The Demon King's First General
Chapter 43: Awakening

Chapter 43: Awakening

Several millennia ago, there was a demon race known for their ability to wield flames. Even though their numbers were limited, they still stood out as one of the most powerful during that period of time.

They were revered by all, and not a single entity dared to oppose them. In a single flick of their hands, the bodies of water dissipated into thin air, the forest burned to ashes, and the land was scorched black.

These demons didn’t have horns, and their appearances weren’t that horrifying. After all, they resembled a lot like humans, although they had certain characteristics that were unique to their race alone. The white color of their hair symbolized perfection, while their cyan-blue eyes represented liveliness and tranquility.

Though their appearance was merely a shell, those unique features still remained once they awakened their true form. A body that looked like a fox. Ears protruded at the top of their heads while their fangs and nails grew longer, resembling a beast, and the pupils of their eyes became serpentine-like.

Then long white tails that determined their strength level would stick out from their backs; the more tails they had, the more powerful they were, and they would gain the ability to summon a special type of flame, which was once hailed as the strongest flame ever to exist.

However, not all of these demons managed to achieve this form. First of all, they had a tradition that all the young demon foxes would embark on a journey to strengthen themselves. Then they would return to their homeland and need to pass a trial to determine if they were ready to accept their fate as a true part of the race.

They needed to kill themselves as a test. They had to experience death in order to awaken the dormant flame lying inside them. However, not all of these young demons returned from dying; most of them didn’t have the chance to open their eyes once more and really died for eternity.

This was the main reason why their numbers didn’t fluctuate, unlike the other races. On a scale of ten, three was the average number of those who survived the trial and returned from the boundary of life and death.

. . . . .

Cinn found herself inside a hall with white painted walls. The place was so huge, but she couldn’t spot any other entity.

"Where am I?" She uttered,

’Am I dead?’ She thought afterwards, then looked down at her chest.

The last thing she remembered was that the unknown demon’s hand pierced her, yet she couldn’t see any wounds on her at the moment.

Then she let it slip and decided to saunter deeper while letting her eyes roam the area. After a few minutes, she noticed the strange lettering curving on one of the posts. She did her best to read it, but the font and language were different from what they used in Exgreia.

Seconds later, in the faraway distance, she saw a shrine with a fountain behind it.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she walked towards it; however, the distance between her and the shrine was not getting any shorter. She tried to run, but the thing was still far away from her.

"What’s happening?" She exclaimed upon seeing that her efforts were useless.

The next second, she levitated into the air and flew into her target location, but as she expected, her attempt to minimize the distance also failed.

"Is there some sort of riddle that I need to solve first before I can go there?" She yelled, asking with the hope that someone would answer her query.

But she received no response at all. Then, after a few seconds of contemplation of what to do next, a blinding darkness enveloped her entire surroundings, but despite that, the shrine and the fountain behind it remained visible.

Then a figure emerged from where the shrine was located. She prepared herself for what was to come; however, her jaw dropped, and she blinked several times upon seeing who it was.

She felt like looking into a mirror while staring at the woman walking slowly towards her position. The figure looked like her from every angle possible; even her dress was similar to the one she was wearing. However, there was one thing that was different from what she had.

It was the color of her eyes that shone a relaxing, crytal-like water. The one she was so familiar with yet disgusted with its trait. Those eyes that always stared at her with disappointed gazes from the very beginning of her life.

Then the replica of her stopped on her steps upon reaching a certain distance. She looked at Cinn without any trace of emotion before she started speaking.

"Why did you take so long to come here?" She asked.

Cinn furrowed her brows upon hearing the question.

"I have kept on watching you since the day you were born, the one who was not supposed to exist yet managed to live," the woman added.

Her words made Cinn shake her head.

"I don’t get it; who are you?" She asked.

"I am you, the very thing you wanted most," the woman replied. Then she raised her hand, and the fountain behind the shrine started to burn a bright blue color.

The vampire gulped as she stared at the giant flames burning in front of her.

"Blue flames," she uttered.

Then it started to consume everything inside the darkness, including the woman.

"Accept me, Cinn. I’m tired of waiting on this place," she said as she soon vanished in the sea of flames.

After that, the flame went towards Cinn’s chest, and she cried in pain as every part of her body ignited in flames.

"It hurts," she yelled.

This was the first time she had gone through this kind of pain. She closed her eyes before she lied and rolled over on the floor, hoping to reduce her suffering. It was only a matter of seconds that had passed, yet it felt like hours for her. Still, she continued to endure the torment until all of her flesh was burned to nothingness.

Then, a new set of soft tissues and muscles began to materialize as the pain she felt slowly subsided.

And when she opened her eyes, a sudden outburst of energy came out of her and caused a heavy explosion. She stood up from lying down and noticed that her surroundings had changed once again. It was still dark, but lightning was now scraping the clouds.

"I’ve returned; was it a dream?" She uttered, confused.

The pain she experienced felt so real that she didn’t accept it as a hallucination, and she couldn’t explain how the hole in her chest had gone without a trace. Even her body was now filled with an unknown power she barely recognized.

’Embrace me, Cinn,’ a voice echoed inside her head.

And as soon as she heard it, a giant pillar of flame erupted, with her at its center. Shell-like objects resembling fox ears stuck out above her head; thin white fur ran down a part of her shoulders all the way to her hands; and three long fluffy tails appeared protruding while floating at her back.

Her ruined clothes were burned, but a dress made of blue flames covered her body. Then her crimson-red eyes, which symbolized her noble bloodline, slowly turned cyan-blue in color and had a slit-like pupils.

Cinn took a glance at her new appearance before she turned her head to look at the silver-haired man staring at her with a smile all over his face.

. . . . .

"The Lord, the Lord has returned!" Shouted a demon, as he was the first one to see the eruption of blue flames. Then the others looked in the direction where he was looking and felt glad to see the gigantic pillar.

Lycanthropes shapeshifted and howled while gargoyles let out delight cries. The noise they created informed the other demons about the news. They rejoiced as soon as they saw the blue flames reaching the sky. Those who could fly hovered in the air while the other demons ran to the location of the ruined palace.

However, the man with the long scar on his right eye stared at the phenomenon for a few seconds before he stood up from his seat.

"No, that flame is a little different from the Lord’s," he said.

Then the scene from earlier resurfaced in his mind, and he remembered the line that the silver-haired demon had spoken.

’Like he’s said, the Lord’s descendant is here,’ he thought.

After that, black wings in the shape of a hand appeared on his back. Then, as soon as the odd-looking thing flapped, he rose in the pitch-black sky and headed to where the other demons intended to go.

. . . . .

Zeno smiled the brightest he could as he saw Cinn’s new form after the curtain of flame diminished around her.

"I applaud you for having three tails just after waking up," Zeno said while clapping his hands and maintaining the smile on his face.

"So how is it? To experience death and still be able to return with strength, you cannot imagine," he added.

However, he received dozens of fireballs as a reply. Then, Cinn stepped on the ground barefoot, and walls made of blue flames emerged around her and Zeno while separating Aichelle, who remained frozen in her position the moment she saw her mistress alive.

"You can put that thing off; I won’t run, and you still can’t win either." Zeno giggled as he looked at the flaming enclosure.

"I’d keep my guard up if I were you," Cinn replied, then she dashed towards the demon.

She leaped and performed a kick aiming at Zeno’s head, but the silver-haired demon parried it with his left hand. However, Cinn’s attack left burn marks on the demon’s palm, though he didn’t pay any attention to them.

Then, Cinn spun midair to give Zeno another kick, and her tails moved to strike Zeno at the same time.

The attacks happened in an instant, but the Demon General deflected them all while smirking at his opponent.

After that, the demon fox created some distance from him before launching three small orbs out of her tails.

Those were hurled in Zeno’s direction, and they created an explosion heavy enough to shake the ground. Then a giant jet-black shield with four white dots on its four corners and a dice embedded at its center came into view as the dust and smoke dissipated from the area.

Seconds later, the shield vanished, and Zeno walked out unscathed while holding a jet-black scythe in his right hand.

"Hmnn, I think three should be enough," he said.

Then the red dice dangling on his left ear spun, and its surface with three white skulls emitted light.

. . . . .