Dai wanted the imp to just confront him right away, the sooner he got rid of it the faster he could move on. Dai had positioned him on a nice high back chair. He did have a flair for theatrics.

There was a hint of trepidation flowing through him despite that. He couldn't tell if it was excitement or fear. Excitement for being able to fight again or fear for the fact that he hadn't used this 'body' in years or the lack of most magical methods.

He gazed into Flowing River's eyes. They were aqua blue, with tiny wrinkles around on the outside. However, there was something else in those eyes beneath it. "Another one, huh?" She whispered.

Dai could feel a slight tingling in his arms, akin to when someone rests on it for too long. He raised his arm and hundreds of tiny silk threads were trying to worm their way into his flesh. They couldn't pierce through except where he was injured, sharp radiating pain spiked up from there.

He sliced off those threads using his dagger. The imp decided to use that chance, she rushed in and used her rapier for a straight stabbing motion through his gullet. Dai was faster, he stepped out of the way and tried to move in.

The adrenaline pumping through his body gave him a crazy vitality, he hadn't felt this in years. The imp jumped away and kept on dodging his attacks.

Dai had to close the distance for his twin daggers to have any chance of injuring her. All of a sudden, hundreds of silk threads emerged from the ground and tried to pierce him. There were thousands of them.

This was a new type of magic, he wasn't familiar with it but he had an idea that it was meant for restraint. If that was it, then there should be much better arts out there.

The imp all of a sudden burst out with an insane burst of speed and started attacking him like a mad maniac. He was put on the back-foot. He would've just blasted her with a plasma shock-wave or tricked her with some illusion magic.

Instead, he had to parry and guide away each of her strikes. She swung from top-left and he stepped back (just out of range), her other hand 'pulled' and thousands of silk threads jumped out of the ground.

They restrained him, he didn't have the opportunity to jump away. Those thousands of threads started twisting and turning, looking for any 'opening' into his flesh. Intense pain started radiating out of the wounds on his legs.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

He decided to end this, the longer this went on, the more advantageous of a position she had.

He threw his dagger with every ounce of strength he could muster, with a sickening plop it burrowed into her eyeball. Dai didn't stop, he threw in the other dagger into her left eye.

He wasn't done, there was another dagger. The imp screamed, it was hoarse and harrowing. She grasped the two daggers and pulled them out. It was a mistake yet, panic drove irrational decisions.

The imp slumped back on the ground and started sobbing, he couldn't make out her tears from her blood. She reached into her pockets and Dai tensed up. "Have it."

It was a seal, perhaps an official seal meant to signal a ruler? Dai bent down to grab it and something jumped out of her agape mouth. It was a razor thin silk thread with a needle on its end. It pierced his chest. The area around it started to burn up.

Dai slashed away the thread but the damage was done. "There, you should give something up as well." Acrimonious rage engulfed him but this creature was dying, what else could he do.

He ripped away the seal from her chest, it was tied up with a golden chain. "Enjoy it while it lasts, even the Demon Kings don't last long." With that, the last breath in her lungs expired. A giant puddle of blood was forming around her head.

Those last words hit Dai with an unexpected weight. More so, because it was true. He looked at the seal in his hands. Did he really want this anymore? Why was he even here? A base of operations. Yes, that had been the intent but he could've just flown under the radar. There was no point in doing all this.

Instead, it was all about this seal. He placed it on a desk and slumped into the chair. The rising dusk that inhabited these lands pierced through the glass windows and his eyes looked down on what he'd just obtained.

He was a moth, forever obsessed with the flame of power except, it destroyed him. It had done so before, twice for that matter.

He tapped it on the desk, a tingling burning sensation was spreading through his chest. He got up and bent down over Flowing River. He started pulling out the spool of green silk wire that'd injected him.

He pulled out a silk cocoon from her. He placed it carefully on the desk. The desk was magically locked but using the seal unlocked it. Within, it were a few boxes with the cocoons. He found an empty one and placed it in there.

This was a slow acting poison and he had no idea of its effect but it wouldn't be good. He decided to consolidate his gains first.

He went through the imps clothes and found a singular key. She'd bound it up. He wandered around the main room of her study. He had no idea where to place it.

His next best bet, was the servants. They always knew more than they let on. Dai went down to the servants quarter and grabbed the first one he found.

It was a Drude. These creatures were well-versed in the art of dream manipulation, although that right was only reserved for the pure-bloods.

"What is this key used for?"

"The safe under the study desk." That...was fast. He was expecting some level of resistance.