Asher felt his body getting squeezed and elongated at the same time, and before he knew it, he was standing in his room.
His first thought was to quickly scan his surroundings, but he was relieved to see that nobody was there and the night was still as silent as it could be.
As a Hunter, he had never used this 'Return' function since Demons were the ones that tried to invade Earth most of the time. Even if he happened to venture into the demon realm, the only way to exit would be through the portal he came in.
However, he was glad that, as a demon, he could conveniently return back to where he came from and wondered why only Demons could do this.
But he pushed away those thoughts when he saw the large mirror in his room, reflecting his eerie black skeleton, continuously blazing with dark green flames.
Even now, he felt it surreal, but since he couldn't let anyone else see him like this, he instinctively wished to return to his normal form.
And expectedly or unexpectedly, he saw the dark green flames die out as nerves, muscles, and skin rapidly restored over his body. It was so quick his appearance returned to normal within just a second or two.
"I…I am back to normal…" Asher mumbled with a stupefied expression as he looked at the mirror and saw his Night Elf appearance. He couldn't help but sigh in relief since, in the end, he was actually taking a liking to his new demonic appearance.
He also saw that the ring blade had transformed back into a simple stone ring and made itself comfortable on his ring finger, looking quite harmless as a ring.
He took a look at his stats to confirm something,
HP : 100 / 100
MP : 95 / 262
STR : 19
DEF : 38
INT :50
DEX : 20
"Sigh, I lost the bonus stats I gained during the fight," Asher sighed as he realized that the bonus stats he gained in his Hellbringer form was temporary and might only last as long as he was in that form.
Still, he didn't mind it since the ability of the ring to feed on negative emotions was definitely something that could help him fight those stronger than him.
And the best part was he could still feel mana coursing through his body despite not being in the Hellbringer form.
He squinted his eyes and suddenly removed the ring from his finger, making his eyes widen.
[ MP : 0 / 0 ]
"No shit…I can't have mana without this ring?" Asher didn't know if this was bad news or not since it would mean without this ring, he would be a cripple. But without this ring, he never would have had any hope.
'Does this ring have the ability to give power to a cripple? Can anybody wear it? Can someone else steal it from me and use it?" Asher had many questions. He did know that Soul Artifacts couldn't be stolen once they had chosen their Master.
But he had heard of experts who could unbind a Soul Artifact from its Master. However, since he didn't know how rare and powerful this ring truly was, Asher doubted if any expert could unbind this ring from him.
Still, even after removing the ring and placing it on his palm, Asher felt like this ring was still connected to him.
His eyes focused as the stone ring slowly floated up from his palm and levitated in the air.
"Hmm…This ring is indeed something else…" Asher mumbled as, for some reason, he was able to feel this ring even without any mana. Even if an artifact had the ability to stay connected to its master without physical touch, it would still need mana as a conduit.
But there was no such conduit here. Asher was able to make the ring float away from him and make it come back to him and even saw it hooking onto his finger on his command.
This made him realize that he could actually put the ring somewhere else and just summon it to his side. What he also wanted to know was how far this ring could be away from him. But he decided that could wait.
He was so close to leveling up. But before he can accept further quests, he has to make sure nobody might suspect anything, especially his 'wife', who might impose further restrictions if she finds out he can sneak away.
He had to first find out how things were in this demon kingdom before he could let others know that he was no longer a cripple. It was not like he was fond of pretending to be weak.
As far as he knew, the only one who wouldn't hurt him was the Demon Queen, despite being a useless husband to her. If she wanted to, he would have died already.
Ceti also didn't seem to be the one who would kill him unless ordered by the queen herself. Otherwise, considering her attitude, she would have finished him off already.
It was people like Seron he had to look out for who obviously didn't like his mind was no longer crippled. He had to find out why Seron didn't like him, especially since his previous self had never even harmed a bug.
He made himself comfortable on his bed thinking about these things and then looked at his Ring of Damnation and wondered if he would have to undergo the same agony and pain of having his flesh burned off the next time he transformed into Hellbringer.
"I guess I will find out next time…" Asher mumbled and was about to sleep when he decided to continue reading the books he was reading before.
—
It was already morning when,
*Bang!*
"Your Highness! Forgive this loyal servant for not showing himself before!"
Asher squinted his eyes in annoyance as he was forcibly stirred awake by someone's loud, obnoxious voice, coupled with the sound of the door being banged open.
"Who the hell is it?" Asher turned around with a groggy look to see which servant dared to disturb his sleep.
Now who would that be :#
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"Your Highness! You can really talk…" A young man, wearing a shoddy servant robe, mumbled with a stupefied expression, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Asher saw a young man with a goofy look and pointy nose standing in front of his door, his back bent. He had a lanky build and was of average height, though his skin color was red just like Ceti's. Was he a werewolf like her? How the hell were these werewolves staying here if they were enemies to the kingdom?
"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Asher asked as he got off the bed.
"Your Highness…you don't remember your only loyal and faithful servant who took care of you since you were a child? I was at your bedside every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every year! How could you not remember this humble Kookus? The devils are indeed too hard on me," Kookus said as if he was almost about to cry in sadness.
Asher rolled his eyes, seeing his stupid act, and said with a bored expression, "Enough with the nonsense. So you are my servant named...Kookus?" Asher couldn't believe that his name was really such a weird one.
"Yes, Your Highness, But the pronunciation of my modest name is 'Cu-Kas'. I know my name sounds unique and special, but it is all this humble servant has. Still, I can't believe Your Highness is of sound mind, finally. This is certainly an auspicious time for our kingdom. I am sure with your return, our demon kingdom will surely reach new heights," Kookus said with a deep bow, making his head seem as if it almost touched his waist.
Kookus was indeed shocked to see the Royal Consort no longer mentally retarded. He thought he might die living as a crappy servant, but now that the Royal Consort was back, maybe he could curry favor with him. The Royal Consort was still part of the royal family, and even if the chances were almost nil, he might get to enjoy a fraction of the privileges the Royal Consort might get.
Asher could see that he had a servant who was good at licking his feet. He found it obnoxious and also felt that he looked like someone who might sell his own mother for some pocket change. Still, that doesn't mean he can't use this idiot for his own purposes.
"Why did you come now, and where are the maids that usually took care of me?" Asher didn't remember seeing or hearing Kookus in the memories he saw when he transmigrated. But he still wanted to know clearly who stepped on him while he was lying helpless.
Kookus stepped closer and said in a lowered voice, "The news of the return of Your Highness spread fast, but since it is known that the queen wouldn't entertain any guests or commotion in the castle during nightfall, I could only come now to report to Your Highness. As for the maids…I…" Kookus shifted his gaze around as if he was hesitant to say something.
"Just cough it out," Asher said with one of his brows wrinkled.
"Well…please don't say to anyone that I said this but…I did hear some news that the maids are a bit…reluctant to come to see you. They even kicked me off to see you first, not that I am saying it's the reason I came here first. As your loyal servant, I would—"
"Why were they reluctant to see me? You make it sound like they are worried or afraid about something, hm?" Asher asked as he interrupted him.
Kookus cleared his throat as his expression became vague and a bit jittery.
"Why do you seem so hesitant? Don't tell me…you had something to do with this reason?" Asher asked to probe him and see if his 'loyal' servant bullied him in the past.
"O-Of course not! This little servant would rather die a hundred times than do such…Uh-oh…" Kookus fumbled when he realized he had blurted out some things unintentionally.
"Gotcha. So you may not have done anything by yourself, but you watched on…Am I right?" Asher asked as his tone dropped and his gaze focused.
Kookus knew how grave this offense was, especially since it involved a royal family member, "Y-Your Highness...I..I had no choice. I never witnessed anything but only heard gossips. But they blackmailed this poor servant. Forgive—"
*PHAM!*
"Awooo!!!" Kookus didn't know what hit him, but he found his head spinning for a while before collapsing on the floor on his cheek.
"I am letting you off for now though your punishment isn't done yet," Asher said as he patted his hands, though he hurt his own hand by slapping him. This made him sarcastically scoff inwardly realizing how even his servant was stronger than him. Still, he had never seen such overacting from someone.
"Y-Your Highness, please have mercy on this little servant!" Kookus didn't even bother to rub his cheek and immediately lunged forward to hug Asher's legs as he cried out, "I haven't even tasted a single virgin fruit yet. This servant would be more useful to you than alive! I am even willing to clean your room with my tongue as punishment but please…spare—"
"Tsk, before you continue babbling, I will offer you two choices. One, you will get punished for real. Two, you will do everything as I say while reaping some benefits along the way. I mean…not everybody is as lucky as you to get to be the servant of the Royal Consort…Am I right?" Asher asked as he freed his leg from his grip.
'He thinks he is cool because of being Royal Consort? Whatever, I can at least boast about it, as he said. Any other servant would think twice before looking down on me, hehe,' Kookus thought as he fervently said, "Of course, of course! I will be your eternal servant and take the sacred oath of having my soul destroyed in the nine hells if I betray your trust. I also promise on the name of my godmother my—"
"Now…tell those two maids to wait on the smallest east battlement. Tell them I remember but that I am willing to forgive them in return for a tiny favor. I want you to be there as well," Asher ordered. He had already got an idea of the layout of this castle after reading one of the books that described this castle in great detail.
Kookus blinked his eyes, but he immediately stood up and made a quick bow as he said with a subtle relieved look, "Yes, Your Highness! I shall tell them right away. I am sure they would praise your magnanimous self just like I do. They will surely worship you for the rest of your life and forget tiny favors, they will be ready to do anything you want."
"You seem quite sure, hm?" Asher said with a narrowed gaze.
Kookus awkwardly chuckled as he said with a jittery smile, "Truthfully, I can only vouch for one of them since I know her quite well after working together for so long. But I am sure the other one would know what is best for her."
"We will see. Now get out," Asher said with a casual wave of his hand.
"Ah, yes….Oh no…I actually forgot one important reason I came to see Your Highness," Kookus said as his eyes lit up.
Asher rubbed his forehead and asked, "What is it now?"
"Your Highness…You don't remember that you have to absorb your life crystal for today?" Kookus asked as he took out a small wooden box from his pocket.
Asher knitted his brows and grabbed the box from his hand, and opened it, only to be surprised to see a small, glowing white stone that had a surface similar to a diamond.
He picked it up with his fingers and felt a cool, relaxing sensation just by holding it.
"What's this? Why would I need this?" Asher asked with a confused look as he also remembered that he had some life crystals,
[ Life Crystals : 10 ]
Kookus had a puzzled look as he asked, "Your Highness…Without absorbing this, how will you live to see the day after a few days?"
"Huh?" Asher was flummoxed hearing his words, but he immediately checked his health, only to have his brows raise in shock,
[ HP : 89 / 95 ]
'Why did my HP decrease...again??' Asher was stupefied even more since it was not just 1 HP but 6 HP he lost for no reason at all.
----
Blade of Damnation pic in comments :)
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