The descent into the basin was a stark reminder of the sheer scale of demonic architecture. Even broken, the capital of the House of Night was a testament to unyielding power. The winding path down the ridge was paved with slabs of black rock that crunched slightly under their boots. The result of a lingering residual heat from the recent siege that had shattered the outer defenses.

  Li Yu walked with a relaxed pace. His hands were clasped loosely behind his back and his expression an unreadable mask of calm. He was thinking of what he would see and was wondering what the rest of the family was like.

  Beside him, Demon Lord Malos was practically skipping. He was now really enjoying his travels and was filling the part with all his heart. He even made comments about how he wanted to decorate his home with certain things that he saw.

  "You don't own a house, Malos. Or at least that’s what you told me." Li Yu pointed out without breaking his stride. "How could you decorate it like that if you have no place."

  "Details, Li Yu. I could build a place easily." Malos replied as he patted his sack of wet river stones. "A place to display my artifacts from this trip. I think this trip will be one of my most cherished memories."

  As they approached the main gates, the sheer density of the demonic aura in the air grew oppressive. The massive bronze doors, though dented and scarred by recent bombardment, were hauled open by a team of heavily muscled cyclopean demons. Flanking the entrance were rows of the Night Demon Vanguard, their dark armor absorbing the ambient light.

  A Vanguard Captain, towering at nine feet tall and wielding a jagged halberd, stepped forward to cross their path. "Halt. The capital is under martial reconstruction. State your business and present your—"

  The Captain stopped mid sentence. His glowing violet eyes narrowed behind his visor as he leaned down and was inspecting Li Yu’s face. The aggressive posture instantly vanished and was quickly replaced by a rigid, fist to chest salute that clattered loudly against his breastplate.

  "Honored Guest!" The Captain bellowed as his voice echoing off the dark walls. "The Vanguard was not informed of your return! Open the way! Send a messenger to the inner palace immediately!"

  The ranks of demonic soldiers parted instantly. It formed a precise avenue of honor. Li Yu merely nodded his head in acknowledgment and stepped through the gates. Malos followed closely behind, leaning over to whisper loudly.

  It would seem that the Night Queen had let everyone of a certain rank know about Li Yu. Perhaps through some drawings or imparting it into their minds directly. Li Yu didn’t know but his idea of staying low key was all but gone in the capital.

  They were escorted through the bustling streets of the outer city. The reconstruction was chaotic but focused. Demonic artisans were using raw, dark flames to weld shattered ironwork while earth shapers raised massive blocks of stone with pure physical exertion. The energy of a recovering empire was palpable.

  Soon, the towering spires of the central citadel loomed over them. They bypassed the standard audience chambers and were led directly into the heart of the Night Queen’s domain. The Sunless Hall.

  The chamber was a cavernous space illuminated only by floating orbs of cold, silver light. At the far end, upon a raised dais, sat the Night Queen. She radiated an aura of immense, suffocating authority. Her dark robes pooled around her like liquid shadows. Standing to her right was Vespera, the Night Princess. She was looking as sharp and lethal as a drawn blade.

  When the heavy doors closed behind them, Vespera’s stoic expression broke. A genuine, relieved smile crossed her face. She stepped down from the dais and bridged the gap with graceful, rapid steps.

  "Li Yu," Vespera greeted him with a smile. She pressed a fist to her palm in a formal bow. "You honor our broken home with your presence. Thank you for coming to see us."

  The Night Queen stood and her voice resonated through the vast hall like distant thunder. "Li Yu. To say you are welcome here is a gross understatement. Whatever is ours is open to you. Please treat this as your second home."

  "Thank you but there is no need for all of that, Your Majesty," Li Yu replied and returned the bow. “Sorry that I am intruding without prior notification. I wasn’t planning to bother you right away.”

  The Queen nodded and was appreciating the straightforward honesty over false humility. Then, her piercing gaze shifted to the figure standing slightly behind Li Yu.

  Malos was currently examining a silver sconce on the wall and completely ignoring the room. He tapped the metal while listening to the chime, before pulling out his burlap sack to compare its weight against his river stones.

  Morrigan frowned and extended her divine sense to gauge the stranger. Vespera did the same.

  Morrigan’s eyes widened slightly in recognition. There was no terror but there was a sense of bewilderment. She recognized the unique aura. It was a signature only a handful of beings in the realm possessed.

  "Malos?" Morrigan asked. Her regal tone cracked with genuine confusion. "What in the world are you doing here? Did you come with Li Yu?"

  Malos finally turned around. He offered a polite nod to his peer. "Ah, Queen Morrigan. It is good to see you survived the recent unpleasantness. And I am here as a humble traveler, experiencing the wonders of the open road with Li Yu."

  Vespera stared in shock, her eyes darting between the elusive Demon Lord and the human she knew commanded god-like entities. "Li Yu... why is Demon Lord Malos traveling with you?"

  "It is a long story," Li Yu said while rubbing his temples. "To sum it up quickly, it started with random chance and now we are traveling together as common travelers."

  "An ordinary mortal who negotiates with Supreme Purple Earth Radishes," Malos corrected helpfully. He held up one of his painted wet rocks for the Queen to see.

  Morrigan stared at the wet rock, then at Li Yu. Her mind, already strained by the knowledge that Li Yu commanded beings capable of slaughtering everyone, now had to accept that he casually traveled with a reclusive, eccentric Demon Lord who apparently collected stones.

  Before the Queen could attempt to formulate a response to that absurdity, the side doors of the hall swung open. Three figures strode in while arguing loudly.

  "I am telling you, the southeastern array node is misaligned!" Shouted Prince Ganhao. His robes were stained with ink and his eyes heavily bagged from exhaustion. He waved a scroll at the man beside him.

  "And I am telling you, brother, that if you don't reinforce the physical walls first, your glowing little lights won't stop a battering ram!" Booming back was Prince Renato. He was a mountain of a demon and was built even broader than the Vanguard soldiers. His bare arms were covered in glowing crimson tattoos of war.

  Trailing behind them was a young woman tossing a dagger from hand to hand. Princess Nyx wore the practical, ragged leathers of a rogue wanderer. Her hair was cropped short and her eyes were sharp with cynical amusement. "Or we could just poison the water supply of anyone who marches on us. Much cheaper than arrays or walls."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "Children, enough," Morrigan commanded. Her voice sliced through their bickering. "We have guests. Do not embarrass the family."

  The three royal siblings stopped and turned, noticing the strangers for the first time. Ganhao blinked, his train of thought completely derailed.

  Renato crossed his massive arms and squinted down at Li Yu. He had heard the impossible stories from his mother and sister for weeks. He took in Li Yu's black hair, simple robes and calm demeanor.

  "Wait... mother, is this him? The human who supposedly orchestrated the fall of our enemies? He doesn't look like he has the strength to lift a proper greatsword."

  "Renato!" Vespera snapped as her hand drifted toward her blade. "Show respect or no one will be able to help you."

  Nyx, however, ignored Li Yu entirely. Her roguish instincts were screaming at her. She was staring fixedly at the gray-robed scholar playing with the rock. "Mother... who is the other man?"

  Morrigan closed her eyes for a brief moment and prayed for patience. "That is Lord Malos, a peer of our House. And the young man is Lord Li Yu, the benefactor to whom we owe our lives. You will all treat both of our guests with the absolute reverence they deserve."

  The siblings blinked in surprise. They immediately offered respectful bows to Malos, recognizing his status as a fellow Demon Lord. They then turned curious, slightly skeptical bows toward Li Yu. They had been told vague things about Li Yu since they couldn’t reveal the truth either. The most important thing was that he was to be respected just like they did with their mother.

  Malos just waved them off cheerfully. Very different to what they had expected from the Demon Lord.

  "Tonight," Morrigan declared "We will hold a grand banquet in the Hall of Scars. Let the entire court see that the House of Night honors its supreme guests."

  By nightfall, the Hall of Scars was ablaze with roaring braziers. True to demonic culture, the banquet was less a refined dining experience and more a display of predatory excess. Massive, whole roasted obsidian drakes were splayed across iron tables and stuffed with fiery spirit peppers that made the air shimmer with heat. Servants hauled barrels of acidic and violently fermented wine that could easily dissolve a weaker cultivator's throat.

  The entire demonic nobility that was still intact had been summoned. They had been mostly unharmed during the attacks. Once the Night Queen was trapped, they promptly surrendered since there was no hope. It wasn’t viewed as dishonorable, it was pragmatic.

  In addition to those, hundreds of warlords, sect masters, and tribal chiefs who owed allegiance to the Night Queen filled the hall. Their combined auras created a chaotic and suffocating atmosphere.

  Because the truth of Li Yu's intervention was a closely guarded secret that was known only to Vespera and the Night Queen herself, the wider nobility and upper echelon was left completely in the dark.

  At the highest table the seating arrangement was highly irregular. At least it was irregular to how it would be normally. Queen Morrigan sat at the center. To her immediate right and occupying the absolute seat of greatest honor, sat Li Yu. He was calmly picking at a piece of drake meat. His Divine Transformation aura was perfectly suppressed down to Core Formation, the same as it was during his travels. This made him look quite out of place in such a seat.

  To Li Yu’s right sat Malos. The Demon Lord was having the best time he’s ever had at a banquet. He was currently deep in a heated negotiation with a terrified servant. He was attempting to trade some of the rocks within his burlap sack for a massive haunch of meat and completely ignored the fact that the food was already free.

  Down in the lower hall, the whispers of the nobility were growing louder. The aggressive wine was loosening their tongues.

  "Look at them," muttered Lord Vane, a chieftain of the shadow leopards. He tore a chunk of meat from a bone and glared at the table. "The Queen places a human. A fragile human at her right hand. The absolute seat of honor. Has the siege driven her mad? To elevate a human over the lords who bled to reclaim her lands?"

  "You are a fool, Vane," hissed Lady Sylas, a high tier illusionist whose eyes glowed with calculating intelligence. She pointed a trembling finger not at Li Yu but at the gray robed man sitting beside him. "You are looking at the wrong guest. You think the Queen threw this banquet for a human?"

  Vane frowned and squinted up at the table. "The scholar haggling with the servant over a rock?"

  "Look closer, stupid." Sylas whispered and her voice grew tight. "Extend your senses. Try to read his cultivation."

  Vane closed his eyes and pushed a tendril of spiritual sense toward Malos. A second later, he gasped. He recognized the depth of the aura because Malos wasn’t trying to hide it here. He was releasing it freely to try to intimidate the servant for a better deal. It was the undeniable signature of a Demon Lord. A peer to their own Queen.

  "Gods below..." Vane choked out. "That is a Demon Lord. Do you know which one? They are clearly disguised."

  "Exactly." Sylas nodded knowingly and took a long drink of her wine. "The Queen isn't honoring the young human. She is throwing this banquet to honor our visiting peer, Lord Malos."

  "Then why is the human in the seat of honor?" Vane asked in confusion.

  "Because the human is clearly Lord Malos's favored attendant. Or perhaps that’s a gift that Malos is giving to the queen. A boy toy. Or perhaps he knows some useful skills in arrays." Sylas deduced with absolute confidence. "Demon Lords are eccentric. If Lord Malos demands it, the Queen will indulge him to maintain diplomatic relations. It makes perfect sense. Why else would a human be so calm in a room filled with a thousand demons?"

  Vane’s eyes went wide with sudden understanding. "Ah. The Queen is accepting a gift or playing politics with a fellow Sovereign."

  The rumors spread through the banquet hall like wildfire. By the time the second course was served, the collective attitude of the demonic nobility had shifted entirely. They had rationalized the impossible sight before them into something that fit their worldview.

  Whenever Li Yu looked out over the crowd, fierce warlords who moments ago were glaring daggers at him would suddenly avert their eyes or offer deep, respectful bows toward him. Thinking that he was someone favored, they wouldn’t dare to slight him now. That would only mean danger for them.

  "They seem very polite all of a sudden," Li Yu noted while taking a sip of his wine. He found the acidic vintage rather refreshing compared to some of the overly sweet nectars of the human territories. "I expected at least three challenges to a death duel by now from these warlords. Instead, they look like they want to buy me a drink."

  "They are being politically astute, Li Yu," Malos chuckled. Even though he had been engaged in fierce negotiations earlier, he had been paying attention the entire time. He finally secured his haunch of meat and placed a painted rock triumphantly onto the servant's tray. The servant looked like he was going to cry but bowed deeply and hurried away. Hoping to never run into the Demon Lord again. "They have recognized my peerless aura during my trade tactics just now."

  "I think they recognized that you are a Demon Lord," Li Yu corrected dryly. He glanced at the Queen. Morrigan was quietly conversing with Vespera and was clearly relieved that the wider nobility hadn't caused a violent scene over Li Yu's seating placement.

  "Yes, and they have also come to a very logical conclusion," Malos said with a wide grin. He took a massive bite of the drake meat and chewed happily. "They think you are my servant. They are bowing to you because they wish to curry favor with me. I don’t blame them either. After seeing my magnificent bartering just now, who wouldn’t."

  Li Yu paused with his cup halfway to his mouth. He was looking out at Lord Vane, who offered Li Yu a very stiff, forced smile and raised his glass in a silent toast.

  "In the grand tapestry of fate," Malos continued smoothly, "mortals often seek the comfort of hierarchy to explain the inexplicable. It gives them structure. If a Demon Lord walks into the room, it makes perfect sense he brings someone to speak for him. It is much easier for them to accept rather than the truth of who you actually are."

  Li Yu snorted softly and cut another piece of meat. "Let them think what they want. If they think I'm your servant, it saves me the trouble of having to explain myself or beat respect into them."

  "A wise and practical choice," Malos agreed and raised his cup of wine. "To being a very convincing mouthpiece, Li Yu. You serve me well. I have enjoyed your travels together. May they continue for quite a long time."

  "To ordinary mortal travels," Li Yu replied and clinked his cup against the Demon Lord's.

  Further down the table, Renato watched the exchange with a bewildered expression. "Is the human actually his servant?" He whispered to Vespera.

  Vespera took a slow sip of her wine and hid a smirk behind her cup. "Just eat your food, Renato. All you need to know is he holds a status that is higher than both of ours. Don’t destroy the family with any kind of foolishness."

  Surrounded by monsters, warlords and the recovering royal family bound to him by fate, Li Yu settled in to enjoy the feast. The road ahead was long and he was perfectly content to let someone else be the center of attention.