The Palace of the Demon King did not merely rise from crumbles, it was dominated and built by the hands of demon king himself. Carved from obsidian stone and infernal crystal, it stood like a living monument to conquest, power, and indulgence. Towering spires pierced the crimson sky, their edges glowing faintly as if heat itself bowed before them. Rivers of molten mana flowed through engraved channels in the palace walls, illuminating demonic sigils that pulsed like slow, ancient heartbeats.
It was a place every demon yearned for—and a place few were ever worthy to enter.
Tiabishi crossed its gates not as a prisoner, nor as a subordinate, but was brought as a guest by the princess herself.
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She slept upon a bed so vast it felt unreal.
Crimson sheets cascaded like blood-silk across its surface, embroidered with gold thread and arcane symbols meant to soothe the soul. Heavy curtains framed the bed, drifting gently in warm air that carried the faint scent of incense and ash. Two massive mirrors stood opposite one another along the walls. They were tall enough to reflect a giant, polished enough to feel invasive.
The room dwarfed every place Tiabishi had ever slept before.
She stirred in her sleep. Her brows knitted, the lips parted in a faint, strained breath. Pain flickered across her face.
Twenty-three demon maids entered in silence, their movements all synchronized. They cleaned the room with impossible speed, dusted, swept and polished in absolute silence. No disturbance to the guest at all. One couldn't tell that they were in if not blind.
One maid paused.
"…She looks like she's in pain," she whispered.
"Maybe it's just a bad dream," another replied.
"I heard she killed a demon alone," a third murmured.
"Yes, I heard that too."
"Then why is the princess letting her stay here…?"
The air shifted.
A pressure—sharp, suffocating—crushed their voices mid-sentence.
The Demon Princess leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, eyes glowing faintly.
"You're being awfully rude to my guest," she said calmly.
"Would you like me to kill you all?"
Killing intent poured from her like a storm. Several maids collapsed instantly while others froze, unable to breathe.
"…You don't need to do that," a tired voice said.
Tiabishi sat up, rubbing her eyes as she yawned.
"They were just curious."
The pressure vanished.
The princess blinked. "…You're awake."
"Yeah," Tiabishi replied, glancing around in awe. "Where am I?"
"The demon castle," the princess said flatly. "Elf."
Tiabishi smiled.
She stepped forward and extended her hand. "Nice place."
The princess stared at the hand. She sighed and said "I won't shake your hand until you defeat me."
Tiabishi pouted. "Hmph! You meany!"
Then she smiled wider.
"But I accept the challenge."
Something sparked between them, something unspoken, sharp and alive.
Rivalry.
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"HEY! SIS!"
Dobrota burst into the room. His hair disheveled and eyes all frantic.
"Have you seen my book!? The one about the orbs!?"
"Oh," the princess said casually. "That thing? I used it as firewood this morning."
Dobrota froze. She clearly joked but Dobrota thought otherwise.
"…M-my… book…"
His knees hit the floor.
Tears streamed down his face.
"NOOOOO—!!"
Flames erupted in his eyes, anger bursted and knew no bounds. But his rank, his duty, his position crushed the fury before it could act. Sight of his pitiful self, growling in pain made Tiabishi a bit worried about him. He could only tremble, curse, and flee.
"I will NEVER forgive you!!"
As expected, the princess couldn't tolerate such rude attitude towards her. She followed him—clearly intent on beating him senseless.
Tiabishi laughed until her sides hurt.
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All the maids bowed and left the room in coordination as a towering figure entered.
His black sclera and crimson pupils flared as if the sun resided inside it. Massive horns curling back like crowns of dominance. His robes were regal—deep red trimmed with gold and black, radiating authority that bent the room itself. Each step feared and respected. He dominated the atmosphere like no other.
Dobrota limped back in.
"…Father. I want a new book."
"Hm?" The Demon King frowned. "But, why is your sister screaming?"
"…Nothing important."
In truth, Dobrota had burned her favorite dolls in retaliation. A justified act.
"Ah, I see." The Demon King raised his hand. Conjuring mana in his palms.
Mana gathered, condensing into floating pillars.
"Pillars of Creation… Endless Book."
The pillars merged into one. Each connected by thread of azure mana at the base, forming into a mana circle with ancient words scribed and encrypted.
Light flared and red-glowing tome formed.
"Here, you shall have this."
Dobrota took it and turned to leave.
"Son," the Demon King added. "You're forgetting something."
"…Really, father?"
The Demon King sighed.
"Fine. It seems introductions are in order."
He turned to Tiabishi.
"I am Reayop—The Demon Lord, father of that troublesome daughter, and owner of this palace. Everything that moves in the demonic world is under the control none other than me."
Tiabishi bowed deeply.
"The pleasure is all mine, sir." She continued. "I am Tiabishi. Thank you for allowing me to stay."
Reayop smiled faintly.
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Dawn crept over the horizon. Stars named Ra and Surya faded slowly as Achlys and his companions rested in a quiet alley.
Lecia maintained a gentle gravity field around them, stones orbiting them softly and radiating warmth for them to rest peacefully.
"…How does gravity magic make heat?" Achlys asked.
Crevial opened her mouth. "Stupid, human."
She was immediately kicked across the alley.
Lecia sighed.
"We know that everything has a certain limit to how close they can get." She picked up two rocks and demonstrated how the spell worked. "As the objects gets close to each other, there is a certain point to which there is no heat generation due to the forces and fields between them, but after this certain point which I call as 'Threshold Force', the objects start to get torn apart or merge depending on the type which is caused by the force that gets applied to it. The loss of energy in this process is just the heat that we experience right now."
Achlys blinked.
"…That's terrifying."
Crevial crawled back.
"You're mean."
"Not my fault. You insulted my husband."
"I am NOT marrying you," Achlys groaned.
The stones spun faster and she kicked her again.
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Far away, the chained one thrashed in her bed, drenched in sweat.
A nightmare clawed at her mind...
An island located in the biostic ocean. Almost no vegetation and huge sand dunes.
A giant facility in the middle of nowhere.
A room no one spoke of.
"The White Room."
Lisare's voice trembled as memory overtook her.
"That day…it was eighteen years ago. I was E1… used for the future of the world."
The ocean was weirdly calm, the cloud flowing in calm way. It was as if the silence was the calm before the storm.
"I remember, some were saying that a storm was about to hit…but nothing came."
She continued. "There was this room…Ah, yes, the WHITE ROOM."
Anyone chosen for that room, knew his fate was sealed. Even getting tortured by the goblins was a blessing compared to the hell faced in that room.
She could feel the shivers going down her spine. "I, Lisare, was once chosen to be a subject for that room…even now I cannot forget the time I spent in that heinous room."
Her facial expressions showed true despair. She continued with her story. "I wasn't the best…but I was the strongest. My ability lets me manipulate my emotions making them into a weapon of my choice…I was a weapon only meant to hurt people. But I wanted to stop…I was tired of all that killing and hurting people. So, I did what I should have done a long time ago…I ran away."
Her hatred was not for the people but for the way everyone got treated differently because of their gender, race or how useful they are.
"Be the evil everyone needs or be the good that no one needs. We all have a purpose in our life. Live for that and die for that." She reminded herself of the lines she used to repeat during her days as a test subject. "This world being unfair is injustice."
she whispered. "That was my rebellion."
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Crevial and Lecia watched Achlys.
"My beloved is such a cutie, right?"
"Why is his tattoo glowing?"
"That is his marking. He's training," Lecia said softly. "In his sleep."
"Training…?"
"With the first wielder of the Order of Swords."
Crevial was confused.
"By the way, who is Cryo?" she asked, changing the topic.
Lecia had an irritating face. "A failed bird, he does nothing but use his puny ice magic."
"Interesting…"
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In Achlys' Mind Realm,
"Two thousand four hundred eighty-four…two thousand four hundred eighty-five." Breathing heavily, Achlys swung his three-meter-long iron sword with a hard clang on the ground.
"Five more to go, C'mon boy!" Bellona encouraged. She swung a much heavier sword.
"HARGH!" he swung his final sword for the day. "Just when am I gonna learn the next order?"
Bellona stopped her exercise and replied "Someday, first you need to strengthen your first order. Right now, you can only destroy a normal church with those skills."
"Fine, I understand." He sighed.
Bellona hit Achlys in the head. "Let's train your first order!"
Achlys rubbed the back of his head and replied with an annoyed expression.
"Annoying woman." He said.
He got hit again.
"I am happy that I can train you, you know." Said Bellona.
After a short break, Achlys grabbed a sword from the graveyard of swords sticking out of the ground.
"Choosing Darplonce…you have got a good eye." She was impressed by his instincts. "But that sword is annoying to wield at times."
"How is this sword fighting back in my mind…?"
Bellona smirked and crossed her arms. "Your mind is my mind and with connections of my experience with these swords, I can show you how they really are."
Achlys sighed and lifted the sword. He fought against the resistive force applied by the sword.
Bellona vanished and kicked him on the side.
"Hnngg" Achlys grunted as he faced her way swinging the sword from the left.
Bellona blocked and overpowered him. She sent him flying across with a sword pulse.
"Put more power, boy" she yelled dashing towards him and with a jump, slammed him down.
Again, without a single pause, she grabbed his arm and threw him in the air "Catch!"
She threw her sword at him.
he spun in the air, dodged the sword and threw his sword at her.
Grabbing her sword she threw "try more Bellona!!" he shouted pointing the sword down.
He dove down.
Bellona caught the blade. Aiming for Achlys, she went into a strking pose.
Achlys striking down as a comet, created a huge crater. The smoke spread, blinding her.
"Find me Bellona!" he smirked.
Bellona took the advantage. She blended in the dust and appeared from behind. Hitting him with the hilt of the sword, she slammed him down.
"Ouch! Ouch! Argh!" He grunted.
"Hm? Got a plan meathead…?"
Achlys, planning on baiting her, threw a sword.
With swift steps, he vanished and tried to stab her from behind.
"I like your way of thinking…but, no."
Blocking the blade head-on, she didn't lose her focus from Achlys and blocked his slash from the side.
"The sword never backs down." He switched his pace to a slower and steady one. He concentrated all his aura. "First Order! Horizon!" He screamed.
"Use them more, Idiot!" She smirked. "That's how you master them!"
The duel became more aggressive.
The fought till their last breath.
In the end.
Achlys lost.