Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

"We need to move." Luna raised her gaze toward the clear sky, feeling the approaching storm of rage and power that converged on Vinéa's castle. "The others felt it—they're coming."

Adam nodded, already reaching for the fabric of space. The barrier that separated the demon realm from the universe was formidable, but ancient and derelict—especially to someone who had learned to bend space to his will.

"Thane, Krix should be extracting the others by now. Signal them—emergency withdrawal."

The hulking demon produced a small crystal that pulsed with dark light, sending the predetermined signal to their scattered team. Within moments, shadows coalesced as Krix appeared with Vex and Mora in tow, all three bearing the satisfied expressions of a job well done.

"The lower levels are in complete chaos," Krix reported quickly. "Half the garrison is convinced they're under siege by an army. Perfect cover for—"

His words were cut off as the surrounding air began to vibrate with approaching power. Even through the castle's stone walls, they could feel it—multiple presences of unimaginable strength racing toward their location with murderous intent.

"Now!" Luna's voice strained as she sensed the magnitude of what was coming for them.

Adam pressed his hands against the empty air and began to tear. Reality resisted at first, the ancient barriers holding firm against his assault. But God Slayer had drunk deeply of Vinéa's demonic essence, and that power flowed through him now, enhancing his abilities beyond their previous limits.

The fabric of space began to fray, then split, revealing a shimmering portal that showed glimpses of Atlantis beyond—his city, his sanctuary, his home.

"Through, now!" Adam commanded, and his companions didn't hesitate. One by one, they leapt through the tear, leaving the demon realm behind.

Adam was the last to go, pausing only to look back at Vinéa's corpse one final time. The demon king lay sprawled across his bone throne, golden blood still pooling beneath his massive frame. But there was something else now—a faint pulsing light emanating from somewhere within the fallen tyrant's chest.

A chill ran down Adam's spine as he didn't recognise what he was seeing, but there was no time to investigate. The approaching demon kings were almost upon him, and he could hear the distinctive crack of thunder that meant Baal was mere moments away.

Adam dove through the portal just as it began to collapse behind him, the last thing he saw being a flash of crimson light as something vast and terrible arrived in Vinéa's throne room.

****

Baal arrived like a crimson comet, his passage through the demon realm's skies leaving a trail of fire that burned for miles. He struck the castle's battlements with enough force to crack the ancient stones, the obsidian armor, beneath his elegant white coat, ringing like a bell as he absorbed the impact without slowing.

The Lord of Pride was magnificent in his fury—taller than even Vinéa had been, with skin like the purest snow and eyes that burned with the light of dying stars. In his right hand, he gripped Morningstar—a blade forged from the first light ever extinguished, its edge sharp enough to cut through hope itself and the former prised weapon of Lucifer in person.

But for all his terrible beauty, it was the expression on Baal's face that would have struck terror into mortal hearts. The demon king's features were twisted with rage and something else—something that might have been fear, though none would dare name it such.

He strode through the ruined corridors of Vinéa's castle, his armored boots leaving molten footprints on stone that had withstood millennia of storms. Lesser demons cowered in alcoves and shadowed corners, their survival instincts screaming at them to make themselves invisible to the walking apocalypse that had entered their domain.

The throne room doors had been blasted off their hinges by his violent arrival. Baal stepped through the wreckage and stopped short, his burning gaze fixed on the scene before him.

Vinéa lay exactly as Adam had left him—sprawled across his bone throne, magnificent in death despite the golden blood that stained his storm-cloud flesh. But it was what pulsed within his chest that drew Baal's immediate attention.

A symbol had appeared on the dead demon king's skin, carved in lines of light that pulsed with a rhythm like a dying heartbeat. It was ancient beyond measure—older than the demon realm itself, older than the wars that had shaped the cosmos. The mark of Ira, one of the seven seals that bound something far more terrible than any demon king.

"No," Baal whispered, his voice carrying the weight of eons as he approached his fallen peer. "It can't happen. I won't let it happen."

He knelt beside Vinéa's corpse, his burning eyes studying the pulsing symbol with the desperate intensity of someone trying to solve a puzzle before time ran out. The mark was growing brighter with each pulse, its light beginning to penetrate the dead demon king's flesh and seek something deeper, something that had been carefully hidden for thousands of years.

With almost reverent movements, Baal placed his hands on either side of the symbol. His own power, vast as it was, seemed insignificant against the ancient forces contained within that glowing mark. But he persisted, drawing upon reserves of strength he had hoarded for eons, pouring his essence into the task of containing what threatened to break free.

The symbol resisted, its light flaring brighter as if sensing the attempt to suppress it. For a moment, the air began to crack, reality straining under the pressure of forces that had been locked away since the dawn of creation.

Then, with a sound like the universe sighing, the symbol's light dimmed. The mark didn't disappear—that was beyond even Baal's power—but it retreated, sinking back into Vinéa's flesh like a brand cooling after the forge fire dies.

"The seal weakens," Baal muttered, his voice heavy with implications that stretched across millennia. "I can stabilise it, but he'll free himself if Beleth falls. And if he does... The others will follow."