I Let My Guard Down

Along the way, they met several people. Butlers, knights, and maids—all of them glanced at Zeno, especially women.

Then, after several seconds of walking, they arrived at the king's hall. Two knights were guarding the entrance, and the battalion leader had a little talk with them. 

They entered as soon as the knights opened the door. Knights were lining up on the sides of each wall, and a dark blue carpet lay down the floor from the entrance onto the empty throne.

"Where's the king?" The battalion leader asked as he looked into the eyes of the knights on duty, but they didn't reply. 

After several seconds, a certain figure walked through the door; it was the king.

"Third Commander, what brings you here?" The king asked upon seeing the battalion leader. Then he noticed the man looking at the throne. 

"Who is he?" He asked.

Zeno didn't bother to reply to the king's question. He continued to stare at the hall's design, where different kinds of weapons were curved on the walls and ceilings.

"H-he is the m-man from the town." The leader couldn't find the right words to introduce Zeno.

'I don't even know his name,' he thought.

Then the king repeated his question, and now he addressed it to the man whose back was facing him. 

"Who are you? You're inside my castle; where's your respect?" He asked once more, but irritation was now present in his tone.

"Y-your M-majesty, please come down. Tigrid-he's Tig-" the third commander explained, but he was a little late to finish his explanation when Zeno turned around and stared at the king before grinning.

The gesture of his made the king grit his teeth in anger.

'Who is he to eye me like that?' He thought.

"Y-your M-majesty," the leader stuttered, and beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead.

Then Zeno spoke, which captured the attention of all the people inside the room.

"Greetings, your Highness! Is this how you want it to play?" He asked while smiling.

"Then, all of you here, kneel before my presence," Zeno uttered, and the whole castle trembled as he released his suffocating energy.

All the knights inside started to fall to one knee, and the king, who was the target of this ominous energy, tried to resist; however, after a few seconds of suffering, he succumbed to it and kneeled before Zeno.

'How?' He thought, then raised his head and looked at the man, staring at him.

He noticed the object hanging from the man's left ear.

"A dice!" He exclaimed, "You! You're that murderer!"

However, Zeno just laughed upon hearing his remark, and then he turned around and walked in the direction of the throne.

The knights wanted to charge at Zeno, but they were getting choked as they tried to stand.

Then Zeno looked down on the royal seat made of gold. Its black lining gave it a grand appearance, along with the crest of the kingdom above it. 

After that, he sat down on the throne, raised his right leg, and put it on the top of his left knee.

Then he let his right arm lie on the armrest, and he used his hand to support his head while his eyes looked at the two humans kneeling on the floor.

"I don't really get why you guys are so obsessed with sitting on this place all day long while lying beneath the shade of a tree is definitely more comfortable," he said, his face having no trace of any emotion.

Then the gigantic door opened once more, and a phoenix made of purple flame flew straight to where Zeno was.

However, the white-haired demon didn't even budge from his seat, and the phoenix turned smaller and smaller as it went closer to him. Then, a meter away from Zeno, it dissipated in full.

In the next few seconds, another ball of purple flame was hurled in the air, and it transformed into a human figure.

Kreigster threw a punch at the man sitting on the throne, but Zeno tossed the black dice in front of him, and it transformed into a jet-black shield.

A huge explosion that created a loud bang echoed in the hall as soon as the crown prince's fist hit the huge metal.

However, Kreigster didn't stop attacking; even his first two attacks couldn't do a thing. He turned into a purple flame once more and flew up the ceiling before plunging into Zeno's head.

But then, Zeno didn't even look at the huge flame going downward into him; instead, he yawned.

He was supposed to raise his hand, but grains of dust stuck together tied him to the throne, making him unable to move for a matter of seconds.

The huge flame went directly to Zeno, which caused another explosion along with a shockwave that threw the battalion leader and the king into the walls.

However, Kreigster knitted his brows upon seeing the result of his attack. The area was empty, and he couldn't find the man. He disappeared along with his presence and the huge metal shield. 

'What happened? Where is he?' He thought, staring at the destruction before his eyes.

. . . . .

A bluish-dark portal appeared in the night sky above the trees in the Forest of Nightmares. Then, two women descended from it and landed on the ground.

Cinn looked around and stared at her surroundings. The magnanimous castle where the Demon King lived was now a barren wasteland filled with countless particles of ash.

The wind blew in their direction, causing the dust to fly in the air, but the two of them didn't pay any attention to it.

"What are we going to do now, Mistress? As I've told you, there's nothing left in this place," Aichelle said before looking at Cinn, waiting for her command.

However, the vampire-noble didn't reply, instead, she walked in a certain direction, as if she were looking for something.

The maid silently followed her behind while observing the calm night in the place. She heightened her senses to protect Cinn once an enemy came to approach them.

Minutes passed, and there was no movement from the eerie place, yet Cinn was still circling around in the pile of ashes.

'Where is it?' She asked inside her mind.

Then, after a few steps, a metallic crackling sound came beneath her, which made her stop walking. She waved her hand to produce a sonic wave that made the ashes fly away, and a large metal plate with scorched marks appeared.

'I finally found it,' she thought.

Then she sat down and mustered her strength to lift the large metal object. Cinn's lips curled upward as she saw the stair leading downward.

She signaled for her maid to come.

"Where does this lead to, Mistress?" Aichelle asked, wanting to satisfy her curiosity.

"I don't really know. All I can say is that my father didn't want anyone to enter this, not even Mother," Cinn replied before she walked down the stairs.

Aichelle followed her, and she still prepared herself for what was to come. The walls had a small crystal, which lit up as Cinn approached them. Then, after almost fifty steps, they reached the bottom, where a large door with chains was located.

A sonic blade cut the chains as soon as Cinn moved her hand upward. It left a mark on the door, but not enough to destroy it.

Then Cinn pushed it, which resulted in a screeching sound. Aichelle covered her ears, but Cinn didn't mind the noise.

They entered the room and roamed their eyes over it; there was nothing illuminating the area, but their vampire's eyes were enough to see clearly inside. 

'A weapon room?' Cinn and Aichelle had the same thought upon seeing different kinds of weapons lurking in the corner.

There was a scythe, staff, bow, axe, dagger, and many more.

Cinn picked up the scythe and rotated it into her hand. It was perfect for her taste. It had no grand appearance, yet she could tell that it was a good weapon.

"This is absurd... There's a lot, but nothing here resembles a sword," Aichelle stated as she scanned the room.

Cinn heard her maid's comment, but she didn't pay any attention to it. She started to look for more, however, aside from the weapons and a tattered maroon coat hanging on the wall, she found nothing.

"Why has Father sealed this place? I doubt it's because of these weapons," Cinn murmured, trying to think of an answer to her question.

Then the ground shook, and they heard several explosions coming from above.

The two of them looked at each other before Cinn nodded and Aichelle opened a portal into the sky, but the maid didn't step right away; she peeked into the portal first to know what was going on outside their location.

However, only seconds passed when she retracted her head and closed the portal. 

"What's happening outside?" Cinn asked as she saw Aichelle trembling in fear. 

"H-he's h-here, Mistress. That strange demon from earlier," Aichelle stuttered upon answering. Her words brought surprise and curiosity to her companion.

. . . . .

A few moments earlier, Zeno appeared in the middle of a place he was familiar with. The smell of blood lingered in the air, and the frightening ambiance couldn't make him wrong. 

He was still sitting on the huge throne, and his posture was still the same as before. 

"That's pretty absurd magic," he said, smiling while shaking his head.

"Hmnn, I let my guard down. That certain human earned my respect," he stated before he stood up from his seat and recalled what happened.

Before the crown prince's attack got connected, a magic circle appeared and glowed beneath him. Then, the next second, he was sent thousands of kilometers away from the castle.

He scanned the whole area and searched for beings present in it.

"Eliana's Legacy is pretty convenient, though; how am I supposed to get back?" He asked while walking.

He continued to walk until he reached a place filled with demons. Then he mingled with them and listened to their conversations. Eyes stared at him with contempt, but he just shrugged his shoulders about it.

Upon hearing their discussion, he concluded that they were looking for the Demon King's daughter to make her their leader.

'She's not suitable yet,' he thought, and he was about to leave when an orc blocked his path.

"Who are you? It's my first time seeing you here," he said before leaning closer to Zeno to sniff him. His action garnered the attention of the crowd.

"And your smell—what are you for real? You smell like a demon, but..." the orc paused and sniffed Zeno once more.

"There's a human fragrance coming from you, although it's faint," he added.

"How about you? You're the ugliest orc ever to live, I presume," Zeno said, which caused laughter around the place.

. . . . .