=====Narrator POV=====

Inside an underground chamber where the twin suns' dim light couldn't reach, the new ruler of the Demon Realm slept through the night undisturbed.

Yera had long since fallen asleep while looking at the sleeping face of the young Demon King, while the other imprisoned demons didn't have much energy to keep making a ruckus in the dark.

Now, without any light being able to seep into the underground prison, it became quite difficult for any of them to know that it was morning time already.

Only the weak breathing of the demon prisoners were audible in the pitch-black darkness, when a faint sound suddenly echoed from behind the closed door.

*thump*

Hearing the noise, Yera's ears immediately perked up as she slowly opened her drowsy eyes, only to be greeted with a pair of blood-red eyes eerily glowing in the darkness.

"Eeek....ah–!"

An involuntary scream almost left her mouth, before she hastily stopped herself by covering her own mouth.

The dimly glowing pair of eyes immediately shifted in her direction before they narrowed a little, before a low whisper drifted into her ears.

"...Hey, was that you, Yera? What happened to you?"

His voice was back to its original tone, and from his question, it seemed like he wasn't able to see in the dark like her, despite having those glowing eyes.

"...No, nothing. The sudden noise startled me a little."

"Oh, I....see."

As she didn't want to tell him that his glowing eyes actually scared her, she quickly gave him another excuse.

And though he sounded like he didn't believe her, he didn't question her about it any further, instead turning to look in the direction of the slowly opening door.

*Gwoong~!*

As the burning torch kept outside illuminated the prison room, Yera instinctively closed her eyes, before slowly reopening them while adjusting to the sudden light.

When she reopened her eyes, a bulky shadow appeared in her vision, standing in front of the doorway without moving an inch.

She couldn't immediately recognize who it was, but when she looked towards the strange demon, she saw him flash a cunning smile in the shadowy figure's direction.

"...Huh, you are more capable than I first thought you would be. So, did you already find a buyer for us?"

But when he suddenly started talking with the shadowy figure like they were old acquaintances, she was finally able to connect the dots.

Hearing his words, the shadowy figure quietly stepped inside the room with a deep frown on his face.

"Yes. The buyer has long since been decided, but I'm not here to talk about that right now. I'm here for something else..."

Yera's eyes widened as she identified him.

'Why is he here again...?'

It was the same ogre who had been behaving weirdly since the storm passed yesterday – the squad leader of the ogres who captured them!

– "Mmh...what is it this time?"

– "Shhh. Look, something interesting is going on down there…"

– "...what? Woah..."

Meanwhile, all the other sleeping demons also stirred awake due to the sudden commotion, looking at the happenings in front of them with drowsy, yet inquisitive pairs of eyes.

The strange demon's smile diminished a little, after hearing that his stay in the Demon Realm wasn't over just yet.

"Something else, huh...? And what would that 'something else' be, Urgus?"

"...I realized that my cooperation is more valuable than the 'goods' you told me about, so our deal needs some....new things from your end."

The ogre had a grim expression on his face while saying that, as the strange demon slowly erased the remaining smile from his face.

"Ah...so that's how it is. But, are you sure about going back on your words? Even though you already agreed to the deal I proposed earlier?"

"Yeah, that's right...."

The ogre took a deep breath while closing his eyes, before opening them and directly staring into the blood-red eyes he kept having nightmares of last night.

"...but you're not in the barren lands anymore. As long as you're in this base, you won't be able to do anything to me! And if you want to get what you need, it will now have to be on new terms – my terms!"

The ogre spoke through gritted teeth as his fists subtly shook, showing just how tightly they were clenched on his side.

"I don't need to fear you here. This is my home ground! I make the rules here, and you are the one who will obey!"

From the way he aggressively threw those words at the smaller demon, it felt like he just wanted to prove a point, instead of negotiating anything at all.

However, the strange demon didn't break eye contact with the ogre for a single moment, instead looking directly into his eyes in silence as he finished his tirade.

*Whoosh–!*

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

But even without him doing or saying anything, a heavy pressure slowly started enveloping the entire room, brutally pressing down on everyone.

'W-what is going on?'

...except for a single Lycan woman, who was left even more confused than before.

– "Ugh..."

– "W-what is...m-my head...t-the Lord..."

– "I-I can h-hear something...w-what is t-this..."

All the other demons inside the cages immediately lowered their heads under the influence of an unseen force, shivering as they muttered some incomprehensible gibberish like a bunch of broken puppets.

"...uncan-...for..."

Suddenly, Yera caught a faint whisper with her perked-up ears, when the chains binding the strange demon inexplicably came undone.

*crack~* *crack~*

The ogre was left frozen in place with wide eyes by the pressure, as the smaller demon ominously cracked his stiff neck and slowly stood up inside his cage.

"Argh..."

The ogre knew that this demon boy had some way to get out of the chains, but he didn't know that he could do it so effortlessly....

He still didn't even understand how it was possible, even after seeing it happen right in front of his eyes!

"...H-How did you...?"

With a pair of bloodshot eyes, the ogre was just about to ask him how he could get out of those chains…

*step* *step* *step–!*

...when the demon boy casually walked up to the thick metal bars of the prison cage they were shoved in, before addressing the slightly shaking ogre with a dark chuckle.

"...Hey, you piece of trash. I thought I heard something ridiculous just now. Can you please tell me that I'm wrong?"

"Y-you...n-no wa—"

"Hmm? No? What a surprise! I really thought you valued your own life, but who knew..."

*Sigh...*

The demon boy heaved a long and dramatic sigh, before suddenly gripping the cage's metal bars with a start, wearing a furious look on his face.

*clang~!*

"Tell me, Urgus! Is your bravado coming out now because of your confidence in this cage? Or is it because of your friends that are roaming around nearby?!"

"Urgh...!"

The pressure acting on the ogre suddenly increased twofold, causing his subtle shaking to become more obvious.

"Come on, say it! Why don't we see if your source of confidence can save you right now or not? Say it, AND SAY IT OUT LOUD!"

*Kwarrrrnng~*

The metal bars of the cage slowly deformed under his grip, as the ogre was left breathless from the intense pressure acting on both his body and mind.

'H-He was not t-that powerful before...no...maybe he was....he just didn't bother to use it!'

It was at this moment that he knew....he messed up!

Before he knew it, he felt his knees suddenly give up on him. Now, when he lifted his head to look ahead, he saw the demon boy looking down at him, a dark and malevolent aura radiating from his entire body.

"Now listen closely, you rotten demon..."

Grasping onto the metal bars that were completely bent out of shape, bars that even his boss would have to exert some effort to move, he spoke...

"...I can, and will burn down everyone and everything in this garbage bin that you call your base, if you dare to even 'think' about crossing me again!"

"Ugh..."

His forceful voice dug into the minds of every demon present in his vicinity, causing the weaker slaves to teeter on the verge of a complete mental breakdown.

"Don't think that cowards like you – who sell their own brethren to the enemy world just to make a living – would have the qualifications to talk back to me! Just because I spared your life, you started thinking that you could negotiate terms with me?"

Though the others didn't have the mental faculties to understand what was happening anymore, Yera's mouth was wide open from the strange demon's shocking display of force!

"Wow..."

....Her decision to follow him didn't turn out to be wrong after all!

Even though his personality seemed to be all over the place, this 'strange demon' had been nothing if not extremely reliable for the entire duration she spent with him. It was to the point that sometimes, she even wondered if this strange demon was really a demon or not.

One moment, he was a calm yet mischievous person, and the next moment his temper suddenly flared up like this out of nowhere!

However, it seemed like this 'strange demon' wasn't finished with the ogre just yet.

*Kwarrrng~*

As the metal bars deformed even further, the demon boy finally stepped out of the cage holding him and walked in front of the kneeling ogre.

...*step*...*step*...*step*...

"Grrgh...!"

"...You better know your damned place from now on, vermin. And make sure to engrave this lesson in whatever garbage that you keep inside that useless skull of yours."

Disdainfully looking down at the kneeling figure, he suddenly lifted his right foot, driving the ogre's head straight into the stone floor beneath.

*smash–!*

Dust and gravel flew up, and a bunch of small, spiderweb-like fractures appeared on the stone floor.

"Guuh–!"

The ogre couldn't evade the sudden strike, throwing up a small splotch of blood from his mouth.

"Remember, you are just a convenient option for me, not a necessary one. This is your last chance, so you better do as I told you. Otherwise, I can promise that dying will be the least of your concerns...."

*bam–!*

"Gah!"

Kicking his head into the ground once again, he turned and walked back into the cage while retracting the pressure that was suffocating every demon till now.

"Stand up and get lost before someone sees you, if you don't want to forfeit your last chance just like that and die with everyone else."

"Ugh..."

In a few moments, the ogre wobbled back to his feet with a bleeding head.

Not daring to cast his eyes in the direction of the demon boy anymore, he slowly walked out of the room with an unsteady gait.

After the ogre was gone, the demon boy started cursing him under his breath with an irritated expression on his face.

"Dammit... I really didn't want to make this mess. Damned greedy bastard!"

Yera was about to talk to him about what happened back there, but decided otherwise after seeing his foul mood.

Most of the imprisoned demons were too weak to resist the immense pressure for so long, leaving many of them still dazed. While the still sane minority among them constantly trembled in their place, not letting out even a single peep in fear.

[...Lord...Our...Lord is...back...]

[...L-Lord...The Lord...]

Unbeknownst to the demon boy, a ghastly wail composed of incomprehensible gibberish was continuously ringing inside the heads of those demon slaves.

It was truly fortunate for him that none of them were in any condition to pay any attention to what these ghastly voices were telling them. Otherwise, all of his future plans would have gone down the drain right then and there...

"F*ck, I forgot to tell him that he can't leave any prisoner in stock here!"

The demon boy cursed again in the darkness, making the imprisoned demons shake even more intensely in dread.

....Or maybe, he didn't need to worry after all, since he never liked to leave any loose ends that could potentially bite him back in the future.