Chapter 153 - 150 : A Meeting With The Demon Lord (1/2)

Swiftly, the head maid performed a roundhouse kick at the Death Knight's head but it appeared to be a feint as the kick suddenly stopped when the knight raised its hands to block. Her two hands blurred as she slashed at the armored legs, trying to cut them off and make the fight easier.

Arthur thought this tactic wouldn't work as she inferior to the Death Knight in Lvl and most likely in stats too, however, to his surprise, the leg guards and the bones were cleanly cut by those short blades.

As the Death Knight lot its balance, Taliya grasped this opportunity and magnificently yet ruthlessly cut both of its arms then stabbed its skull, finishing it off once and for all.

From the look on her face, she didn't seem to be exhausted by the fight, she the first strike of the Knight, which was also the last and defeated it in just three moves.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

”That's good.”

Arthur clapped his hands as he stared back at her, who coldly glared at him, prepared to leap with her blades at any second.

”Sir, please follow me to the castle.”

Taliya assumed that she had won the little bet, she turned around to started walking away but unfortunately, Arthur still wanted to see what her limits are so with a flick of his fingers, the defeated Death Knight which had all of its limbs cut off and its skull pierced, slowly got up while a black fog reattached all the missing parts.

In just two seconds, the Death Knight was reanimated but compared to the previous one, this one was stronger. Of course, she had won the bet but Arthur made it look like it's still not done. He would politely follow her to the castle when this matter is done, he lost the bet after all.

”Humans are truly despicable...”

The maid coldly said that whilst raising her short blades and preparing to fight yet again.

”I never I was Human. You guys must have assumed that on your own.”

”What part of you does not look Human?”

No matter how long Taliya looked at Arthur's appearance, every inch of him resembled Humans except for his gray hair and blood red eyes. There is the chance of him being a Vampire but that Race is almost extinct and there are only a few secluded Vampires on Astria and from his behavior and demeanor, it doesn't match with the Vampires.

”Maybe this?”

Arthur raised his hands in the air and in a matter of seconds, the two hands transformed into long green vines that danced in the air. It was one of the perks of the Plant Magic, they are not as resistant as his normal hands but they could be useful in many ways.

With another thought, his chest erected sharp thorns that had some poison leaking out of them.

”A druid?”

The head maid inspected the vines and thorns with astonished eyes, her master, the Demon Lord thought the Human Empire sent a strong individual in here to carry out a secret plan but maybe it was not the case, maybe it was just baseless assumptions.

”Still wrong.... anyways, you should look behind you, the battle has already started.”

Hearing Arthur's remark, the head maid did a backflip and evaded the horizontal sweep of the knight's sword. Her thighs landed on the wide shoulders of the knight, then without hesitation, she stabbed both of her blades on the opponent's skull.

It was supposed to be a clean stab that finished the battle, however, the Death Knight was not just sitting idly and awaits for its death, it grabbed the maid's hand and slammed her body on the ground, crashing the ground and creating a small dust cloud.

The Death Knight soon followed by a swing of its sword which was aimed at Taliya's chest. The attack contained a special skill of the knight as its dark long sword whistled in the air and emitted a loud battle cry.

Facing the imminent danger, all she could do was raise both of her blades to block the incoming sword, she didn't have enough time to dodge as her body was aching from the earlier slam.

Just as the clash was about to happen, the long dark sword suddenly halted in mid-air, only a few inches away from the maid's blades.

”That's enough, you're not bad.”

It was a very short fight and Taliya appeared to be the physical type due to not using any magic, or maybe she was keeping it for a life-saving situation but it was unlikely as her life was threatened just a moment ago.

It's her bad luck that Death Knights have an incredibly strong defense and are strong warriors. Moreover, this reanimated Death Knight was Lv750, so that's to be expected for her to lose.

She silently stood up and cleaned the dust lingering in her clothes due to the fight, then she shot a glare at Arthur, it was apparent that she was not willing to admit defeat but from the earlier fight, it was obvious who is stronger. He didn't even lift a finger and let his Death Knight fight yet she couldn't beat the second one so what qualifications does she have to fight him personally.

Nonetheless, she achieved her goal as he was going to follow her back to the castle but the bitter feeling of defeat still wouldn't leave her. She is the head maid and an expert in fighting, for her to be defeated this easily proves that this person has a strength matching the Demon Lord, or so she thought.

”Please follow me.”

Begrudgingly, Taliya said that and started walking toward the Demon City. Arthur followed after her while riding his Dark Cloud and in no time, the two of them started running, or more precisely, the maid picked up the pace and the walking turned into jogging which soon became full speed running.

Since he was riding the Dark Cloud, Arthur didn't have to run but he had to admit that her speed was quite fast. Prior to his earlier judgment, she was really hiding her power as her current speed is at least double the one she used in the previous battle.

Nevertheless, no matter how fast she was, it was a simple thing for Arthur to follow her, his Agility was in the millions so he wouldn't be left behind whether it's flying or running. If he used the Lightning Form, arriving at the Demon City in seconds would be a feasible thing.

Since the Demon City was not that far from the place they met, it didn't take them long to arrive at the gates. They passed it without stopping and headed for the huge black castle situated north of the city.

The weather was quite cold since it's the Northern Continent and the snow was covering the roads, people were either at home enjoying some warmth or at the bar drinking some ale.

”How about you switch masters?”

After saying that, Arthur received no response so he thought it might be because she is running which led to her being unable to hear what he said. He waited until they entered an area devoid of people and with noise around and repeated his sentence

”How about you switch masters? I think you're quite capable.”

”.... I beg your pardon, Sir?”

Arthur was in no way interested in her romantically or sexually, he would not even dare to have such absurd or obscene thoughts or Lucy's damnation would befall on him. It's just that he was feeling lonely and bored, a bit of company would not hurt so much. After experiencing a few days with Robin, it was not so bad to have someone to talk to, especially after those long dreams which made him feel even lonelier.

If he stayed alone until he found Lucy, it may lead to dire consequences as he began feeling frustrated at sudden times and felt like behaving evilly for whatever reasons. Maybe it is his rage from back then or it is his loneliness but not staying alone is definitely not a good thing for him right now.

If he knows for sure that he'll find Lucy in a month or two, he'll definitely bear with it but the problem is, he doesn't know that. What if the weird occurrences of the dreams keep happening, then he'll be doomed. To have someone to chat with, pass the time until he meets Lucy, then he wouldn't mind but then again, Lucy will kill him if she ever sees him with the maid, however, he was prepared for that, if he could see her again then whatever is going happen let it happen.

Although he should be worrying about Taliya's safety and not his, Lucy would most likely accuse her of seducing him and not the other way around.... well that is if she agrees to his offer in the first place.

Since he couldn't hear him properly, Arthur used Telekinesis to lift her mid-air and float her on board the Dark Cloud. His actions were met with a red dagger flying straight at him but unfortunately, it was easily caught by his two fingers.

”Relax, I'm just doing this to make the trip faster and to chat. Stop being so aggressive.”

She was still glaring at him, she glanced at the caught dagger between his fingers and couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. Of course, she didn't show that on her face as it was kept emotionless.

Purposely, Arthur made the Dark Cloud go slow to be able to talk about his offer with her. Well, he picked her because she seems strong and the loyal type, if she refuses, he could still go look for another person, even a talking pet wouldn't be so bad but that's very rare to find.

Feeling unsafe, Taliya stood up on the Dark Cloud and faced Arthur with both of her blades raised and pointed at him. From the look of it, she didn't trust him one bit.

”Why are you pointing those blades at me when you're the one who invited me to the castle?”

Arthur played with the red dagger in his hand as he talked to the maid, who still taking a defensive stance. After a moment of silence, the two short swords were lowered but Taliya remained standing and her glare never left him.

Arthur had no choice but to sigh and give her back the red dagger, since she was so cautious around him, he even used Telekinesis to pass the dagger because if he approached her, she would definitely freak out and slash both of her blades at him which would break her weapons and that would be such a pity.

”We'll arrive in a few minutes, why don't we chat in meantime? It's basic courtesy for any maid to entertain the guest... isn't it?”

”....”

He was only met with silence but Arthur still didn't let the matter go.

”Do you love the Demon Lord?”

Arthur wanted a companion for the time being but he wouldn't forcefully take her. Loyalty can be changed after time but love is harder, if she loves the Demon Lord or has a family then so be it, he'll just search for another one. Jackob or Anastassia won't be a bad choice too but since they are the ones taking care of his sect, then it's better to leave them out of it.

There's Robin too but she has to manage her company too. Aside from those, there's nothing else. Azure Bai would have been a good pick too, it's a shame he can't go back to the Underworld for numerous reasons.

Flustered and stunned by such a sudden and weird question, the maid retorted almost immediately.

”What are you saying? I'm but a servant, I'm a loyal subordinate of the Demon Lord and I have no right to love or have any special feelings towards my superiors, be it my master or anyone of the royal family!”

'Hm? Did I hit a soft spot or does she respect her master that much?'

”Since you're so optimistic if it's about your master, then tell me more about the Demon Lord.”

Except for a few known facts about the Demon Lord, such as him having one fully grown horn indicating how much strong he is, or his good ruling and how much he is loved by his kinsmen, Arthur knew nothing more.

He didn't even know how he looked like. He never had the time to come here and sightsee with Lucy but since he is going to meet the Demon Lord anyway, he might as well ask him about Lucy when the time comes. If there is a chance in a thousand he could find her parents, then he would try his best to do so.

”...”

Taliya didn't talk anymore albeit hearing him question her about the Demon Lord. The atmosphere returned to its usual boring silence which Arthur didn't like. He was not the talkative type but he would rather chat than remain silent forever.

With nothing to do but wait for the Dark Cloud to arrive, Arthur picked up the pace and increased the speed by multiple times so they could arrive faster. Taliya wasn't willing to discuss his offer, it was a blunt rejection so he could only ask the Demon Lord, maybe if her master agrees, she would too.

...

Three minutes later, the Dark Cloud entered the vicinities of the huge black castle and various guard patrols could be seen walking around the wide garden around the castle. Be it Humans or Demons, it seems that their Royalty likes to have a luxurious castle and a wide beautiful garden around it.

Arthur contemplated the garden and made a not to possess a few flowers that were unique. Lucy was a fond of flowers and thanks to his Race and Nature Magic, every plant he possesses he would be able to grow it back again whenever he feels like it. Of course, it would cost him a bit of Mana but the amount was so little that he could recover it all in just a second.

Seeing Taliya with him, the guards backed off and let the weird Dark Cloud pass the gates and enter the black castle. Although it had quite a unique appearance from the outside, the interior of the castle was honestly breathtaking. With pretty decoration and a cozy furniture.

Unlike the mansion of the Human Emperor, this one didn't have any guards inside of it, it was devoid of any guards, there were butlers and maids but no guards patrolling inside.

A few seconds after the Dark Cloud entered the castle, a teenager boy with a small horn excitedly came down the stairs and seemed to be eagerly waiting for Taliya.

”Taliya! Practice time has already started, I've been waiting for half an hour!”

The boy had short silver hair and a handsome face, one look and you can guess he is from the Royalty. No one knew why but the majority of the Demon Royalty had silver hair, which is why Arthur had a strong guess that Lucy had some relation to them in some way or another.

Even if it's the Demon Lord, if he is really her father and he abandoned her, he is not going to forgive him. He would kill him but he would make him regret his decision then he'll drag him to Lucy and let her deal with him, if she wants to forgive him or kill him, either way, he'll support her.

”Young Master, it's not the time for practice. We have an important guest and I have to lead him to master.”

”Jeeee! That's no fun, you promised to teach me.”

The young man started pouting with an unhappy look but one cold glare from the maid made his face stiffen and his pouting stop. He scratched his head in embarrassment and left as quickly as he came.

She may just be a maid but her position is surely high for her to be able to talk to the prince like that. Taliya jumped off the Dark Cloud and led Arthur to a room deep into the castle.

It's been a while since he saw any butler or a maid around which means that this area is probably restricted. However, if it's a trap laid by the Demon Lord, he wouldn't really care much as they do not have the power to imprison him.

His [Sixth Sense] was constantly spread around him so he could feel several presences lurking in the darkness but they must surely be some special individuals guarding the area against any sneaky invaders.

”The Demon Lord is already expecting you, please come in.”

Taliya stopped in front of a metal door and showed Arthur in. Behind the metal door was a room, devoid of any windows with a round table in its center and several elderly figures sitting around it.

'This must be the council of the demons.'

He read in a book that the Demons have a council of elders that decide about the political matters of their race. Obviously, the Demon Lord has the highest authority but these elderly also have some saying in the matters. If they oppose a decision made by their leader, things could become troublesome.

There were exactly seven people in the room, excluding Taliya and Arthur. Five old men and one middle-aged man, last but not least is a woman who appeared to be in her twenties, she was sitting next to the middle-aged man. All the present people had silver hair but the old men had a darker color, probably due to age.

”Master, I've brought him.”

Taliya gestured for Arthur to enter and then bowed to the present people. She was a maid so she had to show some respect, the maid then turned to leave but an invisible force pressed down on her and a quiet voice rang in her ears.

”Wait for just a second, this matter includes you too.”

Arthur didn't use too much force with the Telekinesis, he just stopped her movement for a bit then let her go. Unfortunately, she turned a deaf ear to him and continued heading out of the room.

She only stopped when the middle-aged man, who supposedly was the Demon Lord, finally talked

”Ah, Taliya... good job. You can stay in the room.”

As per her master's orders, Taliya walked behind the middle-aged man and stood there, motionless.

”Esteemed guest, please sit.”

The middle-aged man gestured for Arthur to sit in the only empty seat left. He had an amicable smile hanging on his face and he seemed to be friendly.

Zadahl (Race: Demon): Lv599

Mikayla(Demon Lord) (Race: Demon): Lv794

'I see now... I see... hahahaha'

Arthur laughed inside of him when the results of the appraisal were displayed in front of him. From the look of it, all present people seemed respectful towards the middle-aged man but the System would never lie or falsify information.

When someone is worshiped by many, such as a God or a Demon Lord, a title would be shown just like this one so the blue window in front of Arthur clearly shows that the woman was, in fact, the Demon Lord and not the middle-aged man. He didn't know why they were acting as if she's just the loyal wife but he wouldn't blurt out that out of the blue, he was curious but he did not want to cause a ruckus and raise suspicions.

”Thank you for your hospitality. Now onto the serious matters, could you enlighten me while would the Demon Lord himself personally invite me here?”

Arthur sat comfortably on the chair, with his back leaning on it and his arms crossed, quite an ambiguous stance but it's not like he cared that much at this point.

”How could you talk to our Lord like that! Behave yourself! Filthy Human!”

One of the elderly men stood up and angrily shouted at Arthur. It was just a Lv210 old man with old bones and wrinkled face, despite his level, Arthur was sure that a blow of wind could take his life. He did not like to be underestimated and he was certainly not a rash or reckless person but he did not like being yelled at by weaklings either.

Combining the invisible threads and Telekinesis, Arthur ruthlessly crushed the old man's vocal cords without mercy. Having created his own humanoid body, Arthur's human anatomy was matchless. Demons were a bit different to Humans but if it's about the body, they were exactly the same except the location of the heart which was the opposite of the Humans.

The old man started coughing blood nonstop, his hands were holding his throat as the pain was too much to bear. Only a few seconds passed yet the old man was already unconscious on the ground.

Taliya was the first to react as she took out her blades and was about to jump at Arthur when the middle-aged man raised his hand and blocked her.

”I don't like being talked at like that by someone who is only good at running his mouth and when it comes to fights, he's the first one falling.... pathetic.”

Arthur didn't even spare a glance at the unconscious old man. The other geezers were fuming but none of them dared to speak or complain. Seeing that the Demon Lord himself did nothing meant that this guest is not a normal one. Moreover, they didn't even see or how Arthur managed to cut the man's vocal cords and this only made them feel more afraid.

Even the middle-aged man gasped for a second, he knew Arthur was so strong but it's the first time he sees him act. The only one unfazed by this was his wife, the real Demon Lord. She had a long silver hair and a breathtaking appearance, young facial features with two black eyes. She maintained an emotionless face and stared at Arthur whilst remaining silent, she didn't even bat an eye when the old man was wailing from agony.

”Please excuse the rude behavior from our part.”

”No problem. I took out some competition from the play.... don't you think? Demon Lord~~”

Arthur talked to the middle-aged man but he glanced at his wife for a second, it was but a glance yet it was instantly noticed by her, who had her eyes glued on him since the second he stepped into this room. From the outside, what Arthur said was directed to the middle-aged man but Mikayla knew it was directed at her, just from that one glance.

Arthur could easily guess that the council was like a second Demon Lord, so getting rid of one of the old men would benefit her, but he didn't do it for her sake but because he didn't like the attitude of that annoying old man. He didn't want to go too far and kill him or else it would have been interpreted wrongly by the Demon Lord.

With the usual friendly smile, the middle-aged man nodded and was about to say something when Mikayla leaned her head and whispered something in his ears.

”Let's talk privately.”

Her voice was so low that no one but her husband could hear, or so she thought. Arthur easily heard that due to his Dexterity. Excluding his Dexterity, he could come up with at least five skills that enhance his hearing, he just didn't need to use them since his stats are so high, it would just be a waste of time.

The fake Demon Lord nodded to his wife and after coughing a few times he looked at the elderly present and said

”Thank you for granting us your audience, we'd like to talk with our esteemed guest privately.”

He didn't need to say anything else for these wicked bastards to understand his meaning. They were afraid of Arthur so they didn't linger there any extra second.

Very soon, the room was empty of any elderly, there were only four people remaining and the atmosphere was silent and a bit awkward.

Looking at the middle-aged man, Arthur noticed the horn erected to the back, matching the color of his hair. The woman didn't have any horn which was confusing but he didn't question it albeit being a bit intrigued.

...

When Taliya ascertained that the old men left, she whispered something to the fake Demon Lord but he just waved his hand and gestured for her to directly tell his wife since he too came to know that this 'esteemed guest' found out about the real identity of the Demon Lord. Just from his wife's actions, it was easy to conclude that.

Even the council didn't know about that matter since it was their trump card and the one and the most important secret they had to keep.

”What do you want?”

Listening to the soft voice, Arthur was a bit surprised since this voice came out from Mikayla's mouth. He was stunned due to how contrary her voice is to her appearance. Usually, a person with cold eyes and emotionless face, just like Lucy, for example, would have a cold and chilling voice except in unique situations but this Demon Lord had a voice softer than any other person Arthur have ever heard, which is why he was momentarily surprised.

”What do I want? Last I heard, it was you who invited me in here.”

Seeing Arthur talk disrespectfully to her master, Taliya was going to leap at him in any given second, it was a pretty funny sight, to be honest, Arthur was barely holding his laughter as he glanced at Taliya who displayed a serious face yet was in a funny pose.

”Speak your mind, no need for riddles.”

Still insisting he voice out his thoughts, Arthur could only shrug and dive into the matter. He wanted to know why they invited him but if the Demon Lord is going to insist then why not?