The Demon King's First General
Chapter 57: Forest Inside a House

Chapter 57: Forest Inside a House

A small amount of fire coming from a lampshade was the only source of light inside a large room with a woman lying on a bed. She looked so sweet and innocent with her eyes closed, but after a few seconds, her eyelids started to open, and her peach-colored eyes roamed around the ceiling.

However, she closed them again as soon as the blinding flash of light illuminated the area as the chandelier lit up above. It was followed by several footsteps.

"Oh, you’re awake," an old man said upon seeing that an umbrella was covering the face of the woman lounging on the bed.

"You’ve been sleeping since Strannard saved you from getting killed," the old man added.

"He forbids you to go outside without someone accompanying you," he uttered as he moved closer to the center of the room.

"You know how essential you are for the plan to succeed; don’t do something foolish for now," he said after he swept the umbrella sideways and looked at the woman who was staring somewhere in the ceiling.

"How are you?" He asked.

For the very first time, the woman responded to him with a very light tone.

"Did Strannard kill the man whom I fought?" She replied, ignoring the man’s question.

The old man shook his head and answered. "No, my Dear, he didn’t."

The woman looked into the old man’s eyes; she stared at him for several seconds. No words were coming from her lips, but the look in her was enough to know that she was asking why.

"He said that he is not easy to deal with while protecting you," the old man explained.

Then the woman sat up, and the umbrella flew behind her to provide support.

"How about Alisteine, Professor? Where is he?" He was still at the castle before I passed out," she asked again.

"Regarding that, I’ll introduce you to someone later on," the man sighed and replied.

His statement caused Celestine to look at him with eyes wide open.

’Why?’ She thought.

. . . . .

The dark elf kept blocking the scythe’s blade, which was hacking at him from all sides. He moved without looking up at the sky. He was still thinking about how the demon had the ability to summon the blue sun.

"Answer my question, would you? Why is that thing here?" He tried to ask again.

However, the silver-haired demon just smiled back at him without any intention to satisfy his curiosity. Then he let the scythe spin around his wrist before striking down the elf on the head.

Alisteine turned himself into a swarm of black butterflies to dodge the scythe’s blade, and then the small creatures went and stuck to Zeno before exploding. Then, at a short distance, the elf appeared as one butterfly expanded and transformed into his body.

Afterward, a set of jet-black arrows came straight to him from above, which he parried with his twin blades. Then Zeno plunged downward with two daggers in both of his hands.

’He’s unscathed,’ Alisteine thought upon seeing that Zeno received no damage from his last attack.

Even his clothes were still intact, which was almost impossible due to the series of explosions from his butterflies. Then the dark elf blocked the daggers with one of his twin blades before slashing the demon’s side. Zeno stepped back a little to evade the attack, but the blade was still long enough to reach him.

So he let go of the twin daggers, and a small jet-black shield with white dots on its four corners materialized at his side, blocking the blade’s edges from harming him.

Then Alisteine crouched down and performed a sweep kick to outbalance the demon as soon as he saw that his attack didn’t connect. Zeno countered the kick by covering his leg with a thick layer of energy, which negated the force of the elf’s kick. After that, he raised his arms and hurled it downward. Moments later, the shield at his side vanished, and a scythe appeared on his hand, its blade aiming at Alisteine’s head.

"Your weapon’s making me sick," the elf commented after seeing the tip of the scythe moving in his direction.

He put the twin blades above his head and deflected the attack. Then he rolled backward and summoned several butterflies that reached for Zeno’s arms. But the demon released a barrier of energy that blocked the butterflies from touching him.

’He’s strong,’ Alisteine thought as soon as he stood up.

"Can you face me head-on? Throw those blades away if you won’t wield them properly," Zeno said as he cut the butterflies in half, making them explode right before his eyes.

Alisteine’s expression upon hearing the demon’s rude remark changed, and he looked again at the sun above.

’If not for that thing, I’m afraid anytime soon I’ll be affected by its illusion,’ he conveyed inside his head.

Then he raised his blades to protect him against a slash aiming for his neck, but as he covered his head, he felt something strike him on the stomach.

"Inaccurate judgment," Zeno murmured.

Alisteine was sent hundreds of meters away from his position while passing through several houses before stopping against a thick wall strong enough to cut his momentum. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and he looked down below his body. There was a huge hole drenched in metallic red liquid.

His vision was now blurry, and his head was ringing due to the impact of banging against the walls. Then he saw a pointed object coming at him with incredible speed. He tried to move, but his body was not listening to him.

The arrow struck him in the chest, which added to the pain he was feeling. He raised his hand to pull the arrow, and he found himself catching his breath as he took it from his body.

"Would I die here just like this?" He asked himself.

Then he heard light footsteps walking towards him, and all of his hope to survive vanished in thin air.

"What’s the catch of all of this?" Zeno asked as he stared at the dying elf.

Even though, at any moment in time, he would leave the world, he still laughed upon hearing the demon’s question.

"I’m merely a pawn, that man! He is the real deal. His plans are beyond the boundaries of this world. My comrades... Once the gate opens..." He answered while coughing up blood.

Zeno knitted his brows before replying.

"Have you found it? It’s nearly impossible to locate the gate without the keeper, and Cinhard Beelze is dead," he said.

Alisteine laughed and raised his arm, then removed the broken monocle from his face.

"We have his..." He paused, then pointed with his shaking hand to his eye.

The silver-haired demon stepped closer to him. Then he sat down after reaching just a meter away from the elf.

"How many keys have you gathered this far?" He asked while staring into the elf’s eyes.

"I-I d-don’t have any reason to answer you," Alisteine stuttered, his complexion getting worse with each second that passed.

"No worries; I don’t trust a dying enemy’s words either," Zeno replied with a grin on his face.

Then he stood up and turned around before spinning at a hundred eighty-degree angle to give Alisteine a devastating kick that took away his life. His head was crushed against the wall, and his blood and brain particles dyed the area red.

Upon killing the dark elf, Zeno moved out of the building, and the moment he stepped outside. He heard a huge bang that destroyed half of the castle.

’Primordial magic,’ Zeno thought as he traced the fluctuating energy that caused the explosion.

Soon after, the place crumbled to dust, but the silver-haired demon still walked back in its direction.

The blue sun slowly dispersed above the sky, and the original sun came back. Those who were trapped inside the illusions regained their composure as soon as Zeno deactivated the Elven King’s Legacy; however, some of the bandits had already died during their hallucinations.

"Eliana," he uttered, scanning the whole city.

Then hundreds of bandits appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. They were those who had been watching him since his fight against the second prince. Afterward, a man came out behind the group of men; his facial expression was enough for Zeno to tell what he wanted.

"What did you do to the woman covered with bandages?" He asked.

Zeno couldn’t help but shake his head upon hearing the question.

’How many times do I need to deal with these people today?’ He thought.

Then he tossed the black dice in mid-air, and it spun before the surface with two dots lit up. As soon as Zeno caught it with his palm. He vanished from his position, and the carnage began to start.

. . . . .

The ex-captain and the first prince exited the castle on time. The two of them went to where the king and princess were hiding. Lexzi argued with the ex-captain along the way. After all, he found it troublesome to stand in the same room with his father.

However, the thought of seeing his little sister up close made him dump his idea to flee from the situation. Aside from Delta, she was the only person he considered a member of her family during his years in the Herish Kingdom.

After a couple minutes of running, they arrived at their destination. It was a simple house, not that far from the castle. Delta knocked on the door and spoke.

"It’s me, Delta," he introduced himself.

However, the door remained closed, and there was no sign of it getting open. And then the ex-captain knocked once more; this time, he made three consecutive taps and stepped away from it.

Afterwards, the door opened, but the inside was filled with light.

"Let’s go," Delta said after looking at the first prince beside him.

They entered, and Lexzi dropped his jaw as soon as he stepped inside the house. Then he looked at Delta, asking him about the place, but he just smiled at him and proceeded to walk in a certain direction.

The first prince rubbed his eyes; he still couldn’t believe that what he was seeing was real. He followed Delta, and he let his eyes roam. The sun was shining brightly above, but the place was full of shades from the trees and different plants. The flowers that bloomed inside the place emanated a fragrance that calmed his mind.

’It’s like a forest. No, it’s definitely a forest,’ Lexzi thought.

Then he bumped into Delta’s back, as he hadn’t noticed him stopping on his track. They stopped in front of a wide lake with a cave on the opposite side.

"We’re here," the ex-captain said.

. . . . .