The Demon continent is a strange place.

It’s pretty much dominated by Thur Hurman, a volcanic mountain settled in on it’s eastern tip, named after an old legend, and the fact that the damn thing spews ash everywhere, and acts as a very large, open air labyrinth.

It’s made most of the eastern end of the continent completely inhospitable, though there are random wandering tribes, which could be found etching by on whatever they can find.

To the west, the land is seemingly shattered, and filled with jagged edges and uncrossable chasms. Life is barely possible there, though few crops are grown in the rocky soil, and their diet consists mostly of meat from various monsters frequenting the place.

Such a harsh lifestyle has led the demons to adopt a more martial type of life, with the stronger ruling over those weaker than them. It is their belief that those who are strong actually have a divine duty to protect the weaker demons, and to lead them.

Unfortunately, it is also their belief that strength must make an example for the other continents, by forcibly leading them as well.

Why?

Well, the demons tend to believe that they are the strongest race on the continents, and in a way, they are. At least, on the basis of personal strength. 

They look down on the other races, convinced that they are less worthy then the demons. Or, at least, they used to, long ago. A few badly mangled attempts at invasion have mostly convinced them otherwise.

Though, they still don’t like the other races much.

And this is mostly the fault of the other races, who were always seeking for a way to marginalize the demons.

Well, the end result of all this is that I was now staring up at the tallest demon I’ve ever seen, who had pale red skin, furry cloven hooves, and curling goats horns erupting from the sides of his face. He towered at over three meters tall, and I felt pity for the poor demoness who would have had to give birth to such a giant.

“Elf-kin, you have not yet proven your worth to the beings in this hall, and as such, are not welcome here. Please leave, before something regrettable happens.”

I could feel the eyes of all the other demons in the hall on me, and they certainly didn’t feel kind.

“And what happened last night was not proof enough?” I said, even-keeled while resisting fidgeting with all those eyes on me.

The tall goat demon man looked taken aback.

“No, it was not. That was not a demonstration of strength, but rather of weakness, due to your need of protection.”

I cocked my head to the side, in the same way a predator would after seeing its prey.

“Protection? Whenever did I need protection?” I asked in a sickly sweet voice.

The tall demons continued talking, taking on an imperious tone, like he had seen what had happened.

“When you were attacked by kidnappers yesterday, of course. Your brother, our great Demon Lord, had to come to your rescue.”

…What the hell have you been telling your subordinates, brother?

In fact, right as I was about to ask the tall demon goat man that, I heard a voice behind me.

“Ah, Kai! What are you doing here?”

I turned around, and finally found Jasper, walking out from the sleeping quarters.

“Well, I had decided to pay you a visit, and catch up a little. And now, I’m finding out that I also have to thank you for saving my life, apparently.” I said, while grinning toothily at Jasper.

“Huh? When did I save your life?”

“Ask him.” I pointed at the man-goat demon giant…thing.

Jasper stared at him, and he began recounting the events from last night.

“Lord, we all saw you leave the building after hearing a few explosions, to go save your sister, who was under attack by what had ended up being kidnappers. As soon as you had left, everything went quiet. You came back with two of the kidnappers, and we just knew that you had dealt with the situation swiftly and easily.”

“Bullshit.” I muttered under my breath.

Jasper heard me, and nodded in agreement.

“That’s completely wrong. By the time I had arrived, it was already all over. Kai gave those two kidnappers to me, for information.”

“No, I just didn’t want to deal with them, and I know how much you love responsibility, Jasper.”

“Responsibility? I absolutely love it.” Jasper earnestly replied to my sarcastic tone, sweeping his eyes over all the demons in the hall. I knew what he was trying to communicate. He didn’t want to deal with a coup from any demons who happened to think he didn’t want to lead. Too much work, probably.

The goat demon guy watched our exchange with incredulous eyes, seeming slightly shocked.

“But, if our Lord didn’t help her, than who did?” He finally said.

I threw up my hands, exasperated.

“Right, because if he didn’t help me, then someone else must have! I obviously can’t handle some small-time kidnappers myself, can I!?”

“No? You’re too tiny to.”

“Oh? Well you’re just a…”

“Can the two of you just be quiet? We can talk through this like…”

“Stay out of this, Jasper. Goat-boy over here obviously has a problem understanding me. I guess there’s only one way to solve it.”

“What are you going to do, little elf-kin? Get help again?”

...

I released my aura, and the air filled with a charged coppery scent. Goat-boy snorted disdainfully.

I raised an eyebrow, and used [Demon Lord’s Transformation]. Instantly, the aura around me swept through the entire room, and also seemed to solidify, growing two or three times denser.

The distain and mockery in Goat-boy’s face fell away, and he stood stock still, here at my auric epicenter.

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He was experiencing it up close, and could see that the space around me had warped, and created eddies like little transparent tendrils waving around me. My aura also became strong enough to manifest as colors, in dark golds and reds.

I wasn’t done though. There was one skill I hadn’t yet tested out, and I knew it had evolved alongside my 

[Demon Lord’s Transformation].

I was just about to engage the skill, and watch the ensuing chaos, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“I think he gets the point, Kai” Jasper said, not unkindly.

Indeed, I looked around me, and at Goat-boy. There was respect in his eyes now, and a little fear. This was mirrored in most of the other demons here.

It wasn’t that I was strong compared to them. I’m not.

There are a few demons here who could kill me before I even blink.

It was that they could feel my aura in the air. And, while almost all of them can do this, none of them could until they were level three to four hundred.

They could feel the impossible strength radiating from me, even at level one hundred and fifty, even while I’m only thirteen.

At thirteen, I was nearing their base level of power, which had taken many years to reach.

It was a terrifying, and sobering thought to them.

I smirked a little, knowing some of the conclusions the demons in the room had come to.

Jasper just shook his head, and motioned for me to follow him.

We walked out of the dining hall, and as we passed the doors into the sleeping quarters, I could hear the hearty conversations starting up again as I left.

Jasper’s room was as the far end of the building, and was just like every other room in any of the buildings. It was large, but still cozy, and furnished with a nice bed and a cabinet, with a closet off to one side.

A few chairs were set up around a wood table, and Jasper directed me to sit in one of the chairs.

“So, why did you come here?”

“I had some questions to ask you.” I said, sitting down in the chair, cross-legged on top of it.

“About what? I haven’t found out anything more about our father, if that’s what you’re here for.”

I shook my head.

“No, I just wanted to compare our experiences of ascending to Demon Lord status.”

“Ah, that’s all? Easy. I secluded myself away from civilization in preparation for the change. When it actually happened, I was surrounded by glowing runes, and the writing on them was indecipherable. They slowly began encroaching on me, leaving me with less and less space to stand. I tried in vain to escape them, only to find myself floating in the air a moment later. Once there, the air seemed to ripple and contort, and I felt an inflow of raw energy, which was fairly easy to deal with. I was let down after that, and soon found by those seeking to seal me away again, for fear of what I might cause in the future.”

I sat silently, considering what he had just said for a while.

“How odd. I had a different experience, though it had some similarities to yours. For one, mine seems like it had been a whole lot more painful than yours had been. And, my ascension seems to have involved a few more steps.”

I went on, and told Jasper what had happened when I became a Demon Lord in great detail. He listened, enraptured by my accounts, thought I left out the scenes I had relived after being hit by that bolt of thunder.

I mean, I did tell him that they happened, just not what I had seen.

That’s a little too personal, even for me.

Jasper sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose after I had finished recounting my tale to him.

“I don’t get it. We both became Demon Lords, so why did the way you did it involve…so much more than mine had. Why were there differences in how the power of nature was relayed to us, and how we were held? Maybe it involves our elemental affinities or something, but beyond that, I can’t explain it.”

I shrugged.

“I really didn’t expect you to have the answers for this, Jasper. I was just curious if you had gone through the same ordeal I had. Now that I know? Meh. It doesn’t really matter all that much in my mind.”

I paused.

“Don’t get me wrong, if you figure it out, I would love to hear about it.”

“And you will. This intrigues me too much to be left alone, and bears a closer look, all things considered.”

I left after that. Jasper had gotten that look in his eyes, a look I’ve seen in a few people before. His thoughts were completely on his future research now, and he was incapable of making any more conversation with me.

That being said, I really didn’t need to sleep at the moment, but returning to my room, and it’s bed, felt nice.

I reached level one hundred and fifty two that night, breaking through those two levels consecutively, within a few hours of each other.

It looks like whatever monstrous rate of growth I had gotten before becoming a Demon Lord hasn’t yet stopped.

I briefly considered for a moment, what exactly, I was growing towards.

Is there something greater and higher than a Demon Lord? 

I shook the though from my mind, and readied myself for the day's summit meeting. 

Well, I had to employ the help of a maid to put on another dress. Aunt Aspasia would kill me if I went without one.

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Author's Note: 

Sorry for missing yesterday. I was in a car for about ten hours of the day, and had dinner with someone who really needed the company. 

It didn't really give me time to concentrate on my writing. 

—River.