The old man and the elf girl were arguing about how to get out of their confinement. They didn't have much in way of possessions, only having their clothes with them. Besides, the whole dungeon operated using magic to lock the doors, and that can only be countered with more magic, which is impossible due to vast quantity of anti-magic wards. You would need to be a legendary magician to get out, which none of them were.

Sel listened to them and waited. There might be something he can do, but it was just too early right about now. He could use his strength, but without fel energy, he was weaker than usual. He needed some scourge to feed him. Trying to draw out some of it from the air was fruitless, the scourge was siphoned out and destroyed. However, Sel felt a slight tugging from different directions. He guessed that the other demons out there had some scourge in them still. Perhaps if he could her his hands on it...

The day after the elf girl came, the warden showed up again and tried interrogating the greyskin. Her strikes and jabs were not enough to even make him bleed, and the blessed water lost much of the power after having received the demon's blood. The warden asked to change it, but even fresh water had little effect on loosening the tongue of the beast.

The old man asked the demon some questions too.

“Why do you have those grey eyes? Where did you get those pretty scars? What did you do to survive the deserts? Where are your brethren?”

The questions went on and on, repeating the same one multiple times. The old guys just wouldn't shut up. Sel didn't engage in the conversation, hoping for the guy to get a hint and get off him. Sadly, it didn't help, but giving him a reply would only encourage him more. 

The elf girl also asked some questions, but nothing too important. Sel just ignored the girl too. She was cute, but her foul mouth made her sound like an old man. And she also liked to emasculate the demon, talking about him like he was small or had s tiny manhood. Seriously, where did she get like that? 

The hours went by, the trio trying to get out, chewing, hitting, nailing at the iron bars. Nothing worked, the wood and the enchantments were too strong. At some point the girl was fed up, so she decided to spout some more foul language at the demon and her half-brother for being such weak men.

“Come on you fuckers. Why did you grow up to be as weak as little babies? Can't you come up with something? I wanna go east, come on you grey fuck, so something.” Sel didn't get bothered by the profanity, demons were more bad-mouthed than the elf was. “Regios, you were an adventurer, do something. You ought to have some dust or some lock picks.”

“Dear sister, please calm down. I am an adventurer, but all my tools have been taken. Not much can be done without them. Besides, I don't have anything to disrupt the magic or to erode the wood away. If our friend here could use some scourge magics to do something would be good, but he doesn't seem to know much.”

“Fuck you and your ’dear sister’, you a shitty adventurer. And you, you grey fuck, why don't you do ’whoosh-whoosh’ and get us out of here. There is supposed to be some scourge inside you, get it out and fuck this place up.”

“Sister, don't make such suggestions, the fella might not understand your jokes. And how would he do magic when every bit of energy the fella has is sapped away by the magic wards?”

“How the fuck should I know? He healed me somehow, do the same thing!”

The three stayed quiet after that for a moment. Sel, hearing what the girl said pondered on it for w moment and then got up. He cut his palm and spread his blood on the wooden bars. For a moment they simmered with a teal light and then began to smoke, release black smoke. The wood melted slightly and then caught on fire. Seeing this development, Sel spread his blood on all the bars of his cell, the ones keeping him in and the ones separating him from the two. 

After a few minutes the bars were gone, turned to ash. The trio was free to leave and roam the dungeon. The first order of business was getting their equipment back. Selmiria seemed to know the dungeon well, having visited it previously many times thanks to her violent nature. However, now her crimes were very serious, so she needed to get out quickly. 

As they walked out of their confinement, Sel walked towards the place he felt tugging from previously. After few short corridors, he found cells very much like his own, where various demons stayed. There were few who the greyskin saw previously and few with unfamiliar forms. In each one there was some scourge, burning at their bodies and their souls.

He wanted that, so he reached out for one of the demons. The dumb fiend walked up and tried grabbing Sel to bite him, but it immediately regretted that decision. Whatever scourge was inside the demon, it flowed out of him into he hand that grabbed him, transferring to the greyskin. The demon faded away, as an ashen statues falling apart. Having some of his power restored, Sel felt stronger and more alive. The fire within burned brighter.

He came towards each demon and ripped their life force out of them. They tried to resist and stay away, but Sel forced them to move closer by pulling the feel energy inside. Within few minutes, Sel drunk the scourge out of a dozen demons, giving him plenty of strength. It would be enough to get out and get to the barriers. Beyond them, Sel will easily replenish fel energy within demon territory.

While sneaking towards the room containing their equipment, the trio had to kill three elves. It wasn't hard, Sel just bashed their brains in with few strikes. With his strength somewhat restored, he was stronger and fast than most elves. The old man and the elf girl were somewhat surprised by how he replenished his energy and how powerful he became. 

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The room houses all the equipment of the prisoners, so Sel got his knives back as well as he found two tomahawks belonging to somebody else. They were crudely put together, but they seemed sturdy and Sel liked them. Weighing them in his hands, he felt that he could accurately throw them.

The two others got their things. Regios found his sword as well his belt with various different adventuring trinkets and an enchanted bag, which could fit more things inside thanks to space magic. The elf girl had a long now and two blades of different size, one about the length a meter and another a third shorter. They both were blades with one sharp edge, both slightly curved. They seemed very light and made for agile elves. She didn't have a quiver, instead she had some kind of glove. Waving it around, it would create arrows out of thin air using magic. A convenient tool for hunters.

With their equipment found, the trio made their way out of the dungeon. There were some more elves who were killed by Sel, now simply cutting their heads off. Having little extra carrying space in form of Regios, Sel cuts the arms of some elves, hoping to store them for later. It shocks the two others, but they say nothing. Arguing with the demon would be bad when he is so strong. Besides, demons are allowed to have some weird quirks. Cannibalism is not so bad...

While they were sneaking out, getting closer to the freedom under the blue sky, they came across a room with warden elf inside. She was speaking to some strange crystal. When she finished talking, she just covered it and then lied down on a bad in the room. Warden would stay most of her time in the prison, until her relief would came to take over. 

Sel didn't particularly feel anything for the woman, but he didn't like the fact that she had ordered for the elf guard to treat Selmiria badly. So, he decided to pay back a bit. He snuck up on her and knocked her out without killing her. Then, he cut his palm again, and poured his fel blood in her mouth. Out of his control, the blood began to ravage her body, changing her. Unconscious she grunted in pain. Her eyes changed, turning into cat-like vertical eyes of purple color. Her fangs elongated and she grew a tail, very much like that of a cat. Big horns also sprouted out of her temples, quickly growing into a weird, curvy shape. The elven warden changed completely.

When Regios saw what Sel had done, he covered his mouth with his hand.

“Poor Marika... I saw that girl grow up, she was a cutesy kid. Poor thing...”

Apparently the old man had some common past with the girl. Sel didn't care, he just left her there to be found later by some elven patrol. She would learn what it is like to be a demon. What he found curious was how she grew horns very quickly. As much as horns went, they symbolized the power and status amongst a demons. Regardless of how powerful Sel was, he didn't have horns. Perhaps the reason for it was his young age, or his Highborne blood, he didn't know. But what he knew was the fact that warden was very powerful to gain horns so easily.

After leaving the warden alone, the three got outside to see the evening sky growing darker. It was perfect time to make their escape. Under the cover of the dusk closing in, the three made their way through dark alleyways towards the eastern exit of the city. Having put on a cloak, Sel wasn't too noticeable anymore, so they made their way out without much interruption. 

They had to be sneaky near the gates, but it was easy to do in the dark. When they were outside, they began to walk eastwards. There is where the pillars and demon territories lied. It was unclear why the two going with Sel wanted to go there. It seemed to have been the vanity of new, unknown territory, but perhaps there was another reason. Sel didn't really care, like he always didn't, instead he just walked on silently. 

The duo would often argue among themselves, talking about their relations, their lives and such meaningless things. Sel preferred silence, so he stayed quiet. The two siblings bickered all the time, like they hated each other but couldn't leave one another to their fate. 

It was overall annoying for the greyskin. He much more enjoyed hunting and killing than listening to talking people. While the trio walked, they could stop plenty of times and hunt, so them walking was slow but steady. At some point Selmiria said that they were not pursued, but it was still far away. After that point Regios made sure to leave surprises and make their trail difficult to find. 

After about four days of walking, the forest ended abruptly, revealing the desert. It wasn't a steady chance like within demon territories, the forest just stopped and next there was a large sand dune. Sel didn't let himself get surprised. He just walked on. He didn't know what he would do, as getting the girl out safely was his priority at that moment, but he didn't know what would happen once they are in demon territories. Perhaps he would just let them go on, while he would search for another meaning. Or maybe he would kill Regios and take the girl. Sel was unsure of what to do, but he was sure that he'd know once they get through the desert. Right now, there was a lot of walking to be done. Onwards, away from the setting sun.