Pef sensed the Elf King way before he came into view.

His presence and aura were distorting reality and pushing away wards and mists with ease. Like a battleship, speeding towards its target, impetuous and indomitable.

'So, that's a Tier 4, huh?' he mused inward.

'A very weak one, but yes. He is angry and disgruntled, and that shifts things. The universe backs away, to avoid being crushed by accident.'

'Dully noted. But I'm even angrier.' Pef replied as he walked slowly towards the stone disc.

Following the King, his Duke and Princess walked meekly, eyes staring the ground for a deep hole.

But there was no need. A huge pit was found just behind Pef, now full of mana streams and currents.

The two men stared at each, a mere stone platform separating them, and a gulf of unspoken grievances.

"You're Pef?" The King asked in a gruff voice.

"No. I am a judge." Pef answered with a smile, as the King faltered for a moment.

With an accusing finger, the elf pointed at Pef's chest. "My world is not for sale."

"The time for shopping has passed. By the time you realized that sunlight is fire, the meal was cooked a long time ago." Pef replied in a soft whisper. Meanwhile, he drew on the ambient mana, condensing for himself a throne made of mind stone, then sat down on it.

It was only third degree stone, but the timing was more important than quality. Nellie has done her job, showing the King the hill he'd made a day before. And Pef was certainly not a holy virgin. The truth was out.

With a grunt, the King willed a chunk of raw mana to obey him, creating another throne for himself. It was even glowing faintly, but that didn't matter. Pef had already won. How could a Saint invent a Tier 4 ability?

"This is my world." the King pronounced loudly, his aura reverberating throughout the glade.

"There were two million slaves, toiling on the demon world of Green Jade. Day after day, chipping rocks and extracting Immortal Jade for their demon masters. A hundred demon guards stood watch, making sure the slaves didn't steal extra food, or slept too much." Pef said with a far away look.

The Elf King blinked in confusion. "So?"

"They had small cells to sleep at night, old bread to eat, and were collared by powerful vows, forcing them to work, until they died."

"Get to the point, human." the King demanded in a softer voice. It seemed the slaves' treatment wasn't something he agreed to.

"Then one day, a judge visited that planet. With a few clever words, fate changed. Now, there are ten Demon Lords, chipping at the rocks, extracting precious jade for the demon masters. Bound by powerful vows, immortal and immune to injury, they toil forever in the jade mines, drinking their own tears. Everyone else is happy. The slaves are now free. The Soultraders' profit tripled, if not more. A judge got rich, and even bought himself a new planet."

"Quite ingenious, I admit. You tricked the demons to enslave their own." the King commented a bit amused.

"Exactly! But the collared ones aren't called demons anymore. Their new name is vestals." Pef said with a wide grin.

He heard Nellie gasp in the distance, as the King glowered with fury.

His throne exploded into shards, as he rose violently to his feet. Then he threw an ugly glance at Pef and vanished.

The Grand Duke glanced at the empty tree, then vanished as well.

Only the elf princess stayed, torn between duties.

"Pef... I didn't know. I mean, she never said anything..." Nellie muttered with a raspy voice.

"How could she? After 3 million years alone in this pit, crafting a billion mind stones for her people. It's a miracle she's even sane." Pef replied with a shrug. No wonder Atlas stopped caring, after a while.

Nellie nodded with a tearful face. "Your story was nice. Sure caught dad unaware."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I bet it did. Let's go home." Pef whispered as he embraced her lightly.

Two short blinks, and they arrived in the city, familiar noises and happy faces everywhere. Pef took it all in. Smells and voices, a dozen races living together. No children yelling around, not yet. But they will come.

"Rome" he mused out loud, memories converging into a word.

"What is Rome?" the elf asked.

"The name of this city. Imagine for a moment, a thousand years have passed. Rome will grow, covering the entire continent. Towns and fields, roads and ships. The Legion guarding the borders, flags fluttering in the wind. A million years later, the entire galaxy. " he said in a dreamer's voice.

'Should I proceed with indoctrination?' the glove interrupted his musings.

'Of course. Delayed for Vela for one month. She'll need some time to recover.'

'It was a good dream, sir. Now, let's get moving. The Soultrader won't wait forever.'

Our hero nodded, then began gathering his wives. He gazed at them, picking and choosing. "Lia and Qin, with me. The rest of you, take care of Rome till I return. Lin, you're in command."

"As you say, commander. Give them hell!" Xie exclaimed and threw a sloppy salute.

"They are demons, silly. It's like saying: give them a massage." Lin admonished the miscreant, then dragged her away.

Lia and Qin patted his stomach, then vanished in his inner world. Pef then turned towards Nellie.

"Five seconds. In, or out."

The elf goddess hesitated, glancing towards the east.

"Don't make children with your brother. That never ends well." Pef said gently, then blinked away.

A second later, he arrived at the space station, now operated by a dozen Guards.

"Sir!" the nearest Guard exclaimed.

"At ease. The demon try anything?"

"Not that we saw, even with these magic devices. His ship is shielded from our sensors."

"Contact commander Lin if there are problems. That is all." Pef ordered the recruit. The man saluted and returned to his station, where the orange holo-array scanned the solar system.

One last blink, and Pef sat down on Arazmodel's ship. 'We should go, demon. I bet there's lots of people dying to meet me.' he sent with a mind pulse.

'Very funny, human. There are long lines at the betting booths, in fact.'

'Great. A clever demon might even place the right bets, and gain much from my visit. He would have to be a genius though.' Pef advised him with a warning voice.

The Soultrader ship sped away, while the two bantered.

The galactic center grew closer, and sometimes other ships could be seen, darting about.

Even a Great Sword flew by, surrounded by violet haze. Pef glanced at it with a frown.

The demon riding the sword was stronger than him, but his mind was not. A few leaked thoughts could be stolen.

'A tournament sponsored by your Guild?' he pulsed towards Arazmodel.

'Ah, it was meant to be a surprise. But yes, how else would we bet?' the demon answered rhetorically.

'Good. I expect the Guild leader will be there, with his ceremonial mace.' Pef concluded curtly.

Arazmodel didn't answer, but then he didn't need to. Still, the human's confidence aggravated him.

Maybe it would be prudent to bet on this human's chances as well. The Green Mine was more productive now, so he could afford to risk a little.

He drew his holojade and began placing new bets. After all, he did obtain a month's worth of Immortal Jade by selling junk.

Three days passed, as the ship made its way towards Hellsreach, the capital of the galaxy.

The planet was huge, maybe twice as large as Lacrima, and surrounded by wards and defense ships.

Normally, an uncollared human would be turned back or even attacked, but he was riding a Soultrader ship.

Three powerful beings could be sensed on the surface, ki and space distorted by their mere presence. Almost as strong as the Elf King, and much stronger than his Duke.

'Oh, you can sense the Greater Demons?' Arazmodel asked, possibly sensing Pef aura getting tighter.

'I've seen worse. The Archdemon is still wounded, I believe?' Pef mused with a hopeful tone.

'And everyone is happier for it. May he stay at bed for a million years.' the demon replied with a tone combining reverence and fear.

'Let's not get our hopes up. He's a demon. His body will be fine.' Pef said with a careless shrug.

'Indeed. And the one who crippled his mind wore that exact chain, on her head.'

'See? I knew you were smarter than you look. But I bet you didn't manage to open the shell.' Pef threw out at random, just as the ship landed in a sheltered courtyard.

Arazmodel ran out of the ship, conch shell in hand. "I knew it. You locked it, cursed demon!"

"Slander and lies! Anyway, let's get ourselves someplace to stay. Then we can explore the city. And I need a guide." Pef demanded with a small smile.

"I am not your servant, human! Still...as your sponsor, I guess I could show you around."

"Great. After that, we can meet Verzinel. I heard many things about him."

"No! I mean...we shouldn't get noticed. How else can we win big at the bets."

Pef turned away, walking towards a crowded plaza. In a minute his path was barred by a humongous demon, at least 5 meters tall. "You got lost, puny human?"

A curious crowd formed around, eager for free spectacle.

"Yes! In fact, I did. I'm looking for your mother. Ugly, fat blob of flesh. But she gives the best blow..."

He didn't get to finish the insult, as six hands tried to smash him into the ground. "Arrrghhh"

Pef danced under the lesser demons hits, backing away towards an alley.

Stone shrapnel and dust from the blows rose into a large cloud, which flashed with violet fire.

The crowd drew closer, curious to see what happened. Slowly, the dust dispersed, leaving only half a demon's core on the ground.

A melee ensued, demons vying to reach the precious core. Screams and blood and teeth flew around like confetti.

Pef stood on a nearby roof, looking towards the gun's location.

A Greater Demon stood next to it, barring his hopes for an easy theft.

'The Soultrader Leader had to be a Greater Demon. Damn.'

'You'll find a way.' the glove encouraged him.

'Yeah. But I won't like it.' Pef said with a sigh.

Then turned around, and jumped next to the waiting Arazmodel.

"I rented a house for you. Even has human servants." the demon said with a smile.

Pef nodded in defeat. "Of course you did. I bet you rented it a week ago."

"I swear you think like a demon. No worry, you'll fit right in with the rest of us." Arazmodel said wisely.