Supreme Monarch

Winged City - South Borough

Patric Pazuzu woke up earlier than usual on what was supposed to be an ordinary weekday and proceeded to clean himself up. His house was a relatively decent one when compared to the others in his neighborhood but he still could not afford to have a decent plumbing system installed in it so he had to heat the water himself.

Truth be told there weren't many households in the city that would be able to afford the luxury of magically heated water running directly through the taps so he considered himself to be doing quite well for a man of his status.

Normally it was his wife's job to prepare him for work including drawing his bath, but today was different. He had gotten up far too early and did not have the patience or courage to wake her up so he had to fumble his way through the process.

He was also feeling quite anxious and could not stand the thought of laying in bed for even a second longer. The south borough patrol guards had been very busy lately and as one of the first responders to that messed up scene two nights ago, he had been placed in the spotlight and had built up a lot of stress recently.

His accumulated fatigue hit him all at once the moment he woke up, yet his built-up anxiety for today did not let him stay in bed. After he was done cleaning up and eating the leftovers from his dinner last night, even though he had no appetite, he cleaned up his equipment and shined his armor and weapon, a task he hadn't done so seriously over the past few years now.

He finished his task pretty quickly and immediately got dressed. Everything was done even before the sun had begun its rise. Without even bothering to kiss his wife goodbye, a decision he was sure would haunt him for a while, he left his home in the upper parts of the south borough and headed north, the winter's cold slightly negated by his armor.

While there would be no public carriages at this hour of the day, he was still able to find a private carriage fairly easily. Some drivers would usually fall asleep In their carriage at the corner of the major streets and he just had to wake them up.

In the twelve years he had been a patrol guard in Winged City, he had never taken a private carriage before as the only places he needed to go were usually within walking distance and within the fixed route of the much cheaper public carriages.

"Oi old man, take me to Royal borough."

"fwaaaah... why you so early lad... Fine, that'll be 15 DC."

"What! Don't make a fool of me old man. I know the price is not even half that."

"It's too early, hard to navigate, if you're not going then buzz off."

"You greedy old geezer."

Gritting his teeth, Patric reluctantly handed 10 DC over to the old man and boarded the carriage. The usual hour-long trip felt like it was more than four hours as he repeatedly tapped his feet rapidly on the ground.

"Hey, Oi lad! we've reached Royal borough, where exactly are you headed."

"Oh right, sorry... take me to the lord's castle."

"Huh, important fellow eh... Yet you're still complaining about a measly 15 DC, I should charge you more."

"When you look at me head to toe, do I seem important to you?"

"Ehh... Who knows, anything goes these days you know. I heard something massacre a lot of people only a few days ago, haven't heard of something like that happening in decades. Probably those Noblist factions again. Could even be the demon god worshippers or those shady underground organizations. Things seem to be changing a lot recently you know."

Sigh..." Tell me about it."

Patric was well aware of the fragile state of the demon society right now but he wasn't in any position to make a difference so why would he bother himself about it. He had his problems to deal with after all.

The now quiet carriage ride went on for another 10 to 15 minutes before finally coming to a stop in the front of the castle's gate at the top of the hill. Upon alighting his carriage, Patric was overwhelmed by the sight of the massive and imposing building before him.

While this castle was on the smaller side in comparison to the ones at the main city of the other regions. Patric had no way of knowing that. This was the first and only castle he had ever seen in his life as he had never left the confines of Winged City.

Plus, he had only ever seen the castle from a distance and had never been so close to it. As he basked in the majesty of the castle that was currently bathing in the first rays of the morning sun, a second carriage suddenly arrived and stopped next to his and a familiar figure alighted from it.

It was a man with short brown hair, an unusually clean and well-maintained beard, wearing a similar armor as his. The armor shined as though it was brand new as it appeared to also be well maintained along with the sword that was strapped to his waist.

"Gaap, you came earlier than the time we were asked to be here, this is the first time I've seen you this early for anything."

"Ah... Patric, you're early as well, what's wrong? Couldn't sleep, haha."

"You don't seem to have slept better yourself, look you have bags under your eyes."

"Uh! I do?"

"I'm joking my friend, don't lose your wits so early in the morning."

"That was not funny man, damn, you're really terrible when you're sober."

"Fine I get it, let's just wait in silence then."

While there were guards stations at the castle's gates, the pair did not bother to approach them as it was not yet the time they were requested to be here. They both patiently waited in the corner for that time to arrive before approaching the gates and then stating their reason for coming to the Palace guards and they were quickly allowed in, most likely because they had already received orders about that.

—Inside the Castle.

In the main hall inside the castle at the center of the city, Patric and Gaap waited patiently for the city's lord to be ready for them. The place was quiet as it was still a little too early for guest to visit the castle, although there was still a few of them.

The only other people they saw were the patrolling guards, the maids, and occasionally other workers in the castle. The place was so eerily quiet that they were sure that if they weren't called in anytime soon, their hearts might give up on them.

Luckily, a maid soon walked over to them and invited them to see the lord in his office. They followed the pretty maid closely behind and soon arrived by the doors of the Lord's office.

*Knock, knock, knock...

Standing at the front of his office, the maid placed a knock at the door which startled the both of them for a moment. Soon they heard a deep crispy and curt voice speak from within the room behind the door.

"Enter."

As the maid gently opened the door after receiving permission from the inside, Patric and Gaap felt their throats run dry as cold sweat ran down their backs. They struggled against their nerves and walked in behind the maid as she gently bowed at the only occupant in the room.

Behind the large and exquisite desk at the end of the well-furnished office, was an elderly man that seemed to be in his forties if one was to judge his age by Human standards. He had a chiseled face and his back was as straight as the blade of a sword, his hair was completely grey and his face was cleanly shaved. He had deep blue eyes and wore an elegant black suit with a similar coat draped over his shoulders.

Patric saw the man behind the desk go through a stack of papers with a deadpan expression on his face as he would occasionally sign a few with the expensive-looking quill in his hand.

The moment the maid walked inside the room with the pair and bowed before Aur, he finally put his quill down and looked at them, his gaze was sharp and penetrating. It instilled a faint pressure upon those that were mentally weak and Patric and Gaap— being only of the tier 1 standards— could not withstand it as they instinctively lowered their heads before him.

This was not the effect of a skill nor the results of any spell. It was just the dominating effects that high-ranking demons had on lesser demons. Before the effects of politics and the adoption of the nobility system.

Demons were at the core, creatures that belonged to a natural hierarchy of life. They were ranked purely based on their life order and nothing else, ranging from lesser demons to Arch Demons, a system that was now broken down into various noble titles.

"Lord Aur, these are the guards from the South you requested for "

"I see, well then, give me the full report of what happened."

"..."

"Ah... Ye-Yes sir."

At Aur's commanding tone, Gaap couldn't even find the words to speak properly. It was Patric who was somehow able to hold back his nerves and respond.

He then proceeded to narrate the entirety of what they had witnessed two nights ago in the junkyard district of South borough. While he had hoped to add in some details to make himself look better than he had been, the penetrating glare of the noble demon before him allowed no such thing.

They told him everything that they had saw even though it had not been much but Patric knew that it must've been important if the Lord of the city had chosen to see people like them personally.

"Is that all.?

Patric nodded at Aur's question nervously, wondering if today was the day he would die for being an incompetent guard after getting away with it for so long. They hadn't seen anything else aside from the empty junkyard and the body parts that had been scattered on the ground all over the place.

"Very well, that's fine."

Aur nodded his head as he stroked his chin gently for a moment. He then stood up from his seat and walked silently to the open window behind his desk as he stared blankly at the view before speaking again.

"I have a job for you both."

"A, a job?"

"Yes, I want you to investigate what's been going on in the south for the past few weeks now, I'm afraid I have very limited information due to the incompetence of those that had been assigned to that place so I need someone that would be able to move around unnoticed and you both fit the bill."

"W-We do?"

"Yes... I'll need you to periodically bring me information on what's been going on there, including information on the gangs and organizations that operate freely within the South. Of course, you both will be rewarded handsomely for this."

As those words left his mouth, the maid quickly walk over to the pair and handed them each a small pouch. Upon opening the pouch their eyes widened, there were several pieces of gold coins in the pouch, each having a value of more than 3,000 DC. That was way more than what they could each earn in a year.

"We'll do it."

The one that spoke first was Gaap as there was no way they could decline a request from the lord of their city in the first place so why would they refuse such lucrative payments for their work. Knowing that, Patric could not refute him for speaking for him as he would've done the same given only a few more seconds.

"One more thing, I also need you to investigate a new merchant by the name of Lix, I was told he was last seen leaving the city with a few hunters on a quest so start from there. It is my understanding that the guards of the south have a better relationship with the Hunter guild am I correct?"

"Huh... Yes my Lord."