In a large room, lined with tall, coloured glass windows displaying long forgotten battles, sat the City Lord on a large, lavishly decorated chair. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Beside him sat a beautiful woman, with long, pointed ears and sharp piercing eyes. "Either the demon dies in front of us, or we force it to make a pact. Any other outcome and I would never be able to sleep again for fear of my son's life."

"I guess you are right." Sighing the City Lord sat up and turned his gaze to a blonde boy standing sheepishly off to the side. "What in heaven's name were you thinking? To actually go on a demon hunt."

The boy looked at the floor. "But father... I was with the Sacred Tem..."

"BUT NOTHING! You know your half sister and brother are demon hybrids, What if the Sacred Temple sensed them on you and decided to eliminate them up as well?"

The blonde boy, David took a step forward and for the first time looked his father in the eye. "I did it for them; we need to show where our loyalties lie in case word ever gets out about their heritage... I hear the Novus Kingdom got a reprieve from slave collars for the demons in their royal family by aiding the Temple."

With a much heavier sigh than the first, the City Lord lowered his head into his hands. "You fool... That was just political manoeuvring in the attempt to draw more demons into the light. For that little luxury, the Novus Capital now has a Sacred Temple headquarters with over 600 high executioners stationed there... they have become little more than puppets."

Suddenly the room shook, and dust fell from the joins in the massive stone blocks.

With a grim face, the City Lord turned to one of the many beastkin surrounding the room, their yellow tabards depicting a lion fighting a dragon. "Captain, do you think it was wise to send your son alone?"

The captain, a large mane of golden hair adorning his large, lion's head stepped forward. "I expressly forbid him from entering combat unless he was attacked first, my lord. However, he is facing a demon, and they are known to attack indiscriminately when under pressure."

"Don't give us that drivel Captain." The beautiful woman's gaze snapped to the captain. "My sources have informed me that this one is exceedingly intelligent and restrained until provoked. He has brought this city to its knees in less than a week... I pray for our sake, as well as your son's, that he hasn't done anything foolish."

Another tremor shook the room, this time, accompanied by a lion's roar causing the mercenary captain to look at the ground. "It seems negotiations have failed."

"Nonsense, we just need to show a few more of our cards," hissed the woman as she snapped her fingers. Two cloaked figures, completely concealed in black stepped out of the shadows holding a young, gagged demoness between them. "Has she been healed?"

As one, both of the black figures responded. "Yes, Milady"

The woman's gaze moved to the girl. "Keep her restrained behind me and for all that is good, do NOT hurt her under any circumstances."

The figures slightly bowed before lifting the girl up and moving behind the woman causing her to turn her head slightly. "Kara is it?"

Kara glared back at the woman and let out a muffled hiss causing the woman to laugh. "My dear, you have been around that reptilian friend of yours a little too much, a pureblood demon like you shouldn't hiss... it's unbecoming."

The entire room shook violently as a tyrannical, soul crushing roar erupted from below, followed by a series of loud explosions causing Kara's eyes to sparkle in delight.

The woman repressed a shiver. "See, that's how a real demon announces his entrance."

"That was no demon... That was the roar of a dragon..." Muttered the commander as he drew the heavy war axe from his back. "What is a dragon doing here?... we don't have the men or equipment ready."

Noticing the delight in Kara's eyes, as if the man's words were not a surprise, but fact, the woman gave a signal, and the black figures brought Kara to stand next to her. Removing the gag from Kara's mouth, the woman grabbed her throat with a hand and shook her slightly. "Tell me...What do you know?"

Instead of panicking, Kara revealed a dazzling, defiant smile but remained silent.

The woman turned back to the door in front of her as thunderous explosions and deafening thuds reverberated through the entire fortress, slowly getting louder. "Captain... do not move unless I tell you too... It's clear that if a fight breaks out, there will be casualties on both sides."

The woman gave a pointed look at Kara.

The mercenary commander glanced at the City Lord who nodded his head. "Do as my wife says, she is far more capable when dealing with this kind of thing."

Suddenly the large doors, at least twenty feet high, shattered into fragments as a yellow blur crashed heavily on the floor, skidding to a stop a couple of dozen feet away from the City Lord and his entourage.

Slowly raising to his feet, a bloody lion beastkin, his armour in tatters and large, bleeding wounds all over his body let out a wheezing cough. "Safe. For a moment there, I thought I wasn't going to make it."

The mercenary captain's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets the moment he realised who was in front of him. "Ran... Status report."

Spitting a large mouthful of blood on the floor, Ran took a brief glance at his father. "I went looking for a demon, but what I found was a sleeping dragon. We ain't getting paid enough for this shit. He's on the cusp of evolving yet still hits like a titan."

It was then that everyone noticed that the shadows in the room were being sucked through the hole in the door as loud, thunderous steps echoed outside, slowly drawing closer causing them all to subconsciously swallow.

The captain appeared next to his son, steadying him. "Then that roar we heard earlier?"

The boy shook his head in disbelief at his own stupidity. "I kind of made a joke about his dog getting killed due to his incompetence then mentioned we had captured the demoness that was with him. The entire 3rd division was close by and managed to give me enough time to get clear... I don't think there are any survivors."

The captain's brow immediately shrunk. "But they are all Marquess or early Duke level? Even if he were four realms higher, it still would take some time to squash them completely."

Enraged, the City Lord's wife marched forward. "Your incompetence could ruin everything.... step back NOW!"