The sun was starting to creep out of sight now that we had made our way down into the crater. The city was filled with the sounds of people shouting and laughing.
"Do you know where we can find food and a place to eat?" I asked Nushi as we walked down a dirt path.
Demons were walking around us, and they were all staring at us in wonder, but none of them spoke to us. It was hard to tell if they were ignoring us or we were just scared to talk to us.
"Yes, we just have to ask anyone, and they will point us in the right direction. I could just dig it from someone's head, but it would be better to announce ourselves," Nushi explained, and then she reached out to touch a Demon that was passing by.
The woman's reaction was much different than I would have expected. She was terrified, and the dark blue-skinned woman looked at me with a pleading look.
"Lord, I have done nothing wrong!" The woman cried, and Nushi let go of the woman with large eyes and a hor
I took a bite out of the meat stick, and my mouth was hit with a sweet but gamey and rich taste. The meat was not what I had expected, but I was hungry, and the meat wasn't that bad."What do you think of the meat?" The Demon woman that had handed me the food asked me, but I put up a finger to get her to wait.The meat was chewy, and there wasn't much fat on it, so I was trying to empty my mouth before speaking."Not horrible, but a bit chewy. Still, I was starving, and the sweet sticky sauce that you put on it is perfect!" I explained after I was finally able to swallow the meat."Yes, the Gnoll tends to have a bit of a weird taste."The woman's words instantly made my mouth start to salivate. My stomach started to churn, and I had to fight to keep the food down."Are you okay?" Nushi tried to ask me, but I nodded my head yes, even though I was far from okay.The gnoll were humanoids, and the thought of eating anything human-shaped w
The building was nothing special from the outside. Most of the buildings I had seen walking through Crater City looked the same.Each of them had been poorly built from wood, but walking inside this house made me turn back around. I had to look to ensure that I was still in the same place."You looked shocked that the inside of our home doesn't match the sad attempt of a house's exterior, yes, no?"I turned around to find that Wanda was standing over by two lovely looking Demon women. I couldn't tell at first which one had spoken, but the one with long blonde hair gestured to a chair."Please, Lord, come sit down. It is an honor to have someone like yourself in our humble home! Can I fix you some tea?" The woman asked me politely, and she smiled brightly, making her eyes almost go entirely closed.The inside of the place was beautifully stained wood, and the house opened up into a sizable open concept kitchen and dining room. I could see a living r
The women mobbed Nushi and Howl briefly, but it ended quickly. Within minutes they broke away, and Thenia turned to me."What are you wanting to make?" The pleasant Demon woman asked.As she did, I became distracted, watching the kitchen knit itself back together. I had seen many strange things, but this was like watching time run in reverse.Chunks of debris down to the dust slowly started pulling themselves together. The cracks and seams of each thing sealed up as I watched.The whole scene made me forget Thenia's question and my hunger until the display was over. Also, watching the shards of glass reform to bottles as the spices stream back into them was oddly satisfying."You act as though you have never seen this before? How could you be a Demon Lord and never have witnessed Spatial Reversal Magic?" Peri asked in a slightly condescending tone, but I ignored it.Nushi spoke, which was nice because I didn't have a good answer to the quest
[View of Zack]Once the drop was closed, I looked around to ensure everyone was at a safe distance from me. Everyone was now starting to get off the ground, but some of the people still looked shaken.This wasn't Nushi's fault, but this might limit the number of people who want to join us. If this was the power of a middle-class E-Ranked Demon, I wouldn't want to know what power the higher ranks could exude.Making people want to say on the island was kind of the aim. Still, what happened was not my aim, but we didn't really need to be taking more.I activated my Fire Pact and rose into the air, closing my eyes. I could feel Nushi's presence southwest of me, the direction of home.[Nushi is back in the Keep in her own room.]Hearing Harold's voice spooked me, and my eyes snapped open. I had so many things on my mind that I had forgotten that he had access to a map of most of the island.'Thank you. The people seem to be o
"Are you saying that Calabro is a danger?!" I asked, but Nushi shook her head no.I relaxed, but only slightly.The severe look that Nushi had on her face said that the story was only getting started."As I listened, I tried to peer into Calabro's mind, but that's when something extremely strange happened. There was an extremely dark demonic presence unlike I had ever felt. Before I knew what was happening, I was sucked into four different dimensions, fracturing my consciousness," Nushi explained as I listened with rapt attention.I was no longer resting against the wall. Instead, I was sitting cross-legged in front of Nushi.I had a creeping suspicion of where this story was going, but I didn't want to interrupt her again. I would let her continue to explain, but my mind had started to race.Only one demon could do something as impossible as this sounded. Helsin Zero."Unfortunately for him, the mind is, and always has been, one of my specialties. I was able to force all the dimensio
Nushi and I headed from her old room out onto the balcony. The same one I remembered first walking up to come visit Nushi.It wrapped around the inside of the Keep, but it had lost its luster. The place didn't look the same as the first time I had come in.The floor was now just wood; the grass that had been there before was now nothing more than memory. The rest of the Keep also looked plain, wood and stone.As the two of us ran down the stairs, I turned my head to Nushi and asked, "Does this mean Noel was responsible for the way the keep looked before?"Seeing this now made me wonder how Mex and her had been fooled by Nixi for so long."No, my father can also use Spatial Magic, and he was responsible for the entire interior of the Keep. Now the only thing he keeps up is the bathing room since Noel is more capable at this type of Magic than dad," Nushi explained as we opened and then ran out the front door.The answer that Nushi gave me was a surprise, but it made sense. I had seen h
"Listen, I just want to thank you all for helping me out and getting this far," I said, but Perita spoke up, pushing some of her long red hair out of her face."I could hardly say that we have helped you. Since you have come, we have constantly placed our burdens on you. At first, you accepted to all of our surprises," Perita explained, and the other women nodded along."I, for one, have been one of the biggest thorns, but I am thankful for the person that you have turned out to be," Nixi said as she came walking down the stairs.The women all started to voice my praise, and that was not what I had intended. Luckily, Clesh seemed to notice the uneasy look on my face and stood up, quieting down the others."I think what Zack meant was for the work we have been doing. We should all enjoy that, and most of us should be getting to bed. Tomorrow is our last day on this island, and we all have much left to do," Clesh told the women like she was the oldest among them.Surprisingly, the woman
Couldn't a man just eat in silence? Not in this reality, it seemed, but the truth was that I didn't have a good answer.Another ordinary chair was empty at the table, which Libra used to join us as Mary and I ate. Libra told me to finish eating before I answered, and I was thankful for that.I divided my time by filling my face with large chunks of meat I sliced and cutting smaller chunks. I tossed them over my shoulder, and I could hear one of the snakes snap it out of the air each time.Soon, the plate was empty, and I still had no answer. Mary had her arms loosely around my neck with her head on my shoulder resting.Even her snakes looked tired but satisfied. I would have to take her up to bed after I was done talking and then take myself to bed. I was exhausted."I am not really sure what to do about the rings as they are, and I am. We will have to bring them along with us until I am strong enough to take control of the other Astrals," I explained as I took a napkin from the table