Hugo 

So this is the place… I have to say… it's an impressive city alright… nothing like any other cities I have been to in this continent… 

And that building floating up in the sky… the Floating Fortress of Naturia… from here, it's just a black dot in the reddish sky… 

After another few months of travels, we were finally here, in front of Ixon—a massive metropolis, built in the middle of a barren wasteland, with black walls and buildings constructed by obsidian, enchanted by rune magic. 

Even now, from a distance, we could already see just how large the whole place was. No wonder some called it the Cradle of Demon Civilization. It was a city that rivaled the greatest capitals of humans—proof that demons too could learn to be civilized; to create their own civilization that would not lose to us humans. 

The Demon Lord of Wisdom. This city is his living, growing legacy. 

“Stop gaping around, Hugo. Let’s go inside.” Sherry walked up to me, her hair blowing in the wind. One hand rested on the handle of her sword; still the one created off her hair. We didn’t really have time to wander off, looking for a blacksmith to forge her a proper sword. And me as well for that matter. 

“Wait here, everyone.” I looked at the others. “I’ll try to fly up there and undo the spell.” 

“Be careful, Milord.” Felicia replied, her eyes gazing at the floating fortress. “I don’t like that place. I can sense a great darkness gathering inside it.” 

“Well, that would be the Demon Lord, wouldn’t it?” I chuckled, trying to crack a joke to lighten the tension. 

“I’ll carry you up there with my wind automaton.” Myrilla spoke next. “So you can focus entirely on undoing the magic.” 

I nodded. Even though I could easily lift myself up there with Wind Step, I’d rather have the ability to cast two spells at once, so I could cast more spells in case I needed to defend myself. 

I waited until she finished chanting the spell, and for the humanoid tornado to wrap itself all around my body. Wish the figure looked more like a woman than a man though. Kinda felt a tiiny bit uncomfortable letting a man hug me like this. 

We then flew upwards with a reasonable speed. I could do a much faster climb with my spell personally. Not that I was bragging or anything… 

I activated my Sight. It didn’t take long until I noticed it—the network of mana filling the region near the fortress. 

Wow, that’s… that’s a lot thicker than I thought it would be. It’s… it’s massive actually! I’ve never seen anything like this before! 

I could immediately tell that this wouldn’t be an easy job, if it was at all possible. 

We flew towards it for some more time until I noticed that we weren’t moving. To be more precise, we were moving, but the space around us just shifted itself back to our original space, carrying us with it. 

I signaled at Myrilla on the ground, telling her to stop her wind doll from moving. 

Alright. Time to do my magic. 

I reached forward with my left hand; my right hand gripping my staff. First, I channeled my raw mana into the staff, multiplying its potency tenfold, before sending it through my left palm towards the network of swirling mana in front of me. 

T-this is… this is just like that time! 

I remembered it clearly as day; the day when I nearly died in the hands of that fox Demon Lord. I remembered trying to dissolve her illusions with my technique, only to find that I could not disturb the mana flow of her spell. 

This was just like that. This sturdiness—it wasn’t natural in the slightest. 

….No. This is not quite the same. It’s not just it being sturdy. It’s also… elastic, for a lack of a better term, allowing it to absorb my disruptions, preventing any cracks from forming. It’s like a bamboo shot. 

This sensation… I had felt it as well; for it was the telltale sign of fey magic at work. 

This is amazing! They’re combining traditional magic with fey magic! Even though both work in entirely different principles! 

Our magic worked by harshly imposing order into reality. For example: me creating a wind cannonball for my Boom Cannon spell. Fey magic, on the other hand, worked a lot more subtly, influencing the fabric of reality without actually imposing the will of the caster. So, when Kiri sent a jet of water at her enemy, she did it not by creating water with mana, but by making the air in front of her turn into water instead. The difference was subtle but it was certainly there. Or so Marina told me anyway, as well as the magic books I had read. 

Whoever did this, they can’t have done it alone. A powerful mage and a powerful fey must be involved. 

Two of Balthazar’s wives: Selene and Adele. 

We were already been told about all ten of his wives before going here, thanks to Orluk. It was supposed to be common knowledge but since we hadn’t been here before, we didn’t really have a chance to hear it. 

The first wife, Aisha Bethel Naturia. A mutated lamia with one giant eye. 

The second wife, Taran Naturia. A mutant white arachne. They called her the Weaver of Death, mainly because her web was as sharp as swords and spears. 

The third wife, Selene Naturia. The Archfey of Autumn. 

The fourth wife, Astra Naturia. A mutant Peacock Harpy whose voice could bewitch all men to their deaths. 

The fifth wife, Adele Naturia. The sorceress elf who has mastered all the elements. 

The sixth wife, Ulum Naturia. The strongest female orc in the world. 

The seventh wife, Esana Naturia. A dullahan warrior who held the title of Champion for fifty years straight in the city's colosseum. 

The eighth wife, Rita Naturia. The loveliest succubus in the world (the Succubus Demon Lord would disagree on that probably). 

The ninth wife, Hoselu Naturia. A mermaid princess. 

The tenth wife, Gretchel Naturia. She’s his little sister. Of the same Naturia species. Yeah. Incest is pretty okay amongst demons apparently. 

Speaking of Naturia, they’re an extremely rare demon species that was thought to be extinct. As the world knew it, there were only two of them now, that being Balthazar and Gretchel. Apparently, there used to be a lot more of them, before the Legendary Hero and his party slaughtered them all in their campaign one thousand years ago. 

As for their ability, well, no one knew. They never told anyone. Any knowledge about it was lost to the flow of time. And when the Demon Lord took the field, he only used his spells and physical prowess to triumph. No sign of any special ability whatsoever. 

Hmm, how suspicious. It must be something really special then; something that can catch you off guard. That’s why it’s in their advantage to not spread the knowledge of it around. 

… 

Gah, it’s not working! 

I pulled my hand away, panting as I did. Already poured a lot of my mana into the system yet I couldn’t manage to unfold it. Anymore and I risked endangering myself, especially since I could now see the circuit beginning to grow more active. If it were to change its trajectory, it could easily inject its vast stream of mana into me, and that would be my death. I would explode from mana overload. 

I could tell Sherry to cut through the barrier but that would pretty much be a declaration of war. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had some anti-invader spell nearby as well that would trigger if anyone tried to mess with it. That, and his army coming out from the fortress and the city, which had its own military facilities scattered on its edges. 

Too risky. Guess we have to do this the hard way. 

I signaled Myrilla again, telling her to bring me back down to the ground. 

ᅠ 

“Impossible, you say. Well, that is to be expected,” Myrilla commented with a deadpan tone once I told her and the others what had happened. 

“Then, let’s go right away.” Sherry declared, her gaze resting towards the city. “No more chit chat. We have to get to the colosseum right away.” 

I noticed her obvious impatience. And I shared that feeling as well. The more time we spent here gawking, the more Marina would have to wait. And Victoria—she probably had been forced to sleep with that orc prince so many times now. 

I wouldn’t lie. I felt a little guilty, knowing that this was how she ended up, but like Felicia and Sherry said, it was her own fault for refusing my help back then. 

Tama disagreed though. She had been telling me to save her from the start, even if it meant going against her will. 

Well, the only way I could’ve saved her is by killing her family. And I’m pretty sure she’d hate me for it. That, or abducting her. Which really would defeat the purpose of the whole thing. 

ㅤ 

Before we went into the city, we had split up. We had decided that Theo, Tama, and Tira wouldn't go with us. Instead, they would wait in a nearby town for the arrival of Orluk's army. 

"Don't do anything rash, okay? Stay safe." I said to Theo, putting my hand on his shoulder. 

"Don't worry, Master Hugo!" He smiled. "I can take care of myself! I've gotten a lot stronger after all! Thanks to you and Miss Sherry!" 

Sometimes, he would join us in our training. To him, there was no greater joy to train with his two idols. 

And, I had to admit, he had indeed improved leaps and bounds compared to when we first met him. I'd say that his strength now rivaled an S-rank adventurer, which was certainly quite the achievement! 

ㅤ 

Entering the outskirts of the city, we were greeted by the sight of a great black gate, guarded by a pair of giants wearing pitch black full plate armor. Yes, giants did indeed exist in the Demon Continent. We just never saw them until now. Thanks to their size, being as tall as a five-story building, they couldn’t really live in the towns and cities built by the other, smaller demons. They were forced to stay with their own kind. 

Except for this place, where giants had their own quarter in the corner of the city. 

Heh, that Balthazar… he might really be dreaming of becoming the next Demon God, uniting all kinds of demons under his banner like this. 

They didn’t ask us for papers or anything as we went through the gate. The only thing they did was to warn us to obey Balthazar’s laws, or else we would “suffer the consequences”; all with a booming, deep voice. 

Yeah, I imagine your average traveler will be intimidated by this. 

Not me though. I probably can kill them both in less than a second. Just make their organs explode from the inside. 

I gave them a courteous bow and smile before going inside. 

And immediately I could tell that I was being watched. 

That fish… it’s following us… 

The moment we stepped into the city proper, a nearly invisible fish swam through the air, circling on top of my head. I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been sensitive to any change in the air current, thanks to my sword training. 

I glanced at Sherry. Yep, she noticed it too. 

I shook my head. No. Don’t kill it. Pretend you don’t even notice it. 

To my relief, Sherry understood my thoughts. Even without me saying it out loud. 

For I saw other similar fishes; following around the people of this city. 

That fish… everyone here has it. It must be a familiar used for surveillance by the Demon Lord. Wow, government overreach, anyone? 

But we cannot kill it. It'll just draw unwanted attention to us. We're supposed to pretend we were ordinary adventurers or else we might not get out meeting with Balthazar in his castle. 

The fish followed us through the city, where sadly, we didn't have much time to gawk around and take in the sights. For this was the final day we could register for the tournament, if my calculations, and Orluk's information, was correct. It only retreated once we entered the colosseum, which was the large round obsidian building in the middle of the entertainment district. 

Guess it needs to recharge or something. Or maybe it’s satisfied just knowing where we’re headed. 

But this place… it looks eerily similar to the Roman colosseum back in my world… The only difference is that this one is pitch-black in color. Coincidence, or something more? 

Though now that I got a closer look at it, there are more and more differences that I could pick out. Like the fact that there are glowing blue lines on the wall. Runic walls, designed to endure both physical and magical attacks. 

We entered from the main entrance but we quickly took a turn to the left, descending a flight of stairs to the dungeons, where the fighters for the martial arts tournaments would stay and socialize before they fought. Think of it as a longue for the colosseum's fighters. 

The moment we stepped into the large room, we were greeted by the sight of all sorts of demon warriors, all looking quite strong and threatening, judging by their outward appearance. You got towering warriors who either wore a full heavy armor dyed glossy black or not wearing a shirt at all, exposing their ripped physique to the world. A lizardman wielded a bladed wheel on a stick as a weapon, which he gleefully spun with a grin on his face as we passed by. 

Hmph, compared to Quania, these chumps were just dust in the wind. 

We walked up to the desk at the far end of the room where the registration was located. A frog demon was standing there behind the wooden desk, whose features reminded me of that frog character from Chrono Trigger. I know. What a random thought. 

"I'm sorry but mages aren't allowed in this tournament." He croaked, his voice just as toad-like as I imagined it would be. 

I raised my eyebrows. "What do you mean?" 

"This year, the big 'uns decided the tournament would be purely about martial prowess. Any sign of magic usage and you'd be kicked out of the tournament before you could even blink. So, unless you're willing to fight only with that sword on your waist, you should just leave and stop wasting my time." 

His eyes then scanned Sherry and the others, before settling on the former. 

"She looks stronger." He pointed his webbed finger at her. "Why don't you let her join? No staves or wands, just a good ol' sword." 

I turned to face her. Judging by her confident look, she was more than willing to take my place. 

Still, this wasn't part of the plan. I was supposed to be the one meeting up with Balthazar. Sherry… she couldn't really negotiate her way out of things. It would be far more likely that she ended up losing her temper and punching the Demon Lord on the face. 

"I'll go." She took a step forward. "Don't worry. I won't do anything stupid." 

I shook my head. "No. I'll go. I'm pretty decent with the sword myself. I can win this no problem." I flashed her my usual disarming smile. 

Only, it didn't work in the slightest. 

"Don't be stupid. You know you have to beat one of his wives to win the tournament. Do you really think you can do that without your magic?" 

Ah, right. Esana Naturia. 

She won’t be climbing the ladder like the other fights. Instead, the one who wins over everyone else will be granted the privilege to fight her. 

Of course, for these past fifty years, no one has managed to defeat her. She must be a monster in combat. And, seeing how she allows a ban on magic like this, that means she must fight purely with her martial skills. Like Sherry. 

Can I win against such an opponent? Maybe not. But I’m done being a coward. To be a strong warrior, one must constantly throw oneself at stronger and stronger opponents. To live at the edge of death and defeat — that is how you become strong. 

Those were Quania’s words by the way. Sherry eagerly shared them with me when we were training. 

“Enough of this bickering. Haven’t you realized that both of you can just enter the tournament if you so choose?” 

Our argument was interrupted by Myrilla. She shut us up just like that. 

She was right, of course. We could just enter. And one of us could just surrender if we had to face each other. 

"Don't worry, Milord." Felicia smiled. "I'll keep her safe." 

I looked at her, then to Myrilla, then to Sherry. Seems like no one is against it. 

Well, what can possibly go wrong? 

"Sir Frog." I slammed my hand on the table. "Sign me up. Me and my wife here." I wrapped my hand around Sherry's waist and pulled her over with a grin on my face. 

Yep! I'll brag her being my wife anytime I want! 

Sherry's cheeks burned. But she didn't say anything.  with embarrassment. But, thanks to her “training” with Felicia, she didn’t punch me in return. She just stood there signing her name to the registration form, all while averting her gaze from mine. 

Oh God she’s just unbearably cute! 

“Milord.” Felicia coughed, giving me an obviously jealous glare. “Please sign your form. Don’t keep the poor receptionist waiting.” 

As for Myrilla, she also had a displeased expression on her face, though she didn’t say anything.  

Heh, just like Tama, she doesn’t like public displays of affection like this. 

Well, too bad! I have a wife now and I’m going to do whatever I want with her! 

“Thank you, Sir, Ma’am.” The frog demon spoke as he took back our forms. “Now, please, wait here for but a moment. The preliminaries would start soon. As for those that are not participating…" His gaze landed on Felicia and Myrilla. "...please make your way upstairs."