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n“A lot, but he’ll switch up his strategy soon. News of us taking on his armies alone will disturb his thoughts and plan as I’m sure he wanted to dwindle away our forces and supplies…” I explained.

n“HAH! WHAT AN IDIOT! Everybody is just relaxing while he sends this fodder for us to level up! I hope this doesn’t end anytime soon!” Cy laughed while the spear of darkness in his hand faded into nothingness.

n“Luna, have you prepared everything you need?” I asked the woman with long pastel-pink hair sitting atop the castle wall. She may have been many miles away, but we spoke effortlessly with one another due to our freakish senses.

n“Don’t try and confirm things with me. I can handle this myself. There is no need for you to get involved,” Luna scoffed before dissipating into thin air, her projection instantly fading back into her real body. It was stored deep within the walls of Belphegor’s castle, just in case somebody was out there and strong enough to threaten her.

n“So petty…” I rolled my eyes.

n…

n(Aisa POV)

n“Master, please let me go with you,” I begged as the woman’s retainer appeared before our very eyes. He was a mass of shadows. Nothing more, nothing less. I could hardly feel his presence and at the same time, I could hardly feel any ounce of threatening aura.

nEither he was extremely weak and was useful for some other purpose, or he was so strong that I could hardly detect his level of power. I was thinking of more of the former instead of the latter, but you could never be one hundred percent sure about anything.

n“I’m sorry, but there is a guy you must speak with. Bring Bella… I’m sure you’ll discover something interesting…” She smiled and as I ran to hug her one more time, she disappeared into thin air. I instantly collapsed to the ground in defeat before hearing a smug voice in the distance, directly down the hall.

n“Stop being a whiny bitch and let’s go.”

n“You have no idea how much she means to me. She is the mother I never had.”

n“…” There was no response from Bella besides a continuous smug smile.

n“Let’s go,” I scoffed.

nWith our speed, it wasn’t long before we reached the towering pearly gates of a demon lord hell-bent on destroying and conquering everything in his path. It was a structure that defied the very laws of nature, a place where beauty and horror converged in a morbid symphony.

nThe palace’s exterior was forged from dark, obsidian-like stone, eternally polished to a sinister gleam. Towering spires, resembling skeletal fingers reaching for the accursed heavens, adorned its sinister facade. Sinuous, fiery veins coursed through the black stone, pulsating with malevolent energy. These veins of molten magma weaved a mesmerizing tapestry of crimson and gold across the palace’s surface.

nAs one approached the palace, the air grew unbearably hot, and the ground itself seemed to smolder beneath their feet. Surrounding the palace, small, seemingly unnatural pockets of water served as both a cruel tease and a chilling contrast to the surrounding inferno. Crystal-clear pools, no larger than small ponds, lay scattered throughout the palace’s courtyard, their waters impossibly cool and pristine.

nThese pools of water appeared as though they were plucked from a different, untouched realm. Exotic, blood-red lilies and strange, phosphorescent aquatic life flourished within them, forming a stark juxtaposition against the oppressive heat and desolation of their surroundings. Wisps of ghostly mist clung to the surface of the water, seemingly untouched by the encroaching heat.

nSoon, we were welcomed in within the palace itself. The corridors and chambers twisted and turned like a tangled nightmare. Torches of ghostly blue flame lined the walls, casting eerie, shifting shadows that danced to an unsettling, silent melody. The architecture was a fusion of extravagance and malevolence, with grand, arched doorways adorned with intricate, nightmarish carvings of demonic figures and writhing serpentine fish.

nAt the heart of the palace, a throne room of unparalleled dread awaited, its centerpiece a throne crafted from the bones of long-forgotten souls. Above it, a crooked chandelier of dark crystals hung, dripping with crimson liquid that seemed to weep eternally. The throne overlooked a sprawling, hellish vista, with famished men and tortured women. The children cried out for help, begging for an ounce of assistance, only to be met by the ruler’s indifferent gaze. 𝑜𝓋𝔩xt.𝑪𝑜𝓂

nThis glistening but hellish palace, with its unnaturally beautiful waters and eerie fusion of opulence and malevolence, stood as a testament to the dark creativity of its creator. It was a place where the damned would tremble in awe and terror, forever ensnared within its infernal grasp, caught between the allure of its beauty and the horrors of its depths.

n“Welcome,” A beautiful man’s voice resonated across the room, as he appeared elegantly on his throne cruelly built atop the corpses of his own citizens.

nHe was beautiful. I had nothing else to say besides the fact that he was gorgeous. From the sapphire earrings decorating his hanging lobes to his pale skin engraved and carved to fit magnanimous sky-blue jewels of royal descent.

nIt was a bit hard to take everything in. From his presence to the fact that even Bella was quaking in her boots… everything was surreal. He was similar yet somehow different to my Master who I had thought was a one-of-a-kind beast.

n“How are you not a god yet?” I immediately questioned him.

n“Who says I’m not?” His chilling voice radiated through the atmosphere, grappling with my senses and suppressing my very will to live. It was like being before him was like being before an all-powerful being. One not of this realm. One not of this reality.

nSuddenly, Bella kneeled down on one knee. Her eyes shot up towards me, clearly gesturing for me to follow her. Drops of sweat dripped from my brow and bullets of blood exploded from my strained pupils. Just standing in his presence was enough to force me to lower myself.

n“I greet the King of The Sea,” Bella muttered.

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