Meanwhile, Xyron was ordering his people. He first turned to the vice commander. "Everton, go after Lord Tharzimon with some of your men and guard the palace. Also, keep an eye on the Princess."
Everton obeyed without question and left with some demons following him. To the remaining demons, Xyron ordered, "Go and arrange the meal, water, and medicines for them and bring them to me. The rest of you, guard this mountain so those three don’t find a way out of this place."
"Yes, commander."
After assigning everyone their tasks, Xyron walked toward the three Dragons. Without hesitation, he faced them, his dark gaze observing two red-eyed men and one with ocean-blue eyes standing in the middle. Though weakened, Xyron could feel the dominance of their powers of absolute darkness, making him aware that these three Dragons were not ordinary supernaturals from the mortal world, but something more.
"So, you are the one my mate decided to trust among all the demons here?" Arlan commented as he observed the tall and powerful looking demon in dark clothe uniform. "You don’t look ugly up close. It seems she sure tends to choose people over their looks."
"I am Xyron, Commander of the Demon army," he introduced himself. "You must have heard she just threatened to kill me if I won’t follow her orders, Prince Arlan."
Arlan chuckled. "I understand her and her smartness better than you can even imagine, Commander Xyron."
Xyron could say nothing, as it was the truth. Oriana trusted him and all that anger of her was an act. She knew Tharzimon would go against her wishes. If she had chosen Xyron, Tharzimon would have sent Everton to meet these three Dragons, so she herself chose Everton which left Tharzimon with no other option but to choose Xyron.
Xyron, then looked at the other two, "King Draven and King Drayce."
"Seems like she trusts you enough to tell us how to identify us," Drayce commented.
"She said the most handsome one with blue eyes is her husband Prince Arlan. Out of the two red eyed handsome men, one with cold but still soft expressions is King Drayce and the other one with cold and aloof expression is King Draven."
"I loved the way she explained us," Arlan commented happily.
"I could already guess King Draven, a god of war, Draven Aramis," Xyron said as he looked at Draven who offered him a silent glare in return.
"As my wife has chosen you, tell us how you can help us beyond just feeding us," Arlan asked.
"I would prefer for you to receive treatment first, and then we can discuss everything with a calm mind," Xyron said, then looked at the white wolf. "Celeste, is that you?"
Snowflake simply looked at him warily, not reacting.
"She is Snowflake, your princess’ pet," Arlan informed him.
Draven and Drayce preferred to listen and keep an eye on the surroundings. Though Oriana had shown her trust in this demon, who was said to be the commander and most trusted by Tharzimon, it would be foolish to trust him completely so soon.
Xyron quietly walked towards Snowflake, looking into her eyes. "I want to believe it’s you, Celeste, that I managed to protect your soul."
"What are you talking about?" Arlan asked. "Was Celeste the white wolf that belonged to Esmeray’s mother?"
Xyron nodded. "You seem to know about it already."
"There’s someone who told us the history of the Demon realm and how Esmeray sacrificed herself to protect it."
"For that, the entire Demon realm owes her. There was no one like her," Xyron spoke, seemingly lost in memories.
"But your ungreatful lord seems to have forgotten it," Arlan frowned.
"After the princess was gone, he was the one to keep everyone united and sane," Xyron added.
"To me, it looks like he’s doing nothing but coveting what doesn’t belong to him," Arlan countered.
"Everyone craves power, and demons are known for being power-hungry. It’s in their nature, and you can’t blame them for acting according to their nature."
"Are you the type to follow your innate nature?" Drayce asked, his expression serious, wanting to know this demon before accepting his help.
"I am no exception, but I prefer to follow rules and love peace, even if it means going against my nature," Xyron answered, calm and composed.
"If you like to follow rules, then Esmeray should get what belongs to her, isn’t it?" Drayce spoke again.
"That is why I am here," Xyron said. "It would have been better if she had not returned, but now that she has, she should get everything that belongs to her. If not, not just the Demon realm, but all three realms will fall into chaos if she becomes Lord Tharzimon’s demoness."
"Trust me, she doesn’t want to," Arlan gritted his teeth. "It’s that jerk of a lord who abducted her from our marking ceremony."
"I know, and if you want to take her back with you, you have to win against him," Xyron commented.
"You are close to him," Draven interrupted. "You must know his weaknesses and how our friend can defeat him."
"Even with his weaknesses, he is more powerful than all of you combined. He commands all demons, and we can never disobey him. You should understand the extent of his power. All you can do now is regain your strength," Xyron replied, looking at Draven. "If only the god of war were as powerful as before, then..."
"He is not a god of war now, just a divine beast like me," Arlan interrupted. "Moreover, she is my mate, and I am the one to defeat that jerk of a lord. If you have any plan, then say it, or go back to where you came from."
Arlan let out a sigh and turned to Xyron, "Forget that he’s the God of War. He is just a beast." He then turned to Draven. "And my fellow black dragon, just accept that you do act arrogant and mighty. It would be easier for you to go on."
Draven’s red eyes stared at Arlan coldly, before turning to look at the lake ahead where the other demons were building tents for them to stay and arranging everything they needed.
Once they freshened up and put on fresh sets of dark clothes, they had meals and medicines, trusting Xyron with them.
Xyron instructed all the demons to leave and then offered something to the three dragons- a black colour round pill.
"What is it?" Drayce asked.
"This herb will help you cultivate your powers faster than usual," Xyron explained.
The three realized Xyron was sneaking this herb to them, as he offered it only after all the demons had left. They took it without doubting him.
"Prince Arlan," Xyron called, "Tomorrow Lord Tharzimon plans to throw you in the valley of eternal abyss. You have to protect yourself from falling into it."
"What it this valley?" the three asked.
"It’s the valley that reached the depth of hell. Once fallen into it, one’s soul would be destroyed in the hellfire and it will never reincarnated."
"Tomorrow’s fight is going to be on this mountain and we didn’t see any here," Arlan looked around.
"As the current lord, he holds the power and he can summon it anywhere. You will never know when he would summon it and push you to fall in it. And this mountain, is perfect place for him to open that valley," Xyron’s expression serious as others were the same after hearing it.
"I will be careful."
After discussing the next day’s battle and planning the important parts, Xyron left, leaving the three to cultivate their powers.
"We cannot miss what we planned," Drayce spoke, his tone serious. "There is no way you can defeat that demon, in fact none of us can in our weak state. So you better be careful and stick to the plan instead of losing your temper at his provocation."
"I will keep that in mind," Arlan assured.
"We will be there to help you, so you can leave things to us when it’s out of hands," Draven added to which Arlan offered an appreciating nod.
The three proceeded to cultivate their powers, sitting in silence, focused only on their energy cores.
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