Aefia thought again and again about what she had just heard. "You all are not in a state of seeking help. What can I do for you then? There must be a reason I was summoned into this dimension."
"The revealation is true than," the beast happily spoke. "The King of the Tyrants have come to grant our wish!"
Aaa..no...I have come to kill you and wipe you all out of existence.
"I prefer you don't call me a King. By calling me that, you are ruining my identity. So quickly tell me what wish there is to be granted and I am off with you." Aefia answered while annoyed.
"Our wish...is to die freely." The beast wiped his eyes. Aefia who was unsure of what to do next, decided to change the topic. She wasn't comfortable with the awkward situation of a beast calling her a King and she didn't know all that information the beast was talking about. It could also be a false information to lore her into trouble she didn't want to handle.
Meanwhile, Aefia's health was still depleting. At this point, it was down to ten. She was going to pass out anytime soon. "Be quick, I don't have all day. And speak more precisely this time."
"We have no wish, but to see the King of Tyrants in person."
"Well then, I believe your wish had been granted. Now, any last words?" Aefia asked more sternly this time.
"I would like to tell you a bit more about the revealations we had gotten about you. You are said to be the owner of an elemental magic. Our King told us to ask which element it was."
"I am sorry, but I can't disclose private information like that. Tell your King that if he ever wanted to ask that question, he should ask it face-to-face."
"Does that mean you are forgiving me?"
"Only if you answer more of my questions. But it should be the truth. If I can tell you were lying, I will cut off your head." Aefia said while looking for a place to sit. Her side was causing her a lot of trouble and she consistently coughed up blood every now and then.
I need to kill this beast any chance I get. I still can't let him get away and stay assured that he won't tell anyone about my most wanted skill in the entire cosmos.
There is a high chance that I can't leave this world any sooner too. In the mean time, I need to gather as much information as I can to bring back with me to Nikoan if I ever get the chance to.
She spotted a stone table with two chairs on either sides of it and indicated it with her bleeding finger while telling the beast, "before that, let's go have a seat at the table."
Aefia walked forward while the beast slowly followed behind her. If she could remember right, there was a rule she had read about the demons that says,'one must not walk Infront of a King if he or she is of lesser power than them'. Currently, if she really was the King of Tyrants, then the rule would apply for the demon as well.
Her sword still hadn't changed back, which meant danger still lingered. The beast had already collected his swords and combined them, but didn't shealth it. He was holding it in his right hand, ready to attack whenever Aefia left her guard.
While walking, Aefia tried her best to forget about the straining pain she was suffering to try and show the beast that this kind on injuries were nothing to her. But she also knew that she would suffer more injuries like this in the future. This would be nothing compared to those.
Fighting alone came with circumstances. Training came with minor injuries but full out battle in dungeons resulted in fatal wounds and death. She had read about the suffering the main characters in her novels had to go through during battles like this. Even in video games,
The only thing she could rely on was her skills, most particularly her future-seeking skills. By then she had already reached the table. She sat on one of the chairs, without taking in potential dangers of it. She was too sick and tired to give a care.
For the worst case scenario, Aefia deduced that the beast may end up stabbing her from the back in an attempt to escape and win an award, if there is, for killing the unknown King of Tyrants.
"Tell me more about the King of Tyrants. What revealations did you get?" Aefia asked while pressing onto her stab wound. She thought about breaking another bullet and injesting the potion inside it. But she couldn't do it in front of the beast, it might raise awareness.
"In dept, the King of the Tyrants is said to be the one who rules the group of murderers who will emerge in the future. So in theory, you are our future leader, meaning you are the successor to the Demon King's throne. But since each Demon King can own one title, your title is King of the Tyrants." The beast explained.
What?! I am the ruler of a bunch of nasty arrogant creatures?! I rather be a beggar then be the successor to a throne I have never seen in my entire life. I am lucky for the information I have gotten, at least now, I can change the direction I am walking.
"What else? It is impossible for the title to have such little explanations." Aefia said while touching the table with her left hand. She glanced down to take in the details of the table to help her focus the pain away.
The table was made of stone with silver gilding at the width of the table and gold carving on the top. The gold pattern was like that of the one she saw was imprinted onto the stone altar's body.
If the pavilion is just there and this table is here, and the patterns for both of them match...
Aefia looked up and noticed the half-fallen roof. The roof was high and had a hanging chandelier with candles sticking on it. The candles were not even melted. It was as if someone had replaced them just recently.
She looked at the floor and examined the chair in front of her, the one where the beast was sitting on. The floor was a mosaic of a picture Aefia couldn't make up in her mind. She needed to be in a higher place to see what it represented.
The chair was a made of stone and gravel. It also had mosaic on its edges and the rest of the pattern was coated with silver. The pattern represented a language which seemed familiar to Aefia, except she hadn't learnt it during her time back on Earth. The chair Aefia was sitting on was made of gold. It meant that her chair was the one that belonged to the ruler of this world before it was destroyed.
Aefia examined and searched even more. Her discovery was that she was currently sitting in a palace that belonged to the former King of Agriculture. While Aefia was listening to what the Beast had to say, she was also using her 'Infographics' skill to find out what to do with the Sacred Key.
"Based on what I have just said, I believe in the future, you will face the Torture Cell's leader. But to only make an alliance with them." The beast continued on.
"Alright, I have heard enough about the King of Tyrants. Now tell me about the Torture Cell." Aefia got enough information for her future as a King of Tyrants. As far as she knew, she didn't want to be one.
At her words, the beast shoke violently. "I...can't....Torture Cell..." The beast lagged. "Alright, you don't need to tell me about that. But can you tell me why you can't speak of the Torture Cell?"
The beast calmed down and whipped his head with his sleeves. It seems that they are in a spell that forbid them from saying things about the Torture Cell. How cruel can they be?
"First of all, you may call me Marty. I am a demon slave of the Torture Cell." The beast finally spilled out. Yes! I got the answer to the question. The Demon King is indeed linked to the Torture Cell. They may be in a transaction or contract that force them to share slaves!
Aefia was mentally celebrating about her first discovery about the Torture Cell. She glanced at the beast who looked confusedly at Aefia due to her long-term silence. "Fine. I have got the information I have wanted. Now how do I trust you with an information?" Aefia asked.
Marty's eyes enlightened. "Is it possible that the King of Tyrants wants me to transport a message to our King about the approval for the position?"
"No, did you really think I would do that without knowing anything about which level of position I am in. Your King may not like me as a successor after he learns more about me, so why would I go an extra step and approve the offer. It would seem as if I am greedy for the the position." Aefia replied.
"You are right. Besides, you might also not be able to rule over us due to some external enemies now."
"External enemies? Tell me more of it." Aefia got curious.
"A revealation states that when the King of Tyrants has descended, they would carry a lot of enemies with them. Due to which they would form an alliance with a highly dangerous King or group. Because of that, you would die."
Die? Due to an alliance with a highly dangerous group or King, I should be cautioned about this from now on.
"It is true I have a lot of enemies now, but I am not sure how you have gotten that revealation. You have just told me my future, for that I shall be thankful to you." Obviously Aefia had to lie at this state.
"You needn't do that. I am happy if the future Demon King is happy. Is there any other way I might help?" Marty said while putting a hand to his chest.
Help...oh yes, I needed to test him if he would tell information about my Elemental absorption skill to the others. Also, if I inherit the throne as a successor, won't I be the Queen of Tyrants? That's the rule based on what I have learned.
"Yes, you can help me. Do you know anything about my skills?"
"No. I only know you have the elemental absorption skill. Do you want me to keep it a secret?"
"Not only keep it a secret, forget it. If I hear from any source that you have spread information about my skills to the others, I shall come back to collect your head." Aefia warned with a finger in front of her mouth.
"Anything for the King of Tyrants." Marty gave a salute. Sorry, it's Queen. That's number one proof you are probably making things up.
"Alright. I will leave from here." Aefia stood up and activated her 'Wolf's Strength' skill and ran to the direction she had come from, towards the Sacred Key.
While running, she broke another bullet and ate the potion inside it to regain her health by fifty. Right now, she had fifty-nine HP. Her health was barely enough to overcome the damage dealt by the stab wound on her side.
The more her side burned, the more the health drained. It was uncontrollably dropping everytime. She finally reached her destination and went on to observe the orb out close.
She activated her 'Short-term Futuresight' skill and drew out her pistol. She walked up the stone steps and read the details she got from her mind. She was deep in thought when something shifted behind her.
Aefia turned around and got down the steps since she was done getting as much information as she could and walked up to the spot she had woke up earlier. Her blood was already dried up on the stone ground.
She stood still while counting backwards from three. Three...two...one..
A sword sliced towards her neck. The reason why it couldn't go all the way through was because Aefia blocked it just in time to stop the blade from entering her throat and held it in place to stop the wound form worsening. For the injury that was just caused, she could feel blood going through her lungs and her difficulty breathing.
While still holding the blade, she turned around and pointed the gun at the head of the demon who was still holding the hilt of the sword. "I knew you would try to kill me. After all, demons are like this. This is why I don't want to be your so called King."
She shot Marty twice at his temple, he dropped the sword and fell on the ground. This time, he really was dead. Step one, done. The test results were that he would cause the worst case scenario to happen as I had deduced.
But there was a certain rule for the demons that said, "Anyone who kills a demon, will be killed if the evidence is found." Aefia had stained her blood onto the blade. Her only choice was to rust it.
Luckily, demons' weapons were crafted with magic and so, if Aefia absorbed its crafting magic, the sword would lose its shape. The magic was also useful to Aefia since it would come in quite handy if she ever truly faces the current Demon King.
The sword turned into dust as the last bit of power was gone and Aefia felt dizzy. The power of a demon wasn't evil or bad, but it was much stronger than any element she had absorbed or used.
Within seconds, Aefia could sense the orb sending waves in every direction like before and she ran into a landfill of debris. She ran without looking back.
Her side hurt for every step she placed on the ground. She closed her eye because it hurt even more. Just when she reached the landfill, the ground dissappeared and she was falling into another dimension.