The Damned Demon



The soft glow of the blood moon graced the sandy shores of Naiadon, casting long shadows that danced around the lively figure of Callisa. The baby Kraken was immersed in her play, sending out dark green flames from her pincers and watching in fascination as they licked at the chilly air while Asher and Isola were watching.

Asher had told Rowena that she can take care of the affairs in the north while he would stay here for a while to play with Callisa.

He felt playing with Callisa should deepen their connection and not let Isola gain the upper hand. It also did feel amusing to watch her do silly things on her own. He wondered if he would feel the same if he was to raise his own kid? For a certain reason, Rowena's face flashed in his mind since he knew one of his duties involved giving her a heir.

He still didn't know what to think about it since he felt he was far from ready to become a father and didn't want to be one either. But he was not worried since he still had time to think things through.

Isola was sat beside Asher, her eyes fixed on Callisa, repeatedly blinking as if trying to dispel a mirage. She was still processing the fact that Caliisa had a dual nature mana circuit.

It was verified by her parents and other experts, as they discovered that Caliisa harbored an extraordinary biological switch within her mana circuit, allowing her to alternate between water and fire elemental pathways every twelve hours. It was as if the laws of nature had been rewritten specifically for this creature.

She couldn't help but steal a glance at Asher as she thought about this.

She felt it made sense why Callisa didn't want to enter the sea after sunset. 

She also felt that yesterday Callisa must have panicked after not understanding the sudden changes that took place in her body.

But now that Callisa had gotten used to her unique body, Isola felt relieved.

Asher, meanwhile, seemed unaffected by this revelation. He was more interested in how powerful Callisa would become when she grows up. He had never heard of a newborn beast who was already a Soul Reaper out of the box.

Even newborn dragons would be strong as a Soul Warrior at most. And the fact that a Kraken could live at least a staggering 1000 years made him wonder about how powerful Callisa's bloodline was. 

But what made him feel most satisfied was that Callisa could enter his Damned Dimension if he wanted to. 

This meant that he could summon her whenever he wanted, and since she was not a Damned Soul, she would be able to fight at full strength beside him. 

However, he knew he could only summon her in situations where there won't be any witnesses left behind since he couldn't let anyone else know for now that he could summon an undying Kraken to fight alongside him.

However, Isola felt that maybe she might have misjudged Asher a bit and he didn't seem as thoughtless as she thought.

But she felt maybe a rogue like him could be a different person towards their beast companion.

Asher's rich baritone suddenly disrupted her thoughts, "We should get going, princess," he declared, standing up. His voice was curt, hinting no room for argument.

Isola's sapphire blue eyes, which held a light hint of melancholy, widened.

The serene moments watching Callisa play had made her lose track of time. She turned towards Asher, a low sigh escaping her lips, "Can't we stay a bit longer?" she pleaded.

Asher scoffed at her request, "Have you forgotten? From tomorrow, you'll be off completing quests, and you'd best remember to hand over your share of earnings," he reminded her, his cold dark yellow eyes piercing into her.

His comment was sharp and laced, reminding Isola of the terms of the agreement struck between Queen Rowena and her father.

Isola narrowed her eyes at him, her lips pressed in a thin line. He was far more self-serving than she'd originally thought, cleverly exploiting the situation to his benefit.

As a Soul Devourer she would earn multiple times higher than what Asher could earn at his strength. 

And so even a small % of her life crystals would be a lot for Asher. 

However, she had no idea that Asher's thirst for life crystals wouldn't even be satisfied even if there were ten of her offering him life crystals.

But despite her irritation, she didn't argue. Rising to her feet, she met Asher's gaze, "Fine but…I've never had to fight humans before… it feels…strange," she confessed, her voice a whisper against the ocean's soft lullaby.

His dark laughter echoed in response to her admission, "You'll feel plenty motivated once they start killing your people for sport and rewards, parading your people's heads as trophies and bragging about it," he said, his tone cold and void of any comfort.

Isola swallowed hard, her gaze falling to the sandy beach below.

The brutal reality painted by Asher made her heart clench. 

But she knew he was right. The face of their enemy had changed, but the threat remained. The shadow of the Cursed Wraiths was replaced by humans. A determined fire sparked in her eyes, replacing the uncertainty that resided there a moment ago.

She realized how the fighting and killing would still continue, but now they had a real chance of fighting back and surviving. And so she was determined to do whatever was necessary to not let her people suffer again.

Upon noticing that the two were about to leave, Callisa let out a low, mournful sound, a watery trill that echoed across the vast expanse of the shore. 

"Kooo…"

She scuttled over as swiftly as her bulky form would allow, causing a small, playful wave of sand to overflow the ground. Raising each claw towards Asher and Isola in a silent plea, she blinked her beady eyes with an almost comical desperation, begging them to not go.

"Don't be sad, Callisa," Isola said as she caressed its pincer, feeling bad upon seeing it trying to make them stay. She wished she could bring Callisa with them, though not only was she too big, but it also wouldn't be right to let her be away from her home, the seas, "We will be back to see you tomorrow. Asher will promise you, won't you, Asher?" Isola asked as she looked at him, testing to see if he was really serious about Callisa.

Asher knew what Isola was trying to do, though it didn't really matter since he had every intention of looking after Callisa. 

So he nodded as he patted her pincer and said with a warm smile, "Of course, we will play with you tomorrow. So sleep tight like a nice girl, and we will be back before you know it."

Asher felt that he should probably ask Rowena for some tips on how to raise a beast as a companion. This was all new and unfamiliar to him.

Callisa glanced at the two before reluctantly lowering her pincers as if understanding that they had to go for now. 

As Asher and Isola soon gradually disappeared from sight, Moraxor stood there, silently watching the direction they'd taken. 

"Why didn't you try to negotiate with Rowena to let our daughter stay here instead of being imprisoned among our enemies?" Narissara questioned suddenly as she stood beside him, her voice wavering subtly, "You know how Isola is. Even if she's suffering, she won't let us know. We taught her to be strong enough to fight through any storm, but...sometimes, that's not always a good thing."

Moraxor sighed, turning to face his wife, "And why can't you convey all these worries to our daughter personally, Narissa" he asked, his tone gentle.

Narissara averted her stony gaze, her voice lowering to a whisper, "It wasn't necessary."

Moraxor reached out, his hands resting on Narissara's shoulders. His gaze was soft, filled with understanding, "Narissa, you are not alone in whatever you are feeling right now. Trust me..."

Her lips parted as if to respond, but no words came out. She kept her gaze averted, though the usually icy shimmer in her eyes started to glisten.

"Isola will be alright in the castle," Moraxor reassured, his voice steady, "If they wanted to cause her harm, they wouldn't have let her come to see us. I can also tell if our daughter is hiding something, and she isn't."

His gaze then moved in the direction Asher and Isola had left, "Perhaps, all of this is happening for a reason."

Narissara furrowed her brows, looking up at Moraxor. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Do you know anyone in this realm with the fabled Immortal Bloodline? Only the Devourer was said to obtain an Immortal Class Bloodline before dying in the seventh trial," Moraxor responded, his tone serious, "Asher might be a young man with his own agendas, but his existence here feels to be for a reason. And something tells me that we have yet to understand the Prophecy of the Ancients."

—

Asher left the Demonstone Castle right after making sure Isola was back inside. She skeptically asked him where he was going to at this late hour, to which he said she wouldn't want to know that, making her not ask about it again.

A few minutes later, the atmosphere of the city outside the grandiose edifice of the Honeyed Pearl was bustling with life, especially with men of different races crowded together for the same goal.

Amongst this crowd was Asher as he maneuvered through the throngs of people, a specter amidst the crowd. 

Shrouded in the protection of the Specter's Ring gifted to him by Naida, his true identity was masked beneath the guise of a commoner and nobody suspected anything.

However, as usual, cloaked in subtlety, his silent protector, Eradicator, followed him.

But thanks to his instructions, she kept a careful distance, watching Asher's every move. The height of this tall, cloaked figure could easily catch attention, but given the distance, they passed off as unrelated individuals, adeptly avoiding drawing undue attention.

But seeing the cute cat with black fur, piercing green eyes, and two fluffy tails resting on their arms and licking their hands, the passerbys no longer felt that intimidated about this cloaked figure.

Asher's arrival at the back door of the Honeyed Pearl went unnoticed by the passersby. 

The very wood of the door seemed to absorb him as he slipped through, entering the shadowy back chambers of the building.

On the other side, he was met with a pair of narrowed, golden eyes that glowed in the dim light. It was Shoichi, Kira's protector, an imposing figure despite his restrained position. The lines of his face pulled into a familiar expression of displeasure at Asher's arrival. 

His gaze was intense, akin to a predator eyeing its prey, yet he was acutely aware of his place and reluctantly stepped aside to let Asher pass.

The animosity was palpable, an invisible tension that sparked in the air like static electricity, yet Asher paid it no mind, making his way into Kira's chambers with a nonchalant air, while Shoichi's icy gaze seemed to bore into his back, an unspoken warning lingering in the room.

Shoichi couldn't help but feel something stifling in his chest, and this feeling only kept getting worse the more Asher came here. He still couldn't understand why someone so powerful and elegant like his Madam would keep someone crafty as him close.