"Get out of there," Someone screamed to his left. It was the old man he stood with earlier. "That's the lad who lost his memory, isn't he?" Agashi heard another person ask.He felt energy bubbling within him and jumped away from the trajectory of the demon's blade with lightning speed, picking up a sword from the ground and running towards it."You can't take him, get out of there and let someone else handle that," the old man had a bit of annoyance in his voice."He's going to get himself killed."Agashi heard the murmurs spread among the men watching him.The demon's blow, now landed on the ground, did little to discourage it. It seemed particularly motivated to kill Agashi and pulled the axe from the ground with unreal agility."Kill the damned thing," Another voice rang out from the crowd as the murmurs grew louder."Ur'ul Thuk."The demon's face betrayed his anger at his missed blow, his axe raised for the second time as he aimed for the annoying human again."Mathos, that demon

The demon lord Urug sat upon a massive chair, carved from the jagged bones of vanquished challengers. His towering figure cloaked in a heavy, dark mantle that absorbed the weak light, making him appear as dark as the night itself. His skin was like charred armor, thick and ridged, a deep crimson almost black in the dim light. Two large, curved horns protruded from his forehead, spiraling back over his head, their tips sharp as spears. His eyes glowed a fierce red, burning with hate."I take it you have news. I shouldn't remind you how useless you are to me away from the council, Eredin," he snarled as the demon came into his line of sight."Apologies, my lord. I have news you'll want to hear. I came as soon as I heard," Eredin stammered, making a conscious effort not to meet Urug's gaze as he spoke."My lord, the first warning horn has been sounded," a demon walked in to announce, earning a nod from Urug."You better not be wasting my time with this. What is it? Spit it out?" Urug b

"You slept off? You know about..... there?" Agashi asked, pointing upwards, while trying to keep his gesture hidden from Alice."You don't have to be so fancy about it. Alice is my daughter and she knows everything about me, even though she never believed any of it," Roku said, eying his daughter before approaching Agashi."Why am I here? I didn't ask for any of this. I need to go home. How do I do that? You have to help me, please," Agashi begged, struggling with his restraints as he pushed towards Roku. Alice didn't let him."There is no leaving this place if you don't fulfill the responsibility of those markings," Roku blurted out, shutting Agashi up."What... what are you saying?" Agashi asked, his voice a weak whisper compared to what it sounded like seconds ago."Take a good look at these scars. Those marks on your skin were mine to wear in the past. You have no idea what you're up against but I'll explain it to you," Roku continued, the smile on his face had long disappeared, a

"Keep your shoulder down. We fight as a unit, and if you're going to fight with us, you'll have to learn how we fight," Alice barked at Agashi as he struggled with implementing the Lugina fighting stance."What's the point?" He shrugged, putting down his shield and letting his shoulders drop."Do not drop the stance," Reiki screamed at him, prompting Agashi to resume the stance, ignoring the painful ache in his muscles."Again," Alice barked, watching as Reiki put her best fighters through their paces. They would be the ones to accompany Agashi into demon territory."You know where he's headed, don't you?" Reiki asked her as soon as the last maneuver was practised."If the map he drew for us is any indication, I know he'll be in for a nightmare," she responded, throwing a nut in her mouth and chewing quietly."Do you think he's ready?" Reiki persisted, turning to inspect Agashi's form."That's enough for today," Alice yelled, the soldier nodded and walked off with their shields while