Chapter 536 – Demon Territory

Demon Territory.

It was a land of waste and destruction, for the most part. There were several villages scattered around here and there, but there really was only one main city—Nazeroth, Capital of the Demons. It was enormous and was said to be able to be seen from anywhere within Demon Territory. Not only was the color scheme here extremely unusual, being mainly purple, the air here was also poisonous to all non-Demon inhabitants, just like how the air in Succubus territory is meant to be an aphrodisiac that increases sex drive.

As soon as we disembarked the plane, we found Nael waiting for us at the bottom, bowing deeply.

“Welcome to my homeland, Master X and friends.”

“… Are you sure you’re fine with this, Nael?” My father asked, a look of worry in his eyes. “I will understand if you feel uncomfortable about guiding us here. Your memories here were… not very fond, after all.”

“I am fine, Master X. Although it is true I do not have a good impression of this place, I still do share some fond memories of the past from here.”

My father smiled and nodded. “I see. In that case, guide us forward towards Nazeroth. There, we can find more information.”

Nael bowed once more and pressed his hand against his chest where his heart was. “Understood, Master X.”

“Wow… he’s like a completely different person,” Yu An Yan remarked as they observed my dad’s caring side, and I nodded.

“He’s not a bad person. Just… really weird, sometimes.”

*****

As we walked through the purple forest all around us, Nael talked to us about the history of Demon Territory and the lore behind its formation, as well as some common knowledge so we wouldn’t look like idiots in the city.

First off, the reason the color scheme in Demon Territory is so weird is because of the Demonic Energy erupting throughout it. This energy is also the same thing that’s lingering in the air and is poisonous to anyone who wasn’t a demon, thus why we had to wear special masks to filter the energy out from the oxygen so we could breathe properly.

This Demonic Energy, apparently, not only affected intelligent lifeforms, but also simply living or even non-living objects such as plants or rocks. It changed green leaves into a purple color, tan ground into violet. All flowers here were purple, and even mountains had a tint of purple to them.

Of course, the Demonic Energy didn’t just change their color. It also imbued them with special power and properties, thus making them essential materials for many Demon-forged potions and technologies. Unlike the Dwarves who produced things for the rest of the world, using mana as their main source of power, the Demons used something special—this Demonic Energy.

“The demons do not use normal magic either,” Nael had said. “They use something called Demoncraft, though it is nearly identical to magic. You can think of Demoncraft as simply mana that is sewn into our blood rather than being separate like in other races.”

Demoncraft generally was in the same power level as normal mana, with the exception of Demon Magic. Demoncraft allowed for much more powerful Demon Element spells, as well as some special hidden techniques that could only be done using Demoncraft as they required usage of blood. If a normal person attempted these hidden techniques, they would draw on their blood only for nothing to happen, since their blood did not have magical properties like the Demons did.

As for Nazeroth, the Capital of Demons, it was an enormous city shaped like a castle. I, of course, knew the owner of said castle—Luisfer, the Demon Founder of the Library of Infinite Beginnings—but I couldn’t reveal that to the girls or my father.

It is said that the first demon created only a small hut at first, and slowly expanded construction as more and more demons came around. He united all the demons scattered across the land together into one unified force, and although outlaws still exist today, they were rare and few.

Slowly, a feudal system was built around this demon. Royal houses were established, and Demon Generals that each ruled over one of these houses. There were 7 houses in total, with the ruler of one of them being the Demon King, currently Luisfer. The other six each represented a cardinal sin of mankind—Beelzebub for envy, Sathanas for wrath, Abaddon for sloth, Mammon for greed, Belphegor for gluttony, and Asmodeus for Lust. The House of Luisfer naturally represented the last of them all—Pride.

Each of these houses’ rulers, the Demon Generals, were all extremely powerful, and each had their own specialized combat style, according to Nael. They often have competitions and clash with one another, but they were all loyal to the King—the Demons apparently valued loyalty a lot.

The Demon race was one that didn’t like interacting with the outside world. They preferred to be confined to their own little space in their own territory. For what reason, Nael didn’t know either, only saying that’s just how it was throughout thousands of years in history now. We didn’t question any further either, as it wasn’t too important anyway.

The only thing that Nael did mention that was quite intriguing to me, however, is a specific folklore that is not very commonly told amongst the Demon peoples nowadays, but the old Demons all know of. It speaks of a certain place, a certain danger, that is within Demon Territory. They wished to remove it, but could not. They have tried many times to destroy it, but have all failed.

It is said that the place in question is made of a condensed red and black sphere of energy, creating a dome-like aura of energy around it as if to protect something. It wasn’t very big and could be easily hidden, which is what the Demon race chose to do as its last and only option. Some strong Demons have tried breaking through the dome-like barrier preventing anyone from reaching its core, but were all instantly incinerated upon touching it. The few who got close but didn’t touch the barrier returned paralyzed and turned crazy after waking up, muttering in unintelligible speech and the like.

Whatever the place was, it was mysterious, confusing. The only thing that the Demons did know, however, was that it was powerful. Whatever that place was meant to be, it was not for the faint-hearted. Throughout the years, even the original name given to the place by the old Demons was lost to time, and it is now simply regarded as ‘the Forbidden Isle’. Why it was called an Isle, I didn’t know, since Demon Territory was all in-land, but perhaps that was somewhat of a clue as to the possible location of this place.

Of course, as soon as the girls and I along with my father heard the words ‘red and black energy’, the first thing we thought of was Chaos. Without a doubt, they were connected, but we would have to get to that place to make sure.

Soon, however, the story came to a close, and we arrived at the main gates of Nazeroth. Just like Nael had said, this place was built like a castle. Apparently, despite not wanting to interact with other races from the outside world, Demon Territory allowed tourists and visitors. We weren’t allowed to stay here permanently, but a little touring is completely fine—according to Nael, anyway.

As we approached the guards, however, they eyed us up and down, then arched an eyebrow in skepticism. Then, their gazes turned to the girls, and were instantly charmed. So many top-tier beauties, gathered in one place. They probably haven’t even seen girls this sexy before, and didn’t know that girls even could be this beautiful.

Surprisingly enough, however, they managed to snap back to reality, and although their voice was off-pitch and awkward when they spoke, they were quite dutiful and cleared their throats.

“Ahem… apologies, but Nazeroth is currently closed to all outside visitors. Please visit at another time.”

“What? Why?” Nael asked, stepping forward. “Did something happen in the Capital?”

“That…” The other guard began, but the first guard interrupted before his friend could say anything.

“… Is none of your concern. Please leave.”

“…” Eve stepped forward, preparing to charm them with ease, but I stopped her with an arm and gently shook my head. She was a bit surprised by this, but obeyed and stepped back.

“I see… well, that’s unfortunate,” my father said, a smile on his face. “We will return some other time, then. Goodbye.”

The two guards nodded and saw us off, before finally sighing once thinking we were out of earshot.

“Man… those were such beauties… I was trying to hold the conversation a bit longer,” the second guard said, and the first guard gave a snort.

“By telling them what Lord Beelzebub explicitly told us not to reveal to outsiders?”

“What? N-No, of course not,” the second guard said, scratching his cheek awkwardly. “I was going to feed them a lie… y-yeah, that’s it. Besides, don’t tell me you didn’t want to look at them for longer?”

“Well, that’s…” This time, it was the first guard’s turn to look away, embarrassed. “… I can’t deny it.”

“Heheh, got you this time.”

“Yeah, yeah… whatever.”