Tristan walked towards the corpse of the lady of the stronghold and crouched beside it, then leaned in for a sniff. If he were lucky, he'd be able to get the scent of the monster the two idiots had referred to as Nathan.

He sniffed once, then again, because he was picking up a particular scent that was familiar within the mix of odors emanating from the corpse. The smell was faint, but Tristan could've sworn that he'd perceived the foul odor before. He stood up abruptly once his mind pieced together what his nose was picking up. Sulfur.

Damned demons! Tristan clenched his fists. The smell was the same as the one he'd picked up from the priestess who'd been trying to sacrifice those kids, and that wasn't it. Tristan had a sinking suspicion that he'd smelled it recently, but it seemed as though his brain couldn't remember where.

It was off-putting for Tristan to struggle to remember anything, given his eidetic memory, so the only logical explanation was that something or someone was trying to meddle with his brain, but whatever it was had picked the wrong person to mess with.

A moment of standing still and focusing on the smell of sulfur was all it took for Tristan to trigger his eidetic memory. Two minutes of total concentration, and Tristan already had an area in mind to search.

"I will be leaving now," He said.

Neither of the pair responded to his words, but Tristan didn't pay them any heed, as he'd gotten what he'd come here for.

Drawing his attention inwards, Tristan mapped out his exact route over the last four days and did his best to try to figure out how to get back there as fast as possible.

Tristan knew from just one glance at those corpses that they were at least two days old, which meant that the friend of those two idiots had a head start on him, and he couldn't go zero over two on fulfilling his goals. He needed to get there, fast.

"Lord Thorfinn," Salras bowed. "I greet you, my liege."

"Speak," Lord Thorfinn's voice boomed from atop his throne.

"Yes, my liege," Salras said. "You have received a recent request from Relas Touch. They are offering you a contract that I believe will interest you."

"I'm retired, and all of Ra'ahal knows that just as surely as you do."

"I'm well aware my liege, but I promise you that this is worth your time," Salras said, her heart pounding.

Seated on his golden throne, with a blank look on his face, Lord Thorfinn fixed his eyes on the messenger bowing to him. "Very well, speak, but keep in mind that your brain will decorate my floor if I find this to be a waste of my time."

Her body stiffened at Lord Thorfinn's words, and she had to remind herself to breathe so that she could speak. "Yes, my liege. The letter says that Relas Touch is willing to offer you fifty percent of all future proceeds from a tora mine in a baby world, and all you have to do in exchange is reclaim the tora mine from the clutches of some native inhabitants who have occupied it. They will also facilitate your transportation to the baby world." There was no doubt in her mind that the letter from Relas Touch would catch the attention of her lord, but Lord Thorfinn was known for being quite erratic, and she could only hope that he'd honor his words and let her live if her message did interest him.

Fifty percent? Lord Thorfinn mused. Is that what those stone cowards think I am worth?

They must really be foolish to think that he'd go through the trouble of reclaiming a tora mine just to give it back to them for fifty percent. At the very least, he deserved eighty percent of all proceeds from the mine, and if they couldn't reach an agreement on that, then he might as well keep the mine to himself after reclaiming it.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Is that everything in the message?"

"No, my liege," Salras said, still bowing. "It says here that once you finish the job, Relas Touch will facilitate a route into the Obsidian Stronghold of the demons."

Lord Thorfinn laughed. "Why didn't you start with that?"

For decades, he'd been looking for ways to get back at the demons for what they'd done to his home world, Narbana.

The demons had come in their droves under the command of Demon King Zephyr the VII. Thorfinn hadn't forgotten the name of the demon in charge, and how could he? That single demon's decision to lead his kind into the world of the orcs had been enough to shatter everything.

Many invading demons had been ruthless, killing at will. Thorfinnn had never seen so much blood. He'd never expected in his widest dreams that the apocalypse that had given them so much power would send those grotesque-looking demons to take it away from them.

Now his homeworld was nothing more than a wasteland occupied by demons, the same as the other worlds conquered by Demon King Zephyr the VII.

It was something that had weighed deeply on Thorfinn's mind ever since he managed to escape from Narbana. He'd grown a lot stronger since the day of the invasion, and he'd earned a name for himself in the process, but it didn't matter enough to him because his sole focus was to kill the Demon King.

Thorfinn had done his best, but it seemed like that goal would forever elude him. The demon King's obsidian stronghold was so secured that he hadn't been able to find a way there in decades, but it seemed like a lost cause, and so he abandoned it and retired.

Now, it seemed a route to get into the demon's seat of power was within reach, and all he had to do was grab it. The damned demon wouldn't even see him coming if he took this route.

If he were successful in killing the demon king, he'd become the ruler of hell, but Thorfinn didn't care about that. All he wanted to see was the demon's head at his feet. And all he had to do to get his chance was reclaim a mine in a baby world.

As far as Thorfinn was concerned, the matter of the mine was already settled. It'd been almost five decades since the apocalypse began on his home world, and he was yet to meet anyone who could best him in a fight, save for Demon King Zephyr the VII. That won't be the case for long.

"Well done, Salrus," Lord Thorfinn commended.

Faster than she could process his words, Salrus split vertically in half, both sides falling in different directions, and her innards spilling onto the floor.

She hadn't even had the chance to cry out in pain before it was all over.

A cruel smile at the gruesome sight replaced Lord Thorfinn's blank expression. He couldn't think of a better way to celebrate a breakthrough in his lifelong goal than to wet his floor with a bit of blood.

Nathan sprinted through the forest as fast as he could, and he also did his best to pay attention to his senses. Sparrow had given him a vague description of what he was supposed to look out for, and he couldn't afford to miss it; Diane's life was on the line.

It took him six hours of constant running through the forest for him to actually get the feeling that Sparrow had described. It was a subtle tugging sensation at the back of his mind. It almost seemed like there was someone beside him, whispering into Nathan's ear that this was just a waste of time and that he should leave this place.

The voice was so convincing that Nathan hadn't immediately known that those weren't his thoughts, but the moment he confirmed that they weren't his, he stopped moving and focused on the tugging sensation. There was no doubt in his mind that something was trying to play with his emotions, and he wasn't going to let whatever it was win the war over his mind.

Nathan closed his eyes, then took in a deep breath to clear his mind, and then he exhaled, noticing how the tugging sensation at the back of his mind seemed to have lost much of its potency.

With the tugging sensation handled, Nathan opened his eyes. He was a lot deeper in the forest, surrounded by what seemed to be normal trees, but when Nathan looked at them closely, he realised that most of the trees surrounding him had splotches of dried blood on them. The blood splatter occurred strategically around the same area of each tree.

It seems like I've finally gotten a lead. Nathan thought as he stared at the blood-stained trees. From where he stood, he could see many more trees stained with blood up ahead, which meant

He now had a clear indicator of the path he was to follow.

A deafening boom echoed in the forest as Nathan kicked off the dirt, sprinting through the forest in the direction of the blood-stained trees, occasionally changing directions and stooping to clear his mind until he came across a stronghold, deep inside the forest.

Nathan's left eye twitched as he spotted the blood that coated the walls of the stronghold, as well as the heads impaled on spikes, left out to rot. His grip on oblivion tightened, not in fear but in anger. The sword seemed to vibrate from how tightly he was gripping it, but he paid no attention to that as he moved towards the metal gate of the stronghold. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the abode of the demon.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.