Sovereign of the Ashes

At the heart of Sein’s territory in Purgatory, a stone castle stood tall, its architecture mirroring those in the Magus World.

Constructing it had taken Sein half a month of effort.

Beyond enlisting the demons in his territory as laborers, Sein had also summoned geo elemental creatures to assist in the process.

The Geo Elemental Summoning spell was something he had mastered during his studies in Sky City.

Back when he was at the peak of Rank Two, his mentor had urged him to expand his mastery beyond a single spectrum of magic.

Now, not only had he honed his control over geo elemental magic, but he had also developed proficiency in various other elemental magic, wielding them effortlessly with both hands.

This newly built castle would serve as Sein’s residence and research laboratory for the foreseeable future.

Faeloria’s Avatar Crisis could last anywhere from several decades to a few hundred years.

According to the Spider Queen, he could only return to the Magus World once the crisis had ended.

That meant Sein might be trapped in this world for a few centuries...

By the time he returned, he could be over a thousand years old.

The thought made him miss Selina and Eileen in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, as well as members of House Grantt.

If both of them failed to advance to Rank Two before his return, they would be dead by the time he returned.

With a soft sigh, Sein turned back to his experiment.

Lying motionless on the laboratory table inside his newly built castle was a Bat Demon, its towering figure stretching nearly five meters.

It was an unfamiliar breed of demon—one Sein had never encountered before, and anything unknown sparked his deep, insatiable curiosity.

The unfortunate Bat Demon, restrained on the experimental table, was a Rank Two creature captured by Sein.

This Bat Demon was a hybrid, the offspring of a Purgatory demon and some kind of bat-like creature from Faeloria.

The authority of a greater demon lord was absolute—a weak bastard like it had no choice but to submit.

On top of that, it had undergone a form of adaptive evolution under the influence of Faeloria’s environment and laws.

What intrigued Sein most was its special sonido abilities.

In terms of raw combat power, this creature was undoubtedly weak—ranking at the very bottom of Rank Two beings.

Despite its lackluster physical prowess, this Rank Two Bat Demon thrived far more than most demons of the same rank due to its unique abilities.

Sonido magic was a niche branch in the Magus World, but its development over the years had been steady.

Throughout his life, Sein had encountered several mages who had wielded this type of magic.

At the very least, sonido magic had a broader range of applications compared to blood magic, which he had come across in Sky City.

His own knowledge of sonido magic was still shallow, but that only fueled his enthusiasm.

It was precisely because he understood so little about it that he was so eager to study it in depth.

***

The time spent immersed in experimental research always felt fleeting yet fulfilling, making it easy to lose track of the passing hours.

On this particular day, while Sein was deep in his research, he was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

It was Anastasia Karerina, the Bloodwar Monarch’s daughter.

This Rank Five demon, carrying the bloodline of a Succubus, seemed to have taken an interest in him.

Back in the Bloodwar Hall, Anastasia had been watching him intently.

It was likely that Sein was the first extradomainal creature she had ever encountered, which explained her curiosity.

Her primary purpose for visiting today was to extract stories from him about the Astral Realm.

Mages like Sein were not the only ones fascinated by the unknown.

Even a Rank Five demon like Anastasia, who had spent her life in the depths of Purgatory, was no exception.

In fact, she had never even left Purgatory, let alone Faeloria.

Raised under her father’s protection, Anastasia had grown up listening about the Astral Realm and the former glory of Hell.

For as long as she could remember, she had longed to explore beyond her world.

Anastasia was regarded as the most beautiful demon in Purgatory. It was hardly surprising, as the Succubi had long been known for their allure in Hell.

Not only was she adored by her own kind, but even Sein found that her appearance aligned remarkably well with the Magus World’s human beauty standards.

As the only daughter of the Bloodwar Monarch and a demon queen whose strength rivaled that of an intermediate deity, Anastasia was in an entirely different league from the Bat Demon Sein had restrained in his laboratory.

Sein could get away with tying up a Bat Demon, but the Succubus Queen standing before him was an entirely different matter.

After patiently answering a few of her naive questions about the Astral Realm, Sein found himself developing a headache when he realized that Anastasia had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

She was endlessly curious, especially about the Magus World-style castle Sein had built for himself.

Without so much as a word of permission from Sein, she began wandering through his castle.

With her strength, there was little within Sein’s residence that could be hidden from her sight.

Even his private laboratory, carefully obscured with magic wards, was completely exposed under her divine detection.

Upon spotting the Bat Demon bound to the experimental table, the Succubus Queen froze for a brief moment before casually shifting her gaze elsewhere, as if she had not seen a thing.

She was particularly interested in the objects that Sein had brought from the Magus World.

Whether it was the alchemy puppets placed throughout the castle, the fox maiden or even Yuri, who had temporarily taken on the role of Sein’s maidservants, the Succubus Queen scrutinized them all with keen, lingering curiosity.

“If Your Highness is interested, I can gift you two alchemy puppets,” Sein offered, addressing Anastasia directly.

Sein’s alchemy puppet crafting had been taught to him by his first mentor, Morsidor.

While he was not yet capable of creating combat-type puppets, crafting functional household automation was well within his abilities.

The castle was vast, and expecting the fox maiden to handle all the cleaning alone was impractical.

More importantly, she needed time to train—her talent as a shamanic priestess was far greater than Sein had initially expected.

Sein’s alchemy puppets, though highly functional, were far from aesthetically pleasing.

They were clunky, with exposed wiring and visible magic array diagrams, their crude designs nearly identical to those he had first seen in Morsidor’s laboratory when he first paid his respects to his mentor.

In the end, Sein did not care how they looked—as long as they served their purpose.

Yet, despite their bizarre and crude appearance, the Succubus Queen seemed strangely captivated.

Without hesitation, she nodded and accepted Sein’s gift.

Just as Sein sighed in relief, thinking she might finally leave, the young and bewitching Succubus Queen snapped her fingers.

Two Succubi, clad in flaming gowns, appeared inside Sein’s castle, though he had no idea when they had entered.

“Then I shall return the favor. These two Legendary Succubi shall be your maids,” Anastasia said, her scarlet eyes gleaming with playfulness.

“To be served by pureblooded Succubi... even demigod-level demon lords don’t get to enjoy such luxuries,” she added with a wink.

Sein stood frozen for a moment, shifting his gaze between the Succubus Queen and the two deferential Rank Two Succubi before him.

In the end, he could only speechlessly accept the lavish gifts.