Belphegor

After the fight with Z'riel, a huge ancient gate, like the one before he entered the dungeon, appeared close to him, indicating that the dungeon had finally been conquered.

"It's amazing that I was able to defeat a demon who was a star level above me so easily. It would have been another story, though, if I had arrived later at the boss room and hadn't become a half dragon..."

Lucas shuddered at the thought of his fate if he had decided to rest more and arrived at the boss room later, having to fight the demon without becoming a half dragon. The only reason it was so easy was because of the amount of mana Lucas now had. The difference was between heaven and earth since he could just keep spamming his skills and spells while fighting him with his vast amount of stamina, wielding the Blade of Chaos, making him a tough opponent to defeat.

"Luna, let's go. We are leaving this dungeon,"

Lucas called out to Luna, who was approaching from the throne she lay on a few minutes ago while watching Lucas and Z'riel fight. As she heard Lucas, she hopped on top of his head and made herself comfortable there, making Lucas chuckle.

As Lucas stood in front of the gate, he couldn't help but think about what a crazy first dungeon experience he had. From fighting a D-rank king predator from the start to discovering ancient lost history, to getting a dragon as his bond and becoming a half dragon himself, and then fighting a demon... He couldn't tell if his luck was good or bad. In the end, it didn't matter since he survived and it made him stronger.

Sigh

"I have a feeling these next two years will be quite long."

"Kyuu-?"

Luna cutely tilted her head, not understanding what Lucas meant. It looks like even in cat form, she still couldn't fully become a cat, perhaps one day when she becomes older.

'I wonder if I would ever be able to unlock my true form,' Lucas thought as he gazed at his skill [Monarch of Chaos].

[Monarch of Chaos]: You are the one who stands above all. You don't yield in the presence of calamity, for you are a calamity itself, an incarnation of chaos. The skill can be used on a specific target to show them true despair by them seeing your true form. The skill can be used up to one star level above you, and it won't work on the target if the target has a stronger will than the user.

"It was a long journey, but I suppose I benefited a lot from it," Lucas thought as he walked through the ancient gate with Luna on top of his head, the gate closing behind them forever.

***************

In an ancient castle where the sky was dark and ominous, with dark clouds hanging in the air and red lightning flashing, a man sat in the middle of a dark throne with his hand resting on his chin, his expression bored.

"Haaa, I don't understand what His Majesty is doing by closing the gate for now. Why isn't he revealing his plans to us?" 

Every word he spoke caused the air to vibrate and the castle to shake. His presence was too intimidating for the attendees who knelt in front of him, their bodies covered in cold sweat. They felt as if they were being crushed just by standing in the man's presence, and cracks kept appearing all over the castle, only to repair themselves as if by magic.

If one looked at the scene, they could deduce who these people were: demons. They were demons in the demon world, and the man sitting on the throne, looking down at the kneeling demons trembling in fear, was none other than Belphegor, a duke-ranked demon of the House of Sloth.

In the demon world, instead of star levels, they gave noble titles in a specific order:

- Peak 7-star level: A Baron-ranked demon

- Peak 8-star level: A Viscount-ranked demon

- Peak 9-star level: A Count-ranked demon

- Peak 10-star level: A Marquess-ranked demon

- Low 11-star level: A Duke-ranked demon

- Low 12-star level: A Royal-ranked demon

Belphegor was a mid-11-star level duke-ranked demon belonging to the House of Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. In the demon world, most noble demons were divided into seven different types of houses named after the Seven Deadly Sins that represented them: Sloth, Envy, Pride, Gluttony, Wrath, Greed, and Lust.

Currently, Belphegor was extremely bored and planning to go and sleep until he suddenly felt a connection break. He felt one of his sons had just died.

"Oh? Which one of my sons just died?"

His voice sounded carefree, as if he didn't care, which was true in the demon world; they weren't bound by family ties, only by fear and power. Besides, Belphegor had hundreds of children, so he couldn't care less if a few died.

"Hmm, so Z'riel died? Interesting. Wasn't he the brat who wanted to find the hidden treasure of the ancient king who was said to rival His Majesty and the 1st dragon king? Even though everyone gave up searching for it since they deemed it impossible, he never gave up and kept searching for hundreds of years... Haha, in the end, he died."

"I wonder how he died... La'el, come out."

He called out, and a shadow emerged from the ground, revealing a demon dressed in full black clothes covering everything, even his face.

"Yes, my lord."

"Is there a way to find out how my son Z'riel died, even with the gates closed?"

"His Majesty has forbidden sending demons out to Myrniel, where your son was last, my lord, so it is not possible."

"Then is there a way to contact the demons who are hiding in Myrniel?"

"Unfortunately, there is not. The demons are on their own over there currently, and we will have to be on standby, waiting for His Majesty's further orders."

The demon called La'el spoke respectfully, trying not to show his fear.

"Hmm, I see. Well, I'll wait and find out what happened after His Majesty opens the gate again."

Belphegor said and stood up, walking toward his room to go and sleep. Even though Belphegor didn't care about his children, he was still interested in some, like Z'riel. He wondered if perhaps he may have found something, a clue, or maybe he actually found the treasure but died in the process due to an unknown factor.

In the end, Belphegor couldn't do anything, at least not for a long time...