The Demonland was unlike any other region of the world. It was a land of extremes, a territory shaped by chaos and ruled by strength.
The skies almost crimson, casting an eerie light over a jagged landscape of volcanic plains and shadowed peaks. Rivers of molten lava snaked through the earth, their glow illuminating twisted forests of dark woods. The very air shimmered with heat, heavy and oppressive, pressing down on all who dared to enter.
At the heart of this infernal expanse stood the king of Babel, a statue of black stone hundred meter tall that its peak pierced the sky. It depicted a nine horned demon with four wings, its surface was carved with ancient runes, faintly pulsing with an ominous crimson light.
The statue wasn't merely a ornament, more than a structure; it was a symbol of the demons' unity, built to commemorate the day four demon clans achieve peace, strength, and unity.
It was a national treasure and a sacred symbol.
In a radius of one kilo around the statue is a garden, so green and beautiful, pleasing to the eyes.
And next to it, was streets teeming with life.
From ordinary demons scurrying about their business lifeless to the hulking brutes guarding the city's many gates. The atmosphere was thick with heat and scent of brimstone, punctuated by occasional distant roars of fiery beasts, man or woman's scream, and the clash of steel from the city's many arenas.
It was the capital of Demonland—The Gehenna city.
As how the eyes could perceived things clearly, the Gehenna city wasn't ideal place to lives.
The air always hot.
The land barely supported their needs.
Water almost become luxury.
And the taxes was like leashes on the citizen's neck.
And it wasn't just the capital, but overall living conditions in Demonland was just straight up terrible. But of course, that was only for the majority.
…
How long has it been since his fight with the Void Emperor on his own turf?
Ten minutes?
Even less than that?
Devil Prime didn't know nor he care. But after pushing himself to his limit, he was here. In the crimson skies, between the pale clouds, above his lovely home just like millions years ago, the domain of the demon, the Demonland. This had always been his home; He had grown under a certain Demon Lord's harsh tutelage untill his latent unparalleled potential awakened in ways that defied comprehension.
In time, he became the strongest of their kind.
And later, a living legend.
He had committed genocide on sixty-six warring demon clans, and ultimately united the six remaining clans. He leashed them into a cohesive force under his rule; a kingdom with him not as a king, not an emperor, not a leader nor tyrant, but—A God. He rose from being an abandoned child to be the God of Demon. But of course, it hadn't come without sacrifice.
After all, he was not born as Devil Prime.
It was a name he got from slaying the strongest demon of old titled as the True Demon Lord.
"Truly bring back memories~"
As Devil Prime descended slowly, he couldn't help but contemplated, "...should I go home first?"
He hesitated for a bit, the ideas of getting yelled at by his lovely lingered. But in the end, he still choose to take stroll and see things around first, after all it's been thousands years since he stuck in time.
Passing the clouds, he observed the city below and—his head tilting in confusion.
A moment later, he was even frowning deeply.
"What THE heck!"
"Where is MY Immortal Town?"
"The FUCK HAPPEN to my seat?"
"Did they actually buried it? They are! They buried my precious throne in dirt! Arghhh!"
"My castle! My Harem house! They buried it too!"
He was practically panic-stricken and angry at first, with his long tongue lashing the air. But suddenly, as if a completely different person has taken his body, he laughed lightly while shaking his head.
"So much has changed," his voice almost wistful, "And yet, demons are demons."
The place he had nurtured had turned into a mess. Cities that should have been vibrant with life were now shrouded in a haze of corruption. The streets were filled with starving citizens, dried children, beggars, and crime scenes everywhere.
"I leave for a few million years, and this is what I get? Great. Just great." he sighed.
Being pure darkness at day, floating mid air in the middle of city, he was obviously too conspicuous and people are bound to notice. Adults are less curious and barely spare a glance, while children in the other hand, either got excited so or scared witless and telling their mommy when he waved at them.
Devil Prime laughed softly as he descended.
Walking on the ground, he couldn't help but lamented.
"Haish, children. So adorable. Ah, I wanna have one... I hope Honey will have change of heart after all these time. But now though, how should I do this? Simplest way or cool way? Hmm, bloody way?"
Devil Prime walked deeper into the city.
Featureless humanoid, black as ink figure, nothing but mouth—let him walk in human settlement and there'll be chaos. But here?
"…"
Devil Prime had never felt so ignored.
People just glanced at him, maybe surprised or confused, but they'll still back at their business in a hurry. Only occasional thug will pick on him since he was quite skinny, thinking that he was easy prey. Of course, Devil Prime would knock them off.
"Maybe I should kill them?" he contemplating before five or so tall and burly unconscious demons.
"Hey Mr. black, you look lost!"
A voice called out, breaking through his thoughts.
Devil Prime turned his gaze to find a girl standing nearby.
She was a teenager—scruffy, tomboyish, with a broad grin and an unmistakable air of mischief. Her hair was short, messy peeking out below her black hat, with red skin, yellow eyes like cat, and two small horn. She wore a short pants, loose-fitting jacket. She wasn't particularly tall, but she had a certain confidence in the way she carried herself, charm in her posture.
"Lost? I suppose I am."
He couldn't help but smile at the girl. Well at least someone finally greet their God.
"Well, you're talking with the right girl for that, then!"
She tilted her head, sizing him up with a gleam in her vertical slit eyes. "But hey, I don't give out free tours, you know. If you're gonna take up my time, you're gonna have to pay up."
"Pay?"
He raised his non-existent eyebrow, intrigued by her boldness. After all he was basically monster in people eyes, yet, not only talking casually to him, she even dared ask for his money?
"Of course you must pay." she crossed her arms, her grin widening. "You can't just stroll in here, looking like you own the place, and expect me to show you around for nothing." she paused, "Five Jin for a tour of the city. What do you say?"
"Five Jin... alright, wait a minute."
What was Jin? Obviously the currency here.
Did he have it? No.
What god would need wealth anyway?
So how would he pay her? Simple; With a wave of his hand, he emptied the pockets of the five unconscious thugs. He then waved again, causing their body to get thrown far even beyond the clouds.
"…"
Not only the girl, even the people around and the guard who about to intervene was speechless.
"Alright, five Jin." he handed the paper money, "But I have more here... are you really tour guide? Or is there any other service you could provide?"
"Hey mister, what do you mean by that?!"
"Well, you know it's city and people gotta make a living somehow..."
"NO." she said flatly as she took the money.
If before she will hesitant about stolen money, especially from thugs, now it doesn't matter. After all, even the guards didn't want to trouble this mysterious guy. And how far would those guy go anyway?
"Don't lump me with those people. Besides… do you even have one, mister?" she looked strangely at his appearance.
"Hey, you don't wanna know!"
"Sure did I don't wanna know!" she laughed sweetly as she pocketed her money. "Hey, you have a lot to spare there, why not upgrade your tour guide?"
"…what?" he asked bluntly.
"Five Jin for a tour. Fifteen if you want the deluxe version. What do you say?"
Devil Prime studied her for a moment, sensing her mix of playfulness and sharp wit. In the end, get handed all the money he just took, "I don't know much is this, just give me the best tour you've got."
Kiva's eyes widened as she caught the pouches "You're serious? Mister, you've just upgraded to the Special—no holds barred! Alright, stick close, traveler. You're about to see the real face of this city."
"Hmm, what's your name?"
She answered nonchalantly, "Just call me Tom."
"Was that your real name?"
"No~"
Devil Prime walked behind her, matching her pace as she led him through the streets.
As they walked through the winding streets, Tom chattered with voice a mix of casual commentary and biting humor, seemingly unbothered by the crumbling state of society around them. She has the confidence of someone who'd lived her whole life navigating the big city. She pointed out different landmarks, though many of them had been reduced to rubble, and made snide remarks about the state of things.
"So, see that? That used to be the biggest market. All the best food was there. People came from all over to get a taste of the sweet rolls and roasted meats. Now? Now it's just a bunch of broken stalls with moldy bread and wilted veggies. Great, huh?"
"And this here," she pointed to a row of crumbling houses, "used to be where the silk traders lived. Rich folks, sleeping on money. Now? It's a rat motel. You wouldn't want to live here unless you're into that 'chewed furniture' aesthetic."
Devil Prime glanced at the dilapidated buildings, "And what happened to the silk traders?"
"Oh, still around," Tom said with a shrug, "They're just dying from taxes, not need yet."
"You seem unaffected by all this," he remarked, curious seeing how she carried herself through the desolation.
Tom shrugged nonchalantly. "What's there to be affected by? I know how things are here. You get used to it. And if you don't, you don't last long. The king's a joke—just a puppet for the old ones. Everyone knows it, but nobody does anything. People here don't have much fight left in them."
"I'm not gonna pretend everything's perfect, but what good does whining do?" She glanced back at him with a playful smirk. "You gotta find a way to keep going, even when everything's falling apart. Don't you think?"
"I see," he nodded slowly, impressed by her pragmatism. "And you've learned how to survive in a place like this?"
"Survive, thrive, you name it," she said with a wink. "I know where to find food, where to avoid trouble, and where the best deals are. Oh, and how to get the best spots for naps, too." She grinned mischievously.
Devil chuckled softly. "A girl with many talents."
"Hey, it's a rough world out here," she said, faking her sadness.
"I can see that," Prime looked around, "But you? Why haven't you given up?"
"Me?" Tom grinned,"I'm not the giving-up type! Someone's gotta stick around and show folks how to get by, even if it's just for a laugh." She started walking again. "Come on, there's more to see."
"This place is a lot different from what I remember."
"This place?" she tilted her head, "Which?"
"The whole land."
"Like the Demonland?"
Prime answered almost melancholic, "Yeah."
"Hmm, you sound like old man now, mister." Tom said through giggles.
"Well sorry but I'm an old man!"
"Oh really, how old?"
"You don't wanna know!"
Tom laughed as she lead him through a slum district, "Don't worry, I'm good with old and young alike!"
They passed a group of children playing in the dirt, their pure laughter contrasting sharply with the bleak surroundings. Tom waved at them as they ran by, their smiles lighting up at the sight of her but instantly frozen when they saw horror behind her.
"You seem to know everyone,"
"Course I do!"
Tom answered with light tone, "This is my turf. I look out for the kids, make sure they don't get into too much trouble. The city's bad enough without them ending up inside someone's claws."
"And what about you? Who looks out for you?"
Tom paused, turning back to him with a cheeky grin, "Me, of course. I'm all I need." she winked.
"Don't worry, traveler, I've got it all figured out."
"Strong girl, I like that." he smiled faintly.
Tom to shuddered subconsciously, not knowing why. Confused, she tried to lighten the mood again, "Uh, by the way when was the last time you here, Mister?"
"Long time ago…"
"Really? How long?" she asked curiously, "Was it long before the war with the Heavenly Court?"
Thousand Years Blood War—as the name implied, it was a war between demon and human that spanned for a thousand years. It was happened around just one thousands years ago, so the demons obviously still remembered the incident clearly.
"Hmm, yes. Before that war."
"Damn! You're so old you could be my ancestor!"
"…"
"Hey, don't look at me like that, grandpa! I'm barely on my sweet seventies!" she laughed apologetically.
Demons are long lived race with average demon could live up to five hundred years or more. Of course they're nothing compared to almost ageless race like elves or Angel, but they still superior compared to sea dweller like Siren or mountain ruler like Dwarf.
"By the way, what was the cause of that war?"
"Ah, it's the human's prophecy."
"Human's prophecy?"
"…you really never heard that?" she looked at him strangely, "Hmm, elves? But I don't see your ear…."
"...why don't you think that I'm a demon?"
"Huh?" she seemed truly surprised, "Well, I've never saw a demon as eccentric as you…"
"Just answer my question."
"[The rainbow will guide the Demon God return, chaos, eternal flower bloom]." she quoted a line from the prophecy she had heard dramatically, "It's the prophecy of human from two thousand years ago, saying that demon god or something will return. We were really clueless about it, but humans didn't care and just attacked us. They believed so much on that prophecy.... It was not until a thousand years later that they stopped their attack."
"You don't seem to hate humans?" Devil smiled.
"Eh, not really." Tom shrugged, "I mean, I don't have a good reason to. Killing my ancestors? Well, I don't even know which was even my.. so, it's not that I don't hate them. I just don't really care about the past."
Tom sighed, "Although yeah, I wish that war never occurred. Seeing history, I feel like demons are failed to rise again after the war. It's been a thousand years since then, and things only get worse."
Devil Prime replied casually, "But I heard we will face another war."
"Because that mysterious Emperor, right?" Tom scowled, "I don't know, I hope we don't. Argh, who is that guy anyway? Build a new empire in human society in just less than a month, that guy's real nut!"
Their tour eventually brought them to the gates of the royal palace. The grand structure loomed above them, guards stood at the entrance, their expressions bored and indifferent interrupted by Prime's horror, though only for a moment. Seeing Tom, they scoffed in understanding and ignored him.
"Here it is," Tom gesturing dramatically. "The heart of all our problems. Fancy on the outside, rotten on the inside. Just like the demons running the place."
Devil Prime studied the palace, his expression unreadable. "And the king?"
"Like I said, he's just a figurehead. The demons pull the strings, and he dances along. It's pathetic, really." she sighed, then looked up at him. "So, what do you think, traveler? Worth the twenty silver?"
"More than worth it." he smiled faintly, showing a bit of his jagged teeth. "You've shown me much."
"Well, stick with me and you'll see even more." Tom grinned, clearly pleased with herself. "I've got stories that'll make your hair stand on end."
"I have no doubt," he chuckled.
After simple tour, they moved to the Babel Tower.
Even though Prime was quiet the entire time, Tom handled the tour professionally. As of now though, she rest on the roadside, hiding from the sun while he just stood under the burning heat, hand behind his back, staring at the national monument of the Demonland.
"Say, young Tom," devil gazed at her calmly, "what would you do if you had the power to change this city?"