A crazy challenge

(The Demon Capital City, Gorthalon)

A few days after Leo's bold declaration, an envoy of three human messengers, all fluent in the Demon Tongue, arrived at the massive, iron-plated gates of Gorthalon, the heart of the Demon Kingdom.

Escorted by the notorious Demon Count Vaugn, they were led through the shadowed streets, where grotesque lower demons watched them move from the shadows, their glowing eyes tracking their every movement.

Their destination was the Demon King's Palace, a colossal fortress made from weirdly shaped stones, where the Demon King and the Black Dragon resided.

From there, they were ushered directly into the Demon Courtroom, where the full might of the Demon Council awaited them.

Unlike the structured order of human courts, a full-audience Demon Court was a spectacle of raw, unbridled power—an assembly where only the strong were allowed to speak, and the weak were drowned out.