Unbeknownst to the general public and known to only a select few individuals; the demons are not sole hunters.

They actually possess a hierarchy of some sorts as indicated by the strong demon called a general, and to humanities horror there exists more than one…

Deep inside the dark crater demon territory, demons could be seen roaming almost everywhere. From dead forests, black charcoal like canyons to underground caverns and cave systems.

But for some reason they did not leave the territory and venture into the human nations’ territory, instead almost all of them were gathering near the canyons.

One such gathering of demons was normally unheard of, yet they still kept going towards two weirdly shaped stone formations of eight to twelve rocks that varied in shapes and sizes; the stones were layered on top of each other but what made them different from a normal stone formation was that the stacks started from the smallest rock and kept going up into the sky to the largest and heaviest rock.

The two stone formations stood in parallel to each other and behind them was a very large cave entrance that burrowed deep into the black canyons…

The normal demons stood still once they reached the entrance and kept waiting there, as if they were waiting for something to happen inside the cave.

The light from the outside could not reach inside the cave, leaving nothing but a pitch-black atmosphere. Deeper inside you could see a flicker of light though, in a seemingly naturally shaped stone room; inside were three unique demons sitting around an oval stone table in front of them was an empty chair.

One of the demons was the horned helmet wearing black demon general who killed Grey-shades’ parents; he was sitting on a stone chair and was facing both demons. The two, while looking completely different from the black general, were emitting the same kind of aura or sense of superiority. The demon to the left of him looked similar to him in some aspects, like how he wore a helmet, while different in design than the black general, was also covering his whole face.

However, they were still extremely different in their physiology as he had differently colored skin, which was in a beautiful darker shade of red. The demon was also smaller in stature than the regular soldier demons but his size wasn’t as evident as he had wings stretched out double his size, he also was clearly not a physical fighter as he did not possess any legs, and while he seemed like he was sitting on a chair earlier he was in fact floating and below him are several tiny and small gem rocks floating with him.

The demon to his right was more straightforward as he was a giant. The demon was extremely large but his helmet-covered head was minuscule in comparison, the room seemed too small for him as he had to crouch down to fit in. His skin color had a greenish tint to it and his body was also full of scars, wounds, bruises, as well as black chains and in his stomach was an impaled broken and rusty ship anchor.

All three demons just kept staring at each other for hours on end when suddenly all three got extremely serious and stood up. The black general simply stood up from his chair, while the winged demon went into a higher altitude and the giant’s head went through the roof…

In front of them the seemingly unbreakable stone walls just formed a tunnel, then you could slowly hear it…

Footsteps…

Slowly from the tunnel a dark figure came closer and closer until you could clearly see it…

A small, skinny and seemingly defenseless child with night sky black skin; everything from his feet up was in that color except for his face that faded into a pale whiteish color. His face that of an innocent looking child becomes more terrifying when you notice his pure black eyes.

As soon as the child entered the room all three demons blurted out in unison “All hail our lord the demon king!”

The demon king said in response with a cute squeaky voice that had an air of wisdom” Gratitude to thou, mine children; thou may sit down and rest for now”

All three demons went back to their previous positions…

The demon king: My creations, my children, my generals…

The black general, Stryga

The giant, Scion

And finally, The Great scholar, Savant

i appreciate thou all for heeding mine bid.

Scion: Father… (He said with a grumpy, deep and hoarse voice) Why did… you call us… during the conquest.

I could have… Finished off…The weakling humans… Quickly.

Savant: Yes, indeed my king (He said with a clear, intelligent and educated sounding tone of voice) Why did we have to abandon our campaigns…

Stryga however did not say anything and just kept observing the situations…

The demon king: I see…

Well allow me say to thou something mine dear children… the reason I bid thou hither 'In the first place was to forbid you from attacking the human nations, and to not set a single foot on human soil, till I say otherwise.

Scion and savant stood there in chock and kept looking at the king with disbelief.

Savan: that cannot be, this is preposterous, unreasonable, why do this!

Scion: What! But… Father…what about…eradicating…the humans!?

The demon king: The reasons are mine own to contemplate and decide upon, now i hast no more use for thou so thou may leave

Savant disgruntled left first by quickly flying away while Scion struggled to get out of the room until the demon king opened a door wide enough for him to fit through…

The demon king then hopped on his chair and slowly readjusted himself to face Stryga before saying “What are thou still doing hither? I thought made myself clear”

Stryga: … I think I understand why you ordered us to stand down.

The demon king had a look of surprise on his face for a moment before addressing Stryga again “Oh, so thou think thou know me…

Thou, a brat that i just recently created on a whim, dare to presume thou know of me?!”

Stryga: I am not quite sure, but I do have a single hypothesis for now…

The demon king: Brat, thou are more insolent than thy brothers… i shall allow thou one guess yet if thou are wrong…

Stryga then instantly answered before the king could finish his sentence.

Stryga: You give us orders and directions, yet you never give any signs as to how or why you decide on them …

As if you are not the one coming up with it all…

The room then fell completely silent.

The demon king: Hmmm….. (The king kept looking at Stryga then suddenly bursted out laughing for a few minutes)

Stryga looked confused as he kept watching the king laughing and holding his stomach.

Stryga: did I say something funny my lord.

The demon: king: I ne'r imagined that I would succeed in my quest, and create sentient demons.

Out of all your predecessors you are undoubtedly the most interesting…

Stryga then questioned the demon king “So my answer was right?” which made the demon king go silent a second time but this time he gave Stryga a cold stare…

The demon king: You can take my silence as whatever answer you fancy, for now begone I am done with you.

The general then stood up saluted the demon king then slowly left the room.

As striga was leaving the cavern he kept thinking to himself as the questions he posed to the king and the answers he got only led him to further questions…

Making his insatiable thirst for knowledge unquenched…

“But if the king is not our ultimate master, who is?” this one question kept haunting him more than the rest, but ultimately it would remain unanswered…

For now.

--Chapter end--