Chapter 496: Duke Kol
The journey through the underground network leading toward the western region took several hours despite the group moving at a speed that would have been impossible for ordinary demons to maintain. The tunnels seemed almost endless, twisting beneath the earth in directions that made little sense even to Damian’s enhanced senses. Some passages descended so deeply that the temperature changed completely, while others suddenly climbed before splitting into several identical corridors.
The deeper they went, the more elaborate the traps became. Some false paths were rigged with explosive demonic arrays powerful enough to kill a demigod caught at the center of the blast, while others were designed to collapse the entire tunnel and bury anyone who triggered them.
There were even sections where the walls themselves had been enchanted to distort spatial perception, making a straight corridor appear to stretch endlessly while secretly looping back toward the entrance. Damian found himself studying Loyd more than once whenever the Ifrit confidently chose a path without hesitation. If he had been traveling through this network alone, he was certain he would have triggered at least one or two of the traps before realizing what was happening.
Eventually, after another long stretch through the winding tunnels, they arrived at a small circular chamber. Unlike the rest of the underground network, this place appeared almost deliberately plain, with smooth stone walls surrounding a narrow staircase that climbed toward a wooden door above them.
Loyd slowed down and glanced toward the staircase before taking a few steps forward. He intended to warn Damian that they were approaching the surface and that he needed to be careful about being seen, but when he turned around, he found himself completely alone. There was no Damian, no Loth, no Rin and not even Abel. The realization made his stomach tighten.
Before he could panic, a hand calmly settled onto his shoulder.
Loyd’s entire body stiffened.
For an instant, the weight pressing down on his shoulder felt as though an entire mountain had been placed there. His knees nearly buckled beneath him, and every muscle in his body instinctively tensed as he resisted the urge to turn around. He could not even sense Damian’s presence despite the hand resting directly on him.
"Go ahead, we are right behind you," Damian’s voice came from somewhere beside him.
Loyd slowly turned his head toward the sound and saw absolutely nothing. His eyes widened as the realization finally struck him. This was how Damian had entered the Ifrit gathering earlier. The Prince of Lust must have simply followed one of their people while completely erasing his presence, allowing him to walk directly into a room filled with cultivators without any of them realizing someone had infiltrated their gathering.
Loyd swallowed and nodded once. He took several slow breaths to steady himself before turning back toward the staircase. Whatever happened from this point onward, he could only pray that Damian’s confidence was justified.
He climbed the stairs and pushed open the door.
The moment Loyd stepped through, he found himself inside a spacious and grand chamber. The room was illuminated by dozens of enchanted flames suspended above elegant stone pillars, casting a warm orange glow across the gathering. Expensive curtains covered the towering windows along the walls, their heavy fabric reaching almost to the floor, while several long tables had been arranged throughout the chamber for the Ifrits who had gathered from different parts of the southern and western regions. The sheer number of people present made it obvious that the meeting had already grown far larger than the gathering Damian had originally encountered underground.
Yet despite the grandeur of the chamber, there was one figure who immediately dominated the entire room.
A fifteen foot tall Ifrit stood directly beside the entrance, his enormous frame practically filling the doorway. His crimson skin radiated intense heat, and every movement caused the flames surrounding his body to flicker. Thick horns curved backward from his head, while his broad shoulders and powerful arms gave him the appearance of a living fortress. Even among the demigod Ifrits scattered throughout the chamber, whose heights reached twelve feet at most, his presence was on an entirely different level.
Loth’s voice immediately sounded inside Damian’s mind.
"Duke Kol..."
Damian’s hidden expression changed slightly as he studied the massive Ifrit from the shadows. He had heard the name before, but seeing the man in person gave the title an entirely different meaning. The presence radiating from Duke Kol was unmistakably that of a God.
Damian’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Hold on..." he muttered inwardly, a trace of amusement entering his thoughts. "One of the Twenty Four Dukes of Hell was reduced to a mere Minister of Works and forced to live only in the western province?"
Rin’s voice immediately carried a hint of amusement through their mental connection. "Wrath has some balls, I’ll give him that."
Abel’s response was considerably colder. "Duke Kol is probably incentivized to remain here because of Belial’s promise to give him the throne. Only vanity can make someone overlook such disrespect."
Damian silently agreed. If Duke Kol truly was one of the Twenty Four Dukes, then remaining in a subordinate position beneath the dragons could not have been an easy decision. The only thing powerful enough to make someone tolerate such humiliation was the belief that his suffering would eventually be rewarded.
The moment Loyd entered, several Ifrits turned toward him. Their conversations gradually quieted as they recognized the elder’s subordinate, and Duke Kol’s enormous eyes settled upon him.
"Loyd, where are your subordinates?" Duke Kol asked, his deep voice reverberating throughout the chamber.
Several Ifrits exchanged glances.
Loyd stepped forward, and the surrounding demons instinctively made room for him. He bowed deeply before the Duke, keeping his expression carefully composed despite the nervousness twisting his stomach.
"My lord, something happened at the stone gates. The two legions tasked with defending the gates were completely eradicated. Because of that, the others had to stay put after the security forces began growing suspicious. Only I managed to make it here."
The lie came smoothly because Damian and Loyd had prepared it beforehand. More importantly, every part of the story could be verified. The Gate Stone had indeed been attacked, and the soldiers stationed there really had disappeared. There was no reason for Duke Kol to immediately suspect that the person responsible was standing invisibly inside his own chamber.
The expressions of the surrounding Ifrits tightened.
Duke Kol’s eyes widened.
"What? Is this true?"
Loyd immediately nodded. "We believed someone powerful forced his way through the Gate Stone. That is why the security forces suspect they are hiding somewhere within the border town."
A murmur swept through the chamber. Several Ifrits exchanged uneasy looks while others began whispering amongst themselves. Duke Kol’s expression remained tense as he processed the information. There was little reason for Loyd to fabricate something so easily verified, especially when the disappearance of two entire legions would already have sent the realm’s military into chaos.
"Good job," Duke Kol finally said. "It is better to be cautious than sorry. We will proceed with the plans without your forces, then."
"Thank you, my lord."
Loyd bowed again and stepped backward, carefully concealing the relief spreading through him. He could feel sweat beginning to gather beneath his clothes despite the natural heat of his Ifrit body. He desperately wanted to tell Damian that they needed to leave before someone noticed something was wrong, but revealing even the slightest sign of communication would be dangerous.
Then Damian’s voice quietly entered his mind.
"Relax. Even if they realize you are a spy, I’ll just kill everyone."
Loyd’s entire body shuddered.
He kept his face lowered and silently prayed that Damian was joking.
Judging from everything he had witnessed so far, he knew better.
Duke Kol suddenly clapped his massive hands together, drawing everyone’s attention back toward him. The sound reverberated through the chamber and silenced the remaining conversations.
"Fulgur is somewhere in the western province, but we do not know exactly where he is hiding," the Duke began. "Currently, the Kai and Koi have been dispatched to find him. Ten legions have also surrounded the entire province and are searching every major settlement, road and mountain passage. They are everywhere, which is why I called all of you here."
Damian listened quietly from somewhere behind the gathered Ifrits. His expression remained hidden, but the information immediately gave him a clearer picture of the situation. Wrath was not treating Fulgur’s escape lightly. Ten legions surrounding an entire province meant that every obvious route had already been covered. If Fulgur was still alive, he either had an extremely good hiding place or someone was actively protecting him.
Damian covered a yawn with the back of his hand.
While Duke Kol continued explaining the search efforts, Damian lowered his gaze toward the black ring on his finger.
"Find Fulgur."
The ring reacted.
Its dark surface slowly rippled before tearing open like an eye, revealing a single enormous pupil burning with violent purple light. A strange pressure spread outward from Damian’s body as the artifact began searching for every energy signature within its range.
At first, the effect remained limited to the chamber.
Then it expanded.
The invisible wave passed through the walls, crossed the surrounding buildings and spread into the streets beyond. It continued expanding through the town, searching through every alley, building and hidden chamber for the unique presence Damian was looking for.
His purple iris suddenly duplicated.
A second eye appeared within his right iris, followed moments later by another.
The range of the ring continued expanding.
Damian could feel thousands upon thousands of energy signatures entering his perception. Ordinary civilians, soldiers, cultivators and hidden practitioners all appeared within his awareness. Yet despite the enormous range of his search, Fulgur’s presence remained absent.
After several moments, Damian finally narrowed his eyes and slowly shook his head.
Nothing.
Even with the ring’s assistance, he could not locate him.
"Damn," Damian muttered inwardly. "I have to work together with these guys."
Abel’s voice came calmly through their mental connection. "Your current level is limiting the strength of the sealed artifact."
Rin immediately snapped back.
"Yeah, no shit. Tell us something we don’t know, you piece of—"
Damian mentally cut them off before their argument could escalate again. He had more important things to worry about. Fulgur was somewhere inside the western province, an entire military force was hunting him, Belial’s people were preparing a rebellion around his rescue, and now Damian had just discovered that the very people he had intended to use as guides were part of a much larger conspiracy.
He looked toward Duke Kol, his eyes narrowing slightly.