Rearing Demons
Chapter 93: Damon’s Prisoners

Chapter 93: Damon’s Prisoners

"This should be one of the major cities near Freau." Jin and his family finally passed through the forest and arrived on the road.

They walked for a while before reaching one of Freau’s larger trade cities. "Hileya—that should be the name of this city," Rose said, recalling the geography from so long ago. "A few hundred kilometers that way should be the Freau capital."

"Yeah," Jin nodded, remembering it as well.

Many years ago, the Mortal Kingdom ruled by Jin’s family was allied with the Freau Mortal Kingdom. However, it fell in war, leading to their current situation.

"Do you think the Freau family will remember me?" Jin wondered aloud. "We were close back then."

"Even if they do, what’s the point?" Rose sighed. "Why don’t we start from scratch? We can live a quiet, peaceful life." Her eyes then landed on Luna, who was sleeping soundly on Jin’s back. "She deserves peace. The royal and noble life isn’t good for her."

Luna, a slave since a young age, never received the education or teachings normal children did. She was less bright than most slave children—Rose never wanted her to stand out.

A good head brings trouble, whether external or internal. Being dull protected one from it, at least temporarily.

"That’s fine as well," Jin agreed. He then looked at them and saw how poor their appearance was. "Now it’s a matter of getting into the city and finding some work."

"Getting in will be difficult. I think you should try first," Rose said, her eyes lingering on the missing pieces of clothing on her body and Luna’s.

If they entered like this, trouble would surely follow. Men would stare, and do even worse. They could end up in a worse situation than before.

Jin nodded. "Why don’t you guys wait in the cave?" he suggested.

While walking through the forest to avoid wild animals and to rest, they managed to find a hidden cave that was not too cold.

"That sounds like a plan," Rose agreed. "I’ll give you three days to return. If you aren’t back in three days, I’ll assume something has happened, alright?"

"Understood," Jin replied. "Luna, baby, wake up." Gently, he patted his daughter’s cheek to wake her.

"Huh?" Luna fluttered her eyes open, looking around in confusion. "Are we out of the forest now?"

"Yes, but you need to follow Mom back to the cave we slept in last night," he explained. "I’m going to enter the city, bring us some clothes, and then bring you all in with me."

"You’re leaving again?" she pouted. "We just got back together."

"Not for long, my baby," he said, rubbing her head gently. "Just for a little bit. I promise I’ll come back soon."

"Alright, don’t take too long."

She stood by her mom and watched as Jin gave them one last smile before walking away.

————————————————————————

Within a dark cell, a being was chained by his arms and legs. The chains gave Ana an extremely mysterious hue, emphasizing their magical nature.

"Good job, Damon," said two men standing outside the cell as they looked at the being. "To think you captured this Prince so easily."

"Thank you, master," Damon nodded.

Damon was growing more and more powerful. He already surpassed me in this realm. The Black Lord eyed his disciple with gratification rather than jealousy. With his strength, once he reached my level, no one would be able to overpower him.

"You bastards! If you don’t let me go, the war will erupt!" The being chained inside was none other than Prince Aglazeth. He was forced to remain in his human form—his horns were broken, and his jaw was shattered—yet he could still use his essence to voice his thoughts.

"Let the war come then. I can handle it." Damon rolled his eyes. "Tell me, where is Prince Frayata?"

"Haha!" Prince Aglazeth laughed loudly, a sound that resembled crackling. "You won’t get a word out of me."

"There are other Princes out there, you know. We know the location of two others." Damon shrugged before looking back at the Black Lord. "I can handle it from here, master."

"Alright," the Black Lord nodded. "Don’t overdo it like last time." He eyed this disciple, who harboured extra hatred toward demons and similar creatures.

"I won’t." Damon nodded. "But please warn the other Lords that if their successors come in my way again, I will kill them."

"Oh?" The Black Lord raised an eyebrow. "Did you encounter one?"

"That Azure brat," Damon said with a frown. "Out of consideration for the Azure Lord, I left him intact, but there won’t be a next time."

"Don’t worry," the Black Lord nodded. "If you run into any others, you are free to do as you wish."

"Thanks." Although Damon was not bloodthirsty, he had climbed a steep mountain to reach his position.

Unlike many other successors, he had passed terrible tests before becoming the Black Lord’s successor. Moreover, the Black Lord would not help him with anything, his name was practically useless. The only thing the Black Lord had ever shown him was the Black Lightning essence, which wasn’t even Damon’s strongest form of essence.

Damon waited until the Black Lord left before finally walking toward the cell. Unlocking it, he stepped inside and crouched in front of the Prince.

"So, will you tell me where Prince Frayata is, or will I have to force it out?"

"Bite me, bitch!" Aglazeth glared at Damon, causing the latter to shake his head.

"Well, you leave me no choice." Damon sighed and raised both of his hands. "Did you know the world thinks Black Lightning is my strongest essence?" As he spoke, his left hand began to dance with sparks of black lightning. "Don’t get me wrong—it is powerful. It has the speed, sharpness, and strength that most others lack." A spark of lightning suddenly shot out and burst Aglazeth’s eyes.

"Do worse; this is nothing." Despite the pain, Aglazeth did not respond. "I will not speak!"

"It’s funny to see such a scattered race defending each other, don’t you think?" Damon then lifted his hand, and suddenly a small cloud appeared. "Anyways, I was telling you about the essence I have, right?" As he said this, the cloud in his hand began to expand. It swallowed them both. "My essence—something I discovered—is the Cloud Essence."

As he finished speaking, the world around them changed, and Aglazeth found himself falling from the sky; a bright blue sky flashing with streaks of various lightning. Rain, purple and blue, fell, exuding a poisonous smog.

Aglazeth discovered that his chains were gone, and he managed to twist his body, stopping mid-air. Floating, he felt tense—the area around him seemed eternal, infinite.

Lifting his mashed, destroyed hands, he barely managed to set his jaw back in place.

From his body, a dark red aura began to seep—it was heavy and filled with bloodlust.

"Give it up, Aglazeth. Your essence is not nearly powerful enough to threaten me. At best, it’s on the same level as Black Lightning." Damon’s body suddenly solidified.

Although Aglazeth knew this to be true, he still surrounded himself with his bloody essence, determined to fight until the end.

"I’ll give it to you. Of all the Princes I’ve met, you are the most courageous." Damon nodded.

"Speak less," Aglazeth said, his gaze turning calm as he realized his end was near.

"Tsk tsk." Damon suddenly appeared in front of Aglazeth. Leaning forward close to Aglazeth’s long ears, he said, "Did you know... he’s still alive?"

"What?" Aglazeth stepped back in shock, his heart pounding as a chill wind swept past.

Smiling, Damon waved his hand and in an instant, a tall man materialized before them. His arms and legs were chained, and his eyes remained tightly shut beneath long, flowing grey hair.

Seeing the figure, Aglazeth’s mouth opened in a silent scream, "Demon King—"

Before he could finish, the world of clouds began to convulse. The masses of white shifted violently, moving up and down as if caught in a frightening squall.

A deafening roar filled the air, and a harsh gust slammed into Aglazeth, disorienting him completely.

Then, with a sudden, mind-rattling impact, his vision went black.