While the sleeping bags had not made sleeping on the ground as comfortable as sleeping in the bed (a normal bed, not whatever the lizard demons claimed to be a bed), it certainly made it more bearable. The servants and guards were especially happy about them, claiming that they were more comfortable than their regular beds. Morrigan was sure that they were merely exaggerating. Or at least she hoped so.

Another bonus feature of the sleeping bags was the fact that once they were rolled up, they didn't take up too much space. So even with the limited space they had remaining in the supply wagons, they still managed to squeeze all the sleeping bags inside.

As their journey continued, Morrigan felt that with each kilometer that they got closer to the Glittering Cave, the magic in there was getting… thicker. More pronounced. Almost tangible. She couldn't explain it well in words, but it was clear for everyone that they were getting near the place where magic of this world originated.

The surrounding area also became more ethereal. There were no demon settlements on their way, however, the amount of life steadily increased. There were more and more bioluminescent plants and they were becoming bigger and bigger. Most of the Underworld had some sorts of bioluminescent plants but most were no bigger than a blueberry bush. However, here they were plants the size of small trees.

"It's so beautiful here," Deziara said, looking at the magical forest in awe. Viana nodded in agreement, a rare satisfied smile appearing on her lips.

"Look at all of these beautiful flowers," Morrigan said enthusiastically with a sketch pad in hand. She was sketching as many plants as she could, trying to capture as many details as she could. The constant shaking of the carriage made it difficult to make detailed sketches, but that didn't stop her.

"Princess Morrigan, we are approaching the Glittering Cave of Magic," one of the guards called out, and Morrigan peeked her head out of the carriage window. Somewhere further away into the glittering dark, she saw it—a colorful light which constantly shimmered with a different light. If she didn't know any better she would have said that it was a way up to be the Overworld.

But as they got closer, she saw how the cave was made out of large crystalline structures of various colors. At the edges, there were just a few crystals embedded into the wall of the cave, but gradually the number of crystals increased. The entrance itself was completely made out of crystal which shone with pleasant warm light. And each of those crystals produced magic.

"Your Majesty, we are proud to greet you in this sacred place," the demon guard who was stationed by the cave entrance said as all the princesses got out of the carriage. The air was so thick with magic, Morrigan found it difficult to breathe. Her whole body was overflowing with magic and she had this urge to release the energy.

"I thought nobody could live in this place?" Morrigan whispered to Viana.

"The guards don't live here. They change every few days," she replied.

"That must be so tiring. Traveling all the way here, guarding the place and then going all the way back to the capital," Morrigan contemplated.

"Oh, they don't travel here. There is a portal here which leads to the Demon Castle Dungeons," Viana explained and both Morrigan and Deziara gaped at her in shock.

"You're telling me there was a convenient portal underneath our home this whole time and we didn't use it?!" Deziara said incredulously.

"The journey itself is just as important as the sacred places themselves," Viana explained. "If we had taken a shortcut, then nobody would take Morrigan seriously as Crown Princess."

Of course not. Because being a Crown Princess means camping on hard rock and shaking in a carriage all day. That will surely help me manage the country better.

"Princesses cannot handle the journey?" Azrael mocked.

"I can," Morrigan said resolutely.

"So can I!" Deziara added. Haku growled too as if to say that he could endure the journey too. Although for the dragon this had been the most fun time of his life. The same cannot be said about the creatures that he chased after in the dark.

"You are not a princess, you overgrown lizard," Azrael grumbled, and Haku blew a puff of smoke in his face.

"Haku is also a part of the royal family. So if he's not a princess, then he surely can be a prince," Morrigan teased.

"First prince in over nine thousand years and it's not even a demon. Imagine His Majesty's face when hears it," Azrael snickered.

"It is a well-known fact that Father cannot have any actual demon sons," Viana sighed.

"Really? Why not?" Morrigan asked, wondering if it was a curse or genetic inhibition of some sort or perhaps part of demon physiology.

"Because he's got no luck. Mom said that Father really, really wanted a son. That's why he has so many daughters, you know. He just kept trying for more kids until he'd get one," Deziara snickered.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Really? It all comes down to luck?" Morrigan snickered at the thought. How unlucky one had to be to have twenty-four daughters and not a single son?

"Yeah, it's hilarious really," Azrael cackled with delight, then turned to face the cave. "Anyhow, let's go inside the cave. There's a ritual you'll have to go through, Princess. Everyone else will stay outside."

"They don't get to come inside?" Morrigan asked, looking at her sisters and Galandir who were standing by the dragon. She had expected that maybe the elven boy wouldn't be let inside since he was a servant. But to hear that her sisters also weren't allowed to enter.

"It's alright, little sis. There are plenty of wonders to see outside as well," Viana said and motioned her to go inside.

"Yeah, don't worry about us, Morri. Head on in and do what you need to do," Deziara said with a smile. She nodded and followed Azrael into the Glittering Cave.

"Hey, why do you want to come inside?" Morrigan threw an accusatory look at Azrael who strode inside the cave like he owned the place.

"Do you know what you're supposed to do for the ritual?" he asked with a triumphant smirk.

"No, because you never taught me," she retorted.

"There's nothing really to teach," he shrugged, and Morrigan restrained her urge to roll her eyes at him.

They walked to the crystalline cave for a while, going deeper inside it. The glow from the walls was so bright that Morrigan had to shield her from it. She felt vulnerable in a place like this – a place with no shadows. She couldn't turn into a shadow here and shadow teleportation was also impossible. Not to mention that the magic in the air only got thicker the further they got it.

"Hmm. Something's a bit odd," Azrael suddenly said.

"What is odd?" Morrigan asked.

"At this point, your eldest sister was already down on the ground, unable to handle the strong pressure from the magic in the cave, but you seem just mildly uncomfortable," he noted, observing Morrigan's features.

"Down on the ground?" Morrigan gaped at him in shock.

"Maybe you can just handle the magic better because of naturally larger magic reserves," Azrael muttered.

"Wait, wait. If Viana couldn't handle the magic here, how did she complete the ritual?" Morrigan asked.

"She didn't. Through sheer force of will she managed to reach the ritual ground, but the magic was just too overwhelming for her and she fainted. I expected you to be showing more discomfort by now, but your reaction is rather lackluster," he explained.

"She didn't?" Morrigan repeated like a fish. Was this another reason why Alphegor was so quick to give Morrigan the Crown Princess title?

"Anyhow, let's hurry. The magic will eventually overwhelm you too. We need to be quick," Azrael commanded, and they hurried deeper inside.

After several minutes they reached the deepest part of the cave. It was glittering with even more radiant light than outside, each wall being a different, brilliant gem color. The magic was seeping out from the crystals in the wall like a shimmering mist and swirling on the ceiling of the room, where it slowly spun around in a circular motion like a cloud.

"Wow, that is beautiful," Morrigan noted, her eyes narrowed from the bright light.

"No, something isn't right," Azrael said, scanning the cave from one wall to the next as if searching for something.

"What isn't right?" she asked nervously.

"The magic isn't supposed to go to the ceiling like that. It's supposed to be filling this whole chamber. Why is it going up?" Azrael pondered, his eyebrow furrowed. He waved his hand a second gust of wind towards the ceiling, disturbing the slowly swirling magic cloud. It slowly parted and revealed a strange dark orb sitting in the middle of the ceiling.

"What is that?" Morrigan asked, but she had a strong suspicion that it was the cause of Azrael's alarm.

"I have no clue. I've never seen such a thing before," he replied, and Morrigan could tell that he was getting increasingly more nervous.

"If it's not supposed to be here, then we should remove it, no?" she suggested.

"Let me take a look at it first. Make sure that it's safe to move," the demon mage said and levitated up to the ceiling to take a closer look at the black thing. He observed it from all angles before carefully extending his finger towards it. But he pulled away right at the last moment, never really touching it.

"This thing is siphoning the magic away from this cave," he exclaimed in outrage.

"Siphoning? Do you mean like draining it away? How? To where?" she asked.

"It's acting like a portal of sorts but letting only the magic in this area pass through. As to where it may go, I have no idea. I know only one thing. It needs to be destroyed," Azrael conjured an intense blue flame above his palm and mercilessly threw it at the black sphere. It exploded with such angry ferocity that Morrigan had to conjure a forcefield to protect herself from sparks flying away from the explosion.

It took a moment for the smoke cloud to clear, but then it revealed the orb yet again – completely undamaged. Morrigan couldn't believe it. She knew that the blue flames Azrael conjured were the most destructive spell. She herself could conjure blue flames and knew that even a small flame could easily burn through stone and rock.

"How is that possible?" Azrael growled and began hurling one magic spell at it after another. Lighting, ice, fire, you name it, he tried it all. But the black orb still remained perfectly unblemished, sucking in magic like a hungry vacuum.

"Maybe it's resistant to magic. Try a physical attack," Morrigan suggested.

"Oh, good idea. I think I had a spear lying around in my pocket dimension," he said and snapped his fingers. An ornate spear with an incredibly sharp end appeared in his hand and he flung it at the sphere. However, the spear shattered into a thousand pieces at impact, raining down on the cave floor like metallic rain.

"That was made from the strongest metal alloy in the Underworld!" he exclaimed, and then levitated up to the orb and tried desperately to pull it out. However, as soon as he touched the orb, an electric discharge hit his hand and jumped back before sustaining any serious injuries. "This is really bad. If we can't remove that orb from here, then we won't be able to perform the ritual. The cave needs to be filled with magic for it to work."

Morrigan started a sinister orb, wondering if there was something she could do.

It cannot be destroyed with magic or with physical force. But there isn't such a thing as indestructible right? There must be a way to remove it.

And then an idea popped into Morrigan's mind.