In that magnificent room, the cold throne felt a bit more familiar now that I had sat on it for the second time. Valeria stood faithfully by Elvar side, ready to assist as Elvar personal assistant. After that rather tense meeting, I decided it was time to rest.
I rose from my seat and excused myself to Valeria, saying I was returning to my room. I also told her to rest.
After arriving back in my large, dark room, my mind immediately went back to work. I started thinking about how to control this skill of mine, Mask Actor. Especially, what triggers the activation of a skill inherited from this mask? Is it through a strong desire like earlier? A momentary wish? Or perhaps there's a specific command?
"Alright," I muttered to myself, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Now I'll try activating my skills one by one."
Let's try using a skill that seems less dangerous to my body first. The Aura of Destruction earlier was painful afterward, but at least it didn't instantly make me pass out like the effect of the teleportation (Shadow Step) I felt. Let's try to bring out the same aura as before, as a way to figure out how to activate it consciously.
What if we use the skill's name to activate it? Or does it have to be a strong desire like before? I think that if activating it just by wishing is very impractical. Why? Because during a fight against a truly tough enemy later, it's impossible for me to have to wish first to be able to attack or dodge.
We never know when the enemy will attack. So, wishing to activate a skill isn't practical.
I've read comics where, to activate a skill, the character at least visualizes it first, focusing their mind on the skill. Before we continue, I also actually want to know what energy is used to activate a skill in this world.
Usually in comics, it's called Mana, Qi, Soul Energy, etc. What's clear is that in this world, there's magic, there are heroes, and many things that don't make sense compared to Earth. So there must be some kind of energy source.
Elvar began his practice. Following the limited knowledge he got from his comics, he tried sitting cross-legged on his cold room floor, closing his eyes behind his mask. He imagined an energy, whatever its form flowing inside his body, gathering, then imagined his body emitting the same purple-black-red aura that had appeared uncontrollably in the throne room earlier.
He had already prepared himself to feel pain again, as the payment if this skill activated. Right now, he remained still, focused, trying to call the skill's name in his mind.
"Aura of Destruction!" Elvar thought with full concentration.
Silence. Nothing happened.
"Okay, maybe it's not just the name," he thought again. He tried to visualize the aura appearing, while saying its name in his mind. "Aura of Destruction!"
After the skill's name was spoken in his mind along with the visualization, without pause, an aura of red, black, and purplish-blue began to faintly emerge from his body, then slowly enveloped him. It wasn't as strong as the previous aura explosion.
Not long after the skill activated, a hot sensation in his chest began to be felt. The longer it went, the hotter it got, then it became so hot it felt like it was burning from the inside. Elvar started to feel intense heat.
"Hot! Hot! My chest is hooot!! Aaaaaaa!" Elvar screamed in his mind. "Aura of Destruction Non-active!"
Instantly, the aura disappeared from his body. The heat slowly subsided, leaving an uncomfortable sensation in his chest.
"Why did my chest feel so hot after the aura activated? I didn't feel this much heat in the throne room earlier," he thought, panting. "Maybe this hot sensation was masked by the pain from the Shadow Step that made my insides feel like they were being crushed. So, does every skill have a different 'payment'?"
How do I overcome this heat after activating that aura? Could this be related to the Mana/Qi or other energy I was talking about? Theoretically, what makes the most sense in a fantasy world is that to emit an aura of power like that, we must need some kind of energy as fuel. Is this heat a side effect because I forced it out without having enough 'fuel'?
I'll ask Carmilla about it tomorrow during the expedition. Since she's a magic-using demon, maybe I can get an answer after asking her.
Feeling a little tired after that small experiment, Elvar began to take off his mask and decided to truly rest before tomorrow's journey.
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Elsewhere, on the Human Continent, inside the magnificent palace of the Esbekday Kingdom, a soldier in silver armor knelt before the King sitting on his throne.
"Report, Your Majesty," the soldier said. "The Demon King's aura has been detected rising again. This report is based on testimony from the guard post at the border of the Demon Continent and the Human Continent. A strong, chilling aura was felt, albeit fleetingly, by the border residents and the guards there a few hours ago."
The King frowned. "Summon the Hero!" he commanded another guard on duty.
Not long after, a knight with dull blond hair and a tired face entered the throne room. He walked with a slight limp, clearly not fully recovered from the curse wound he received during the last battle against the previous Demon King.
"The King summoned me? My apologies, what is it?" asked the Hero.
"I have received information that the Demon King has risen again, or at least his aura was felt to be active," said the King. "What about your condition? As a precaution, you should immediately find a way to cure that curse on your leg, so you can be on guard if another demon attack occurs."
"Yes, King," the Hero replied, bowing. "But it seems this leg of mine will not heal anytime soon. I have received information from the high sorcerer who can remove this curse, but he said it would take at least one to two years for this curse to disappear completely."
"Very well," the King sighed. He then looked towards the other soldiers. "Tighten the guard on all border regions! Report immediately if there is anything suspicious. And if there are signs of an attack, report directly to me!"
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Morning finally arrived in the Blackfix Kingdom Territory. However, morning here was not like morning on Earth. The sky remained a dark gray, shrouded by a thick demonic aura that seemed to be an eternal curse upon their kind. Sunlight struggled to penetrate, making the morning atmosphere remain dim and dark. This was an unavoidable characteristic of the demon territory.
The Aura of Destruction that Elvar activated in his room last night, although brief and not as strong as before, was apparently enough to make the Demon King's aura in the region slightly thicker and felt all the way to the continent's border, triggering alertness in the Human Kingdom.
Elvar woke up from his sleep when his door was knocked. Valeria was calling him for breakfast and informing him that Carmilla and Grakthos were ready for the expedition to the forest.
Elvar quickly got ready, not forgetting to put on his mask, then went to Valeria. They walked together to the dining hall. Upon arriving there, it was seen that all the Pillars had gathered again for morning breakfast with the new King. The atmosphere this morning felt a little different.
Roasted boar meat was already served in front of Elvar's chair, as per his request yesterday. This made him feel a little relieved.
Grakthos's face was lowered. He seemed awkward as he invited Elvar to enjoy his food. Only after Elvar began to eat his breakfast (by slightly lifting his mask) did the Pillars and other demons join in eating.
After everyone finished eating, Elvar instructed Carmilla and Grakthos to carry out the plan set yesterday: go to the Green Forest to find special vines and conduct exploration.
Grakthos and Carmilla nodded in agreement and followed Elvar's direction. The three of them, accompanied by Valeria who would escort them to the gate, got ready and left the palace.
They crossed the suspension bridge once more, then descended the steep cliff, moving away from the twin-peaked mountain where the palace stood. The dark forest environment, as usual, felt more ominous in this dim morning. A thin mist still hung among the strange black trees.
Step by step they walked. They had to carefully navigate the giant tree roots protruding from the ground. There was no dense undergrowth like in Earth's forests, only dry, leafless branches that sometimes blocked the path. Large trees with jet-black trunks and sparse black leaves loomed in Elvar's view.
I swear, this is like a journey in a horror movie, or a setting in zombie games in the forest. It's terrifying. These roots also feel very large and slippery. Is this journey going to be very long? I don't know either. I'm just curious about what the demon territory environment looks like further away from the palace.
"Lord," asked Carmilla, who was walking behind Elvar, while Grakthos led the way in front. "Why are we exploring the forest environment further from the kingdom? Are you looking for something specific?"
"Not really," Elvar replied (through the mask). "I just want to see the area further away. By the way, is this Demon Continent far from the border of the Human Continent?"
"The Demon Continent is the smallest continent compared to the Human Continent and the continents of other races, Lord," explained Carmilla, walking behind Elvar. "And our Kingdom, Blackfix, is located closest to the Human Continent's border. Therefore, every time the Hero or human forces attack, our kingdom's territory is always the first target."
Right, now I understand. Why our kingdom is among those ostracized and considered weak. First, fewer residents. Second, its location is on the front line of the border. Third, it doesn't have the characteristics of an advanced kingdom. You could say, we are just like a shield or the first line of defense for the other, larger demon kingdoms.
But actually, we have this vast forest land. What was the previous King's (that Fire Dragon's) reason for choosing to build the castle on that isolated mountainside? Was it purely for security reasons? Which has indeed proven to keep the castle intact to this day? It's possible that's the reason.
Not long after they walked deeper into the forest, a terrifying roar was heard from a distance, followed by the rustle of breaking branches getting closer. Dark figures began to be seen moving quickly between the trees.
Carmilla immediately stopped and took a wary stance. "Lord, stay behind Grakthos!" she said quickly. "It seems a monster inhabitant of this forest is about to attack us. But you don't need to worry. Grakthos will handle this."
"Very well," Elvar said, his voice remaining calm without showing any fear at all.
"Eh? Monsters? Attacking demons? What does this mean?" I thought, confused. "Right, let's explain the difference between monsters and demons in this world, friends."
Monsters and demons are different. Let's compare their names in our world and in this fantasy world.
In the real world, 'demon' usually refers to a spiritual entity or a symbol of evil, while 'monster' is an imaginary creature that is physically frightening. In this fantasy world, it seems demons (like Valeria, Grakthos, Carmilla) are depicted as intelligent humanoid or semi-humanoid beings, having culture, and organized magical or physical powers. Meanwhile, monsters are likely savage, non-sentient beasts, or magical mutations that live wild in nature.
After my explanation, now you can differentiate, right? Which are demons (my kingdom's residents) and which are monsters (savage/wild beasts).
Then why in comics, when the Demon King attacks humans, are there always monsters as his subordinates? Well, maybe because monsters are non-sentient creatures and demons are sentient creatures. Of course, monsters can be controlled by demons, somehow. Maybe through summoning magic? Or forced subjugation? Or hypnosis magic?
What will Grakthos do to these monsters? Should I join the fight? What monster will we be fighting? And how many monsters will attack? See the continuation in the next chapter. Thanks for reading.