The Prince of Demons

My lessons shifted immensely after I sliced the tip of the spire off. Nez shifted to teaching me , or more accurately called, . It limited the amount of that could be used, and did a very specific, prewritten effect based on the used. He also taught me more on controlling my , and manipulating the between and . Under no circumstances was I supposed to cast an actual . Nox began teaching me ways to use my to augment my body to traverse his obstacle courses. On top of it all, my uncles made improving my and easily twice as much as the lessons. My uncles are making sure I have no whatsoever by the end of the day. Needless to say, the last month was overwhelmingly boring. Lux also refused to spar with me recently, which I was missing surprisingly. Not that I have ever won. Currently, my free time was perfecting my , , and . It was the beginning of my secret weapon. My uncles might have a point about using in dangerous ways. My needed work, as the effect lasted all of half a second. There’s a lot of questions, what do I prioritize asking Kron? Like with the question there is no guarantee he’ll answer and try to dodge it. Maybe getting the working won’t be too much of an ask. I also needed to find a way to make the main body, and how to an for repeated use.

Currently, I was testing my . I put some into it, and a small puff of flame shot out; I couldn’t even feel how little it took to activate but unfortunately the paper I drew the on turned to ash. I put into my , and a small metal bullet appeared, and again the vanished after use. At least it seems to reference the same storage location wherever it is. The worked as intended, which was no surprise. I need steel or a comparable metal to make the barrel, and to make the work. I think the bigger hurdle was getting the barrel. I can’t even draw it properly, let alone find someone to make it. I needed to get to Temple somehow to talk with Kron; they might be able to help me out. As it stood, this was my small window of free time to test out . I had maybe another twelve minutes before breakfast.

For the life of me, I could not figure out what was wrong with the . The symbols were correct, my formation appeared correct, and the usage seemed to be right. I put in, the bullet was infused with , and less than a second later it was back to being normal metal. The piece of paper I drew the on seemed to still have pulsing through it. Maybe I need to put the onto the bullet itself for the use I’m intending. I made a small needle of and etched the onto the bullet. I tried infusing into the , and the bullet was emanating a fair amount of . I inspected it with my . It was a blob of , but a lot closer to what I wanted. Helga entered the room, and I quickly stashed my work into my ; right now it could only store about a cubic foot max. Not a lot, but it could store my few sheets of paper, ink, and the bullet. She took Lux and I down for breakfast. My mother was definitely showing her pregnancy more; she and my dad looked quite happy. Cesar was standing by with the daily itinerary while my uncles were there discussing the lessons for the day.

“I will be taking Nil today.” Mom ordered. Yes, a reprieve from the lessons and a day with my mom! Win all around!

The rest of breakfast I didn’t really pay attention to. My uncles made some plan for their unexpected day off, my dad looked despairingly at the length of the list of stuff he and Cesar had to go over, and I was bouncing with excitement at spending the day with my mom. Lux was still ignoring me, but one battle at a time. Mom carried me to her study as soon as breakfast was over.

“Mom is best!” I cheered repeatedly on the way to the study. Mom sat down in her large chair and placed me in her lap. After holding me for a few minutes she began to sing Requiem of Fate. I wonder why she liked to sing that song. Her other favorite was The Formation of Tenebrae.

“I used to sing in Temple all the time when I was younger. We haven’t taken you yet, but I am thinking we are going to start taking you next week.” Mom whispered to me.

“Temple?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“It’s a place where we go to pay thanks to the Lords of Tenebrae. I think you will enjoy it.” Mom explained as she began to sing The Formation of Tenebrae when a massive amount of hit the castle. Does Dad even have this much ? This is insane. She flinched for a second before relaxing. Why was she so calm?

“It’s one of your grandfathers Nil!” she cheered excitedly. I mean, I imagined I had grandfathers, I just assumed they were dead because I haven’t seen them and they were absent from Nox and Nez’s wedding.

Mom excitedly picked me up and hurried to the main hall. All of the guards were cowering, shaking horribly in their boots. I heard a distinct snapping sound as the doors burst open as two elderly demons walked calmly in. One of them had intense red eyes, shooting daggers all around.

"Emperor Father Nil!” my mom cheered, and the eyes softened immensely.

“Senna dear, I told you that you can call me Nil. Where are my useless sons?” Grandfather Nil replied with a smile.

“Wait Nil, who is this little angel?” my grandmother instructed while looking at me.

“This is my son, your grandson, Nil Sathanas Crowthorne.” Mom answered. Their eyes got intense again.

“WHY WAS I NOT MADE AWARE I HAD A GRANDSON?! AZZECK, NOX, GET HERE NOW!” my grandfather roared, his shaking the entire castle, making it difficult to breathe.

“Dear, you are going to frighten little Nil.” my grandmother scolded. His eyes were absolutely ablaze.

After a few seconds, my dad, uncles, and Cesar all materialized into the main hall. My father and Uncle Nox were visibly sweating. Their eyes were wide, and glancing back at each other with a which one of us is in more trouble vibe. My grandfather was glaring between Nez and me.

“Who is this?” my grandfather growled, pointing at Nez.

“I am Nez Beelze Crowthorne your Excellency.” Nez replied with a polite bow.

“Why is your middle name the same as that restaurant, and I was not aware I had another son.” my grandfather snapped, but his eyes were on Uncle Nox.

“My family opted to give me a middle name based off the famous gourmet and general Beelze Alcifon Rocburn, which the restaurant also is named after. And I am Nox’s husband.” Nez explained. Uncle Nox, I don't think that's good for you.

“YOU GOT MARRIED AND WE WERE NOT INVITED TO THE WEDDING?!” my grandfather roared.

“W-w-we w-weren’t able t-t-to find you t-two. We t-tried for a m-month.” Nox stammered. My grandfather looked ready to kill him.

“What is your excuse Azzeck?” my grandfather barked. I could see Cesar with the smuggest smirk I had ever seen as the two of them were sweating.

My grandmother had already begun ignoring the furious rant my grandfather was about to unleash upon my dad and uncle. She walked over and began trying to play peek-a-boo with me. I just stared at her, trying to figure out how I wanted to act.

“Has he cast his first yet Senna?” my grandmother probed sweetly as my grandfather began tearing into my dad and uncle.

“Oh yes. He is quite talented with . Problematically talented.” my mom replied with a heavy sigh.

“DID YOU SEARCH WITH SOME BLIND PEOPLE? DID THEY ARRIVE IN A CITY, SAY WE TRIED AND TURN AROUND?! HOW DID YOU FAIL TO NOTIFY US OF BOTH OF THESE EVENTS?!” my grandfather lectured in the background as my grandmother motioned to hold me.

“Can you cast a for grandma?” she asked as she held me.

“Absolutely not Nil!” Mom and Nez snapped in unison.

“What harm can one little be? What is the problem with him casting one ?” my grandmother inquired.

“I guess a harmless should be fine. A simple, small little .” Mom conceded, emphasizing the word small.

“My dear mother-in-law, little Nil here can cast some seriously problematic .” Nez informed her.

“You and I are going to have a wonderful chat later dear, as I want to get to know my new son-in-law, but how strong can a two year old’s be?” she asked, her voice making it clear she was not actually asking a question.

“I want to see my grandson’s and meet my new son in law!” my grandfather demanded.

“We can have some lovely tea later, but I would heavily advise against asking little Nil to cast seriously.” Nez interjected.

“What could he possibly do?” my grandparents asked in unison.

“Nil is probably the most talented our family has seen in a has seen in a millennia.” Dad explained sheepishly.

“We all believe our children are extremely talented. I want to see what he can do!” my grandfather snapped back.

My parents and uncles looked at each other and shrugged. They clearly didn’t want to argue the point any further. I got to cast an actual again! Today was turning out to be great. Mom grabbed me and set me on the ground.

“Nil, show grandpa your .” Mom instructed. My parents and uncles promptly moved behind me.

“You are just overselling it at this point. It will probably be a minor incapable of so much as scratching me.” my grandfather exasperated. Challenge accepted.

“I would highly recommend putting up a father.” Dad instructed with a smile.

My grandfather sighed and just gave a look. At this point, the guards all made sure to not be remotely in line with me. My grandmother looked around, realized what they did, and moved towards my parents and uncles. I instantly prepped the same that decapitated the spire, but added substantially more this time. Not enough for , but to give it much more pep than before. My grandfather’s eyes went wide as I unleashed the . I gave him maybe a few seconds to prep some form of defense. The blade burst out, slamming into him, slicing through his armor and launching him back ten feet before he made the blade dissipate.

“WHAT THE FORL WAS THAT?!” my grandfather yelled, his arm dripping blood.

“Language!” my grandma snapped at my grandfather.

“Forl! Forl! Forl!” I chanted happily.

“Don’t say that word Nil!” my parents snapped quickly.

“To be fair, you were warned several times Nil was talented.” Nox interjected with a smirk.

“My word he is quite strong. How did he learn to do that?” my grandma checked.

“That is just the start of the headache of his abilities.” Mom explained. At this point, Lux sauntered in to figure out what the commotion was all about.

“Why is there a baby in the castle?” my grandfather asked.

“That is Nil’s , Lux.” Nez answered. My grandma smirked as my grandfather looked super confused.

“My my my, my little grandson has quite the story. A , powerful , what else does he have?” my grandma checked.

“How could there be more?” my grandfather inquired.

“Dear, you did not look closely at our little grandson. He also has a

for and I think . From what I can tell, he also has an . I am curious to know why you would squander his future for short term gain?” my grandma lectured. My parents looked calmly back at her.

“Well, he has a pure for his , a for his , and nothing for yet. His is a that is from Kron. It was the best solution for his and incredible growth rate.” Mom explained.

“We have had to resort to teaching him because anything else whether he simply saw or was taught it he could make a very dangerous version, much like .” Dad added.

“What an amazing little grandson!” my grandma praised with a wide smile.

“Senna, could you please heal my arm? I never dreamed he would be able to do that.” my grandfather requested.

Mom walked over and healed his arm while my grandma walked over and picked me up. She was doing the little toddler bouncing thing as my uncle Nox and dad began chuckling amongst themselves, clearly pleased with what had happened. Nez was near my mom, grandma, and I making little animals out of to entertain me, which I acted super thrilled to see.

“Azzeck, Nox, I do not know what you are laughing at. My grandson looks to be two, and this entire time you hadn’t notified me! And Nox, marrying this fine gentleman and not inviting us to the wedding!” my grandfather snarled.

“I have a feeling Nil is going to be yelling at our sons for a while, so how about you join Senna and I for some tea, Nez.” my grandma instructed.

“I would love to.” Nez replied as my grandfather seemed to start getting his second wind for lecturing them.

“Dear, I will be having tea with our in-laws. Come join us as soon as you are done chewing out our sons, who I am quite disappointed in at the moment.” my grandma said calmly to them, which made my dad and uncle look like they’d been shot.

My grandma carried me as she followed Nez and Mom to a tea room. Lux followed along, curious who this new person was. The room was simple enough, with a plain but elegant fireplace, a few chairs with an ornate coffee table, and a matching couch. It had a nice view over the town. They each took a seat after my grandma set me on the couch and sent for some tea and biscuits.

“So Nez dear, how did you and Nox meet? What do you do for a living? Do you and Nox plan on adopting?” my grandma interrogated.

“We are discussing whether we want to adopt a kid. For a living I am an currently being hired as a private tutor for Crown Prince Nil here. Now for the story of how Nox and I met. So, I just recently passed the Exam, and moved here to Umbra for a position in the Institution of Mages. As I was learning the city, I was having breakfast at a cafe when I noticed Nox sitting at a table not so subtly checking me out. I originally ordered a coffee and croissant, waiting for him to make a move. After reading the entire newspaper and was about to maybe make one myself, he finally got the courage to come up to talk to me where he immediately tripped and spilled what had to be his fourth cup of coffee all over me. From there one thing led to the next and we got married.” Nez answered joyfully.

“So how did you end up becoming little Nil’s private tutor? What qualifications do you have as a tutor?” my grandma pressed.

“I was originally recommended by Grand Archmagus Solomon, and that’s also how I found out the Nox was a Prince when Grand Archmagus Solomon summoned me to meet Azzeck and Senna. The original post I was here to take was a teacher for , and have taken numerous courses to get certifications for teaching through the Institution of Mages.” Nez explained.

“Leave it to Nox to forget to mention a detail like that.” my grandma sighed.

“It’s okay, I find his clumsiness is quite endearing.” Nez defended him.

“So Senna dear, what have you been up to recently? Is Azzeck remembering to worship the ground you walk on?” my grandma asked.

“For the last time he doesn’t need to worship the ground I walk on!” my mom snapped, her face turning a bright red.

“As my husband and I have said, you are much too good for him, and he better make sure to stay on top of his game. If he slacks for even a second, let us know.” my grandma instructed as the tea and biscuits arrived.

“I feel there is a story behind this.” Nez chimed in, excitedly sipping his tea.

“My word, first he dates someone thirty years younger than him just to start. I mean, not uncommon, but still he was so awkward the entire time. I imagine Azzeck made Nox look like an absolute charmer in comparison. If I recall he botched the first five dates with how nervous he got around you; you have to have the patience of a saint with how terrible he was. It is like he had never spoken to a woman before. His social graces needed some work at the time, but with you it was like his brain just stopped working.” my grandma ranted. Hold the fu- I mean forl up. Did she say thirty years? My mom looks to be in her twenties, and so does my dad. There is no way he is fifty. How long do demons live?

“Is it a trait that Crowthornes are just terrible when it comes to dating?” Nez asked.

“Do not even get me started on their father. It is clearly a family trait.” my grandma snapped.

“Anyways, I have been working on some social reforms to improve working conditions in less wealthy areas and cracking down on the exploitation of workers. It has been hard getting some of the aristocrats to budge and see the issue with the working conditions, but the idea has been popular in the Senate, and with my support and Cesar working the idea, it has been making progress.” Mom interjected quickly, clearly wanting to change the subject.

“My how the times change. How are you improving the working conditions for people?” my grandma replied.

“With the introduction of some minimum safety requirements, such as proper job attire, protection when working with dangerous materials or performing a potentially harmful task, and mandating breaks and sick days to help curb outbreaks of disease.” Mom explained.

“That sounds doable and like it shouldn’t impact production too much. Maybe even increase it if the workers aren’t being harmed.” my grandma praised.

“I have been helping by developing some with low requirements that are easy to make en masse that meet her proposed safety minimum when not teaching little Nil. There are a few kinks to work out, but they are nearing completion.” Nez added on.

“Please go into more detail about that.” my grandma requested. The conversation continued that trend as I zoned out. Lux was perched, staring at my grandma, trying to figure out who she was. After a few minutes, Lux leaped next to me and swatted my head.

That isn't very nice. I chastised.

Who is she? Lux asked.

I thought you were ignoring me. I replied. Lux let out a low growl in response.

Not any longer. Who is she? Lux pressed.

She is my grandma. I haven’t caught what her name is yet. I answered.

Oh. Lux replied, clearly expecting a more elaborate answer.

I like her, she seems nice. I said.

Want to wrestle? I am bored. Lux asked.

I do not think now is a good time. Definitely later, I will finally win today. I declared.

As if. Lux mocked as she curled around me. We laid there for a second before I drifted off to sleep.