The black tower, its stones worn and ragged from the endless winds of the dust-coated hills, was even larger up close than what could be seen from the distance. That beacon light streamed out from the battlements, wavering in the cloudy air yet still able to reach so far out into the surrounding wastes.

As the pair of demons strode closer to the tower after what must have been hours of travel, it reached further and further above their heads. It was gigantic in scale- more the size of an entire castle than a lone stone tower, with battlements and small walls around the base. Bright torches set on the walls and arrow slits streaming with light. A true fortress, worn and weary of battle.

A great gate, inlay with strange, reflective metal and black wood opened slowly at their arrival, its height more than five times that of the two demons.

Yet even with all of the light and torches, the screeching gate, and the looming walls, there was not a single other soul visible on the tower.

The two entered unhesitatingly, in silence.

With a long hall, lit by flickering torchlight, continued to extend far forwards from them, the pair felt as the air turned cold. It was a contrast from the merciless, choking heat of the dunes, and truly a refreshing one for the smaller demon.

But a chill still raced down its spine as its black eyes twisted quickly, watching the surrounding shadows.

There was something in the hall, with them, even as they continued walking forward. The boar-head demon was quiet, staring straight ahead, steps clipping softly against the stone floor, but the smaller demon slowed.

Immediately, the boar-head demon turned.

“What is it?”

“-Well, I don’t know…”

“You aren’t still scared, are you? I don’t know how many times the fact needs to be hammered through your head, fool, but this fortress has been subdued. Now hurry up.”

“...Right.”

While the smaller demon’s voice was soft, something of the aura of that fire-lit hall catching the volume of his throat, he sped up his pace.

There was a reassurance within the arrogant stride of the boar-headed demon- after all, if there was a fight to break out, he would be able to run away just fine, while his companion’s pride would force him to stay and fight. If they were attacked by an enemy too powerful, then the boar-head demon would act as a perfect kind of bait.

He doubted such a thing would truly happen, though. The boar-headed one was right, no matter how much the shifting shadows within the tower disturbed the small demon. The place was safe enough.

After what felt like many more minutes of walking through that silent corridor, their steps echoing across the smooth stone of the walls and floors, their pace eventually came to a stop.

The torches continued on before them, far, far into the blackness of the hall, but the smooth wall did end there, disturbed by a small, nondescript door.

It seemed like although the tower itself continued far beyond what would be expected from the outside, they had already reached their destination.

The boar-headed demon rapped his human hand against the outside of the door, its black wooden exterior cracking with sound, before a click resounded through the air. The boar-head demon opened the door slowly.

The pair of demons entered into the room, a passiveness in their movements that was hardly present before- even the boar-head demon slumped lower in his posture than the proud bearing he held only moments earlier. Although light poured out of the room in droves, far brighter than the dimly lit corridor outside, the demons did not raise their hands to shield their eyes. They stared at their feet.

The room was silent and empty, but that didn’t seem to matter to the pair of demons as they walked ahead, postures stooping. A single table, fashioned out of that same ash-gray wood as the door, sat in the center of the gray stone floor, a large piece of parchment laid flat against its surface. It was covered in small metallic pins, many different vibrant colors painted across.

They stopped short, staring over the table and the pins above it, still in that depressive silence.

Although it came from seemingly nowhere, with no source to be seen, a voice reached their ears.

“Have you been busy?”

It was a simple enough question, but the pair of demons still shook as it hit them, just loud enough to disturb. It was a powerful voice.

The boar-head demon, head already lowered, bowed further. Its horns nearly scraped against the surface of the wooden table.

“Yeah. The hills are clear, besides some wild demons, and nothing’s coming from Aurantias. -Haven’t found any artifacts, though. …And I still haven’t found any sign of the new raiders in the wastes.”

“...”

The voice responded soon after.

“In other words, nothing has happened. You did not accomplish anything- though you also did not screw anything up.”

“...Yes, boss.”

“Don’t worry, Shen. That’s not a bad thing- it just means you have achieved nothing.”

“...”

“Ah, I suppose that is a bad thing, now that I think on it a bit more, isn’t it?”

An ounce of dry amusement had made its way into the still-bodiless voice, even while the goat demon sat still, head bowed perfectly.

“I know we’re a bit low on soldiers at the moment, Shen, but that doesn’t lower the standards. In fact, I had been expecting you to do even better than normal, but it seems you’ve reached your peak for now.”

The goat demon shook, before stilling once again. The smaller demon couldn’t tell if that emotion was fear or anger. Maybe both.

“Did I hit a note, Shen? I’m aware that your leveling has been stagnating. This is the highest you’ve ever been, isn’t that right?”

Another small gap opened in the conversation- perhaps the voice was allowing Shen to respond.

The goat demon looked up.

“That is right, boss.”

“-Do you have anything to say?”

The goat demon took a moment, thinking on its words, before it began to speak.

“You’re wrong, boss. Yeah, I’ve never been at a level this high, but I definitely haven’t hit the limit. I can feel it- I’ve got a ways to go”

“...Really?”

Beneath the smaller demon’s careful gaze, the boar-headed demon steadied itself, pausing for another brief moment, its bent back shaking silently.

“Yes. The reason I’ve stopped getting stronger is because the demons around here aren’t threats to me anymore- they don’t give me any experience.”

“...”

“...”

“Fair enough.”

And just like that, their conversation was over.

The small demon couldn’t help but feel jealous, looking at the cruel simplicity both the bodiless voice and the goat demon shared. They had just about been at each other's throats, before immediately forgiving after a comically short time. All it took was a base explanation.

He supposed that simplicity was common amongst demons. He supposed that in time, he would also gain that almost animalistic mindset. After all, the only thing separating him from his superiors was age.

“Now what about the little one?”

He was quickly snapped out of those thoughts, however.

The small demon, black fur bristling, felt a weight press onto his shoulders. It was a chilling thing, sending tendrils of fear, or perhaps pleasure, shooting down its spine, all the way to the end of its tail.

But even with that newfound attention, the small demon did not open his mouth.

“Nothing of note, of course. I found him fighting a Xohax, level 21, and he wasn’t even able to kill it by himself. Are you sure he’s worth it, boss?”

“I have confidence, Shen. We’ve all had to start somewhere, you know.”

“...I just don’t understand why we need to train a new Devil still on their very first life. He has no experience!”

“What did I just say, Shen? About the tone?”

Again, the room was layered with thick silence. The goat demon, his voice quieted, planted his gaze firmly onto the floor again.

“Apologies, boss.”

The conversation seemed to be winding up and tensions were already high, the small demon knew, but there was one more thing that needed to be said. Although the sudden quiet of the room was oppressive, dangerous, there was never going to be a better opportunity.

“...Excuse me?”

The small demon’s voice was hesitant. It cracked from underuse, and the sudden stress of speaking.

The goat demon turned to look at it in no small amount of surprise- after all, the smaller demon had never been granted permission to open its mouth, and they all knew the price of forgetting one’s place. Especially the price of interrupting a conversation between one’s betters.

But it needed to be said, and if the boss had any kind of sense, he would realize that the smaller demon wouldn’t raise his voice for nothing.

“Yes?”

And the voice responded, seeming utterly nonplussed at the interruption.

The small demon gulped back a sudden bout of alien fear, but due to the fact he hadn’t been smited yet, he dove onwards.

“I… I did actually find something, in the hills. The cave-ridden ones, with the chasms and the wind.”

Neither the goat demon, nor the bodiless voice, spoke another word. There was a stifling heat in the air.

“...Here.”

Quickly, out from the tightly clenched fist he had kept it safely within ever since he first made contact with the goat demon, came the telltale flash of gold.

The small demon dropped the golden coin onto the table before them, overtop the countless small pins and the carefully drawn topography of the parchment.

After another brief moment, the voice finally spoke again.

“...Well, what a surprise.”

Though the voice was still loud, just enough to grate on the ears of the smaller demon, there was slightly less of that dull, nearly emotionless tone it had continued to keep throughout the meeting.

There was a hint of something else inside the voice, at that moment. The smaller demon thought it might have been satisfaction.

But whatever that voice meant, and whatever that small coin would mean for them- for him- in the future, the fear still coiled up within the small demon’s chest had not faded in the slightest.