The Damned Demon

"What's with the long faces? Are you three going to think that I am going to get you all killed?" Asher asked as he stood in front of the five youngsters in his training room, his aura radiating confidence and authority.

The three demons felt his piercing gaze and immediately kneeled as they stammered in fear, "N-No, Your Highness..." The two Stoneborn brothers named Onyx and Graven cowered before the royal consort, wondering how he read their minds. They didn't want to offend him, but it seemed as if they did anyway.

"I-I would never d-d-d..." The goblin girl named Zizola couldn't even muster the courage to speak further as the pressure of standing so close to him was shaking her limbs. She realized she had unknowingly offended him and was frightened for her life.

She knew how nobles could easily end their lives for the slightest mistakes, and she had been trying so hard to not offend anyone after coming here. It was probably her bad luck that she ended up offending him.

The pair of siblings had a nervous expression and stood silently with their heads lowered. Still, they felt angry at these three for having such an opinion about someone as special and great as the royal consort.

Obviously, he was more than qualified to train them after passing the trial with flying colors and even achieving the impossible by defeating Hell Maiden.

Asher looked at them, taking in their fearful expressions. His sharp features hardened into a steely one as he said, "Let me make something clear first. Going forward, if any one of you lies to me, I won't be happy. And trust me when I say it won't end well for any of you if that happens."

The three of them uncontrollably shivered, especially Zizola, who had already started crying but didn't dare to let out a whimper.

Asher relaxed his expression, though his cold gaze still lingered on them, "Now, I don't give a fuck what weaklings like you think about my capabilities. But if you three want to survive the trial, you will do everything as I say, without question or doubt. Otherwise, I will guarantee that all of you will end up dead within a matter of seconds. Is that understood?"

The royal consort's words were like daggers, cutting through the air and leaving a trail of intimidation in their wake. His stance was firm, and his aura exuded a dangerous confidence that they didn't feel like questioning anymore.

The three of them shrunk their bodies as they mustered all the courage in their heart, "U-Understood, Your Highness..."

"Good. Now get up because I don't have all day to train you fools," Asher said as the three immediately got to their feet.

He then looked at the siblings whose names were Nereus and Thetis, sister of Nereus, "You two will keep an eye on these three and make sure they train till they drop whenever I am not there. If they don't, you two will report to me, understood?" Asher only planned to train them for an hour or two during the morning and use the rest of the time to learn under Duncan Doru.

"Yes, Master Asher!" The two siblings said energetically in unison with a deep bow, feeling honored that he gave such an important task to them.

The other three demons gulped, realizing they won't be able to catch their breaths for the rest of the week. Still, they felt that it would all be worth it if he could really help them.

Asher nodded as he said with his hands behind his back, "To pass the first trial in this tower is a cakewalk and not as terrifying or difficult as people make them to be. Even a low-level Soul Eater with a Common Bloodline can pass it easily as long as they know that simply fighting head-on is not the best way to approach it."

All five demons raised their heads with blinking expressions upon hearing him say that even a low-born Soul Eater could pass it. Zizola, Onyx, and Graven were the most surprised since they came from a Common Bloodline lineage. They had the lowest bloodline class possible, and even if they were mid-level Soul Eaters, they had zero hopes of passing the trial. They wouldn't have come here if not for their circumstances.

They also never knew any low-born who passed the first trial when they were just a low-level Soul Eater.

But they were interested to know what the royal consort meant by saying that "fighting head-on" was not the way.

"The reason I said the trial is fair to a certain extent is that the power of the spirits scales according to the strength of the candidate. Of course, the difficulty will continue to increase with each summoning, but that's not the point. The point is, theoretically, every candidate who enters that chamber has equal chances of passing the trial, be it someone having a Common Bloodline or a Legendary Bloodline," Asher explained, making the five demons feel enlightened, realizing they never thought of it that way.

This made them feel like they really stood a chance of passing the trial.

"But don't forget that the spirits in the chamber are not that dumb. They learn how to deal with us based on the number of people they fought. The chamber resets every fifty years, but unfortunately, they have years worth of knowledge to defeat those who aren't fully prepared," Asher warned, making them gulp, though they heard how easily the royal consort defeated six of them.

But again, not everybody could execute the same moves he did.

As for them, they only had to worry about defeating the first three spirits to pass the trial.

Asher crossed his arms and added, "But that is why training under me would be far from easy. I am going to test your limits and push you all past your breaking point for this entire week. It doesn't matter how many of your bones will break in the process; you all will keep pushing until I am satisfied," Asher firmly said, making Zizola and the two Stoneborn men wince, wondering if they would survive the royal consort's training, let alone the trial.

However, Nereus and Thetis had their eyes glowing, brimming with excitement that they were going to get personally trained by the royal consort himself.

Asher knew he would be devoting some of his precious time to training these weak demons, but he felt that it all would be worth it as long as his plan worked.

---

The second floor of the Tower of Hell was a stark contrast to the first floor. The walls were made of dark, polished marble that seemed to swallow any light that touched it.

The air was thick with a sense of foreboding and unease as if something terrible was lurking just out of sight. The floor was covered with dried marks of blood and seemed to absorb the sounds of footsteps, making it eerily silent.

Asher had entered the second floor and was wondering why not even a single soul was in sight. This just seemed like a scene that came right out of a ghost movie.

He was done with training the candidates and made his way to the second floor to finish the second trial and then go to Duncan to learn under him.

But he didn't expect things to be like this the moment he stepped foot on the second floor. Not even a single candidate who had qualified to enter the second floor could be seen here. It was as if they all magically disappeared.

However, this made Asher very wary about his surroundings since he felt that the trial of the 2nd floor, named the Phantom Passage, had probably started.

He didn't know the exact details of this trial since it was impossible to reveal the details of a trial, except the first, to someone who hadn't yet taken or witnessed it. This tower seemed to have mysterious abilities to make sure of that.

He could hear whispers and laughter all around him, which would unsettle any ordinary person, though this wasn't the first time he was in a situation like this. He guessed that these ghostly voices and sounds were not real.

He focused on his path ahead with his blade out, ready for anything. However, suddenly the surroundings in front of him dissolved into a beautiful garden.

The roses were in full bloom, and the trees were heavy with magical fruits. It was a stark contrast to the fog and darkness that surrounded him earlier.

With squinted eyes, he carefully walked into the garden, but as soon as he stepped inside, everything began to shift.

The flowers turned into thorns, and the trees started to bend and twist, becoming grotesque and frightening, while the sweet-looking fruits turned into poisonous, carnivorous giant fruits that threatened to devour him.

"Heh, who are you trying to trick?" Asher scoffed as he sent his ring blade flying, cutting down the carnivorous fruits and trees that tried to crush him. He wasn't scared in the least and smirked upon seeing his blade cutting through everything like paper.

They didn't even get to touch him, and within a matter of seconds, he had destroyed everything that tried to kill him.

The moment he did, the garden started to flicker and fade, though Asher didn't look surprised.

[ You have successfully completed the Phantom Passage ]

[ 5000 Life Crystals gained ]

A grand, sufficiently lit room with large open windows formed as his surroundings when a surprised, sweet voice sounded from behind, "How did you finish the trial so fast? That is not fair!"