The Prince of Demons

Lux was patting her musclehead on the head for a job well done while he smiled contently; I was utterly struggling to grasp how Ikol defeated Vndrglz. Ikol didn't just barely win either; he won faster and more decisively than Lux somehow. Just how did Lux know he would? She clearly grasped some weakness of Vndrglz in that fight I was unaware of as I couldn't fathom Ikol able to win like he just did. I definitely vastly underestimated Ikol. We all did. Zagzin was wide eyed, staring at the sky as his brain seemed to completely disconnect from reality, not that I currently blamed him. Lux stopped patting Ikol, walked over to Vndrglz, and then proceeded to lift him out of the ground. Lords above. Vndrglz had massive cracks throughout his carapace that he was bleeding heavily out of, and I clenched my jaw to avoid gasping from the sheer amount of damage I was looking. How did Ikol do that much damage? Lux looked pleased as she went back to Ikol, sitting happily.

"Heal faster, we need to get moving." Lux ordered Vndrglz. Ever so compassionate Lux.

Zagzin was disassociating from how much he was outclassed by Ikol; there was a chance that his brain just completely fried by the ridiculous event that just transpired. My pride was barely holding itself together, so I could only imagine my weak gip brother's feelings at the moment. Vndrglz was sputtering, trying to get his body together. He better take it easy for a while with wounds like that regardless of how much he can heal himself. That level of thrashing from our <Sentinel Lord> companions truly would leave lasting damage if he didn't heal carefully. I'm too curious about Lux, I think I am going to risk her anger to learn more. The longer I spent with her the more bizarre she seemed. It was honestly impressive how she seemed to so effortlessly keep topping how she surprised me previously without even batting an eye.

"So, Lux." I began, thinking of how to phrase my next several questions.

"What?" Lux checked. Ikol was sitting obediently behind Lux again, looking at attention.

"Can you please explain Ni? Also, how did you know Ikol would thrash Vndrglz? I am struggling to understand what I just witnessed." I confessed, hoping Lux would feel like answering.

"His name is Nil." Lux corrected me with a shiza eating smirk. Ikol nodded along as if to confirm what she was saying. Ikol, Lux does not need you backing her up.

"Who is Nil?" I asked as I wanted to learn more. I needed to learn more as Lux obviously had something I clearly lacked.

"The ever innovative and nerdy delver of all <Magic>, Nil. He is a longtime friend of mine that I will make kneel before my might." Lux declared, her diamond eyes glowing furiously.

"He's really strong and is so nice." Ikol added on, which earned a swat from Lux.

"Why do you want to avoid talking about him?" I checked as I could sense her growing irritation.

"Because it is always his world I get dragged into. He is always the one people watch, and this is my <Journey> with Ikol." Lux snarled, seeming quite annoyed.

"Why is that?" I probed, seeing the most bitter expression on her face yet.

"Nil is in a death match with a monster he is preparing for that I am on his side for. Now I am going to defeat Nil because I refuse to be dead weight." Lux snapped. Something clicked in my head. She's worried about being weaker than Nil. Just how strong was Nil then?

"How old is Nil?" I inquired while wondering if he was just a lot older.

"Same age, roughly." Lux grumbled. By her eyes I could tell she was done with this topic. I guess this is her making her own story. But why did she keep Ikol around then? She even actively defended him. Was that because of his mother?

So, why do you keep Ikol around? I asked as that seemed a bit odd to me.

He is my loyal musclehead. Lux answered, not grasping my point. So as long as she's the boss it didn't bother her, which was kind of in line with what I observed from her. That only made me more curious about the nerdy delver of all <Magic>.

"How did you know Ikol would win faster than you?" I checked to change the topic before pushing my luck much further on that vein. I still did not understand how Lux put those dots together.

"Because Ikol is physically stronger than me; he has the muscle to lift and bust through the carapace better than I can." Lux told me. Just sheer brute force? That is Ikol's specialty. The explanation felt a bit lacking, as I doubted it encompassed the entire reason Lux was so confident.

"What about Vndrglz's <Magic>?" I probed. Lux chuckled at that.

"Ikol's <Magic> has gotten much better as well as his ability to deal with an opponent's <Magic>." Lux stated matter-of-factually. Her face made it clear she enjoyed having a useful minion I mean loyal musclehead by her side.

"Ipnerslei and Orga were so helpful!" Ikol chimed happily. Who the forl were they? My mind went to the fox and light being that I heard about. It is all connected after all.

"Any other nosy questions?" Lux asked pointedly. Alright, question time was over for now.

"You could ask me questions." I pointed out, wanting to keep the conversation going. Lux definitely has knowledge I lack. Seeing what it did for Ikol, I wanted to know it for myself.

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"I don't care about that." Lux shot back with no hesitation. I was trying hard not to feel a bit offended by just how quickly Lux replied.

"You could." I tried weakly. Lux chuckled some more at my shameless attempt.

"I might be obligated to answer more questions if I do that." Lux retorted, stretching a bit as Vndrglz was starting to actually stand up.

"You answered the first couple I had." I grumbled. Lux was smiling.

"You were learning about your new, glorious leader, of course I would give you some insight." Lux stated. Yea, playing to her ego is definitely the move in the future. No wonder she kept Ikol around, his blind worship probably made her internally ecstatic.

"Glorious leader?" Zagzin probed as he was clearly getting back into reality.

"That is Chef!" Ikol corrected us, looking annoyed we got the name wrong. You of all beings judging on that hits a nerve I wasn't aware I had right until now. Not that I was going to let it show.

"Me, I am in charge." Lux snapped at him, looking irritated Zagzin didn't grasp who she referred to. Unlike before, Lux didn't even bother trying to dissuade Ikol from calling her Chef.

"Yes, the leader of our temporary <Pack>, Lux. Our fearless, glorious leader as she is the strongest." I prodded my brother. Zagzin at least caught on I was trying to give him hints.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Lux sighed at me, looking unamused at my attempt. She is not a complete narcissist. Unfortunate.

"But Chef, you are the strongest!" Ikol chimed, not grasping why Lux was annoyed at what I said. Lux smiled and pat his head. Forling sincere belief in the glory of Chef. Ikol really set the bar for trying to play towards her ego so high.

"I will be." Lux told him with a smile.

"So, why are we waiting around?" Zagzin inquired. Maybe my brother really was the dumb one after all.

"I am waiting for someone to finish healing; my new servant is coming with us." Lux declared loudly, sounding irritated that Vndrglz was not fully healed.

"Won't he slow us down?" Zagzin checked. Lux looked at him like he was an idiot.

"With <Darkness Magic>? Have you taken too many hits from Ikol to the head?" Lux asked back with an expression that made it clear she thought it was the dumbest question she had heard in a while. This was some more knowledge Lux had that we needed. It is so obvious to her she doesn't even realize we might not know.

"Can you clarify?" Vndrglz requested, struggling with each word as he tested each of his legs a little, wincing as he moved the front ones.

"<Darkness Magic> is not as good as <Light Magic> at moving fast, but <Shifting Shadow> is a great <Technique> for moving rapidly with <Darkness Magic>." Lux answered. What was that?

"What is <Shifting Shadow>?" Vndrglz pressed. Lux seemed to grasp it was knowledge we lacked finally. Where did she see that?

"You melt into the ground as a mass of darkness and move along the ground that way. You can also use it to hide in the shadow of someone else with the <Technique>." Lux explained. Vndrglz was still recovering as he clearly listened to every word.

"I can walk as I recover the rest of the way." Vndrglz stated, sounding bitter about his current state. He was easily thirty minutes from being healed enough to test a new <Technique>.

"Fine." Lux sighed. She summoned the little orb <Spell> with an arrow she kept using and began walking in the direction it indicated. I know it points towards Elijiah, but what <Magic> is that?

Can you explain Lux? I am clearly missing something. Vndrglz requested as we began walking.

I am trying to figure it out myself. She is from somewhere, not that I am sure wherever that is. She is friends with some being called Nil she wants to be stronger than. Lux knows two beings called Ipnerslei and Orga, where one is some fox being and the other is a being made of light allegedly. Lux got lessons from King Miril personally, which I am not sure how that happened. I am not grasping more than that at the moment. She has a lot of <Spells> and <Techniques> that seem to be from another world, along with her knowledge. Did you need something else? I explained. She occasionally asked an odd question or two, but that could be she lived somewhere isolated. From her few statements, Nil was not on this <Journey>, nor on Phestia. Still wasn't sure how that worked.

That answers the biggest questions I have. Vndrglz sighed as his body shook a bit.

I'm trying to figure out more than that. I informed him. Vndrglz chuckled at that.

That is so surprising. Vndrglz mocked as if wanting to know about this random <Sentinel Lord> that was currently in charge was some grave sin. Lux was by far one of the most intriguing beings I had ever met.

What were your questions? I checked, having a decent guess what they were.

Not important. The real question is how did Lux get King Miril to teach her. Vndrglz grumbled. I let it slide as he just got two back-to-back beatings.

We all began walking after Lux; Ikol bounded happily after her. She would vanish for a second before a massive plume of dirt showed where she stopped almost a mile away. Her distance with that is getting farther. Lux would return, not able to stop all that gracefully by us. Ikol seemed enthralled by the <Technique> as he began trying to mimic it on his own. Ikol stopped with much more force than Lux, creating a truly massive plume of dust where he stopped, kicking up massive crags of stone as well. The two both kept practicing the <Technique>, with Lux's distance gradually but surely getting better while Ikol's stops became less destructive. They're growing again. I needed to innovate something to try and keep up with these monsters because I refused to be left behind by Ikol. I am so glad I never held his stupidity against him like Zagzin or Vndrglz. Never thought that decision would pay off as well as it did.

Any ideas on how to not look like complete weaklings next to those two? Zagzin probed in a bitter tone. Normally I'd tell him think on the matter better to taunt him, but clearly, we need to work fast.

Maybe try to mimic dad's <Natural Might> for now. It'll be difficult and challenging, though I think we need to go big if we want to compete with what those two are doing. I answered. I at least knew the theory of how that <Technique> worked.

As I was debating how to explain it to my brother, Lux and Ikol collided at hyper speed. Oh my forling ears. The sound that erupted from their collision was deafening, with both of them shooting back to their feet. Lux looked annoyed as she swat Ikol who was giving her his massive pouting eyes. Lux sternly glared at him as he shrank away from her while the two kept walking. I also should develop something for tracking that kind of speed. Currently if Lux decided to use that <Technique>, my chances of dodging it were slim to none. How did you dodge something moving that fast? There had to be some limitation to it. If I ask her, would she tell me? Didn't hurt to try, so far.

"Do you have any method of detecting Ikol moving that fast?" I asked Lux. Lux was still staring into Ikol's soul without looking away; Ikol was still trying to give her the big eyes of appeasement.

"You use the cone method." Ikol answered sheepishly. Lux looked more annoyed now. Wait, Ikol knows the answer?! What was the cone method? Before I could ask for clarification, Lux picked up the pace so we would struggle to probe any further. Oh come on you tyrant.