“So… We are really going to meet the Demon King, aren’t we?” Tina asked as she, Asterios, Miria, and Selene shared breakfast at the fox lady’s home.

Miria giggled adorably. “Yep! I can’t wait! I bet he will be so amazed to learn what we have found in Tri-Valor Valley!”

“I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised after learning how close you guys are with the Human King.” A small chuckle escaped Tina’s lips too.

Asterios, sitting next to her, brushed her side with gentle affection. “Says the ace of the academy who rose to be the captain of the Royal Division.”

She glanced up at him with a tiny flush. “I wouldn’t be able to achieve that without your help. Thank you so much again for making my dream come true. And for last night too.”

Tina slowly leaned forward and placed a soft peck on Ast’s lips. The more time she spent with Miria and Selene around, the less embarrassed she was getting when it came to showing her feelings towards Asterios, gaining some more courage day by day. The duo of her sister-mates just smiled warmly at her kissing their master.

“It’s only natural,” Asterios replied after she unhurriedly drew her lips back, still gazing into his crimson red eyes. Recently, he had almost always been in his awakened appearance, knowing how much the girls loved it. “Supporting others has always been the only thing I could do decently well. I don’t plan on changing that, no matter if it’s about assisting my familiars or making sure that my girlfriends receive the treatment they deserve.”

“And what kind of treatment is that?” she asked with a curious smile.

“Nothing short of a royal one,” he answered, leaning forward to leave one more brief kiss on Tina’s rosy cheek.

“You guys are so sweeeeeeeet.” Miria giggled at them with a fork between her supple lips, making Tina quickly drop her gaze down as she grew redder.

A soft chuckle arrived next to the panthergirl. “Pot calling the kettle black.”

A pinkish shade surfaced on Miria’s light skin too as she giggled once more, this time a bit more timidly. Asterios and Tina laughed lightly at the beastfolk duo and exchanged glances with wide smiles. Everyone enjoyed the warm atmosphere of their small family.

“Alright. Let’s wrap this up and get moving. We have to pick up Radir and jump to Tri-Valor Valley. Governor Rowena is most likely already waiting for us,” Asterios said, standing up and giving Tina’s azure hair a few tender pats.

“It’s a good idea to arrive early,” Selene agreed, following after him. “We can’t teleport straight to the Demon King and we don’t exactly know how long it will take to reach his place.”

“Or if Miss Rowena isn’t afraid of being transported by Umbra,” Miria added, picking the empty plates together with her vulpine sister-mate.

“That’s true,” Asterios agreed and they cleaned up after themselves in just a few minutes.

After finishing, he and Tina returned to his realm and jumped straight to their ex-teacher’s lab. The seals Radir and Grea had placed all around the secret chamber prevented Umbra from sneaking in. Immediately, anyway. Umbra assured him that he could force his way in if given enough time.

It wasn’t exactly necessary and Grea resurfaced through the hatch when Asterios sent her a mental message, wildly swinging the tile serving as the entrance open. She looked exhilarated.

“What got you so worked up right from the morning?” he asked with a raised brow.

“All these texts related to Summoning Magic which you had left in our care are just an insane treasure trove! It’s taking ages to decipher everything but man, Blood Summoning can’t even hold a candle to some techniques mentioned in there!” she barraged them with a hasty and jumbled answer, combing through her black hair to reel it away from her face.

Asterios chuckled. “Good. Is daddy perhaps home?”

“Obviously.” Grea snorted, rolling her eyes. “Have fun trying to peel him off the half related to Sealing Magic. You better have something that catches his attention or he won’t notice your presence even if you slug him in the balls.”

He smiled wryly, trying not to imagine that. “Hopefully, he still remembers our arranged meeting with the Demon King.”

“Well, if he doesn’t, I’ll gladly lend you a hand or anything else you would need in knocking those memories back into his thick skull.” She chuckled playfully but Asterios could recognize a barely noticeable glint in the crazy researcher’s bright red eyes.

“I think we’ll manage.” He gestured at her and Grea led them down.

Instead of the room they had previously used to tackle the seal in Ast’s head, she guided them to a different chamber, slightly more empty. They stopped shortly after walking inside and raised their brows in surprise, starting to look around in confusion.

Tens if not hundreds of books hung from the ceiling on either one or two thin strings, which held them open and somehow locked on specific pages. They were placed at different heights but at a similar angle, and some were even directly above and below each other.

Between that dense constellation of thick and thin tomes, stood a bunch of double-sided blackboards on little wheels. Naturally, they were almost completely filled in with scribbles and various patterns.

The sight was so bizarre that they didn’t know what to think about it. It wasn’t until a few strings moved in a motion of a passing wave that Asterios and Tina caught any notice of the demon man. The lines danced and trembled as something pushed through the books like a fish through the water, breaking the surface with its topmost fin.

Grea picked up a stray book from the floor, squinted her eyes, brought her tongue out, and took aim. Following the burrowing entity with her focused gaze for a few seconds, she lobbed the thick volume into the hanging forest and it disappeared shortly after, plunging into the sea of knowledge from above.

“Ow!”

A heavy thud resounded through the chamber shortly followed by Radir's voice. Another, much louder thunk echoed through the air soon after and Grea crouched down, angling her head and shoulders to the side.

They copied her motion and saw Radir lying flat on his back below the line of hanging books while rubbing the top of his head, looking straight at them.

“What was that for?!” he shouted accusingly.

“To wake you up, you perverted bookworm. You have guests. And a meeting to attend, from what I’ve heard,” she replied matter-of-factly.

Radir’s eyes found Asterios and the others and widened as his mouth hung open for a moment.

“Oh. Right. It’s today, isn’t it?”

Not waiting for the answer, he put his hands next to his head and drew his legs close to his chest. Doing a single cradling motion towards the back, the demon man sprung to his feet.

Almost.

During the motion, his forehead collided with a low-hanging, thick-covered tome and filled the room with the sound of another chunky impact, followed by a heavy thud of his body slamming into the ground again.

Grea rolled her eyes at her groaning and rolling father. She stood up and pushed through the curtain of books until she reached him. Accompanied by more groaning and whining, she dragged Radir by the collar back into the open air, throwing him down to Ast’s feet.

“Idiot. You’ve almost gouged out your Third Eye with that stunt. Perhaps you should have. It might have finally taught you to stop chasing clout. You are no athlete, old man.”

Asterios extended his hand to him and helped Radir stand up while he still rubbed his forehead.

“A man has to act cool from time to time. Women will never understand,” he replied with a scrunched face.

Grea squinted her eyes at him and Radir flinched, moving closer to Asterios.

“Anyway, we should get going, no? The faster we finish, the faster I can get back to my research. I was getting to the good part.”

“Don’t listen to him. The good part is usually followed by the ‘what the fucking shit is this retarded fuckery, fuck this, fuck whoever made this, fuck everything’ part when he realizes he can’t solve it.” Grea sighed heavily and shoved her father in the shoulder. “Go make yourself at least somewhat presentable. You don’t want me doing it.”

Radir nodded a few times and hastily scurried away. Tina giggled quietly, which brought a small smile to Grea’s lips.

“So, how are you guys doing? Any more of the usual, mind-blowing news?” Tina and Asterios glanced at each other and she snorted. “Knew it. You just can’t settle on being normal, can you? What is it?”

Despite her sarcastic tone, everyone could tell that Grea was extremely curious about anything that related to Asterios.

“Asterios is now an S-rank,” Tina decided to be the news bearer.

“Oh. Congratulations. That wasn’t as unexpected as I thought. I worried it would be much wor—”

“After summoning an ancient, legendary creature, I became the captain of my own squad in the service of the Royal Division. Oh, and we received a town to govern from the king.”

Grea’s mouth hung open for a good few seconds before she finished processing everything.

“What the fuck?” She looked at them like they were insane.

Asterios chuckled and tossed her the deed after summoning it out of his ring. She scanned through it quickly and her eyes threatened to jump out of their sockets as she slammed the two tubes shut.

“I swear you… I… You... I don’t even know what to fucking say anymore,” she exclaimed in bewilderment, shaking her head afterward. “What’s next, taking over the Demon Continent?”

Tina giggled adorably. “I don’t think Asterios aims to be a king, Professor. But, I think there’s something much more impactful.” She then glanced up at the red-skinned woman with a tiny smirk which quickly faded away. “If I remember correctly, you don’t have any students or responsibilities for a month or two after the recent graduation, right, Professor?”

“Uhhhh, yea? Why?”

Asterios wrapped his arm around Tina’s waist. “Ever thought about a short vacation at a lord’s castle somewhere in the countryside? I’m sure there will be enough room in the dungeons to set up a secure research lab for you and your father, right under our new home.”

“You are kidding…”

“I mean, as long as you don’t mind living with us for a bit. And with my mother. I have a feeling that she will find a way to sneak in no matter what I say. I can imagine how that couldn’t be the best scenar—”

“Dude!” Grea interrupted him, grabbing Ast’s shoulders and shaking him energetically. “I always wanted to have my own research laboratory in a castle’s dungeons like all the true villains! A creepy, ominous den of cold, haunting, gray stone blocks, full of dubious equipment and knowledge! If I ever say no to that, smack me in the face like a bitch!”

He chuckled nervously as their noses were inches from each other and the eager demon woman gazed deep into his eyes with a broad, almost ecstatic smile. Tina noticed how lively Grea’s thin tail had gotten and giggled to herself softly. She couldn’t wait until Asterios told her all about the bond.

“I would rather not do so to my close friend,” Asterios replied. “Unless that’s what you are into.” He let a little smirk show on his face.

Grea’s brow rose a little and she pushed herself more into him, pulling on Ast’s collar.

“Oho? Is my cute, usually silent, withdrawn student perhaps getting bolder?” She grinned at him with an amorous expression. “Should you really be flirting with this old, slutty professor right in front of your sweet, little girlfriend?”

He decided to tease her back a little and wrapped his arms around Grea’s waist, giving her tender butt a soft squeeze, surprising the demon woman greatly.

“If she has anything against it, she can smack me in the face like a bitch at any time.”

They stared at each other from up close for a bit longer, with Grea being slightly dumbfounded while trying to remain her usual, teasing, snarky self. Her bright, glowing red eyes moved a few times and Asterios had a feeling that they skipped to his lips. It was hard to judge without any pupils or irises.

In the end, Grea pushed him away with a snort and crossed her arms under her fair chest. “Looks like someone is finally growing some balls. I’m glad to see that the girls have a positive effect on you.”

She then glanced down at Tina and found the petite human girl doing her best to hide a sly grin behind her dainty hand. Grea’s eyes widened briefly before she squinted them threateningly, causing Tina’s lips to draw a strained line. The blue-haired girl made a small cross over her heart outside of Ast’s sight as she stood behind him.

Satisfied with that, Grea turned her gaze to Asterios again.

“Returning to the topic at hand, I’ll gladly escape this hellhole for a little bit. I’m curious how you will fare as a lord. I’m in if you were serious about it.”

Asterios nodded. “I was. We’ll arrange things, and take care of the moving after we officially receive the castle in three days.”

“Good. I’ll tidy this mess up in the meanwhile. I swear, his laziness brings out the most stupid ideas ever,” she replied, taking a peek at the forest of hanging tomes.

“As long as it works.” Asterios chuckled.

Radir joined them shortly after and they jumped back to the Demon Continent after Grea threatened her father not to be an ass to the current Demon King. He already had a grudge with one.

After resurfacing in front of Rowena’s keep, Miria and Selene joined the trio and they went to meet the Governor together. The guards must have been instructed about their arrival because they were quickly led to a section that resembled open stables, full of Centracers, of course.

Soon, Rowena joined them on the small plaza with Svertaniel by her side and scowled when Radir showed a warm smile towards her.

“I’m not riding anywhere close to that ass,” she stated, crossing her arms under her chest.

“I assume we are going by Centracers?” Asterios glanced around. “How far?”

“About six hours, I’d say. We can split into two groups and take the smaller, faster ones. They—”

“Governor!”

Rowena turned around and everyone watched a demon man looking like a typical stablemaster but in a tidier and slightly fancier outfit approach them. He stopped and caught his breath after taking the jog.

“I’m afraid that almost all the small ones have been dispatched with our messengers yesterday. We only have medium or long Centracers in bigger numbers at hand,” he informed her with a polite bow.

She groaned and slapped her forehead. “I told Yben to reserve at least two for today! That piece of forgetful shit! He better pray I don’t find him too early after coming back!”

“Ast…”

Tina’s quiet voice captured Ast’s attention and he glanced to the side. Her sapphire eyes were tinged with a note of pleading and uncertainty as she stared up at him.

He smiled and nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I had the same thought.”

A charming smile bloomed on Tina’s lips as she nodded back. Asterios returned his eyes to the dissatisfied Governor.

“You can take the single small one. We will follow after you through our own means. It can fit three people, right?”

Rowena paused the rain of curses and sighed. “Small ones are usually four-seaters.” She then shot Radir a tentative look as if she was considering if it really was worth it before she sighed again, even heavier. “Fine. Will you be able to keep up with it, though?”

Asterios glanced at Tina. “Will we?”

A sizable azure gate rose from the ground behind them and Esil walked out of it with a proud and glamorous step. The demon trio gaped at the magnificent, winged beast, which lowered its head to allow Tina to pet it.

“There will be no issue,” he informed them with a calm and deep voice.

The saddle and other attachments weren’t yet ready so only Asterios and Tina jumped on the lion patriarch’s back while Selene dragged the pouting Miria back to their realm. Tina apologized to the panthergirl mentally but she only giggled back and explained that she was just joking.

After everyone recollected themselves from the shock and awe, the stablemaster brought a small Centracer with a pure white shell, looking more like a scarab or a beetle with tens of little legs instead of a full centipede. He helped the trio jump in and took the driver’s spot with the Governor by his side. Rowena didn’t even want to think about sitting next to Radir.

The small giant beast of burden shot forward like a ballista bolt the moment everyone put their safety belts on. Asterios was amazed at how much faster it looked from the common one they had ridden on their way here. It must have been raised in a special way.

Esil unhurriedly spread his wings and ascended into the air with controlled movements, making it as comfortable for the duo on his back as he could. After gaining some altitude, he flapped strongly and they shot forward too.

But, the wind assaulted their faces only for a brief moment, suddenly disappearing completely. Tina and Asterios looked around in confusion but they could still see that they were moving, exactly above the speeding Centracer, casting a big shadow over it.

A warm chuckle reached their ears and they turned their gazes to the front.

“Getting rid of a little bit of wind is that surprising?”

“What happened?” Asterios asked.

“I raised a barrier around you to protect your bodies from the pressure and the cold. We are moving quite fast. You should be able to reach outside of it if you stretch your arms to the sides.”

Tina did as Esil suggested and her hand was blown away the moment it passed through the invisible bubble. She gasped loudly and Asterios held her close to prevent her from slipping out of his grasp. The ancient lion chuckled at them once more.

“Amazing…” Tina exclaimed in wonder.

“It’s just a small trick, nothing worthy of praise.”

They traveled in silence for a few minutes, gazing all around at the barren land underneath them. A few hours had to pass before they left the most dead part of the desert. At one point, Tina glanced up, towards the sky.

“How high can you fly?” she asked with visible curiosity.

“As high as fleshly, living beings can survive.” Esil chuckled at them again. “Fly too far off the ground and you risk losing consciousness due to how thin the atmosphere is up there. I learned that the hard way many centuries ago, almost ending up as a big stain in the grass.”

She shuddered at the image of them crashing down from already this high, not even mentioning higher altitudes.

“Would you like to see?” Esil asked her with a calm, warm tone, reeling his head back a little.

“I don’t think—”

“Fret not, I made sure to make a few more trips after that incident and learned when to stop. It's very useful information for our tribe, don’t you think?”

Asterios rubbed Tina’s thigh in a soft, reassuring motion. “Come on, I know you are curious and excited. I’ll stay vigilant too.”

She nodded with a coy smile and Esil turned to the front. With a strong flap, he began ascending again at a quick pace. Soon, they were diving vertically, although up instead of down. After the initial shock, Tina began laughing and Asterios joined her.

Then, some weird pressure passed through their bodies as if they had broken through some invisible spiritual barrier, spooking them greatly. It seemed that this wasn’t what Esil had mentioned earlier because even he looked surprised as he came to an immediate halt.

“Woah…” A sigh of amazement escaped Tina’s lips.

“Yeah…” Asterios joined her a second later. “I didn’t think I would ever see the Edge from this side…”

As they hung in the air while accompanied by the pleasant sound of Esil’s wings keeping them stable, they marveled over the breathtaking sight. The sky above their heads had suddenly turned back to its common, light blue color, and even the sun was back to its golden radiance.

Down below them, they could clearly see a reddish tint spanning as far as their eyes could reach, turning the ground far, far away even redder than it actually was. It looked as if a thick, translucent layer of scarlet air spanned to the very horizon.

“Edge?” Tina asked, wriggling herself around to sit sideways on Esil’s back.

“The spiritual density in the Demon Continent is different. You can see the sky turn red when you sail towards it. The split is clearly visible. It was quite obvious that it didn’t go up infinitely as it had borders on the sides but this is still something wonderful.”

They glanced at each other and noticed that their breaths came out as whitish puffs of air, finally realizing how cold it was up there. It didn’t seem to bother them, though, as they admired the sparse mist dissipating after hitting their faces, often skipping with their eyes towards each other’s mouths.

After a brief moment of silence, Tina leaned forward and they slowly joined their lips in a tender, unhurried kiss as Asterios embraced her lovingly. There was something incredibly romantic about floating in the air just between the two sides of the sky, with the morning sun shining on them warmly, and the musical flap of Esil’s feathers.

When they parted, Tina remained in her sideways position and rested her head on Ast’s shoulder. They took one more glance at the extraordinary sight and Esil began bringing them back down. Soon, they were inside the spiritual zone once more and resumed their chase after the speedy Centracer.

Five hours later, a massive city appeared on the horizon. They could already tell that most of the buildings were of a similar metallic black color to those in Ashen Barrel. The scale was incomparable, though, both in terms of width and height. The tall walls surrounding the demon capital didn’t reach even a third as high as some of the highest, ominous towers behind them.

To avoid any accidents, Asterios asked Esil to lower his flight and join the trio near the ground. They passed through the massive metal gate by riding the magnificent lion behind the Centracer, which slowed down for the entry. The guards stared at Esil in awe.

After receiving instructions from Rowena, their driver took them straight to the giant castle in the very middle of the city. They passed through a few rings of walls on their way, noticing that this place also had been segmented into circular sections like the Ring City. The closer to the middle, the richer the districts looked.

No matter where they were, though, the roads were completely metal or black stone and wiggled in every direction like a snake, creating many little hills and valleys. It caused their travel to be extremely wobbly from constantly going up and down in turns.

Reaching the checkpoint before the royal castle grounds, Rowena showed something to the sentries and they hastily lifted the gate up after saluting respectfully. One of the two female guards led them to the stables where they left their carriage. Miria and Selene joined the group afterward.

Then, she passed them to another woman who took them further inside. They all wore armor with the same style, just like the knights at Welrond’s place. Here, though, the women had donned firm sandals, reinforced leather greaves, short pleated skirts, full reinforced leather chestplates reaching over the stomach, and vambraces of the same, tough, reinforced leather, all pieces completely black.

“That’s a very… peculiar choice of armor for the soldiers,” Selene commented after they finally met the first male guard on their way to the audience hall.

“Right…” Asterios smiled wryly.

Compared to the women, who were walking displays of tough, leather armor, the men looked a little more… free and unrestrained.

The fit, muscular, and clearly handsome male sentries wore only sandals, small greaves, tight shorts, vambraces, and helmets that protected the sides of their faces, foreheads, and noses, with magnificent, crimson mohawks on top, also all made from tough, black leather, of course.

And that was all.

Each man had his chiseled chest completely exposed. Asterios and all of his companions noticed a slight sheen to their skin too, like it was covered in oil specifically for the purpose of being shiny, emphasizing the men’s able bodies in the process.

Two of such demon men pushed a sizable metal gate open for them and they stepped inside a long hall. At the very end of it, they saw five people. Four of them were also fit, handsome demon men of various skin colors, but they wore only the black shorts in their case and glinted even stronger in the light coming from multiple braziers present in the chamber.

The last man sat on a black throne, sprawled all over it. One of his legs hung over the armrest while he supported his elbow on the opposite one, holding his fist against the side of his face, decorated with a smug smirk.

Fortunately, he had more clothes on himself than the four standing around the throne. The Demon King wore baggy, loose pants of white color. Something came out from behind his belt and everyone realized that it most likely was the top of his martial arts outfit, tucked in there as the rest hung down around the man’s legs, making him sit on the material.

Unfortunately, with the addition of white bandages wrapped around his feet and forearms, that was all. Ominous tribal tattoos decorated the man’s skin, starting at his shoulders and spilling onto his muscular chest.

As for his skin, it was strangely close to a human shade but with a slightly rosy tint to it. Two horns of the same color sprouted from his forehead vertically and everyone could also see similar, demonic wings and a very thin tail with a rhomb-shaped spade dancing behind his back. His hair was short and black, cut in a style that just screamed pretty boy when paired with the demon’s handsome visage and chiseled body.

Suddenly, Welrond’s words about the peculiarity of the Demon King echoed in Ast’s head, and he smiled wryly. Then, their gazes met and Ast’s skin crawled with goosebumps as the Demon King’s smirk grew a little during that contact.

I have a really bad feeling about this…