After the slaves were freed and the men that captured them were all dead, Sel decided to settle down for a length of time. Firstly he would learn the feel magic and control over scourge, making himself adept at using it to suit his needs. Sabrina also learned with him. After some back and forth between him and the hag, he added few symbols to their marks, making the feel energy obey them the way it obeyed him, although they won't be able to overpower his control. His four women were now one of the strongest witches in existence, however small their number was. Hag was the strongest, as she not only had the capacity for the magic, but the experience and knowledge, thankfully she couldn't lie and teach the others wrong things as per Sel's command.

He also took up blacksmithing, remembering how he enjoyed it back in the den. Since he kind of saved the town and got rid of a serious threat, the local blacksmith was glad to teach him the trade. The half-orc, half-dwarf, a stout and strong man showed the ins and outs of his trade, teaching Sel forging the weapons and armor.

And it was better than he remembered, not having simple rocks and logs for heating, now there were proper bellows and forge, anvil and hammers. He couldn't just tamper with existing blades, he could make them from scratch, melting and purifying the ore and all.

What Sel discovered after a conversation with hag, his blood was a precious resource, being a liquid enriched with feel energy, it could be used in many crafts. The hag took some of his blood to try using in potions, brewing curses, truth serums and compulsion potions. Sel tried using his blood to tamper the blades, infusing them with scourge. He discovered a number of metals resistant to it and some that readily took it in and were enhanced greatly. He used his knowledge to make the previously made shabby claws words into proper blades, infusing each part with his blood. They became formidable weapons, inflicting powerful curses with each strike and being extremely durable. The scourge in the blade could be manipulated to empower the strikes to be deadlier. The strength of his swings no longer relied on his pure physical strength, adding his power to manipulate the corrupting power, they could cleave straight through weaker metals. 

What more, Sel began to learn to read. The hag had a sizable library, which contained plenty of knowledge on different topics. From there Sel learned how the world looked, the different races living on it, the pantheon that overlooked the mortal races and other interesting knowledge. He also learned that after demon lord was killed twenty years ago, his title has been drifting from one person to another, until it got stuck with a powerful demon, who was as cunning as he was strong. Currently there was a tournament being prepared amongst the most powerful demons to determine the strongest. This was done to find a suitable suitor for his daughter to produce powerful offspring. That man would also be the next in line for the title. 

Sel thought over this. He was somewhat powerful, his mastery over scourge made him more powerful than any demon, as he could simply rip it out of them and kill them. With the training from hag, his power only increased exponentially. 

What the greyskin lacked  was fame, recognition and status. Having a demon lord's daughter as his would provide him with that. He talked about it with Regios and he agreed. Although the old man didn't realize why Sel asked him the question, not at first. So, Sel began brooding over the plan to make a name for himself. 

Being around people, learning and reading, Sel also began to talk more. His speech sounded more sophisticated and intelligent than that of a den demon. So, it was easy for him to talk with adventurers and travelers to learn a few things about the upcoming tournament. One, Sel wouldn't be able to become a contender because he was of no noble birth. In fact, he was the lowest of the low, a wild demon born in some cave from a gremlin and a whore, as somebody said.

Second thing he learned, was that there would be a gladiator fight to entertain people before the actual tournament. If anybody survived until the end, the contestants of the event would be forced to deal with them. And the people would be fighting at the start would be anybody, from slaves and prisoners to free folk who entered willingly. It would be a slaughter, but people can dream about having a demon princess as a bride, can't they?

So, all Sel would need to do would be getting arrested before the tournament, where he would be a part of the fighters at the beginning and then murder his way up the roster. He was confident in his ability, but when he told his plan to others, they protested, saying that it would be dumb to reveal his trump card early on and instead he should use his swords at first, building up excitement. People who put up a good show can earn a pretty coin from the audience. 

So, Regios and Selmiria both insisted on teaching Sel. The demon tried arguing, saying he could break a sword with his hands or melt them with feel energy, but they said that there would be plenty of swordsmen who could cut him up, if he doesn't have his magic with him. They forced greyskin to learn to fight without his powers.

The style of the two half-siblings was different from one another, so Sel had to learn both. Regios used a single sword and his style involved parrying and blocking the incoming strikes, while Selmiria used two uneven swords, so she sued dodging and using the openings to strike. With the two teaching, Sel managed to get an understanding on how to use his weapons efficiently and how to disable his opponent without killing them.

Of course he wouldn't be able to fight with sword masters who trained their whole lives, but with somebody who did not divert his whole time to learning the way of the sword, Sel could use how monstrous reflexes and speed, enhanced by both, his training with the duo and his sessions on the manipulation of the scourge with the hag. She trained him how to transform himself out of his enraged state and how to improve himself the way he wanted. So, he made himself faster, as much as his body could handle, which was a lot, but he couldn't use his whole speed for long, his nervous system would shut down after a prolonged period of use. 

For about three months they trained, having the time left to spare. There was about a month left before the tournament, where Sel would travel atop Bucefal. The mount turned out to be rather intelligent, although incapable of speech. Sel wondered whether he should force that ability into his pet, but came to a conclusion that he would him alone. It was annoying enough to have Regios around.

During this time Sel made himself a nice armor, durable enough to take a couple of swings head on. It would be helpful to preserve the feel energy for attacking instead of healing, although he had an almost inexhaustible supply of it at any time.

After the three months that Sel used to train and get stronger, he was ready to depart. The plan was simple, get apprehended and enter the tournament. Sel decided to take Selmiria with him, so he wouldn't get lonely while traveled. She was extremely eager to prove herself to her master, completely changing her attitude towards him. She still cursed at others, but with him she was a gentle flower, or at least not as thorny as she used to be.

Traveling to the place of the tournament would take about two weeks by flying, so they would have two more weeks to enjoy themselves. Walking around the city where the event will be held should be interesting.

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The duo made a very contrasting pair, a grey demon with most of his equipment black in color and a fair-skinned elf with white hair and white tattoos over her body, with her equipment now mostly white, just because it looked good on her. Selmiria looked like some heavenly warrior. Slaves weren't normally allowed to carry weapons, so she stood out amongst others. What enhanced her image further was the fact that Lemu let her ride the white serpent. 

The catsun grew somewhat close to the greyskin. Sel took care of his sister and provided his family with constant inflow of money. Sel had a plan for the little catsun, as much as he was a thief, the most important commodity he could steal was information. So, the little guy would snoop around and listen to conversations and try to get little extra information from people. 

He would also scout around the area checking for danger and looking for anything Sel and his company may need. In turn, they shared some. Only they made from blacksmithing and hag's enterprise with him. They were making a fair bit of money with Sel.

By the time Sel departed, nobody had yet noticed that all the woman whom Sel mad taken as his had grown slightly fatter. Even the catsun, who don't stay pregnant for a long time three months was rather long, but she was only slightly getting bigger like the others. The demon form of the greyskin dominated the racial traits of the others, overtaking them and changing them. Sel had possibly become a progenitor of a new, unique race.

Once the two departed, they took frequent stops on the way and looked around, learning things about demon territories. Neither of them had ever been that deep, with both of them staying in town all the time. Now Selmiria had a chance to explore the forbidden territories and walk around seemingly free. 

As they got deeper in, the demons became scarier and more menacing. The half-breeds turned into full demons, with horns, spikes, wings, tails, tentacles and god knows what else on their bodies. Their overall shape seemed to lose symmetry and common sense, with many looking disfigured. This however did not apply to powerful or noble demons, as their powers were under control and not change their bodies much.

Flying was a convenient way to get around. The duo was able to cover large distances in a short period of time. While they were flying, they would notice airborne transport or some mounts flying around, but they seemed rare, as land-bound mounts were more than enough to move around. Some mounts were extremely fast, carrying their riders faster than the flying ones.

When they got to the city, it was buzzing with activity, preparing for the tournament. With the few coins saved up, they payed for a room in the shabby inn. It was on the cheaper side and the patrons were cheap as well, most of them looking poor and shady. Sel didn't mind them, he could kill most of them on the spot, they however took a liking to the pretty elf that follow the grey elf. 

Being in the middle of demon territories, Sel looked nothing like the normal demons, lacking their distinct features, mainly horns. He wasn't sure if he would be growing any, but in his den, only few had them, with normal orcs and goblins lacking such symbols. Even red orc had a simple bold head with no horns. And Sel, having long ears like an elf and silver hair, was considered to be the same or similar race as Selmiria.

The duo was left in relative peace for four days, until some guys decided to get their hands on some pretty elven ass. Two asses to be exact. Boys were considered only slightly less profitable as the girls, lacking a hole but having a pole instead. Some people would pay a considerable price for the greyskin, he looked exotic and gorgeous.

Firstly, some pig-faced demons decided to corner the white elf, waiting until she was separated from her master and dragging her to a valley. She didn't resist as she was commanded to do nothing if something happened. Instead, her mark immediately sent Sel a signal that his slave was in danger. It was a standard feature in slave collars, so his marks also had such magic engraved.

He quickly set off towards his elf, who had three large men around her, trying to work their way through her armor. They weren't put off by the markings or by the somewhat bulging stomach of the elf, they wanted her raw right there. The elf just looked at them dejectedly, waiting for Sel to come. Seeing how he wasn't going to make it in time, he activated one of the features that Selmiria's mark had. 

Quickly, an oppressing power was released, allowing Selmiria to control them with her thoughts. While waiting for the greyskin, she decided to have some fun with them, making the three perform the same act they wanted to perform on her with each other. 

Sel found his elf watching three scary brutes plowing each other in their asses. She had a smile on her face, making her feel good about teaching the simple fuckers how to mess with her. She hated the pathetic and weak demons as much as she praised her one true master. 

Said master wasn't as amused by the display, but he decided not to punish her, what he had planned for them was worse. He released them of her control, which made the three idiots scramble up quickly. They didn't understand what happened before, but being free, they charged at the two elves quickly, with their pants still down and their genitals hanging. So, naturally, Sel targeted those weak points in his attack. Willing the scourge inside their bodies, he simple separated their weak spots from their bodies, making them fall down in pain.

Not wanting to end there, Sel took out his swords and hacked two of the three into fine little pieces, making the third one watch. Once he was done, he released that one and let him run. While watching the last brute run, the elf girl came to the demon and hugged his bloody torso, dirtying her armor. 

“I like it when you protect me.”

“I only protected something that belonged to me, nothing more.”

“Still, you made them suffer for me.”

Sel didn't reply. He knew what Selmiria was trying to say, but he chose to not push on with her feelings. He was only interested in himself and his satisfaction. He let out a loud whistle and waited. 

After few minutes, a white snake descended near the two. The elf girl was still hugging the greyskin, thinking of what to say. The demon decided to cut their bonding time short and put her stop the snake.

“Stay safe and be careful. I won't be able to help you for a while.”

“I know, you too.”

With simple parting words, the white elf flew up, on top of her majestic mount, while her grey counterpart stayed behind. Coming out of the valley, he didn't have a long walk before he was approached by a four demons and a brute. The four wore some well made armor and had weapons drawn.

“Stop! You are under arrest for killing, torturing and using compulsion magic!”

“And making me fuck my bros!”

“And making him fuck his bros!” The guard said reluctantly.

Sel didn't reply. He just held out his hands to let himself get bound. The guard then led him away to be processed. It would simple be some higher up sending him to the arena, where he will stay until the event. For him, everything seemed to be going according to plan.