A dazed Shihan

"That...that is a...a pill bottle."

"A bottle?" She asked, her face contorting in anger. "Take it out. If I find out that you're lying to me..."

  Take it out?

Yet she was still sitting on me. Even if 'it' was a bottle, how could I take it out with her on my lap?

     "That's a little inappropriate."

She grabbed the collar of my clothes again and tugged me closer. "Should I do it myself?"

   Following her words, a strange silence reigned between us. She possessed a wild speck in her red eyes that could have been enough to confuse any sane man. I had to escape this trap, so I averted my gaze to the side. "Could you...please get off of me? I still have to practice and-"

   She pushed me away with brutal force and my back went smacking on the floor.

A light groan escaped my lips from both the pain and the relief of Shihan finally rising from my lap.

I quickly rolled to the side, faking a moan of pain so I could throw the robes over the white pants under them in an attempt to hide my 'shame'.

      "Get out!"

Her order sounded unsure, as if she was having an internal conflict. But it worked out fine for me, I hauled myself off the floor and graciously walked out of that bathhouse.

   The chilly air under the dark night quickly cooled down my arousal while I walked between the houses in the chief's courtyard.

I sighed at the sky, noticing the moon was hiding behind a few dark clouds as if it had been afraid of what Shihan would have done to me had she known that there was no bottle under my pants.

   Without wasting any time, I sneaked out of the courtyard-careful of the patrolling guards- and made my way into the back of the mountain. I had asked Azron to find me that demon disciple and wait for me in the shadows of the the terrifying night.

My footsteps were quiet despite the dry leaves covering the ground. I had learned a little skill called 'Silent Steps' from the sect's books. It would be useful when sneaking up on unaware enemies. But then again, I did not want to be the demon who hid from his opponents. I wanted to make myself as powerful as the previous Lord or even stronger.

    The night creatures now ruled over the darkness. The hooting of owls from the west, the chirping of crickets from the bushes around me, and the distant scream of foxes. According to my divine knowledge, these foxes were harmless, unlike the mountain wolves.

Thinking of those wolves reminded me of the prior attack during the day. My eyes dropped on my bandaged arm. Through some sheer luck, I had managed to evolve the ice skill and now I could use it to heal. That was all thanks to my demonic constitution, or so Anya had put it.

      Using my demonic eyes, I scanned the thick blackness of the forest for traces of mana.

I had asked Anya about this ability. She only gave a vague answer that it was my predecessor's dark side. So why did I feel like it wasn't a flaw, but rather a strength?

     I spotted two figures covered by what looked to me as white mana. Maybe it was due to the color of my mana that every other mana color was white through my demonic eyes.

    Hiding behind an invisible shield were Azron and the other low-class demon.

   They came out of hiding upon detecting me.

   "Master." Azron slid to her left knee and so did the other demon.

  "My...My... Your Majesty," he stammered a salute.

Watching them kneel and bow to me ignited a strange pride of being...worshipped. The sight made me want, more.

    "Rise."

They obeyed and I wasted no time engaging with the second demon. "Do you know the disciples who signed up for the duels?"

He shook his head fast and then brought forward his hands holding a wooden slip. "Azron told me to prepare this, My Lord."

I received the slip and unrolled it. On it were the names of ten core disciples and ten inner disciples along with their weaknesses and strengths. A wicked grin surfaced as I skimmed through the neatly compiled list. I would have a better chance after studying it carefully. This, and perfecting my offensive ice skills would be of great aid to my course.

     "You two have done a good job," I praised folding the slip and sliding it under the sleeve of my right arm.

   "Anything to please you, My Lord."

"What is your name?"

He bowed his head and brought forward his hands to form a fist-and-palm gesture as he answered, "Long, son of the-"

    "Kay-kay," I cut in dismissively and turned my back to them. I was not in the mood for any family history. His name was enough, the rest he could keep to himself lest my brain explode from too much information. "From now on, you must protect Azron when I'm not around."

   "It is my duty, my Lord."

I tilted my head to the side, "Your Highness sounds better."

The title 'My Lord' sounded odd coming from him. Or maybe I was starting to bask in the glory of being a famous figure in all of Agrerea.

   "Yes, Your Highness."

"Good."

With that, I walked back the same way I had come from, leaving the two by themselves.

-----

A loud bang on the door startled me from the vague dream I was having. It disappeared the second I opened my eyes.

I wanted to ignore them, but they banged once more. Louder than the first.

My eyes had a heaviness under them from the little sleep I had subjected them to.

Having practiced almost the entire night, I had at most slept only for an hour. Judging from the soft light fighting to penetrate through the window, I had missed the wake-up bell.

"Is he still asleep?" Shihan's voice asked.

"I...I don't know," a meek female answered.

"He thinks he can slack-" *bang* "-off".

The door was blasted off its hinges and sent flying straight at me.

I quickly rolled off the bed to avoid the vicious attack and ended up thudding painfully on the wooden floor. "Ow! Shii-"

In a single blink, I saw the she-devil standing beside me. Her slender pale legs were left unshielded by the long front slit on her blue dress. I shut my eyes in that instant, protecting myself from any unholy thoughts.

"From today, this house is not allowed to have a door, do you hear me?"

I silently turned in the other direction and sat up.

'Without a door?' I scoffed to myself.

"Whatever you say, Chief."

"You may leave us!" Her words were directed at the scared maid still standing at the doorway. Her eyes bounced from Shihan and onto me, then back at the Chief. "Ye-yes."

She scurried away out of sight, not caring if the devil standing next to me would skin me and then heal me before doing it all over again.

"You are supposed to be feeding the spiritual beasts. How dare you sleep to this time?"

Our eyes collided with some tension and I caught the color rising in her cheeks. What was she blushing about?

When her eyes fell on my chest, I followed them, only to take in the sight of my bare chest and abdomen.

I didn't bother covering anything, it was oddly satisfying to see a woman blush because of me for the first time. The devil part of me wanted to take off everything and let her admire my new body.

I slowly rose from the floor, dressed in nothing but a loose shirt and pants(their version of nightclothes). But they were genuinely comfortable to sleep in.

"Chief?" I waved a hand in front of her face and grinned inwardly.

She still owed me a great apology for the humiliation I suffered back then, and standing right there, a brilliant idea of revenge slid into my head.

I would toy with her, make her beg me to be hers. But that would take some time, especially since she hated weak men and I had tasks to complete from Anya.