The Grand Duelist

The small city within the place perpetually hidden from the sun was currently in a panic.

The residents who awakened from the effects of the staff within the City Chief's hands were extremely angry when they found out that their loved ones died, what was worse was that the City Chief didn't have any intention of explaining!

However, the riot was easily suppressed by the City Chief who used the staff once again and subdued everyone to obedience.

But the First Elder and Second Elder knew that this was just treating the symptoms.

A mere stopgap that will eventually collapse under the tumultuous momentum of the residents' grievances. Furthermore, the effects of the Staff of Obedience doesn't really last that long.

In fact, it would only last for a few hours at most before it must be reapplied once again.

This job wasn't originally theirs, but after Gelial's avatar disappeared. He never appeared again no matter how many times the City Chief tried to summon him.

The pungent smell coming out from the City Chief's body made both elders subconsciously furrow their eyebrows.

"What should we do now, City Chief?"

The City Chief gave a bitter smile.

About three hundred years ago, he found out that the God of Everything that Moves and Exists wasn't really a legitimate god.

He discovered this fact when he inherited the position of the City Chief from his father who made him swear that this information should never be disseminated to the general public.

The City Chief, although astonished intended on keeping this secret to himself. But these two elders, the First Elder and the Second Elder who were vying against him for the position of being the City Chief overheard their conversation.

The elders threatened that they would spread this information if the City Chief's father didn't properly explain to them about what they were talking about; under such threat.

The City Chief's father didn't have any other choice but to explain and say that the God of Everything that Moves and Exists wasn't really a legitimate god. 

It was completely the opposite of what he was supposed to be.

He was a Demon.

The 72nd ranked Demon Gelial, the Demon of Deceit and Temptation.

But why was the City Chief's father so obedient to Gelial?

Well, it was because of a deal.

In exchange for sacrificing the bodies of those that were about to die from the curse, or had died from the curse.

Gelial would bestow upon them several droplets of his blood essence which would slowly transform the highly-adaptable Vampires into beings that were immune to the Curse of the Condemned.

And it worked!

The City Chief's consumed half of the blood essence while he secretly added the other half into the wells that the residents frequently drank from.

Only a year after that, the number of people affected by the Curse of the Condemned every year sharply dropped to a mere fraction of what it was the year before the deal between the two.

This was also the reason why the City Chief's father and the ancestors before him had an incredibly long lifespan that exceeded the average lifespan of those with the same species as them.

The City Chief himself was happy that even though the god they believed in didn't really exist.

At least, there was another being masquerading as that god, so now they can say that they do believe in a higher entity.

Even though it wasn't a genuine deity, it was better than believing in nothing. 

Furthermore, there were benefits to be received...

What was the problem of accepting Gelial as a figure synonymous to a god?

The City Chief and the previous City Chiefs didn't find anything wrong with this thought process.

But right now, the current City Chief felt a pang of regret.

A Demon was still a Demon after all!

Even if the deeds they were doing were right and good at first glance. It was impossible for them to not have any ulterior motives behind those good deeds.

Now that Gelial had disappeared and they couldn't have him appear before them no matter what they did. Just what will happen to this City now?

Without the help of that Demon Gelial, these residents would soon realize that there was something wrong about them.

They would find out that the happiness that they felt whenever they were praising the Creator was false. They would also find out that it was indeed strange for them to be happy about the suicide of their fellow residents.

Everything that they believed that were right, under the guidance of Gelial would disappear and they would suddenly awaken from their reverie, not knowing what truly happened and not recognizing what was right from false. 

This was why despite being the weakest demon among all the demons. Gelial should never be underestimated. He has the ability to manipulate your surroundings through the Concept of Deceit.

You'll find yourself living a good life, with a beautiful and diligent wife with children that you could be proud of until you die.

But when that illusion shattered, you'll be devastated to find that everything was just an illusion. The wife you embraced every night was actually a rotting corpse, and the children whom you were proud of and praised every day were actually wooden dolls that had no life in them.

That was how scary Gelial was...

This was why he managed to keep his position among the 72 Demons.

This was why he was still being ranked despite having the lowest combat capabilities among all the ranked Demons.

If nothing was done...

The illusion made by Gelial that lasted for several thousands of years would undoubtedly shatter and when that happened, all hell would break loose. 

"Is there really nothing that we can do anymore?"

The First Elder asked, his expression looked unwilling and unresigned.

"Yes, that is right! I don't think that the honorable one will just let all the effort that he spent in the past several thousands of years shatter just because of an unknown young man!"

The Second Elder spoke up.

The City Chief shook his head and said, "What you said makes sense, but I don't think that the honorable one's main plan includes us all. I think all of us are just a part of his contingency plans..."

"What?" The First Elder uttered in disbelief.

The City Chief explained, "Don't you find it strange that he does not directly let us transform into Demons and make us his servants? Does doing that even make sense for a demon in the first place?"

"If I was him, I would've directly taken control of the entire city and make everyone do my bidding instead of forming a cooperative relationship with them!"

The elders froze for a moment before their expressions turned serious: "Indeed... Just what is the reason?" 

They all fell into deep contemplation until the Second Elder shattered the silence: "If we put ourselves in the shoes of the honorable one and think about this issue in his perspective. I think the most appropriate answer to this question is that we are still somehow useful for him..."

"Apart from that, I can't think of any reason why he hasn't taken control of the City in the first place..." 

The City Chief and the First Elder nodded their heads.

The two fell into even deeper contemplation, but after a few moments, the First Elder spoke up and said, "We are still somehow useful for him... But how and in what way?" He swept his gaze at the City Chief and found that the latter had a frown on his face.

"I think..." The City Chief spoke up.

"It should involve the Curse of the Condemned."

"What? How can you be so sure that it involves the Curse of the Condemned? Maybe he just wanted to nurture us into a being that transcends a Vampire. Isn't that the reason why we desire his blood in the first place and why he is giving it to us so willingly?" The First Elder went against the City Chief.

The City Chief shook his head and said, "No, he is not giving it to us willingly. Think about it! Think about the fact that we sacrifice the corpses of those who died from the Curse to him. In other words, it was an exchange. A deal."

The First Elder and the Second Elder were astonished about what they heard, but their memories told them that it was indeed the case. The Demon of Deceit and Temptation, Gelial was not helping them without anything in exchange. 

In exchange for the corpses of those afflicted by the Curse of the Condemned, Gelial gave them his blood essence which would eventually transform their bodies into entities that were stronger and far resilient than ordinary Vampires.

"That is really quite the move of someone that is a true devil. A devil would never transact in a way that would turn out to be a disadvantage to them..."

"In fact, I don't even think that Demons, especially the honorable one who governs over the concept and domain of Deceit and Temptation would like to be in a fair deal, much less in a deal that would cost him more than what he could earn." The Second Elder uttered to himself, but his whispers were loud enough for the two elders to hear.

"Wait, what? What did you say just now?!"

The City Chief suddenly shot up from his seat and stared directly at the Second Elder.

"What?"

The Second Elder was astonished by what he heard that he uttered a question instead of an answer.

"You said that a demon will never be in a transaction that would be disadvantageous to them? You said that it is impossible for the honorable one to be in a fair deal? He would never let himself be in a transaction that costs more than what he stands to gain?"

The City Chief pupil's constricted and his body continuously trembled like a sieve.

"What is wrong, City Chief? Why are you acting like that?" The First Elder raised an eyebrow and stared at the City Chief in annoyance.

They were in the middle of a proper deliberation, yet the City Chief was acting like his mother scolded him and restricted him from playing with his toys.

It looked like he was throwing a tantrum.

But then, the City Chief suddenly spoke...

"You... You guys... What do you think is the value of a Demon's Blood Essence?"

His words became like a bolt of lightning that struck the two elders out of a blue as the two of them trembled.

"A-Are you saying that..." The First Elder whispered in utter disbelief. 

Every living creature in the world of Victory possessed a certain degree of Blood Essences. Humans had the least amount of Blood Essences in their bodies at any given time due to the fact that their bodies were inherently weaker than the members of other species. 

Blood Essences could be used to temporarily augment one's strength in the middle of battle, in short. They were like boosters that one could use in battle.

And since the number of Blood Essences that the body could produce in their lifetime wasn't really that much...

Blood Essences were incredibly valuable, especially if they came from a higher entity such as a Demon, a Goddess, or a Deity. The Blood Essences of these entities were incredibly precious and could never be bought with money. People could only stumble upon them due to a stroke of fate.

The Demon of Deceit and Temptation, Gelial would never let himself be in a disadvantageous deal due to his inherent arrogance as a demon and also due to the fact that he governed over the Concept of Deceit.

But why did he enter a deal where he exchanged his precious Blood Essence for the rotting corpses of those afflicted by the Curse of the Condemned?

Was it because the bodies of people that died from the Curse were extremely valuable and could compare to the value of a Demon's Blood Essence? 

No!

The three of them didn't think so.

In other words, there was only a single explanation.

And this remaining explanation terrified them all.

"T-T-Take the Blood Essences that I stored underneath my bed!" The City Chief swiftly gave an order.

The two elders didn't say anything.

They vanished from where they were and instantly reappeared beside the City Chief's bed inside his bedroom. 

The First Elder lifted the bed and the Second Elder grabbed the transparent bottle that he saw underneath and hurriedly returned to the City Chief where they all stared at the bottle in disbelief, shock, and horror.

"I-Is that really... The Blood Essence of the honorable one?"

The Second Elder whispered in shock.

A Blood Essence's color was crimson red since it was made out of blood.

But the liquid inside the bottle that he was holding shone dangerously in green. Furthermore, it looked liquid when undisturbed, but when the bottle was shaken. The liquid acted like a clay. From these traits alone, it was obvious that it wasn't a blood essence.

"A-Are you sure that you placed the Blood Essence of the honorable one in this bottle?" The First Elder asked, his body was trembling in fear.

"Y-yes... I can't be wrong. I remember that day clearly. I got a bonus droplet of Blood Essence from the honorable one on that day, so I can't be that wrong..."

"That is the droplet of Blood Essence that I stored if someday, I wasn't able to achieve the honorable one's request and wasn't given a droplet..." The City Chief promptly exclaimed in a panic.

"O-O-Open it up! Open it up!" The First Elder pointed a finger at the Second Elder and ordered.

"Y-Yes!"

The Second Elder hurriedly opened the lid of the bottle and an incredibly pungent stench came out of the bottle.

As soon as it was opened, that stench instantly filled the room and the three elders felt like they fell into a cave full of sewage waste.

"T-This..."

Crack!

A sound similar to a glass cracking rang out and the Elders found the world around them collapse.

A kaleidoscope of colors surrounded them and when they opened their eyes once again, they realized that nothing had changed. They were still within the City Chief's room that was made out of bricks and they were still trembling in fear.

"This is poison!"

The Second Elder exclaimed and he hurled the bottle as far as he could, afraid that the pungent smell may do some damage onto them.

With the disappearance of the bottle that brought the pungent smell.

The stench instantly disappeared and the Second Elder heaved in relief.

"If what he had discussed earlier that we have some uses for the honorable one is true. I think that we can ask him for an explanation if he really did give us poison or..." When he had spoken up to this point, his voice suddenly came to a halt.

It was because he discovered that the City Chief and the First Elder was staring at him as if they were looking at something extremely terrifying.

Their faces were filled with abject terror, and all the muscles throughout their entire body trembled.

As that trembling gradually intensified, they opened their mouths and forced their lips to move.

It was clear that they wanted to say something, but not a voice would come out of their throats.

Even their vocal cords had surrendered to fear...

The entire world seemed to have been frozen in time at this point until the silence was shattered by the City Chief's horrified and desperate scream as he pointed at the Second Elder, "Y-Your arm! Your arm!!!"

The Second Elder subconsciously stared at his right arm... At that instant, fear similar to what the two elders were experiencing overwhelmed his body. His face had turned as pale as a sheet of paper due to the extreme shock and terror that coursed through his veins.

The arm and the hand that he used to throw away that bottle of Blood Essence had disappeared!

His eyes wandered on the ground and he found that there was a clump of ashes emanating a pungent smell beside him.

"M-My arm... Ah! My arm!"

The Second Elder let out a shriek when he realized that the clump of ashes was his arm.

But it wasn't only his arm that was slowly being turned into ashes by the poison that had accumulated and continuously coursed through his body. As the stifling smell of decay spread, he witnessed his left shoulder disappearing inch by inch, and in a blink of an eye...

The entire left side of his body had already turned into ashes.

Thud...

A dull sound rang out as he fell down.

His body could no longer support him.

His eyes glazed over and he was seemingly staring a thousand miles away. 

During this entire process, he felt nothing but despair and hopelessness.

He felt no pain whatsoever. It was as if the process of him turning into ashes was a natural occurrence that wasn't completely out of the ordinary.

He felt not the slightest bit of pain.

Yes...

He didn't feel any pain, but as he witnessed his body slowly disappearing into ashes.

The Second Elder experienced a fear that was several times worse than being directly plunged into the deepest recesses of hell!

His whole body quivered and he tore his own vocal cords as he let out a shriek that was the loudest that he had ever produced since he was born. His eyeballs rolled over and protruded as web-like veins spread over his face and forehead.

But no matter how loud he screamed and how much he struggled...

The poison that he thought as the Blood Essence of a Demon had already integrated itself deeply in his body.

In fact, it had even replaced his blood...

The reason why he spilled no blood as the poison turned him into ashes was that there was no blood coursing through his veins anymore. It

was replaced entirely by the poison given to him by Gelial.

"Save... Save me..."

He only managed to utter these words as his entire body was finally consumed and turned into ashes by the poison.

Thud...

Another dull sound rang out as the City Chief and the First Elder found themselves on the ground. Their minds still haven't processed the fear that they had experienced, but they were already subject to the extreme fear that the Second Elder experienced before he died.

But this time, the two didn't give any violent reactions.

They just stared right at each other's eyes as the poison and despair slowly consumed their consciousness. It was at this moment, right before the poison consumed the remaining speck of the City Chief's consciousness that enlightenment dawned upon him.

"Heh... So this the reason why our ancestors would suddenly die without leaving any corpses. It turns out that they were turned into ashes by this despicable poison..."

The City Chief's remaining eye flashed with regret.

"I am sorry everyone, we let you down..."

"The ancestors of this City had spelled the doom for us all when they decided to transact with a demon..."

"At least, dying painlessly like this is better th-"

He never managed to complete his sentence as the poison finally devoured his entire body.