The Demon Lord Is An Angel

Chainsfree turned out to be the very definition of an oceanside city.

Built behind a naturally enclosed harbor, the city nested itself further between large cliffs. A single wall spanned the width of the city, separating it from the tiered farming steppes along with a wide patch of cleared land.

Centered in the city, and on top of the two highest cliffs, were fortifications. Castles of magic-wrought stone with mage platforms that overlooked the ocean. The tallest served also as a lighthouse, its beacon lit even during the day.

At the mouth of the harbor, a pair of statues on opposite sides were shaped to look like six races of the Myriad standing back to back to back. Tiny dots of movement indicated that these also were watchtowers, and between the statues, from beneath their feet snaked out a massive harbor chain. Presently raised, it looked as though it was covered in dangling seaweed.

The only trees in sight were those in the city itself, not from parks but from every house, which sported at least two trees in each small garden, and a lonely-looking patch of artificial forest behind its own defensive wall outside the city.

With such little landspace, verticality had imposed itself on its architecture. Most outer buildings were at least five stories tall and made of stone, and the preponderance of windows and smoke rising from chimneys drove home that homes walled the city.

The tower of blue crystal, however, dominated the skyline. By all appearances, it had broken out of a seaside cave, nearly cutting the lighthouse off from the slope downwards. Tiny figures seemed to be inspecting it on the rise to the lighthouse while others were building out a detour bridge.

Ferro was surprised to find the gates of the city wide open when the trio finally made their way onto the main road, which led out to a narrow split in the mountain range, a pass built up for defense, with many raised walkways and layers of walls.

He gawked a bit, which was one of many reasons the guards at the gate closed ranks the moment they approached. There was no standardization, except for the sky-blue sashes they wore as different accessories.

"Whoa there. Never seen you three," a capybara beastkin guard wearing a blue sash on his forehead raised his hand. His accent was heavily Theran, but his voice was very calm. "Some strange clothes you got. From a dungeon?"

Ferro looked at the girls. He’d gotten used to seeing them in the suits Kiryu had provided, and so it took him a moment to remember that they were all, in fact, dressed strangely. He’d given Malz his cloak to use in covering her wing, and the angel looked back to him encouragingly.