POV: Albus Url Alfons

The wind whipped against the neigh invisible golden barrier around me, streaming past as I flew upwards, towards the castle above the skies. The massive, thin mountain pillar it had been built upon by the founders came into view, and along with it the million step stairs, as it was called by those living in the town far below. It was simply a stairway made out of the dark wood taken from the old berserker trees that had once been not too far from here. The lower part was already hidden by the clouds as I ascended towards the castle. It was a crooked thing, partially build on the tip of the mountain, partially hanging freely, the only thing supporting it massive pillars and support beams. Towers grew out of the building, built from stone older than me, like branches would grow from a tree.

With a last flap of the wings which were close to thrice my size, I was there, standing before the large door, taller than most giants, made from the same wood the million steps had been made of, though it was decorated with an old silvery metal, to make it look more... ornate, glamourous, expensive or whatever the reason of the founders had been. As I raised my hand, which was covered in a black glove decorated with silver on top, a golden light appeared in my palm. And the golden light flew forth, towards the door, taking shape and form of a fairy made of pure gold. The little being pushed open the door as if it were made of paper before dispersing into quite possibly millions upon millions of little golden particles.

I stepped forth, into the dark entrance hall which was only lit up by the flames dancing behind the metal bars of the stone braziers that stood in each corner of the room. The floor was decorated with a blood-red carpet that led between a row of dark stone pillars and towards another door, the same door as the one behind me, which was currently closing itself, just a little slimmer. The entrance hall wasn't empty, inside stood two wyverns, draconic creatures with horned heads that resembled that of a lizard, a body like a snake with two strong hind legs, long, spiked tails and strong, leathery wings that also served as the front legs. Both creatures looked at me with their glowing orange eyes that were embedded in their skulls. Their black scales shimmered in the light of the fire and their dark blue underbellies did as well. They stood to either side of the carpet.

The blood-red carpet muffled the sound of my footsteps as I strode towards the door with long steps. As if they knew I was a figure of greater authority than their owners they bowed their heads, exposing the long necks that connected head and body. I barely paid attention as I once again raised a gloved hand and as a golden light appeared in my palm once again. A second golden fairy flew towards the door and pushed it open before dispersing into millions upon millions of small golden particles. I stepped inside the hall and heard nearly everyone inside standing up as I walked towards my throe at the end of the U-shaped hall. I glanced around. Everyone was standing, except for Happy Face, who had both his legs on the railing of his row and I could also see that Durl was still sitting on his spot on the bench, his head resting on his hand as his black eye followed me. His white eye on the other hand was staring at something else.

When I sat down on my throne, making my wings turn back into golden fairies beforehand, the twenty-nine people that had stood up sat back down.

Grimlock and Vera are still missing... how disappointing.

"Well, let's begin!" I said loudly, my voice echoing through the hall.

In the corner of my eye, I could even see the flames that danced behind the metal bars of the stone fireplaces that hung from the walls flicker when I spoke.

"First, the less important topic. Dion!" I called, looking at a man sitting in the middle of the wooden seating stands to my left.

The man stood up, his long black hair, which he had tied into a ponytail, fluttering in the air as he did. He was dressed in a fine leather armour with a hood he wasn't wearing at the moment. On his back rested two large broadswords made from fine, silvery metal. His pale blue eyes perfectly resembled the colour of the flames he was capable of conjuring.

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"Yes, O' great demon king!" he said, as he bowed slightly.

"I heard you're going to war with a certain... heretic hunter," I said.

"Yes, O' great demon king!" Dion responded.

"What do you think your chances are?" I asked one of my eyebrows raised as I looked down on the man.

He coughed into his closed fist.

"My chances look grim. According to my sources they not only have captured one of my most trusted, but they also seem to have multiple divisions trained by the known paladin, Rudolpho Alami! O' great demon king!" Dion stated.

"So why do you pursue this war?" I asked.

"Because the branch they plan to attack is a mere side branch of my organization, it's not worth anything to me! O' great demon king!" Dion said.

"Is that so? But there has to be more to it, right?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"Indeed, there is more to it! Arch Demon Lord Veraniala Adventus has requested me to do this, since her subject of interest, the host of the Demon Queen of Wrath, Ira, is among those attacking the branch! She seems to want to test him in this way! O' great demon king!" Dion said.

I chuckled.

"A test, huh? That sounds interesting. She has not reported this information to me, so it makes me happy to at least hear of the whereabouts of our last target. Thank you, Dion, you may sit!" I said.

Dion bowed and sat back down, seeming a little more sweaty than before.

"Alright, since we have already mention part of the more important topic."

I readjusted in my throne.

"How far along are the six we have already?" I asked, looking especially towards Algral and Happy Face, who spoke first.

"Greed is coming along fine. He's promising I must say, a true thief!" Happy Face said as he jumped up from his part of the bench.

The four pitch-black donkey-like ears that extended from the front of his head, where the mask sat, swayed a little. The white face of his mask was as creepy as ever, staring at me with those two large black dots it had for eyes and the over the top, jagged, smile that was drawn on it. Happy Face now took off his top head and loosened his necktie before bowing before me. The way he moved while doing it creeped me out.

"The problem is his... gift, O' great demon king. He is afraid of so many things, O' great demon king," he said as he danced around in the middle of the hall, his movement straight out of a horror story.

His voice send shivers down my spine, that along with the knowledge that there were currently only seven people in this room that stood a chance against him in a fight didn't make it any easier to look at the living corpse controlled by a mask.

"That! Is why I suggest for him to begin his ten years!" Happy face said loudly as he ended his creepy dance performance.

"Happy Face, I have already said during the last meeting that none of the sins will start their ten years before not all of them are here!" I said loudly.

Happy Face tilted his head as an owl would, and suddenly I was overcome by darkness. I could neither see, nor hear, nor could I smell or feel or taste anything. I was blinded by the darkness. But then I saw two white, squiggly, dots and a white, squiggly and jagged, wide smile appeared right in the middle of that darkness.

"Are... you sure that is the right decision?"

Happy Face's voice sounded strange, so distant but so close, as if it was in my head but also not, as if it was there, but also not there all at the same time.

"It's something Vera has requested of me," I said. "And unless you want to face her, I would advice you to stop this madness, Happy Face!"

A golden light burst forth from me and everything returned to normal. Most people in the room were gasping for air and Happy Face, who was still in the middle of the room, was now surrounded by a golden flame that even he seemed slightly afraid of. But despite that, I couldn't stop my heart from beating as fast as it did. I was sweaty and had my usually rhythmic breathing had gone out of rhythm.

"I apologize, O' great demon king," Happy Face said, as he slouched through the flames and back towards his seat.

"Now that that is over with," I said, with a slight annoyance in my voice," what can the others, that have taken care of one of them say?"

All of them told me the same thing, how they were coming along great and how they should start their ten years. But unlike Happy Face, none of them forgot to add that, if it was the wish of Veraniala Adventus, they would not mind waiting a little longer.

Yeah, but how much longer?

As I was about to dismiss the council a blue flame appeared in the middle of the room, a blue flame I would recognize everywhere. The flame seemed to split space itself as it grew and two figures stepped out of it. One was a skeleton with black hinges and chains to keep the bones together. The other was a tall human with short red hair and a single, amber coloured eye.

"Grimlock, you've finally decided to return!" I said loudly.

"I have, but only for a short time since I have some other business to attend to. Today I'm here to recommend my student for his ten years," Grimlock said in his usual uncanny voice.

"Your student?" I asked, sceptical, since Grimlock had never taken a student.

"Yes, my student. His name is Galliard, he used to be a member of the church. But I... reformed him," Grimlock said.