Eternal Thief

The following day, the tightly shut doors of the Royal Demon Institute shimmered in bright symbols before they were slowly parted, revealing a vast road.

Thereby, carriages with swift speed suddenly emerged and exited the gates one after another. There were a total of five luxurious black carriages moving without any beasts.

After they left the Royal Demon Institute, the carriages turned invisible to the naked eye!

Furthermore, there was a golden emblem of Baphomet's face with a blue sphere revolving between its horns. Anyone will have to lower their head if they see this symbol because it is the emblem of the Imperial Demon Family!

Inside the carriage in the middle,

Ronan sat as he looked at another masked demon with white eyeballs, twisted gray horns, and a slim build. It was Ronan's birth guardian, Black Demon.

Just as Ace planned, after meeting with Bodach and getting his approval, everything went exceptionally smoothly, and Black Demon also came on time to pick him up.

Seeing the carriages leaving the Royal Demon Institute, Ace couldn't help but feel anticipation for the Imperial Domain, which was quite close.

He suddenly looked at Black Demon, who kept staring at him without speaking, and coldly asked, "What is it?"

Black Demon could be said closest to Ronan and think of him as a close friend, but he would never say it because of their status difference, and Black Demon also will never dare to call an Imperial Prince his friend unless he wants to die because of treason.

These birth guardians were like absolute loyal slaves of the Imperial Demon Family and could never betray them or move against them. They all were trained Killing Weapons that would protect their master at any cost.

Black Demon's husky voice rang exempt of any emotions, "It been a long time since I have last seen Your Highness. You have grown."

"Of course, I would grow. Or why would I need to go into that damn commoner's den?" Ronan disdainfully retorted.

He always looked down on the Royal Demon Institute because the demons there were far below their status. Yet, the imperial family members like him had to go there and live between them and interact with them daily.

Furthermore, Ronan hated demons like Clouse and Bodach, who didn't know their place and didn't bow their heads and think of themselves as an equal and even better than him just because they were a little bit powerful.

Yet, he couldn't change these customs or even challenge them, as a matter of fact, unless he became the ruler himself.

This was even more ridiculous because the current Demon Emperor was relatively young compared to the previous rulers, and this won't be wrong to say he was just getting started. He only ruled for over 1,000 years.

They still didn't have any crown prince because the children were relatively young and didn't have the qualification to be a crown prince.

According to the Demon Race's Ancient Custom, a Demon Emperor ruled the race for 10,000 Years if he didn't die for some other reason, and afterward, they had to select the new Demon Emperor whether they liked it or not.

Even more strange, this custom had never been broken in the history of the Demon Race!

However, Ace or even Ronan didn't understand where the previous Emperor and his other children went.

According to Ronan, after every new demon emperor was crowned, the previous Emperor and his family members vanished from the historical records, and no one talked about them. It was taboo.

Most people believed that they were all killed by the ruler, so they won't be able to challenge the new ruler ever, and it would also spare them the opportunity for rebellion.

All in all, the Imperial Demon Family was shrouded in mystery, and everything was related to one place, the Demon Temple!

No one lived there, but it was a place that was forbidden for anyone, and only the Emperor had the right to enter.

The more Ace knew about this mysterious place, the more he felt pressure because this place was simply too mysterious, and going there would be even more dangerous than infiltrating the Imperial Domain on his own.

Ace suddenly thought of something as he questioned Black Demon, who had turned mute, "What is the situation in the domain? How are my brothers taking my abrupt comeback?"

Black Demon replied truthfully, "The news about you coming back was not spread yet and only known by a handful of people, including the His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, and the Empress. But when you enter the domain, it won't be long before the news spread.

"As for the situation in the domain, except for the preparation of the Ancient Alliance Gathering, nothing out of the ordinary."

Ace's eyes narrowed when he heard the last part, "What kind of preparation?"

After the Elemental Orb, he was most interested in this gathering, which was not going to be peaceful.

Black Demon revealed, "They were going to send the selected participants to the three forbidden countries for two years!"

Ace's eyes narrowed when he heard this because the three forbidden countries were quite dangerous for those participants, even with their cultivation. But it wasn't a surprise either since that place was suitable for training and gaining experience.

Furthermore, the three forbidden countries might be just a small part of the demon race's preparation, and that place was competently isolated so that they might have some other goals.

Afterward, Ace didn't question anymore since Ronan never spoke much with Black Demon, and he didn't want to change that.

An hour later, those invisible carriages entered a misty plain.

This was the first barrier surrounding the Imperial Domain, and only with speak formations could one escape this mist.

Furthermore, this mist was just a part of a massive Grae-7 formation called the Myriad Demonic Ghost Maze, and it was never breached in the history of the demon race.

After traveling in that mist on a peculiar pathway filled with turns and strange twists, Ace finally saw the fog getting thinner and thinner, and when Ace saw that ahead of them was nothing but a gloomy wasteland, he was astonished.

Because even he couldn't tell if it was reality or an illusion because the feeling it quite real.

But Ace knew it was a killing area of the Myriad Demonic Ghost Maze, and anyone who stepped into it would have one end, death!

However, before their carriages could enter this killing area, a dark slit suddenly appeared right in the air before it opened like a tear in the space!

Yet, the carriages didn't stop and successfully entered this tear before it closed just as it appeared.

Ace's vision blurred for a moment, and when it came back, he saw that he was no longer in the mist or there wasn't any gray wasteland in front.

The carriages were moving on a beautiful road, and a few miles ahead of them were towering golden gates and an immeasurable wall.

'The Imperial Demon Domain!' Ace's eyes shimmered with ecstasy when he saw the destination so close.

The invisible barrier on the carriages also vanished at this moment.

Thereupon, they soon reached the closed golden gates, and when they were only a mile away from it, black symbols suddenly started to shine on it, and it slowly started to part, opening the gap just enough for the carriages to pass through.

It wasn't fully opened. Only a person with Demon Emperor status could make this Imperial Gates fully open for its welcome!

Nevertheless, if Ronan weren't present in this carriage, this gat would've even opened this much, and a throughout investigation would be waiting for them before they could enter another passage.

When the carriages crossed the gates, they slowly closed before they vanished from plain sight, and only walls could be visible now.

Ace in the carriage felt his entire world change when they cross the gates.

The first thing he saw was a beautiful palace on the horizon, and right behind this magnificent palace was an outline of a long pillar that was simply too long as its edge was covered with clouds. It was the Demon Temple, the tallest building on the entire continent.

The Imperial Domain was divided into Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern Palace Areas, and in the center was the Emperor Palace, where the Imperial Family resided. The Demon Temple was also in the Emperor Palace.

Except for the Emperor Palace, the other areas were overseen by Imperial Demon Council and the Imperial Demon Knights.

The Emperor Palace was forbidden to everyone; without permission, no one could step foot there.

Only the most loyal servant families of the Imperial Family were allowed there who worked for them for generations and absolutely loyal.

The carriages entered the Southern Palace Area when these other four carriages broke the formation, and only Ronan's carriage remained, which was going toward the Emperor Palace!