The Demon King's First General
Chapter 175: It’s Me

Chapter 175: It’s Me

Palace reduced to rubble, homes burned to ashes, and corpses scattered across the city. These were the aftermath of the invasion.

People wailed for their losses; seeing the dead bodies of their friends, comrades, and loved ones sent overwhelming pain to their hearts.

Kreigster stared at the body covered with cloth in front of him. His arrogant eyes were filled with grief, while sadness was painted on his face. His thoughts were crowded with questions he couldn’t find answers to.

In the middle of his contemplation, a knight approached him and kneeled at his side.

"Young Lord," the knight greeted.

Without averting his eyes from his father’s corpse, Kreigster replied. "Speak."

"We think we already know the reason for the attack," the knight said as soon as he heard the permission to talk.

Kreigster looked at him, but he didn’t utter a word; he let the knight finish his report.

"The Sinner’s Confinement is in a mess; the Demon King’s Steward is missing along with several prisoners who managed to escape. Almost the entire second level was destroyed," the knight added.

The crown prince clenched his fist upon hearing the information; he tried his best to control his anger.

"Where are the prison guards and the Plague Warden?" He asked.

The knight swallowed hard; he kept his gaze on the ground while beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

"Dead. All of them are dead, Young Lord, including the Plague Warden. We found his head hanging at the entrance of the underground prison, but we failed to locate his body," the knight answered, his voice trembling.

Kreigster closed his eyes and massaged the temple of his head; the words he heard felt like needles piercing every part of his mind.

"We do believe that the head-on attack was just a distraction to infiltrate the Sinner’s Confinement and rescue the Demon King’s Steward..." The knight paused for a second and handed a scroll to the crown prince before continuing. "We made a list of the main culprits."

Kreigster opened the document and read the names written on it through his thoughts.

’Enchantress of Time, Undead Psychopath, Stringless Puppeteer, Abyss Sorcerer, Monster Collector, the beastman, the black dragon...’ Then the crown prince’s eyes squinted upon seeing the next one on the list.

"Conjurer of Blue Flames? Isn’t that the Demon King’s title? Are we now giving it to the enchantress?" He stated in a questioning tone.

The knight raised his gaze and looked at Kreigster’s eyes before shaking his head.

"No, Young Lord. According to the prisoners, there was someone who used blue flames, and it would be impossible for it to be the Enchantress; during that time, she was busy fighting with the Grandmaster," the knight replied, clearing the crown prince’s doubt.

"So there are two blue flame users, then the previous war to stop the prophecy was really nothing but a failure!" Kreigster exclaimed while shaking his head in disappointment.

"Anyway, how about my youngest sister? Have you found her whereabouts?" He added with another question.

Upon hearing his words, the knight lowered down his gaze again.

"Forgive our incompetence, Young Lord, but we couldn’t find even a trace of the princess," he responded.

Kreigster nodded; worry was painted on his face.

’Uoiea, where in the world are you?’ He thought.

Then, he exhaled a deep sigh and looked at the knight.

"Is there anything else?" He asked.

The man took several seconds before answering; there was hesitation present in his eyes.

"The silver-haired demon and the black dragon have reached the Seer’s place. The Dragon King and the Siren Queen accompanied them. While the Grandmaster along with the youngest pillar of the Magic Tower had safely returned to the Bluelion Kingdom, the hero Ren Cross was taken away by his group. He was still unconscious at the moment," the knight stated.

Kreigster’s eyes squinted as soon as he heard the information about the silver-haired demon.

’The Demon King’s First General, huh?’ He uttered inside his thoughts.

. . . . .

A little while ago, Zeno looked at the Celestial Seer; the source of the prophecy was now present before his eyes.

Blackwell descended behind him while the Dragon King, Siren Queen, and the Crown Prince went at Ave Gayle’s side.

"Should I eradicate them all, General?" Blackwell asked, a black orb of energy gathering at his right hand.

Salamander stepped forward upon hearing the black dragon’s remark.

"As if I would let you!" He snarled as a giant fireball appeared on his claws.

They stared at each other, ready to attack at any second in time. However, the orb shattered while the flames extinguished the moment the demon released a portion of his energy, sending a powerful force in the area.

"Drop the foolish act," he ordered, his voice calm yet packed with overwhelming authority.

Like a submissive follower, Blackwell lowered his head and moved backward upon receiving the order. Meanwhile, the red dragon and Kreigster shivered in terror.

’My flames vanished just like that. What in the world is that strength?’ Salamander contemplated, questioning the existence before him.

At the same time, Kizhaia felt the same, but her thought processing was quite different; instead of fearing the silver-haired demon, she admired him even more.

"How much do you know?" Zeno asked while staring straight at the Seer.

Ave Gayle took a few seconds of silence before words slipped from her lips.

"Zeno Arthur Lancaster, the Demon King’s right-hand man, or should I say the person who put Cinhard Beelze on the throne? You led the demon army towards countless victories. People feared you more than Cinhard, the demon king, himself. Knights were ordered to retreat the moment they spotted you on the field. But for some unknown reason..." She paused and stepped a little closer to the demon before continuing.

"The demon king put you into an eternal slumber. Records about you disappeared as if someone was working behind the scenes, and when Cinhard died, you, a walking nightmare, woke up," she said with a straight face.

The entities behind her couldn’t believe what they had heard. Every word that the seer stated made them dumbfounded.

’An entity more dangerous than the demon king, then we must eradicate him at all costs... But how?’ Kreigster pondered.

Based on the fight earlier, even if they ganged up on him, they would not have a chance. And before they managed to reach him, the black dragon would kill them on the spot.

The next second, Kreigster snapped back to reality upon hearing the Siren Queen’s voice.

"But he’s an ally," she said, somewhat certain of her remark.

However, the seer refused the statement.

"You don’t really care about those things; you’re not an ally nor an enemy," Ave Gayle denied.

Zeno let out a soft chuckle and even clapped his hands a few times, though it produced no sound due to the glove on his right hand.

"You did your assignment very well," he said while looking at the Celestial Seer.

"It looks like my hunch is right; you’re an apostle. Tell me, who do you serve? Is it Helra, the one who symbolizes desire, or the Deity of Faith, Janea?" He added, curiosity laced on his face.

"I do believe that I’m not required to answer such a question," Ave Gayle said before letting out a warm smile.

Zeno shook his head and replied. "Then let me change it for you. The dire prophecy you speak of, since the start, you know that it is inevitable; even if Cinhard dies, it’s bound to happen. Just like earlier, one of them managed to escape the seal, although it was temporary."

The next second, he tossed the Sixfold Arsenal upward, and while it was up in the air, the surface with one dot glowed, and then as soon as he caught it, a jet-black sword sheathed inside its scabbard with chains wrapped around it all the way to its rainguard materialized on his hand.

But the connected, flexible series of jet-black metal links didn’t stop there; it coiled up to the entirety of the demon’s arm, and at the end of the chain was a dice with a jet-black dart blade that rested on top of his shoulder.

"The deities aren’t concerned about Cinhard; all they wanted is this: kill the Demon King, break the darkness that sealed me, and use this sword for the incoming war," Zeno stated.

Afterward, the dice on his shoulder spun, and the weapon disappeared as it returned to its neutral form. It fell on Zeno’s palm and rolled between his fingers.

"So the question is, who’s that bastard, the one behind this so-called prophecy?" He added, asking, his voice dull and cold.

The Celestial Seer showed no reaction; she just stared at the demon. Then, several seconds later, her eyes shone a spectral light, and her lips curled into a smile.

"Don’t be too harsh to my apostle," Ave Gayle said; the tone of her voice changed.

The next second, she stepped a little closer to the demon and leaned forward.

"It’s me, Janea," she introduced herself while looking straight at the demon’s eyes.

. . . . .

Meanwhile, in a land where white flames flickered in an endless cycle and flashes of lightning painted the entire sky, a woman opened up her eyes.

"Where am I?" Uoiea asked, her gaze wandering in the unknown place.

. . . . .