Chapter 34

Merlin stared at Theodore with a mixture of confusion and disbelief. He turned towards Eugene as if to see if he'd heard the same thing, and the brunet's expression spoke for itself. "What?"

Theodore put his hands out in a defensive gesture. "Hear me out, while Hell doesn't sound like a place where you want to live, I can assure you that it's a hundred percent safe."

Lawrence looked skeptical, even if he was willing to place his trust on his son, he wasn't too keen on sending himself to Hell. "I want to believe you, Theodore, but wouldn't somewhere else be nicer? Maybe we could hide in the mountains or…"

"Palace." Theodore interrupted his father and gained the attention of the other two. "I have a newly built palace there, you guys can enjoy luxury for the rest of your lives."

Merlin's expression instantly made a one-eighty, his eyes practically sparkling after hearing his best friend's words. "Really? You have a palace in Hell?"

Eugene still wasn't buying it, he crossed his arms and stared at Theo with his singular eye. "You were away for only a few days, how is that even possible?"

Theodore scoffed as his hands fell to his side. "Remember when I told you that I killed Lucifer? Now that his seat is empty, I have every right to take it."

Eugene frowned with widened eyes. "So you're a demon king now?"

"Exactly, I made some friends over there and she gave me her new palace."

"Friend?" Merlin tilted his head, he was probably thinking about how friendly a place like Hell could be.

"You'll get to meet her soon, I had her take care of the palace in the meantime."

'Rustle!'

Theodore suddenly flinched and turned around, staring out towards the dense trees, he could just barely make out the sound of footsteps and heavy weapons clanging against each other. He frowned before whispering. "…We should leave right now."

Eugene had a stern expression as he stared towards the same direction as him. "They're about fifteen meters away."

Theodore concentrated on the Demon Arts magic and quickly casted a spell.

[Domain Recall]

Black smoke rose from underneath his feet and slowly began to creep up his legs. "Get close to me, hurry!"

All of them hurriedly walk to him and the dark mist grew towards them as well, when Theo knew that everyone was ready, he sped up the teleportation and caused the smoke to burst upwards, engulfing everyone inside of it before it would expand outwards and disperse, revealing nothing but empty air on where four men should have been standing.

From the bushes, a group of fully armed soldiers in black protective gear emerged forward, each of them holding their own specialized weapon, it wasn't hard to guess that they were Heroes.

The woman at the front lifted her visors and lowered her katana, her azure blue eyes swept across the area but much to her dismay, she didn't find what she was looking for. "Sh*t…! They must've already left."

A lean man would step forward while lazily supporting himself with his magical staff. "I can feel a trace of dark magic, they were just here a moment ago, ma'am."

"Dark magic?" The woman frowned. "But our source said none of our targets was a mage."

The magician didn't say anything back, practically saying that he didn't know anything about it either.

The woman sighed tiredly. "Okay…We need to report back to Master about this so they can dispatch a proper squad that deals with dark magic."

"Ma'am…" The mage suddenly spoke, though his voice was low and slightly shaky as he stared at the spot where he'd felt the magical trace. "They…they might need more than dark magic specialists…"

"Why? Did you find something else?"

The mage pursed his lips and tightened his grip around his staff nervously. "I can't be sure…But I think a demon was here."

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<<Unique Spell: Domain Recall

Rank: A

Origin: Demon Arts

Type: Utility

Cost: 200 MP

Cast Time: 10 Seconds

Cooldown: 30 Minutes

Description: You can set up to three places as your permanent 'Domain', and with this skill, you can easily transport yourself between different territories. Though the spell is mostly useful in dire situations due to its long cooldown, hence many of the demon king's domains install 'teleporters' within them instead of relying on 'Domain Recall'.>>

All four of them would arrive inside of the Pearl Palace, standing by the large golden gate that separated air from water. Theodore looked around for a moment and after noticing that they were in the right place, he turned to face everyone behind him. "We're here."

Merlin was already exploring the palace, his eyes wandered to everything and anything he could see, to the green carpet on the floor to the different sculptures and paintings on the walls. Though when his eyes landed on the window, his brows would knit together. "…Are we underwater?"

Eugene and Lawrence turned to where Merlin was looking as well before their attention turned back to Theodore.

"Yes, this place is called the 'Lake of Rage', it's a very big lake and I suggest you don't walk out the door until I can get you some sort of water breathing spell."

Merlin pursed his lips before speaking in a half-joking tone. "So no opening the windows for fresh air—water either?"

"Well, you can open the window, the water can't get in." Theodore shrugged before he began to walk. "Don't you guys want to meet an 'old friend' of ours?"

Eugene and Merlin immediately were intrigued, they both grinned knowing what Theo had meant and started following him.

"I can punch him as hard as I want right?" The brunet had already begun cracking his knuckles.

"Sure, just make sure he doesn't die." Theodore waved. "I'm too lazy to heal him."

"Eugene," Merlin elbowed the young man. "Don't go for the legs, I want to use him as target practice."

"Sure, I got you." Eugene gave Merlin a thumb's up while smiling at the thought of finally getting his own revenge.

Lawrence was following quietly behind them, he would soon jog up to Theodore and whisper in his ears. "Kid, I know he's a bad person but maybe don't go too far."

Theo stared at his father for a moment. "…Do you pity him?"

The old man pursed his lips before nodding slowly. "Gabriel was a bad father to Rhys…"

"That doesn't mean he has the right to treat others like trash." Theodore interrupted his father, who flinched slightly at his sudden reply, though Theo didn't sound angry and his voice remained neutral. "However, I get where you're coming from, you're the best dad I wish I could ever have, and you're probably thinking about giving Rhys a second chance."

Lawrence huffed with a soft smile. "Sometimes, your intuition scares me."

Theodore would eventually speak up after a few seconds. "To be honest with you, dad. I'm already done with Rhys."

"H—Huh? What do you mean?"

He shrugged in response. "He's pathetic, I put that slave collar on him and he became obedient in a few days just because he didn't want me to hit him. I already broke his spirit, he doesn't fight back anymore and I'm not into bullying."

"But isn't he the only reason why you're doing all of this?" Lawrence blinked in confusion. "Then what are you going to do next?"

"Execute justice." Theodore spoke in a proud tone, though his face was still neutral. "I'm satisfied knowing that I stripped Rhys of everything he once had: Power. Confidence. Arrogance, it was the right punishment for him. However, Rhys wasn't the only person that I needed to get my revenge on."

"…Gabriel?"

"Well, he's on the list." Theodore nodded. "But Rhys wasn't the only one that was involved in my death, there were six others that'd willingly agreed to help him."

Lawrence's eyes turned round. "Really? Who were they?"

Their conversation had caught the two young men's attention, Merlin was the first to speak. His voice sounded grim and lashed with anger. "I only remember Derek, he was the Berserker that knocked me out after killing a bunch of the low-level heroes in our group."

Eugene sighed with a shake of his head. "Sorry Theodore, but I don't remember anyone's name, I wasn't really the most-liked person on the team, you know?"

Theodore flicked his hand to the side. "It's fine, I can just interrogate the people we know so far. Rhys also only remembered another person, his name is 'Miles'."

"Oh yeah. Miles!" Eugene snapped his fingers repeatedly. "Yeah, I vaguely remember him, he invited me to form a gang with him or some edgy teen sh*t but I turned him down."

"He was another Spellblade just like Rhys, that was why he remembered him." Theodore would soon lead them up a grand staircase and down another corridor, though despite all the ups and turns, it didn't take them very long to reach their destination.

Theodore stopped in front of a large wooden door, it stood out among the others since it was the first thing anyone would see when they make a turn to the specific area, the hallways would fork to the sides but those paths didn't matter for now. "We're here, this is the office, well, Rhys' office."

"He has an office?" Merlin frowned.

"He's a slave, so I'm making him do all the non-important stuff." Theodore pushed the door open. "I don't want to be reading some boring documents all day."

Inside the room looked like any typical compacted office, shelves lined up the walls and by the curtained windows was a working desk with a mountain of papers stacking on top of each other.

There was a mini lounging area in the middle and occupying the sofas were two people, Rhys in yellow pajamas and Asmodeus who seemed to be having the time of her life talking about something to the young man while he stared at a bunch of papers in his hands.

"—So, I'm saying that you need to make sure you read everything thoroughly, even though it's tedious, there might be something important in there that you need to tell your boss."

"I…Okay." Rhys responded while flipping a page of the document.

Asmodeus would be the first to realize that Theodore and the others were inside the room and she turned towards them with a bright smile. "Oh Theo! That was fast!"

Theodore glanced towards Rhys for a moment. "Is he doing okay?"

"Your slave is a fast learner, he'd already finished reading all of that!" Asmodeus pointed towards the papers on the table. "That one is the last document for the day, shouldn't you give him a treat?"

"…I'm not a dog." Rhys mumbled to himself with a slight frown, it was hard to tell whether he was angry at Asmodeus or just confused about whatever he was reading.

Eugene began walking up towards the blonde with Merlin following him from behind. Asmodeus blinked at the two before looking at Theodore. "…They're just as angry as you were, what did Slave do to deserve this?"

Theo narrowed his eyes. "…A lot"

Rhys looked up from his document and sighed. "Just get it over with, I don't care."

Eugene huffed. "Even if you didn't give me permission, I would've started anyway." As soon as he finished that sentence, Eugene's fist flew straight onto Rhys' face and sent him flying off of the couch.

Rhys coughed and slowly got up from the floor while using the couch's armrest as support. "…Theodore punched me harder than this."

"What? You enjoyed getting hit?" Eugene laughed and walked towards Rhys, causing him to step back on instinct as a hint of fear gleamed in his blue eyes. "Okay then, challenge accept, let's see who can punch you harder."

"Leave some for me too, Eugene!"

"Yeah, yeah!" The brunet yanked his fist back and Rhys closed his eyes in anticipation, although that was only a feint and instead Eugene sent another punch onto the stomach.

Rhys fell to the ground while groaning in pain, he curled into himself while clutching his abdomen with his arms.

"So? Who punched you harder this time?" Eugene sneered while towering over the blonde.

Merlin stepped forward and took this as an opportunity for him to have his share, he grabbed Rhys by the collar of his shirt and sent another punch into his face, knocking out his front teeth and once again making him fall onto the floor. "I'm not really into close combat, I'll use you as target practice later."

Rhys coughed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, he still somehow managed to stand up while slightly wobbling on his feet. "You know…Theodore gave me an order."

"What?" Eugene was unfazed as he grinned with satisfaction, not seeing Rhys as a threat at all.

"He told me…That not under any circumstance…Am I allowed to kill myself." Suddenly, a sword appeared in Rhys' hand. "Which technically means I have every right to defend myself when I feel like I'm about to die."

Despite barely being able to stay upright, Rhys somehow maintained his monstrous speed, he left behind only a blur as he closed in the distance between him and Eugene.

Since it was an unexpected attack, the brunet couldn't dodge very well and took a slash to his left arm. He turned towards Theodore with a confused expression. "Theodore?"

Though unexpectedly, Theodore just shrugged. "It's revenge, not bullying, you have to expect him to actually fight back."

Rhys' eyes widened slightly as his mind was on high alert, he was just given the 'go' signal and he wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away, he was pent up, he was tired, and he was angry.

Though Rhys wasn't as vocal and he quietly rushed towards Eugene again, though before he could reach him, he would suddenly throw himself to the side as an arrow brushed past his face.

Merlin stood with a fiery bow in his hand, it seemed that he'd found the time to register his weapons for the 'Weapon Summon' skill since it'd just manifested out of thin air. "Looks like target practice is now."

Rhys didn't say anything and changed his target, knowing that Merlin was weak at close range. The archer rapid fire arrows towards the blonde however he simply flicked his blade and all of them would be cut in half.

The swordsman reached his target in mere seconds, although just as the sword was about to connect with Merlin's neck, Eugene appeared next to him and tackled him away. "Bro, you're about to lose to a slave!"

"Shut up! You underestimated him too!"

Asmodeus whistled as she watched the fight from the sideline. "Slave is a quick one! He's quite strong for someone with that weak of an aura."

"He's skilled, I'll admit that." Theodore nodded as he crossed his arms, while Rhys was only B+ rank at most, he was one of the most gifted heroes out there, as soon as he'd awakened, he showed extraordinary swordsmanship skills and even manifested magic on top of it.

"Anyway," Asmodeus turned towards Lawrence, she leaned forward and rested her chin on her palms. "Who might you be?"

Lawrence was slightly surprised. "Ah, I'm Lawrence, Theodore's father."

"Oh?" Asmodeus raised her eyebrows, surprised by the answer. She then giggled before speaking. "Then that makes you 'my' dad too then~"

"Asmodeus." Theodore gave the demon king a cold look, earning another laugh from the woman.

"Haha! I'm joking, I'm joking! But Mister…If you want a beautiful daughter—"

"No." Theodore interrupted and this time it was Lawrence's turn to laugh.

"Asmodeus is it? My son does need someone to teach him a bit of empathy, he's really lackluster when it comes to expressing himself."

"Dad!"

"I would be very glad to help~" Asmodeus giggled and Theo glared at her again.

Lawrence lightly tapped him with his elbow and mumbled. "C'mon kid, she's a pretty one, why don't you give her a try?"

"You do realize that she's a demon right?"

"And you're a snake."

Theodore sighed and decided that it would be a good idea to just end the conversation right there—or walk out of it anyway since Lawrence began chatting with Asmodeus the moment he started making his way towards the three people that were still fighting in the background.

Rhys threw himself back and stumbled against Theodore, falling to the ground and this time hit his head against the sofa's backrest.

Theodore stared down at the blonde before looking toward his friends. "That's enough, don't you think?"

Rhys quickly rose to his feet and tightened the grip on his sword, he eyed them down angrily, seemingly wanting to attack them again though he was hesitating because Theodore was there.

Merlin lowered his bow reluctantly, he had a slight cut across his left cheek but otherwise he only seemed tired from squirming around so much. "…Fine."

Eugene was still glaring at Rhys, but he decided to back down as well, he was on the verge of pulling out his axe from his own 'Weapon Summon' but luckily Theodore had stepped forward before Rhys could lose an arm. "I'll wait for you to f*ck up, then I'll have an excuse to chop you to bits."

"Hey, no killing." Theodore frowned, finding Rhys' death more concerning than the method in which he would be killed.

"I know, I know, I was joking." Eugene waved and began to walk towards the door, he had multiple cuts all over his body but he still managed to keep himself stable. "Anyway, where's the bedroom? I'm tired."

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After Theodore had healed everyone's wounds, including Rhys', he went to his bedroom located at the forth floor out of the five floors that the Pearl Palace has, the room was especially big, it has enough space that even if he were to transform into his snake form he would still have plenty of room to spare.

He crashed himself onto the king-size bed and looked around, the room had everything one usually would see in a regular bedroom—Just several times the regular size and furnished with high-class decorations and appliances.

He leaned back and let himself fall onto the white futon, staring up at the roof of the dark green canopy. 'I should probably start claiming all the rewards I've gotten…'

Everything had happened way too quickly, he didn't have much time to be worrying about his new skills or the upgraded status window, he'd just read through it briefly but didn't focus on anything in particular.

'First of all…That skill reward from Lucifer's dungeon.'

After the System opened up the skill option for him, Theodore swept his eyes through the words written on the window and mentally ranked them from how useful they could possibly be for him.

Then his gaze landed on one particular skill and he had to do a double take just to make sure that he read the description correctly.

'This…!'