The Sentro Region.
Located in the epicenter of the capital city of the Sentro region, Blackwing City lies the Zorak family's main castle at the center of the Royal district.
Deep inside the massive castle, on the top floor of the central wing, a pair of large and majestic arched doors that was stylishly engraved with Magic runes was slowly swung open as two figures barged into the hall unannounced.
The guards' station outside seemed panicked because of the intruders but did not attempt to stop them as they tried their hardest to present not to have noticed them.
The male figure that had pushed the large heavy doors open with ease elegantly bowed at the residents in the hall before promptly moving to the side as he lowered his head gracefully at the young man that had followed in after him.
That young man had long blonde hair that was styled in a lazy ponytail and extremely handsome features that made most of the ladies in the room blush at simply meeting his gaze.
He was also quite tall with broad shoulders, sporting a stylish black suit with an even more luxurious grey coat draped over his shoulders as he walked gracefully into the massive hall beyond the large doors.
Five rings adorned his fingers one of which resembled that of a storage ring while the other emitted faint yet powerful auras that indicated that they were all Magic artifacts.
The young man bowing to the side after opening the large heavy doors for him had short black hair, a handsome face, and was dressed in an exquisite butler's garb.
His demeanor was that of a noble demon but it was obvious to everyone in the hall that he was the personal butler of the handsome demon in the grey coat.
"Lord Nox! While you are indeed a demon Marquess and the younger brother of the Great Demon Lord, it is both disrespectful and disgraceful to barge in on a meeting like that. Please reframe from such vulgar behaviors in the future, you're a pureblood of the Zorak family after all!"
The one who spoke to Nox was a bald man at the end of the hall, holding a brownish parchment in his hands as he addressed the demons seated in the hall on behalf of the one seated on the throne slightly elevated by the short flight of stairs behind him.
He was an aged man with big brown eyes and golden beards. His looks may have once been handsome but the toll of time had done a number on him as he was garb in a simple yet elegant golden striped suit.
Without even shifting his gaze from the throne to pay attention to the bald Elder, Nox nodded his head gently and calmly made a passing reply, his butler already moving back out of the room to wait in silence with the other nobles' attendants they had passed by along the way.
"My apologies Elder Campil, I only just received the news and was in a rush."
Although Nox, didn't really care for the opinion of the old geezer in front of him, he knew he needed to be a bit respectful in public to maintain his image, especially to a member of the Elders of the Zorak family, a demon Duke who technically surpasses him in ranks.
Gathered in this hall right now were the highest-ranking members of the Zorak family from all across the Sentro region and beyond, not just the nobles living in Blackwing City as it seemed everyone in the family's inner circle was summoned here today.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEven an insignificant nobody like Aur who was given a small city to run to feel relevant was summoned here today for some reason.
Nox could not allow himself to be looked down on by any of these buffoons who only cared about attaining more power to satisfy their pitiful existence.
None of them seem to care much about the true pride of the Great Noble bloodline they possess. None of them cared about maintaining the purity of their Great Ancestor.
Every single one of them, including the so-called Elders, all of them. They were all worthless pawns that can only see past their own noses.
The most worthless one of all was the idiot Aur, who had once approached him in his pointless desire to attain more power within the family even though he was weak. In his selfish desires, he aims to saturate the family's inner circle with useless weaklings like himself. What a joke.
The only ones he respected here were his three brothers and of course, the one seated on the throne in place of his sick eldest brother, his mother, Marline Cialora Zorak.
Moving past the demon nobles that stared at him from their seats with various expressions, Nox arrived in front of the short flight of stairs that elevated the Great Demon Lord's throne and knelt gracefully on one knee.
"Greeting Mother, please forgive my tardiness, I make no excuses for my actions."
"It's fine, you were busy in the family's name so all is forgiven. Let us continue."
"You have my gratitude."
Hearing his mother's cold and distant words that almost disregarded his very existence filled his heart with a strange sense of satisfaction as Nox smiled charmingly and stood up.
The female nobles in the hall, be they married or unmarried could not stop their hearts from racing faster after seeing such a rare sight from the ever so serious third son of the Zorak family, Nox Kiasak Zorak.
Standing up from his knees, Nox moved to the right where his younger and elder brothers were seated, completely disregarding the reaction from the demonesses in the hall as he took a seat next to them.
He was the third son of the late Great Demon lord and so, a direct descendant. His oldest brother, Nevin Krox Zorak was the current Great Demon Lord as he inherited the throne after the mysterious death of their father, but soon after, he began suffering from negative corruption after attempting a forbidden ritual of unknown origin.
That was why their mother was currently acting as the head of the family until a complete cure for their brother is discovered or he dies and one of them earns the right to the throne, giving as none of them was currently strong enough to inherit such a glorious title as they were all still mortal.
The closest amongst them to attaining godhood at the moment would most likely be his second elder brother, Nedi Lexer Zorak who was seated to Nox's right with a frightening cold expression.
He has blond hair just like the rest of them but the base of his short hair was a little red, matching his scarlet eyes which were a little strange for their bloodline but as he had inherited the family's innate ability, no one could doubt his linage.
He had a long face with handsome features and was quite tall at almost seven feet with a muscular build. One would not expect such a Moutan of a demon to be as adept with magic as he was.
In an ordinary noble family, he would easily be considered a demon lord but his strength was still lacking in the presence of both their eldest brother and especially their mother.
The one seated to Nox's left was his younger brother, Nullen Marx Zorak. He was rather on the shorter end of the spectrum as he had a petite build that made him not only look like a child. But if one was not aware beforehand, they would also mistake him for a young girl.
With his long blonde hair that almost reached the ground and his adorable-looking face, even his brothers found it hard to tell his gender most of the time.
However, despite his adorably cute appearance, hidden being his childlike innocent smile was a cruel and deviously sadist, whose only goal was to take the throne from their elder brother by any means necessary.
It wouldn't surprise Nox if he was the one who had corrupted their elder brother before he had been accepted as a demigod.
There was one last seat to the left of Nullen that was currently empty. As it did not belong to their elder brother, it was meant for the useless oaf they call a sister. Nina Velovina Zorak.
'Why is that still here? Wasn't she meant to be married off to Nullen or something?'
Seeing that seat had soured the pleasant taste in Nox's mouth as he recalled the face of his useless little sister that had run away from home to play bandits with pigs instead of making herself useful to the family by either bearing a child for Nullen and starting a new branch family to expand their family's influence.
He had planned to dispose of her pretty soon or perhaps sell her to one of those worthless nobles who long to defile purebloods but that would only serve to sully the purity of his family even more than her miserable existence.
'How vexing.'
As Nox bit on his fingernail after recalling something unpleasant. The bald noble that had addressed him earlier finally got himself together and spoke again.
A large and exquisite wooden table was placed in the center of the hall and more than 30 demons and demonesses of high ranks within the inner circle of the family sat in exquisite high chairs around the wooden table.
"Now then, as I was saying before Lord Nox's arrival. Shortly after that unknown behemoth disappeared with the undead king who turned out to be in possession of a cursed item that holds the powers of the Shadow king, we were able to find out the conclusion of that battle by using various means of divination and rare tools."
"And?"
Seeing Campil pause to stare at his parchment caused one of the nobles to grow impatient as they urged him to continue.
"Luckily for us, that behemoth hadn't bothered to use any anti divination Magic on anything other than himself so even though we do not know how he did it. We have learned that he was able to completely eradicate both the undead king and shadow king, claiming the cursed item for himself."
"So you mean not only are we dealing with a Pompous and obnoxious behemoth that's mostly being backed by one of the great Five, but he now has the powers of the shadow king? Wouldn't that make him on par with a Great Demon Lord by himself?"
Hearing Campil's report, a demoness Duchess or elder with dark brown hair and a stylish appearance voiced her opinion on the matter, causing the entire hall to erupt as the other nobles could not contain their anxiousness.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"What!"
"That's blasphemy, what nonsense are you spewing you hag!"
"No one can rival a Great Demon Lord, can they?"
"Well, there is the Seven Primordials. I remember them causing a similar commotion but not to this extent."
"Of course not! This slimy bastard is toying with us."
"And what family is behind this nonsense. Shouldn't we be doing something already? They've already gained access to that castle who knows what else they have up their sleeves."
"Don't you think it's best if we just attempt to negotiate with him? We might get a better deal than whoever is backing him."
"What are you insane!"
"Have you no pride!"
"What good is pride if they end up taking the throne! How would that help us retain our ranks!"
"Is retaining your stupid rank the only thing you care about you monkey!"
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to old hag! Want to die!"
"I'd love to see you try."
"You guys are getting out of control in the presence of the Grand elder, show some respect."
"Well, she started it!"
"What are you a child."
"This is absurd."
As Nox watched the so-called high-ranking nobles of the Zorak family panic over a single behemoth. He could not help but scoff internally at the fallen state of his great family.
'If mother refuses to pudge the filth out of our family then perhaps it's time I do it myself.'