The Demon King's First General
Chapter 65: Soul Devourers

Chapter 65: Soul Devourers

Kizeler offered the demon some of his food. At first, he thought that Zeno would ignore him, but after the smell of burned meat lingered in the air, he stood up, grabbed a piece, and ate it like any normal human would.

"Is it your first time seeing a demon eating?" Zeno asked as soon as he noticed the human staring at him with deep thoughts.

Upon hearing the question, Kizeler shook his head and munched a slice of meat on his hand.

"It’s not that; I’m just wondering about..." Kizeler answered with uncertainty after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"About what?" Zeno replied without wasting time.

Then Kizeler spoke, which made Zeno burst into laughter.

"Have you tasted human flesh before?" He said.

The demon’s laugh echoed in the forest, and it captured the attention of the other people traveling in the area.

"You see, there are several demonkinds, and they have different palates. Vampires are content with blood, while the others, like lycanthropes and orcs, like flesh; then there are wraiths who live by sucking life force." He paused and bit another piece of meat.

Then he resumed speaking.

"Have you heard of soul devourers?" He asked.

Kizeler thought for a second while staring at the ground.

"Don’t push yourself too hard. Just admit that you haven’t," Zeno said, answering his own question.

Then he stood up and walked several meters to his left.

"After all, I’m the last one of its kind," he added before pulling the black dice from his coat’s pocket.

He tossed it above his head, and as soon as he caught it in mid-air, he vanished. Then, cries from several humans echoed in the sky, which made Kizeler stand. Panic enveloped his mind.

"What have you done?" He yelled, asking.

The next second, Zeno appeared with a jet-black dagger in both of his hands.

"Nothing, just cleaning up some mess," he blurted out with a smile on his face.

Then he threw three black metal rings at Kizeler, which the human captured with his hands.

’What are these?’ Kizeler thought.

He had no idea what those things were, but he still hid them in his pocket.

"Let’s go," Zeno uttered all of a sudden and started to walk away.

Leaving Kizeler dumbfounded, he looked back and forth between the roasted, burned meat and the demon’s back.

"Don’t decide things by yourself alone," he complained as he stood up, shaking his head.

Subsequently, the two of them traversed the path to exit the forest. Kizeler stayed behind the demon during this time. And their conversations during and prior to when they started eating entered his mind.

’A demonkind, a soul devourer to be exact, wants to meet the Celestial Seer,’ he thought.

Based on its name, he got the gist of what this type of demon could do. However, he still wanted to satisfy his curiosity, so he asked a question while staring at the demon’s broad shoulders.

"So, how do you devour souls?" He said.

Zeno heard him loud and clear, but he chose to wait several seconds before replying.

"There are two ways to extract a soul from a living being’s body," he paused as he leaped into a large fallen tree trunk hindering their way.

"The first one and the hardest to do is through an agreement; once someone offered his soul without any resistance, soul devourers could extract it even with just a simple tap of their finger into the target’s forehead," he added, giving out a concrete answer regarding the human’s query.

Kizeler nodded upon hearing the demon’s reply, and he didn’t wait for Zeno to explain the other way. He took a guess at what it was.

"Then the second way is through killing, am I right?" He said, asking for confirmation.

"Indeed," Zeno affirmed, then continued. "However, if the target died due to the loss of blood or a sudden fall without the interference of the soul devourer, the extraction of souls can’t be done."

The man behind Zeno tried to understand what he had said, but he was still confused. Then Zeno glanced behind him, and upon seeing Kizeler’s clouded expression, he spoke once more.

"Just think about it, as even if you beat the shit out of them but they keep dying after someone stabbed them from behind, you won’t get a single soul," he explained.

The next second, he stopped walking all of a sudden, which led Kizeler to bump into his back.

"Why did you stop?" He asked.

He was in the process of digesting the information he heard just now, so he failed to notice the demon halting his steps.

"Someone is watching us," Zeno uttered.

As soon as Kizeler heard his words, he closed his eyes to feel the presence around him, but he found nothing.

"Are you sure? Why couldn’t I sense a thing?" He asked, then glanced into the large trunk of trees behind them.

"Fool, look above you," the demon replied while staring at the small black dot in the sky.

Upon hearing him, Kizeler focused his gaze above and asked.

"What is that thing? It’s getting bigger!" He exclaimed.

"A dragon. Hold your breath if you don’t want to die," the silver-haired demon said, grinning.

Kizeler did what he was told, and his eyes widened as soon as the dragon landed in front of them with an earsplitting sound.

The trees had been crushed as its huge wings spread sideways, while the ground trembled for a few seconds and dust rose in the air. Then it was soon changed to a violet miasma coming from the mouth of the dragon as it exhaled a deep breath. Afterward, a sturdy voice resounded in the forest.

"I’m not mistaken! To think that a demon still has the audacity to take on a journey after the Conjurer of Blue Flames died," the dragon said while all of his attention was focused on the silver-haired man in front of him.

. . . . .

A few hours ago, at the back of the imperial palace, a lot of knights, clad in black armor, were waiting for the emperor to return while the empire’s sole princess was sitting on a bench and admiring the scenery of flowers before her eyes.

The next moment, up above the clouds, a giant silhouette appeared, gliding with its black wings. As it came closer to the location of the palace, it moved on a downward slope before landing in the garden.

Despite its monstrous appearance, the knights remained calm and collected as they gazed at the dragon. Every time they saw one up close, they were still mesmerized by the fact that humans managed to form an alliance with these creatures.

"We welcome the Emperor and the Empress for their safe return," the knights sang in unison as they pulled all of their swords and kneeled.

They were lining up beside a purple carpet that Augustus and his wife would be using to enter the palace. Afterward, the two people went down from behind the dragon.

"I can’t thank you enough for carrying us home." Augustus expressed his sincerity as he even bowed down in front of the creature.

Upon seeing her husband’s action, the empress did the same by lowering her head while her hands pulled up the helm of her clothes a little bit.

Based on her looks, she was a lot younger than Augustus. though the signs of old age couldn’t be hidden on her skin.

The dragon laughed upon witnessing the human’s actions.

"You must keep your head high at all times! You’re treated as Salamander’s brother. Do not show any weakness that would make him a laughing stock," the dragon said.

Upon realizing his mistake, Augustus laughed and affirmed the black dragon’s words. "Indeed!"

Then he stepped a little closer and asked. "Are you going to return now? If you like, I can offer you some meat before you leave."

"I thank you for the offer, but I’ll be heading off," the dragon answered with politeness in his tone.

"Then take care," Augustus replied, nodding.

As soon as the creature flapped his wings, he leaped into the air and disappeared into the sea of clouds.

The next second, the emperor and the empress walked down the carpet. The knights stood up and sheathed their swords as the empire’s ruler passed by them.

Soon enough, the old couple reached the entrance of the palace, and the princess, watching the scene unfold from afar, decided to stand up to greet her father.

’What should I tell Father first? The Enchantress of Time, the Blue Sun, or the tragedy in Herish Kingdom?" She thought.

’A lot of things happened just in a few days; how I wish it remains peaceful for the upcoming days,’ she conveyed inside her mind while walking.

Then, as she entered the palace, she hugged her Father from behind.

"Welcome back, Father," She uttered with the loveliest tone she could muster.

Upon seeing the frail arms with a bracelet containing a white dice embracing his waist, the emperor smiled.

"How is my precious daughter doing? Did something happen while I was away?" He asked.

Then he felt her daughter’s head shaking at her back.

"That’s not it," she said.

"News about her came the other day. She is back. Celestine Madisson appeared in the Herish Kingdom," she added, then let go of her father from her embrace.

Augustus turned around. Shock was present on his face, but he recovered in a matter of seconds. After all, there was a part of him expecting this kind of progress, though he failed to anticipate the timing.

"It’s too soon," he replied, staring at her daughter’s melancholic eyes.

"And it’s not just that; have you seen the blue sun, Father? It’s pretty beautiful, isn’t it?" The princess exclaimed with excitement; her emotions shifted in an instant.

"I did hear about it from the dragons; I was asleep when it emerged in the sky," Augustus replied while shaking his head, disappointed for not being able to witness the strange phenomenon.

"Is there anything else?" He asked.

Then her daughter walked past him and smiled at the empress.

"I’ll give you the heads up about it, but it’s much better if my brother will be the one to provide the details regarding this." She paused for a moment and looked into her father’s and empress’ eyes before she continued. "The capital of the Kingdom of Weapons was destroyed."

Her revelation brought silence inside the palace.

. . . . .