The Way of a Demon Lord

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Yes." Adrian said, admitting to the fact. "But keep it a secret from everyone else. Only we are allowed to know."Irene stayed quite for a few seconds. Irene had read countless fairy tales since she was a child- it was her only pastime, only hobby. Many of the fabulous works she read featured demons- ghastly and ominous beings which are the incarnation of evil itself. But one deed of these rotten creatures etched deep into the innocent girl's mind."Do you eat babies?" She asked in all seriousness, with her ever nonchalant demeanour of course.Adrian almost tripped over. "Even though I have no qualms against eating babies, the

y are not that tasty according to my brethren. Beef's still in the top of the list for me. And besides," Adrian gave her a look, "Why is it a 'baby' every time?"Irene shrugged the question off. "And what am I? Am I a demon too? That faceless demon took me as one.""Yes, you are.""Oh. Ok.""Remember when I promised that I will tell you about the strange aura that you sometimes emit subconsciously? It's demonic aura. Not pure though. But it still bears testament to the fact that you are turning into one- a demon.""Why?" Irene asked, curious of why she was transforming into a baby-eater."I don't know." Adrian shrugged. "We are one of the most mysteries and wretche

d beings in the universe. Eccentricity lies in our blood. One can turn into a demon for outside factors like treasures and cursed fruits or intrinsic ones like thirst for vengeance, a strong emotion or even pure boredom."Irene inclined."If I turn into a demon, will I lose anything?" She asked."If it was any other puny human, I would have replied yes." Adrian said. "But in your case, no. You have nothing to lose. If anything, you are the perfect demoness material." He caressed her cheek with a smile."Will you bring harm to Nemphis?" She asked without any trace of worry or wariness.Adrian smirked. "Here's a fact about us demons. We are extremely possessive. If we mark something as ours, we aren't letting anyone take it. And Nemphis is as good as mine.""Ok. Last question.""Proceed." Adrian permitted, internally sighing in relief. This was finally coming to an end."Now that you have kept your end of the deal, telling me what that mysterious aura I emitted was, will you stop sleeping with me?"******The duo decided to explore around the catacombs a bit. They passed through a couple of red zones in the process. But the only results on the encounters were frozen or sliced up monsters. At one point in their adventures, they got into one of the other major spaces- a cavern that was filled to brim with vegetation.Even thoug

h it was in the middle of nowhere, in the dead of the winter and away from natural sunlight dozens of feet deep into the earth; green trees, shrubs and herbs decorated the entire space. There happened to be a light source above, a crystalline sphere on the ceiling- giving off natural light as if it were the sun itself. The ground was soft, with fertilised soils covering everything. Despite being a natural wonderland- evergreen and lustrous- it seemed dead without any sounds or movements. Except plants and vegetations, there was nothing else- no animals, birds or insects.It was completely different from what such an ecosystem should have been composed of. "Mhm

m…" Adrian pondered. "Looks like we got ourselves to find another unnecessary treasure."Irene remained silent, patiently waiting for her tutor to uncover what it was.Both of them walked forth through the forest, heading to the gigantic main stem of the tree at the centre of the cavern. Undoubtedly, it was the heart of the uncommon scene here.Soon they were standing inches before the mighty trunk of the tree."Let's see." Adrian scanned the tree, his gaze piercing through the thick barks of the trunk. "Found it." He smiled.He touched brown and rough skin of the tree. A dark magic circle appeared on the surface and black liquid began to ooze out. The corrosive f

luids sizzled through the magical tree, getting deeper and deeper into trunk each passing second. In roughly a minute, there was a huge hole at the trunk that led to the epicentre. There lied a bright and green crystal with an asymmetrical shape. It looked like a human heart and had the size of a fist."Freeze it." Adrian ordered.Irene nodded and snapped her fingers. A thick layer of frost encased the crystal, but the beauty of the green jewel did not die down by any means.The moment the connection between the green heart and the tree was killed off, cracking noises reverberated through the room. The green lustre in the surroundings started to die down as all the leaves in the forest began to crunch down and become grey. The trees began to wilt down as the lively brown colours of the bark became black.The gigantic tree in the centre was dying down the slowest, but dying nonetheless. It's big leaves crunched and shrieked down, twisting themselves and falling down. Black spots appeared on the bark as the tree wilted.In a minute or so, the whole forest died. And a few moments afterwards, what remained of the forest- wilted stems and dead leaves on the ground- turned into ashes. The only thing left in the cavern was now the mini sun at the top."What is it?" Irene asked Adrian.The frozen heart was on Adrian's palm. "A jade heart. It is a rare and great treasure- but only for plants. As for humans and others, it's nothing but a decorative showpiece." He inserted the treasure into his black orb. "I think it's enough for now. Let's leave this place."Irene nodded.Soon, the duo exited the catacombs and the mountain and surfaced on the Ariel mountain range.Adrian looked back and smirked. "I wonder how my 'comrades' fared in there."