The Burning Fiend

On a lavish room a handsome young man with gray hair stood watching at the distance through the window which allowed him a good view of the residential area on Silver City, the main city within the Silver Prefecture. He was wearing a luxurious dark green warrior outfit that showed his muscular arms, he sported a light smile and waited patiently for the visitor that should be arriving any minute now.

He was a proud man who was born on a lower plane and grew through constant struggles to become a saint, then the struggle became more difficult till the moment when he reached the Demigod level and became the most powerful creature on that lower realm, he soon grew bored and left for the Infernal Realm. The gray haired man still remembered how life had become a constant struggle again with the only purpose of remaining alive and free, but he did not regret... that was the life he had always wanted.

Yet, he found himself again in a position where life was comfortable and boring. He sighed depressed as he remembered how happy he had become when he reached the Asura level, when he managed to fuse 5 of the Fire Elemental Laws. He had managed to grow this far because of the constant struggle and powerful enemies, but now he could not offend those stronger than him, as offending Paragons and Sovereign meant instant death and offending those of the same rank as him was useless as they could not kill each other. Killing another Asura would prove extremely difficult even if one was using a sovereign artifact, he did not have one as he was not willing to sworn alliance to others, he loved his freedom.

"Perhaps I should take part in the next Plane Battlefield... gaining a sovereign artifact might be entertaining". He muttered to himself and then looked at the door smiling as a knock was heard a moment later. "Enter". His voice carried an aura of command which he was unaware of, soon the door opened and a beautiful blue haired woman with a bored expression entered the room closing the door behind her. "Grand Father, I see you are as lazy as always..." The bored emotionless voice made the young man smile, he had his pride, but he did not care much for his ego, prove to that was that he did not name this city after him when he took over.

"Now Ginna, that is no way to speak to your elders". He said after chuckling and wondering how someone who had not being alive for even a thousand years could have such a boring expression. "I wonder what terrible disaster occurred for my favorite grand daughter decided to pay me a visit without being threaten to have all her books burned". The beautiful blue haired girl frowned slightly and took a seat without being asked.

"Your grand daughter, the stupid one, is causing trouble. She first registered a mission to poison the brother of a famous 7-star Fiend to force him into becoming her bodyguard. After that 7-star Fiend refused and even killed his brother to release him from the suffering, she posted a 7-star mission to have him killed." She paused and the ghost of a light smile appeared on her lips as she saw the young man frowning in anger, seeing him upset was one of her favorite forms of entertainment. Of course, it could not compare with the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e she felt whenever her idiot sister suffered punishment.

"A powerful but not well-known 6-star Fiend took the mission and proved himself superior to the poor Temark, that was the name of the 7-star Fiend by the way... but when his defeat was a sure thing, Clarras's guards appeared to interrupt the fight trying to force Temark into submission with the promise to help him kill the challenger. The challenger defeated them with a single glance and then killed Temark with ease, he took the 4 guards with him and their life tablets became ownerless trinkets one after another. My guess if that he torture them until he learned everything he needed."

At this time the young man asked with bright eyes. "You said he killed the 7-star Fiend with ease?" The blue haired girl nodded still maintaining her emotionless face. "Indeed, this might be a good challenger... once he become an Asura and I have the certainty that he will become one, his power might be a threat to you. But you don't want your stupid grand daughter to make him mad to the point of him become willing to die to bring you down, or do you?" For once the young man could see p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e and expectation on this young woman and released a sight, she wanted the other girl to suffer. 'I wonder what happened between these two for them to hate each other so much'. He thought.

A moment later a butler entered the room and bowed. "Ratiel, pass my orders. Clarras is to be detained for the next thousand years without access to servants or luxury, she is only to be release if she becomes a Highgod or the time of her confinement is over. That is all." The butler bowed before leaving the room, the young man noticed the bright smile on the blue haired girl and could not help but chuckle, he looked at her expectantly as he knew her well. She understood what was expected of her and took a few items from her interspatial ring.

"This is the information we have on him and two recordings of his battles. The first one is his participation on the Fiend Trials when he killed 5 Highgods with a single glare and the second is his battle against Temark. One of the spectators that had an avatar near the site has another avatar in this city, and he used the technique of memory retrieval to create a reproduction of the battle. It would not have the quality of a true recording orb, but I thought you would like to see it before you get your hands on a better quality option. Grand father... I think this one could be a good opponent and a terrible enemy, he loves to fight so there is no reason to antagonize him... an invitation to fight would be enough, and he is still a step short to reach your level... you might need to wait a few centuries".

The young man was smiling and already inspecting the two recordings, the girl sighed and left the room.

---

A metallic life form, shaped as winged snake, made its way though the sky at high speed. It was currently traveling over a desert with dark blue sand and, according to the maps, it would not find anything until a few million kilometers where a rock mountain range appeared marking the limit of the desert. Reynolds was looking at the window while he waited for Talia to make a move on the chess game, she seemed frustrated but a light smile could be seen on her lips.

She had blamed her bad performance on the distractions caused by the blue desert that looked like an ocean and that she had spent centuries on their courtyard prison, he had no argument against that and waited patiently as he enjoyed the view. 'Who would have thought that a desert could be made out of blue sand?' He chuckled to himself, it seemed that there was nothing impossible in the Infernal Realm.

He redirected his attention to a drawing that depicted the array he had found within the 'Life Pearl', it took him a couple of days to copy and be completely sure that nothing was missing. But he could not understand it, he would need to completely learn everything on those advanced books on runes and arrays before he could even attempt to understand the drawing. He smiled at the challenge and continue to pay attention at his daughter who was attempting to steal one of his pieces when he was looking at the drawing, and she ended blushing when she noticed he had caught her attempting to cheat.

She tried to start a conversation to avoid her embarrassment. "Father, why did you not buy artifacts for aunt Catherine?" He blinked at her and smiled understanding her intention but obliged happily. "Well, because Catherine is not my wife, she is just a friend and you know that she will leave us when she becomes a Highgod, do you?"

She bowed her head a little sad, Catherine had been there since she had memory, but she also knew about her dreams to return to her home and her people. She felt a little depressed, but suddenly a mischievous smile appeared in her lips and said. "Father I think I need a sibling... a little sister would be fine". She looked expectantly at her father hoping to see him embarrassed, but she was soon disappointed.

Reynolds only sighed and said. "It seems that the rules of the universe limit those who had powerful constitutions and do not allow them to have many children. You were born after thousands of dutiful attempts and I think it is more likely that you will give me a grand child before I can give you a sibling". He chuckled when he noticed that Talia's face has turned as red as a tomato and had started muttering below her breath.

"Oh... no questions? I had even prepared a graphic explanation of how many attempts it took for you to be..." He could not end his explanations when Talia was running out of the room yelling. "Mom! Father is bulling me!" He laughed and continued to study the drawing, this time with a bottle of wine by his side.

Soon Koral arrived and asked. "Really? A graphic explanation? Can I see it?" This time it was Reynolds's turn to blink without knowing how to respond, she saw that Koral was extremely curious, but a moment later he chuckled and said. "I was only teasing her, and she started it... but if you want we can prepare a recording orb and..." His response was cut short when Rosarie screamed behind Koral.

"Stop! You will not trick my sister!" While Koral looked curiously at her making Reynolds and Rosarie laugh, after a while the two joined him with a cup of wine while looking at the beautiful but deadly blue sand below. They have not found a single living being since they had entered the desert. "Still 2 years to go before we leave the desert, but after that the scenery will be less boring" Said Reynolds while Rosarie responded. "I really want to see the floating mountains..." Her eyes were shining and Reynolds also felt extreme curiosity about that place.

'Will the mountains float due to gravity? Air density?' He could not even start guessing how it was possible for floating mountains to exist, the long travel would be worthy just for the sight of it... of that he was sure.