¡±


    Some of the older guild members nodded their heads at the impressive tower they were about to build, the younger ones had eyes the size of fists over the astonishment of it. I continued my demands, ¡°I will hold you all under contract until all of the projects I ask for are complete. The remaining projects will take you the longest, probably a few months due to travel. I want you to go out to each County Capital city on Zugrielia and build a road with a dead end toward the center of each of the Merchant Districts. At the end of these roads, I want you to build a two thousand square foot room with a large archway in the back. We will furnish each of these rooms with desks and cabinets that line the side of the room and a curtain over the door way. The curtain will have our nation¡¯s flag for the design as to tell the people where they are going.¡±


    ¡°In the tower I want curtains in the archways as well, each with a design of the flag of each city they will lead to. The fifth and sixth floor will have Dukedom flags and the top floor will have curtains that represent the flags that signify which kingdom and nation they will lead too. I want mine in the middle. Also I need a large wooden table in the middle of the top floor. While you are under contract, fulfilling these demands, your families will living in my Palace and you all will be granted Diplomatic Immunity. Your families will be taken care of, with the hospitality of my maids and they will eat their fill as long as you are all under contract.¡±


    Now, even the older members were slack jawed. I smiled a bit to myself when they murmured amongst themselves in joy. I then remembered a few of the things I was about to pass in the next few days, ¡°Ah, yes but before you start those projects I need a few buildings erected here in the Astral Kingdom. I don¡¯t need all of them in Starwind City, I could use a few scattered throughout the Kingdom, such as in Solara and Lunaetaeum in their respective Dukedoms area and even a few in Shienriech, like in Ferlen. It is very important that you make these as structurally sound as possible. I need these buildings located to where the maximum number of people can reach them, so I need them to be in Commoner¡¯s Districts. These buildings will hold men and women of medicine, it will be a place where can be treated for injuries and illnesses alike. This will also be a place that will witness births and record them. These buildings need to be massive with a ton of rooms, each proportionate to their respective cities.¡±


    I paused before I continued as they digest the information, ¡°I will also need a few buildings located here in the capital and smaller versions of it spread across the Kingdom. These places will be that of learning. The bigger versions will be that of higher learning. I will also need another wing added to the Palace to act as work spaces for government officials. So do we still have a deal? You are still expected to put your guild seal on each structure.¡±


    The leader stepped out from the crowd, I recognized him to be the demon I talked to in their Guild building. He approached me with an open hand, ¡°I would be honored to take down such a colossal feat for such an outstanding ruler.¡±


    I put my hand in his and shook firmly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say outstanding, I¡¯m only doing this for the benefit of all. It¡¯s only my job.¡± I flash a smile before I ask them, ¡°I assume that the Construction Guild has member cards much like the Adventurer Guild, right?¡± with a nod from the members, I continued, ¡°Well possibly everyone in Zugrielia will get something similar to it, these ID cards help us keep track of the population and some other political nonsense that I will go over in my speech to the public, anyway when you guys finish the medical and educational places I will hand them out to you. These ID¡¯s will help you when you need to get or do some things. This will help you get another type of ID that allows international travel, that will be forbidden to everyone without.¡±


    The leader nodded, ¡°Well I think it¡¯s about time we departed for our grand projects. I¡¯ll be seeing you soon.¡± We said our goodbyes as they left Ashley and I by ourselves. Ashley looked up at me, ¡°So these buildings, I get the ones used for medical purposes? Don¡¯t demons educate their offspring?¡±


    I give a smile, ¡°In most cases yes, nobles are the only ones rich enough to send their children to a private institution, like Louis. I plan on using some of the Kingdom¡¯s riches and taxation to run many government buildings, such as the schools. The schools will have a unified education program that is meant to challenge young minds during their time in the institutions. It will be mandatory that all children attend these every day until they are of age. After they graduate from school, I will have colleges available. Colleges will be like the schools, but for higher education, it will be optional to go to one, but it is ones best interest to actually go for it.¡±


    ¡°The point of going to one of the said Colleges, will be to obtain a Degree of your choosing. The students that attend Colleges will be able to choose their own curriculum, however certain classes are need to graduate with each Degree. When you obtain a Degree it is used as a certification that you are knowledgeable in that field. Some jobs that can be easily be obtained or faked now won¡¯t be in a few years, you will need a matching Degree to your desired job. Some Degrees will be easier to obtain than others, have you got that all down?¡± I ask the perplexed looking Ashley.


    Ashley shook her head as if to clear doubts, ¡°Y-yes, I think so. But what jobs will need these Degrees?¡±


    I look up in the sky and start listing off a few, ¡°Right now it is easy to say that you are a man of medicine and make a ton of profit for not doing much, some these people even harm their patients without even realizing it. Some of the jobs out there need quick wits and a sharp mind, such as General of the Army. I need a general that can direct my troops exactly how I need them, even when I¡¯m not there. If they aren¡¯t too bright, then they could unintentionally send many soldiers to their deaths. So I want people to go to College before they can obtain these jobs.¡±


    ¡­


    Looking up at the sky, I saw that the sun was about to set that I realized I was too busy explaining the buildings to Ashley in great detail, that I lost track of time. I feel like I¡¯m talking a bit much lately¡­ I looked to the center of the Courtyard and see that the outer shell of the Tower was already completed, the Tower should be done tomorrow. I guess I will check on the prisoner in the morning, greet Dukes and Duchesses throughout the day along with getting ID cards ready. I won¡¯t be able to give them out until I get the information on everyone in the Kingdom, but since it would a little much for me to handle everyone, I¡¯ll lend that task over to the counts. I¡¯ll also try to get Adolf to get his counts to pull double the work for the places that don¡¯t have counts and dukes yet.


    I really need to assign the Void lands and break it up between a few counts and dukes, otherwise it will be a nightmare to pass programs and laws. Maybe I¡¯ll hold another contest for titles that will likely to disappear within a year or two. In the near future I will also set up banks and start the school year for everyone, but I¡¯ll have to wait until everyone gets an ID card.


    Ashley still looked a little confused but was starting to grasp what I was talking about when I described the function of a Police Station. However, I feel as it was time to go inside and see what chaos has befallen the Palace since our departure. I knew I should have come in as soon as I could but I felt the need to educate Ashley a bit about my future political plans.


    I should have done so, because I found Louise helping Maddie preach a sermon to some of the maids in the kitchen while they were teaching them how to make, what I guessed to be lasagna. I cringed on the possibility of what they could be preaching about, and so I left them be and exited the kitchen as soon as possible without getting noticed. I then found Chloe exiting from the makeshift portal room with her father, the Demon King, behind her talking about who knows what. I hope they were talking about politics, I really do.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Next, I hunted down Aria, which wasn¡¯t too hard, because I knew she would be my room. I cracked open the door to get a view of Aria dancing in her dress of feathers. Looking at the dress I noticed that the feathers changed a little. They now had purple tips and the larger ones on the bottom of the dress developed a silver crescent on them, much like my wings now. It was interesting but what really held my attention was the small figure twirling in it. I was simply captivated, it wasn¡¯t until Ashely tugged on my sleeve did I decide to leave.


    I had shut the tiny crack a made in the door, only to have the door be thrown back open and me landing on my back before I could even blink. Looking up from the ground I gaze into the Candy Apple Red eyes of one of the girls that had captured my greedy heart. She made a pouty face that made me smile, ¡°That was mean. Why weren¡¯t you going to say hi? I missed you all day. I wanna come with next time, please?¡± She stared at me with pleading eyes, it was really hard to look away from her face.


    My hand started to stroke the back of her head subconsciously, while I spoke ¡°All of you no longer have to stay away, you guys can accompany me where ever I go from now on. I do prefer for you guys not enter the Dungeon however, I wouldn¡¯t want you to view the filth we have down there. I won¡¯t forbid it though.¡± To that she looked overjoyed. Standing up, I set her down and spoke to the two of them, ¡°Come now, I must see why the Demon King is here now. I really do hope that it is strictly about the Coronation.¡± Please be about the Coronation.


    We walked down the hall and just about got to the stairway when I noticed that Chloe and Satan, I mean the Demon King, were walking toward us, chatting to each other. Wait, they were headed to my room, I can only imagine it now. I walk into my room only to find a figure that closely resembles Satan sitting on my bed, I think I would have a heart attack.


    When they noticed the three of us in the hall, they waved and greeted us as soon as they came in handshaking range. ¡°How are ya holding up my boy?¡± The Demon King said sounding a little chipper. ¡°You got a big day ahead of you in two or three days, right? And an even bigger one soon after that, am I right?¡± He smile dropped a little as his voice questioned me, ¡°So when is it boy, the wedding?¡±


    ¡°The wedding ceremony will be held after the Coronation. I will have specifics at a later date.¡± I flashed a smile and the room heated up a few degrees. I looked up to the Demon King smiling down at me.


    He then let out a boisterous laugh and told me, ¡°Ah, yes, yes it is after the coronation, one cannot rush a wedding. Well I have to be back to my duties, I can¡¯t wait for our bout.¡±


    I nodded my head, not even listening to him at first but I did a double take when I heard him, ¡°Wait, bout? As in fighting? Why are we fighting? Are you against me marrying your daughter?¡±


    He stared at me for a while and then threw his head back in laughter, ¡°Ha, my boy, you really do make me laugh. Of course we fight, its tradition. Did you grow up in a stable? Let me explain why we fight. I¡¯m sure you are well aware that Fire Demons are amongst the most fertile of the sentient races, so to prevent overpopulation we fight each other for the right of a hand in marriage. We can¡¯t help it, if we suppress the need, the outcome is¡­ gruesome. So, as a measure of me not setting you on fire at a family gathering, I would like a bout with you.¡±


    I pondered a little, ¡°So if I lose, I lose the right to marry Chloe?¡±


    The Demon King frowned a little, ¡°Not at all, sure rules are placed on the match usually, but it is not necessary, because I want you two to marry. However if you are itching for a wager than I have one for you: Become a commander of my armies. I could use someone like you, as I have heard your achievements from your ¡®priestess¡¯. If any of them are true, then I could use you to teach my high ranking officials a thing or two about leadership.¡± Maddie, I am going to kill- have a nice long chat with you later.


    I laugh awkwardly, ¡°Ha, I see. Well if I win, then I want you to pass a few political movements I¡¯m about to pass myself. I want you to work together with me on foreign policies toward each other and the Imperial Domain. It will help your government out more than you¡¯ll know. More details when I beat you.¡±


    This time his laughing became boisterous, ¡°You seem confident, I like that. We have our wager, would you like to set any rules placed on the match? Such as I can only use my left hand?¡±


    ¡°Ha, and you call me confident. Other than not maiming each other, I see no point in adding rules, may the best demon win. Ah, we are getting ahead of ourselves, we need to do this before the ceremony, right? Well, let us move our enthusiasm to a couple of days before then shall we.¡±


    The Demon King spoke up again, ¡°Hey, I had enough vague talk from everyone lately. It seems there is shifty business happening in some of my Dukedoms, but I can¡¯t track it down to its source. What I¡¯m saying is, I need specific information. So, what do you say, boy? Mind giving this weary king the details?¡±


    I felt for the Demon King, his best friends died recently, there is obviously turmoil happening within his kingdom and now his daughter is going to get married. There is a ton of stress laying on the shoulders of the man in front of me and he didn¡¯t even show an ounce of it to anyone in the room.


    So in order to keep everything relaxed, I said, ¡°I was planning on having the wedding two and a half weeks past the coronation in a few days. So the day of the summer solstice.¡±


    Looking pleased with my answer, the Demon King straightened up satisfied, ¡°I see, well I guess I¡¯ll see you around.¡± He turned to Chloe, ¡°It was good seeing you again, I have an appointment with some surrounding dukes that don¡¯t like their neighbors. I love you, try to contain yourself for a while longer.¡± He turned to wink at me before he walked past me and toward the stairs.


    I looked toward Chloe, ¡°You knew about this the whole time?¡±


    Chloe looked around as if she was trying to change the subject, ¡°So how are you going to contact your parents? You know necromancy is one of the few magic that humans have down better than the demons right?¡±


    ¡°I realize. Nice dodging the question by the way.¡± She shied away at the comment, ¡°No matter, I won¡¯t be using necromancy per se. It is something only I can do. If you have listened to Maddie and Louise, you might have heard of the way I summon them. If you do not know you will find out in a moment.¡±


    We walked into the room and I had Aria and Chloe sit down on my bed as I got ready to start my summoning. I poured every ounce of my Mana into a shining blue ball that I dropped to on the ground. A purple puddle formed on the floor and a black column of fog rose from it and out stepped a Skeleton. The purple fog clothed the skeleton and wrapped around its bones and started to form the blue flesh after its bones thickened. This at the point I would call it a Captain, it absorbed more of the Mana from the puddle at its feet turning its skin from blue to light purple, attaining power far surpassing that of a Captain, I will call this rank a Colonel. It still had mass amounts of Mana at its feet and absorbed more and more, hardly at first but gained momentum as it tried to rank up.


    The light purple skin grew darker and darker before the skin turned color of that of the goddess Anelia. Midnight Black skin, its silver armor gained more detail and added more pieces. It now had shoulder guards, bracers, shin guards, complete with a ginormous silver Shield and a silver handled, black lance. This rank was the top of the chain of command besides myself, it would soak up no more Mana. Its rank became that of General. Black feathered wings? The feathers all had silver crescents on them.


    Well, it was interesting to see that I would eventually summon Night Demons, but I need to summon my mom. Placing my hand on the shoulder of the General, I closed my eyes and pictured my mother and all her kindness, I pictured her in front of me. When I opened my eyes the Generals massive figure melted away into that of my mother. ¡°Mom!¡± the shape of my mother reacted and looked at me and a tear escaped her eyes as she embraced me.


    She looked confused as to where she was, ¡°You are not dead, correct?¡±


    She lost the wings, as she never had any in life, but her skin remained pitch black. ¡°No mother,¡± I smiled, ¡°I am very much alive, the goddess, Anelia, allowed me to call you temporarily. I missed you.¡±


    She looked at me with the kindness that I had once remember and said, ¡°I missed you too, son.¡±


    I held her tight before I loosened my grip and I leaned back to look at her face, ¡°Mother, I have news for, you would probably like to hear it.¡± When her face raised in anticipation, I told her, ¡°I¡¯m getting married. It will be two and half weeks after the Coronation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you, so who is the lucky girl?¡± She turned toward Aria, Ashley and Chloe.


    Shortly after she turned to the three girls the door flew open. In the door way, stood Louise and Maddie. Louise looked at me a little furiously, ¡°Why was I left out of this, if I had not used my Clairvoyance to find you, I would have been left completely out.¡± After she threw her small tantrum she sulked a bit.


    I laughed, ¡°Ah, Louise, I knew you would come, so I went ahead and started without you, I should have waited, I apologize.¡±


    She looked at me with teary eyes, ¡°Do you mean it?¡± When I nodded my head, she wiped away her tears and straightened up, ¡°That¡¯s another one.¡±


    Now I was confused, ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    ¡°Another child, you owe me another child. Watch yourself, if don¡¯t, you may end up with more family than you can handle.¡± She smiled and sat next to Chloe and winked at her.


    I was trying to think of something but my mother beat me to it, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s good to see that your group is as tight knit as a family. So, I ask again, who is it?¡± She questioned.


    I turned from Louise to my mother and told her, ¡°Well, besides Maddie there, it¡¯s everyone else. You will have a ton of grandchildren, mom.¡±


    She looked at me with a warmth that always seemed to exude from her when she was happy and surrounded by her loved ones. She then turned to the girls and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have much time left, paradise is calling me again, but I do want to tell you. I love each of you as if you were my daughters. You all have my blessing. It was nice meeting you, Maddie.¡± Maddie nodded her head as she watched my mother¡¯s form return to that of purple fog.


    I repeated the process with the remaining Mana pooled on the ground and in the Air to summon another general. This time I summoned my father. The wings remained as they were, as he had wings before he died. ¡°Father, I have news¡±


    ¡°I know son. You have made me proud. What news do you bare, son?¡±


    ¡°Dad, I¡¯m getting married, I will rule in your place as King, I swear to help the people, not just of this nation, but of this entire world. I will make you proud of the legacy you left behind, I will make you proud of me.¡±


    ¡°Son, I¡¯m already proud of you. I trust you will make a far better King than I could ever be. I know you will help the people of this world as you were doing so since you before you were born, I love you so much son. Know that your father is proud of you, and that you have my blessing. Now, come now. No need for the future King of the Astral Kingdom to cry.¡± He reached over with a smile and brushed away tears that I had not known were there.


    That was the last action he performed before he disappeared into purple fog. After a while of standing there, I absorbed the Mana within myself and noticed that it was substantially lower than when I initially let it loose. I guess I will call Uncle Ares later.

 Chapter 37: Dancing King.

    I nodded to the conductor and turned back to the girls, and smiled as the conductor changed the speed and tune of the powerful music that enveloped the room. The music started out low, where my head along the girls had our heads bowed. Then the drum got louder and louder, as we raised our heads up high, with the entrance of the strings the girls twirled as I marched across the dance floor. The music picked up pace and introduced horns, the girls twirled in circles around me, I plucked a girl from her mesmerizing twirl, Louise. A graceful solo came from a section of the orchestra.


    I swayed with Louise in my arms, and had her high above my head with some of the lifts in the dance, but I continued to twirl her this way and that. Twirling her faster I released her into the circle of twirling brides to be, as the solo ended. When I plucked out Aria, and a lower, more wild solo came from the Orchestra. Ending my dance with Aria, came my dance with


    Ashley, who was not as good as dancing as the others. So I had the conductor make the music flow into a slower pace. The solo that came from the Orchestra was playful and slow only to pick up the pace at end.


    Lastly, I plucked Chloe from the twirling, and I found that the beat had become powerful and fast, the solo that came from the Orchestra became that of magnificence and splendor, and she was on beat at all times, the girls span faster and faster increasing in tempo with the ever charging speed of the piece. It became a competition of dominance, then I was rushed at all sides by the girls did the music and dance finish. There was a loud applause with the brief silence of the Orchestra.


    When the piece that had begun to play shortly before our dance interrupted it, rang out, I simply stepped into the crowd and found a random lady. I tapped her shoulder, ¡°May I have this dance?¡± Turning to face me, I recognized her to be a Water Demon. She had a sharp nose and blue skin.


    My question was replied with a squeal. ¡°Prince¡­ Err, King Alexander! Of course you can have this dance with me. Do you recognize me?¡± When I shook my head, she let out a tone that was still joyful, though a little deflated, ¡°It¡¯s me Camilla Raincave. I attended your parents Coronation, and listened to your stories at the ball during that time. They were so fascinating, perhaps you have more?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps for another time, the stories I have gained since them would bring down this marvelous atmosphere.¡± I said as I stare into her eyes. She looked away and then back at me before we were interrupted.


    A familiar elf showed herself, Olivia had urgent look on her face, ¡°My King.¡±


    ¡°Olivia, what has you worried?¡±


    She shifted a little nervously, ¡°Ah, well it is um, um¡­¡±, she fidgeted a bit more, ¡°It¡¯s the Palace, it¡¯s surrounded.¡±


    I unintentionally grabbed her, ¡°Surrounded? Do you mean by an enemy?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, the uh, uh¡­ peasants, commoners, and farmers.¡±


    I backed off a bit before I could absorb what was just said. ¡°The townsfolk? Haha, why didn¡¯t you say so?¡± I flew to the space in the middle of the massive ballroom. ¡°Listen,¡± I demanded, ¡°Let¡¯s move this party outside. Let us explore the grand city of Starwind City. This room is too small to accommodate everyone who wants to participate.¡±


    At first no one moved a muscle, it seemed they didn¡¯t want to go into the city and mingle with people lower than themselves, which was understandable, they were raised on this principle. So, I decided to make the first move. I descended unto the floor and marched over to the door and threw it open. Upon doing so, I heard the roar of a crowd; that had indeed surrounded the Palace. Haha, the Palace guard must be freaking out.


    I walked over to the section that was directly ahead of the doors and I grabbed a random person and pulled them in toward me and started to dance and twirl with her. It was a small girl, probably no older than ten years, after I twirled her three more times I released her into the crowd. I then amplified my voice, ¡°My people, here my voice, as your King, I would like to move my party, into the city for everyone to participate. This is not just my party, but the Kingdom¡¯s. What say you?¡± I made a motion to cup my hand behind my ear.


    All at once, the crowd of people yelled out their approval. I motioned for the nobles and royals still inside to come out and dance with the people. Several bands formed in the crowd as people brought their own instruments and started to form them on their own. To dance with as many people as I could I only twirled people only once before moving on to the next. I wasn¡¯t even paying attention to who I was dancing with anymore.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I danced with a few soldiers, farmers, blacksmiths, and even a few housewives. I believe there were a few homeless in the mix as well. There weren¡¯t just people from my Kingdom, but it seems that there a few from the foreign lands that nobles brought over. Though, they were mostly just part of their militia.


    When I picked up an old man that had stumbled around in the crowd, I grabbed his wrists and sashayed side to side before turning around. When I made a complete turnaround, I felt I hard thump on my shoulder and cold words were whispered in my ears, ¡°Prepare yourself, war is coming.¡± I turned to see who it was and saw that there a million faces smiling with joy, completely providing cover for that dead voice.


    ¡­


    After pushing the thought aside for later, I danced undisturbed for the rest the night, every once and a while I would bring in everyone for a line dance, but after hours of dancing, I could see fatigue building in everyone¡¯s eyes. I had seen the sun rising at from beyond the city and I had called the party over. It was many more hours before the streets were clear but I had already made plans for next few days was already on sending out information on my declaration to the Kingdom.


    I sent flyers with some of the soldiers to hang up around the busiest places in the Kingdom. All the details about the speech I would give were to be handed out with in the Kingdom to the people, who couldn¡¯t go to the speech, would be hung up afterwards of course. I also had to arrange some wagons that would normally be used for transporting the army, sent out to the city pick up everyone who wanted to attend.


    Over two days, I had spent some time personally torturing my prisoner in the mornings, monitoring the construction at noon, talking to some of the dukes and some the human kings in the evenings, and speaking with my parents at night. I would like to say that those days had indeed been very productive, though the thought of imminent war kept popping in my head, I dismissed it each time. War? With whom? I will prepare just in case, but unless some civil war was about to happen and the Astral Kingdom was pulled into it, I just didn¡¯t see it happening.


    Being the third day since my coronation, I decided to make the speech in front of the masses that quickly gathered just beyond the throne room doors. I sat up when everyone got off of me, and I went searching through my wardrobe, looking for something that would give a presence toward the crowd. I decided to go with a blood red blouse with a black over coat and matching pants. It was simple, yet had a look of class. Normally I would have gone with a King¡¯s normal attire of the military¡¯s highest uniform, a heavily decorated military outfit. I had yet to reform the military, so I chose not to do so.


    ¡°Oh, that is a splendid ensemble,¡± Chloe remarked.


    ¡°You look marvelous, fit for my future husband,¡± Louis had said.


    ¡°Ah, yes, nothing to flashy. Better to go simpler, rather not look ridiculous trying to speak about serious matters.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Are you leaving?¡± Aria piped up.


    I drew her in for a hug, ¡°Yes, I shall be back, but for now I must leave.¡± I leaned down to kiss her, getting an eager response in return.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going with you?¡± Ashley asked.


    I thought about for a moment, then I replied, ¡°Now that I think of it, why am I saying goodbye? You were trying to steal a kiss weren¡¯t you?¡± I received a guilty smile as a reply. With a sigh I turned to the girls, ¡°Alright, well it is now time to go. Wouldn¡¯t want to be late now would we?¡± I turned to the door and walked out. Making my way down the stairs I made note of the general absence of the maids. My guess is that they all heeded my command to join the crowd to listen to the speech.


    I had gone through the corridor and eventually found myself in the throne room, in front of reinforced wooden doors. Pausing I summoned some of my Mana to seep into the air, within the miasma I created I summoned five gargoyles. Outside of a dungeon this is the most I can do though I purposely had one that towered over the others.


    I pushed through the wooden doors and was greeted by far more faces than I anticipated, I couldn¡¯t exactly see the end of this crowd. It could very well stretch out the Commoner¡¯s District. When I had opened the doors, the four of the gargoyles rushed past me, while the bulky one stayed out of sight. I imagined the gargoyles kind of had the same effect as dove rushing of churches for weddings. Though I had the gargoyles come back charging at me with spears.


    At full speed the gargoyles sped toward me, until they had come upon me, with all their momentum, they thrusted their spears toward my chest. I had not moved a muscle, not even looking at the gargoyles as they attacked. I simply opened up four portals in front of the spear heads, resulting them in stabbing each other in the face. With the fatal blow, they fell to the ground and dissolved into purple mist.


    The crowd cheered for magnificent performance, but it was cut short when they had seen the giant gargoyle behind me. It made a jab with its spear toward my head, but I had set up another portal and it had stabbed itself in the knee. When it fell to its knees to better favor its left knee, I withdrew my blade and sliced its head of in one fell slash. Its body dispersed to nothing and I turned to the crowd and bowed.

 Chapter 37: Dancing King.

    I nodded to the conductor and turned back to the girls, and smiled as the conductor changed the speed and tune of the powerful music that enveloped the room. The music started out low, where my head along the girls had our heads bowed. Then the drum got louder and louder, as we raised our heads up high, with the entrance of the strings the girls twirled as I marched across the dance floor. The music picked up pace and introduced horns, the girls twirled in circles around me, I plucked a girl from her mesmerizing twirl, Louise. A graceful solo came from a section of the orchestra.


    I swayed with Louise in my arms, and had her high above my head with some of the lifts in the dance, but I continued to twirl her this way and that. Twirling her faster I released her into the circle of twirling brides to be, as the solo ended. When I plucked out Aria, and a lower, more wild solo came from the Orchestra. Ending my dance with Aria, came my dance with


    Ashley, who was not as good as dancing as the others. So I had the conductor make the music flow into a slower pace. The solo that came from the Orchestra was playful and slow only to pick up the pace at end.


    Lastly, I plucked Chloe from the twirling, and I found that the beat had become powerful and fast, the solo that came from the Orchestra became that of magnificence and splendor, and she was on beat at all times, the girls span faster and faster increasing in tempo with the ever charging speed of the piece. It became a competition of dominance, then I was rushed at all sides by the girls did the music and dance finish. There was a loud applause with the brief silence of the Orchestra.


    When the piece that had begun to play shortly before our dance interrupted it, rang out, I simply stepped into the crowd and found a random lady. I tapped her shoulder, ¡°May I have this dance?¡± Turning to face me, I recognized her to be a Water Demon. She had a sharp nose and blue skin.


    My question was replied with a squeal. ¡°Prince¡­ Err, King Alexander! Of course you can have this dance with me. Do you recognize me?¡± When I shook my head, she let out a tone that was still joyful, though a little deflated, ¡°It¡¯s me Camilla Raincave. I attended your parents Coronation, and listened to your stories at the ball during that time. They were so fascinating, perhaps you have more?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps for another time, the stories I have gained since them would bring down this marvelous atmosphere.¡± I said as I stare into her eyes. She looked away and then back at me before we were interrupted.


    A familiar elf showed herself, Olivia had urgent look on her face, ¡°My King.¡±


    ¡°Olivia, what has you worried?¡±


    She shifted a little nervously, ¡°Ah, well it is um, um¡­¡±, she fidgeted a bit more, ¡°It¡¯s the Palace, it¡¯s surrounded.¡±


    I unintentionally grabbed her, ¡°Surrounded? Do you mean by an enemy?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°No, the uh, uh¡­ peasants, commoners, and farmers.¡±


    I backed off a bit before I could absorb what was just said. ¡°The townsfolk? Haha, why didn¡¯t you say so?¡± I flew to the space in the middle of the massive ballroom. ¡°Listen,¡± I demanded, ¡°Let¡¯s move this party outside. Let us explore the grand city of Starwind City. This room is too small to accommodate everyone who wants to participate.¡±


    At first no one moved a muscle, it seemed they didn¡¯t want to go into the city and mingle with people lower than themselves, which was understandable, they were raised on this principle. So, I decided to make the first move. I descended unto the floor and marched over to the door and threw it open. Upon doing so, I heard the roar of a crowd; that had indeed surrounded the Palace. Haha, the Palace guard must be freaking out.


    I walked over to the section that was directly ahead of the doors and I grabbed a random person and pulled them in toward me and started to dance and twirl with her. It was a small girl, probably no older than ten years, after I twirled her three more times I released her into the crowd. I then amplified my voice, ¡°My people, here my voice, as your King, I would like to move my party, into the city for everyone to participate. This is not just my party, but the Kingdom¡¯s. What say you?¡± I made a motion to cup my hand behind my ear.


    All at once, the crowd of people yelled out their approval. I motioned for the nobles and royals still inside to come out and dance with the people. Several bands formed in the crowd as people brought their own instruments and started to form them on their own. To dance with as many people as I could I only twirled people only once before moving on to the next. I wasn¡¯t even paying attention to who I was dancing with anymore.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I danced with a few soldiers, farmers, blacksmiths, and even a few housewives. I believe there were a few homeless in the mix as well. There weren¡¯t just people from my Kingdom, but it seems that there a few from the foreign lands that nobles brought over. Though, they were mostly just part of their militia.


    When I picked up an old man that had stumbled around in the crowd, I grabbed his wrists and sashayed side to side before turning around. When I made a complete turnaround, I felt I hard thump on my shoulder and cold words were whispered in my ears, ¡°Prepare yourself, war is coming.¡± I turned to see who it was and saw that there a million faces smiling with joy, completely providing cover for that dead voice.


    ¡­


    After pushing the thought aside for later, I danced undisturbed for the rest the night, every once and a while I would bring in everyone for a line dance, but after hours of dancing, I could see fatigue building in everyone¡¯s eyes. I had seen the sun rising at from beyond the city and I had called the party over. It was many more hours before the streets were clear but I had already made plans for next few days was already on sending out information on my declaration to the Kingdom.


    I sent flyers with some of the soldiers to hang up around the busiest places in the Kingdom. All the details about the speech I would give were to be handed out with in the Kingdom to the people, who couldn¡¯t go to the speech, would be hung up afterwards of course. I also had to arrange some wagons that would normally be used for transporting the army, sent out to the city pick up everyone who wanted to attend.


    Over two days, I had spent some time personally torturing my prisoner in the mornings, monitoring the construction at noon, talking to some of the dukes and some the human kings in the evenings, and speaking with my parents at night. I would like to say that those days had indeed been very productive, though the thought of imminent war kept popping in my head, I dismissed it each time. War? With whom? I will prepare just in case, but unless some civil war was about to happen and the Astral Kingdom was pulled into it, I just didn¡¯t see it happening.


    Being the third day since my coronation, I decided to make the speech in front of the masses that quickly gathered just beyond the throne room doors. I sat up when everyone got off of me, and I went searching through my wardrobe, looking for something that would give a presence toward the crowd. I decided to go with a blood red blouse with a black over coat and matching pants. It was simple, yet had a look of class. Normally I would have gone with a King¡¯s normal attire of the military¡¯s highest uniform, a heavily decorated military outfit. I had yet to reform the military, so I chose not to do so.


    ¡°Oh, that is a splendid ensemble,¡± Chloe remarked.


    ¡°You look marvelous, fit for my future husband,¡± Louis had said.


    ¡°Ah, yes, nothing to flashy. Better to go simpler, rather not look ridiculous trying to speak about serious matters.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Are you leaving?¡± Aria piped up.


    I drew her in for a hug, ¡°Yes, I shall be back, but for now I must leave.¡± I leaned down to kiss her, getting an eager response in return.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going with you?¡± Ashley asked.


    I thought about for a moment, then I replied, ¡°Now that I think of it, why am I saying goodbye? You were trying to steal a kiss weren¡¯t you?¡± I received a guilty smile as a reply. With a sigh I turned to the girls, ¡°Alright, well it is now time to go. Wouldn¡¯t want to be late now would we?¡± I turned to the door and walked out. Making my way down the stairs I made note of the general absence of the maids. My guess is that they all heeded my command to join the crowd to listen to the speech.


    I had gone through the corridor and eventually found myself in the throne room, in front of reinforced wooden doors. Pausing I summoned some of my Mana to seep into the air, within the miasma I created I summoned five gargoyles. Outside of a dungeon this is the most I can do though I purposely had one that towered over the others.


    I pushed through the wooden doors and was greeted by far more faces than I anticipated, I couldn¡¯t exactly see the end of this crowd. It could very well stretch out the Commoner¡¯s District. When I had opened the doors, the four of the gargoyles rushed past me, while the bulky one stayed out of sight. I imagined the gargoyles kind of had the same effect as dove rushing of churches for weddings. Though I had the gargoyles come back charging at me with spears.


    At full speed the gargoyles sped toward me, until they had come upon me, with all their momentum, they thrusted their spears toward my chest. I had not moved a muscle, not even looking at the gargoyles as they attacked. I simply opened up four portals in front of the spear heads, resulting them in stabbing each other in the face. With the fatal blow, they fell to the ground and dissolved into purple mist.


    The crowd cheered for magnificent performance, but it was cut short when they had seen the giant gargoyle behind me. It made a jab with its spear toward my head, but I had set up another portal and it had stabbed itself in the knee. When it fell to its knees to better favor its left knee, I withdrew my blade and sliced its head of in one fell slash. Its body dispersed to nothing and I turned to the crowd and bowed.

 Chapter 38: Words of a Better Kingdom.

    The crowd remained for a moment as if waiting for another attack on me, but as the seconds passed they had seen it was clearly the end. They began clapping but I tried to quiet them down first. It did take a while until the young ones stopped clapping. I sent a rush Mana into my voice and used Projector, to amplify my voice.


    I smiled to the crowd, ¡°My people, it is an honor to be your king. I may have a few stumbles in my rein but please bear with me. I will do my best in making this nation the brightest light in the history books, a light that will become a beacon to this world, that all of whom gaze upon it will be struck by a sense of awe. This light will be represented by its king, its government and more importantly, its people. For if you have a wise king, a decent government, but the people are miserable, then that light is not bright. However, it does not matter if the government is good or bad, the king foolish or not, if the people are of high morale, the nation is bright. The King needs to represent its people, do what is best for its people, make decisions that are carried by the government to better the lives of the Kingdoms people.¡±


    I paused before I continued, ¡°This nation has become bright from its dark days. Atrocities have happened in this very city and in all across the Astral Kingdom, back before this was a kingdom. Some of you remember those days, however, those days are no more. I am here to do my best to make sure that if a crisis were to occur, it will be dealt with and possibly averted. I want no dark days to ever fall upon this kingdom. I believe a reformation is in order for such dreams to come true.¡±


    ¡°I believe you remember the late King and Queen as a Grand Duke and a Duchess? When he was a Grand Duke, my father spent most of his rein doing nothing, because his fiefdom had no major disaster, there were no revolts, the Dukedom had maintain a stable status. It was stable, but it was dull. One day a dream was realized to him, his fiefdom had become a dreary place to be, despite being incredibly stable, there was no life. He then dreamed of the streets busy, children running around, shops full of exotic things. He had dreamed of his Dukedom to be fruitful in this world. He accomplished stirring in life into this place, and I am here to continue that dream.¡±


    ¡°As you may have noticed, there have been buildings built across the Kingdom, some small, some large. These buildings will be maintained by the government, they will have many functions. The first buildings you may have noticed everywhere are the very small ones. These buildings will act as a centralized mailing system. A Post Office, if you will. When you write a letter to a loved one, you can pay a small fee to have it send it for you. How will they get it? Simple, on a much bigger scale, I will have each housed numbered and every street named, I realized some are named but not all. Simply put the address of the receiver and they will take care of it for you. Eventually, there will be more of these Post Offices, and they will eventually handle more tasks for you, that help you as a citizen.¡±


    ¡°Regarding the larger buildings that vary in size and aren¡¯t as common as the Post Office, these buildings are there for centralized learning. Children from the age of five to about eighteen will attend these schools, nearly every day until they have turned of age. Each day there will be a curriculum that the student or parent can decide for them participate in. The students will be there for the first of each day, free to do as they like for the second half. The will be fed by the school twice a day. Since I¡¯m just introducing these places of learning, it will not be mandatory for them attend this year. Meals will be free for everyone that attends this year only though. I would appreciate scholars to take the role as teacher, though jobs will be available to those without experience.¡±


    ¡°Next you may have seen the largest buildings, these will be the temporary places of emergencies. I will eventually divide the buildings into three for its three respective functions; Health, Fire, and Criminal Activity. This building will cover for these functions temporarily because it will eventually become too chaotic and crowded to have it in one building for it to even be considered efficient. The future building of health will be Medical Core, or a Hospital. All health issues and emergencies will be handled there. Eventually there will be clinics and private doctors available for shorter wait times for non-emergencies. All emergencies will be paid for by the government. Men of medicine will greatly be appreciated to work in these buildings, though there will be jobs available for those without experience.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°I have noticed that soldiers handle the little criminal activity that happens here. While this is good, it is not efficient. I need a separate head and division that will handle this, a Police Force if you will. They will act as guards, they will patrol around neighborhoods, they will help stop criminal activity, and eventually deter any from happening. And the last function of the building, Fire, as we know fires happen, with or without the involvement of Fire Demons. Generally neighbors pool together to try and stop the fire. However, this leads to injury and sometimes death, not only that but the house isn¡¯t usually save. With a Fire Response Team, or Fire Department, ready for action at all times, done by professionals, there will be less causalities. The house should be saved if the response team is contacted immediately.¡±


    ¡°Now, you may have noticed a group of large buildings that I have had built in the Commoners District. These buildings will be that of a University. These buildings will be few in the Kingdom, they are for higher education. Education meant for adults of eighteen to several thousand years of age. Higher education will never be mandatory on the same scale that every child will need to go to their respective schools. Higher learning is for those seeking the jobs that I had listed earlier. If you want to practice medicine, teach others or have a government job, you will need a Degree earned from one of the Universities. Degrees vary in lengths of schooling required to get them. They will be required to have by those who have the job already as well, but not for another five years. I am still working out the kinks and need to screen professionals to hire for these jobs. I will be teaching there as well. I also highly advise merchants to earn a business degree, it will be huge leg up.¡±


    ¡°Lastly, I will reform the Army. I need to start it from scratch and have everyone retrained, ranks reworked, chain of command needs to be more solid. There will not be any drafts, even if there is a war. I say this because I will have benefits that greatly increase your livelihood available for soldiers once the reformation is complete. I do not have the benefits available yet, and will announce them accordingly. The Army is also maintained by the government as it is already.¡±


    ¡°I have said that a lot of things will be maintained by the government, it is true that it will be, but not on its own. I know everyone hates paying taxes, but I felt you would feel more relieved in knowing where the money is going. There will be a slight increase from the previous years, you won¡¯t see it until next year though. As for me, your king, I too will be paying taxes, I shall pledge not take not even a single copper coin from the taxes.¡±


    ¡°I realized that was how Royalty and Nobility get money, is through taxes. Not anymore, I shall find a job to support myself and the Royal family. I will be teaching at the University at first but I will eventually move on to more local jobs once the University takes off. As for the Nobles, if you are listening, the noble rank you have must be earned. As of today all nobles, with exception of Duke Adolf Windbar, are now vice-nobles, ranks are no longer inheritable. I need a better government to better service the people. As long as you meet the schooling requirements and work ethic, you will maintain your status. I only want the brightest of the next generation to take part in Nobility. Even commoners can rise to Nobility with enough effort. I give the Nobles five years as well, then each five years after that, they will be put to the test and could have their titles revoked. It will be a contest of wit and popularity.¡±


    I let the crowd digest what was said, ¡°One last thing. The government is going to assume another role in your lives and that will be with records. In order to keep track of everyone¡¯s accomplishments, misgivings, birth, death, and travels, I am coming up with citizenship cards, passports, and birth and death certificates. It will help you contact government officials to help you in dire situations, or for the government to contact you for any number of situations. It will make wait times at all the aforementioned buildings shorter and less chaotic. It will be a role to go to the Post Office, for them to handle it. The Record will be extremely local, and will logged by the local Baron. If anyone higher up needs to recall a certain person¡¯s information it would only take a few hours instead of a few weeks. Every citizen will have one.¡±


    ¡°I have already contacted the other countries about the citizenship cards and passports, it will be international agenda, monitoring is important and it is my job to make sure my people are safe.¡± I about turned and walked through the doorway when I remember I wasn¡¯t finished. ¡°I realized I already said ¡®One last thing.¡¯ However, I have one final announcement for today. I will be getting married in one week. This is news to some of you, and I apologize for the short notice, but since I have so many people before me, I figured now was the time.¡± Upon me mentioning marriage, the girls walked to my side from behind me. ¡°I will be marrying these four beautiful ladies, and you will have four Queens. All are welcome to attend the Ceremony. That is all.¡± I turned around after a wave of applause had almost knocked me off my feet. I briskly walked into the Palace and closed the door.

 Chapter 39: The Road to Memories

    With the doors closed behind me, I let loose a sigh. I had made my first speech as a King to the people and I made known my future plans with the country to all its people. I just hope they help me along the way and further the prosperty of this nation. I looked at my future brides and thought about the how I met each one. I met Aria in a forest as a victim, I met Louise who had sought out a possession from me, I met Ashley as a represetative from another nation, and I met Chloe as a flirtateous dance partner at my parents'' Ball. These ladies will be my brides, and I almost coudn''t wrap my head around it.


    I helped them only through mutual benefit of my own problems. In an act of selfishness, I stole Louis slave and killed her family, forcing Aria to stay by my side, I almost went to war with Ashley''s country, and lastly my family broke away from Chloe''s family rule. I know that I am well liked by many, and I have gained enemies through my many endeavors but I do not deserve these beautiful girls. I, however, won''t trade them for the world.


    Each passing day, I see the projects around the Kingdom getting closser and closer to completion. Also I near the wedding cermony. I had the girls plan the whole thing, knowing that it would be a far more impotant day for them. I''m guessing that for a normal polygamy, you would marry on seperate dates, however we decided it would be best if it was all on the same day. While they prepared the wedding I prepared for the fight with the Demon King. Ha, it almost sounds something coming from an RPG light novel, how amusing. I spent the last few days, putting portals in each of the representing archway in the rapidly completing tower. I designated a singal portal to the Void, in the a colliseum, different than the one I was last in.


    It took most of my energy to create these portals, creating only a few each day. So I decided that I would put them in strategic areas as to allow the most people to come through and go into the Void to watch the fight. Hopefully this will serve as a determent towards a faction that might rise up and try to either take from me, kill me, dethrone me, or make force their ideals onto me. Either way, this will probably deter them as I flex my strength weather I actually win or not, shouldn''t actually matter. However, it would make me pushing foreign policy a lot easier.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Through ''diplomatic talks'' where all of the beauracacy and a few nobles could here, we planned that battle date would be the day before the wedding. Showing up to my wedding beat up, check. I do have to say, planning a fight with another king that is probably really, really powerful along with marrying four beautiful women, and consumating the marriage, I could feel a bit nervous, but who wouldn''t in my case?


    Two days before the wedding, one day before the fight, I couldn''t find the girls anywhere, but I was informed not to seek them out as they were trying on wedding dresses. I gave up my search on the belief that seeing them in their wedding dresses before the wedding was still bad luck in this world as well. It was during one of my rests from portal creations that I decided to seek out Maddie. Finding her was easy, follow the mad preachings of a chef. When the voices got louder I saw her atop the counter with several maids looking up at her in praise. Is it me or has she convert more of the maids to her ramblings of me?


    As I approached her, she had yet to notice, but I opened a Void Step and whacked her on the head. "What are you doing?" Upon noticing me the maids excused themselves while staring at me. "Look, you''ll make it weird for to live within my own palace, is this what you intend for me? To be run of here?"


    Maddie looked at me with serene eyes, "Ah, but whatever do you mean, Milord? I want to spread the knowledge of your achievements before you ascend to godhood so that you will be properly praised and already have a religion base. Be a proper god, okay?" She ran away before I could rebute. Are you kidding me? However does remind me of my time with Maddie long before I became a King, a prince or even meeting the other girls. It was back when I was trying to show merchants there was a better way to do things and that I wasn''t just another clueless Royal who cared little of the minor side to economics.


    How did I meet her again? It had been three years, and I''m sure that it was only one of many whims toward a greater endeavor that I had tried to achieve before my nonexistent adventure began. Three years, no almost four now, it had been when I was fifteen, and I am almost nineteen. Many months have went by since my parents turned this Dukedom into a Kingdom. The third power on this continent. Memories, huh? I finding myself reminicsing quite a bit today.


    I took a look out the window which was situated on the third floor and I gazed upon on my Kingdom. It wasn''t all of it, but I could see almost to the Adventures guild in the Commoner''s District. This was a big city, maybe when there is a population boom, I''ll have the Construction build skyscrapers... I''ll some useful inventions made, maybe I can even make mass media exist here for entertainment...

 Side Story: Maddie

    Name: Maddison Appleroot


    Age: 21 years old.


    Place of Birth: Lumberton, Redwood Kingdom


    Employment: None


    Place of Living: None


    Next of Kin: None


    Achievements: None


    Previous employment: None


    Skills: None


    Likes: Singing, Dancing, Arts


    Dislikes: Cooking, Cleaning, Insects


    ¡°Thank you Ms. Appleroot, we will take you into consideration, but know this should a more qualified applicant become known, we will not hesitate to hire them instead. You are dismissed.¡± I have heard this and other variations of this from just about everywhere I visit. From every employer of different shapes and sizes.


    My resume says it all, I am of no talent and no use. I am another person out there, with no greater purpose, or greater calling. Had I been born a male, I would have been able to join the army, or even join the All Human Construction Guild. I would be able to use the army or construction guild to bolster my resume for a job I would want later, or even just make a career out of those, had I been born male. Had I been born beautiful, or at the vary least, if I wasn''t an orphan, I would have been able to find a man and just watch over the house. But as I am, I am a dirty, half starved person with no marketable skills, just another beggar.


    Surely there was a job for me, if only I knew where to start. I was lost in thought as I made my way toward a familiar alley that I had come to call home. It was dark and reeked of urine from stray animals. Not many people passed through the alleyways, so it was generally safe enough to sleep here. At least, for the last year or so, after I was kicked out of another awful foster home.


    My thoughts return to the days of going from foster home to foster home, and sometimes back to the orphanage. From what I hear now a days, our orphanage, Mrs Heartwood''s Many Seedlings, wasn''t all that compared to some of the other orphanages in Zugrielia. I have heard of an orphanage that is in the neighboring city of Resintown, that they were rumored to give the children routine lashings. My time at the orphanage wasn''t that great, but it was the only thing I knew. I didn''t know that children of families were given at least two meals a day and not just twice a week.


    The only thing I can say was that I did look forward to choir practice, it was usually right before the worst chore, cooking. I hate cooking, with a passion; I always seemed to bun myself. I would get yelled at if I burnt the food or removed it from the fire to soon, I was always made to eat my own failures. I have had so many stomach aches as a child, but I would give anything to at least have those days of rancid food, then what I have now. I would find little bits of leftover food thrown from windows or just dropped on the ground.


    The were disgusting, and covered in flies, but it was better than absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing, that was what my last foster family gave me. They housed me for three weeks, I was made to watch as they ate in front of me. I sat down and pulled the hems of my ragged dress closer to my body as I remembered the feeling of my stomach digesting itself with its juices. The Vinestans, I will never forget them. On the last night, they had a lavish feast, remembering those smells still make my mouth water to this day. There was large roast fowl that was covered in oats smothered in honey.


    I do not actions, not one bit. As they were eating, they had me sitting at the table, as always, to watch them eat. I think it brought them a sick satisfaction of having someone starve, watch them gorge themselves on extravagant meals. This family the Vinestans, were all very plump and and always had greasy smiles that seemed to be full of greed, there were three of them; a large father, a plump mother, and a very round daughter. Even at the orphanage, I was afraid they were going to eat me when they stopped by to select a child.


    That last night, I had enough. I was done with having being forced into this fowl play. As they were gathering the roast fowl onto their own plates, they looked at me with their greedy smiles before taking massive bites of their poultry. I stood up immediately and grabbed fists full of the meat from the giant dish in the middle and crammed them as fast I could in my mouth.


    I remember seeing the agitated skin on the very large blubbery man become a deep shade of crimson. He said not a word as stood up and raised his hand. I crammed another fist full of sweet poultry into my mouth as his hand came down open palmed struck me across the face. I remember falling over and having landed on my hand funny, but not feeling it at all as my body moved on its own. It moved to the food once again, though my belly was not used to having food on it, it felt rather queasy. I did not stop forcing handfuls of this meal into my mouth, this time I glanced over at the mother and daughter. The daughter wore a face of shock as she witness the scene and sat frozen with some oats falling of the spoon she was loosely hanging on to. The mother was screaming at me, with her face just as red as her husbands. Though she was screaming, I could not hear her. I could only hear the sounds of me chewing, and the crunching of bone that I had in my mouth.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    I then felt a shiver run down my spine as I remember the scene that followed. A hand from the husband found its way around my hair, which was long at the time. He used his chubby hands to pull my hair back which caused my face to look up. The pain on my scalp was excruciating, it felt like he was trying to pull my hair from my head. Pain then shot though my throat as he took his remaining hand a repeatedly punched me in the throat, causing all of the food in my mouth to spew out. With that he threw me to the ground.


    I lied there trying to breathe with futile effort. My throat wouldn''t open, I couldn''t breathe. I remember feeling the terror of dying on the floor, right before received a heavy boot to my abdomen, sending all of the undigested food from my stomach to my mouth and nose. Though the man with the heavy foot did not stop there, he removed his foot, and then slammed it down more force. He did this over and over again, with pain exploding from ever fiber of my being. I remember that the pain got to point of being unbearable while he was still kicking, and the woman still screaming, I found that blackness was creeping from the edges of my vision.


    I do not remember passing out, but by the time I came to, I was in this alleyway, on the other side of the city. I have made this place my home, not because I like it, but because no body comes here. Apparently there is a church nearby, though I have not use for a church, for I am not religious, for what god has given me anything?


    A slight breeze rolls in the remote alleyway, it sends a violent shiver down my spine and the thin hairs on my arms rise on end, the cold months will be here shortly. I need to find more cloth, or perhaps find more stray animals to make uneasy survival alliance for the coming winter months. Strays do not like other strays, but I find that they are willing to cooperate for winter, as their survival kicks in. Seeing as that I am no better than another stray on the streets, I am sometimes allowed in the mildly warm nests. The fur really does stink though, and it is often sticky, but I would rather that than to freeze to death as the frigid winds rip the little clothing I have.


    Pushing the matters of the ever approaching winter to the back of my mind, I hobble my way toward a nearby busy street. There are many people walking to and from many places, all at once. Almost none take notice of me in shade of the entrance to the alley. Those that do look at me sheer disgust. I know I am not pretty to look at, nor what I do is very noble, or appealing, but I do it all the same. I watch the streets, waiting. Waiting for some one to either accidentally drop or purposefully throw left over food away.


    Sometimes there are no bits of food, especially during a holiday, where everyone is at home. Only after holidays do they throw left overs out, truly a holiday for the homeless. I watch the streets today and I see a boy that I recognize from a season ago, ''accidentally'' drop a piece of bread. Normally, I would scurry toward the bread, then quickly run away before to many people see me, though they all know I am there.


    I say normally but this boy I have come to recognize as a someone really cruel. Last season, when the boy ''accidentally'' dropped bread, it turned out to be poisoned. I was vomiting blood for awhile, I do not know how I recovered, but I am thankful, that I did not die. The bread this funny tasting white powder on it, I believe the powder was the poison.


    From the park bench, the boy looks at me with a nasty smile and kicks the bread toward me. I watched the bread bounce toward me and roll to a stop at my feet. I glanced back up at the blonde haired boy, in his formal attire, staring at me, daring me to eat it. I look back at the bread and noticed that it was completely covered in white powder, so much so that clumps of it fell off consistently. I look back at him as he gives me a devilish smile before getting up darting off to play with other children that passed by. He glanced back once more and flashed an evil grin.


    Hmm, today is no good either, huh? I was about to turn around and walk to the other street that my alley connect to, until I heard a man speak up, his words were directed to me, ¡°Poor thing, stop by the church, we provide the homeless a meal once a day. It isn''t much but it is something.¡± The man dressed in white, priestly robes addressed his low, baritone voice at me.


    I tried to look him in the eye but I couldn''t because his smile was dazzling. He held out his hand, which caused me flinch reflexively. I did hear that men of the clothe could not lie when I was a child, so I decided I would trust another human once more. Slowly, I reached out and placed my battered hand onto his rough, calloused hands. Of which, he stood from his crouch and started to lead me away from the safety of the alley. I couldn''t control my heart as we walked further and further from my home. It was then I noticed everyone looking at me, even sneering at me with eyes of disdain. It was as if they were angry at me for being plain sight and not in my safe alley. They said not one word, nor did they approach, as the man who led me was tall, and built. I actually didn''t know he was crouching when he first spoke out to me, but now that he was standing tall, it felt like I was staring up at the summit of a mountain.


    With his height towering over me as so, and his shoulders as broad as such, with him leading me by the hand, I did not feel like a starved twenty year old, instead, I felt like a lost child being led by her father. My heart was set a flutter with the very thought. I shake my vigorously to banish the thought. It was then that the man stopped and ask, ¡°Is something the matter? Are you hungry perhaps?¡± He tilted his head while flashing that dazzling smile. I couldn''t help but nod, I was curious what he would do next.


    I think ones stomach would normally growl when one is smells food while starving. Certainly, my sense of smell has reached such a height that I can smell something being prepared to cook, deep within the stone structure before us, that I guessed was a church. Yes, indeed, had it been before the incident with Vinestans, my stomach would have definitely growled, how since that incident, my stomach is incapable of growling. I noticed that I have trouble digesting things as well, as my stool still somewhat resembles what I ate. Hmm, maybe I won''t be alive in a few years, but I can''t bring myself to really care at this point.


    Once again, the man took a hold of my hand and gently guided me past the threshold of the church. The atmosphere was very different in this place, it almost reminded me of the orphanage, with a fire crackling in the stone fireplace. It was then I felt a tear slide from my eye, that''s funny, I didn''t know they could do that any more.


    My tear didn''t go unnoticed, the giant man kneeled and wrapped me in the warmest hug I have ever felt. This is kindness? ¡°You do not have to worry anymore, lost sheep. For Icaldir wills it, this be your new home. Submit your life to the servitude of the cloth, and forever be in the graces of the god of man, the god of the Light! What say you?¡±


    He only released me from his embrace to ask me this question. Me being of the cloth? Why? What have I done to deserve your kindness? What have I done to be given this chance? What''s this? More tears? I do not know what to do. I opened my mouth to speak, but only a dry wheeze came out. It seems, I have forgotten how to talk. I hung my head, because I had no idea what to do or even how to reciprocate this man''s kindness.


    That is when I felt a hand on my shoulder that was warm to the touch, I looked up at the man smiling that radiant smile again, he said ¡°Let''s get you cleaned up.¡±

 Side Story: Maddie part two

    A tub full of water, it was hot. There were several maids that accompanied me to the wash room. I had the rags that barely covered me removed. I was left in the middle of the bathroom, surrounded by girls the same age as I, naked. A violent shiver passed by me, as the room was slightly cool, despite the warm air seeping from the bath was right behind me. I looked down at my battered body and saw the marks of the last year etched into my body. I looked frail, hardly human. I realize I am not good to look at, even the women that were in my company, were turning away while holding their hands to their mouths. I was grotesque, I know, besides the matted hair, bruises that covered half my body, and the joints that seemed to want to pop out of my discolored skin, I was filthy, absolutely so.


    Through glancing between their fingers, and the absolute refusal to look at me, I just stood there, in my own nakedness. Finally, the oldest of the bunch, by maybe a year, took me by my wrists and led me to the water. She said in a soft voice that only caught once, while she looked at me, ¡°Here you, here you are. Just stand in the water and we will help you wash up, right girls?¡± She glared up for a moment, causing the other maids to reluctantly approach me.


    One of them placed a hand on my knee and lifted my foot above the tub''s lip, and placed it into the rather uncomfortably hot bath. From just my foot hitting the water, it splashed up to caress the skin on my calf but, the water itself, slowly changed from its crystal clear appearance into a rather blurry one. Another maid helped the first one to raise my other knee and place my other foot into the water. I now stood in a bath tub of very hot water, burning away the soles of my feet and the very skin that wrapped my feet. Though it was almost intolerable, I couldn''t move, for I had no will to. I know I need this.


    I heard the hushed comment of the first maid, ¡°She is so light, I almost threw her.¡±


    It was then the oldest of them leaned toward me and placed one hand in mine, and the other beneath my shoulder. ¡°Come now, lets have you off your feet.¡±


    Gently, she pressed down on my shoulder, and leading my hand downward, this slowly forced me toward the water. Two maids at both sides of the tub each placed a hand on my left and right knee, to keep me from falling and to ease me into transitioning from standing to a sitting position.


    The water quickly greeted me, and washed over to my midsection. I was now in a sitting position with my knees poking out of the water. The water felt as if was trying to eat me, and that my skin would peel off from all the stinging. I looked down at the water and I witness it quickly turn very murky. I was sad to see such beautiful water be sullied by my dirtiness.


    ¡°We only placed her in the water and look at it now.¡± A younger maid seemed flustered.


    ¡°We will just have to drain it and fill it back up.¡± The older maid replied.


    The younger maid snorted, ¡°The water will just get dirty again.¡±


    The older maid glared at her, causing the younger maid to wince, ¡°Then we will drain it and refill it as many times necessary.¡± The younger maid just nodded her head.


    ¡­


    Many times did they empty the bath, refill it, pour water of my head and scrub me down with washcloths. After the initial stings of the hot water, and the burning sensation of the washcloths, my skin felt very smooth, and delicate. It hurt but, I am now clean. I still stand naked in the bathroom surrounded by maids though, and I am curious as to what they have in mind. It seems they are waiting on one of the maids to return, probably with a change of clothes.


    My predictions appeared to be correct when the missing maid came through the threshold with a new set of clothing in her hands. When she unfolded the clothing, it turned out to be a matching set with the rest of the maids that surrounded me. Two of the maids grabbed my arms and spun me to face away from the one holding the dress, while holding my hands up. They slid a white blouse over my arms and face that slid across my chest. Next came a long sleeved black shirt that snugly fit over the blouse. After that they put on strange thin black jacket that had a hood. The hood fit over my hair, and was fixed around my head.


    I look down at two of the maids at my feet. They glanced up at me and smiled, whilst hold a pair of black under garments and a long black skirt. They motioned me to step into them, and as I did so the slid them up my legs, past my knee, up my thighs and around my waist. The skirt almost fell to the floor, so the had fixed it with a thin black cloth, to keep it from falling. Next I stepped into some slipper like shoes and the outfit was complete. I glanced at the faces that surround me, they were not looking at me disgust anymore, but they were not smiling either. I knew they did this only because they were told to do so, and not because they cared.


    The group led me by the hand back toward the fire place, where the giant priest was waiting, flashing his smile, that seemed too blinding to stare at. ¡°And how are you? Do you feel clean?¡±


    I try to speak again, ¡°Thhank yoou.¡± My words were a bit long, and weak, but at least I expressed my gratitude. I peeked at the priest''s face again, and I knew that he appreciated it, with his kind smile.


    With a nod he dismissed the maids and looked me over once, then twice, ¡°Why you look better in that nun''s outfit, I think it suits you well.¡± If my throat wasn''t so tired I would have asked, but since I was still curious I decided that a tilt would suffice. ¡°Oh, are you not sure what a nun is? Well, a nun is a woman of the cloth, she does not marry, and cannot have a family, as she is married to the church, and the her peers are her family. What say you? Are ready to become apart of our family? I warn you now, there are chores, but seeing your current state, you are exempt from them for a time.¡± He smiled once more.


    I found myself staring, but I was unable to pull myself away. His grin was so enticing, that I still have yet to look at his face completely. Ah, but most do not like my gaze falling on them, so I managed to break my stare, and hung my head once again.


    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± I felt that his voice had a tint of worry in it, but surely no one in this world could worry for me. ¡°Ah, perhaps you are hungry. Here, follow me.¡± He grabbed e by the hand once again, and I felt a small tingly sensation in my chest.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    He brought me through a hallway and open a thick wooden door that led to the very smells that permeated throughout the place. Seeing the pot over the fire, I couldn''t quite see it''s contents. I was then lead to a seat and was motioned to sit down at the large table. None of the maids, or nuns as it were, were around it was just me and this priest.


    He set out a bowl for me and one for himself, then he walked over to the pot and removed it from the fire, with it, he brought a ladle. He first poured some of the contents of the pot, via ladle, into my bowl before he poured some into his own. I peered down into my bowl to find it full of some kind of broth and cut up vegetables. I brought a spoon to my mouth and I felt the very warmth of this soup rush into my mouth that threatened to burn me. I quickly swallowed the hot soup and found that another spoonful was in my mouth just quickly as I swallowed the first. Shoveling this vegetable soup into my mouth as I fast as I could possibly muster, until every bit of it was gone.


    I peeked back up the priest, he wore a face with a mouth that gaped in surprise. He quickly recovered and smiled again at me before he stood up to place more soup into my bowl before sitting down again, ¡°Slowly. I wouldn''t want the contents of your stomach all of the place. I may have forgotten to introduce myself. I am the priest of this place, Father Stoic. I have given up my last name, so you may call me Father, or Father Stoic. May I hear your name?¡±


    Now that my throat had been moistened by the soup, I found it ever so slightly easier to speak, ¡°My naame is Maddison. Appleroot.¡± My voice still caught for a bit, but it is definitely an improvement. I took this time to examine the rest of his face, as I had not done so previously. His hair was neatly trimmed into a short, blonde spiky cut, with a rather squarish face and strong jaw that oozed masculinity. I couldn''t see his eyes at this moment, as he was looking down at his soup. I did see really big scars on his face, one that went straight across his forehead and another that went down one of his eyes, that intersected with the first one. This was Father Stoic.


    He looked back up at me with a pair of pale blue eyes that seemed as vast as the sky, ¡°I will have you learn the names of the other nuns, and they will teach you your duties. For now, you will learn what they are, and when your health starts recovering, we will have you do your chores.¡±


    ¡­


    During four weeks of my recovery, I came to know the names of all of the staff. Cassette is the Big Sister, oldest of the nuns by only a few years. Joseph is the gardener and maintenance man, Anne, Rosie, and Libby are my fellow sisters that are roughly my age, or so I hear. There was a nun that was a bit younger than the rest of us, her name was Sammie, we call her the Younger Sister, despite her many objections.


    I have been assigned to follow each of the staff around this stone building known as the 201st Church of Icaldir. This church has one enormous room for prayer and fellowship that allow people outside the church in to pray to giant stone statue of some heavily muscular man wrapped in little cloth. I have been instructed to pray to the statue as well. The church also features a living space fitted with a fireplace and a kitchen that is down the hallway that has two fire pits made for cooking. There are several rooms in which the staff of the church reside. There is one public bathroom, and a supply closet that is where Joseph spends most of his time. There is also a Study, this is where Father Stoic spends most of his time.


    During this time, I have been allowed to carry out my duties and I have been assigned to cleaning the kitchen, as they have asked for preferences. I have been shown how to cook the staple soup of theirs, the vegetable stock soup, as well as cleaning the bathroom and fire pits properly, and laundry. We usually rotate shifts, but since everyone expresses a dislike for fire pit duties since it is messy, I have taken on that role permanently, because I am used to things far messier than this.


    Over the next few weeks I have settled into the role of fire pit cleaner and nightly study duster, for the books and shelves needed a regular dusting. It was also one of the pleasure I got to have, of watching Father Stoic sitting comfortably in his big red chair, reading one of the many books here. I would deliberately go slower with my dusting duties just see his lips twitch into a grin from time to time.


    After the dusting for tonight, I silently bowed my head for a good night to the Father before I dismissed my self. Lucky for me, the study was really close to my living quarters. I found myself in my room in a matter of no time. I looked around my room and realized it to be very dark and empty, as it usually is. I dug into my pockets to fetch a flint and steel, I then walk over to a torch on the wall and I strike the two objects in my hands together, releasing a spark. The spark quickly fizzled out, but with the second spark that was released with my repeated strike, caught on the oil dipped rags that were tightly bound around the torch, quickly setting it ablaze and lighting the whole room. My room is rather empty, but that seems to be fine with my new family, as owning possessions was not the way of the cloth.


    I smiled to my self as I thought of that phrase again, ''my family.'' I released the bindings around my head that kept the robe one me, and slipped my arms out of the coat sleeves. I let the cloth slip to the ground, the same with skirt and blouse. It was then that I stand naked and alone in the middle of my room, with a torch lightening the few possessions I had, the bed, a dresser and a mirror affixed to a wall near the door.


    I picked the clothes off the ground and wandered to my bed where I gently laid the clothes on the straw mattress. I picked up one item at a time and gently folded each piece before returning them to the bed, and after each piece was neatly folded, I picked up the stack of folded clothes into one arm and I casually walked over to the dresser and opened a drawer like I do every night and placed the clothes neatly in the drawer next to the fresh set. This set of clothes will probably be good for another day before it will need a wash, good thing laundry day is tomorrow. Everyone threw a fit when I wore an outfit for more than a week, so I will have to be careful not to upset my family too much.


    After I closed the drawer, I walked over to the mirror to assess my health like I had done during the month prior. I stared back at the brown eyed girl that looked back at me, stark naked. I noticed that my cheeks were no longer sunken in and I had a new kind of focus in my eyes now, it no longer looked as though I was staring into the face of a corpse, for this I was glad. My eyes dropped down to my shoulders, there was a nice sheen to my skin from the frequent bathing and the torch light, it gave me a healthy glow as my sisters put it. I gave a slight turn and gazed at my hair, it appeared silky now and ran past my shoulders. Perhaps I will grow it out longer, I kept it short over the past few years in fear that someone will catch me by my hair again, I''d often cut it with broken glass. It would cut my hands more than it would cut my hair, it turned out, but I desperately cut my hair with anything I could find.


    I glanced at my hands and noticed that there weren''t any open wounds as I was used to seeing, but my previous life was still marked on my body through the scars on it, such as the tiny ones on my hands. I return my view to the mirror and looked down toward my breasts, they actually had volume now, I am amazed how much they grew. My regular eating has filled out the rest of my figure as well, I now possess a more of a womanly charm, proof that I am leading a better life. My calloused hands glide over my firm breasts, and felt a shiver of pleasure ripple through me. My hands are rough, rougher than my sisters, but it felt good to gently touch my sensitive places with them. Likewise the rest of my skin was smooth, which worked as an addictive massage for my hands. I glide my rough hands over my smooth skin once again, over my breasts, and down past my ribs, where I felt particularly sensitive, until I hit a small lump that was no longer painful to touch, but still brought bad memories.


    The lump was on the lower rib that hadn''t healed right and mended itself in an awkward angle. The lump wasn''t very visible, but I could feel it every time fingers brushed past. The Vinestans. I felt the need to vomit from the memories flooding back, all feelings of pleasure had quickly faded. I pushed the urge vomit away from my mind as I quickly checked the rest of my body and finished my self health assessment. When I was done I return to the bed and pulled myself onto it and quickly got as comfortable as I could. Outside, I could here the insects chirping and singing, as they were the usual harbingers of spring. The nights will be warmer from here on. I rolled myself to a more suitable spot before I closed my eyes and sleep claim me. Thank you for another day, Icaldir.

 Side Story: Maddie part three (final)

    For the past few days, I noticed that Father Stoic has been wearing his smile fewer and fewer times, ever since the ''higher ups'' came by the church to do an inspection. He even stopped going to the study to entertain himself in his usual hobby. For some reason, I found myself being struck with an unusual sadness.


    Today, I only saw Father Stoic once during the morning and that was it. I found myself worrying over Father Stoic''s health, for no discernible reason as I dust the bookshelves. I started with top shelves with my feather duster, and I gently swayed the feathers back and forth, sweeping them over the extensive collection of books. I wondered if Father Stoic received some bad news from the ''higher ups.'' I found myself guessing at any number of possibilities, from him hearing that the churches funds will be cut, or that someone nearby has died. From my observation, people are sad when someone dies. We have hosted three funerals since I started my life here with my new family, and people had grim looks and tears every time.


    With my thoughts keeping me preoccupied, I noticed that my work with the shelves had finish, so I walked toward the door leading out of the study and placed the feather duster on the table on my way out. The short walk to my room seemed even shorter with my thoughts elsewhere. I quickly opened the door to my living quarters and let myself inside while shutting the door behind me. I stepped into the middle of the room, as per usual, and started of remove my clothing as my thoughts returned to the days of when I first arrived here under the guidance of Father Stoic. He was so kind, and always smiling at me, I felt a great warmth from him that I felt from nobody else.


    As I stepped out of the clothes on the floor I walk over to the mirror and find that I can''t see anything. I look about the room and I notice that I am doing things out of order, how strange of me. I hurriedly stepped toward my clothes and removed the flint and steel from my pockets as I searched the clothing. Finding the items, I dropped the clothes back on the ground and move over to the torch on the wall. One Spark, fizzle. Two sparks, fizzle. On the third strike, the sparks lit the oil covered rag bound to the sick of wood ablaze. It is getting harder to light this torch, I may need to replace it, or maybe something is off with the oil.


    I turned around to pick up my clothing, while picking up the clothes, I remembered that laundry day is in two days, I think I missed the laundry day today. Ah, oh well. I picked up the skirt as the last piece and moved toward my bed. My eyes were cast toward the ground, with my head spinning from all the thinking I have been doing today. I throw the pieces of clothing on the bed and pick one up at a time gently folding them and setting them into a nice and neat stack, I then picked up the stack and walked over toward my dresser where I opened a drawer and placed the stack near the another stack of clothing.


    I was about to turn around and go to the mattress but I remembered that I have yet to do my self health check. I walk over to the mirror again, and stared into the eyes of the brunette that I always greeted me every night, but this time there is a different look in her eyes, she looks concerned. That is strange, that girl is me, but why am I concerned? Is it because of Father Stoic? I think it maybe. I look over my face and I quickly see the knot on my forehead is finally gone from when I hit my head on the cooking kettle the other day. Truly an embarrassing moment.


    My gaze then fell to my shoulders and I admire the glossiness of my skin once again. It really is beautiful, I had no idea that my skin could become so beautiful a few months ago. I turned slightly to the right to see my silky hair once again. I idly run a hand through my hair to feel the gentle silkiness on my hands. I then faced toward the mirror again and I looked down toward my breasts. I gently glide my rough hands ever so slightly over the mounds of flesh, and I close my eyes as the roughness of my fingertips tickles my nipples, pleasure ripples through my body again. I open my eyes and look over toward the mirror, only to have my heart leap into my throat, there was someone standing directly behind me. I was so preoccupied by my thoughts that I had not noticed the intruder.


    I was about to let out a scream, but I found that a hand quickly covered my mouth. The hand was huge and threatened to crush my mouth into my head, then a familiar baritone voice softly whispered in my ear, ¡°Shhh. Come now, no need to be hasty. I noticed you were having a little fun just now, why not let me join in on the fun?¡± Father Stoic? Why?


    Why are you in my room? Why were you holding my mouth shut? I desperately wanted to know these answers. I couldn''t turn my head to see him directly, so I shifted my gaze toward the mirror, that is when I saw his face, the torch light was casting shadows on his face, but on his face I saw an emotion that I had not seen on him before. His face had an animal like hunger in it. His gaze shifted from staring back at me to glancing at my entire body, his eyes greedily drinking all that he could from the mirror, while he held me closer to himself. He towered over me, so he craned his head over the spacing between my head and shoulder. He then inhaled deeply while closing his eyes seemingly to smell my fragrance. After opening his eyes, he then looked down out my breast and with his free hand, he brought them up to my chest and began to fondle me.


    The roughness of his hands were like mine, but unlike me he didn''t gently touch me that felt pleasurable, he held me with breast with a firm grip as he began to slowly rub his hands roughly around my chest. His breathing started to become heavier, ¡°You know... I often see you staring at... me. It makes... it difficult to concentrate. I have come to... realize that... this is... the will of Icaldir.¡± He said as his breathe began to shake. What are saying, Father Stoic? Please stop, and act normal. Please, give me that smile, tell me everything will be alright. Please.


    I felt a shiver run through my body, to which, he responded, ¡°The higher ups... they think our love is... forbidden, but I say Icaldir wills it! So... they are sending me... to a monastery, for rehabilitation. Ooh, are you starting to feel it? Come on give me more reactions! I want to see you moan... Give Icaldir your love! Give our family your love! Give me your love!¡± His breathing had turned ragged.


    He then picked me up and released his hand from my mouth just as I was about to speak, his lips fastened around mine. I felt a kind of intense heat coming from his body, and from this kiss. Shortly his slippery tongue invaded my mouth and snaked its way around mine. He seemed to want to pull my tongue out with his own, and in order to accommodate his wish, I complied. My tongue was pulled away from my mouth and into his, where I tasted fermented grapes, was this alcohol?


    I felt the pressure of his teeth coming down on my tongue, sending on odd sensation to my head. I hadn''t noticed that we had been moving at all, but suddenly he placed me on my bed with his body over mine. He removed his mouth from mine long enough to start removing his clothing, I was in such a daze from the sudden events that I couldn''t speak or move, I was bound to this spot. When his shirt came off, I was met with rippling muscles that sported minor scars here and there, much my hands and body. I found myself gazing at those scars that it was too late that I noticed he also removed his pants.


    What is that? It looks abnormal, it is like a pillar of flesh between his legs, almost mushroom like in appearance. I know that men and women are different, but do all men have these. I was staring again, I then felt a hand glide over my mouth once more, and my hands bound in his other hand, while he situated himself between my legs, he had me pinned, unable to move. Why? What is going on? I do not feel comfortable with this? Please, Father Stoic, stop this. Somebody help me. I felt a single tear slide down my face, it felt like my eyes were on fire and face was burning up. I just want this to be over.


    ¡°Don''t cry, I promise to make... you feel good, just give me a moment,¡± he said as he stared down at the pillar of flesh between us. I watched it as well, as it drew closer and closer to me, I got a bad feeling about this, so bad that I wanted to throw up. Closer it came, until he placed it on the center of pink flesh between my legs. His flesh felt blazing hot against my own. He pressed on, seemingly to push that thing into me. I tried to move out of the way, to get anywhere but here, but I couldn''t move a muscle other than my legs.


    Eventually he pressed in hard enough that it found its way passed the entrance to the hole in the pink flesh, only to be stopped there. It hurts! I don''t know what this is but it hurts, please take it out, please. I felt more burning tears escape my eyes.


    He let out a small huff of air before he thrusted his hips forward. As he did, I felt a pain that ripped through my core. It was a sharp pain that was mix between a burning sensation and being pierced by a blade. Take it out, take it out, take it out, take it out.


    Please, just stop already. After he was inside me, he started to pull out bit by bit. It continued to hurt but I was glad that he was finally going to stop, he then thrusted forward again, and again, the pain came rolling over me in tides as he kept ramming his thing inside of me over and over again. He made little grunting sounds every time he did, as to put an effort into hurting me. For a moment, he stopped as his posture bent, and his face was now breathing on my breasts, he then continued thrusting into me while he started licking my breasts and suckling them like a babe. He then resumed thrusting his hips forward, the pain that accompanied the thrusting started to abate a little at a time, but the stinging in my heart and the burning tears in my eyes did not stop.


    I glance over to the door and I found myself desperately wishing for someone to help me. Please, please, please, please, someone save me. I felt more tears run down my damp cheeks and I noticed that Father Stoic getting a little rougher with his movements that brought more pain rippling through my inside once more. Then to my surprise, the door opened, I saw the face of a girl from behind it. Cassette! Cassette! Thank you, thank you! Please help me, please save me. Save me.


    What? What are you doing? NO! Don''t leave me, comeback, please. Please. No. I felt like I had been abandoned again. I just wanted someone to come to me, and save me from Father Stoic. Why did Cassette leave? Why is Father Stoic doing this to me. I felt the small pit in my stomach becoming unbearable and I felt nauseated and weak as my body rocked from the motions of Father Stoic. The rising pressure in my stomach, made it hard to keep the contents of my stomach down.


    The churning of my belly, the taste of bile in the back of mouth made the inside of my mouth very sour, I started to gag and the slow movement of vomit made its way into my mouth and tried to push back from the hand that restrained me but to no avail. My head started to spin and the heat from my forehead started to rob me of my consciousness.


    ¡­


    I awoke to an intense feeling of pain in my head and lower abdomen. There was some shouting in another room, and there was rays of light pouring into my room, indicating morning. I looked down at my body and the bed of which it laid. I saw a small reddish brown stain of blood on the bed. Last night was not a horrible nightmare but was real. I curled myself into a ball to contain the feeling of emptiness in within my body. I pulled my knees into my chest and I began to weep. The feeling of tears was painful as my eyes began to slowly shed them. My eyes stung more from the crying, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of dirtiness that I felt. I grabbed some clothing and dressed myself, I immediately left for the bath.


    I met not a single person on my way to the bath, but passing the study, I noticed that it was the room with the shouting was occurring. I paid no attention to it until I heard my name.


    The huge voice that sounded like as deep as a massive animal''s growl, shouted, ¡°...took it too far this time, Father Stoic! You laid your hands on this girl, this Sister Maddison. You have defiled her and you still wish to maintain your status as Father within this Church?!¡±


    I heard the same baritone voice as last night, ¡°Now, Father Ren, I have been diligent in my duties and I have made generous donations in the...¡±


    Father Ren interrupted, ¡°This is the reason we wanted have rehabilitated before something like this would happen, now we have to make this poor girl disappear to keep up the image of Icaldir. You are to blame!¡±


    The shouting continued, but it all faded into the back of my mind as I continued to the bath. Closing the door behind me, I wanted to cry, to shout out the unfairness to the world. I wanted to disappear, as Father Ren said. I found myself unable to produce a single tear from my exhausted eyes. Losing the will to care anymore I removed the clothes that I loosely put on and I turned the water of the bath to the hottest I could possibly stand it. As I waited for the bath to fill with water, I walked over to the mirror for morning health examination.


    I found it very difficult to look myself in the eye, as I finally mustered the strength to look up at myself, I saw a girl that I couldn''t recognize. She wasn''t beautiful, she was dirty. Her face was warped and the flaws only seemed to outlined by the filthiness. I don''t understand, wasn''t I beautiful? Didn''t I have beautiful skin and silky hair? I only saw a filthy girl, but what was this strange, dirty girl was me. I felt a lump form in my chest, and I could no longer hold the eye contact with the figure in the mirror. I returned to the bath and I set myself into it with the stinging waters rising over my body. I grabbed a rag and started to scrub every inch of my body, but I couldn''t understand why the dirty feeling wouldn''t go away. Why won''t go away, please just go away. Go away. I scrubbed and scrubbed, but nothing changed.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What are you doing?! Please stop it, Sister Maddison.¡± I was shocked to see Sister Cassette in the door way with a worried expression on her face. She was staring at something with a horrified face, I followed her gaze to my arm. It was bleeding and the water was now dyed slightly pink. I heard the scrambling of footsteps and I felt the rag being ripped from my hands. Cassette then help me up dry off from the water. She then wrapped a bandage around my arm, which slowly turned red.


    Cassette quickly threw clothes on me and ushered me out the door while looking hastily around her surroundings. ¡°Come now, we must be quick about this. Father Stoic and Father Ren are upstairs determining your fate. They want to silence you, forever. I did not help you when you last night, but I will repent by helping you now. I may not ever receive your forgiveness or that of Icaldir, but I promise I will help you now. I paid off a driver to transport you to a far off place, it is up to him to decide. Please, please, by Icaldir, let him be there.¡± She prayed this as she opened the door. As she did so, we were met with a man with a fair set of clothes that were padded in a quilt like pattern. Behind him was a red mare drawn wagon with many wares inside. He must be a traveling merchant.


    Cassette then practically threw me at him with a forceful shove. ¡°Make sure she is safe, I paid you good gold, and by Icaldir, you better hold your deal of the bargain, Seap.¡± She gave a glaring stare toward this man she obviously knew. The man only nodded and then turned around and ushered me toward the cart. I looked back at Cassette as she gave me a worried glance before attention was drawn back to something within the Church. She closed the doors, and with it her figure disappeared.


    ¡­


    We have traveled for many weeks it seems. This man named Seap, seems to make things only business like, providing me with food that says will come out of the budget left by Cassette. However, I refused most of the meals, if only it meant that I could go further. He asked no questions, other than when it was necessary, and I didn''t speak, unless spoken to, making this trip very silent. The only sounds that I listened to were the sounds of the wheels grinding against the pebbled path, and the sounds of red mare hooves digging into the same ground. There were the occasional city we would pass by, this would provide all new sounds to our journey, sounds of the hustle and bustle of people and their daily activities.


    It wasn''t until we passed a city that the driver named Castor. We were quite away from the city when he made an announcement to me, ¡°This is as far as the lil'' miss''s coin will take you.¡± He stared at me, of which I just stared back. Neither of us moved for a moment, but he broke the silence, ¡°Lil'' miss told me your circumstances. I am willin'' to take you to the Capital of Drayasil, Starwind City. That''s as far as I take you. That dukedom has some laws, helpful to us human folk. Now, I must part with you there.¡± He flicked his reins and the carriage started to move again.


    It moved north, from what I learned back at the Church. I noticed the temperature started to drop and the carriage started to go up on an even slope and then up the twisting paths of a mountain range. Eventually, we arrived at a plateau at a great elevation and low temperatures. The dark buildings stood in contrast with the white snow that littered the place. It hardly snowed in Lumberton, but it looked like the snow is here to stay. A violent chill ran through my body as the wind pierced my clothes.


    The carriage slowed at a gate guarded by a man with green feathered wings, an Air Demon, ¡°Business.¡±


    Seap then spoke, ¡°I come ta sell my wares. Nothin'' more, nothin'' less.¡±


    The guard then focused his gaze at me, ¡°The girl?¡±


    Seap stole a glance at me then spoke, ¡°The girl here intends ta stay. She has been kicked from her home, exiled.¡± I look at the guard to gauge his reaction.


    The guard kept his stone like face and gestured me to get off the carriage, he then looked at Seap, ¡°Good day to you sir.¡± He glanced at me next, ¡°You follow me.¡±


    We trudged through the snow, and the shivers I was experiencing got more violent. I felt my toes going numb, along with my fingers and nose. At last we entered a building. The guard then made his way toward a wardrobe near the door. From it, he produced a thick shirt and coat, of which he threw toward me, ¡°This is yours now. New laws have been passed in this Duchy, named the ''Alexander Equal Rights'' and the ''Betterment of Minority Races''. One of these laws promotes the minority and welcomes your race to the city, with warm clothes and a room in a tenant building, four months free of charge, to encourage you to make a living here, and find a job.¡±


    I will have place to stay, while I look for a job? I am grateful, and I have an opportunity to find a job in a demon city as well. I changed into the thicker clothing and walked into the snow with directions to the tenant buildings.


    Upon arriving at the doorstep of the tenant master, whom had skin like rocks and dirt, an Earth Demon, I was shown a room of which I could reside. The room had a person already inside, she had slick bluish skin that seemed to have scale like patterns, her fingers were webbed, a Water Demon, I''ve been told have these characteristics. She looked at me and welcomed me into the room, of which there were two beds and a single wardrobe. There was another door on the other side of the wall, I guess a toilet would be there.


    A tenor like voice greeted me with a glossy smile, ¡°Welcome, you must be new here. My name is Carina Floodseed, I am your roommate from today onward. Though in a few months to a year, I''d wager that I have accumulated enough to buy my own house. Oh, I forgot, what is your name?¡±


    I open my mouth to answer her question, ¡°My name is Maddi-¡± I was interrupted.


    ¡°Maddie? Weird name, I like it. You and I shall be best friends, the best of friends. I tell you what, as my new best friend, I will give you a recommendation to the place where I work, ''Renner''s Butchery''. Surely Old Ren is willing to give you a go.¡± Ren? Like Father Ren, that is a strange coincidence, but I soon forget about it as Carina started babbling again. We moved the conversation to the beds, where we sat across each other. This girl is a chatter box, but listening to her ramblings made me soon forget the troubles I''ve had, even the world seemed far away in this small room we shared. Eventually, her speech faded from my ears as my eyes became heavier. I no longer could resist the lull of sleep. Forgive me Carina, I couldn''t make it through you story of a pet you had.


    I was awoken to my body suddenly being shaken by a slender arm, belonging to a rather excited Carina, ¡°Morning sunshine! It is time for work, please get ready, well I suppose you are ready with those being the only things you own. Let me fix your hair, it is hard fix ones hair without a mirror.¡± Even though we had just woke up, she is already chatting me up on the stories from last night, asking for my opinion on them without giving me time to answer. She did this while running her fingers through my hair. ¡°All right my turn! Don''t make me look bad!¡± She delightfully smiled and sat down next to me, expecting. I stood up and I ran my fingers through her hair and I very nearly gasped at how different it was.


    Her hair was like the rough yet smooth surface of lake plants. Also thick and flat, unlike the thin and round human hair I have. It was black, and reminded of the plants that grew in the water, for some reason, I became jealous of her hair. The reason was foreign and well beyond my understanding. After a small one sided conversation, we left the room and I had my consciousness brought to full attention with the bright and bitterly cold outdoors. I do not think, I have been this awake in quite a while.


    ¡°Come, Come! To breakfast! I think some singed pork with fried pleasant hen eggs are in order!¡± She practically sang this to the world.


    ¡°Pork? What is that?¡±


    ¡°Pork, from the six legged pig? Have you not had pork? You must try it, it is simply to die for. I will treat you this time, but you will treat me when you get the job, deal?¡± I could only nod my head before she took off in another rambling, this time about the sweet and savory meat from ''Renner''s Butchery''. By the time we had got to the Commercial District, I noticed many bizarre looking people that looked far from human, much like the guard, tenant master, and Carina.


    We then walked in to a shop that had a strange animal that had been cooked as its sign. It had three legs that were visible in this drawing, so this must be the six legged pig. Strange. I was then tugged into the store by Carina.


    Carina then burst into a happy song, ¡°Renner, Old Renner. Please bring me some dinner!¡±


    A man came out the doors from behind the counter, with a plate of some cooked meet and two cooked eggs. In a gruff voice the old man looked at us and said, ¡°Carina, I almost thought that you would be late, but knowing you, I don''t think you would ever be late, just to give me an ear full. Here is your BREAKFAST, not dinner. I would appreciate it, if you didn''t sing. Anyway who is this.


    Carina than sang while improvising her lines horribly, ¡°Renner, Old Renner. Please bring her some dinner. Maddie be her name, and please... treat her the same?¡± her voice trailed off, I had to stifle a giggle. What was this horrible singing? I felt a smile float to my lips.


    The old man shook his head and went behind the doors and returned with another plate of the same meat and eggs. He sat it at a small table that Carina had sat down at. ¡°Carina, I assume you are treating this girl, as she looks new. So I will take the charge out of your pay is this fine?¡±


    Carina vigorously nodded and choked down the mouthful she had in her mouth, ¡°GAH, ooh, I almost died there. Anyway, Renner, what do you say you give this fine human a job? She is my roommate after all, and I am willing to recommend her. You know my word is good, what do you say?¡±


    To which the old man replied, ¡°I think you have many words and that they are more annoying more than they are good.¡± With that he shook his head while looking at me with an apologetic gaze, ¡°I am sorry though, we have the most employs we can handle at the moment, not because you are human, but because business is tight. Since Carina gave me recommendation for you, I will give you a recommendation to the owner across the street. His business is new, so he will probably hire you on spot. Eat your breakfast, then see if you can catch him.¡± He then left for the double doors again.


    ¡°Stingy Ren, I am sorry that I couldn''t secure you a job, but don''t be sad, you have four months and this is booming period in Drayasil, so you find one in no time.¡± I listened to her as I bit down into the Pork. The flavor of the meat was savory and every bit as tasty as Carina had described, it coupled really well with the eggs that seem to have been cooked in the oil of this pork. It tasted rather well, and the texture of this meat was rough and kind of chewy at the same time, but the soft squish of the meat felt really pleasant as well.


    After finishing the breakfast and saying farewell to Carina I walked across the street to a rather small building labeled, ''A Noble Treat''. There was a rather young man with purple glossy skin, that reminded me of glass or smooth marble, I was not familiar with his race.


    He was rather young, and stood just bit shorter than I. He was currently behind a stand with some meat on sticks. The sign above him said ''Grand Opening; Free Samples''. The sizzling meat had some weird black and orange things on them, I assumed these were spices, but I never seen any like these. There was this yellowish juice that glazed over the meat and made it very appealing to look at. I try to breathe in a bit to shake the temptation but that proved to be a mistake, as the very smells of this fragrant meat filled my head and my stomach start growling. I had physically remove the drool on my chin. I had just eaten, why do I feel starved, an why is this meat enticing me so? I want it inside me right now. I want to taste it and all of the juices that come from it, I want it, I want it, I want it.


    ¡°Would you like a kebab? It is free you know, I made it myself.¡± He lifted a stick that had two pieces of meat placed on it and offered it to me. Gingerly, I took the stick of meat and I gently slide a piece of meat off the stick and threw it into my mouth. There was an oily feeling on my fingers, but I could not pay attention to this as I feel like my stomach and throat were jumping for the chance to contain this meat and all of its savory goodness. It also had a bit sweetness that sent my tongue on an upward journey of deliciousness. The taste of the heavens quickly faded as I swallowed the meat, so I quickly grabbed another piece of meat and the feeling of fulfillment was bestowed upon me once again. My mouth, throat and stomach are grateful to me, and I am grateful to them for letting me experience this thrilling ride. The feeling started to fade again, and so I reached for another piece from the stick I was given to find that there was no more meat. I was left disappointed, but the taste in my mouth didn''t completely fade, I still had the faint taste of the oil the meat had inside it.


    ¡°You are my first customer, I just opened. I have to say that was an intense reaction. I would give you another sample, but I only limit myself to giving one free sample per person.¡± He said with a smile.


    ¡°The owner, can I speak to him.¡±


    ¡°Speaking. Are you wanting a job? I can give you one, but I warn you, we will be extremely busy, but you can all that you want when we take off in business.¡± He then flashed a smile that radiated with a kindness that reminded me of Father''s Stoic''s smile, immediately I wanted to vomit. I clasped my hand over my mouth as I squat to contain myself from breaking down. I failed to keep tears in my eyes.


    I then felt a hand on my shoulder and I look up to find this man with violet skin looking down on me, ¡°I thought there was something wrong with the meat, but looking at you now, I feel as though you have been wronged. I know not your circumstances, but know this: If have been wronged, know that I will treat you right. Even if you have lost faith in your god, have faith in me, for I will make sure that with everything within my power, that nothing wrong befalls my employees. So what say you? Are you ready to work for me?¡±


    I do not know came over me but more tears fell from my eyes and I launched my self at this strange man. I hugged tight and I prayed with all my might that this will not be a dream. Praying, praying, to whom, I drew back from him to see his face, smiling at me. I guess he will do.


    ¡°My name is Alexander Phendahl, and you are?¡±

 Chapter 40: Boss fight: Satan.... I mean Magnus

    How long has been since my coronation? Two weeks? The big fight is coming up in two days. I began my daily stroll through my courtyard and around the palace, checking on the affairs of things. Turning around the corner, I stepped foot in the courtyard, and I was greeted by the finally built, fully furbished Tower. I must say, it looked strikingly like the leaning tower of Pisa. I decided to march into the Tower to have a look.


    The first floor had many archways etched into the walls with large curtains on either side, with each pair resembling a flag of major cities on the continent. During the two weeks, I had managed to complete half of the portals on the first floor. I had used the memories of others to save time in completing this task. On the portion of the wall that was opposite of the entry way, there was an archway slightly taller than the others, this portal served as an entry way to the Void, more specifically, the Arena. I had one of the elder members of the Construction guild rebuild the ruined walls and stands, using the ancient design that was still there. He gave me his impressions of the unusual pale stone of the surroundings and the general alien like quality the atmosphere had.


    I would use this portal for the use of public events such as brutal gladiator battles and weddings. There is a portal to the foot of the mountain in the Void on the floor above this one, along with a portal to a location, where I noticed black soil. There wasn''t much in the void, but I built a portal to few things that I did see in the Void.


    I know the guild didn''t start the community building projects in other cities yet, but they already finished the university, the hospital and a few schools here in Starwind city. I had yet to redesign the army, and make a police force, I planned on doing this after my honeymoon.


    I stretched my wings and crouched slightly as simultaneously thrust my wings down and my body up, causing me soar into the sky. The wind in my face and the rustling of my feathers felt really good, but I concentrate on the task at hand, surveying my kingdom. I decided to take a break from creating portals today, I have already placed the wide spread ones at the tower, allowing the maximum amount of people to benefit from the tower early on.


    While flying, the tower came into my thoughts again. It did not have a name, and as important as it is, it should. Tower of the Void? Tower of Travels? Heart of the World? Maybe I should hold a poll. I shook the thoughts when the Common District came closer into view.


    ¡­


    Ah, day of the fight. The tower was already buzzing with life as people from all over Zugrielia stepped through the portals and were directed into the Void Portal. It was quite the sight to see, with all the confused people moving at once. I took this time to go to the Armory and find something wear. Upon entering, I saw a display case that held a very familiar armor, the armor that Ares had worn while he was in front of his troops. Ares was more robust than I was, given that he had a full life as a soldier. I decided to appraise it.


    *PING*


    Voidsteel Armor of Vitality


    Stat increase


    Strength: +25


    Vitality: +50


    Description


    An heirloom of the Phendahl family, this armor is made of the blackened steel from the Void, giving the wearer increased strength and vitality. It was rumored that the heirlooms were forged by the Demon goddess herself. Voidsteel set 1/3. Adjustable.


    Voidsteel? Is that what my sword is made of? This set has three pieces?


    *PING*


    Voidsteel Sword of Stamina


    Stat increase


    Strength: +25


    Stamina: +50


    Description


    An heirloom of the Phendahl family, this sword is made of the blackened steel from the Void, giving the user increased strength and stamina. It was rumored that the heirlooms were forged by the Demon goddess herself. Voidsteel set 1/3.


    I wonder where the last item is, ah it doesn''t matter, maybe I will find out eventually. And if not, it doesn''t really matter, though I am curious as to what happens if I have all three pieces.


    Since the armor was adjustable, I decided to try it on. I slipped the heavy metal over my head, and tightened down the straps. Even though it was adjustable, it was still too big. Just as I thought to take it off, the armor shrunk and became exceedingly lighter, almost lighter than my own shirt. I tapped the metal chest to see if it was still usable as armor. After the familiar tapping sound of metal, I was satisfied.


    I decided to drop by designated torture chamber, and check on my guest. Walking down the familiar stairs that led to a foul stench in the air, I was led to the murderer in chains, Janus. His skin had started festering recently, with yellow pus coming out of the pustules. It reeked of rotting flesh. The guards that were on duty, were clearly in discomfort. As much as it pains me to help him, as he needs healing, I need to clean him so that I can continue torturing him later.


    ¡°It is your lucky day. Today we will torture you in a different way, keeping you alive. I took the bucket I had told the guards to prepare for me and threw the contents at Janus, prompting him to scream a terrible scream. The bucket was previously filled with Green Isle Rum. This is probably the strongest alcohol on this world, and it is the closest I have to rubbing alcohol. So I will use it to disinfect his wounds, though the cutting and stitching with massive amounts of this alcohol splashed on him, will cause great pain. I do not envy him.


    I turned to one of the guards, ¡°Fetch the man of medicine.¡± After the guard walked past me, I looked up at the suspended prisoner. More specifically, I looked at his mangled arms. They will probably need amputation, along with his legs. I wouldn''t want him to die of gangrene. His limbs had already started to become heavily discolored from lack of blood flow, and he was already missing a hand and several fingers on the other. Parts of his arms had been flayed open, though the wounds were somewhat closed, as they were trying to heal despite not being allowed to. I want him to burn a bit.


    I looked at the wall, and the lit sconce that was on it. I walked over to it and removed it from the brace that held it. I then walked over to Janus and stared into his dead eyes as I moved the flames closer to his remaining hand. Once the fire licked the edge of his skin, his entire body was set aflame in mere moments. At first he did not react to the blue flames of burning alcohol, but his body suddenly came to life, as he writhed in pain and his screams echoed in the now brightened dungeon. I watched as he burned for few seconds before I grabbed the bucket full of water and hesitated before throwing it on him. Just a moment more.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Um, sir?¡± The guard spoke up as he witnessed the spectacle.


    Breaking the trance I was in, I threw the bucket of water the water washed away the flames, without entirely putting them out. The flames danced in tiny dots around Janus, and even remained lit on a small section of his arms. Janus'' body was convulsing with pain and he let out a strange breathing as to not let out any more indications of pain.


    I slapped the tiny fire that remained on his arm and simultaneously popped the bubbly flesh beneath my hands. I''ll need to wash my hands after this. ¡°I hope it was worth the failure. I''ll see you again, until then get well.¡± After that, I turned and walked up the stairs and passed a bulky Earth Demon in a giant white robe, accompanied by the guard I sent out. I didn''t get a clear look at his face, but his presence felt extremely familiar.


    I shook my head of any distracting thoughts and focused on the path before me, my fight with the Demon King.


    ¡­


    ¡°Are you ready, lad?¡± the giant form of the Demon King stood before me, topless. I got a good view of numerous scars, many of them situated at his chest. He spread his leathery wings and let out a mighty roar that was accompanied by the audience''s own.


    ¡°I am as ready as I will ever be, I just hope that the old man can keep up.¡±


    ¡°Haha, I really like your confidence kid! I mean King Alexander. Ah, I shall enjoy this.¡±


    With this short exchange we turned our backs to each other and marched to the opposite sides of the large arena, with many people, humans and demons, in the stands cheering us on. There were many people very confused as to what was happening or where they were.


    We did not have a referee, and as such when we got to our respective sides, we stared at other without anyway to start the match. It was at that moment that a bright flash that nearly blinded me appeared in the center of the stage. From the flash came a woman, dressed in a white tunic robe, with gold trimmings. Her skin and hair was as black as the night, her name was Anelia, goddess of the demons. Many from the stands gasped as they understood her presence.


    ¡°Two kings, wish to fight in good humor. We, the divine beings of this world shall watch.¡± Upon those words, another brilliant flash appeared beside Anelia, this time causing me to see holes in my vision of which I had to blink rapidly to dissipate. Beside Anelia was another being that exuded holy energy, though he wore black armor with silver trimmings. His skin and hair were as white as the snow, and his muscle seemed to ripple through the armor. He said not a word, but his gaze did stop on me for a while before he looked at the crowd and smiled. Anelia continued, ¡°With divine blessings, let this match, begin!¡± And they vanished, only to reappear on a cloud that hovered well above the Arena. The cloud looked very out of place here in the Void, but I couldn''t really judge them, as my future projects involved drastically altering the place.


    I looked back down at the Demon King and saw that he was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Keep your eye on me, boy!¡± the voice came from behind me and I felt a heavy fist collide with the back of my head before I was sent sprawling in the air a good distance away.


    The very impact rattled my vision, probably giving me a concussion, but I will worry about it later. I stepped back in the familiar Void Step and teleported a bit further a way. I then raised a Dungeon creation skill and created a domain that spanned the entirety of the Arena''s ring, and made it transparent so the spectators could see the fight. I then expelled nearly all of my Mana into the Dungeon and quickly alter the terrain while keeping an eye on Magnus. Many spires jutted from the ground, rendering combat on land to be almost impossible. Between the spires were puddles of condensed mana. I have gained a tremendous amount of mana from expelling it every day to create portals. From these puddles, rose hundreds of skeletons and wolves, each as black as the night. This nearly ate all of the mana available. I then let out a shout to turn these skeletons on the Demon King. To my surprise the Demon King was shocked still. He was almost frozen in place as the skeletons neared him, but before they could so much as even grab him he flew to a great height to escape their grasp.


    He then flew directly at me with the fire in his burning with fiery intensity, all the while a smile played out on his lips. He removed his sword from his hilt, and I like wise. He then put all of his weight plus the weight of his fall into a heavy downward blow. Had I not moved out of the way, I would have totally been done in. As it stands the very spire that lifted me up earlier was nothing but rubble now. ¡°Ha! Nice reflexes, kid!¡±


    He swiped his sword from his downed stance to get closer to me and I swung to counter it. As our blades collided, I felt an uncomfortable vibration in my hands and wrist, but what was worrying was that he was much stronger than I, and with a simple push he sent me into the air. I caught myself before I tumbled to the ground. While in the air, I used this brief respite to use some of the remaining man on the ground to give skeletons flesh and wings. Now the pools of mana were few.


    ¡°To me!¡± I demanded. I raised my sword, causing the many skeletons to flock toward me and when they all arrived I brought my sword down on the Demon King. The hundreds of soldiers in the air immediately dove for the target. Magnus gave a hearty laugh as he threw his sword to the side and readied himself for the multitudes of enemies. His laughs could be heard from inside the pit of bodies surrounded him. I could not see him but I did see many bodies being flown about, pushed back and some set ablaze. I recalled one soldier too my side and used the remaining pools of mana and infused it in this one soldier. He had risen to general status with full silver armor. Though I was out of mana, so I sacrificed some of the soldiers that were knocked back by Magnus.


    Infusing the General, I made I called forth Ares. I almost got chocked up by seeing him again but, I need to use this vital time, ¡°Ares, welcome back from paradise. I am currently battling the Demon King in an sparring match, any pointers?¡±


    Ares scratched his head for a moment, ¡°Ah! Do not cut his flesh! I think you noticed the scars? He has a thing with letting himself be cut. His very blood can turn to molten lava, or so I hear. Also, he may be fast enough to pull you from a Void Step, so be careful. I have had a few sparring matches with the brute, mind if I join for one last match?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Not at all, I almost want to see his face.¡±


    We then turn toward the many corpses that surrounded the Demon King. He let out a big huff, before facing me, ¡°You sure are working this Demon King hard, aren''t you boy? Who is... Ares? Oh, now you done it boy.¡± Ares snickered a bit before lowering his stance and meeting Magnus'' charge with his own. Ares had thrown his weapons away and was content with punching the Demon square in the face. Of course the Demon King set himself on fire making it hard to get any closer for Ares. I sat back and watched them have at it for awhile before I drew my attention toward the many corpses, their forms dissipated into purplish fog before settling into the dark puddles of condensed mana that they were before.


    Crack! My attention was ripped from the fog and I focused on the fight once again, they had disseminated another spire. They descended there flight until they were having a stare down on the new rubble sight. I then drew the mana pools to flow toward them, while the Demon King was unaware. When the puddle was under his feet, many bony hands shot up from the puddles surface. Latching on to the Demon Kings leg, his face fell as he saw what was grabbing him. Is he scared of skeletons?


    Ares took this time deliver another solid punch to his face causing the Demon King to fall back onto the ground, where the puddle pinned him down with more skeletal arms. Ares stood over him with a bright smile as he delivered punch after punch to his face. There was a sudden bright flash and I was met with a thud beside me. Looking down I saw the burning feathery mess of Ares'' remains. I looked back the Demon King and saw that his posture getting up wasn''t as steady as before, though his footing looked fine enough. I used this time to use all of the mana on the ground to call forth as many low level skeletons as I could and I sacrificed my Void Step ability to the Dungeon, giving them the abilities, as well as my Slow Time. This time however, everything moved slower in the space around us, including myself. Many skeletons disappeared at the same time, and reappeared near Magnus to deliver weak blows to his face.


    Magnus shook of these weak punches as he stared at me and marched toward me in almost hilariously slow paces. I decided to meet out his wordless challenge and I slowly marched toward him as well. Though I was moving slowly, my mind was racing in normal time. It felt as though my body was wading in mud, and it looked as though he was in the same situation, though I have a way to speed up my movements by a bit.


    With only a thought, I noticed the space beside me altered a bit before a Skeleton came out and grabbed me, only to whisk me inside his portal that ended up dropping me behind Magnus. I charged up my fist from behind my head and slowly, threw them at the back of the Demon King''s head. It was slow enough that I saw the Demon King turn his head to look at me, just as my fist slammed into his temple. It was a very slow movement, but I felt the pain and power of the collision.


    Magnus'' head turned the other way and his body started to collapse slowly. That was when I saw it, a small flame appeared between his muscles, before disappearing and then a blinding flash that blinded me.


    It wasn''t until many moments had passed that I noticed I was in the air, I could feel the wind against my feathers, albeit, it felt very strange when slowed down, but I couldn''t mistake this feeling for anything else. I still could not see however, and that was mildly unsettling. Just as I though to correct my airborne posture, I felt a skull smashing blow to the top of my head that rendered my very bright white sight, to nothing but black. I had fallen unconscious, with the very compelling feeling of wanting to vomit.