Elliot's POV
I was not patient but I could wait till the next day before visiting my kingdom. It had been a long time since I had seen it, but I remember it vividly. It was recently that I realised how much freedom I had given Andras on my throne.
I chose him because I trusted him, but even the best demons can't be relied on. I felt like a fool. My love for Lexa had taken over me. I couldn't concentrate on my kingly duties. But I didn't regret falling for her. I would have my way and I would have both Alexa and my crown.
I was picking out clothes when a knock announced itself on the door. I didn't want to answer it but it was the scent of the senior maid so I had to.
"Enter!" She hesitated but entered my room. She came empty handed and not in her uniform, so it gave me the idea that she wasn't here to serve me gin or give me updates on the masnion. "Not now, Nora. You can leave."
She didn't. She stood right there in her position, watching me from the distance.
I ignored her and picked a deep black tuxedo to wear. The tuxedo had the emblem of the dragon at the back and those that had almost forgotten their king, would be reminded.
"Where is Miss Halton, sir?" I should have expected this.
If it were someone else that questioned me, I would have cracked their neck. I didn't want to think about Alexa at the moment, it would only weaken me, and Nora wasn't helping matters.
"I told you to leave. Do it now."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir." She didn't shake and I didn't sense fear from her. She wasn't joking. "Everyone wants to know what happened."
I was finding it hard to control my anger. I placed my hands on a vintage wooden stood and pierced my claws into it. How badly I wished it was flesh.
"Go away, Nora!"
"You have to tell me, sir."
I lost it. I stomped towards Nora and held her neck, squeezing it and hindering her breathing. Blood gushed out of her neck. When the blood touched my skin, my red eyes calmed and I realized what I was doing.
This was what made Alexa leave me in the first place. My anger was about to make me kill someone else that was precious to me.
I let her go. She dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. I threw a magical napkin at her that would heal the wounds and clear the pain. I looked at myself in the mirror, disgustedly, looking at her blood on my hands.
I was truly a monster.
"Did-did you..." She found it hard to speak but forced the words out. "...kill her?"
I broke the mirror, the reflecting glass shattered into pieces and scattered on the floor.
"Call a maid to clean up this mess. Do it quickly." She stood up, giving me a look of undying hate, before storming out of the room.
Yes, I killed Lexa. I killed her heart by killing her mother and indirectly, I killed myself.
I dressed up. I wanted to leave before any maid reached the room. I closed my eyes and drew all my power to the tips of my fingers. I said some dark words and stretched my hands out, then slowly lifting them in the air.
But I was not only lifting them in the air, I was also lifting an underground staircase that would lead me to a dimension I ruled. When I was done and the staircase had been fully brought up, I climbed down without reluctance.
As I took the steps, the staircase slowly disappeared until it was all gone. As I took the last step and entered my domain, darkness and heat took over every good feeling I had left.
My eyes turned bloodshot red and everything I could see was against a background of red. I bent and grabbed some soil to get a feel of my kingdom.
It was smooth like clay, red like blood and hot like lava. 'Perfect,' I said to myself.
I walked through a vast expanse of land that acted like a bridge to the entrance to the underworld. When I reached, I was met with a giant black gate.
I placed my hands on it, feeling it. It was smooth and black like graphite, strong as diamond, heavy as osmium, and as cold as ice. Only the gatekeeper could open it.
I turned to a smoky figure which was in the shape of a man. He wore a black cloak that covered his entire body, his face was bowed and he held a rotten stick which had a single key tied to it.
When he sensed me, he bowed with his head touching the ground and stood up only when I told him to. He picked the sand on the ground and rubbed it on his forehead, a respectful gesture to the king.
"Open the gate!"
He bowed again and went to the gate, unlocking it with the only key he had in his possession. The gate opened. I took a deep breath before entering.
Like the Bible said, the road to hell was wide while the road to heaven was narrow. It was just as so here.
On each side of the road, demon-guards stood in a manner British soldiers would on seeing their Queen. They stayed on each side of the road, at accurate intervals.
As I walked past each of them, they bowed with their heads touching the ground and repeating the same gesture which the gatekeeper did after standing up.
This road led straight to the Palace. After the Palace, there were many other roads which led to different parts of the underworld where different demons, deadlings and banished forbidden creatures existed.
When I got to the end of the road and entered the Palace, two soldiers followed me, staying exactly three feet behind me. The Palace was bustling with beings.
There were naked or quarter dressed demonesses, demon-leaders of different rankings, soldiers and guards who were always prepared for war...
As I walked deeper into the Palace, I could see ghastly sights like devilish orgies, intake of deadly drugs and drinks that would send a human straight to hell if he even saw one, killing frenzies.
The floor looked like black water but felt like unbreakable glass. It was more than 150°C in the Palace but everyone was used to the heat. The Palace walls were made of strong metal, stronger than Platinum or any alloy man could only ever dream of making.
It was always twilight in here. Demons who had reached a specific rank had free access to the Palace but only true royal-bloods could reach the main Palace and throne room, where all the big decisions were made.
If I wanted to announce my arrival, I would only have to stomp my left leg on the glass floor once and they'd all know it was me but I wanted to announce myself in the throne room.
I took the necessary turns and twists to get there. I remembered everywhere like it was yesterday. I had barely felt that I hadn't been here in more than 550 years.
This was my home but it didn't feel like the mansion. It didn't feel like somewhere I'd want to stay even if Alexa was with me.
Anytime I saw a naked demoness, all I could think about was wishing one of them was Alexa so I could devour her on the spot. I was going nuts without her.
Andras was right about one thing, I was losing my concentration. The good news was that concentration can be gotten back.
Finally, I got there. The throne room was the coolest room in the Palace. About 50°C. Guards were lined up like dolls in the throne room. Once I entered, I hit my left leg on the ground. My arrival was announced.
I saw Andras from the far . He raised his head slowly with a wicked smile on his face and locked eyes with me. All the guard bowed when they knew I was there and they repeated the gesture when Andras stood from the throne.
He walked to me, two guards following him behind like the ones with me. When we were close enough, he dropped the crown from his head and placed it on the glass floor, following customs.
As long as I was still the king, he had to follow them.
I was expected to pick the crown and wear it. It was a black crown with different rare jewels on it. It had long spiky thorns of poison rising from it. It was perfect-fit, meaning it could resize itself to the perfect size on the user's head.
Each jewel represented the past kings that had worn it, the thorns represented what they had achieved. Only a true demon king could read through the crown.
I didn't pick it. He had challenged me and to show that I was not too hasty to wear the crown like it would be my last time, I told a guard to pick it up and keep it in its rightful position.
"You are later than I expected, sire."
I looked up at him, great anger reflecting in my eyes. "You no longer have the right to call me your sire. You have lost that privilege."
"You seem angry. You need not fear, I will give you the privilege to refer me to as sire once I become king."
I was truly disappointed in him, but I knew someone must have instigated him. Demons are gullible species and are very easy to deceive. They only care about power, war, drinking and sex.
I would find out who that was once I was done with him.
"I did not expect this from you, Andras. You were a faithful servant."
He took only a step closer to me. "That was the problem. A perfect figure like me doesn't deserve to remain a servant when we have an unworthy king like you ruling the underworld."
Who has deceived you, Andras? I request you to withdraw this challenge."
Andras chuckled, only a short laughter then he scoffed. "You must fear me so much then. I will not withdraw this challenge."
I do this only because I know this isn't you. If you refuse to withdraw the challenge, I will have no choice but to destroy you in battle."
Demons were the worst set of creatures to turn to when it came to emotions but I could clearly see that Andras had a sudden thirst for power. I wished I could stop it.
"So be it. We shall see who shall be destroyed."
He walked forward, away from me, his cloak raised in the air, as he moved out of the throne room. I knew where he was going hence I followed.
Every demon who saw us on the way bowed. Of course we didn't pay attention to them, we were on our way to announce a challenge.
I was taken to the ανακοίνωση θάλαμος - Δωμάτιο . It was like any other room in the Palace except it was a place where we would officially stamp the challenge.
We walked towards a great white rough stone. It was a flattened stone-made board that was rectangular in shape and was stable on the wall.
Andras didn't waste time in cutting his skin. Blood oozed out of the wound, he poured his blood into a gourd and sealed his wound. The Gauddamand, a satanic priest that had served even the very first devil, came into sight from the dust.
He was a man, a very old man. You would be afraid to touch him because you would fear that if you did, he would crumble to pieces. He had a long dirty white beard that reached his knees. His back was bent and he couldn't stand straight which made him resemble the early men.
He wore no clothes but the white hair on his body covered his nakedness. You couldn't see his eyes because they were all closed up and his ears
were nowhere to be seen.
Everyone turned to me, expecting me to do the same. I was waiting, waiting for a miracle that would make Andras change his mind but even I knew that at that point, there was no turning back.
I cut myself with the sacred knife and blood poured out from my veins, into a bowl-like gourd. My blood was as black as ink and and thicker than tar but flowed out like water.
He took the gourds of blood and used our blood to wrote our names on the Stone of Emperors.
We were made to say an oath, an oath that human ears should never hear. Then it was done.
The words of our names disappeared and were replaced with four things. There were determinants of the battle.
The location of the battle, the day and time, how the winner would be decided and what game was to be played.
The battle's location was in the Tabernacle of Azazel.
The tabernacle of azazel was a forbidden place the serpent from the Garden of Eden, the first devil's associate, was kept. The second devil ever known, Azazel, tried to own him but he died in that very temple where the serpent was kept. No one knew how it happened, but no one has ever reached there since that day.
The day and time was in two days, at midnight.
The winner would be decided by... I feared this.... Death.
The game played would be... Dragon Tamers.
The priest said some charms and the wordings in the stone disappeared. That meant by now, the whole underworld knew what would take place. He said some more chants and turned to us, in a sickly manner.
"Tchwo awas befur da designated taim, u wil feise awa fest king." He bowed before continuing. I was sure I could hear bones breaking as he did so. "Lucifer."