"More and more humans came to the Underworld, killing one Underworld creature after another in hopes that one of them would bring them the same riches the first human warrior got from the landwyrm. When they got only one or maybe two magic gems per monster, their greed only grew and they began slaughtering any beast they found," the narrator said, as the actors on the stage recreated the scene, magical monster constructs littering the stage.

Morrigan noticed that the black and white figures in the back were slowly separating from one another, going from a deep hug to merely holding hands.

"The inhabitants of the Underworld began to notice how it became harder and harder to find monsters to hunt and how magical gems that were previously in abundant supply, began to dwindle. They searched for the cause and soon discovered it to be humans," the narrator continued, his voice turning slightly grim.

"The demons went to the humans and asked them to stop, hoping to solve the matter peacefully at first. But humans had discovered a power they never held in their hands before and became arrogant and greedy. They rejected the demons and continued to kill the monsters of the Underworld."

"But the demons weren't willing to accept it so they took up arms and fought against humans. They were stronger, and soon it became near impossible for humans to venture Underground. For a short while it felt like the peace had been restored in the Underworld," the narrator said, the scene changed to happy looking demons and other Underworld races. The black and white figures were barely touching fingers, their heads turned away from each other.

"While the demons were celebrating, humans were hard at work, trying to come up with a solution to overcome the magically more powerful demons. And one day they discovered the secret of the demonkind," the narrator said, and the music became melancholic, with heavy drum beats playing in the background.

He must be talking about the fact that demon children are born without souls. I guess they wouldn't announce that with so many guests of other races around.

"They created magic that could summon demons and bind them to their will, giving up their own souls as payments," the tone of the narrator's voice indicated how worthless the payment actually was. On the stage the same human warrior from before had a demon woman locked in chains.

"With this newfound power, humans continued to pillage the Underworld until there was nothing left. But their greed knew no bounds and they began to look to their neighbors in Overworld for more. They conquered the elves, the dwarves, and all other Overworld races, taking everything to themselves."

"Meanwhile the people of the Underworld suffered. Stronger demons were forced to fight their wars while weaker ones were used for hard labor. Demon, drow and duergar alike died from starvation and exhaustion," The narrator's voice was low and full of sorrow, while actors on the stage portrayed the misery demons had felt. The black and white figures in the back were also clashing against each other in battle.

"But one day, a young demon, who was enslaved by the same demon warrior who first invaded the Deep, learned how to break free of his chains. He killed the warrior and began teaching the demons to free themselves of human contract. A bloody war began between humans and demons."

The scene on the stage showed demons and humans clashing with swords while magic swirled around the air, making it both beautiful and gruesome at the same.

"A war dragged on for many centuries. Demons grew weary and exhausted, while humans could continue without remorse, one generation replaced by the next. The young demon, now the King, understood that the war could not drag on for much longer. And so he gathered all of the strongest demon mages and closed all entrances to the Underworld," the narrator said, and the black and white figures took center stage ahead. Only this time they were separated by a giant wall.

"Since that day the Overworld and Underworld became separate and this world became known as Doppelta – the Dual World. The Underworld has continued to live in peace under the first Demon King's rule and to this day we honor the king that freed our world. We honor the First King Nachtstern!"

All actors came onto the stage and bowed, and the crowd followed suit, turning their gazes to Alphegor and then bowing before him. Even the concubines and all of Morrigan's sisters rose to their feet and bowed, so Morrigan hurried to follow their lead. It felt a bit odd, bowing to their Father like that but she understood that it was her duty.

"Praise King Nachtstern!" the crowd began to chant.

"Praise King Nachtstern!" the concubines and Morrigan's sister repeated.

"Praise King Nachtstern!" she repeated too, but there was a sort of unpleasant nagging at the back of her mind.

I understand why the demons hate humans so much but is this really all that there is to this tale? It felt rather… one-sided, painting humans as the absolute bad guys.

***

After the play, the people were shooed away from the Market Square to prepare the grand evening feast. Apparently, all of the best food and drinks were brought out for celebration and everyone could have their fill, even the poor who were already eagerly lining up on the side streets, waiting for the preparations to finish.

But the royal family would not partake in this feast, and instead, there was a different one prepared in the Demon Castle where all of the notable demons and representatives from Underworld countries came together to mingle. It was considered the grandest event and anyone who was somebody even remotely important was set to attend.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Morrigan, however, wished that she wouldn't have to attend and groaned as the maids were once again set upon the task of dolling her up for the occasion. The fact that she had won the Competition made her into the main attraction of the show, so she expected to have a very long and exhausting evening ahead of her.

"Gunna, perhaps I could just slip away to my room and pretend to be sick?" she asked her dwarf nanny who was busy preparing her a fresh new hairstyle for the night.

"I wish I could allow you to do so. It is too much for a small child," Gunna sighed, gently patting Morrigan's head, comforting warmth radiating from her palm. She enjoyed the soothing sensation, letting her worries fade if only for a moment. After a moment, the nanny continued, "But do not worry. You will not be alone. Master Alphegor will always be there to support you."

"He looked a bit angry at me before," Morrigan noted, remembering the cold gaze he cast upon them after she begged him to free Galandir. She did not regret her decision, although three million gold was definitely an infuriating amount.

Slavery as such just shouldn't exist, especially when it comes to children. They should be growing and learning, instead of doing hard labor.

"Even so, he wouldn't just leave you alone during such an important event," Gunna said, and the demon maids nodded in agreement as they kept fixing her dress. "Not to mention that your sister will be there too."

Deziara being there is definitely a relief, but Viana… I feel like she'll be eager to make even more trouble for me than others. Perhaps, I should make a point of avoiding her if possible. Just to be safe.

"There, all done," Gunna announced, patting down Morrigan's shoulders. "Now everyone will be too stunned by your beauty to say anything."

The maids once again nodded vigorously in agreement, their eyes shining with pride at the hard work. Morrigan looked in the mirror and saw how her long hair had been styled into a high ponytail with elegant locks weaving down her shoulders. Meanwhile, her dark red dress with gold accents truly made her look like the princess of the Underworld.

"Wish me luck," she said with a sigh and left the dressing room, going into the adjacent waiting room. Azrael was sprawled on one of the couches there, looking bored.

"Oh, finally! I thought you'd never come," he grumbled and got up from his seat.

"It takes time for a lady to get ready," she replied, mimicking what she had once heard Viana say.

"Where's the lady you're talking about? I only see a kid that I need to babysit," he said.

"How interesting, because I also only see a kid," she retorted, and they both stared at each other for a while. Slowly Morrigan felt her lips curl upwards as did Azrael's and they both broke out in laughter.

"If somebody tries to ask me to dance, please stop them," Morrigan said as she walked up to Azrael and took hold of his extended elbow.

"Don't worry, this isn't technically a ball. It's supposed to be a feast. There will be music playing and there's a small space for dancing, but you can reject anyone without any repercussions tonight," he explained and began leading her out of the waiting room.

"Wait, before we go out there, I wanted to ask. Where'd you put Galandir?" She pulled on him and stopped him from walking any further.

"In the prison, of course. Where else?" he shrugged, completely unperturbed by his words. Morrigan gaped at him in shock.

"Prison?! Isn't he supposed to be free?" she snapped at him, anger bubbling inside her. Azrael laughed in a mocking sort of fashion.

"The King paid three million gold for that pipsqueak, and you expect he'd just be allowed to march free? Although by the look on your face, it seems like you fully expected us to open a portal to the Overworld and send him on his way with a gift basket in tow."

The last bit seemed a bit over the top, but Morrigan had indeed hoped that Galandir would be able to return home, wherever it may be.

"But why imprison him? He didn't commit any crimes," she objected.

"Oh, but he did, even if you tried to hide it. But we'll deal with that tomorrow. Today we still have work to do," Azrael said and resumed walking again. Morrigan followed him numbly as the sense of dread she had before grew stronger.

Father probably knew what Galandir tried to do that night when I stopped him but decided to ignore at the time it because of me. Could it be that he'll have to suffer punishment for that now? Oh, dear… That could be even worse than whatever punishment the fallen wanted to inflict upon him.

She remembered how the fallen were dragging the elven boy away in the middle of a big celebration without any care for keeping appearances. It was clear that he would have gotten more than just a stern lecture. Morrigan took solace in that thought and began thinking of ways of how to convince her father to overlook Galandir's transgression or at least soften whatever punishment he deemed to be right.

Before long Azrael and Morrigan reached the grand ballroom, which was already buzzing with excited chatter. The whole place was lined with smaller and larger tables which had all manner of foods set upon them. Many were already happily enjoying the decadent dishes.

Waiters hurried left and right, bringing food and drinks to the guests while they sat at the table and enjoyed chatting with others. The atmosphere was more relaxed than yesterday, although as soon as Morrigan entered the room, the chatter stopped and all eyes fell upon her.

"Dear guests, I am proud to present the winner of the Nachtstern Festival Competition – Princess Morrigan," Azrael announced in his amplified voice, and everyone applauded. Morrigan did a small curtsy and plastered on her best polite smile.

"Princess Morrigan, would you please join our table?" a burly demon with twisting horns addressed her, and she recognized him as Duke Ramhorn from the painting she had studied before.

Seems like looking through those demon noble portraits was not a waste of time after all.

"My son was most impressed by your display and he wanted to discuss more about the topic," the demon continued and pointed toward his son, a scrawny-looking demon who most certainly did not look interested in the topic.

"No, Princess Morrigan, you should join our table. My son was absolutely blown away by your magic, and would love to learn more about it," a corpulent demoness called out, despite sitting three tables away.

"No, Princess Morrigan, you should sit at our table. Our house has specialized in magic for generations. I am sure there is much we could discuss," another demon called out, and soon a whole swarm followed after them.

Oh, dear God. If you exist in this world, please grant me strength to endure this night.