Chapter 77: The Rise of the Dark One: Law of the Strong

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Rise of the Dark One: Law of the Strong

The blade cut through the air with a sound like tearing silk.

Steel flashed across the first demonic beast’s throat.

For a single, suspended moment, the enormous creature remained frozen in place. Its massive frame hung motionless against the arena’s torchlight. Then its body split apart along the path of the blade.

The beast crashed onto the arena floor with a thunderous impact that shook the stone beneath everyone’s feet. Dark blood poured from its wounds, pooling around its collapsing form. The second beast halted mid-stride, its claws gouging deep furrows into the ground as it skidded to a stop.

Its eyes flickered toward the corpse of its companion. Then they slowly returned to the small figure standing before it.

Fear.

The beast felt it. Its muscles tensed. Its breath came in ragged bursts. Every instinct screamed at it to flee.

But Ifrith gave it no time to react.

His sword moved again, carving an arc of silver through the darkness.

Slash!

The second beast collapsed, its body striking the ground with a wet, heavy sound that echoed through the silent arena.

Silence descended.

Not the silence that followed a performance. Not the quiet appreciation of a crowd impressed by entertainment.

This was different.

This was the silence that came when everyone present had suddenly realized they were standing before something they could not comprehend. Something that defied every law they had ever known. Something that made their carefully constructed world tremble at its foundations.

The nobles stared at Ifrith with wide, unblinking eyes.

The prince’s arrogant smile had vanished completely. His face had gone pale, drained of all color. His hands trembled against the armrests of his seat.

Even the Primordial Demon Sovereign remained motionless upon his throne. His fingers had stopped tapping against the armrest. His breathing had become shallow.

His eyes remained fixed on the young demon standing in the center of the arena.

Ifrith’s chest rose and fell in steady rhythm. His fingers tightened around his father’s sword. Dark energy pulsed around his body in waves, each surge more powerful than the last.

His aura had grown denser than before.

It no longer simply surrounded him. It poured from him endlessly, thick enough to distort the very atmosphere around his body. The air itself seemed to bend and warp wherever he stood.

The Primordial Demon Sovereign could not move.

Not because he had been physically restrained. His body simply refused to respond to his commands. His mind was still struggling to comprehend what he was witnessing.

That aura...

It was immense. Dense. Overwhelming.

And, most terrifyingly of all, it seemed to surpass even his own.

How can this be?

The sovereign’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

A lesser demon?

There was no way a child from the lesser realm should possess magical power of this magnitude. Such power did not simply appear. It required generations of cultivation. It required bloodlines stretching back through millennia.

Yet the evidence was standing before him.

Ifrith slowly turned his head. His gaze swept across the arena until it landed on the prince.

"You."

His voice was quiet. Almost gentle. But something in that softness made it more terrifying than any scream could have been.

The prince’s body trembled violently. "What... what do you want?!"

Ifrith took one step forward. "My family."

The prince stared at him in confusion. "Your family? What about your family?"

Ifrith’s grip tightened around his father’s sword until his knuckles turned white. "Someone killed them."

Another step. "Our house was burned."

Another. "Their bodies were left to rot."

His eyes locked onto the prince with an intensity that made the young demon flinch. "And nobody helped them."

A pause stretched between them like a wound.

"Nobody."

The prince swallowed hard. Then he forced out a nervous laugh, trying desperately to reclaim the confidence that had abandoned him. "Why should I care about some lesser demon’s family?"

His voice grew more arrogant as he attempted to convince himself he remained in control. "You’re nothing."

He pointed at Ifrith with a trembling finger. "You’re just a peasant."

Then he sneered, though the expression looked wrong on his fear-stricken face. "You have no right to be here!"

Ifrith stopped walking.

His eyes lowered slightly. His shoulders relaxed.

"You’re right."

The prince blinked in surprise. "What?"

Ifrith raised his head. "I don’t have the right to be here."

His sword rose, catching the torchlight and reflecting it like a shard of frozen flame. "But I’m going to make you answer anyway."

The prince’s face lost what little color remained. He spun toward the throne, his voice cracking with desperation. "Father! Do something!"

The Primordial Demon Sovereign did not respond.

He could not.

His gaze remained fixed on Ifrith. The pressure coming from that tiny body was making even his movements feel heavy. Every time he tried to stand, an invisible weight pressed down upon him.

The sovereign’s forehead began to sweat.

What exactly is this child?

Meanwhile, Ifrith’s gaze moved away from the prince. He slowly looked around the arena, scanning left and right across the noble houses. His eyes passed over countless faces.

Some demons avoided his gaze.

Others stared at him in terror.

Sweat formed on their foreheads. Their hands gripped their seats. Their hearts pounded against their ribs.

Ifrith was not looking at them because he wanted to frighten them.

He was searching.

Someone here knew. Someone here was connected to what happened to his family. Someone here had given the orders that led to his parents’ deaths.

Then his gaze stopped.

One of the primordial nobles was staring directly at him.

The noble stiffened. For a brief moment, he looked startled, as though caught doing something he should not have been doing. He shifted his head slightly backward, trying to blend into the crowd.

But then his pride returned.

He wanted everyone to remember who he was. He wanted them to see that he would not be intimidated by some lesser demon child.

He slowly stood.

Every gaze in the arena shifted toward him.

The noble looked down at Ifrith with contempt. "Who are you, boy?"

Ifrith said nothing.

The noble smirked. "Are you lost?"

He tilted his head to the side. "Did you come here looking for your mama?"

The word echoed through the arena.

*Mama*

Ifrith’s eyes changed.

The arena disappeared.

For a moment, he was no longer standing among the nobles. He was back in the lesser realm. Back at that tiny house with its worn wooden walls and thatched roof. Back when life had been simple. Back when his biggest concern had been gathering enough food for dinner.

Whenever he returned home late at night, his mother would be waiting at the doorstep.

He could still remember the warmth in her eyes. The smile that spread across her face when she saw him approaching. The way she would rush toward him with open arms.

And the way he would call out to her—

"Mama."

The memory was warm. Comforting. A light in the darkness of his existence.

Then it changed.

The house was burning.

Flames swallowed the walls, consuming everything they touched. Smoke billowed into the sky like a dark shroud. The wood crackled and groaned as it collapsed.

His mother’s voice screamed from inside.

The warmth vanished.

Only pain remained.

Ifrith grabbed his head. His breathing became heavier, more ragged. His vision blurred at the edges.

The noble watched him with satisfaction.

*Inside his mind, he thought: Now he’ll go berserk. He’ll kill everyone here. But if course the Primordial Sovereign won’t let that happen... He’ll kill him for me.*

The noble’s confidence returned. He had no idea how wrong he was.

Before anyone could react—

Ifrith vanished.

A flash of steel crossed the arena in an instant.

Slash!

The noble’s head separated from his body. It rolled across the ground, leaving a trail of dark blood behind it, before coming to a stop against a fallen torch.

His body collapsed a moment later. Blood spilled across the arena floor in a widening pool.

For a heartbeat, nobody moved.

Then someone screamed. "He’s a monster!"

Another noble shouted, his voice cracking with terror. "How can a lesser demon like that kill a high-ranking demon so easily?!"

Panic exploded throughout the arena.

Everyone stood at once. Chairs scraped against stone. Nobles pushed past one another in desperate attempts to escape. Some ran toward the exits. Others attempted to flee through the opposite side.

Several grabbed their slaves and shoved them forward as shields.

"Protect me!"

"Get in front of him!"

"Don’t just stand there!"

The slaves trembled, their eyes wide with fear. They had no choice but to obey. They stepped forward, placing themselves between their masters and the approaching demon.

But Ifrith was faster.

He raised one hand. Dark magical energy gathered above the arena, coalescing into a massive shape that blotted out the torchlight.

The nobles looked up. Their faces contorted with horror as they watched an enormous orange-black mass begin forming in the sky.

"...Supreme Doom."

BOOOOM!

The barrier descended with earth-shaking force. A gigantic orange-black dome surrounded the entire arena, sealing it off from the outside world. The exits disappeared behind the magical barrier.

No one could enter.

No one could leave.

The nobles rushed toward it, slamming their hands against the surface. "Open!" "Break it!" "Use magic!"

Several Primodial demons unleashed powerful spells at the barrier. Fire exploded against its surface. Lightning crackled across its length. Darkness attempted to consume it. Explosive magic detonated with enough force to erase an entire kingdom in an instant.

It struck the barrier.

Nothing happened.

The barrier did not shake. Did not crack. Did not even ripple.

The nobles stared in horror.

"What is this?!"

"Why isn’t it breaking?!"

"Again!"

They attacked it again. And again. And again.

Nothing.

Meanwhile, Ifrith began walking.

He descended the arena steps with measured, deliberate movements. His head remained lowered. His father’s sword dragged behind him, scraping against the stone.

Cling.

The blade struck the first step.

Cling.

Another.

Cling.

Another.

The sound echoed throughout the arena, each metallic scrape seeming to bring him closer to them. Closer to judgment. Closer to the end.

He reached the arena floor. Then he began walking toward the nobles gathered near the entrance.

Behind them, magical attacks continued striking the barrier. None worked.

Eventually, the Primodial demons became exhausted. Their spells faded. Their breathing became ragged. Their magical reserves depleted.

Slowly, they turned around.

Ifrith was still coming.

One step.

Another.

Another.

The nobles began begging. "Please!" "Don’t kill me!" "I’ll give you anything!"

Others turned toward the sovereign with desperate pleas. "Sovereign! Please save us!" "Stop him!" "Do something!"

But the Primordial Demon Sovereign remained still upon his throne. Even he was drenched in sweat, his ceremonial robes clinging to his skin. His hands gripped the armrests so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

The prince collapsed onto the ground. He sat there trembling, unable to stand. His legs had given out beneath him.

Then he looked down at his own body.

His eyes widened in shock and shame.

He had already lost control of himself. He had wet himself from fear.

Ifrith continued walking. His head remained lowered. His father’s sword scratched against the floor with a sound like death approaching.

Scrrrrch.

Some nobles backed away. Others dropped to their knees in surrender.

Then several of them pulled their slaves in front of themselves. "Protect me!" "Stand there!" "Take the attack!"

Ifrith stopped.

His eyes slowly lifted. He stared at the slaves. At their trembling bodies and their terrified expressions.

Then at the nobles hiding behind them.

"You nobles are always like this."

The nobles froze.

Ifrith’s voice remained calm. Almost conversational. "Using the weak."

His eyes hardened. "Making them protect you."

One noble suddenly raised his voice, his tone filled with righteous conviction. "Of course!"

Ifrith looked toward him.

The noble spoke with complete certainty, as though explaining an obvious truth. "That’s the law of the demon realm!"

He spread his arms wide. "No one can change it! It’s been that way for generations! The weak always die because they’re weak. They can’t even fend for themselves."

Ifrith stared at him with unblinking eyes.

The noble continued, growing bolder as he spoke. "The strong lives and the weak dies."

Silence followed.

Ifrith’s sword came up, slow and deliberate. "Then it’s time the laws of this realm bent to a new will."

The noble’s expression shifted. "What?"

Ifrith took a step forward.

The noble shook his head violently. "No one can change it! That’s how it has always been! The weak always dies.

Ifrith stopped.

His eyes locked onto the noble’s trembling form.

Ifrith let the blade’s tip kiss the stone. "Then I am the strong. Let the realm choke on that truth."

The noble’s face paled.

Ifrith pointed his sword toward the nobles. "And you all are the weak."

His voice became colder, harder. "So it is justifiable for me to kill the weak, right?"

The noble’s mouth opened. No words came.

He realized what he had just done. He had handed Ifrith the very law he was using to justify his own survival. He had condemned himself with his own words.

"I..."

He stepped backward, his legs trembling.

Another noble immediately shouted, "Idiot! You shouldn’t have said that!"

The nobles began begging again. "Wealth! We can give you wealth!" "Gold!" "Power!" "Women!" "Anything you want!"

Ifrith gave no response.

He simply kept walking.

Scrrrrch.

His father’s sword dragged behind him.

One step.

Another.

Another.

The distance between them disappeared.

Then a powerful figure stepped forward.

The atmosphere changed. The air grew heavy. The torches flickered as though caught in a sudden wind.

The figure was tall. He wore black clothing that seemed to absorb the light around him. His eyes were black-red, glowing with ancient power.

He was a primordial demon of extraordinary strength. His position in the demon realm was second only to the Primordial Demon Sovereign himself.

The nobles looked toward him with desperate hope.

Finally, someone powerful enough to stop this monster.

The primordial demon stepped in front of Ifrith. He looked down at the child with an expression of supreme authority.

His voice carried weight. "I demand you relea—"

He did not finish.

Ifrith moved his hand.

Slash!

The primordial demon was split in half.

Thick black blood erupted from his body, spraying across the arena floor. His upper half fell to the ground with a heavy thud. His lower half collapsed a moment later.

The nobles screamed.

The female nobles panicked, their carefully maintained composure shattering completely. Some dragged their slaves forward. "Protect me with your life!" "Take the attack!" "Don’t let him reach me!"

The arena descended further into chaos. Bodies pushed against bodies. Voices screamed over one another. The air filled with the stench of fear.

One noble finally shouted above the noise. "Why exactly are you doing this?!"

Ifrith stopped.

The demon trembled as he spoke. "Why do you want to kill us?!"

He raised his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "We haven’t done anything to you!"

Ifrith looked at him. "I’m entertaining myself."

The noble’s face twisted in disbelief. "You find entertainment in killing your own kind?"

His voice rose in outrage. "That’s what a monster would do!"

Ifrith tilted his head. "Really?"

He glanced toward the bodies scattered around the arena. "Weren’t you all finding entertainment in killing and butchering humans?"

The noble froze.

Ifrith continued. "The two humans I saw when I came in."

His eyes narrowed. "You put them there. You made those beasts slaughter them right in front of you."

The noble hesitated, searching for words.

Another demon answered instead. "That’s how it has been for generations."

He spoke as though explaining something obvious to a child. "Humans are weak. They’re feeble beings. They’re beneath us."

He smiled faintly. "Of course it wouldn’t be a bad idea to kill some of them so we can enjoy it. As sport."

Ifrith stared at him with cold, unblinking eyes. "Weak, huh?"

The noble’s smile faded.

Ifrith continued walking. "You don’t even understand the potential of what you’re doing."

He reached the front of them. He stopped.

Slowly, he turned his head to the right. His sword rose, pointing directly at the nobles.

"Then I’ll kill you all for sports right now."

He raised the sword.

The nobles screamed.

But before the blade could fall—

A figure stepped forward.

A girl.

She was covered in a hood, her features hidden in shadow. She moved through the terrified crowd with surprising grace, stepping between Ifrith and the nobles.

Ifrith paused.

The girl slowly reached for her hood. She pulled it back.

Silver hair spilled down her shoulders. It shimmered beneath the arena’s torchlight as though it were catching illumination that did not exist. Her eyes were crimson, deep and striking, almost otherworldly in their intensity.

She possessed an ethereal beauty that made the entire arena seem to fall quiet around her.

Even Ifrith paused. He stared at her, something other than rage entering his mind for the first time since entering the arena.

What is she?

The girl stepped forward. She stretched both hands outward, one toward the nobles on either side, as though trying to contain them.

Then she looked directly at Ifrith. "Please don’t kill anyone."

Ifrith slowly lowered his sword. But his eyes remained cold. "One of them killed my family."

Whispers immediately spread among the noble houses.

"His family?"

"Who is he?"

"Did he really come from the lesser realm?"

"How can that be possible?"

The girl looked at him with those crimson eyes. "Your family?"

Ifrith nodded slightly. "They were lesser demons who lived in the lesser realm."

One noble immediately raised his voice. "Impossible!"

Everyone looked toward him.

"No lesser demon could possess this much magical power!"

Ifrith’s gaze snapped toward him. "Silence."

The noble immediately closed his mouth shut.

The girl stepped forward again. "Please."

She looked into Ifrith’s eyes with an intensity that matched his own. "Do not kill anyone here."

Ifrith frowned. "Why should I obey to you?"

His grip tightened around his father’s sword. "Why should I even listen to you?"

The girl remained calm. "Because if you don’t, you will only cause great damage."

Ifrith’s eyes darkened. "That’s exactly what I want."

His aura surged. "All primordial demons in this realm shall die."

He raised his sword.

The nobles screamed.

The girl did not move. "If you kill them..."

Ifrith paused.

She looked directly at him. "Don’t you think that would be an easy death?"

His sword stopped in midair.

Ifrith’s expression shifted. "What?"

She continued, her voice soft but firm. "If you kill them now. And you kill the people responsible for killing your parents."

She returned her attention to him. "You will be giving them an easy death."

Ifrith remained silent.

The girl continued. "Wouldn’t you agree?"

Ifrith slowly lowered his sword. "Primordial demons can’t die."

The girl listened.

"No matter what happens, they’ll return. They’ll come back. And they’ll come back again."

His eyes burned with determination. "As long as they return, I’ll find them."

His voice became colder. "I’ll kill them in the next life. And the next. And the next."

The girl watched him with those striking crimson eyes. "Rather than doing all that work..."

She paused. "Why not just punish them?"

Ifrith’s expression hardened. "Punish them?"

His voice carried anger and pain in equal measure. "Would that be enough?"

The girl shook her head. "No."

She looked toward the nobles with an expression that made them shrink back. "I don’t mean that kind of punishment."

Ifrith stared at her.

"I mean..."

She spoke calmly, each word precise. "Torture them for eternity."

Silence.

The words hung in the arena like a blade suspended over their heads.

Ifrith’s eyes shifted. He considered it.

Killing them would be simple. They would die. They would return eventually. He would hunt them again. Again. And again.

But eternal torture...

His fingers tightened around the sword. In that moment, the idea of revenge beyond death entered his mind. A punishment that would not end with the grave. A torment that would stretch across eternity.

Then a male noble suddenly raised his voice. "Torture who for eternity?"

The girl turned toward him.

The noble pointed toward Ifrith with a trembling hand. "Do you even know what type of monster that boy is?"

The girl stared at him.

The other nobles turned. The women fell silent.

The girl slowly looked from the noble to Ifrith. Something changed in her crimson eyes. A flicker of recognition. A dawning realization.

She took a step forward. "Are you...?"

The noble’s expression changed. His face went pale.

The girl stared directly at him. Then realization settled over her features like a mask.

"So, you’re the one responsible."

The arena became silent.

She identified him. "Duke Asmodeus."