The Author's POV

According to the information that was provided to me by the demons, there were a total of eight treasuries situated across the surface of this planet.

'It's possible that there are more, but that's all the information that the demons shared with me. It remains to be seen in the future whether or not that is the truth or not.'

"Is this the main castle?"

I came to a halt to look into the distance, where an enormous and eerie black castle appeared in my vision.

A gentle breeze that persisted in the air caused several slender bridges, which were connected to large rocky and steep cliffs, to sway lazily in the air.

The bridges established a connection between the cliffs and the castle, which was perched in the middle of a rocky pillar that was surrounded on all sides by nothing but emptiness. Its imposing structure and design filled me with admiration.

It was nothing short of a structural masterpiece.

'...Fortunately, I can now fly. If not for that fact, I would've had trouble crossing those bridges.'

The thought of crossing those thin bridges that connected to the castle sent shivers down my spine. The scenery was not for the faint of heart.

Turning to look at the demon beside me, I nudged with my head.

"Alright, bring me in."

"Yes."

With a flap of his wings, the demon flew in the air and went straight for the castle. Staring at his figure from where I stood, I turned to look at Amanda beside me. A complicated look appeared on my face.

"...You won't have trouble getting over there, will you?"

"No."

Amanda gently shook her head before she removed a small necklace from her neck and put it away. A powerful energy fluctuation spread across the area we were in and her body started to gently levitate.

I grew bitter when I saw this scene.

"Why did you hide the fact that you've broken through to rank?"

To be honest, it came as a shock to me to know that she had already broken to rank before I knew it. I only found out recently, and it came to me as a great surprise.

"Come, let's get going."

Amanda's soft voice echoed inside my head. I shook my head and gently floated in the air. I followed her after that.

The distance between the cliff and the castle wasn't too far. It took us just about five minutes to get there.

"It's bigger than I thought."

It wasn't until my feet were firmly planted on the ground that I realized how massive the castle really was. The height of the castle, which was well over five hundred feet, was comparable to that of a typical skyscraper.

The entire area around the castle was shrouded in a black mist, making the castle look extremely eerie.

The demon from earlier was there, and he was waiting for Amanda and me in front of a large and imposing door.

"Please follow me."

The demon appeared reluctant to look directly at me, as evidenced by the way he bowed his head. Exchanging glances with Amanda, we both entered the premise of the castle.

The exterior appearance of the castle was strikingly different from the appearance of the interior of the castle, which featured extremely high ceilings, luxurious decorations, paintings, and statues that gave the impression that the space was extremely clean and well organized.

'Sort of reminds me of my mercenary headquarters.'

I had lost count of the number of times I had been insulted because of its outward presentation.

"We're here."

Before I knew it, we had arrived in front of a massive metal gate that reached all the way to the top of the building.

The surface of the metal door appeared to be engraved with a number of different symbols and runes that were unknown to me and based on the material that was used, I could more or less tell that I couldn't force my way through the door using brute force.

a

and plundering whatever was on the other side, but

at the demon that had led us

do you open

"Eh?"

looked at me with

at the

not hear me? How do I

"This..."

the end, realizing that there was no one present, he trembled slightly as he lowered his

servant doesn't know...only the previous leader knows how to open the door. My ranking is far

"That's enough."

hand to stop the

a glance, I turned to focus my attention back

make sense. He is only a Count ranked demon, there's no

took out

"This..."

started to quiver as a burst of demonic energy exploded into the air, making

affected as Amanda's face paled

commotion going on around me, I calmly

I didn't kill

to my

"Ren you...!"

"Don't worry."

and put the orb inside my

Gulp-!

since I've done

"Ukh."

corner of my eyes, and I felt a tightening in the back of my throat. Grabbing a bottle of water from my dimension space, I chugged it down in one swift motion, making it easier for the orb to move down my

"Haaaa..."

my mouth,

'It hurts...'

"You okay?"

approached me as she bent down

throat,

just

of times before

that, I took a deep breath

"Come out."

"Ren?"

her head to the side and looked

indicate that everything was fine, and then I channeled some of my mana and directed it toward the core that was still present within

to

my mouth, I once again

"I said come out."

was a

the air around us started to stir and a figure slowly formed in front

"Hiiek!"

count-ranked demon to shriek in terror

he muttered

"Y...your Dukeship!"

smile formed on my face as I stared at the figure that had morphed before

mouth, I

"It's been a while."

***

Monolith headquarters.

distance. For an unknown period of time, he continued to stare into the distance without saying

was only after someone entered the room

"How are the preparations?"

"Everything is going smoothly."

as he sat down on

side of the couch, his