Footsteps echoed across the marble floor. Step. Step. Step.
Doors so high they could fit a giant, even though they had all died long ago. Ornamented with gold, silver, and minerals that shone brighter than the sun, this door stood in front of Bel, who had been called here with urgency.
'It's not Bel anymore, It's Beliel, Beliel, Beliel….Beliel….'
Demons tended to adopt the customs of the world they had conquered. They were extremely malleable creatures, others would have called them parasites instead. Even their forms were subject to variation. Most demons were humanoid in appearance, but there existed those, influenced by the worlds they had been deployed to, who adopted more bestial looks.
This repulsed Bel— Beliel. The term humanoid itself repulsed him. This form of his was… demonoid, it was a demon's true form. Why alter it so grotesquely?
Fortunately, the demon Beliel was here to see this day was no such demon.
"Maybe you'll be promoted hehe~" Said a demon female beside him. She had been his 'aide' for the past year, but Beliel despised her.
She was annoying.
"Shut your mouth, Haleyna"
Haylena chuckled. "Yes, my Lord."
The doors before Bel opened inward with a deafening creaking of poorly maintained bolts and the sound of iron scraping against the floor.
A single desk, much too large for one person, and made of wood that could not be found on Earth, stood in the center of the room. Under it there was a crimson rug, likely the pelt of some monster, and above it a chandelier so exquisite it would have made the wealthiest noble choke on envy.
The demon who sat at this desk smirked as Beliel entered. "Well? Do you like it?" He said, pointing upward. "I had the human slaves build it for me. I must say, this world's humans are primitive… but their aesthetic sense is mesmerizing."
This demon wore a long pristine white coat adorned with ores, and precious chains on its front and backside. He had two horns protruding from the side of his forehead that he seemed to have embedded emerald green gems into, and as if it had been made to match his outfit, a golden sigil on his forehead with the shape of a hexagram shone brightly.
Beliel and Haleyna kneeled.
"Belilel greets you, my Lord"
"Haleyna greets you, my Lord."
Beliel then lifted his head. "You called, my Lord?"
The demon smiled. "Hmm~ Yes, yes, that has a nice ring to it. Soon enough, I'll be a demon lord, and everyone will refer to me as such!"
Beliel clicked his tongue inwardly. 'If it was that easy to become a Demon Lord, we'd have plenty already…'
In fact, there wasn't a single Demon Lord on Earth. Too powerful to cross over as of yet, and for the demons who were already on Earth, not a single one had managed to advance to that level.
This meant that, in theory, there wasn't a single demon who could take on a warrior who had reached the stage of Weapon-Body-Unity.
But of course, demons had their tricks, and there were only a handful, maybe less, of such humans on Earth.
The demon whose desk was much too large, spoke again. "Doesn't that sound nice, Demon Lord Kazakel?" He asked.
Beliel answered with a forced smile. "Certainly. It sounds magnificent, Lord Kazakel."
Kazakel appeared before Beliel in the blink of an eye, grabbed his face with a single hand, and softly caressed his cheek with his thumb. "See, this is why I like you, Beliel. You're ambitious. I can see in those eyes of yours… You strive to rip this seat from under me! Just like you did your former Lord… Azazel, wasn't it?"
Beliel said nothing, and Kazakel let him go. "But you're also boring. You were much more fun in the past. You used to put that ambition of yours on display for all to see, but now you're so… restrained." He turned to Haleyna. "Wouldn't you agree, dear?"
Haleyna chuckled. "Certainly, my Lord. Who knows what could have brought on this change? Perhaps…"
"May I ask why you've called us here, Lord Kazakel?" Beliel interrupted.
Kazakel sighed. "Right… Well, what else? it's about the man who's responsible for all the gossip these days."
Beliel clenched his fist. "I see."
Kazakel stroked his chin. "Mm. the humans call him the King of Fools." He sat down on his chair, which may as well have been a throne. "A bug in all respects… but an annoying one undoubtedly. He's killed countless demons, to the point even I'm impressed."
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Kazakel leaned back. "Of course, I don't care if a few demons are killed… but it's bad for my reputation, you understand I'm sure. It looks like he's intentionally targeting the ones who come from Kaizel, my city."
He then stared straight at Beliel. "Now… it's almost as if… my demons, my subjects are scared to leave, scared to consume. I'll be the laughing stock of the Lords if this continues."
Halyena lifted her head. "If I may, Lord Kazakel."
Kazakel waved his hand dismissively. "You may."
Halyena nodded. "This… King of Fools, or whatnot, mostly targets weaker demons who have no choice but to leave Kaizel in a desperate search for power…"
She raised an eyebrow. "Is he that much of a concern? Most of them would have served as no more than cannon fodder in an expedition, or even in a Gate outbreak suppression."
Kazakel shrugged. "Four months ago, I sent a team after him. One third rank, three second ranks, and five first ranks. Not a single one came back, and I haven't heard from them since."
Beliel interjected. "He must have used some sort of trick. No matter how powerful he is, we've confirmed he is not a Grandmaster of Spear-Body-Unity. I can hardly imagine he could take them all in a frontal assault."
Kazakel smiled and leaned forward. "And this is precisely why I need you, Beliel! You must know all there is about him, correct? After all, you two have encountered each other in another world!!"
Beliel's eyebrows twitched. '...How does he know that?'
Beliel nodded. "That's… correct."
Kazakel clasped his hands together. "Great! Well then, you'll be on pest control duty! Bring me his head, sooner rather than later." Kazakel said with a wink.
Then without even giving Beliel the chance to object, Kazakel threw them out of his office.
Beliel barely held in his anger as he stared at the large doors. "Tsk. If you want him dead so badly… why don't you just go yourself."
Haleyna rested her head on Beliel's shoulder and spoke with a soft voice. "Careful, my Lord~ Lord Kazakel might hear you~"
Beliel pushed her head away. "It's almost amusing the way he always seems to know what I'm up to, someway, somehow." He said, throwing a glance at Haleyna.
Beliel walked away.
Haleyna chuckled, and she followed after him.
—
Verity planted his spear into the ground.
Craters filled the training room from top to bottom.
Apatia was laying flat on her back on the other side of the room. She was bruised, beaten, and her spear had been split clean into two. Her breath was erratic, and her vision was blurry.
Verity smirked. "That last attack… It was great." He stroked his chin. "You let me become complacent with certain victory, lured me in, then changed your entire fighting style in a split second. If it had been someone of a similar level to you, it would have worked without a doubt."
Then his smile dropped. "But that's your problem, student. You fight as though we are equals. Too defensively, too slowly, and too conservatively. If this was a situation where you were hoping for reinforcements… Perhaps it could have worked, but the day you face a real demon, this method of fighting will be the end of you."
Apatia closed her eyes. 'That's what he tells me every single time…'
Verity touched his cheek, where the mask had been broken, and he could do nothing but nod in approval as a crimson liquid painted his fingers. "Nonetheless… You took me by surprise and caught me with my guard down. It was a bold move, very bold but… You actually managed to wound me. You're the first to do that today."
He then turned to the other examiners. "I'd like to make her eligible for the Supernova class, what are your thoughts?"
The examiner on the far left corner of the room shook his head. "I disagree. She has not yet manifested Aura. Her fundamentals may be incredible, but without it, she cannot harm a demon. I vote Dragon."
Verity nodded. "I see." Then looked to the examiner on the far right. "What about you?"
"..."
She seemed hesitant. "..The Supernova class will be in direct contact with demons…It is true that this one has not manifested Aura, but there are many frontline classes that do not necessarily manifest Aura as part of their progression, such as the Warden, the Berserker, or even the Paladin."
The other examiner interjected. "That is irrelevant as she is not in any of these classes. They compensate with other skills. This one is a Spearman. I maintain my vote for the Dragon Class. Without Aura, she is too weak."
She sighed. "I… suppo–"
Verity rolled his eyes. "Has any student managed to even scratch me today?"
The two examiners shook their heads.
Verity crossed his arms. "Then you shouldn't trust my judgement when I say she'll learn the most from the Supernova Class? Putting her anywhere below would be smothering her talent. She can awaken Aura later, what's the rush? Most of those in the Supernova who can handle Aura, might as well have not manifested it at all. It's so immature that it's completely useless in battle!"
The man prepared to retort. "Even so–"
But the second examiner was ahead of him. "I vote for the Supernova class."
And just like that, it was decided.
Healers and medics rushed into the room to help Apatia, and she was escorted out just like that. They wanted to keep her for observation but she quickly refused, wanting to be left alone.
Begrudgingly, the medics and healers agreed. She was a Protector, and her injuries weren't life threatening as far as they could see. She'd most likely be fine.
—
Apatia, her entire body sore and screaming with pain, swung her spear in one of Nexia's many training rooms.
The sun had set long ago.
Sweat was dripping down her face and she screamed with anger as she thrust her spear forward.
"They're right…!! If I can't even use Aura, I can never go against a demon…!!"
She'd asked her master time and time again to teach her to use Aura the same way he did, but he had refused every single time.
'She wasn't ready', he said.
Earlier, he had come to her training room to speak to her, but she had chased him away. She remembered Verity leaving with a strange look in his eyes.
Now she felt terrible for lashing out at him, which made her work even harder.
Someone entered the training room.
A boy with dark hair and emerald eyes, even greener than hers were.
When she realized who it was, Apatia sighed and returned to her training. "Hello Arthur."
Arthur scoffed. "Wow. You must really be feeling terrible."
"If you came here just to mock me, please leave."
Apatia tried to get along with those around her as best as she could, but she did not like Arthur all that much.
He tended to be full of himself, and… there was something strange about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Arthur sat on a bench stuck to one of the walls. "No… it's nothing like that. I heard they assigned you to the Supernova class."
Apatia nodded. "That's right."
Arthur looked at her. "Do you feel that you deserve it?"
She stopped mid thrust. "What's that supposed to mean?" She said, her eyebrows creasing.
Arthur shrugged. "They've assigned Kalina to the Dragon Class, and you've never won against her, not even once."
"That was a long time ago."
"You think you'd be her match now?"
Apatia threw him a glare. "If you have nothing positive to say, buzz off. Provoking me won't give her my spot."
Apatia was kind, but she wasn't a pushover. That, she had learned from her late father.
Arthur scoffed. "I don't know…"
He then left the room before Apatia could make sense of the situation.
She felt her hands tighten around the shaft of her spear until they turned blue, and a displeasing emotion bubbling within her made her grit her teeth.
"I really, really don't like him…" She shook her head. "Ah… I should apologize to Master when I get the chance… he can be pretty sensitive sometimes."
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