The Damned Demon

"Young Lord Jarius or Young Lord Edmund? Your Highness knows one of them? I wouldn't be surprised if you heard of that handsome hunk named Edmund since he is the young star of their house and has already been declared as the next heir to become the Lord of his house. Compared to the rest of his family, he seems more approachable," Kookus said as he felt envious of the tall, handsome vampire walking beside Thorin with a confident smile. How the hell does he maintain his long silver hair so beautifully? He surely had to find out his hair routine one day.

"Nah, but is the smaller one named Jarius?" Asher asked as he subtly smiled, remembering the quest he had taken part in just an hour ago. He looked at this young man, looking around the same age as him, physically, with decent looks. But unlike the rest of his family, his expression looked quite constipated, as if he was thinking about something unpleasant that was making him feel angry as well.

'Tsk, tsk, he must still be feeling sore about it…' Asher chuckled inwardly and didn't expect that the young lord he tricked was coming from such a powerful house.

"Oh, Young Lord Jarius? Nah…he is the black sheep of their house. He is only a few years younger than our queen but still stuck at the Soul Eater rank. How shameful. This is what happens if somebody's too lazy and fuck around," Kookus said with a wrinkled nose.

"Soul Eater?" Asher asked curiously.

"Ah, I forgot that Your Highness must have no idea how we rank the strength of people here. Generally, a Soul Eater is level 5 or weaker, but these ranks aren't assigned based on the level but actual strength in combat. If a Soul Eater at level 4 beats a Soul Warrior who is at level 6, then the Soul Eater will gain the Soul Warrior rank since, despite the level difference, the former is better, no matter how surprising it may seem. But such situations are quite rare," Kookus said with a shrug.

Asher was slightly surprised to hear that demons ranked themselves not based on the level but based on their actual strength. Back on Earth, F rank was assigned to those between levels 1 and 5. The same pattern repeated as ranks increased.

But thinking about it, he felt it made sense since strength was supreme in the Demon Realm.

There was no point if a demon was level 20 but didn't know how to fight or wasn't good enough.

And unsurprisingly, despite getting injured so severely, Asher saw how Jarius didn't even have any visible injuries on his body. But Asher still couldn't help but laugh inwardly, thinking about the face Jarius had when he saw him taking away the armor set and stealing his kill.

In his previous life as a Hunter, he never stole kills on purpose nor used any underhanded methods to get the job done. He actually looked down on such methods.

But now, he had already done such things as if it was natural to him. Was it because he was a demon, or did his experiences change him? Maybe it could be both.

He then shifted his gaze towards the beautiful young woman walking beside Esther, "That woman is the daughter?" She had long, shiny silver hair, 5 5" tall, though she had a bust that was not too big nor too small. She was dressed quite elegantly, and every inch of her body exuded a strange sense of charm that made it hard for one to take their eyes off her.

She had an impish look on her face, especially her subtle smile, which seemed playful yet dangerous.

"Ohhh, Lady Sabina? Don't get fooled by her looks, Your Highness. She is actually the eldest among the three younger generation and is 500 years old. She is just as terrifying as her parents, even though she might appear quite cool. Rumors say that she loves to tear open bodies and conduct experiments that Your Highness wouldn't even want to know. Based on her true strength, she is a Soul Purger. To let Your Highness understand, her level is somewhere around in the late twenties. She has the potential to achieve the highest rank, Soul Devourer, if she wants," Kookus explained with a wary look while not daring to look in her direction.

Asher had his brows raise upon learning that this petite girl was actually so powerful. He knew that level 35 was the maximum anybody could get strong. Even in his past life, he was at level 34, at the peak of the S Rank. It might seem like a very small difference, but only Asher knew how hard it was to level up even after level 15.

There was also always the possibility of losing levels from failing quests. And the risk of it only increased as one's level increased. This would make some of the stronger ones take lesser quests to preserve their strength rather than risk losing it.

Nobody on Earth existed whose level had reached 35, and based on myths, those who reached level 35 would be summoned by the angels. He was skeptical about those things, but it was always his dream to reach level 35 and make a name for himself. Unfortunately, he died right before he could.

"Why do the rank names have the word 'Soul'?" Asher asked as he noticed the common pattern.

"Naturally, it is because we demons devour the souls of mortals to keep ourselves alive. Isn't that why we have to risk our lives by accepting quests to earn Life Crystals by killing those trashy Hunters. I am bold enough to even risk my life every day by going to the mortal realm. But unfortunately, this pitiful servant has to look after my poor mother and Your Highness. Sigh…the responsibilities I have despite being so young…" Kookus sighed with a pitiful look, though Asher didn't hear his sob story and understood why the ranks were named like that. He had already learned that Life Crystals contain the soul energy of mortals. It made sense.

Lord Thorin and his family, except for Jarius, had looks of surprise upon seeing the royal consort already sitting up there. And seeing him look at them directly without even blinking or shifting his gaze, Lord Thorin subtly furrowed his brows before he and his family were escorted to their seats by the royal steward.

As soon as they sat down, his wife, Lady Esther, whispered beside him, "Look at those eyes. Why do I feel like we are looking at a different person? It feels as if his soul holds some secrets…" A dangerous light flashed in her eyes as she said these words.

"There are more important things to focus on rather than his soul," Thorin said with a deadpan expression as he rested his hands on the armrest while looking straight. It seemed like he had bigger things to be concerned about.

"Mother, did you expect the royal consort to look so handsome and dashing after gaining his soul? If only I could get my hands on him, hnnn~" Sabina said as she bit her lower lip, her eyes fixed on Asher. She just couldn't take her eyes off him, especially after seeing those charming dark yellow eyes. Before today, those eyes looked dull and lifeless, and now…something in those eyes was stirring something inside her.

"Haha, too late, elder sister. You should have tried to get him before he became the royal consort. Maybe if you had nicely asked our late demon king, who knows…he might have let you have some fun for a while," Edmund said with a wink as he smiled, which made some of the women standing on the side swoon upon seeing his pleasing smile.

"Will you two just shut up? Who cares about some trash like him?" Jarius said with an angry look as he was annoyed by their chatter while he was thinking about that damn Hellbringer who humiliated him completely. His nerves were still seething with anger, wanting him to crush the damn skull of that Hellbringer a million times.

"Jarius," Lady Esther simply uttered his name with a cold look, making his eyes shudder as he came back to his senses, "I-I am sorry, mother. Please forgive me, elder sister, elder brother."

"Haha, don't worry about it, little brother. We understand why you are pissed. Don't worry. I will get you justice," Edmund said as he patted his back, though his eyes had a look of ridicule.

"Be careful with your tongue, little brother. I won't be able to warn you next time," Sabina said with a sweet smile, making Jarius gulp as he leaned back to avoid her gaze.

Sabina chuckled before focusing her attention back on Asher. She couldn't help but feel a bit fascinated by the overall change in his bearings and aura.

However, everybody again lowered their voices when they saw a group of powerful people about to enter the hall.