The Demon

"What do you think you're doing?!" At first, an expression of utter disbelief crossed Asher's face, immediately followed by grotesque distortion and fury. His entire body trembled uncontrollably. A noble demon such as himself had actually been deceived by a lowly human! It was an outright disgrace! How could that human have known his true identity, and where had he found the nerve to report him?! Just how had that red dragon bewitched people's minds, driving someone with grievances against him to risk their very life to help him?! "You shameless, ungrateful Northlands rabble deserve to be slaughtered to the last! "Human, I will make you understand the consequences of angering a demon!" Asher's face grew increasingly hideous and twisted, and his frame beneath the gray robe shuddered violently. *Rrrrip—* The human skin across his body tore open abruptly, revealing obsidian spines, chitinous pincer claws, and a monstrous visage bristling with fangs. Asher had finally revealed his true form—he was a glabrezu! These demons were born from the souls of the treacherous. They practiced deceit and treachery wherever they went, often luring their victims into orchestrating their own demise. Asher's body swelled, bursting the gray robe to shreds, and his head, crowned with curved horns, smashed through the tavern ceiling. *Crash!* Dust and smoke instantly filled the tavern as debris rained down from the ceiling. The crowd shoved and scrambled in frantic flight, crying out in terror. "Run!" "What is that?!" "Aargh!" "Lowly mortals, hahahaha! Feel the terror! I will slaughter every last one of you! "You know nothing of the power of the Abyss!" The glabrezu let out a horrifying laugh, swinging its massive pincers to shear through victims who failed to escape in time, cleaving them in two at the waist. Surging Abyssal power radiated from its massive, grotesque body, striking soul-deep dread into all present. The tiefling soldiers of the peacekeeping squad raised their long rifles as if facing a mortal foe, aiming into the haze at the massive dark silhouette. The ogres and hobgoblins who had just been brawling grew dead serious, drawing pistols from their belts and firing continuously. "Open fire! Shoot that demon dead!" *Bang!* *Bang! Bang! Bang!* Gunfire erupted. A dense volley of bullets peppered the demon's body, only to ricochet off the glabrezu's thick carapace with sharp, metallic clatter. A glabrezu possessed immense physical might capable of tearing through anything. Had it not been for high-order magical wards suppressing spells within the city, it could have wielded despair-inducing illusions as well. They were potent spellcasters and ruthless warriors; even the bravest heroes harbored dread toward a glabrezu. Asher strode out from the smoke and dust, sneering, "Are you trying to tickle me? "Foolish mortals, how could you ever comprehend the grandeur of the Abyss!" He looked toward Raj, who was cowering behind the soldiers, trembling on the floor. Endless murderous intent gleamed in his murky, crimson eyes. "Human, our accounts will be settled! As punishment for a deceiver, I will make you watch as your body is torn to shreds!" "Aim for his eyes!" the tiefling peace officer ordered, raising his rifle. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* *Bang!* In an instant, another hundred rounds poured into the glabrezu's head, some even striking its eyes and forcing it back several steps. Asher raised his pincers to shield his face, plowing forward through the hail of fire while letting out hoarse roars. "You reckless mortals! I will destroy you completely! I will tear this Empire to the ground!" *Boom!* The glabrezu charged recklessly into the ranks, swinging its colossal pincers to cleave several tiefling soldiers in half. Yet the tieflings, hobgoblins, and ogres around him did not retreat. Adopting a loose formation, they continued firing at its weak points, while some hurled bombs. After prolonged military drill, such responses had become second nature. One ogre even hoisted a table as a shield and braced in front of him, bellowing, "Big bug! Ruk smash you flat!" *Crash!* The glabrezu slammed the ogre aside, crushed several more soldiers with its pincers, and barreled straight toward Raj. "Human—" His cover was blown; his mission to covertly subvert the Empire's order had failed. Now, Asher wanted nothing more than to slaughter this cursed mortal to vent his fury, and then get out of here! "No, don't kill me!" "Help!" Raj scrambled backward on all fours as he stared at the demonic monstrosity, but it was utterly futile. The glabrezu's horrific pincer loomed larger and larger before Raj's eyes. He could even see fresh blood smeared on its razor edges and smell the pungent reek of gore. Was he going to die here? He couldn't accept this. He hadn't collected his gold dinars yet, hadn't paid off his debts, hadn't earned his first-class citizen status... At the thought of being mangled into bloody pieces, Raj shut his eyes in terror, his trousers soaking wet. "Demon! "How dare you cause chaos on Coronation Day! This is a desecration of His Majesty!" A crisp female voice rang out, ringing with boundless wrath. The expected agony never came; Raj felt only an overwhelming heat. He gingerly opened his eyes. Flames coiled, ash drifted, and the majesty of a dragon permeated the air. Hovering midair was a young girl with draconic horns protruding from her brow. Crimson hair whipped wildly around her, and bottomless fury flared in her golden vertical pupils. Looking at her, one could almost see a gargantuan red dragon spreading its wings and roaring. She was the mistress of the Tower of Karmic Fire, His Majesty Cassius's pact-bound, the "Daughter of Dragonfire" of the Cinder Empire—Misha! "It's Lady Misha!" Raj gasped. As His Majesty's pact-bound, the Daughter of Dragonfire was said to hold rank equivalent to a duke. Raj had only ever seen figures of such stature in the pages of the Kingdom Daily. "Those who desecrate His Majesty shall be reduced to ash!" Misha extended a slender hand. Gossamer threads of flame surged forth, coalescing into a searing, ferocious tempest that tore toward the demon. *Boom!* The glabrezu's colossal frame crashed heavily into the wreckage. Vast swathes of charred black marred its body, its nigh-indestructible carapace on the verge of melting. Asher propped himself up with his pincers and glared at the girl, his scarlet eyes blazing with venom. A mighty demon like him had actually been injured by a mere mortal! An Abyssal gloom pulsed over Asher's form as he spat through gritted teeth, "You're that red dragon's thrall..." Misha did not answer. She merely watched the demon with cold detachment, crossing her hands. Fire elements within a hundred-meter radius converged, generating a colossal vortex of energy that resolved into a fireball as blinding and searing as the sun. That was Dragon's Breath! Asher sensed imminent doom. Brandishing his pincers, he leapt high into the air, desperate to slaughter the girl before the spell could fully manifest. Misha tilted her head up and pointed skyward. The terrifying energy was unleashed in an instant. *Rumble!* A pillar of brilliant white fire ripped through the air. The superheated column melted the hardened carapace on impact, incinerated the resilient Abyssal flesh, and punched straight through its thick chest. Misha showed no mercy. Lifting her finger, she swept the flame pillar upward, cleaving the demon's entire upper torso in half. "Aaaagh! "Mortal, you can never truly kill me! I will be reborn in the Abyss, and I will have my vengeance on that red dragon!" Amid agonizing shrieks, a thick mist of chaos poured forth from the wounds of the massive carcass. Blinding yellow light burst from the glabrezu's eyes and ears. Cracks spiderwebbed across its skin as a magnificent force unraveled its physical form. Yet just as that wicked soul prepared to return to the Abyss and reform within the blood pools, a power of Order intercepted and annihilated it. It was the Imperial Domain! Though the red dragon had been asleep for a long time, his power still blanketed this land, barring unwanted guests from entering or leaving. "Noooo—!" Looking upon the human phantom that had dissolved into powder, Misha sneered, "Abyssal mongrel, you're in His Majesty's domain." She turned around, dusted her hands with brisk claps, and fixed her golden eyes on the trembling Raj. "Well now, the nuisance is handled. "Tell me—what did it say to you?" Raj nodded frantically, the searing air rapidly baking his soaked trousers dry.