The Demon King's First General
Chapter 185: Where Are You?

Chapter 185: Where Are You?

Zeno pulled out something from his pocket; it was a white dice with black stars as its patterns. He looked at it for a second before diverting his gaze towards the red lion.

"Do you want to be one of her protectors? I reserved a spot for you just in case," he asked out of nowhere.

The beast tilted its head for a second, then, as if it understood his question, it let out a soft roar, and its tail wagged from behind.

Upon seeing its reaction, the demon smiled and tossed the cube to Sol. As it spun in midair, a blinding light emanated from it, and silk-like threads captured the red lion before it disappeared.

The beast was pulled inside the spinning white dice, and then the moment it returned to Zeno’s palm, something changed in one of its patterns. The surface with one black star turned into a sun with a red color.

Zeno stared at it for a second and smiled with a satisfying grin.

"Looks like you’re not a simple red lion," he wondered.

Afterward, he closed his eyes to concentrate.

"She’s not here," he uttered.

Zeno tried to search for Uoiea’s presence, but she was not in the vicinity. Thus, he increased the range of his probing; however, despite scanning a few kilometers outside the empire’s capital, the princess was still nowhere to be found.

"Where are you, Uoiea?" He pondered, his eyebrows furrowing.

Then, he stood still for a moment and exited the place, but this time, he went to the passage leading to the palace.

. . . . .

The bustling home of the imperial family became like an abandoned house. The emperor’s passing and the war against the demon army turned the atmosphere of their home from a buzzing one to an abandoned house.

The knights guarding the hallway were all gone; only a few, along with the servants, were left to cater to the family’s needs.

In one of the palace’s corridors, the first princess was busy staring at the portrait of her father. Her mind was occupied with thoughts about him when she felt a towering presence standing behind her back.

She wanted to turn around and look who it was, but her body froze for some reason. Fear invaded her mind; she tried to scream to ask for help, but she couldn’t open her mouth.

Then, she heard a voice so cold, enough to give her chills.

"I’ll allow you to speak, but don’t make any unnecessary noise. Now do tell me, where is the youngest princess, Uoiea?" The presence behind her whispered in her ear.

"W-Why are you looking for her?" The princess stuttered, but she didn’t give her sister’s whereabouts right away.

However, the presence behind her became more intense and suffocating to the point that she began to catch her breath, and tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

"S-She’s outside the capital," she stammered, her voice low and nervous.

However, as if the entity wasn’t pleased by her answer, the presence turned even more terrifying to the point that she convulsed while standing.

"S-She... She... Leading... A-Against the... Demon’s army," the princess tried her best to speak, afraid and frightened; there was an interruption due to her breathing between each word.

Afterward, the presence behind her disappeared, and she fell on her knees as her consciousness drifted away from her body.

. . . . .

Uoiea inhaled a deep breath, and the traces of flames and lightning vanished around her, while the air vibrated and the ground trembled as she took a step forward.

Demons tried to approach her, but as soon as they entered her domain, their bodies fell one after the other; their corpses were burned red, but there was not a single touch of flames.

They collapsed on the ground and gritted their teeth while suffering excruciating pain; they felt their insides being torn apart, and their skins were subjected to severe charring.

"Hmmnn." Liehj knitted his brows upon witnessing the scene before his eyes; he felt puzzled why his army was put in that state despite not having a flame or lightning element present around the woman.

To know what was going on, he tightened his grip on his sword and charged forward. However, the moment he reached a certain distance, he felt the sudden rise in temperature, as if he had walked inside a pit of burning lava.

His skin began to turn red, and even his armor started to melt. The intense radiation from Uoiea’s domain damaged his organs and bones, making him cough up blood.

Like the other demons, he fell on one knee, and he struck the sword on the ground to prevent his body from completely falling. Then, seconds later, his Legacy started to heal his internal wounds and countered the effects of the field of radiation. However, his opponent didn’t give him the chance to recover.

Uoiea dashed forward and struck him with a lightning bolt on his face, but Liehj wasn’t the type to surrender when facing difficulties.

Despite being in constant heat and pain, he still managed to block Uoiea’s attack, but his movements were now less agile than before. Uoiea noticed this change, so she didn’t waste any more time; she barraged the three-horned demon with lightning bolts and fire blasts, incinerating the entirety of his body.

"Tss, you’re still alive after all of those," Uoiea clicked her tongue in disbelief and amazement.

Despite all of her attacks, Liehj’s wounds were still regenerating, though it was slow; it was enough for him not to kiss death’s door.

’Even within my domain, he’s unkillable,’ Uoiea thought.

’If Zeno were here, how would he kill this monster?’ She pondered.

But her contemplation was interrupted when she heard the demon’s laughter.

Confused by his action, she asked. "Are you glad that you will soon die?"

Uoiea’s voice had a tinge of sarcasm, but the demon laughed even louder.

"It’s not me who’s going to die," Liehj uttered despite having difficulty in speaking.

Then, he stared at the princess, and a smile blossomed from his burned lips.

"He is coming," Liehj added.

Uoiea furrowed her brows upon hearing the demon’s remark.

"What? Who’s—" She was about to ask, but she failed to do so as she heard a sudden scream from her people.

Then the moment she looked to where it came from, she saw a massive black dragon wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

"Everyone! Fall back!" She yelled as she turned around.

However, the demon’s voice echoed once again and made her halt from helping her comrades.

"It’s no use; all of you will die here, not a single one will be able to escape," Liehj declared with pride.

Then, like what he stated, darkness began to envelop the entire surroundings, and it caught Uoiea’s attention.

With her maple-colored eyes, she glanced behind and looked at the entity sitting in a silver throne floating above.

White hair swaying in the gentle breeze and cyan blue eyes staring at the battle happening on the ground.

"Does this mean that my brother lost already?" Uoiea uttered, saddened by her sudden thought.

The existence behind the demon’s invasion, the Conjurer of Blue Flames, Cinhard Beelze, had arrived.

Uoiea gave him a glare, and her eyes squinted upon seeing the woman standing at the Demon King’s side. Her eyes had a golden color like the morning sun, while her hair, braided in a bun, was darker than the pitch-black darkness.

’Eimereen is here as well,’ Uoiea stated at the back of her mind.

Then, she roamed her gaze around, desperate in searching for someone she wanted to see. However, she saw nothing that resembled the man she was looking for; not a single trace of the soul devourer could be found.

"Where really are you, Zeno?" She whispered; her voice had a tinge of worry.

Afterward, she glanced back at the Demon King, and to her surprise, he was looking at her as well. Their eyes were locked in a silent exchange until he stood up from his throne, and the moment he made a single step, he vanished with the curtain of absolute darkness as his cover.

Uoiea entered into her fighting stance as soon as she noticed Cinhard’s disappearance; she tried to sense his presence, but her efforts were futile inside his domain.

Though she still remained calm, she knew that panicking wouldn’t do her any good. Thus, she just enhanced her senses and prepared herself for what was to come.

. . . . .

Meanwhile, outside the capital, a streak of black lightning slithered, destroying every tree that obstructed its path.

’Cinhard, don’t you dare touch even a single strand of her hair if you don’t want me to send you to the depths of hell,’ Zeno thought.

Equipped with jet-black daggers on both of his hands while his speed was being enhanced by Chrysantheum’s Legacy, he sprinted towards the direction of the battle.

"Uoiea, just hang in there," he whispered, and his speed turned even faster.

. . . . .