Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Sprawling my arms wide over the bloodstained grass, I lazily glanced at Kurt and Master Talos, whose expressions mirrored that of a block of ice. "By the Hells, can you two relax? It's bad enough I haven't seen a woman in little over a year."

Kurt growled, shooting the large dinosaur beast thing we killed no more than a few seconds ago a deep look. "These things are getting harder to kill each passing day. If I didn't know better, I would say we are getting weaker."

"That's because we are," Talos uttered softly, his fist clenched into a tight ball, as he surveyed the area so that we might not have to.

"What do you mean," Kurt responded.

"It's that bastard Arsene. He is taking over."

I chuckled, "Well, that is to be expected; what did you guys think would happen when you learned he was an actual devil? Not to disrespect, but you were always playing with fire."

It had bobbled me for a while, but why did they even need Arsene? I was sure any one of the masters could have gone to a devil for a deal or perhaps, explored the unknown sectors of the Bed of Chaos. But they chose to endanger everyone by crossing Arsene. While that is more to do with Aiza, they still annoy that lover boy. I can't believe he actually married. Guess that's a good thing; I wouldn't want to compete with him. Eroma is already a worthy opponent.

"The Overworld was plotting against us; we had no option." Master Talos mentioned, glancing back at me. "And aren't you putting too much light on Arsene? He wasn't even a God when we found him."

"Wasn't a god? Master Talos, when you heard his name, he had already killed a Prince of Hell and an Arch-Angel. Enough said. You should play some games or visit a mortal world. They have many novels and movies about this type of shit. All the signs were there." I remarked, rolling my eyes, noticing Masters Talos's back stiffen.

I knew he was always against recruiting Arsene or even using him, but Talos was constantly being outvoted. It was almost innate for all cultivators to be arrogant the older they get. But they were cutting it far too close.

Even the weakest of demons were able to kill anyone of us. Even if we had the same battle prowess, these bastards simply were on another level.

I chuckled and shrugged, "Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? I heard you said that you would take Cleo and bolt if something like this happened."

Talos nodded, releasing a long sigh, "I am—

Struck by a strange invisible force, blood exploded as master Talos was blasted off his feet, crashing into a large tree that splinted almost in half. A grunt escaped Talos, and I rose to my feet, taking out my weapon in a single moment.

"Who!"

'No, Run!' Talos cried, coughing a mouthful of blood.

However, before anyone of us could even grasp what was going on, a powerful force clenched my throat, pulling me high in the air, sucking the very life out of me, as I felt my heart, spleen, liver, lungs, were all being crushed by a terrifying force.

"Demons, Devils, you three seem to know a lot." A calm, ethereal voice chimed in, "Care to tell me where my daughter is? Where is Rey Nala?"

My heart shuttered as blood trickled from my throat; I turned to Master Talos, whose arms began to curl like a pretzel. Bones began to protrude from his arms, forcing him to drop his sword.

"Stop!" Kurt howled," We don't know anything about this Rey Nala?"

"Is she cute?"

"Siegfried shut the hell up!"

"What? If I'm going to die, I'm going to be myself. "I uttered through clenched teeth, "Fuck being a little bitch. I haven't seen a woman in a year. You got a picture?"

"Then get yourself killed, not us!" Said Kurt.

The force around me faded, and I fell to my feet as a slew of laughter echoed. And from the very clouds, my eyes widened, as a silver-haired man, soared down with a smirk on his face, "Young man, you have a way with your words," he said, with the scariest set of piercing eyes that seemed to penetrate my soul, reaching to the core of my being.

"I am Rey Talzen. A pleasure."

Sweat dotted my back as I stood before this monstrous thing that seemed to make everything I had ever seen small. Even that damn black hole, alongside that scary-ass mist, seemed like a distant dream compared to this man.

"Siegfried," I answered, cuffing my hands. "And I agree. It is a pleasure to meet me."

He smiled. "Your master?" He said, pointing to Talos.

"Not my real master. But one I dearly respect." I answered truthfully. Talos had always been a lone figure, but he was the one I always went to when I needed finesse. He was far wiser than any of the other founders.

Releasing his hold on everyone, both Kurt and Talos fell, landing on their feet. Rey Talzen eyed me sternly. "you spoke of a man called Arsene; I have reason to believe he is with my daughter. But for some reason, his full image seems to elude even me when I dabble in the ethereal realm."

My brow scrunched, and a virtual image appeared from my heavenly qi, forming an image of Arsene. I knew Arsene had some artifact that blocked his image from people. But what is this thing about the Ethereal Realm?

"This is Arsene." I calmly informed.

"You would betray him so easily?"

I burst into laughter and rolled my eyes, unable to help myself, "That bastard, Arsene, is probably surrounded by the Kings and Princes of Hell. If you want to walk towards your funeral, that's on you."

He arched his brow, "Is he a practitioner in the Laws of Darkness?"

"Yes,' Kurt said. "He is the Monarch of Darkness?"

Rey Talzen's eyes widened, and his lips curled downwards. "But he's a devil."

"He is something," Master Talos remarked, his arm releasing a deadly air of death qi that slowly mended his broken arm. "No one knows what the hell he is."

"Is the Veil of Darkness protecting him?" He said, stroking his thinly veiled goatee.

"The what?"

"To you primitive beings, it is what you might call the shadow realm. A realm that exists in darkness mirroring the world or realm we stand in."

Rey Talzen chuckled and narrowed his eyes, "My daughter has been trying to contact me for quite a while now, but only a few words keep getting through. And that is Arsene Snow. Tell me, is she—"

"If she hasn't died yet, she is probably fine," I answered, waving off his concern. "Arsene is pretty chill. That is if you aren't actively trying to kill him."