What's Above?

Demon King Castle, Throne Room

A short man with two horns was flipping through a stack of paper as another tall pale skinned man stood next to the short man silently.

Even his breathing was quiet so as to not disturb the short man.

After flipping through all of them, the short man with two horns stood up to stretch before turning his head towards the tall man.

"Hey, Fallenlight. Can I ask you some questions?"

"What is it that you want to ask, my lord?"

"What's the world outside called?"

"The Underworld, my lord."

"And above that?"

"The Mortal Realms, my lord."

"And even above that?"

"Heaven, my lord."

"Heaven huh? Who lives in Heaven?"

"The Celestials, my lord."

"The Celestials? As in beings of light? Or like my Great Ancestor?"

"Hm, I may be rude for a little bit, please forgive me my lord."

"Yea sure, go ahead."

"Your Great Ancestor was a Celestial. Tho not very powerful...he still held the power of creation and created this world. Ancestor Lucifer was one of his creations as well. Our home, Hell, was also created by your Great Ancestor." [Fallenlight]

"Wait, did he only create Hell and not the Underworld?" [Augustus]

"Of course not, the Underworld was created by an even more powerful Celestial. Your Great Ancestor merely chose a plot of land in the Underworld and created subjects for that piece of land, thus starting the Demon Kingdom.

The Lands of Asphodel divide our kingdom with the rest of the Underworld. After 7 million years of expanding Hell, the higher ups of the Underworld have finally acknowledged us and gave us the job of Guardian of the Entrance of Tartarus." [Fallenlight]

"Sounds complicated, not gonna lie." [Augustus]

"Since the time of your grandfather, Augustus Pranda the VIII, the Demon Kingdom's expansion has finally come to an end as we have fully integrated ourselves with the rest of the kingdoms in the Underworld. Now, we are in an era of peace where trade and commerce can be done between countries peacefully.

As for the souls of the deceased that still cross over from time to time, our job of punishing the sinful has instead been booming.

The punishment and torture industry have never been this prosperous since the deceased souls who crossed over told us that they like to be tortured. This fact haunted us demons for generations." [Fallenlight]

"People in the mortal realms are scary." [Augustus]

"Agreed, my lord. The living are terrifying creatures." [Fallenlight]

Just as the two were talking, a black cloaked person walked in.

His sudden appearance however did not elicit any unease from the two as they gave him a curt nod before they continued their talk.

Seeing that the duo were happily chatting in their own world, the black cloaked person sighed before he bowed slightly to the shorter male with two red horns.

"Forgive me for bothering you, my lord, but I have urgent matters to report."

Having been interrupted with his lord, the taller pale skinned man frowned but he kept silent. "Good evening, Undead King…What business do you have with my lord, Augustus?"

"Good evening to you too, Commander Fallenlight. What I want to report to his Majesty is none of your business. Just stand there and guard the King, won't you?"

"Undead King, you better watch your mouth — "

Before Commander Fallenlight could vent his anger on the Undead King, the young boy with two horns raised his hands to stop him.

"Enough, both of you. I do not wish to see a war start just because my two ministers got into a quarrel. We are no longer in an era of war and fighting but instead in an era of peace and prosperity. Also, if you two really wish to fight…Please take this outside, I just finished decorating this throne room."

Commander Fallenlight gave the Undead King a gloomy stare before he shut his mouth.

The Undead King also gave Commander Fallenlight a meaningful glance before he began his report in front of the short man with two horns.

1 hour later…

"And that is all, my lord." The Undead King said as he put away his clipboard of reports in his storage ring.

After hearing the last of the report about his Demon Kingdom a.k.a Hell, the short man with two horns expressed his gratitude to the Undead King.

The Undead King in turn replied humbly before he bowed and left the throne room.

Once the Undead King was a fair bit distance away from the throne room, Commander Fallenlight's hateful stare turned into a face full of suspicion.

Seeing his expression, the short man with two horns also couldn't help furrowing his brows before speaking up. "You sensed it too, right? The Undead King was rather different today."

"Yes, I did notice as well. Usually when he comes in, he doesn't even bother to greet me...And whenever we quarrel, he's always the first to make a move.

Cleaning up the bones and rotten flesh of his summons was always a pain for the servants. Strange, why was he so docile today??" Chin in hand, Commander Fallenlight thought long and hard about this but could only give up.

He was a close quarters combatant who rarely uses his brains, so he usually wouldn't be thinking this hard lest it might actually affect his battle prowess.

"Let's just say the Undead King took the wrong medication today. What matters now is that I will find a way to become a Celestial! Even if I'm the Devil, even if I'm the current Lord of Hell. I, Augustus the X, will become a Celestial!"

"Uhm, my lord…Did you not discard away all hopes and dreams for this impossible goal?" Commander Fallenlight was slightly taken aback.

He had accompanied the Lord for hundreds of years now yet this was the first time he's ever heard of the Lord's undying ambition.

Usually, the Lord would try something new then give up because it was too hard.

But becoming a Celestial? It wasn't that it was hard, but it was practically impossible.

Even if the Lord was dead set on becoming a Celestial, he'd have to leave the Underworld first before he could even try to reach the Heavens.

But as the current Devil, even leaving Hell was forbidden.

"Don't worry about Hell's rules, I have a way to bypass that and make your wish come true." As if his inner worries had been revealed, a voice resounded within Augustus's mind.

Following that, the Devil Augustus X and Commander Fallenlight were stunned as a massive ball of Holy Fire suddenly smashed into the throne room, incinerating the both of them into ash.