Chapter 183: I’m Not Noble

“Oh. That’s an Endrasen.” I pointed at the massive Level 80 bird nesting at the very peak of the mountain.The creature looked up at me and screeched a warning.

My eyes and aura flared with power, and the message was well received.

The endrasen leapt up, then hurtled towards me with a massive sonic boom. I flew out of the way, but the bird obviously had wings too. It very easily kept up with my maneuver, and then kicked with those massive claws that were outsized even for its already large body.

I blocked with Devilcalibur at the last second, but was still sent hurtling down like a meteor. The force of it dented my armor, and seeped into my muscles. I was already puking blood before I’d even landed. I crashed into the mountain face with a powerful impact that shook my whole body, and ruptured so many of my organs. A thunderous sound boomed out along with a massive dust cloud. My ears rang within the massive crater that I’d made. The trees that were in the way were outright pulverized, while others still saw their root network severely damaged just from the secondary shockwaves. A shadow covered me as I soon found that the endrasen was already descending for its follow-up strike.

“Oh fuck–” I quickly sacrificed my blood to heal the damage to my body. I continued to melt through my reserves to extract myself from the crater as fast as possible. I jumped out of the way of the drop kick at the very last moment, but I knew that wasn’t the end. I quickly shielded my torso with Devilcalibur, and just in time, the ground erupted into spikes!

I was tossed up by the force, and pierced in my places. I found myself hurtling through the air again, and quickly oriented myself with my wings. The endrasen had focuses embedded in between the ‘fingers’ of its claws, and I knew them to be for earth magic. The creature had already leapt up and was chasing after me again through the air.

“Shit–” I angled myself down, and descended as fast as I could. I faced the sky and flapped my wings, causing me to hurtle down faster. The enemy swooped lower in response, but I thankfully managed to make it to the ground first, even if that ground was littered with spikes taller than I was. I landed with my hooves, and wasted no time to keep on running. The endrasen descended with another massive drop kick, shredding through its own spikes to try and land right atop me. But I wasn’t embedded in the mountain this time, so I dodged with a good margin, even if I had to forcefully smash through some of the spikes to get there.

Another wave of earthen spikes followed once the bird truly touched down. I jumped up and slashed with Devilcalibur, able to avoid all of them this time. I did not linger in the air, already gone by the time the endrasen had gone back up to try and catch me in its domain.

The same spectacle followed, with the hero-rank bird dropping down and summoning a wave of spikes to try and catch me over and over. The endrasen tried to cut me off, but my tail allowed for quick turns, and my body was well-equipped to bulldoze through such hastily made spikes. I shot magic along its path down, but the sheer wind its wings produced afforded it some defense. Plenty of projectiles still made it through, however, and the monster screeched as I was able to do some damage. Countless landslides roared down the slope, as the mountain bore the scars of our battle.

I dodged another attack, firmly solidifying that we were in a stalemate. It was harder to gauge with only vague reports and potentially exaggerated stories, but now it was clear I was still no match for a Level 80 bird in the skies, even if it was likely one of the worst fliers of its kind. I was confident I could beat it in land, but the monster never lingered here long. I took out my bow and arrow as a last resort, but it was harder to hit my opponent with those projectiles, than with the sheer mass I could produce with my other elements.

I… didn’t have what it took to beat an endrasen.

I could only gnash my teeth in frustration as I was forced to retreat.

The pain, the humiliation. It dared to nearly kill me!

I swore that I would be back as I ran down the mountain under the continuing barrage of that same endrasen falling from the skies over and over.

It finally relented once I’d fled all the way to the neighboring mountain.

I glared in impotent rage as the predator flew back to its peak.

I and Granuel suddenly appeared within a thick canopy. Places like these would be where I set up my teleportation anchors from now on, I decided. My tests had shown that trying to teleport into an already occupied space would at least inform me that such was the case. The magic would be unstable, and I would know. So the only problem left was if someone staged an ambush right where I would reappear, hence why I chose a hidden but decently roomy space.

A canopy.

I dropped from several stories high, before setting Granuel on the ground.

My friend looked at the surrounding forest, and I did the same.

We quickly found the nearest road, and soon, we were on our way to the city.

“I could've done this on my own, you know,” I commented as we drew closer. “I don’t even have to meet this Kobarin. I can just go straight to the Royal Capital, and tell ‘em what for!”

Granuel’s expression grew worse and worse as I spoke. It was funny. "That's a bad idea."

"Nah. Come on. Picture this. 'DO NOT FEAR. I AM HERE TO HELP.’ I’ll say that, and then they’ll know that they should not fear, and I am here to help!” I spread my wings wide. “I can still do it! Watch!"

"Please don't!” Granuel pleaded, alarmed. “You might actually do it! That would definitely cause a diplomatic incident, and then we wouldn't have been able to work with them here in the north.”

“Eh. Not my problem. If the rod up their ass goes that deep.”

“But it would be to Edengar's advantage if we get divided! Is that what you want!?”

I stared at him blankly. I only wanted to make a joke, but shit got serious fast. "No. But I'm not going to bow and scrape for the scraps of anyone. I care not for their favor."

“I know you won't. And you don’t have to. That's why I'm here, isn’t it? To smooth things over. We all want to wipe Edengar off the face of this continent.”

“Yeah." I clapped him on the back. "I do."

We made our way along the road. Granuel talked to the many people we encountered, exchanging genuine pleasantries, and gathering a lot of useful information about our destination. Meanwhile, I got a lot of stares and murmuring. I only waved at some, occasionally said ‘Hey!’, and outright ignored most of them.

My friend could take the spotlight today. That was the entire point.

The walls of Kobarin City eventually came into view. Granuel led us to the gates, and then the priority lane for nobles and the like.

He then spoke to the guards. “Greetings! I am Granuel Roses! The head of The Angelslayer Entreprises, and the President Mayor of Arisen City! And I present to you, Demon Queen Haell Zharignan!”

People were already staring at us. Now the guards didn’t know how to react.

“Here are our documents,” Granuel added. Among them were some very official missives from the council of Southern New Grandera itself.

one of the guards snorted quietly, glancing at me. I waved at the centaur man, and he paled.

“Everything is in order. Thank you,” the inhex guard bowed. She had looked all the documents over carefully, despite how my face served as better identification than anything. “On behalf of Duchess Kalyn Kobarin, we welcome you to Kobarin City.”

“Likewise,” Granuel gave a slight bow in return.

We were granted entry, and I smiled at the typical smell of a city. It was quite clean for one this big. There were stalls and predominantly weapon stores nearby, as these were surely sought-after spots. I could see multiple trails of black smoke rising from every direction, as the many forges of the city were already hard at work.

“Wanna look around first?” I smirked at the clearly interested Granuel.

“We but a messenger has definitely gone ahead to inform the duchess we’re here already .”

“So?”

“She might be waiting for us!”

“Eh. That's on her. We’ve never made any appointment.”

“Uh, didn't that... Ania Kobarin invite you.”

“She did,” I confirmed. “ But I never actually accepted the invitation. Instead, I was vague and mysterious.” I twirled my fingers in mystery.

"Ah. So you were annoying. Got it."

"Hey!"

“You do have a point, though. I wanna look around… too…”

I was already running for the food stalls.

We walked into the Noble District come noon. The streets were instantly cleaner and far less crowded. I glanced at the higher-end shops available here, but we had business to attend to. I’d take Moonwash to see them with me sometime.

“Excuse me. You are the Demon Queen Haell Zharignan, correct?” a well-dressed kobold man suddenly hailed us.

“Yes. That’s me,” I confirmed stiffly.

“I was correct. I knew I could not be wrong, with an appearance as striking as yours.” He made an elegant bow. “I am known as Count Daniel Draka. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Right,” I shook his proffered hand.

He stiffened a little. “It is just the right time, and I was thinking of grabbing lunch. Would you be so kind as to join me?”

“No. I have somewhere to be. Have fun, though! The food here’s been fantastic!”

A small part of his inner-frown showed. “I see. We are proud of our cuisine, and the sheer variety of it. The world is a vast and diverse place, and we are lucky to have experienced a larger slice of it. But I will not hold you any longer. I am sure your business here is very important. In which case, when might we be able to meet in a more appropriate setting? My recently widowed father, the Duke Zander Draka, has told me so much about you and what you have done for our cause. I would love to discuss how you may be integrated into our army for our shared fight against the colonists of Edengar.”

I grabbed Granuel and placed him in between us, like a shield.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, sorry,” I laughed, patting his shoulders. “This here is my…” “Friend,” I decided. “This is my friend who takes care of all the official stuff for me. Whether it be business stuff, ruling stuff, or military stuff. You can make an appointment with him if you have something important to discuss.”

Granuel lightly sighed, but quickly extended his hand to shake. Daniel took it unsurely.

“It is nice to meet you. I am President Mayor Granuel Roses. We are very interested in your proposal, so if you could set up an appointment with the Duke Zander Draka, then I would be most grateful.

“I see. Well, I would love to discuss our future cooperation, but as the highest authority of your faction, it would only be right for Demon Queen Haell Zharignan to be the one to meet with the Duke, so I must again invite her to attend our meeting.”

“Ah. I’m too busy. You know, killing all these colonists and all. It’s hard work.”

“And we are grateful for all that you do. I only ask that you attend one small meeting, because surely, losing a day or two to secure our cooperation will strike a greater blow against them in the long run.”

I stared at the kobold man. Our conversation had already attracted a crowd of gossiping nobles. I tried to think of a proper answer. I certainly come up with any number of responses, but we would only continue to spin around in circles if I did, like a dog chasing its own tail.

“No,” I finally settled on. “I already told you, come to Granuel if you want to set up any kind of deal.” “High-level politics is a mask of words and gestures that I am just utterly uninterested in. I find it at best, if not at worst. So expect me to refuse most invitations.

I heard gasps all around.

“My Dragons.”

“Did she just insult the son of Duke Don?”

“No, I believe she insulted all of us.”

“This is supposed to be a queen?”

“Of some hovel, more like.”

“Did she not at least receive any sort of education?”

“This is certainly not the right way to refuse an invitation.”

“You will regret this,” Daniel finally said after the vultures around us had said their piece.

“Challenge me to a fight anytime. But try anything underhanded… and I’ll still escalate it to a direct and physical fight.”

I faced another wave of complaints and condemnations. And then I just left.

We arrived at the Kobarin Manor. Duchess Kalyn was already there to greet us, and she was a tyranight woman who I could sense was around the same level as me.

“Demon Queen Haell Zharignan, and President Mayor Granuel Roses. It is an honor to have you both here.”

“Thank you,” I gave her a winning smile. “And likewise.”

“No, no,” Granuel protested lightly at the same time. “The honor is ours.”

“I’m glad you think so.” She chuckled, then led us inside. We went through a lush and beautiful garden on our way to the left wing building. “Did you enjoy your tour of my city?”

I just allowed Granuel to answer. I was even warier about interacting with nobles now, after how annoying that last exchange had been. And here I thought the politicians of the south were already annoying!

“Yes. It was wonderful. I am glad to have seen and experienced your culture. I saw so many things that I hadn’t ever encountered before. I was particularly intrigued by the weapons you had for sale and in production.”

“Why, thank you. It is our specialty. I’m glad that you like that city that I’ve built.”

“Yes, truly. It’s made me wish to be a part of it, in some way.”

I smelled the roses while the two continued to make small talk, and then eventually, more serious business proposals.

“Well,” Kalyn said as we got ourselves seated in a proper meeting room. There was a table filled with snacks and tea in between our opposite couches. “I would love to speak more with Granuel Roses here about our future partnerships, but I take it that you came here for a different reason, right Haell?”

“You thought correctly,” I nodded. “Rather, your… granddaughter, yes? Ania Kobarin told me to come here and get your help with the other nobles and stuff.”

“Yes. I have heard as much.” She set down her own tea. “I have to ask, however, so that I may better aid you. What exactly are you here to do?”

“I just want to explore the place, maybe visit every so often. Granuel surely wants to do business, and that’ll help me too, so I hope that be set up. But the only thing that would really concern you and me, would be . I have a grudge against Edengar, and yours is another front upon which I could grind them to dust. It’d be great if we could cooperate. If not, then I’ll still do it, even if I have to stand alone.”

The silence did not stretch long.

“Very good. It is as I expected. So very well, in this I shall help you. I hope you won’t take offense if I secured a few benefits from my house in doing so?”

“It depends. What exactly do you mean? In the south, their armies invite me to their wars, and I go if I feel like it. That’s our arrangement.”

“So vague and unreliable… but the Southern New Grandera has definitely pushed Edengar farther back than we have this past decade. And that’s certainly thanks to you. So I suppose we’ll just have to deal with it. Ah, and rest assured. I will not implicate your name with anything, but I will still be our liaison to you, and once you start taking their cities, I’m sure that some of that prestige will trickle down to us. Other houses will naturally come to the Kobarin Dukedom for help, which will naturally give our words more weight.”

“Is that so?” I thought. “Well, I’m not dealing with that shit myself, so fine. Take what benefits you can, but make sure you don’t make promises in my stead.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She smiled kindly. Her lethal fangs showed. “I’m glad we were able to come to an understanding. Would you like to go now? I am sure I can finalize the rest with Granuel here.”

“What? Chasing me out?” I joked.

“Not at all. If you would like to listen in on our business dealings, then I shall order an extra portion for our lunch and dinner.”

I laughed. “Nah. No thanks. Thank you for the offer though, but I’m out.”

She gave a chuckle of her own as I made my way out of the room. “That granddaughter is still too inflexible. She needs to learn that rules and traditions can be bent, for the right reasons.”

I heard chatter coming from one room as I walked through Pandemonium’s many corridors. I popped over to go have a look, and there I saw a cozy neon lounge where the Demon Aspires had come to hang out. Ragnar was reading a book, Marcus eating, and Larah throwing darts with her one good hand.

I knocked on the wall. “Hey, how’ve you guys been settling in?”

“Ah! Haell!" Larah missed her shot. Her eyes darted around, before looking at me. "Hello, hey."

“We’re doing perfectly fine!” Marcus claimed, almost shouting.

Ragnar hesitated, but at least gave me a likely more accurate account. “It’s still a big relief whenever we go outside, but the constant dread is manageable once we’ve stayed here long enough.”

“Hmmm…” I took a seat beside them, and helped myself to some of the snacks. “So, still want to be a demon?”

“Yes!” Marcus confirmed. “This is nothing. We’re ready to start that training you mentioned!”

I winced. “You know… I’ve been thinking about it, but honestly, you really still don’t know what being a demon is. I can you now, but you’ll probably regret it once you find out and decide that this is a bad idea, actually. It’s so bad, that no one in their right mind would knowingly do it.”

“Then, what if… you tell us?” Larah suggested.

“It is hard to just believe and accept that it’s really bad, when we really don’t know any of the specifics,” Ragnar admitted.

I thought about it. I thought about it. I had asked Pandemonium if these three could be trusted, and it had rumbled

I felt bad. I wonder if Marcus, Ragnar, and Larah had realized yet that here, Pandemonium could see everything. I did not fear betrayal from anyone within this place that was once my prison. And still, I didn’t trust my friend’s assessment completely.

Pandemonium was young. It was a completely different kind of being from all of us. I didn’t know if I could truly trust its judgment of someone’s character.

I refused to do the assessment myself by having Pandemonium narrate their personal lives. That would be too invasive.

So I asked the others. My friends and my family had come to know the Demon Aspires over the past months.

Elfrafim totally and completely empathized with their deepest-held desire. She scolded me, teary-eyed, to turn them into demons right this instant. As if it were that easy!

Berry held her hand and agreed. Moonwash thought it was an interesting project. Granuel was busy and indifferent. Mom and Dad trusted my judgement. Grandpa told me to just go for it! Angerly gave her approval when she’d come to visit at my request. Luine finally showed proper caution and investigated them! She didn’t find anything damning, but that woman would forever be unsure.

The rest didn’t really have all that much to say.

The decison was left up to me in the end. It was only right. I was the Progenitor.

“The blood of demons contain a great amount of mana.” I stabbed my wrist and them. “I’m sure you know what this means already. You have seen the goblins. Their existence is pitiful to the extreme. I didn’t lie when I said that you would experience torment like no other to become a demon. But what I did not mention is that this torment will never stop. It will stay with you. It will poison your thoughts forever. You can never run from it. You will lose yourself. You will be driven mad.”

I had bled upon the prison that once existed beneath these lofty halls. My captors had taken samples of it. That information had surely gotten out already.

So I took the risk, I braved the plunge, and told them that truth.

“This…”

“Then…”

“How are you fine?” Larah wondered, horrified.

“Through great, constant, and unending effort. Even now, I want to rip your face off. I want to pull out your intestines and eat them. And every second that I don’t, is an exercise of restraint. I’m a woman forever starved, unwilling to eat the feast that exists in every soul I meet.”

They looked sick. They did not wish to get tortured by me that day. Just as I’d told them multiple times, that it was a bad idea. They should have just taken my word for it. They should’ve taken the gold.

They could still have it, if they wanted.

“Thank you…?” Marcus tried to hold his invisible soul, and I cackled.

I never even got the chance to tell them about their own personal hell that would forever burn them. But hey, if they were to become imps, then that problem would at least not exist for them. They’d still be among the strongest creatures for their level, if they could control it.

I teleported into the sparse canopy of a desert tree. I jumped up from there and flew above the shrublands. It only took a minute before I could see the ocean on the horizon. It glittered like a jewel, and was only getting closer. Soon, the Royal Capital of Granland came into view. It was a massive coastal city that only only built taller the closer you got to the center. I could already see the glimmer of its golden palace from here.

I landed near the front gates, where the people looked, but didn’t bother me all too much. I had already come here a few days before to drop Granuel off. The people here were also very used to the constant hustle and bustle of a trading capital, so the many traders and wagons waiting for their chance to get in or out of the city would definitely not stop just because a demon descended from the sky.

I went through the formalities of having the guards check my ID, and they waved me in after only giving the card a quick poke. I entered, and the noise immediately got worse. There was a lot of for sale, and the smell of butchered seafood wafted out, even when most of those stores along this street were properly enclosed, and the meat well-frozen.

I took a quick walk through the city. The food, the stores, the people, everything was very diverse. I sampled a fair number of stalls as I squeezed my way deeper in. A wagon pulled by a killhound swerved, and caused the throng of people to shift and compress further. The crowd dispersed again, and I got some breathing room. A pair of finx children played, and I made sure to step around them. I saw a decked-out korak warrior, and I really wanted to challenge him to a duel to see what all the fuss about them was about, but I had an appointment waiting for me, so I refrained.

A group of passed above, so I did the same and flew like the bat-like people. Flying allowed in the city, but with a speed limit. It was still faster than navigating the ground, and soon I arrived at the Noble District.

They certainly made it bigger here in the royal capital. From the massive malls, to the carefully cultivated artistic parks that you could get lost in. The range of luxury goods on display was unmatched by any other city I’d visited. I really wanted to take Moonwash and see this place, but I decided to wait until at least today’s meeting was over. I didn’t really want to bother her with any of the machinations these nobles might pull. We could see the stores later.

Sure enough, a few nobles still came up to solicit me for this thing or another, but I smoothly told them to can it and go through my agents. Granuel had already set an organization up in Northern New Grandera, where I could redirect any and all attempts to contact me. They may also talk to Duchess Kalyn Kobarin if they wished. They should know this, but they still tried to meet with me personally.

I went straight to the Chamberpan restaurant.

“Ah, Demon Queen Haell Zharignan, correct?”

The steward at the front said once I landed.

“Yes. As you can see.”

“That I can. You have a reservation. Would you like to go there now? President Mayor Granuel Blank and Duchess Kalyn Kobarin are already waiting for you in booth 209.”

“Thank you,” someone escorted me to our meeting place, and there I found Kalyn and Granuel as the steward had claimed.

I ordered a whole lot of food without even looking at the price, and then the three of us began to hash out our final plans for the day.

“Presenting! Demon Queen Haell Zharignan. President Mayor Granuel Roses! And Duchess Kalyn Kobarin!”

The Chamberlain finished her shouting as the gates to the throne room opened. The three of us walked along the red carpet, under the scrutinizing gaze of a hundred nobles. The two people beside me kneeled once we were far enough, but I only nodded at today’s hosts. It was almost hilarious how such a small gesture could cause such a ripple to spread through the gathered people.

I continued to meet the calm eyes of the king and queen on the twin thrones. I knew only one of them was the true ruling monarch, and it was the fountan king. But human queen held nearly as much authority, only the king’s orders could more easily override her own if he wished.

“You may rise,” King Alvis Granola said.

But I was already arisen.

“We thank you for coming here today,” Queen Efin Granola continued, unbothered. “We have heard of your valiant deeds, Demon Queen Haell Zharignan, and they have heartened us from halfway across the continent. We have seen reports of the industry that follows in your wake, President Mayor Granuel Roses, and we are joyful to see that you have begun to lend your vast expertise to this nation.”

“Thank you.”

“You honor us with your words.”

“Duchess Kalyn Kobarin,” the king then addressed the well-decorated tyranight woman beside me. “You have done well in negotiating with this powerful force from across the continent. You have secured our cooperation, and safeguarded the interests and safety of our realm. I have heard how well your duchy has been doing lately, in your trade with the dwarf-harpy duarchies, and the production of weapons for the frontlines. We have read your preliminary reports on how your cooperation with the Angelslayer Conglomerate may further improve production, and we have found your proposal to be promising and worth pursuing.”

“Likewise, the detailed records you have provided about the Demon Queen’s military might have been very enlightening,” the queen added. “We have once again found your proposal on how to coordinate her with our armies to be acceptable. As such, with the Lords and Ladies of the court as witness, come forward President Mayor Granuel Roses and Demon Queen Haell Zharignan to sign the contracts for our future partnership.”

The two of us went forward. There were two sets of contracts, and I allowed Granuel to check on his big business contract first and sign it. Afterward, he looked over mine, confirmed that everything was in order, and then I finally signed the much shorter contract that never actually made a single promise.

It was vague, and wishy-washy, full of pointless platitudes that only sounded good. But that was all it needed to be, because I had already demonstrated how good of an ally I could be in their sister nation.

Some in the audience inevitably mumbled their offense about how we dared to double-check their majesties, or even them. But their monarchs themselves did not take kindly to their words, and they shut up after one rebuke.