Dark Path to Heaven [Demon Romance]

Chapter 50

Chapter Music: "Town of Fables" by Brandon Fiechter

I nodded to Orias absentmindedly as I confirmed a hunch about today's schedule. Of course, the sights would be gory.

Nevertheless, unlike the hair-raising grandeur we were now facing, everything else around us resembled a creepy old village. Humble yet somewhat ominous.

"Let's talk at the inner courtyard," Orias suggested, probably triggered by my troubled expression, and approached the guards, leaving us behind.

"The people are used to his absence," Merihem shared his concerns aloud. "This time it's different though."

There was no doubt who he was talking about. Apparently, this was not the first time Astaroth had rejected his role as Demon King.

"How exactly is this time different?"

However, Orias spoke before my friend could react: "Come in," he said, motioning to us to enter the gate.

We reluctantly did so. Once again, I pushed the anticipation of an answer to the back of my head and prepared myself for what I was about to witness.

However, true to his words, Orias took us straight to what seemed like an abandoned graveyard bench, before I had a chance to peek inside the main building. Of course, the courtyard itself was worth inspecting. Besides the fact that we were the only ones there, the whole area was entirely bare, without any trace of greenery. There was only soil and...

"Wondering why those tombs are opened?" Orias asked with a small grin.

"Why are there tombs at all?"

"It's all a delightful detail adding to the building's allure," he explained smiling bitterly. "On the first day of each month, demons bury the bodies of people they despise so that they can unearth and play with them a few hours later. This desecration is exactly what makes this monthly festival so anticipated."

I smiled in spite of myself. "Whose idea was this?"

"Guess," Orias replied cunningly.

Astaroth... Why are you not the one telling me about your passion?

"Is this your first time leaving the central tower, Sophia?" a somewhat disturbed Merihem asked then. He appeared to be trying to change the subject.

"Yes," I said. "And I didn't have the chance to see anything else since I was, um, unconscious when I first got here. Everyone seems unusually quiet here."

"This is why they don't live in the central building," Orias pointed out. "Demons here are less strong and sadistic than those you saw inside. The even weaker ones live outside the realm, in scattered villages."

Hearing those words, I glanced at Merihem. It was one of those villages Astaroth had saved him from, right?

My friend hesitantly nodded, guessing my thoughts. "When I was created, the demons in charge expected me to be useless. My essence wasn't dark enough so they sent me in one of those villages."

Before I voiced the next question in my mind, Orias spoke again: "Only the demons with the darkest souls are allowed to inhabit the Demon Kingdom. These are the ones best qualified to defend the demonkind in case of war. If everyone lived in villages, we wouldn't be able to send united, fast and effective forces to battle."

"And isn't Merihem strong enough?"

"Technically no," he answered himself and added melancholically: "I had a good teacher, though. Astaroth tried to make me more powerful based on the essence I already had. You see, my dark soul is mostly passive instead of offensive."