《The Rise of the Soul Stealer》 Chapter 1: Birth of Screams The year was several centuries before the birth of Christ. Four centuries with fifteen years added, to be precise. The location was in a city that was taken three years prior in the Peloponnesian war. Now a part of Athens, Mantinea was growing. In the estate towards the outskirts of the city, two young adults were about to become parents. The soon-to-be Father was pacing in the hall outside the room where the soon-to-be Mother was screaming her lungs out. The old wet nurse tried all she could to help the servants calm her down. After many grueling hours, the child was born. There were no signs, no omens, and definitely no prophecies foretelling this child¡¯s birth. But needless to say, he would have an effect upon the many Realms. For he was a soulless demon. The Father rushed in to see a demon baby in the hands of the old wet nurse Agatha and started to yell. Startled, the Mother saw the problem and she too, started to scream. The Father rushed to kill the baby, but soon found himself on the floor, still. Agatha was shocked, for the child had glowed when the Father reached out to him. Agatha did not know why she ran with the child that night, but she soon found herself halfway between Mantinea and Argos when out of the blue, a door appeared. Agatha quickly realized that this may be her final day. The door opened to reveal a flash of light which caused poor Agatha to fall unconscious. When she awoke, the door was gone, as well as the child. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. For some reason she was sad. Probably even sadder than when she later found out Athens failed to invade Sicily.
Somewhere in the Demon Realm, a door closed behind a tall figure carrying a baby. This tall figure stood at six and a half feet tall (¡Ö2 meters) with curved antlers instead of horns, the antlers branching like a tree, and grey hair the color of dust. ¡°The humans called you ¡®evil¡¯, but you don¡¯t have a speck of malevolence within you. You were just born! How could you be anything but pure? They call you demon, pah! You are just as human as them. You just had the unlucky occurrence of being born soulless. But the demons will welcome you. We have many here who can teach you your new found power, little one. Hmm¡­let us use your parents¡¯ language. How about Melakios? A dark evil, hmm? Hahaha! I cannot wait to show Master Eligor!¡± And so begins a new story, filled with adventure, growth, Nokia jokes, and much more! Chapter 2: A Day as a Demon Melakios was a human boy raised by demons. Primarily, he was raised under the tutelage of the Great Duke, Demon Eligor. He had 60 legions of demons (360,000) under his command and caused The Human Realm to go to war on many occasions. Melakios was brought and raised by one of the legion leaders, a strange being by the name of Cernunnos. ¡°So what am I learning today?¡± Melakios, not even 5, grew quickly. He was quick to learn and found ways to understand and question things that most people wouldn¡¯t even think to ponder. Currently, he was standing in a long hallway with pictures of past demon nobles and weapons that sawa lotof war and bloodshed. ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s just walk around. Can¡¯t hurt.¡± Due to being a human, Melakios was shunned and ignored. This allowed him to go places nobody would normally go. If he got in trouble, they would just kick him out, after all. Besides, demons were usually free to do whatever they wished. They drowned in their desires. In fact, Melakios had found out the majority of the other demon¡¯s dark dealings. He would watch the demons and their actions, learning even more what it meant to be a demon. But Melakios knew he was different. He was merely a passing fancy. As soon as he got boring, Eligor ignored him. ¡°That idiot, Cernunnos. If I got in trouble, what would he even do from way out in the Human Realm?¡± Even if Cernunnos tried to help, no one would ultimately care. No one was sure he was even a demon, after all. He was strong, that was all Eligor needed to know. ¡°Maybe I will go talk the Lady in the tower.¡± Plotting his course, he dashed down the hall and ran into the courtyard at the front of Eligor¡¯s mansion. Outside was exactly what normal humans would think a Demon Realm should be. It had purple skies, a red sun, and black grass. Even though the color scheme wascompletely abnormal, compared to the Human Realm, there was still life. Sure, the plants could eat you, and the birds would gouge out your eyes as soon as they spotted you, but all in all, it was a nice place. Melakios ran towards the gloomy tower on the far side of the courtyard. The mansion had great walls, towering on all sides, with four magnificent spires, each having their own uniquefeel. One, home to the Lady mentioned before, had the most dreadful appearance of being swallowed and enveloped by vines and roots. After climbing the stairwell, Melakios stopped to catch his breath before knocking on the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± a strange wail seemed to cry out every time she spoke, as if adying soulwas trying to remove itself from the person. Even if the owner of the voice was beautiful, the wail added an effect that would raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°It¡¯s me, Melakios, Miss Batibat!¡± ¡°Come in, dear child!¡± Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t even normal looking. The Batibat were a race of tree spirits that killed those that cut down their trees. The Batibat killed their victims by literally sitting on their face and suffocating them. Why such a demon was protecting the North Tower only Eligor knew. ¡°Miss Batibat, teach me more about how you use your spirits!¡± With no soul of his own, Melakios had an inborn ability to actually absorb others¡¯ souls. Unfortunately, his victims died. He was still training under the Pisachas hired by Eligor and selected by Cernunnos, but Melakios wanted to know more about his powers.
¡°Thanks for the lesson, Miss Batibat!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, child. Come visit again soon!¡± After listening to the Batibat all day, Melakios decided to tease Ashikalla, one of the Empusae. Ashikalla was just like the rest of her race, having a fairly beautiful face and upper body, but then had a donkey¡¯s hands, legs, and feet. Ash, as Melakios calls her, had donkey ears as well. He would fiddle with her ears when she wasn¡¯t paying attention and scare her. At five years old, Melakios was already a menace. ¡°Hey, Ash!¡± ¡°HUH?! Oh¡­it¡¯s young Melakios.¡± ¡°Sorry about scaring you, I was just bored and wanted to talk.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Melakios. I have work to complete.¡± ¡°How about I help?¡± ¡°That¡­that would help a lot! Thanks!¡± Ash¡¯s ears twitched and her tail swished. Melakios had already understood this meant she was indeed happy. Melakios spent the rest of the day bugging Ashikalla.
After all that, Melakios would practice manipulating the spirits he had absorbed. Most were simple creatures, with no intelligent thought, but he still learned from them. After many hours, Melakios fell asleep, looking forwards to the next coming days. Chapter 3: A Short Lived Peace Melakioshad become10. He had learned all he could from Miss Batibat and the Pisachas. Now he spent most of his time hanging out with Ash, who was 13,or sneaking around the mansion. On one rather cool day, for even the Demon Realm has the changing of the seasons, Melakios saw the plump Miss Batibat rushing towards the main building with haste. She was riding on what seemed to be a flying log. He could also see the other three tower guardians arriving as well. He saw a woman flying on a cloud. She was one of the Hali, a storm bringer. She went by Ala to everyone here. Under her cloud, static discharge could be seen striking the ground periodically. She herself was scaled, like a lizard. Her scales were black and her hair was the color of a thunder cloud; dark, deep, and grey. At first, Ala was incredibly hostile to Melakios. But after so many years and getting to know him, she, too welcomed his presence in the mansion. Behind her were the twins of the front most towers. Culsu and Culsans were the gate keepers and made sure nobody troublesome made it inside. Culsu was a beautiful looking lady that carried a torch that never went out. Her temperament was as passionate and ever burning as her torch. Culsans was a cool and calm but rather effeminate man with a stark disposition. Sometimes, though, he would switch personalities and become a strange guy who creeped Melakios out. Either way, neither one of the two treated him like they used to. Even as they passed, they gave Melakios a smiling look and walked towards the Main Hall where Eligor met his guests. Melakios knew something was happening and so dashed towards the side of the building and climbed onto the roof with the help of some equipment the soldiers never put up. He ran to the hole in the roof he made many years ago and hid amongst the rafters after hiding his presence. From this point of view, one could see and even hear all that was said in the meeting room. It was not a throne room, or an entryway, it was Eligor¡¯s very own war room. There were massive bookcases all around the room with each shelf stuffed full of dusty documents and bug ridden books. In the center of the room, there was a massive circular table looking object. On the top of the object was a map of the nearby area of the Demon Realm surrounding the mansion. Eligor probably used this device to observe wars in all the Realms. There were ten seats surrounding the map, with only three of the seats being sat on. The four tower guardians had entered and stood against the wall. The ones sitting at the table were Eligor and Cernunnos, of course. But the other demon sitting was someone Melakios knew all too well. He was Davy Jones, the Devil of the Deep. He commanded Eligor¡¯s massive naval fleet and despised Melakios to the core. Davy Jones was a little shorter than Cernunnos, but not by much. He had perpetually wet hair, as if he had just come out of the bath. His hair was green, his eyes were green, and even his teeth were green. But that didn¡¯t mean anything to some of the ladies in the mansion. He had broad shoulders and strong muscles. He exuded a strong aura that made others feel like they were suffocating. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He embodied what a true demon should be like. He was a greedy andpowerful killer. And he hated, absolutely loathed the living human beings. He kept trying to find fault in everything Melakios did to undermine Eligor¡¯s trust in Cernunnos. Davy Jones was always suspicious of him, especially after he had brought a human baby. ¡°I take it that with the people present, we are talking about that human brat?¡± ¡°Indeed, it seems the Succubi have become interested in him.¡± ¡°HA! Just send the little bugger away, why do we need him here?¡± Davy Jones actually smiled and wavedhis hand to show his noncommittal attitude. However, The tall man with antlers got a little heated. ¡°Because if the Succubi get their hands on him, who knows what might happen to him?¡± ¡°Calm down, Cernunnos.¡± Eligor sighed and was about to continue, but Davy Jones interrupted and glared at his rival. ¡°Yes, calm down. Someone might think you actually cared about a pathetic human!¡± ¡°JONES! Enough! The Succubi have sent a representative to discuss these matters. That is why I have called the Four Corners here.¡± Eligor himself seemed tired. Thanks to the trouble one of his Generals, he now had to deal with such a dangerous being as Lilith. She had even seduced an Angel! As old as the first humans created by God, Lilith is a moody being. She never listens to others and does things her own way. Her children all had powerful abilities of the night and none were more powerful than the envoy appearing today. At that time, a knock rang throughout the room, followed by the voice of one of the maids. ¡°Master Eligor, the representatives are here to see you, Sir.¡± Upon hearing that there were multiple people arriving, Davy Jones threw a questioning look towards Cernunnos to see his reaction but was disappointed to find him unsurprised. Rather, Cernunnos had a grim appearance. ¡°Master Eligor, I present Young Master Lilu and Young Mistress Lilitu of the Lilim Household as well as their chaperone, Ardat Lili.¡± Chapter 4: The Trouble Trio ¡°Welcome, I did not think Lilith would send her two up and coming geniuses all the way here for some little human brat.¡± Davy Jones was astonished that the Succubus would go through all this trouble. ¡°Hush, Jones. Pardon my subordinate, but I feel in a similar fashion. Is there another reason why you are here?¡± "Why should it matter?" At this, the boy spoke. He held himself in a regal manner, although he was the same height as Melakios, if not shorter. Like his sister, Lilu had strange hair color and small white horns on the side of his head. While Lilitu¡¯s was a bright pink, his was a striking light blue. They appeared to be wearing military clothes, but more colorful. Upon inspection, Cernunnos was surprised to see the uniform for the prestigious Demon Academy. Their tails were coiled at their waist like a belt. The outfits were full of bright golden buttons and buttoned all the way to the top. The material looked intimidating in its red color. On both of the children¡¯s left shoulder, there was a rose with what appeared to be blood dripping from its petals while surrounded by thorny vines. Quite detailed for a little patch on the arm, Melakios thought. For Lilitu, the style changed slightly. While Lilu had pants, she had a skirt that reached three inches above her knee. She did not carry herself with ideas of being higher than anyone else, since she wore normal shoes and stood at the same height as Lilu. Maybe that¡¯s part of their dress code? Melakios was trying to learn as much as he could of these three. ¡°Mistress Lilith has requested for the human called Melakios, so we shall bring him.¡± This time, the maid spoke. Unlike the traditional maid uniforms, like the ones around Eligor¡¯s mansion, this lady had a frilly look. She instantly stood out anywhere, not unlike the twins. Her skirt reached her ankles, but accented her figure more than Lilitu¡¯s skirt did. Ardat Lili had what looked like an apron on her front that covered her lower half above the knees. She had what looked like a frilly crown on her head and glasses. It would take a while before Melakios would find out that what Ardat Lili wore was a Victorian maid¡¯s uniform. Her skin was darker, almost matching the black on her uniform. She had a youthful appearance that many would have thought she was eleven or twelve, if she wasn¡¯t so tall. She almost approached Cernunnos¡¯ height. As she said those words, the hall was quiet. ¡°Hehehe¡­so demanding. For what purpose? Davy Jones may not have liked Melakios, but he liked the Succubi even less. There was a branch of Succubi, called the Sirens, which mated with the merfolk. These Sirens would use their spells to lure sea goers to their demise. Even if you have a bag of broccoli in the freezer, you¡¯re not going to feed your enemy, are you? Lilitu clearly caught on that Davy Jones was irritated. ¡°For our Great Mother. Whatever she says, we complete,¡± she said. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Not to mention, I doubt you have the requirements to teach this child abouthis powers.¡± Lilu couldn¡¯t help but to interject as well. All the while, only one person was quiet. Cernunnos was thinking of the outcome. If Melakios was truly given an education, then the decision to send him would be a beneficial one. If the Succubi were to try and experiment on him, that was another matter altogether. If they were to find out about ''that,'' then...things would get even worse... ¡°Can you guarantee his safety and health?¡± ¡®Cernunnos shows great concern for this human child,¡¯ thought Ardat. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of his wellbeing, all that matters is--¡± ¡±Yes. We can guarantee it.¡± Lilu was obviously not enthused by the actions of these minor beings. But having his sister interrupt him meant he was to stay out of the conversation for a while. Cernunnos was still apprehensive, but gave in. ¡°Alright, since the discussion has been resolved, go bring in the boy.¡± ¡°No need. I¡¯m already here.¡± Melakios jumped from the ceiling as he admitted tohis spying. Now it was time for him to talk. ¡°You brat! What are you doing spying on us?!¡± ¡°Hoh, so you can now hide yourself from our senses? Not bad, kid.¡± ¡°Oh, Melakios. You have only made the matter even worse.¡± The three demons Davy Jones, Eligor, and Cernunnos all interjected their thoughts out loud, forgetting where they were. ¡°Hmph. Some little human insect dares to intrude in such a manner?¡± Lilu was actually surprised, taking a hit to his pride. Not letting it go, he confronted Melakios. ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re calling me little? Then you must be tiny.¡± Davy Jones instantly grinned. Not at Melakios starting trouble, but pretty much slapping that twerp Lilu in the face. Not backing down was a good sign for a demon, after all. Even Lilitu stifled a giggle by hiding her mouth her hand. Ardat Lili was trembling, trying not to laugh out loud. She had great difficulty thanks to her actual personality. In fact, all the female Succubi liked to cause trouble, or at least watch it happen. Lilu flew into a rage, walking over to Melakios with his fists clenched. ¡°What. Did. You. Call. Me?¡± ¡°I implied that you are shorter than me and your actions are hypocritical at best.¡± Most of the people in the room were surprised. A 10 year old human talking like this? How did he learn such vocabulary? ¡°You cretin! You are not capable enough to be condescending to me! It is time you learned some punishment!¡± Lilu started to gather power as his tail unraveled and swayed in the air. He lifted his hands and gestured towards Melakios, but all the human did was sneer in return. Melakios¡¯ eyes began to blacken, as the surrounding area was visibly darkening and the temperature started to freeze. ¡°Do not think I am so weak, idiot.¡± ¡°Enough prattling, you worm!¡± Chapter 5: Showdown with a Succubae Lilu just stood there, waiting. But for Melakios, the scene was completely different. ¡°HAHAHA!!! You cannot defeat me! I am an Incubus!¡± In Melakios¡¯ vision, Lilu was covered in demons and monsters as they started to converge towards Melakios. But he sensed something wasn¡¯t right. He didn¡¯t feel the enemy. He felt Lilu, but these creatures he summoned felt as if they did not exist. Maybe they didn¡¯t? Using one of the souls he took from a monstrous lizard, he found himself in the room with no monsters in sight. Well, save for the ten dumbfoundeddemons. ¡°How? How did you break out of my Dream Web?!¡± Melakios just calmly lifted the lizard¡¯s soul spirit that was still nibbling on his index finger. ¡°What?! What is that?!¡± ¡°A soul. Having it take on its previous shape makes it turn into a soul spirit. This helps me with all sorts of things.¡± ¡°How in the world-¡° ¡°Enough, brother. You have disgraced us too much.¡± ¡°-Eh¡­Yes sister.¡± ¡°You have shown adequate skill over your current powers, but what if we could give you better chances at mastering this power?¡± ¡°Sis, why are you giving this lowly human a choice?¡± ¡°Do not worry, brother. He will still come with us. However, since he defeated you, a sufficient reward is called for. I - I mean - We can grant you a wish within our power. Whether this is safety while at the Academy, easy access to training materials, free food, a specific item, or even if you want to bring someone along.¡± ¡°Sis-¡° ¡°Hush.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, sis.¡± While the two were persuading and questioning, their maid just stood there. Her posture was stiff and proud, but whenever Melakios looked at her, she seemed to smile in a creepy way. Kind of like the way Culsans looked at him sometimes. He shivered involuntarily. ¡°Is something the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Lilitu, no. There¡¯s no problem. Continue, please.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­good manners. I wonder where they were before, you little brat.¡± Obviously Lilu was still ticked. ¡°People who treat me nice, I will treat them nicely in return. Otherwise¡­¡± Melakios trailed off, gesturing towards Lilu while saying it. This only infuriated Lilu even more. ¡°Fine! Since you can nullify my illusions, let¡¯s try actual combat!¡± ¡°Brother-¡° ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I need to see this myself.¡± Melakios quickly calmed her down with a wave of his hand. ¡°Oh. Okay, then. Continue.¡± ¡°Hehehe. Now you can¡¯t run away. Bring out your weapon!¡± Melakios grabbed the lizard again, but this time it straightened. It''s tailstarted to slim down to a fine point and an edge started to appear on the side of it. The lizard¡¯s hind legs went perpendicular to the tail, looking like a hand guard on a sword. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! In fact, the forearms of the lizard seemed to fuse with the head and elongated it. The hilt now appeared to be the lizard¡¯s head poking out of the bottom of his grasp. The lizard had morphed! ¡°What? He can do that?!¡± ¡°Hoooh, what a surprise! Maybe when he comes back, he can make us some spirit blades! Hahaha!¡± The Four Corners were talking amongst themselves, amused by how far the young boy has grown. But none were more surprised than those who hadn¡¯t talked to him frequently. Eligor, Jones, the three Succubi, and even Cernunnos were all astonished by this new development. ¡°Heh¡­what can a little blade made from a lizard¡¯s soul do?¡± ¡°Why not come find out?¡± ¡°Tch!¡± Lilu rushed towards Melakios with his finely designed Rose Rapier, but still remained wary of Melakios. Melakios never had any actual lessons from the demons on combat. But within him, he had a powerful soul. His very own Father. His Father, Alkelios, was a warrior who made it through the ranks and became a noble. Using his knowledge, Melakios was definitely capable of combat. During these ten years, Alkelios became aware of how innocent his child was. He wasn¡¯t evil, or a curse. He had let his superstitions get the better of him. Because of that, he died, his wife became a widow and supposed demon lover, and his son was being raised by demons. With his remaining powers, he conversed with Melakios, who did not know who he was, and explained to him that what demons did was bad. But his stance on demonschanged with the ten years as well. Alkelios didn¡¯t know what else to do after that, so once this predicament started, he jumped at the chance to help his son in combat. What father wouldn¡¯t? ¡°Oh? Hello, Mr. Alkelios. Are you going to help again?¡± ¡°Yep. Just do your stuff. I will let you know if there is something wrong.¡± ¡°Okay, gotcha. Let¡¯s do this!¡± Melakios charged forward, catching Lilu off guard. Trying to right himself and block, the two swords¡­ Passed through each other. ¡°HAAH?!¡± The spirit blade phased right through the rapier and stabbed Lilu in the gut. Immediately feeling a sharp pain, he backed off to heal his wounds. ¡°What? There¡¯s no blood?¡± ¡°Enough, brother. Your soul has been damaged. Any more and you might never recover.¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Most of the people in the room were caught off guard by the information. A direct attack on the soul? A demon deals in souls! The currency in the Demon Realm was actually souls, after all. If someone could manipulate souls like this, who knows what might happen?! Everyone gave an incredulous stare at Melakios. Chapter 6: Advancing the Plot ¡°What the hell kind of madness is this?!¡± Davy Jones was actually the first to respond to such a sight. Lilu hurried back to his sister and maid, as Ardat Lili pulled a strange orb out of a little drawstring bag at her waist. She gave it to Lilu as he started to glow. Well, only Melakios saw him glow. No one else was even batting an eye at the weird sphere. Then he realized, it was made out of souls! His eyes began to widen in surprise. Lilitu, who saw his reaction, called out. ¡°Oh, can you see the souls? This is a Soul Stone. We use it for all sorts of things. To power our special abilities, for healing, and even for currency. That might be why Lilith wants to see you.¡± Eligor only sighed, finally aware that the little human boy in front of him could have made him tons of these stones, if only he had realized earlier. ¡°Of course Lilith would be interested. She can smell anything that makes money.¡± ¡°Master Eligor, is there a problem?¡± The maid, who finished making sure Lilu was fine, could not help but to throw in a passive aggressive response. ¡°Uhh, no! Nothing at all!¡± ¡°Oh, okay. Are we ready to travel?¡± Lilu was back at Lilitu¡¯s side, but he now had grief and disappointment all over his face. Melakios¡¯ soul spirit sword returned to his self. He was currently listening to Alkelios¡¯ wisdom. ¡°You brat! What if he had measures for soul attacks?! You need to be careful! What if he was faster than you?! Before your weapon hit him, you might have already been run through!¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to know you care so much.¡± ¡°Ack! Uhh, that¡¯s just because if you die, I will disappear! That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Hehehe, then we can practice for next time later.¡± ¡°Hmph. Get ready for some brutal training.¡± Melakios returned his attention to the group before him. Davy Jones was still spouting profanities, Eligor and Lilu both had defeated looks on their faces, the Four Corners were all beaming, smiles wide across their faces, Lilitu looked as if she couldn¡¯t wait to head back home, Ardat Lili kept staring at Melakios while creepily scheming, and finally, Cernunnos. The one who brought him. He had a complex look, as if he was fighting himself. He looked at Melakios with awe and respect, but inside, Cernunnos was afraid. What had he taken? Was this child really human? Could those words he heard that night truly be a prophecy about saving the world? Or was it just a lie to bring him here to be used as a money mint? No, if it was a lie...then...perhaps that prophecy might have a little more weight... No. Cernunnos was not afraid of Melakios, he was afraid for him. He had brought this child to give him a place to belong, but now he was being treated as a tool. As a prize. But Melakios caught the strange look on his face and openly smiled at him. Once Cernunnos saw this, he realized that this might be what Melakios needed. An adventure! He returned a small smile, stood up, and slowly walked out of the room. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Davy Jones, seeing his actions, followed after him, trying to find out more about this kid. The Four Corners congratulated Melakios and returned to their positions at the mansion towers. Eligor stayed in his seat, too preoccupied to stand up. As Cernunnos went to open the door, in fell a little Empusa girl. ¡°Ash!¡± Seeing her fall, Melakios went over to help her up. From behind him, he heard Lilu say, ¡°Ugh, an Empusa? Get that ugly creature out of here!¡± The atmosphere grew stale, everyone could see their own breath, and ghosts started to come out of Melakios¡¯ body. If Lilu didn¡¯t know any better, he would have sworn it was his Dream Web Technique. ¡°Give me a moment, and I¡¯ll show you the way.¡± There was no sarcasm, no humor, just cold, menacing, hostility. Lilu had never felt it before, but this feeling, he would come to find out, was called killing intent. Lilitu suddenly hit Lilu¡¯s head so hard, he slammed face first into the ground. ¡°Apologize, brother.¡± In a muffled voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Blood started to pool on the floor, originating from Lilu¡¯s upper body. Immediately, the strange force lifted, letting everyone breathe normally again. In order to have him focus on something else, Lilitu asked Melakios about his wish. ¡°I was going to bring a friend, but I feel she would be safer here.¡± ¡°My apologies for my stupid brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Since I haven¡¯t decided, maybe if I find a problem in the future, you can help me then?¡± ¡°Certainly. I would be honored to.¡± Everyone then went outside. -- A short time later, many of the mansion¡¯s staff and important people stood outside the front gates, waving off a magnificent carriage, pulled by two hippogryphs. The two beasts and the driver were just waiting the entire time, so they appeared bored or tired and ready to get going. Although the two hippogryphs did seem a little skittish. Melakios was leaning out the window, waving at the people who came to say goodbye. He even saw Eligor and Davy Jones! But no matter how hard he looked, he could not find Cernunnos. But he did see Ash and the Four Corners. They were the ones waving frantically, afraid Melakios wouldn¡¯t even see them. Once the carriage was far enough, Lilitu motioned for Melakios to sit down. ¡°We¡¯re about to set off.¡± ¡°Hmm? Haven¡¯t we already started?¡± ¡°Hahaha, shows how much you know! These two hippogryphs have wings for a reason, ¡®idiot¡¯!¡± ¡°Brother, shut up.¡± ¡°Yes sis.¡± ¡°So tell me about this Academy I¡¯m going to.¡± Melakios ignored Lilu''s jab and asked Lilitu a question. ¡°The Academy is a good place for many of the young ones of noble families to learn more and get stronger. Even though we¡¯re bringing you, we of the Lilim Household are not the people who run the Academy. But we do have a major foot in the door.¡± ¡°What might I be doing at the Academy?¡± ¡°You will be trying to become a Soul Monger. Like us.¡± Chapter 7: Lets go...steal? Before Melakios could ask Lilitu what she meant, the whole carriage lurched backwards and then forwards again, as if it hit a bump and went over a cliff. He looked outside to see the land far below him. To Melakios, who never saw such a sight, this was only the beginning of what this journey would bring him. Surprisingly enough, when he sat back down again, he noticed Lilu was strapped to his seat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You might want to buckle up, hippogryphs don¡¯t fly smoothly. And we might end up having to fight something.¡± Melakios looked over and saw Lilitu was doing the same thing. ¡°Is it really that bad? Let me go check.¡± As he began to stand up again, Lilitu and Lilu both tried to stop him. ¡°Don¡¯t do it, you moron!¡± ¡°Hey! Why don¡¯t we talk about that Soul Monger stuff I was talking about before?¡± ¡°Hmm? Isn¡¯t that what someone is called when they reach a specific level of Soul Energy or Quantity?¡± To that, Lilitu was surprised. ¡°You already know the stages of power?¡± ¡°I know the first several. Soul Keeper, Soul Stealer, Soul Collector, and Soul Reaper. Right?¡± ¡°Well, yes. After the Mortal Stages comes theDemonic Stages. Each major stage of the Noble Stages has 4 smaller Levels.¡± She paused to make sure Melakios sat down to pay attention. ¡°Good. The first major stage is called theNoble Stage. These stages are leveled like actual Demon Ranks. A Soul Lord is the same as a Demon Lord. The difference lies in the way they attack. True demons have special techniques and powers. They also have followers and soldiers. Soul users tend to use Soul Items and Soul Attacks to deal with problems. They also tend to be alone.¡± ¡°For some reason, I don¡¯t think I will be in the same category as normal soul users.¡± ¡°Indeed. Your way of manipulating souls means you are more like a Soul Demon. Soul users are more like really wealthy Demons that are extremely weak otherwise. Maybe they found a lucky item, or gathered a lot of money.¡± ¡°So, Demons have military power, like Eligor, and Soul Mongers and such have monetary power?¡± ¡°Exactly. You catch on quicker than my brother.¡± ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°Anyways, even if a Soul Lord might be physically weaker than a true Demon Lord, the Soul Lord could have hidden weapons or medicine. TheNoble stage is made of Lords, Barons, Counts, and Dukes. After theNoble Stage comes the Royal Stage. It is made of Rulers, Princes, Kings, and Sovereigns. After the Royal Stage comes the Sage Stage. It consists of Emperors, Legends, Myths, and Superiors. The final stage holds just one Level. It is the pinnacle of power. God Stage.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m bored. I am going outside now.¡± ¡°WAIT!¡± ¡°WAIT!¡± As the twins tried to unbuckle themselves, Melakios had already climbed through the window of the carriage. The next thing they knew, he disappeared from their vision, sent flying by the oncoming wind. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.¡°Shit!¡± ¡°Damn, ack!¡± Lilitu shoved her brother back as she leaned out the window. She did not see the falling figure of the human boy. Could he have already been out of sight so quickly? ¡°It¡¯s nice up here.¡± Lilitu jerked in astonishment as she turned to look above her. What greeted her was Melakios sitting cross legged on top of the carriage. Fatigued by the sudden thought of failing her mission, she slumped down back into her seat. Lilu, on the other hand, did not see or hear Melakios. He saw his sister slump onto the bench with a sad face. He quickly pulled out a pill with the design of wings etched into the surface. Seeing her brother grab the Winged Messenger Pill, she yelled at him, ¡°He¡¯s fine! He¡¯s on top of the carriage! Don¡¯t waste that pill!¡± Startled, Lilu stopped what he was doing. ¡°Oh. Sorry.¡± Dejected, he too sat on his seat. While the twins were being depressed, Melakios crawled along the top of the carriage to see the front. He sat behind the driver and Ardat Lili. ¡°Oh? I¡¯m surprised you can handle this pressure! Even I have to be kept tied down.¡± The driver was indifferent, but Ardat was alarmed by the aura emanating from Melakios. He was using most of his soul spirits to keep in place, after all. To anyone who can sense the fluctuation of souls, they could tell Melakios was doing something. ¡°How long till we get to the Academy?¡± ¡°Oh, about 2 more hours. That is if we don¡¯t encounter any trouble.¡± ¡°That sounds foreboding.¡± ¡°Hahaha! What monster in their right mind would mess with a Demon Lord, 3 Demons at the peak of the Mortal Stage, and two hippogryphs?¡± ¡°Maybe that.¡± Ardat Lili was still observing Melakios, so she did not notice the black cloud heading their way. In fact, even if she was paying attention, she might have missed it. It was actually anattack! Melakios could see a swarm of Spirit Crows crashing towards the carriage. Upon hearing his words, Ardat Lili turned and quickly rushed forward to meet the incoming threat. Taking the chance, Melakios went back to warn the twins. The twins were still moping around when a head popped out from the top of the window. Melakios then asked, ¡°Hey, if we get attacked, what are we supposed to do?¡± ¡°What?! Lilu, it¡¯s time for that pill. We have to get Melakios out of here.¡± ¡°Got it, sis.¡± The two swallowed the Winged Messenger Pills and were filled with a strange light. When the light died down, their wings grew bigger, and some new wings appeared behind their ears and heels. If they were stronger, then perhaps they could have sprouted wings on their own, but for now, these pills fashioned after aLesser God''s attire would suffice. ¡°I got Melakios, sis. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± ¡°Is this really necessary? I mean, Ardat Lili is taking care of it.¡± The two stopped what they were doing and stared at each other in horror. ¡°We have to go. NOW!¡± ¡°We have to go. NOW!¡± Chapter 8: Ambush! Lilitu broke the door down after Melakios rushed out of the way. Lilu quickly flew out and grabbed him before he could protest. ¡°Oi, you kids better hightail it out of here! That must be an attack by a Baron! Maybe even a Count!¡± The driver ushered them to hide in the forest, away from combat. ¡°Does that mean Ardat Lili will have trouble?¡± ¡°Yes, now quiet. Don¡¯t bite your tongue.¡± The three flew towards a forest below them. Just as they were about to enter, Melakios shouted, ¡°Dodge right! There are incoming attacks from behind us!¡± As soon as they veered away, soul needle arrows whizzed by asa cackle was heard from around them. ¡°Kekeke! It is true! You have a human who can sense the power of souls! Give him here!¡± ¡°Are you willing to go to war with the Lilim Household?!¡± ¡°Quiet, brat! Just hand over the little pink fellow, and you might just live! We have you surrounded with all sorts of people!¡± Even though he was being carried piggyback, Melakios didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable. He glanced at the Demon before them, with his red body, tails, horns, and wings. His eyes were as black as night, and he wore basic brown clothes. Melakios could not help but to try and mess with him a little. ¡°Oh? How can you even matter against our numbers? You are outmatched and outnumbered.¡± ¡°Kekeke, we have 10 people at the peak of the Mortal Stage, a Demon Lord, and even a Demon of a higher level! YOU are the ones who are outmatched and outnumbered!¡± ¡°Thanks for clarifying that. I think I can take some of the Mortal Stage people, let¡¯s get these guys then go help Ardat Lili and the driver.¡± ¡°Hehehe, you¡¯re vicious. I¡¯m glad we¡¯re now on the same side, idiot.¡± ¡°Can I trust you, Melakios?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Okay, brother. Let¡¯s get to a clearing and set down. We need to protect Melakios first and foremost.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± After touching down into a nearby glade, the three saw 9 more Demons appear out of the shadows of the trees. Melakios pulled out the monstrous lizard and a corpse beetle. The lizard turned back into the sword, as the beetle opened up and swallowed him. It morphed into a suit that surrounded him entirely! ¡°Ooh!¡± ¡°Nice!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the stuff!¡± ¡°We gotta get that boy!¡± All around, the Demon bandits were yelling out cheers and celebrations, as if they already got what they came for. Lilu pulled out his Rose Rapier and gave it a flick. The previously straight sword fell limp, as spikes began to protrude from it. ¡°Come! My Thorn Whip yearns for blood!¡± On the other side, Lilitu merely pulled out a strange accessory. She put it on her face, as the device covered her eyes. Melakios remembered that this is what some of the women in the mansion wore when they went to sleep! Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. As soon as she equipped the eye mask, her power seemed to double. ¡°So these are Soul Items?¡± ¡°Enough gawking, let¡¯s fight!¡± The red demon was eager to get the show on the road, so he rushed towards Lilu, first. Lilu flicked his wrist and the whip swung towards the red demon. He parried with a massive bow that was on his back. ¡®That must be what shot those spirit needles.¡¯ Melakios was thinking ahead, making sure he could defeat the opponent and be ready for a stronger adversary that might appear. He remembered the words of the driver, there might actually be a Count nearby, or at least a Soul Item capable of matching a Count¡¯s attack. He quickly dispatched the two Demons who rushed towards him, damaging their souls and consuming them. The bodies of the two Demons slumped to the floor, lifeless.He was quickly filled a new type of energy, one that could damage him if he wasn¡¯t careful. He looked around to see that Lilu was still fighting the red demon, while Lilitu was standing over the other 7 Demons that were left on the ground like trash. It seems that Soul Items allow one to combat others stronger than them. This was more evident in Melakios, as all he had were Soul Attacks. It just goes to show how important souls were to the Demons. ¡°You bastard, stay still!¡± ¡°Like I¡¯m going to listen to a snot nosed brat!¡± Melakios walked over to Lilitu who gestured with a shrug when asked what to do next. The red demon kept flying out of range of the whip, but every time the red demon tried to fire off his arrows, Lilu would rush in, closing the distance. If Lilu did not rush in, he could still smash the arrows with his whip once they neared him. All in all, it was a stalemate. Melakios took out a spider and placed it on his wrist. Its legs seem to lengthen to hug his wrist, and the mandibles changed to look like an iron sight for a gun. Not that anyone there knew what a gun was. He just formed it that way to help him aim. Yes, the spider became a launcher. He took aim, and then fired a shot of Soul Energy at the red demon¡¯s direction. Seeing a projectile approaching, he teetered a little to the side, planning on barely dodging the shot, but he didn¡¯t realize it would open up into a web and capture him! ¡°Argh! Let me go!¡± As the three stood around the red demon, Lilu couldn¡¯t help but to interject, ¡°I had it under control.¡± ¡°That may be, but we need to hurry and help Ardat Lili.¡± Lilitu then quickly knocked the red demon out. ¡°That¡¯s right, brother.¡± ¡°Yeah, too bad you didn¡¯t get there fast enough.¡± From behind them, they heard a gravelly voice. When they turned around, they saw Ardat Lili was thrown to the ground, her outfit in tatters. A new figure approached from above. ¡°Run¡­he¡¯s¡­a¡­Duke¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha! Yes. I, Duke Valafar, amat your service.¡± Chapter 9: 0% Success? ¡°You¡¯re the driver!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can sense your soul is the same.¡± ¡°I just knew you were special. I just had to steal you away. I do deal with thieves, after all.¡± ¡°You must have some Soul Item capable of changing your features, huh?¡± The twins were too busy shaking in their boots to think of how to get away or even survive. It was astounding that a 10 year old human could do better. Melakios began to walk around Valafar, noticing his expression and external details. Valafar was tall, yes. Over 2 meters tall and with broad shoulders. His outfit was a brownish red like his hair and mane. He had a cat like presence and was accented by his whiskers, tail, and ears. He did not have wings, though. He was dressed like the bandits, with ruddy normal looking clothes, fit for looking poor and undeserving of attention. ¡°Listen, Melakios. Don¡¯t let appearances fool you. That look is probably meant to lower your guard.¡± ¡°Yes sir, Mr. Alkelios.¡± No matter where Melakios walked to, Valafar always kept him at 10 meters away and forever in his sight. ¡°What are you stalling for? No one¡¯s coming to get you, my little money maker.¡± Melakios then stopped and started to converse with him. ¡°So what do you want? Besides me, of course. I mean, why start a fight with the Lilim Household?¡± ¡°Hahaha! Lilith won¡¯t get off her ass for something like this! Besides, Prince G?ap would have something to say about that. Even if she is a Queen, she would still have some trouble. I mean, Lilith is a Soul Monger. She can¡¯t measure up to a true Demon!¡± ¡°If that is so, then why try and kidnap me?¡± ¡°Using money to get by and having money to get by are two completely different things! With you, we could equip our men with amazing weapons and armor, we could essentially make money, and we could get stronger faster and easier, too!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m so special. I don¡¯t know how to permanently change a soul. Keeping it up also requires quite the effort.¡± ¡°No matter, we can help you grow.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­you¡¯ve given me a lot to think about. Let me get back to you.¡± ¡°Oh no. You¡¯re coming with me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s crazy how people won¡¯t let me choose what I want.¡± And with that, he turned to the trees and ran. But he was instantly stopped by Valafar who was standing before him. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Just as he was about to grab Melakios, he noticed something was missing. He looked around, but could not see, hear, or sense the three Succubi at all. And just a moment of distraction was all it took and Valafar felt a sharp pain in his gut. ¡°Shit!¡± Looking down, he saw the lizard sword run right through him. When he looked at Melakios, his vision was suddenly blurred as he couldn¡¯t move. Melakios had used the spider spirit! Not wasting the chance, he took out all the stops as he attacked Valafar with all the souls he had. Rats, bugs, snakes, lizards, and other creepy crawlies, all of which he had found while exploring the mansion. ¡°Soul Swarm!¡± Valafar had no strong soul defense, in fact, that was what the ragged clothing was for. Valafar had actually decked out his men in super strong armor capable of defending against Soul Attacks from a Count. What did this mean? Melakios¡¯ Soul Attacks were so strong, they rivaled a Duke¡¯s attack strength! Well, one has to keep in mind, no one expects the little 10 year old human to be capable of anything. They all think he wouldn¡¯t know how to use his powers. They think he¡¯s not smart enough. They think he¡¯s not mature enough. But thanks to his soul spirits, Melakios gained enlightenment on life and the thoughts of an actual adult. Keep in mind Melakios had nothing else to do with his time besides training his power. He was able to converse with the souls he absorbed and learn from them. His father, Alkelios, was an experienced human warrior. He would train Melakios how to hold a sword and how to fight for many hours a day. Melakios gained insight from his peers, complimenting their attack strategies with his own strength. Any teacher would be proud to have Melakios as their student. Although, he would probably only need a year or two before moving on. Because Valafar underestimated him, Melakios could divert his attention to allow the three to escape, distract him once he noticed them gone, and attack his blind spot in that instant. Even an expert would have trouble keeping up! But now, even though Melakios had all those advantages, Valafar was still strong. Realizing his mistake, he quickly escaped. He wasn¡¯t some little grunt, he was a Duke! If he died here, it would be an embarrassment! ¡°Heh, you may have beat me today, but don¡¯t think this will happen again. I will get you!¡± And with that, the lion man shaped Demon ran off. Melakios regathered his souls and wondered as he walked around, ¡°Where to now?¡± Chapter 10: First Creation Melakios looked around the glade to make sure he didn¡¯t forget anything. He noticed the three Succubi left, Valafar fled, and even the red demon was gone. He probably got taken by the three to be interrogated. There were still the corpses of the other Demons, and Melakios could hear the cries of animals in pain further on. After collecting the items off of the dead, Melakios was ready to start walking. But where to? Thanks to looting, he now had a bundle of tough hide outfits, some lesser weaponry, and even a bag full of Soul Stones. He brought out a pestilent pack rat spirit and enlarged it. It grew to the size of a house! Melakios proceeded to shove everything inside the rat and shrink it back down. Melakios was still wondering how and why each soul had a different ability. After tying the rat to his belt like a pouch, he set off to the cries of what he believed to be the hippogryphs. About an hour later, after stumbling around, Melakios walked towards a crashed carriage and saw two large creatures. He would have arrived faster if he wasn¡¯t so bad at directions. He would walk one way, then find out he was walking away from the sounds. The two hippogryphs were stuck under the carriage. One lay still while the other was barely breathing. The remaining hippogryph lurched upon hearing Melakios walk forward. ¡°Woah, there. Calm down, I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡± Unfortunately for Melakios, even though he liked animals, they didn¡¯t seem to like him. Must be the not having a soul, thing. Didn¡¯t stop him from approaching with all the animals he came across. When he would arrive for dinner, he would normally have scratch marks and torn clothing. But rather than being alarmed or scared, the hippogryphs seemed to accept its fate. It calmed down as tears fell from its eyes. Melakios stopped a little bit away from the crash site, watching the soul of the departed hippogryph stand over the living one. Melakios had seen this kind of thing several times. He even realized that the feeling some people felt when a person died but no one felt it was real, was actually, in fact, the soul lingering a little after death and watching over the ones left behind. Melakios, who could pretty much read, write, and speak soul, spoke to the dead soul. ¡°Do you wish to help her?¡± The soul began to look over Melakios for a long while, before nodding and walking over to him. He knelt for Melakios and started to shine. His shape began to change, swirling into himself like water going down a drain. He formed into a small shape and landed in Melakios¡¯ outstretched hand. ¡°This isn¡¯t a Soul Stone. Is it a Core of sorts? Maybe the other hippogryph is to have this.¡± Melakios used some spirits to remove the debris off the hippogryph, which he found out to be named Clair. Apparently, the original owner named the hippogryphs in a way to contain the sky. Even the male hippogryph¡¯s name was Skyler. He set to work cleaning the crash site and piling the broken carriage and fragments. Although, he didn¡¯t have to work too hard. The spirits did a lot for him. He left the Soul Core for Clair and began looking for food. Or rather, he looked at the peaceful now sleeping Clair and remembered what he did. He had killed people. He sat down as realization came upon him, thrashing his insides and turning his stomach into a mess. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. That was when he realized he actually had something messing around inside of him. He began to calm down and enter his inner mind, his spirit realm. What he saw could only be described as a battle. The 9 Demon souls he absorbed were duking it out with each other. Even Alkelios had joined in. ¡°Haha! Fighting you blowhards is definitely good for dealing with boredom! Prove to me that it was a good idea to kill you!¡± He held himself rather well for a human. He dodged in and out, evading blows and kicks as he stabbed out with his hands, piercing the Demons through and making them dissipate into a white mist. Melakios saw the mist swirling around like a fog, enveloping the spirit realm. It made visibility lower and seemed to drown him in a stuffy negative feeling. Of course, he had felt this bad energy. It was killing intent. The remaining emotions of the Demons wanted blood. It was interfering with everyone¡¯s reasoning, and even Melakios could not stay for long. ¡°Let me know when you finish, Mr. Alkelios.¡± ¡°HAHA! Will do, kid!¡± Melakios exited his spirit realm to calm his excitement. He sat down cross legged on a section of land near where he planned to start a fire. It was already night by the time Alkelios finished fighting and Melakios had gathered the negative remains of the Demons¡¯ souls. Using the Core as an example, he began to focus the gathered souls to form a sphere. He realized it was too big compared to the true Core. After starting the campfire by using the broken carriage, he spent the rest of the night working on the Pseudo Core. The demonic red sun was finally peeking out from beyond the horizon when the campsite was bathed in a strange blood red resplendent light. If one payed close enough attention, they could hear the wails and curses of the souls used to make it. This Pseudo Core was made with the leftovers from Alkelios¡¯ bloodbath. It was considerably smaller than the hippogryph¡¯s Core. Not only was the size different, but the color and feeling was, too. There was actually a method used by some Monster Tamers that captured many dangerous beasts and abominations and locked them in a bottle. They would consume each other until the strongest and most bloodthirsty remained. Most of the time, the remaining monster would not leave anything behind, but Alkelios could not consume all the energy yet since he was just a human¡¯s soul. Besides, a Demon¡¯s soul would be too dangerous for him. What was left over was all the negative feelings the Demons felt at their last breath. Thus, the Soul Stone would be known as the Dying Sorrow Core. The reason Melakios could not transform the spirits permanently was because the product was not technically finished. But even though this was his first creation, this Core would cause a small war if sold outside. Melakios saw that Clair woke up. She sawSkyler''s Core and started to weep. She then grabbed the Core with her beak and looked up. Then she ate it. ¡°What?! Wait, what are you doing?!¡± Chapter 11: Change Is Good, Right? After consuming Skyler¡¯s Core, Clair went over to his corpse and began to eat him. Melakios was freaking out. Why was Clair eating Skyler?! Maybe she needed food? ¡°I¡¯ll go get food! You can stop! I¡¯ll be back!¡± He rushed out into the forest to grab some animals. He already had 15 fanged rabbits, 12 sugar badgers, and even 8 blood boars, but he got lost. The sun was already high in the sky when Melakios finally made his way into camp. What greeted him was a massive creature that resembled a hippogryph, but instead of hooves on its hind legs, they resembled a cat¡¯s claws. The tail was not hairy and looked whip like. The neck was longer and the head looked rounder than a hippogryph¡¯s. The beak was curved and not pointy. It wasn¡¯t a hippogryph, but an actual Gryphon! But Melakios wasn¡¯t scared, since this was Clair. She had changed! And in a big way, too. If she was the size of a war horse before, now she was the size of a war elephant! Was this because of Skyler? He could sense some of Skyler within Clair, but only if he searched for him. Instead, Melakios felt that it was more than just the Soul Core. Was there something else? Wait, his corpse! Was there something there that helped Clair transform? Clair was resting and didn¡¯t look up when he walked by. She was probably really exhausted from the change and dangerous events. He decided to let her be. He pulled out the Dying Sorrow Core and thought about consuming it like Clair did to Skyler. ¡°You don¡¯t want to do that. Clair could do it because she herself was the same as Skyler, but these are Demons. I had trouble just gathering the minimal positive energy from them. If you try and absorb them as you are now, no doubt they will rip you apart.¡± ¡°What should I do?¡± ¡°I remember tales of men from the northeast in my world that would live off the energy of the world. A bunch of nonsense, if you ask me. But, since you can manipulate souls, you might be able to begin with smaller creatures and such.¡± ¡°Oh, like the lizards and rats?¡± ¡°Precisely. This would be a good place to train what with all the beasts and monsters.¡± ¡°Right. Just treat it as a training moment.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirt. You can learn from anything, as long as you pay attention.¡± ¡°And while I¡¯m practicing absorbing souls, I could also make Soul Items and Weapons and such.¡± ¡°Uhh, okay try not to bite off more than you can chew. Take it slow. Practice the small stuff before moving on. Why not try making Soul Cores more before trying to make Items and Tools. That might need more steps than just focusing.¡± ¡°Got it. I¡¯m going to train, see you later, Mr. Alkelios.¡± ¡°Hah, I will still be here if you need me.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
Several months later. ¡°Hey! We finally found the edge of the forest!¡± A young boy covered in furs walked out of the Wandering Forest alongside a massive Gryphon. The Gryphon shook its head and squawked out a reply. ¡°I know we could have used you and flown out. But that defeats the purpose of training! Come on, there¡¯s a town over there!¡± The two began to run down the hills to the gate of Gloss City. Not that they knew what the name of the city was. They thought it was just a town, after all. The things someone who hadn¡¯t actually been anywhere his entire life comes up with. ¡°Halt! What are you doing?! Get back up! We¡¯re under attack!¡± The lead guard of the gates turned to his men and yelled, but upon turning around, the boy and beast were already there. ¡°Huh? No, we were just racing to the gate. Is something wrong?¡± ¡°What?! You own this Gryphon?! Wait, you¡¯re a human! How did you get into the Demon Realm?¡± The guards at the gate were scared stiff. If a hippogryph could beat some Lords, a Gryphon could beat even some Counts! Gloss City was ruled by a Count! This was like an attack by another city! And this beast was under the control of a human?! ¡°Hmm? No? We are just friends. And I was raised here my entire life.¡± Are you saying this human is on equal terms with a Count leveled beast?! What kind of insanity is this?! And raised here his entire life? Doesn¡¯t that mean he is stronger than normal humans? Most would get sick of the atmosphere within a week, get bedridden within the month, and ultimately die within the season! No human made it to a year within the Demon Realm! ¡°Get Count Furfur, he needs to see this.¡± ¡°Yessir!¡± The other guard left to get the Count while the Captain stayed behind to keep watch over the suspicious couple. ¡°Is this going to take a while? I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°The Count is a busy man. I doubt he would rush this way so quickly.¡± ¡°Alright, then we can just eat out here. Come on, Clair.¡± The two sat off to the side of the gate as Melakios pulled out the carcass of a Terror Turtle. As he began to make turtle soup, he heard the captain shout out, ¡°How the hell did you hunt down a Duke leveled monster?!¡± ¡°Very carefully,¡± was all the boy said. Chapter 12: A Good Day To Be Bad Melakios and Clair were both still eating even though it was several hours later when Count Furfur showed up. He was a strange Demon, with a teetering stance and appearing to be fragile. Melakios¡¯ first thought was that this Demon was a Soul Monger. He was far from being human as his upper body was like a deer and had hooves and wings. His tail was short and was more like a horse¡¯s. He was relatively short, compared to the other Demons. He clopped forward with his hands behind his back. When he spoke, it was a whisper and Melakios thought it would be hard to hear him. On the contrary, his voice rang clear in his ears. It wasn¡¯t abrasive, nor annoying. In fact, his voice sounded calm and smooth. Melakios¡¯ initial impression was a good one. ¡°Good evening, little one. My apologies for not arriving earlier. I see that since you have eaten already, can we provide you with anything else?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­I was supposed to head to the Demon Academy, but I got lost. Now I¡¯m not sure if I want to attend.¡± Furfur was surprised upon the boy¡¯s words. The Demon Academy? So then this child must be a Demon! Unless, there was that rumor a couple months ago. But a human surviving in the forest for four months? Preposterous!Although his characteristics do match the description given to him by Eligor¡¯s agents. ¡°Forgive me, but does your name happen to be Melakios?¡± ¡°Hmm? Yes. But I don¡¯t plan on going back home. I am going to visit the world.And I need materials and knowledge, first. Do you happen to know a place? Preferably a place that can teach how to make Soul Stones and Items.¡± ¡°You! Why¡­hah¡­fine. I will let Master Eligor know. He was adamant about your whereabouts.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t tell him where I¡¯m going. Otherwise, others might end up finding out as well.¡± ¡°Oho! Indeed! Quite sly, for a child your age. And a Gryphon?! I do believe you can handle yourself for the most part.¡± ¡°Hehe, I can even take down Duke level beasts and monsters, if I plan well enough.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I noticed you had the carcass of the Terror Turtle. Did you want us to clean it for you?¡± ¡°Sure, but I want the core.¡± Count Furfur coughed into his fist a little awkwardly before gesturing to his men around him. ¡°Ahem, of course! Men, come help out our guest!¡± ¡°Oh, and I also have these other beasts. You can help me with them as well, right?¡± ¡°Certainly. How much do you have?¡± ¡°10 pack rats worth.¡± The little boy grabbed the strange little bags from around his waist and started squeezing them like wringing out a towel. He grabbed the tail with one hand, and with the other, he squished all the contents of the rat bags out through the mouth. Some of the Demons felt a little queasy watching these rats vomit corpses. Eventually, a massive pile of dead monsters, beasts, and animals littered the ground in front of the Count. His smiling face was twitching while the composure of the soldiers were anything but subtle. They held their head in their hands and screamed out in shock with their eyes wide open. It was very picturesque. Count Furfur realized that the boy before him was capable of many great things. Just his achievements in these past couple months prove he has far surpassed many powerful true Demons. There was even a rumor that the Duke Valafar was forced to retreat thanks to this child, since he hadn''t managed to produce anything new, yet. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.¡°It looks as if I must comply. There is a school for learning how to condense souls into stones, weapons, and pills far to the south in the High Hysteric Mountains. The school is run by the Tengu Yokai. There they practice a style of merging with nature. But for now, we have a local Jinn who might be of help.¡± Furfur guided Melakios through Gloss City. He had chosen to fly alongside Melakios who was riding Clair. They eventually came to a tall building with 4 floors and had many people walking in and out of it. ¡°This is a branch of the Miserable Miser Trade Group, or the Triple M Trade since the group is run by Mammon, a Demon Prince. The Jinn, Nesune, can be pretty cold, so don¡¯t do anything to anger them. Just for fair warning.¡± ¡°Okay. Thanks the help. Where should I go after this?¡± ¡°G?ap¡¯s people might find you if you go with me. Just ask the staff here to let you stay. G?ap would not want to mess with Mammon for such a small reason.¡± ¡°That¡¯s another thing. How come everyone treats me so small if everyone wants me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re human. Sure, if we can do things, we usually do. But to have to fight another powerful Demon just for the sake of a small human is foolish.¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t that exactly what Valafar did by messing with Lilith?¡± ¡°Not entirely. Most of the Lilim Household are Soul Mongers. Their actual combat ability is low. Only the exemplary sons and daughters get focused on.¡± ¡°Oh, like Lilu, Lilitu, and Ardat Lili.¡± ¡°Correct. By the way, did you want me to let the Lilims know you are alright? They have been looking everywhere for you desperately.¡± ¡°After I leave.¡± ¡°Alright. Well, here we are. The fourth floor is for staff members.¡± As the two walked towards the counter, Melakios saw Clair hovering in front of the window outside. After convincing her he was alright, she squawked in return and flew back down. ¡°Good evening, Count Furfur. How may we be of assistance?¡± ¡°No young lady, it¡¯s more like, how can this young man be of assistance. He wishes to learn from Nesune about Soul Stone creation.¡± ¡°Oh! Uh, okay! Right this way, Young Sir!¡± The teenaged Demon girl with braided hair over her shoulder and a smart looking cap on her head led Melakios down a hall with a slight fidget. He noticed she was sweating a little and that her hands were shaking. ¡°Is this Nesune that scary?¡± ¡°HUH?! What?! No! Uh¡­no. *ahem* She has a wonderful personality and is always courteous to others!¡± She had an extremely fake smile on as sweat poured down her forehead like it was raining. ¡°Quit with the sarcasm, Jenny, and let him in.¡± Jenny, the clerk girl, held the door open with her fake smile, although it looked as if it was about to fall apart, and left very quickly. In the middle of the room, surrounded by a depressing, sad, and tormented feeling, as well as a ton of rubbish with paper and writing utensils strewn about, was a pretty looking lady with an orange colored skin tone and dressed in a long white coat that contrasted her black hair tied in a ponytail. She had a strange bottle before her that Melakios could sense contained many souls. On her were golden bracelets and anklets that exuded Soul Energy as well. She had a tired look, as if nothing was going well for her today. ¡°So brat, why can¡¯t I sense your soul?¡± Chapter 13: Aces In The Hole ¡°Well?¡± Melakios was astonished that someone besides him could sense souls so well. At Nesune¡¯s words, he was roused back into the conversation. ¡°I was born without one.¡± ¡°Preposterous. Well, you are human. Maybe your soul was traded?¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± ¡°Mr. Alkelios! What¡¯s wrong?¡± Alkelios had forcefully materialized before the both of them. ¡°Oh? You have a Spirit Guide?¡± ¡°No, I am but a normal soul absorbed by this child.¡± ¡°Right. And how did he absorb you?¡± Alkelios was visibly debating whether or not to speak. He looked towards Melakios and sighed. ¡°Never mind. Just know that I don¡¯t think his soul was traded.¡± ¡°It could have been ages ago. Someone might have thought they were funny and said something like, ¡®you can have my descendant 33 generations from now!¡¯ but this actually helps the human as the Demons would help the human¡¯s family survive long enough to last that many generations. And also the person in question would actually be the soul of the original human reincarnated. Don¡¯t make deals with Demons.¡± Alkelios began to understand and decided to go back into Melakios to think. ¡°Got it.¡± ¡°Hehe, good boy. So even though you have no soul, you are alive. That shouldn¡¯t have happened, but it did. So what brings you here today?¡± ¡°I wish to learn how to make Soul Stones.¡± ¡°Pbbt!¡± Nesune was sipping on the bottle with questionable contents when she heard Melakios¡¯ words. Because of how crazy the boy sounded, she ended up spitting her Liquid Spirit out. ¡°You idiot! You think just because you have a special situation it means you can just pop in here and start claiming to be a Soul Mason?! Stupid!¡± ¡®Hmm¡­it seems she doesn¡¯t believe me. Maybe I should show her some of my Soul Cores?¡¯ Melakios reached into the jaws of one of the pack rats and soon the room was filled with a dazzling red light. ¡°What¡­is¡­that? How did you get that?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called, but I made it.¡± ¡°Made it?! How?! This Core has no leftover residue to indicate the intricate network of runes! This is more like a thousand year old Core, or a pure Beast Core of at least the Demon Lord Level!¡± ¡°Well, I also made these, but what made them was just normal beasts, animals, and monsters.¡± Melakios pulled out more of hisPseudo Cores that he made using the lizards, bugs, and other such creatures. The higher leveled beasts were saved for later. Can¡¯t be showing all the cards up his sleeve. Although some Demons made a habit of just pulling cards endlessly from their sleeves. Alkelios told him this was disrespectful to the other players. If you¡¯re going to cheat or take others by surprise, don¡¯t do it often. ¡°Whew, I thought you had more. Although, these Cores are made the exact same way! Look, don¡¯t show anyone that Core from earlier.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Heh, you are a really good kid, aren¡¯t you? Fine, I will teach you a bit. But you have to tell me how you do things, first.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am! What I can do is absorb souls of my enemies. Anything from which I have taken their soul, dies. Their souls remain within me waiting to be used. Alkelios is one such soul, although he never tells me how he came to be here. But I realized that in order for souls to form these Pseudo Cores, they need to be the same, if not similar. For example, here. A handful of monstrous lizard souls.¡± ¡°Use ten.¡± ¡°Uhh, okay. Ten monstrous lizard souls.¡± Melakios began to collect the souls together in his palm as a large ball of light, the size of a globe he saw in Eligor¡¯s personal study, appeared above it. He compressed the ball until it began to shine. Melakios started to feel strange, as if the energy used was more than usual. He would usually try four or five souls, not ten. ¡°Oho?!¡± At least Nesune was enjoying this. This was more trouble than the Dying Sorrow Core! But these were just lizards! ¡°Urgh! Almost¡­there!¡± ¡°Hmm? Is something the matter?¡± Nesune, who was actually smiling before, began to draw a frown. She didn¡¯t know this would cause trouble for the poor lad. She was about to make him stop when all of a sudden, the white light turned into a murky brown. In Melakios¡¯ extended hand was a rough looking brown ball the size of a children¡¯s candy. ¡°It worked!¡± ¡°What? I thought you did this before?¡± ¡°But I never used ten souls before. Even the Dying Sorrow Core used only nine Demons.¡± ¡°Excuse me? Demons?¡± ¡°Yes, nine Demons at the peak of the Mortal Stage were collected, by me, and put into my self where they duked it out with Alkelios from earlier. Alkelios won and took the positive and neutral energies, while only the negative energies remained. I gathered these energies and compressed them like I did just a second ago.¡± ¡°You¡­ah¡­we¡­do¡­¡± ¡°Miss Nesune, are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡­I think I¡¯m fine¡­¡± The orange lady who had nothing but her lab coat on was shaking on the outside and swimming on the inside. She had gone into a state where she ignored all the things around her, even Melakios. She sat at her table in the corner and began murmuring to herself. Melakios overheard the word ¡®clean¡¯ and decided to organize the room a little. He began by sorting the papers. If they had soul energy, he put them off to the side and made sure none of it wore off or got smudged. He stacked the notes of diagrams and strange writinginto separate piles for different types. He noticed the pages had words and read some as he worked. With this, if papers had many related words, they were piled together. He gathered the rubbish from around the room and sorted that as well, since some of it still had soul residue. After making sure stuff was out of the way, he began sweeping, scrubbing, and mopping. All those years helping Ash with her chores were not a waste. Although to him, the time he spent with Ash would never be considered waste. To Melakios, she was like his sister, his first and best friend. They were family. As Melakios finished and began toreminisce of Eligor¡¯s mansion, Nesune called out, ¡°You asshole! What did you do to my room?!¡± Chapter 14: Crash Course ¡°I¡­cleaned?¡± ¡°You brain dead moron! I had a system!¡± ¡°My apologies, I will try and put them back¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother, you¡¯ll just¡­wait¡­you organized this rather well. I can actually find things easily! Normally I don¡¯t accept assistants just because they don¡¯t understand the method to my madness, but you follow the same train of thought!¡± ¡°What¡¯s a train?¡± ¡°Oh, the human realm will have some in another couple thousand years¡­¡± While Melakios stood there watching Nesune, she began to mumble about the papers and how they were organized. ¡°Hehe, you put these Soul Burst Runes in the same pile, and over here, you put the items which still have some use to them, together. These are also all my working Runes and Glyphs. So you can sense the Soul Energy, huh?¡± ¡°I guess so. More like see it, actually. I can also harness it like I did to make these Pseudo Cores.¡± ¡°Oh, those aren¡¯t fake Cores. In fact, those are natural Cores. Natural Cores are condensed just like how yours were, but this happens one of several ways. One, is within a monster. Their inherent Soul Energy merges in a specific spot and attracts other Soul Energy it consumes. This is why monsters are so aggressive. The larger their Core, the more powerful they become. Another way is to use these Runes and Glyphs. Runes are applied to items while Glyphs are more like Formations or arrays. Formations are focused on Soul Items to set up a pattern, while arrays are powered entirely by Glyphs. Either one can attract the nearby Soul Energy and create Cores that way. In fact, this is how most Soul Stones are made as well. The final way is the rarest. Naturally. When a location has seen a lot of ¡®something¡¯, the Soul Energy condenses, weighed down by that ¡®something¡¯. Like on an old battlefield, a Forlorn Soldier Core would be created. Usually, there must be either a really strong soul, or a lot of the same kind of soul.¡± ¡°Kind of like the nine Demons all wanting revenge?¡± ¡°Exactly. I can teach you some Runes and Glyphs I know, along with some tips for future use. For example, a Core works better the more pure the emotion. Having a multitude of chaotic energy will make the Core full of impurities and may have undesirable side effects upon consuming.¡± ¡°Dang. It¡¯s a good thing I haven¡¯t tried this myself.¡± ¡°Indeed. Here, try writing some Runes, and let me see how you do. Remember to focus your Soul Energy¡­or¡­well, Soul Energy in general, to power the brush.¡± For several hours, Nesune taught Melakios some easy to remember Runes and Glyphs. He wrote down and kept some for future reference and sold the rest. The paper used could disintegrate so blacksmiths could easily apply the Runes to weapons. Using the money, he bought supplies for Soul Masonry. He still had to collect the money for the bodies of the animals he killed before as well. Bidding Nesune farewell, he walked back into the waiting room on the fourth floor. The clerk girl, Jenny, must have already ended her shift, as she was nowhere in sight. But a girl that looked similar to her, really similar, walked up. ¡°Hello again, Young Sir. Is there anything else we can help you with?¡± ¡°Umm¡­Have we met before?¡± Immediately, the girl¡¯s face contorted into a grimace as she said in a louder voice, ¡°Dammit, Jenny! You said this would be funny!¡± Stolen novel; please report.¡°How was I supposed to know he could see right through us?¡± From behind the counter, Jenny suddenly materialized. This surprised Melakios as he clearly didn''t realize she was there. At least he knew of the possibility of people hiding their soul energy now instead of later, when it really mattered. ¡°Hmm? Even your soul was hidden!¡± However, instead of being upset, Jenny was giggling to herself. It was the Jenny look-a-like that was frowning. ¡°Hmph. You win this time, you little...¡± ¡°Enough, Minny. We apologize, it was just a little joke. Is there anything we can help with?¡± ¡°I would like to see the status of my contribution. I do believe Count Furfur said it would be taken care of.¡± ¡°Oh! You must be talking about the large shipment of animals, beasts, and monsters we received! Of course. Just go down to the first floor, and speak with a lady named Fanny.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you.¡± Upon descending to the first floor, Melakios saw many people clamoring to the counter. He caught a passing staff member and asked to speak with Fanny. The staff member gave him a stiff glare, but pointed to the line that had the most people. This also happened to be the rowdiest line. Upon realizing it was extremely late, he decided to hurry things up. He decided to cut in line. He was awfully sorry, but he knew that if people found out about his location, he was going to be in trouble. He walked in an orderly fashion up to the counter. Most demons did not give the boy even a sideways glance. But upon reaching the counter, every one of them stared daggers at him. Waiting for him at the front of the line was a weasel looking Demon with shifty eyes and creepy hand movements. The clerk girl he was talking to resembled the girls Jenny and Minny exceptionally well. This must be Fanny. ¡°Excuse me, but are you Fanny? Jenny sent me.¡± The weasel man instantly turned and sneered at the boy, yelling, ¡°Excuse me, but aren¡¯t you rude? Your daddy sent me! Get to the back of the line, pipsqueak.¡± ¡°Oh? My sister? Right this way.¡± The clerk girl did a 180 on her attitude towards the weasel man and started to lead Melakios to a side door. One of the Demons, a tough looking male that looked to be made of charcoal, started to stomp over to Melakios, ready to swing. Melakios took one look and changed his aura. ¡°Despair and Repent.¡± His words were barely spoken, but most of the Demons in the room had heard it and began to shake right there. Some even wet themselves. Melakios¡¯ aura had evolved, thanks to using it on the forest creatures all the time. It even affected the Terror Turtle, just how were these small fries to contend with such might?! The charcoal Demon stopped in his tracks and fell to his knees. Being the target of such an oppressive feeling, he probably felt the most damaged. After Melakios left, someone went to check on the Demon, only to find out he had fainted and had foam coming from his mouth. Chapter 15: Do You Believe? Melakios followed Fanny, unaware of what was taking place behind him. Fanny also showed no outward change upon witnessing his outburst. This left Melakios wondering if what he did was normal. He felt sort of bad for cutting in line, and because some guy decided to express the unfairness of the situation, he was severely dealt with. Of course, one would have to ignore the fact that the very same Demon was about to pummel a ten year old boy just for stepping out in line. Either way, he could not help but think about what he would do from the other perspective. He didn¡¯t know the full circumstances, so he couldn¡¯t say for sure. Eventually, Fanny led him to a room where an important looking woman sat. She must be the head of this branch. ¡°Hello, Young Sir. I am Bunny. The vice leader of this branch.¡± ¡®Or not.¡¯ ¡°The animals and lesser beasts you brought were already sorted out. This bag has your Soul Stones and Cores.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s small.¡± ¡°This bag is what we call a Void Bag. It has a special ability to hold many things and maintain their condition. Keeps hot food hot and cold food cold, at the same time.¡± ¡°That sounds good. What¡¯s the limit?¡± ¡°This is just a lesser Void Bag. It holds a good 9 cubic meters.¡± ¡°That is decent, I guess. I don¡¯t know how to relate to it. My pack rats can hold quite a bit themselves, although I never counted.¡± ¡°Hmm? Alright, then. I guess I will keep the Void Bag.¡± ¡°Okay. Wait, can I have the Rune on how to make one?¡± ¡°Huh?! Well¡­I guess I can ask Nesune.¡± ¡°Wait, never mind, then. I already got all I need from her. If she didn¡¯t want me to learn how to make Void Bags, then alright.¡± ¡°Okay. Now, about the higher leveled beasts and monsters. They will be auctioned off tomorrow and you will receive even more Stones.¡± ¡°I kind of wanted to leave tonight. I might be bringing trouble, after all.¡± ¡°No worries, you are here as our guest, since Sir Furfur brought you.¡± Hearing her attitude towards Count Furfur made Melakios¡¯ eyes sharpen. How strong must she be to think of a Count on equal terms? The Triple M Trade is far greater than he imagined, it seemed. ¡°Then I will need a place for a Gryphon to stay safely.¡± ¡°Of course. If you want, I can even let you two stay together.¡± ¡°Thanks, that would be much appreciated.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Melakios emptied out the Void Bag into one of his pack rats, much to the surprise of Bunny when she saw that the pack rat wasn¡¯t even swelled up to how big she heard they were earlier this evening. She had heard from other members that the rats he pulled out were the size of wild boars that could decimate villages. But after containing the contents of the Void Bag, the pack rat wasn¡¯t even the size of a good sized hunting dog. ¡®How abnormal. If he learned how to make Void Bags, he may even create Lesser Realities!¡¯ Many Demons could lure their victim into an alternate world. This temporary state is known as a Lesser Reality. Mostly only those of the Royal Stage and above could achieve such a feat. Making use of these Lesser Realities could lead to a whole brand new Realm being created! After all, the mighty Superior of Hell, Lucifer, had created the Demon Realm! And the ultimate being, God, had created the Heavens, Hell, and the Human Realm! Just how capable was this human?! After receiving his earnings, Melakios left with Fanny to his sleeping quarters. Upon arriving at a separate wing of the building, he saw Clair was already situated and eating a pile of steak. ¡°I see you started without me! Hehehe, leave some for me!¡± The boy, after eating and making sure Clair went to sleep, began to practice his Runes and Glyphs. He practiced so much, he ran out of paper and ink! ¡®Well, maybe I can just trace it in the air¡­¡¯ Applying some little Soul Energy to his fingertip, Melakios began to trace on of the Runes Nesune gave him. This particular Rune was meant for adding a fire element to a weapon, armor, or item. The Rune had to have some minute changes, depending on the object the Rune was being applied to. For example, on a weapon, the Rune would attract fire based Soul Energy and coat the weapon in flames. On armor, any fire based damage would be absorbed by the Rune and either supplement the wearer, or repel back to the attacker. For an item like a potion or pill, the Rune would enhance fire based growth and energy. On a talisman, however, the absorbed fire energy would explode for a massive attack. There were many different ways Runes could be used. But applying Runes like this had never been done! No one had ever thought about writing on thin air! Actually, this was a form of magic soon to be discovered by humans in the dark ages. A prominent human by the name of Merlin would make use of his powers. He would eventually be praised as a Legend, but he would only have the power to deal with a Demon at the peak of the Mortal Stage. The sword his prot¨¦g¨¦ used, Excalibur, was a Runic Blade that had actually formed a sentient soul. A Spirit Armament! With a mind of its own, it paved the way to help the humans in their time of need. Although where it came from was a mystery. Back to Melakios, he had surprised himself by accidently creating a fire ball out of nothing! He quickly absorbed the Soul Energy, allowing none of it to mess anything up. He didn¡¯t want to have to pay back the Triple M Trade! Who knows what these Demons would want from him! He finally went to bed, excited for the next morning. Chapter 16: Pros And Cons Of Money Melakios actually awoke only because the staff lady came to wake him. She wasn¡¯t related to the four sisters, but she was still pretty. He began to think about the four siblings, and realized they each had something that made them stand out. Kind of. Jenny wore a green colored uniform and had her braided hair hanging over her left shoulder. Minny wore yellow and had her braided hair over her right shoulder. Fanny wore blue and had long straight hair. And Bunny wore red, glasses, and had her hair tied into a bun with a big red ribbon tying it together. After being handed a big black robe and a strange white skull shaped mask, Melakios was led to the auction house across the street. It was still pretty early, so not many people were on the road. When he entered the auction house, he was shocked to see nothing. It was completely empty except for the person on stage. Melakios, upon seeing who it was, tried to turn back, but the door was gone! ¡°Now now, don¡¯t be so ready to leave! You just got here!¡± It was an unnecessarily fat Demon wearing many Soul Items on his body. One such item was a golden goat, hanging from his almost nonexistent neck. He had short goat horns and receding hairline. His beard was unruly and he could be smelled all the way from the entrance of the building. ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m Azazel, head of this branch. I just wanted to bring you personally to the location! Kukuku, don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t bite.¡± He had a strange smile on his face that reminded Melakios of a certain maid and gate keeper. If the vice head was on equal terms with the leader of the city, what level was the real head? Even if he is just a Soul Monger, it was obvious looking at all the jewelry Azazel was wearing that he had many Soul Items. Still being cautious, he approached the fat Demon. ¡°Kukuku, let¡¯s go!¡± Melakios felt the air around him start to shimmer and twist, as he all of a sudden appeared in a room with a long window overlooking a grand stage that was brightly lit. The surroundings were extremely dark, almost pitch black. Melakios could see that the window was strange. ¡°That window will let you look through, but won¡¯t allow others to look inside.¡± Nodding at Azazel¡¯s words, he noticed there were other similar rooms like this one on either side of his. But in front of him, in-between the room and the stage, were many chairs filled with black shapes that couldn¡¯t be made out. Melakios pulled up a chair so he could see out the window easier. ¡°Let¡¯s see, this button on the side of your chair is to let your waitress know you need food or drink, although it does cost Stones. This contraption here allows you to bid on an item for auction. Just press the number you wish to raise the bid by.¡± Azazel handed him a weird disc that had several raised sections. These were numbered 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 300, and 500. Melakios looked into his rat to see that he had about 2,000 Soul Stones available. ¡®I guess hunting animals and such isn¡¯t so bad¡­¡¯ It was another hour before another girl that looked like the sisters walked on stage. She wore a black outfit and had a simple ponytail and wore a more revealing version of the uniform. ¡°Good day, everyone! I¡¯m your host and auctioneer for today, Lonny! I hope all you big, strong men brought me many Stones! For our first half, we had a generous influx of greater beasts and monsters! The wonderful donator still kept the Cores, so unfortunately, you won¡¯t be able to buy me any pretty things! First up, is a Corpse Mauler!¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. For the next several hours, the carcasses of beasts and monsters were sold. Even without the Cores, the creatures netted Melakios a good extra 5,000 Stones! Now, Melakios was in a sealed room, as to help retain his anonymity as well as make his experience more soothing. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t hear the whispers of the people down in the chairs. ¡°Who is this talented expert?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? A young boy arrived yesterday alongside a Gryphon!¡± ¡°What?! Impossible! Then this boy must be from a prestigious family! If not, he must be from a high ranking sect or school.¡± ¡°I heard he came out of the Forest.¡± ¡°No! I heard he was human!¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± The rumors began to get out of hand, so Lonny dispersed the crowd for a lunch break. Melakios decided to order some lunch as he waited. A half hour later, the auction continued. Melakios didn¡¯t see much that caught his eye, until a collection of Runes showed up. ¡°And now, we have our monthly income of Runes and Glyphs from the nearby Tengu Family! This little kit is full of just the stuff you need for getting started becoming a Soul Mason! Starting bid begins at 200!¡± Melakios decided to wait, but no one was bidding. Was there a problem? Everyone in the audience was surprised when the middle booth reserved for special guests lit up to signify the person inside had made a bid. What?! Someone actually spent 200 Soul Stones for such a kit?! This kind of thing could be bought straight from the Tengu Family for 50 Stones! Was this person an idiot?! These kits only held the simplest of Runes and Glyphs as well as some insight into the trade. There was no need for such a thing! Seeing that an honorary guest had made the bid, Lonny didn¡¯t know what to do. Should she tell the truth? That this was a joke auction item meant for a couple laughs? No! That would mean embarrassing the client and the auction house! That was a definite no! ¡°Uhh, 200 Stones going once, twice, sold! To the guest in the middle booth!¡± Sheepishly looking around with her awkward grin that looked a lot like Jenny¡¯s, she tried to hurry onto the next one. The rest of the auction had nothing else of any worth to Melakios. He didn¡¯t anger anyone, he didn¡¯t cause a fight, it must have gone alright. Azazel walked in with Lonny in tow. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry, Young Sir. I forgot to tell you of this junk item. The Tengu are very prideful in their work, so they force others to only sell their products at 4 times the original cost. I really didn¡¯t mean to offend Young Sir!¡± Lonny was absolutely livid as she began to tear up and shake uncontrollably. Seeing this, Melakios took off his mask to begin calming her down. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything wrong with it, though? It seems even stronger than Nesune¡¯s stuff.¡± The two had their eyes almost rolling out of their sockets as they realized the honorary guest was just a ten year old human boy! Chapter 17: Hidden In Plain View ¡°What do you mean, it¡¯s stronger than Nesune¡¯s?! She is already a Greater Tier Second level Soul Mason!¡± Azazel was sweating as he tried to understand the situation. ¡°What are the different levels?¡± ¡°Hah¡­they are the same as those of the Mortal Stage for warrior Demons. There¡¯s ten levels with three tiers in each level.¡± Azazel was the one answering questions, as Lonny was too surprised. The one she was willing to be slapped by was actually just a kid! She didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry as her situation meant she owed this kid her life. Honorary guests of the auction house had the utmost prestige. If the Demon wanted an escort for the night, the house had to provide. Although most, if not all, were decent enough to not take advantage. But this didn¡¯t mean she hadn¡¯t heard of it. Hearing Melakios¡¯ reply brought her back to the conversation. ¡°The Runes you guys were selling has strong Soul Energy tied to it. Can you not sense it? Here, it seems the actual Rune written cannot be seen by normalpeople. It must be only by sensing. Such high leveled Rune Mastery can even do this much.¡± Adopting a mode similar to Nesune, Melakios began to enter a special state. He ignored the two Demons and began to inspect the Runes and Glyphs. ¡°It looks like he passed the Tengu¡¯s little test.¡± A voice called out from behind Azazel and Lonny. There standing in the doorway was a pretty lady in uniform dressed in red wearing glasses and standing with a grace she hadn¡¯t exuded before. ¡°Bunny?¡± ¡°Sis?¡± Bunny walked through the two dumbfounded Demons as she continued talking. ¡°Father wanted to know if Melakios could actually see the importance of this item. We had to put the things he brought up for auction so as to give him a reason to see this set. Mammon, my and my sisters'' father, knew that these Runes and Glyphs were actually impressive Soul Items granted to us to sell by the Tengu. We had agreed on a price, but when we received it, it was as you see. A prank.¡± Melakios was too busy paying attention to the things before him to listen to Bunny¡¯s words. He had entered his soul realm and began to practice the motions. It may have only been a couple minutes, but he had made good use of it. It wasn¡¯t long before Bunny got fed up and poked Melakios. He was prodded awake by the beautiful vice leader, but she wasn¡¯t happy. ¡°Sorry, I was thinking.¡± Bunny sighed as she began to walk back out. She tacked up a map by the door as she left. Azazel and Lonny both bowed on their way out. Walking up to the map, he saw a red circle around a mountain range and a city with a red arrow to the north of it. He noticed there was something written on the back since he could see the words through the paper. ¡®Your Gryphon is waiting outside. You best hurry, Valafar and his menwere sighted not far from Gloss City. If you ever need help, just go to any Triple M Trade branch building.¡¯ Walking outside of the building, a shadow fell on him. Next thing he knew, he was being sat on by a large Gryphon. ¡°Clair! Come on! Stop it!¡± The Gryphon took his hood in her beak as Melakios put his mask back on. They quickly flew out of the city, but not before asking which way was south. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. As Melakios rode on Clair, the sun was high over their heads and the wind was in their faces. It was nice and calm, until a loud voice broke through the reverie. ¡°HAHAHA! Found you, human brat! Now that you aren¡¯t with Mammon and his gang, you are out in the open! What led you to leave such a comfortable retreat? Haha!¡± There was Valafar, as he was riding on what looked like a lion with wings. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to cause those people trouble. You have a nasty habit of hurting people, after all.¡± ¡°Look, just come with us! We can supply you with knowledge and power! We have all the resources you would ever want!¡± ¡°But what about the things I need!¡± Valafar was visibly stunned. Wasn¡¯t that the same thing? ¡°What about visiting my friends, experiencing the world myself, or even learning from mistakes? If all I got were things I wanted, I wouldn¡¯t know what I needed!¡± Melakios was raging at Valafar, his anger reaching the peak. What had he done, to deserve such a treatment? Nothing! If he was just some human, why would this Prince G?ap go so far? Regardless of whether or not his enemies are Soul Mongers, this was too much! ¡°What do you REALLY want from me?!¡± Suddenly, Valafar¡¯s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ¡°How much do you know, twerp?¡± Hmm? There was something else? What could it possibly be? ¡®Well, what makes me so special? I can see souls? Well that comes from not¡­having¡­one¡­¡¯ ¡°Does it have something to do with me not having a soul?¡± Valafar¡¯s face instantly scrunched up in disgust. ¡°Dammit, what a smart brat. Come on, guys! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±YEAH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡± Three Demons with wings appeared between Valafar and Melakios. Melakios could sense that the power they contained was more towards Ardat Lili¡¯s level, than Valafar¡¯s. They must be Lords or Barons. The strongest one stood in the middle and held a glistening sword in his left hand. The other two carried spears. Melakios heard a voice as a white mist began to seep out of his body. ¡°Looks like I can finally fight by your side. My power has settled to the point where I can battle a Soul Baron to a tie, maybe. Leave the weaker ones to me.¡± ¡°Wait, take these.¡± Before Alkelios flew off, Melakios handed him a different beetle than the full body suit. It was a shield. He also handed Alkelios a snake that transformed into a long spear as well. ¡°Haha, this gear seems awfully familiar, which helps me out. Reminds me of my days in the army! Let¡¯s go, demonic scum! HAH!¡± Alkelios rushed to the Demons, looking like the radiant warrior he was before. Chapter 18: First True Battle Alkelios met the Demon on the left, smashing spear against spear. Melakios thenrealized these Demons had stronger defenses than last time. How was he going to deal with this? He pulled out a bat spirit and used itto gainwings. He sent Clair after the Demon on the right as he pulled out the 2nd tier Scale Core. This was the Core Nesune made him create. He started to refine the energy within like he would a normal lizard, but found it was extremely hard to do so. While it would have normally taken a few seconds, this was taking a few minutes! He decided to quickly pulled out his suit beetle and equipped it as well as a normal lizard sword. Carrying the Core in his left hand, and swinging his sword in his right, he clashed with the Demon in the middle. He summoned some lesser spirits to help aide him so he could focus on refiningthe Core. Seeing that he was doing something, Valafar showed a keen interest in what Melakios was doing. Clair had already defeated her Demon, his body hanging limply in her beak. Alkelios had also defeated his opponent by running the Demon through with his spear after catching him off guard. While consuming their rewards, Alkelios and Clair protected Melakios so Valafar could not interfere, but they did not get involved with Melakios¡¯ fight. This was his to win. Trying to create a sword out of this stronger Core while fighting was incredibly taxing. If the Demon before him wasn¡¯t so intent on bringing him back alive, Melakios would have already died! Eventually, the Corewas finished. It didn¡¯t look anything like his previous swords, as this one shined with a bronze color and had a scaled texture, similar to that of the lizard. The scales of the monstrous lizard are some of the sharpest scales that belong to weak leveledcreatures. Many low leveled Demons used the scales not for armor, as they weren¡¯t all thatdurable, but for weapons. They would cover their weapons in the scales so as to add an abrasive effect that would even leave scars for life. Those that were scratched by the scales would find that they would bleed profusely before collapsing. Then they would be eaten by monsters or captured by other Demons. The sword looked different from how he imagined it would look. Instead of having a cross guard, the sword was wide and thicker, making it look more like a ¡°That¡¯s an Argive Army Sword! Hehe, the people of Argos really liked that design. Looks good!¡± ¡°Thanks, Mr. Alkelios.¡± After switching the sword, he swung the Argive Sword towards the Demon. The Demon tried to block with his own weapon, but it broke when the two collided. The Argive Sword just kept on going. When the sword hit the Demon, the scales lifted and began scraping apart the Demon¡¯s skin like it was a saw on wood. The Demon cried out from the pain and gave Melakios enough time to attack again and slice the Demon¡¯s head off. After absorbing the soul, the other two beingalreadyconsumed by Alkelios and Clair, Melakios looked towards Valafar. ¡°Dammit, the three of you assholes! Fine! Next time, I¡¯ll bring more!¡± He fled once again. Melakios¡¯ speed may have been increased thanks to the bat wings, but not even Clair, who was still faster, couldcatch up. The strength and capabilities of a True Demon Duke were indeed great. But even if his powers were great, trying to fight Melakios without killing him was going to be difficult. One wrong move and he would bedead in the ground! If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. After settling down, Melakios got to work creating more 2nd Tier Cores. He used Alkelios¡¯ shield beetle, the spear snake, and even his own suit beetle to do so. It took him a while, but each time he did it, the process went by faster and smoother. Melakios was indeed smart and dedicated. By the time the three had arrived at the mountain range of the Tengu, Melakios had created an Aspis Shield and a Doru Spear for Alkelios. Being a spirit made Alkelios alreadyable to float around at will. But his Soul Items enabled some extra benefits. The shield, taking on the properties of the beetle, would reflect low leveled fire. The spear would leave a paralytic effect. Melakios¡¯ own suit, the aptly named Power Armament, not only increased his defense, but also increased his mobility. He used the bat wings to create the Midnight Cloak. It covered his body like a normal cloak, but would also allow him to fly. All of these items were categorized as 1st Tier Soul Items, but their purity and design would make them as expensive as even most 2nd Tier Soul Items! If he decided to sell these, he would make a ton of money! Not to mention also becoming instantly popular! But Valafar pretty much said that this wasn¡¯t the reason he and Prince G?ap wanted him. It had something to do with him not having a soul¡­What if there was someone like him? Or¡­opposite of him, that is. Maybe there is a soul that doesn¡¯t have a body! And they want him to carry this soul! Or at least refine it. Little did Melakios know that this was indeed the reason. He had actually thought up many possible outcomes, but this one was the most realistic. Thinking things like ''Valafar giving him a soul'' was what led to him thinking about this subject. While thinking, he also made Clair some armor as well, thanks to the armored badgers he had. The three beings eventually came to the Tengu Mountains. That was when they became surrounded by a multitude of flying Demons, or rather Yokai, as they were usually called. The flying Yokai all had bird wings and beaks. They had humanoid body shapes but wore fabric instead of armor. They looked more like dancers than warriors or Soul Masons, Melakios thought. But he hadn''t seen many Soul Masons. Just Nesune. Not a very good first impression of Soul Masons. But underneath the baggy clothing, their muscles were obvious, as their pant legs were rolled up and were wearing short sleeves. It was clear that they could fight. Their beaks took up half their face and they wore tiny hats on their head. A female Tengu hovered before them as she, too had muscles bulging from her not as baggy clothing. Or maybe those weren¡¯t muscles? Melakios was intrigued. To be honest, no other girl he met had a large chest. Ash, Lilitu, even the five sisters, they all had modest sizes. But this lady before him was another matter altogether. Seeing the wandering eyes of the little boy, the female Tengu harrumphed in disgust and yelled, ¡°Get lost, you don¡¯t belong here! There¡¯s no way we will allow a human to set foot on our mountains!¡± Chapter 19: The Yelling Yokai Teiko had long been one of the most upright of disciples belonging to the Tengu Clan. She had done as her elders wished, learned of the secrets of searching souls, and was even talented at Soul Masonry. But one day, her grandfather said that she was to remain here until something special happened. Her grandfather, Shouta, was a magnificent specimen of the Tengu Yokai. He had reached a level of soul searching to where he was even able to foresee the future! After one of his visions, he had made his only granddaughter stay at a remote location under the supervision of her uncle, Takumi. Takumi was more into Soul Masonry than anything else, so the location he called home became a hub for Soul Masons to learn the craft. Teiko didn¡¯t think today would be the day her grandfather¡¯s vision would come true. She had spent these past 10 years protecting the mountains from those who would wish it harm. Even though she was only 15, she had already started to grow in. Sometimes, she was actually the reason some Demons caused trouble. Not that she cared, she was too focused on her training for anything else. She tried to show her grandfather that she could be of use. She was never told the complete reason for her staying here. She was just told she would meet an amazing person. Before her stood a Wandering Spirit, a Gryphon, and a small human boy. A wandering Spirit that radiates such an aura would be crazy strong, not to mention a Gryphon. But the weirdest part was the human from which she couldn¡¯t feel anything. Well, she couldn¡¯t feel a soul anyway. She did feel disgust from his obvious staring at her chest. She tried really hard to flatten it using wrapping cloth, but it still showed her curves. These things just got in the way of her training and just gathered the eyes of men everywhere. It sickened her. When the three just stood there, looking rather flabbergasted, she yelled again. ¡°Did you not hear me? I said get lost!¡± At this, the boy spoke out, ¡°But I was wanting to learn how to be a Soul Mason.¡± Now it was Teiko¡¯s turn to be flabbergasted. A human, trying to become a Soul Mason?! She actually chuckled at the thought. That was when Takumi soared over from the workshop atop the mountain peak. ¡°Teiko, what¡¯s going on? I can hear you all the way inside. Hmm?¡± Takumi took one look at the tools the three had and started to drool. Literally. ¡°Would these young masters like to visit our mountain? Please, right this way!¡± His attitude put the three off as they were a little confused about what to do. Melakios put the Soul Items away into a pack rat, but was surprised by the yelling that followed. ¡°What the hell is that?!¡± ¡°Ouch, Teiko, why yell?¡± Her uncle was caught off guard. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a version of a void bag?!¡± Melakios settled down and began to converse with the lady. ¡°It is the soul spirit of a plague pack rat. It has the ability to store things in itself like a pouch. It does hold more than a 1st Tier void bag, but it also keeps things relatively preserved.¡± Takumi¡¯s eyes were lit up like a starry night sky. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.¡°Please, please, we¡¯ll talk more over a meal!¡± The three were guided all around the premises, seeing the living quarters, the workshop, and then finally arriving at the hall. This was where the disciples and masters convened at supper to discuss other matters. Clair, Alkelios, and Melakios all sat at the far end of the table, since that was where Clair would have to sit anyway. Teiko looked at Melakios the entire night with suspicion and frustration. Melakios would feed Clair and then look around the room, glancing momentarily atthe fumingfemale. After the meal was over, the five of them went to a different room to speak about more private matters. Teiko and Takumi sat at two corners, while Alkelios and Clair sat at the others with Melakios was sandwiched between them. Melakios told his story, while Takumi and even Teiko began changing their opinions. The night was filled with the exchange of ideas and processes, finally arriving at agreeing to teach Melakios how to be a Soul Mason. But Teiko spoke up just as everyone thought that it was over. ¡°You¡¯re weak.¡± Alkelios nodded, then replied, ¡°Yep, he is. We haven¡¯t had time to actually teach him. I have been with him since birth, but I cannot seem to provide him with appropriate instructions.¡± ¡°No, as in his body is too weak. He can¡¯t do anything like this. I will teach him how to protect himself and even share with him my insights on soul searching.¡± Takumi was pleasantly surprised, since he thought Teiko would never accept a human, even less teach one. She prided herself on being a Yokai, but something about this boy seemed to call out to her. ¡°We can start your training now.¡± ¡°What?¡± Melakios looked up, confused. Alkelios put down his cup of Soul Fire, and stood up. Alkelios must be leveling up rather quickly, if he can already interact with outside objects. ¡°Hehe, good luck, boy! I am going to practice my routine.¡± Clair went to sleep. ¡°Guys!¡± Melakios was dragged off by the teenage Tengu. They were on the highest point of the mountain. Sitting side by side, all by themselves, Melakios was, for the first time in his life, nervous. This girl was really forceful. She was also scary, but he couldn¡¯t seem to look away from her. Seeing her profile outlined by the purple moon accenting her pretty figure mesmerized him. Melakios all of a sudden thought of Ashikalla which made him feel really guilty, for some reason. Shaking himself away from such thoughts, he began to refocus on his meditation. Unbeknownst to him, Teiko was also feeling strange. She had never focused on a boy before. Not able to focus, she decided to check if Melakios was trying. When she saw him, his face was lit by the moon, turning his red hair a deep violet. She got lost in the moment as she looked at his aura. Aura did not come from the souls, because aura was something within all things, living or not. The aura permeating from Melakios was a strange silver color. One she hadn¡¯t seen for some time. Not since her grandfather. When she remembered her grandfather, she remembered his words. ¡°Little Teiko, one day you will find a man who you will be attached to by fate. You will help him and maybe even join him on his journey¡­Hahaha! As if some little brat is going to take away my little granddaughter!¡± Her grandfather¡¯s laughing smile filled her thoughts as she continued to look at Melakios, not realizing a smile was creeping onto her face. She was snapped out of the moment when she noticed Melakios¡¯ eyes were open and staring right at her. Chapter 20: Sow The Seed, Reep The Rewards Melakios was surprised to see Teiko looking at him with a grin on her face. ¡°Am I doing it right?¡± Her face fell then scrunched up. She stood with her head still down so as not to show him her face. She flew off yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t get carried away, I will be right back!¡± Unsure of what just happened, Melakios continued his meditation which was trying to feel the souls around him. But he already could, why do this training? Souls didn¡¯t flow like aura or energy, they would converge onto a point. This was the Core. In Skyler¡¯s case, he condensed all his soul into his Core for Clair. Alkelios had a Core, too. He had absorbed, partially, the souls of the Demons. He used them to empower his Core, thereby making him stronger overall. This is similar to Clair using Skyler. But Melakios didn¡¯t have a soul or a Core. So what made him able to manipulate souls? He decided to shift his meditation to finding out why. He felt his body¡¯s motions, keeping track of the movements. He pulled out a soul and began to refine, all the while observing the process. He realized there was a flow of energy within his lower chest, a small bead of power no larger than a seed. Melakios had never seen it or heard of it before. He decided to call it a Core Seed. He slowly manipulated the soul towards the Seed only to have the soul disappear. He tried calling it back, but to no avail. It was permanently gone. Eaten. Melakios realized this Seed would need a lot of souls. He pulled out the Dying Sorrow Core because there was no change within him. Maybe the Seed would absorb it all, leaving none of the energy to be free and cause problems. He didn¡¯t want to consume the Core, afraid of what it might do to his body, but he tried reforming it back into its soul form. It took a while, and Teiko was still not back, so Melakios continued. After a good hour, the souls were free and started to attack Melakios. He directed one after another into the Seed, even using the recently acquired Demon Baron. The Seed had grown to the size of a small pebble. The feeling Melakios got from it was stronger. He was filled with questions like, ¡®am I creating my soul?¡¯ or ¡®is this actually a good thing?¡¯ Melakios didn¡¯t quite know the answers. Melakios decided to continue his meditation and pulled out another soul. He focused himself and began refining only to stop again in amazement. His refining speed had increased! It probably wouldn¡¯t cause him any trouble to make a 1st Tier Core now! Yes, he had made many Cores already, but he still suffered a mild strain. Because of this, he never tried to make anything better. From the decade of staying at Eligor¡¯s mansion, Melakios had gathered many animals. While traveling through the forest, he had found more. This time, he decided to try something new. He pulled out some soul stones and Cores. Stones were solitary souls of humans sent to Hell. The humans would be sent to Hell as punishment for their crimes in the Human Realm. After experiencing their penalty, a Demon would show up and steal their soul. There were greater soul stones, which were made out of Demons. And high soul stones, which were made out of high leveled monsters. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. A stone contains one soul, while a Core contains many. For the regular populace of the Demon Realm, stones were the currency. But for the nobles, Cores were the way to go. So Melakios thought about using more than ten. He started to work, as he used ten at first, just to get the feeling. He stopped and undid the refinement and added more. Noticing the feeling was still the same, he used more. He finally had 100 pack rats and was about to refine, when Teiko came back. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± ¡°Creating a Core.¡± ¡°Out of this many souls?! Are you mad?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Teiko wiped her hand over her face as she pulled out a small bag. ¡°Is that a void bag?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just getting an array out for you.¡± ¡°Why would I need that?¡± ¡°To make a Core, of course! Were you just going to make it here without one?!¡± ¡°Yeah. Hey, could I borrow the bag, I want to try something.¡± Confused and a little doubtful, Teiko understood enough to know Melakios wasn¡¯t dumb. She handed him the bag after emptying its contents. Melakios began refining the souls, but instead of creating a Core, he inlaid the souls into the bag! Teiko was nothing short of shocked. He was enchanting an item without an array?! Melakios could finally feel a strain as he performed the refinement. This time, it took two hours to complete and Melakios was covered in sweat. He held up the bag and opened it. No change? What had gone wrong? Then he remembered he had used his energy to open the rats before. Maybe he needed to do the same thing here. So he used his energy and he noticed the bag had changed in an instant. The previously simple design transformed into a fuzzy satchel with a rat¡¯s tail for the handle. He opened the bag again, only to see blackness. He put his head in only to realize he couldn¡¯t breathe! He quickly pulled his head out, coughing the entire time. He decided, no living thing should be stored inside. Never. He didn¡¯t realize yet, but he had made a Legendary Equipment. Souls were important, so no one would use 100 for a simple bag. But the purity and fusion of the pack rats increased its value many times over. Forget about the Dying Sorrow Core or all his new equipment, this bag was worth more than entire noble families! What madness is this?! Teiko just stared at him in astonishment, not wanting to believe her eyes. Chapter 21: Bad Grandpa After waking up the next day, Teiko went to show off her new bag. Even though it looked like a rat, the material was strong and felt good. No matter what was stored in it, she never felt the weight. The two had been so excited last night, they almost couldn¡¯t go to bed. But Melakios was really exhausted, so they called it a night. So far, Teiko had put so much stuff into her bag, her own room would have fit. How much was this able to hold?! Takumi decided to send a message to the Main Clan as a report. He was just going to gloat, but he didn¡¯t realize what he had actually done until later. Melakios was still asleep when lunch came around. Teiko wanted to talk with him, so she decided to wake him up. She was also a little ticked seeing his happy face as he cuddled next to the gigantic Gryphon. So she decided to prank him. She pulled out a strange looking stick with a single feather on it. She used it to slowly tickle his nose. Watching him toss and turn and swipe at the feather in his sleep made Teiko giggle. It was like playing with a little puppy. But soon his face began to contort as he looked like he was having a nightmare. She felt a little bad, but it was his fault for staying asleep for so long. She was about to walk away and leave him alone, when he started to thrash around, even waking Clair up. Clair began to freak out for some reason, flapping her wings and squawking really loud. But still, Melakios didn¡¯t wake up. Teiko began to grab him by the shoulders as she tried to wake him up. All she could think of was that this was her fault. She began to have tears trickling down her face as she tried and tried to wake the boy up. She was scared and didn¡¯t know what to do. What she didn¡¯t know was that the extraneous activity Melakios had done last night was pretty much giving him muscle spasms. His Seed was fluctuating from performing like before for the first time. Some attendants walked in and also started to freak out, bringing in buckets of water and medicine. They ended up bringing Takumi who called for a doctor. The doctor arrived shortly after, but soon left saying he couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong. Suddenly, a thunderous boom shook the mountain. Everyone was startled. Soon, a large elderly Tengu walked in and took one look at Melakios and laughed. ¡°Hahaha! Feeling it today, aren¡¯t you, boy?¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± ¡°Father!¡± ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±Master!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Yes, it was Shouta, the Leader of the Tengu. He approached Melakios¡¯ sleeping body and gave his forehead a flick, startling all the people in the room. Alkelios had felt the tremor during his 172nd run-through of his normal routine. He rushed to the site to see a large man ¡®attacking¡¯ Melakios. ¡°Why you! Get away from him! Don¡¯t touch my son!¡± Everyone in the room stared wide eyed at the Wandering Sprit, as it held a spear and shield threateningly at the Clan Head. Shouta just looked over and laughed even more. ¡°Hahaha! I can see where the boy gets his recklessness from! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just waking him up.¡± Alkelios looked around and noticed all the maids and staff surrounding the man. They were trying to help him. Feeling relief, and little embarrassed, Alkelios slumped down to the ground. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.It didn¡¯t take long for Melakios to awaken. While he was asleep, he was having a dream where he was attacked by some sort of tickle bird when it suddenly switched to the Seed as it resounded throughout his body. It was like a bell, with the vibrations wreaking havoc inside of him. He opened his eyes to see Clair, Alkelios, Takumi, Teiko, and some old man he had never seen before. Clair and Alkelios were happy and relieved, Takumi looked a little nervous, glancing at the old man now and then, and Teiko was actually tearing up again and started sniffling, but the old man was staring at Melakios with his eyes gleaming. ¡°Good day, boy! I¡¯ve heard a lot about you!¡± At this, the old many glanced at Takumi who began to shrink away. ¡°I am Shouta, Leader of the Tengu Clan, Father of Takumi, here, and Grandfather to Teiko. Nice to finally meet you!¡± ¡°mhm Likewise. Sorry about not getting up, I¡¯m kind of tired.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure! You had a rebound! You weren¡¯t used to such an action. Looks like I¡¯ll have to teach you personally.¡± Everyone in the room gasped and looked shocked. Why would the Clan Head do such a thing for a human, even if he had an amazing ability?! Melakios knew enough by now when someone wanted something. He thought of the many different reasons why this large man wanted his abilities. He could sense that Shouta was far stronger than Valafar, probably someone from the Ruler Stage. Probably at the Prince Level. But if the Tengu were also Soul Masons, that meant Shouta would definitely have some Soul Items on him, increasing his danger level. But there was something different. The man before him felt strange. Instead of his soul acting like a flame, it acted like armor, cloaking his body in an incandescent light. Melakios was bewildered as he followed the flow of the soul around the man¡¯s body. How did he do that? ¡°Admiring my body, eh boy? Hahahaha!¡± ¡°Sorry, sir. It¡¯s just that your soul looks funny. Why does it move around in such a way?¡± ¡°Hehe, because I made it do that.¡± ¡°You can control souls, too?!¡± ¡°No, I just trained really hard. I use a martial art that changes the flow of the soul. I can teach you my methods, if you want.¡± Coming back to the suspicious feeling, Melakios cautiously asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Hahaha! I see you understand! Some would question why would I want to tell you, a human, of my great abilities? It¡¯s obviously because I want something from you!¡± The old man kept dancing around the answer. ¡°What is it?¡± Melakios was getting a little angry. Seeing that, the Shouta decided to answer. ¡°I want you to marry my granddaughter!¡± What¡­ Chapter 22: Marriage? Every single person in the room besides Shouta and Melakios, who was still half asleep, shouted out in surprise. Their outburst startled Melakios as he began to sit up straighter. While he began to think, everyone else bombarded the Clan Head with questions. Mainly one, though. ¡°But Father, he isn¡¯t even a Tengu! Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m older than him! Why, Grandfather?¡± Why¡­Melakios looked at what Shouta was going to do for him. Teach, train, protect, and even feed and shelter. Anyone can learn how to be a Soul Mason, and if you happen to be a student, it will include bed, bath, and meals. It was also obvious that the Tengu would provide some sort of protection. So that left the special martial art. ¡°Does this mean I have to be a part of the Tengu Clan in order to learn this martial art?¡± ¡°Impeccable! Truly astounding! There¡¯s that as well.¡± That sort of calmed down the servants, but Takumi and Teiko were still taking it hard. But luckily for the both of them, the matter was put on hold. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I think I need a little room.¡± ¡°Of course. Come on, everyone! I¡¯m hungry! Hahahaha!¡± After everyone else besides Alkelios and Clair left, Melakios began to meditate to search his body for any damage. He realized his Seed had grown a tiny bit! Could it be due to using it? That answer was scratched off the next second when he reached into his pack rat and noticed he had no soul stones left! They were all gone! Melakios doubted that the Tengu stole anything, especially since they would need to control soul energy to open the bag. Maybe this was the reason his Seed grew? It kind of made sense. He still had his Cores and Soul Items, but even his animal souls were gone! How much does this Seed eat?! His vault was at zero! The cores he had were the monster cores he obtained during his stay in Gloss City, although he acquired them before that in the forest. Maybe he could use these? He wasn¡¯t entirely sure the Cores would supply him with decent soul energy. Sure enough, most of the lower leveled monster Cores held little to no soul energy. Even if the higher leveled ones had some, it was only in a tiny amount. The only decent Core was the Terror Turtle¡¯s Core. Combining the remaining energy, he began to enchant his suit. Using the Terror Turtle as a base, he wanted more defense. He first collected all the soul energy and condensed it onto the Terror Turtle¡¯s soul energy. Collectively, the amount of souls would equal about fifty lizard souls, but the remnants of these souls were exceptionally pure. The total power was far more than fifty lizards, it was more like a hundred! In fact, Melakios was feeling the strain again. He didn¡¯t stop until the energy was put into the Power Armament. The already menacing outfit became terrifying. Horns grew on the helmet, wings grew on his shoulders, and a tail grew from his back The gauntlets and boots grew claws and small spikes grew along the spine. The black color started turning red, although it looked more like days old blood stains. A black red. Melakios knew this was a stupid idea. He also knew he was on the run. He couldn¡¯t stay in one place for too long or Valafar would show up again. He told the two to begin packing things. While Clair and Alkelios set to work, Melakios went back to sleep. Down the hall, in the main room where everyone else was, Shouta was sitting with his eyes closed. He suddenly looked up and wryly smiled. In a voice far from his previous domineering attitude, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, huh? I get it. I guess we¡¯ll help.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The others around him looked towards him quizzically. He turned back to them and ordered, ¡°Okay, I need some stuff. Go fetch Takumi.¡± Later that night, Melakios awoke. He was still sore, but he definitely felt better than this morning. Clair and Alkelios stood up and gestured silently to Melakios. The three began to sneak out but just as they got outside, they saw many figures standing on the surrounding mountains, their figures shrouded by darkness. Then a deep intimidating voice called out, ¡°So you thought you could leave without saying goodbye, huh? But you still haven¡¯t seen our full hospitality! Hahaha! Okay men, move out!¡± The shadowy figures all jumped into the sky and flew towards the three. The three grimaced towards each other as they got ready to fight. The soldiers all stopped midflight, assuming a sort of arrow formation with a gap in the center. Actually, it looked more like a path. ¡°Hey kid, looks like they are forcing us forward. Keep your guard up, I¡¯ll help you get out of here.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t kill anyone, Mr. Alkelios.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± The three resolved themselves, but when they took the first step, the soldiers all stood at attention in the sky. They adjusted the formation to be more of a straight path into the air. Down the path, slowly floating towards the three was Shouta and Takumi. Teiko was nowhere in sight. Melakios readjusted his grip on the Argive Sword as Alkelios took a different stance. Clair began to claw the ground. When the two Tengu landed before them without any hesitation ad no inclination for battle, the three just stood there in the awkward atmosphere. ¡°I think you misunderstand us. Hahaha!¡± ¡°I apologize, my Father can be quite the eccentric man. Here, this contains a spirit recording of our martial arts. The souls within are our old ancestors. They do not hold any will as they are just memories placed in an array. We also will give you instructions for Soul Masonry and soul searching as well. We understand your plight and respect your decision.¡± Melakios was still a little confused so Alkelios received the box. In it contained many different Glyphs and Runes that Nesune might not have ever seen. These were some of the most expensive one could get! After cooling down, Melakios understood. ¡°Thank you, Clan Head. I appreciate this gesture. If I can, I will definitely repay this act of hospitality.¡± ¡°Hahaha! Don¡¯t get in over your head, now! Can¡¯t have my granddaughter become a widow before she is married, can we?¡± ¡°Tell her I am sorry.¡± ¡°Sorry, no can do. She left earlier today. She still hasn¡¯t come back.¡± ¡°Was what we were doing that obvious?¡± ¡°No, but I can see things. So I made preparations. Now I would suggest going to one of the major cities. Pairma Capital belongs to Demon King Asmodai. He and Prince G?ap are actually of equal strength, but Asmodai got lucky by finding a Sacred Lance. Pairma has a tournament around now, so that might get you some spending money or maybe a Core or Soul Item. We wish you luck, little human!¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Clan Head!¡± As they left, several different parties within the shadows began to move. Chapter 23: Moonlit Clash Woohoo! Over 500 average views! I may not be as popular as some other story that started after me, but I am working on it. BTW, trouble''s a brewin''.
Valafar had been waiting all night for this. He and his men were finally about to get this damn child. The Wandering Spirit was probably a Baron, maybe even a Count. The Gryphon was definitely a high leveled Count, but the boy could repel a Duke! He had to get many men for this job. If he couldn¡¯t win using skill, he would use numbers. There was too much riding on this job for him to fail tonight. Over 100 peak Mortal Stage Warriors, 20 Demon Lords, 5 Barons, 2 Counts, and finally himself, a duke. He would have to fight today! He was told the body could be crippled, as long as it was easy to heal afterwards. They needed this human in good condition, after all.
Another party was slowly starting to head out as well. Prince G?ap was not willing to leave it all to this brain-dead dodo. He had sent his own little force. An entire Legion was on the move! This meant 10,000 soldiers! But this was just the scout group of the Legion. He left one of his Generals, Furcas, to deal with it. Furcas was a Knight, a proud Demon with the strength of a Duke, but did not hold authoritative power. The scout force he sent consisted of only high leveled soldiers ranging from Lords to Counts. 20 Lords, 10 Barons, and 5 Counts. Not as many soldiers as Valafar, but it could hold its own against him.
Probably the most idiotic group attending this meet, a group of peak Mortal Stage Demons were following close behind Melakios and his two allies. There weren¡¯t many, just 20 or so. Apparently, the Demon that Melakios had knocked out back in Gloss City had a few friends. Their leader was also trying to convince Teiko to ¡®hang out with him¡¯ before she stormed off to stop Melakios. After finding out that this was the same kid, he couldn¡¯t help but get a little frustrated. It didn¡¯t help that when he went to assassinate the kid, he saw him sitting with Teiko, having a moment. How was he able to get so close? Because no one cared. Sure, Melakios wouldn¡¯t be able to win without his soul stuff, but he had it. Why not use it? At first, the gang leader was angry. But when he saw the kid make the void rat bag, he went a little crazy. He deluded himself with visions of what he could do with this kid¡¯s power. This leader had the ability to copy the power of the last guy he killed. It was currently invisibility, which was another reason he managed to get by. But he was too blinded by greed and hatred. Everyone else including Melakios¡¯ crew had noticed them. No one actually cared and they all decided to ignored them.
Staring at the oncoming carnage, a solitary Edimmu, an ancient race of undead Vampire, stood waiting. His power was restricted, but even Shouta would probably have difficulty fighting this person right now. The Edimmu¡¯s power was limited because he was thirsty, deprived of his nourishment on purpose in preparation for the battle before him. Seeing some tasty morsels may have unfortunately spurred him to act earlier than necessary.
The sky over the valley began to cloud out the moon as dark gray clouds moved in, threatening the inhabitants with powerful lightning. The rumble could be heard from afar as many shapes could be seen within the clouds. With 100 peak Mortal Stage Warriors, 50 Warriors at the Lord Level, 20 at the Baron Level, and finally their leader, which was at the peak of the Count Level, the beings in the sky began to descend. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Melakios and company had already noticed the little gang following them, but he knew Valafar had to be there somewhere, planning something. The three began to equip themselves make sure they were ready. Soon, Melakios saw a familiar person. ¡°What are you doing, Teiko? It¡¯s dangerous right now.¡± ¡°Who cares? And besides, I¡¯m stronger than you. You have no place to warn me of danger.¡± ¡°Fine, but we¡¯re being followed and want to continue at a fast pace, so hold on.¡± They once again flew off into the night as the clouds began to get perilous with lightning striking almost 5 times a minute. Out of the clouds came many soldiers riding clouds as they began to glow with the power of electricity. From behind the fleeing four, screams cried out across the valley from the gang members. It was at this time Valafar decided to appear at the scene. He eyeballed the army coming down from the sky and began to shout out orders. The trees below them began to rustle, as many fast things were running using the branches as footholds. Melakios pulled out some Cores he received from Takumi and created a small disc and ring. He gave the ring to Teiko and told her to wear it. ¡°Kind of an odd time to do this, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Why? You need this to protect you just in case.¡± ¡°Oh. It¡¯s for that.¡± ¡°What did you think it was?¡± ¡°Never mind.¡± After putting on the ring, Teiko could control the movement of the disc and make it reflect projectile attacks. She was surprised at how fast it was created, but looked in shock as he put on his new Beast Armament. Its change in shape was thanks to the many different kinds of powerful soul fragments he had. Resembling more of a Demon, Melakios struck a pose as he began to fly. Even though the new suit came with wings, he still wore the cape. It was good for hiding. Among other things. The clouds began to clear as the now five parties got ready for battle. The moonlight began to filter through, casting an eerie purple light over everything. A bloodied shadow, an army of cloud riders, a group of thieves, and assassins running through trees. Melakios saw Valafar, Alkelios saw the Edimmu, Clair saw the cloud riders, and Teiko noticed the assassins. Each person had their own plans. They all looked at one another before flying off. The battle of Tengu Mountain Valley had begun.
RIP gangsters I already started some new side projects. An Ultra Reality MMO in a dystopian future and a story of someone surviving a strange zombie apocalypse. Pretty mainstream stuff with a little twist. But I like to put down my ideas and watch where they go. I''m not exactly sure when they''ll hit the site, but I''m just talking about it for now. See you guys tomorrow! Chapter 24: A Soul That Dwells In Blood Pt. 1 Alkelios rushed towards what he perceived as the most dangerous enemy. He was a warrior and could tell who was strong or killed at a glance. And the being standing before him was both. Amar Sin was once a powerful King of a kingdom called Mesopotamia in the Human Realm. Unfortunately, his burial ritual went wrong and he became an Edimmu. He was sent to the Demon Realm where the Lilim household took him in. They raised him to become somewhat decent in social interactions. Now, Lilith had sent him to find Melakios and convince the boy to head to the Academy. It wasn¡¯t necessary, but Amar Sin made sure to make Lilith as happy as he could. Before him stood a Wandering Spirit carrying a long spear with the design of snake scales running down it, and a round shield depicting a scarab beetle. He didn¡¯t have to breathe, but Alkelios unconsciously did the motions. He finally calmed down in the face of imminent death to ask a question. ¡°What are you here for?¡± The middle aged man had long gray hair that reached his knees. It wasn¡¯t frayed or tangled, but long and straight. His eyes were blood red and his skin was pale and cracked. His nails were filed into points as were his teeth. His black suit and tie were now stained in blood as it dripped from his fingers and mouth. Surrounding him were the corpses of the 20 odd Demon gang members. They were ripped to shreds to the point of not being able to differentiate the carnage from monster mount feed. The Edimmu opened his mouth and a nasty decaying smell wafted over. It was a good thing Alkelios couldn¡¯t actually smell, although he saw the green colored breath and slightly gagged. The Edimmu continued by saying, ¡°I¡¯m here to take Melakios to the Academy for Lilith.¡± ¡°So you aren¡¯t going to hurt him¡­¡± Alkelios visibly sighed in relief. But then another question escaped his lips. ¡°But what if he doesn¡¯t want to go?¡± ¡°Too bad.¡± Amar Sin began to gather his power, boosting it to the level of a Duke. Alkelios readied himself once more and tried to remember his training. Then, Amar Sin attacked.
Clair flew to what she believed to be a troubling enemy. She herself could fly and knew flying enemies were difficult to deal with. But upon flying closer, she received a mental transmission from their leader, a women with dark gray hair and scales on her forearms. She had horns and a tail. ¡°Halt, are you the companion of Melakios?¡± Clair nodded in confirmation. ¡°Have no worries, we are only here to stop Valafar. It seems Lilith sent someone, although they may be a difficult contender. Go team up with the girl, she needs help.¡± Indeed, even with the floating disc shield, Teiko had been surrounded by high leveled Demons. It took everything she had not to die. Clair rushed over to help after knowing that the cloud riders were allies. Teiko was a Lord Level Warrior, but had the knowhow and tools to be a decent Baron Level. Clair arrived just in time to knock away a sneak attack aimed at her blind spot. She then started to attack the Count Level Demons. Teiko nodded in gratitude as she began to fight back with renewed vigor. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
On the other side of the valley, Melakios approached Valafar and his men. ¡°Hehehe, looks like you are all alone! We came prepared this time! It was merely coincidence that G?ap sent some men, too!¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have needed to if you were more competent. Now that I am stronger, you have no hope.¡± ¡°Bullshit. You have no fighting experience and we outnumber you almost 200 to 1!¡± Suddenly, a voice familiar to Melakios rang out. ¡°Not anymore, you''re not!¡± ¡°Ala!¡± Yes, it was indeed Ala, one of the Four Corners! ¡°Hello again, Melakios. I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re doing well. We¡¯ll take on the weaklings, but we might have trouble with the other Count.¡± ¡°No problem, you just take care of what you can. Thanks for the help. Tell everyone back home I miss them.¡± ¡°Then you should return sooner.¡± ¡°Maybe later.¡± After the light conversation, the two sped off in opposite directions, each going for one of the Counts. The small fry battled small fry. Seeing his group be evened out again, Valafar was fuming. He went to help capture Melakios, but the boy was already standing before him, bloody sword in hand. He had already defeated the Count! ¡°Damn. Whatever, they said it was fine to break a few legs as long as it¡¯s not permanent. Let¡¯s go! It¡¯s time to repay you for what you have done to my men!¡± ¡°None of this would have happened had you never messed with me!¡± The two clashed, sword on sword. The Argive Sword produced sparks as it ground the other sword to bits. Melakios slashed with his free hand and cut across Valafar¡¯s shirt. Valafar decided to aim a kick at Melakios¡¯ left leg, as it was the one most forward. Instead of dodging, Melakios sent some of his own attacks, catching Valafar off guard. This led to him losing focus and causing his kick to weaken. But it still broke his leg! Pain rushed through Melakios¡¯ body as he tried to take out some medicine from his pack rat. Valafar took the chance and aimed another kick at his other leg, only to get a sword in it! He was tricked! ¡°Idiot, like I¡¯m going to give myself an opening that obvious on accident? Scram.¡± He wished he still had his spider launcher, but he forgot to make a Core for it. He had to rely on other means to catch his opponent off guard and take advantage. This was a human more demon than a Demon! He sliced horizontally, cutting Valafar¡¯s neck. Valafar slowly crumpled to the floor grasping his throat as he died. Melakios absorbed the soul and went to help Ala with the remaining Demons, absorbing as he went. That was when he heard an inhuman scream. Chapter 25: A Soul That Dwells In Blood Pt. 2 At the time that Melakios was still fighting Valafar and his men, Clair and Teiko were dealing with Furcas¡¯ men. They had managed to take care of 8 Lords, 3 Barons, and 1 Count already. Teiko was already getting tired as Clair was starting to protect her more and more. In reality, Teiko was actually getting an attack ready and needed Clair to watch her back. Once it was ready, she activated it and several Glyphs she had. She had activated her sensory abilities and threw out a smoke Array that would disorient the enemy. Clair flew high to pick off anyone who left the cloud of smoke. Teiko had also thrown a couple of Blast Glyphs that actually managed to kill 3 more Lords and one more Baron. Clair killed another couple of Lords and another Baron before the Array was found and destroyed by one of the Counts. That left 16 people left. Dealing with these two were too difficult! The Gryphon was already a monster capable of fighting a Count to a draw, but now that she was wearing an armored saddle, she had an exceptional defense! Not to mention the claws added thanks to the armor covering the top of her feet. It protected her talons and paws as well as dealt more damage. Too cruel! And the Tengu girl had way too many expensive things! The Demons couldn¡¯t help but cry out how poor they were. They were just simple soldiers! Not even belonging to one of the better Legions. With their morale dropping, some tried to flee to report back to Furcas. But the very next second filled them with more fear! The Gryphon would attack them in the back! Leaving no survivors! With their morale now hitting rock bottom, it was only a matter of time before they died. But as luck would have it, a loud yell permeated through the valley, distracting the two girls just long enough for the Demons to split up. Teiko and Clair realized their folly and set off after them.
Alkelios may have been a gifted warrior while he was alive, but he had nothing on Demons. So he had worked on the fundamentals whenever he could. A couple reps here, a dozen reps there, he did as many as he could. While at the Tengu¡¯s dojo, he had seen a picture depicting a warrior sending out a flying blade or a fist of flame. When he asked the Tengu how that was possible, they said aura. While he was there, he had gained some minor insight on aura. But he had an aura, as most Tengu were in tune with the world around them. This was why they called him a Wandering Spirit. Souls were things taken from the dead. Little did Melakios know that he was actually taking them while they were alive, maintaining their powerful aura and consciousness. Because of this, Alkelios had a new section to his training regimen. Meditation while exercising. He focused his energy through his form while he did things. He noticed his movements becoming more fluid and fast, even realizing his strikes carrying more strength. With his combat experience, his firm understanding of the basics, his new powerful abilities, and his unwavering resolve to protect his son, he managed to go toe to toe with the undead flesh eater for quite a while. But something was happening. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Amar Sin¡¯s eyes began to bleed as did his pores. It was a gruesome sight that Alkelios did not expect to see. Then, the Edimmu let out a horrifying wail. Amar Sin was also a strict warrior. He worked his hardest to repay Lilith for her generosity. He would purposely starve himself so he would be more tenacious to win. But in this state, he needed a constant source of sustenance. He couldn¡¯t get to it because of Alkelios, who didn¡¯t have any blood or flesh, was in his way. Thinking Alkelios was in trouble, Melakios rushed over. This was an unfortunate mistake. He was hurt by Valafar so he was bleeding. Smelling him, Amar Sin¡¯s urges took over as he dived for the human boy. Seeing the danger, the boy quickly jumped out of the way and searched the enemy before him. A Seed?! He had a Seed, too! It wasn¡¯t the same, but it was similar! It was extremely oppressive, as it carried a nasty feeling. If Melakios had to say, it must have been a good three times larger than his Seed. Unfortunately, it was full of cracks, as if it was drying out. That was when Alkelios called out. ¡°Watch out, he eats flesh!¡± Suddenly it hit him. Not an idea, but the Edimmu. He was tackled to the ground as some more bones must have broken. Amar Sin was slightly dazed, too, but he stabilized quickly as he started to bite down towards Melakios. Crunching and chewing sounds could be heard as Melakios crawled out from under the Edimmu. In his hands were the fallen Demons Melakios had just killed. He pulled them all out of storage as he began to gather the remaining souls into a Core for safe keeping. Melakios wasn¡¯t too worried, as the man before him held no hatred towards him. He was more like an animal than an enemy. He must have been traveling and gotten caught up in this as a result. Something must have triggered his transformation so he couldn¡¯t be blamed immediately. Melakios asked the others to gather the remaining corpses for the Edimmu while he secured the souls. Unfortunately, Ala lost some soldiers, but that was it. Well, not if you counted Melakios¡¯ wounds. He took some medicine, but it would only help deal with the pain. He would need to head to a doctor for a better healing. Gathering all the Demons¡¯ souls left him with almost 300 souls! And one of them was a Duke! Maybe now his Seed might grow. Unfortunately, Teiko and Clair could not catch all the assassins, as one of the Lords actually got away. But all in all, it was a good night. Chapter 26: Blood Sovereign Amar Sin awoke to a room he had never seen before. He slowly sat up, but realized he wasn¡¯t in pain after that fight. In fact, he felt better than ever before! He began to look around the room for clues about his whereabouts and situation. That was when a knock came from the door. ¡°Hello, are you awake yet?¡± In walked a little Demon maid dressed in frills and carrying a plate of meat and a glass of a red substance. ¡°We know you¡¯re an Edimmu, so we brought the freshest of blood and the best tasting raw meat we could find. Don¡¯t worry, dig in!¡± The little Demon began to skip a little out of the room. Funny, most people were afraid of him. And they knew what he liked? But he detested the taste of blood and raw meat, and only ate to appease his hunger. Then he remembered. The horrible things he did that night in the valley. He had attacked the very person he was supposed to keep safe! He was about to throw the tray aside, but the smell instantly stopped him in his tracks. He had never smelled such a scent before. He had started drooling before he noticed. He took a little sip of the drink, and was surprised at how smooth it went down, at how the taste seemed to only be enhanced by iron, and at the power coursing through him. ¡°Hehe, I did my research. I also asked around. Edimmu are and were an ancient feral race of flesh eaters related to Vampires. You gain strength with all the blood and flesh and organs you consume.¡± Amar Sin was surprised by the sudden voice as he looked up to see a young human child with fiery red hair and an intelligent glint in his eyes. His entire left leg was wrapped in bandages and his body had scratches and scars all over. ¡°You...you are the Melakios boy.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°What have I done?! I ate you?! Lilith is going to hate me!¡± ¡°Calm down. You didn¡¯t eat me, you ate all the dead bad guys¡¯ bodies. It was enough to make you fall asleep after all.¡± Amar Sin relaxed back into bed as he decided to try the meat. It wasn¡¯t tough or gamey as he had thought. It was tender in his mouth as he could taste the blood in this as well. Color began to fill his face as his grin turned into a smile. ¡°I do have a couple questions for you, though.¡± The Mesopotamian King stopped eating as he stared at Melakios in a puzzled way. ¡°First, do you have to bring me back?¡± ¡°No, but I thought Lilith would be happy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will give a gift you can give to her as an apology. My second question, do you remember your human life?¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.¡°It was so far long ago that I hardly remember a thing. The only thing I do remember is I used to be someone of extreme importance.¡± ¡°Great. As for my final question, what do you know of the power within you?¡± ¡°Hmm? I don¡¯t follow.¡± ¡°There is a source of power within the core of your soul. It thirsts for blood and grows stronger the more you feed it. If I had to say that last night, before you had your feast, you were three times my power. But now, you are closer to six times. Of course, since then, I have consumed more souls, increasing my power. I would say I am at four times my original size.¡± This was the first time Amar Sin had heard of this. Was there something dangerous within him? No, Lilith said there was nothing to worry about. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well, if you find that your power is stronger than before, just know that you must consume blood and flesh to get even stronger. That is all. Here, the gift for Lilith. The twins¡¯ uniform had a lovely rose, so I decided on a similarly designed item.¡± In Melakios¡¯ hands was a long whip that was the color of the trees as the handle was the color of blood. He grasped the handle and gave it a flick. The whip began to enlarge as needles protruded from the whip. The whip began to dance in a way far from how a normal whip would act. It slashed apart the room in an instant, but Amar Sin¡¯s bed was never touched, no matter how crazy the whip¡¯s movements were. After stopping his display, he handed the whip to Amar Sin and explained about the weapon. ¡°This whip can be entirely controlled by the user¡¯s mind. It also can grow to unimaginable lengths and suck the enemies¡¯ vitality. It can also be used as a way to constrict your opponents. So please, send my regards and apologies to Miss Lilith. See you later!¡± As he left, he dropped a bag onto the table beside the door. In it were many soul stones, probably for paying for the damages. After eating his share, Amar Sin held onto the whip and began his trip back to the Lilim Household. His trip would have to take an unimaginably long time. The travel from Eligor¡¯s mansion to the Academy was pretty much five hours riding a hippogryph. The distance to Gloss City from his mansion, however, was merely 2. This was because Melakios was bad with directions and went the wrong way, although he didn¡¯t care since he was going to do whatever he wanted. From Gloss City to the Tengu Mountain was a dozen hours riding on a Gryphon. This meant that the time it would take a hippogryph to fly there would be closer to a full day. And the crew went further still, traveling to a small town known as Slito. Slito was still a couple hours away using a gryphon, making the distance almost as much as the distance from the mansion to the Academy. But the Academy wasn¡¯t where Lilith was. She was located far beyond the Academy. The Academy was west, while Slito was slightly south east from Eligor¡¯s mansion. His trip would have Clair fly for thirty hours before they caught sight of the Lilim Household¡¯s territory. And he wasn¡¯t using a gryphon! But he didn¡¯t have to. The feeling of having this power was like a drug, granting him the ability to go faster for longer periods of time. In fact, his speed was actually slightly faster than Clair¡¯s! He shaved off a good five hours! He flew into the castle entrance and went to see the Succubus Queen. Chapter 27: Queen Of The Night Amar Sin walked into the main lobby of the castle and confronted a passing maid. The maid was in shock, not from being grabbed by surprise, but because the man who did it was exceptionally handsome. He had sharp, crimson eyes, his skin was pale, almost translucent, and his hair was long and silver. His dried out skin and wild hair were long gone, as the power of the blood revitalized him to a new level. Even the way he walked was filled with strength and confidence. After telling him where he needed to go, the maid felt her face grow warm at the thought of being next to such a great looking man. When he walked into the throne room, he saw Lilith standing at the table located on the second floor of the room. Behind the throne were two staircases, one leading left, the other leading right. They connected above the throne and had a little balcony which overlooked the room. On the second floor was the table in question which also had several other Demons sitting at it. One would have a hard time making sure Lilith was actually a Demon. She was created to be Adam¡¯s first wife, after all. But her desire to be free and unrestrained had her cast away into the Demon Realm. Unfortunately, she started off weak and so wasn¡¯t all that strong. But being around a long time allowed for many connections to be built. She saw Families fall and Clans crumble. Who knows how much more she would see. She was as beautiful as always. She wasn¡¯t overly tall, but she definitely wasn¡¯t short. Maybe it was the heels. She had a tight fitting silk dress that seemed to change colors on a whim. One second it was black, the next it was red. Soon, it would change to green. Her hair was jet black and there were no blemishes to be found on her face. She had a bag resting on her hip, attached to a belt that accented her curves all the better. Seeing the silver haired man walk in, her face took on a change as the once oppressive atmosphere turned brighter. She openly smiled and welcomed the man inside. But she was surprised when he bowed. She could feel his power. It was hard for her to kick out the man who just strolled in, as he was clearly at the peak of the Sovereign Level! But to see him lower himself to her? What was the meaning of this? ¡°Mistress, it is I, Amar Sin.¡± What?! Lilith was floored! Well, she would have been, if not for the fact she was leaning on the balcony railing. What had happened on this outing? She had thought Amar Sin was dead! ¡°Where were you?¡± ¡°Slito Town. I left around 25 hours ago, Mistress.¡± He still didn¡¯t get up. He was capable enough to pretty much destroy the entire castle, if he wanted to! Things were beginning to get awkward. ¡°You can stand, Amar Sin. I can¡¯t make you do anything now, anyway.¡± ¡°I unfortunately could not bring the boy named Melakios with me, but he did send an apology.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°All I said was to make sure he was safe. There was no need to go any further.¡± Almost like he ignored her, which ticked Lilith off even though she said he could pretty much do whatever, he reached into his chest pocket and pulled out the whip. The other Demons who were there all clamored to see what was going on. Amar Sin slowly walked up the stairway, looking directly into Lilith¡¯s eyes. She felt too embarrassed to return his gaze. When he stood right in front of her, she reached out slowly. But Amar Sin grabbed her hand gently and placed the whip directly into her grasp. Her heart quickened at the contact, but the feeling was gone all too soon as the Blood Sovereign backed away. His scarlet red suit went well with the silver hair flowing around his shoulders. He gave his farewells and departed, leaving Lilith to feel a multitude of emotions she had never felt before. She was pretty sure it was Lust, right? But she usually caused others to feel that way. Maybe Envy? She did want to be stronger, but no. Pride? Hmph. A Demon mostly has no need for Pride. What was this feeling? Amar Sin walked to his sleeping quarters and laid down on his bed. He went over all the things he experienced these past couple of days and realized what he must do. Get stronger for Lilith¡¯s sake. Ever since he first arrived in the Demon Realm, Lilith took care of him. She taught him fight techniques, kill techniques, scare tactics, and even how to eat properly. One too many accidents and almost no new servants wanting to work. Most Demons gave him a hard time as an ex-human. But Lilith just smiled and kept helping him. And today, she seemed even more attractive than normal. He was definitely infatuated, but noticed how weak she actually was. He decided to protect her from the shadows. In order to protect her, he needed to get stronger. The words Melakios had said rang through his head many times that night before he finally fell asleep. The next morning, the servants were already discussing the new hunk that Lilith brought in. But the only servant to have actually seen his appearance, Warren, was going to feed the troublesome flesh eater that had finally come back. She hadn¡¯t been here long, but she heard rumors of the man. He was wild and crazy, he would sooner eat you than look at you, and he might even leave you alive to make you suffer. But she walked down the hall paying less attention to her surroundings and more towards her fantasies. She was thinking of the handsome man that grabbed her out of nowhere. She was just about at the door where the flesh eater rested when the door abruptly opened and the figure exiting the immediately took a sharp turn, smashing into Warren. The contents of the breakfast sloshed all over the place and landed on the person before her. Standing there, drenched in breakfast soup, was none other than the flesh eater who was the exact same person as the handsome man! Chapter 28: Humans Potential ¡°I¡¯m so so so soooo sorry! Please forgive me, milord! Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± ¡°Calm down, child. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s clean.¡± Indeed he was. The mess that landed on him was now gone, washed off by his outfit which was entirely made of blood. Extremely easy. *sniff* ¡°There, there. I¡¯m not that hungry yet, could you bring that down later? I have to go speak to Mistress Lilith.¡± *hic* ¡°Yes, milord¡­¡± *sniff* Amar Sin slowly led Warren back upstairs to the main interior of the castle and left to go find Lilith. She was still in the throne room, but now Lilith was on the throne itself. ¡°Amar Sin, what do wish to speak about?¡± Lilith spoke with a coldness that wasn¡¯t evident yesterday. But Amar Sin understood. This was Lilith¡¯s Queen Mode. She had to appear strong so as not to ask for trouble. He respectfully kneeled like he would normally, and began to report what happened at the Tengu Mountain Valley. . . . ¡°¡­and then I confronted the Wandering Spirit and was forced to a draw. The battle ended and I followed their group to persuade Melakios to join me. Unfortunately, at Slito Town, after receiving the whip, I lost them. My apologies, Mistress.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie, Melakios left a note for me within the whip. What does he mean, you¡¯ve been starving yourself?! And then you fed on almost 200 corpses! Not only that, but you have changed! I could see there was something wrong even without the letter of warning!¡± That little brat, causing problems where he didn¡¯t need to. But just as he was about to give an excuse, Lilith sighed and slumped into the throne as she began to speak once more. ¡°Have you ever heard of the potential human beings possess? It¡¯s partly the reason we can¡¯t ever hope to live in the beautiful Human Realm. They learned how to seal us and summon us, to hunt us and kill us. We are their enemies, but we aren¡¯t the better of races. Humans have many different possibilities and most, almost to the point of being all, can never attain their true potential. It¡¯s a matter of God given talent. ¡° Amar Sin payed close attention, somehow knowing where this was going. ¡°People who stepped into the history of humankind and led the way to the future. Most used their minds, or their imagination, while others used their strength and their effort. If a person has this potential, they still might never fully control it or harness it in their lifetime. But you¡­and Melakios¡­are both potential holders, and even learned how to control your powers.¡± Amar Sin was having to deal with the rolling thunder resounding in his head as things seemed to fit in place. ¡°In the Human Realm, many of these people would be called Minor Gods, Prophets, Abominations, and even Heroes. In the future, they¡¯ll be called Witches, Monsters, Psychics, and once again, Heroes. You weren¡¯t the first, and that boy won¡¯t be the last. We have seen many estranged humans with potential here in the Demon Realm. But that boy is different.¡± Amar Sin was starting to realize that this was only the beginning. ¡°I have done some research into Prince G?ap¡¯s history, since he had caused our little geniuses trouble¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Trouble we would rather like to pay back.¡± From the balcony behind the throne stood Lilu and Lilitu. They each picked a stairway and walked down in symmetry. That was, until Lilu missed a step, earning a glare from his sister. ¡°Hah¡­I guess this saves saying the same thing over again later. Okay, Prince, or rather, King G?ap wishes to start a war with the Human Realm.¡± ¡°¡±What?!¡±¡± The twins shouted out in surprise, while Amar Sin merely waited for Lilith to continue. ¡°He wishes to bring forth the Four Horsemen, but needs a vessel for them. He needs empty vessels.¡± Everyone just tilts their head, wondering what she means. ¡°Melakios is empty.¡± His lack of soul! So that¡¯s what it meant! The only person who visibly looked excited for figuring it out was Lilu, as the other two scrunched up their faces at the thought of what Melakios will be used for. ¡°G?ap already has the vessels for War and Death, as he used an Orc and a Living Skeleton. He just needs the vessels for Conquest and Famine.¡± Lilitu used Lilith¡¯s pause for a question. ¡°How did he get these vessels?¡± ¡°He thought ahead. He used the Future Deal.¡± Lilith sounded tired after saying what G?ap did. It was frowned upon, after all. By making a deal for someone¡¯s future soul, the body that should have the soul would be an empty husk, allowing for a more substantial reward for the Demon. Sure, they were all Demons, but this process made it possible for things that should have stayed dead to rise once more. What Nesune said was indeed what happened. But she merely thought it was an old joke. She never would have guessed that this boy was indeed a husk created by a Future Deal. She had never seen a husk or a soulless being, so she was in the dark. But when Lilith had heard of this boy, of course it sounded like a familiar circumstance in the past. There were many times when a dastardly soul was kept by spiteful Demons and then released back into the Human Realm. It would cause massive chaos in the Human Realm, effectively starting the apocalypse. If this happened, the Angels may be forced to get involved. ¡°So I want Amar Sin to watch for Melakios while you two search for the Famine Vessel.¡± ¡°¡±Yes Madam!¡±¡± ¡°Yes, Mistress.¡± ¡°But before you leave, Amar Sin must get used to his powers while you two must get stronger. Ardat Lili will also have to exercise, although lightly, in order to recuperate. I swear, I want to kiss that boy for getting revenge on that asshole Valafar.¡± The three began to go their separate ways. The only person left was the Queen of the Succubi, Lilith. And the strange little snake bracelet around her wrist. Chapter 29: Family Forever Waits Ala and her soldiers took a long time to get back to Eligor. They had no Gryphons, much less hippogryphs. And none of them were at the Duke Level. She had lost 67 cloud riders that night, but she had expected to completely lose. She had never believed that little boy would be so strong. She was hoping to buy time for him to flee and maybe say one last goodbye. Her men also knew they were likely to die that night. But now that they were alive, they weren¡¯t tired from the trip back home, on the contrary, they wouldn¡¯t shut up! It was always, ¡®Melakios this, that Gryphon that!¡¯ ¡®Did you see that busty bird girl?¡¯ ¡®How about that Wandering Spirit?¡¯ ¡®Yeah! He held his own against a Ruler!¡¯ ¡®No no no, the best fighter was Melakios! He killed all those Demons in a flash! One sweep of his sword and heads went flying!¡¯ ¡®Captain? Why did you join in?¡¯ Everyone was blown away by the awesome battle in the valley. No one was really quiet until they got back into Eligor¡¯s territory. They marched into the mansion grounds with their heads held high and their armor and weapons polished and cleaned. They had made a temporary pit stop outside to get everything ready. Had to look cool for the civilians, to keep up loyalty. Especially when they find out it was supposed to be a suicide mission! The first to welcome Ala was the Batibat. She came flying over on her log and jumped right onto Ala, knocking them both into the ground. Unfortunately, Ala was in a nice Ala sized hole. After all the pleasantries were complete, Ala went to report to Eligor. . . . ¡°¡­and then we left to return home.¡± It wasn¡¯t that long of a report, but from the first hand experiences, Eligor was enthralled. It was at that time weeping could be heard from outside the war room. Ala went to open the door to find Ashikalla laying on the ground sobbing. ¡°W-why d-didn¡¯t *sniff* he come baaack?!¡± The Batibat came to calm the little Empusa girl down, as some of the other Demons looked upset. Melakios was indeed strong, stronger than any of the Four Corners. He was even able to contend against Eligor! Why would he wish to come back? Ala knelt beside the 12 year old Demon and put a little object on the ground next to her. Ala then got up and returned to the report. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Ash looked at the little crystal creature in front of her. It was a bird, a beautiful cerulean bird. It glistened and shined as she grew enraptured with the thing. Whenever she looked at it, she felt calm and could sense the wind flowing in the room. There was a small folded piece of paper under the figure so Ash left the room quietly to go read and admire the statue some more. ¡®Dear Ash, I may have been gone for only a little bit, but I already miss you and everyone else at the mansion. This gift is for you, who only wishes to see the world. I wanted to bring you with me, but I guess you would be safer there for now. One of these days, I will return and bring you with me. I will be so strong, no one will mess with me. This figure is of the scepter sparrow, a strange creature that transforms into a statue to protect itself. Whenever it feels safe, it will begin to move again. The bird in question is used for decorating the scepters of strong Demons. This creation has a function similar to the actual bird, although opposite. When danger is imminent, the figure will move. I wish you luck and happiness until I return. From, Melakios.¡¯ Ash began to tear up as she read the letter, truly happy from the good words he wrote. She asked a passing butler to help order a necklace for the tiny figurine. With this, she can always be safe thanks to Melakios. Back in the war room, the only people here were the Four Corners and Eligor. None of his Generals were here, since they were off trying to find information to help the human boy. 1 Duke wielding a powerful Soul Weapon, 4 Counts, and many soldiers ranging from peak Mortal Stage to Baron Level. A little over 5,000 Demons, not counting the weak servants, were there to make sure nobody tried to offend Eligor. That¡¯s because no one here could stop his anger. All 5,000 Demons would have trouble fighting him together. But now, Ala was handing out trinkets that Melakios made. One for each of the Four Corners, one for each of the Generals, and a pair of gauntlets for Eligor. Ash had already received her gift, but now that the others had received theirs, everyone was acting like it was their birthday. Eligor immediately sent 6 squadrons out to hand over the General¡¯s items. 2 Air Marshals, 1 Admiral, (Davy Jones) and 3 Generals (one of which is Cernunnos). Each of these high ranking officers commanded 10 Legions each. Eligor was never one to mince his words, and he wasn¡¯t one to withhold gifts. Maybe these presents would tempt the Generals to all do a better job. After the squadrons left, a shadowy figure approached the mansion. In her room, Ash was laying on her bed and admiring her gift. But all of a sudden, the bird¡¯s wings began to ever so slightly move. Frozen, she had no idea what to do as the movements became sporadic and faster. The bird seemed desperate to fly away but was attached to the necklace around Ash¡¯s neck. Soon there were loud noises echoing around outside. Crashing, explosions, and screams filled Ash¡¯s ears as she scrambled to one of the secret pathways she and Melakios had found long ago. She galloped down the halls and pulled a torch that opened a dark tunnel. She wanted to walk in, but she was frozen in place as a fearsome sensation swallowed her whole. Then, her world went dark. Chapter 30: Aftermath Here it is, guys. The last chapter of the first book.
Cernunnos and Davy Jones walked amongst the rubble that once used to be Eligor¡¯s mansion. The civilians were in shock since one of the Four Corners had returned victorious earlier the day of the attack. The other Generals were also standing around, but they soon left, taking their men home. Davy Jones was delirious. ¡°Hahaha¡­hahaha¡­This must be a joke¡­Who would just¡­who could just waltz right in here and destroy a Duke no problem? There were no rumors of a movement, so it must have been a small group or even only one person! Who dID THIS?!¡± He kept pacing the garbage and debris, kicking it whenever he shouted. Cernunnos wasn¡¯t paying attention, as he placed another cover over another corpse. He bent down and picked up a little broken bird statue from the ground next to the unfortunate lost soul. He gazed at the once beautiful cerulean figure with anguish as his heart began to break more and more. This was all his fault. He had brought Melakios here, and now King G?ap was making his move. Ziminiar, Corson, and Amaymon were beginning to move as well, answering to his calls. With the Four Cardinal Kings, things were going to be difficult. He may have to act himself. No. He should have already acted. Then this wouldn¡¯t have happened. It was time he did something. Although, it probably could have waited. He grew another couple of centimeters and his antlers became more like horns. His once scholarly appearance became more saintly. His complexion began to age as his hair grew longer and his clothes took on a rich forest green. Davy Jones, who wasn¡¯t paying attention before, tripped over himself in surprise at seeing a resident of the Angel Realm before him. The Horned God, a being who watches over birth, death, and the afterlife. Before, as Cernunnos, he was a hunter. But now, he was the forest. He quickly cast off his Demon equipment and held onto both the bird figure and the deer mask Melakios made for him.
The Lilim Household fared a lot better. As in, they didn¡¯t get attacked at all. Now that Amar Sin was a Sovereign Level Demon, not even G?ap was willing to actually go to war. He wouldn¡¯t have gone to war before, either, since Lilith was still strong. But the Tengu Mountain was forsaken. The mountain was razed to the ground but no Tengu were found. Apparently, they all left. They weren¡¯t even at their Main Clan Territory. The masterful Soul Masons had all disappeared. Asmodai was a Soul Duke, while Bunny and Lonny were actual Dukes. With Furfur¡¯s private army, they could take on many enemies. But one day, Bunny¡¯s father withdrew everyone affiliated with them from Gloss City. The next day, the city was burned down as Count Furfur¡¯s head was mounted on a pike. This was how Demons did things. They didn¡¯t like it? Kill them. Their way got blocked? Destroy everything the other person loves. They aren¡¯t happy? Steal everything until they get happy. Demons did whatever they wanted, with or without carefully laid plans. With or without thinking of others. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.King of the North G?ap had made his wants known. And he wanted Melakios!
Melakios was once again inside the forest. The others helped him exercise and get stronger, but the young child actually started to complain! ¡°Ugh, this is boring.¡± It was a good thing he was away from civilization, or he would have flown right into the trap G?ap had laid for him. But the Demon would never had guessed he would forsake his friends and family for so long. If he had known Melakios was training with no way to contact the outside, he might have waited. Melakios spent his mornings meditating for his Seed, daytime was for physical training, evening was for hunting, and nighttime was for learning more about Soul Masonry. His schedule was filled to the brim as Teiko would give her findings on meditation and Soul Masonry, while Alkelios taught him the harsh training he went through, and Clair helped him have a nice comfortable sleep every night. Well, except for when that dream happens. It starts of nice with everyone standing before him waving. Soon, only Ashikalla stands before him, smiling. He walks over to her, only for the ground to start shaking and a chasm appears directly under Ash¡¯s hooves. He tries to grab her, but she¡¯s too far away and she falls, screaming. He hears more screaming as he sees his friends from the mansion also falling into the abyss. Teiko¡¯s family walks away, never saying bye or turning around. Cernunnos was gone and in his place was a dangerous looking green stag. A grief filled Davy Jones was out on the ocean as specters tried to drag him and his ship underwater. His friends from the Triple M Trade were trying to hide from a gigantic beast that had ripped right through Count Furfur. Melakios saw the twins and maid along with the Edimmu standing over a beautiful lady who seemed to be forever asleep. Soon he was all alone as he looked around only seeing the leftover equipment that he had made for them. And then he saw it. A little broken bird with little flakes of dried blood still on it as a lifeless Ash laid beside it, never to breathe again. He would always rush to her body, trying to hold onto her for as long as possible. He searched for her soul, but couldn¡¯t find it. He looked all around, but only saw more bodies. He was alone. But the dream would always end with a strange green hand grabbing his shoulder, scaring him awake. He would wake with a yell, unsure of what was happening. The others would assure him that they were there beside him and he would try to get some more sleep before another day of rough training. There was approximately 6 more months until Pairma¡¯s Tournament.
Well, I will start the story again in another couple of weeks. Until then, I am writing a new Pok¨¦mon story as well as a zombie story. I had to start rewriting the MMO story, since it just didn''t feel right, but until then, know that this story is in fact not a fun story. In fact, once the MC changes, I plan on making a separate novel altogether since the feel will change entirely. That''s right, this is more of a prequel. But I can tell you that there should be at least another 4 books. Thanks for understanding, and see you guys again! Sorry, Not A Chapter... Hey guys, I guess you can call this an update. I am still working on the next arc (not calling it a book since I still can''t figure where it ends and begins). It is difficult to create a story based on a RP I made for comedic purposes. However, I AM working on it still. In the mean time, might I suggest the other novels I am working on? Check out the spoiler below this! And now, Re: Frog =====Synopsis===== A man who is worn out from the struggles he faces every day, takes his life in an act of suicide. Yet, either by a joke fabricated by fate or by the heaven¡¯s will itself, he finds himself waking up in front of a frog..... "Huh? Am I¡­Heh¡­haha¡­HaHa¡­HAHA!!! I''M ALIVE! EH?! What the?! A god damn huge ass frog?! What the hell is this?!" Watch as our protagonist struggles yet again in this new mystical world and finds the destiny that awaits him in this action packed adventure. And just maybe, he can realize that he was never worthless to begin with¡­ ================================= Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Hello, again! If you haven¡¯t read my other works, that is perfectly fine! I come up with a brand new idea practically once a month. I make short chapters, but I am usually working on multiple novels at once. Stupid me. Anyways, I try for daily releases, but there are always problems that are unforeseen. All I ask is that if you like my work, hate my work, or just want to see me do better, leave a review or comment. I appreciate any feedback because it all matters. Be on guard, however, because I don¡¯t take kindly to useless words. If you have a legitimate reason to leave a negative review, do so! If you aren¡¯t going to point out my faults or leave a suggestion, then just leave. Don¡¯t like it? Fine. But tell me why. And if you want to, do the same for my other works! And don¡¯t worry, when I post another chapter for this specific story, I will put it under a new chapter so you guys following can get the notification. ========================= Thank you all for your patience!