Zach and Asmodeus casually walked towards the gates as if nothing was wrong.
"Only two guards?" Zach muttered and nudged Asmodeus. "I was expecting more guards at the gate."
"Don't touch me!" Asmodeus whispered violently. "And the gates of the cities are just for the show. The guards won't even ask for anything when we pass. Back in the day, there used to be deadly monsters in the forest, but we just passed through the forest and didn't even encounter any."
"Is that so? I thought they would ask for money to enter the city."
"The only city with heavy security is the capital, where the biggest gates of the inner hell are located."
"If I remember correctly, according to the map, the capital city is… four cities away?"
"Yes, but if we take a shortcut through the forest, seas, and mountains, we can save a lot of time. But it would still take us a few days, so let's buy some food for our trip, too," Asmodeus suggested.
Asmodeus passed through the gate, and so did Zach.
"Hey, wait!"
But Zach was called out by the guards.
Zach shot an annoyed glance at Asmodeus and turned around to look at the guards.
"What's up?"
The guards looked up and then looked at Zach with confused looks on their faces.
"..."
"Who are you, and where is your permit to enter this city?" one guard asked.
Zach glanced at Asmodeus to see if she could do anything to help, but she shrugged her shoulders.
'I don't think killing the guards would solve the problem. But why did they stop me and not Asmodeus? It must be because I don't have any demonic features on me. Asmodeus has horns and a tail, but I look ever so human.'
Zach stood in an arrogant stance on purpose and confidently said, "Do you know who I am? You dare to stop me? Do you want to face my wrath?!"
'Don't tell me he is going to reveal that he is a dead demon child. He won't… right?" Asmodeus thought to herself. 'He can't be that stupid. I would understand if he tells the citizens, but revealing to the guards who can order a warrant after him is undoubtedly the last thing he should do in the demon world.'
Zach proudly puffed his chest and said, "I am the strongest heavenly general lord and the leader among the seven demon lord's generals! I am the emperor of the mist! And you dare stop me from walking on my own land?!"
The guards gulped down in fear and began quivering.
"We d-didn't know!"
"You should know! I am not letting you off the hook! I will kill your family in front of you and then kill you!"
The guards fell to the ground and began begging for mercy.
"Please forgive us!"
"I will forgive you if you tell me where the best place to eat is in this town."
"Surely!"
Zach took the address from them and left with Asmodeus.
"..." Asmodeus was staring at Zach with squinted eyes on the way.
"Would you stop looking at me like that?"
"I must admit, your impression of the emperor of the mist was spot on. But then again, there were many differences between the two of you," Asmodeus remarked with a smirk.
"I am offended. Now, you have no right to yell at me when I do something to offend you."
"Like? What will you do? Touch me inappropriately?" she asked with a knowing look on her face.
Zach turned to Asmodeus with a disappointed look on his face and said, "Would you please stop bringing that up every time you don't have a comeback?"
"But I am just asking," she shrugged.
Zach raised his brow and asked, "Could it be that you actually enjoyed being tied up to the tree and threatened like that?"
"I didn't!"
"Actually, I also remember you letting out a moan when I accidentally touched your.. vagina."
"I didn't moan!" Asmodeus hissed with a flushed face.
"See? You don't like how I tease you about it on the same topic. So the next time you bring this up again, I will bring the moaning part."
"Grrr!" Asmodeus gritted her teeth and glared at Zach as though she was going to eat him up alive.
She only had this one trick she could use against Zach, which was no longer valid. Her frustration was over the roof.
After walking for a while, they reached the restaurant that supposedly had the best food in the city.
While eating, Asmodeus glanced at Zach and muttered, "I am actually surprised that you didn't cause any trouble yet."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We passed by dozens of guards on our way here. I expected you to attack the guards and start the revolution like the other city."
"This city doesn't seem so bad, and they are not treating their citizens like shit. And besides, the guards are simply doing their job. They have family and everything, and I don't want to take that away from them.
Unless, of course, they come at me first with the intention to attack me. Then there will be no mercy. It's not like every guard or demon is bad," he shrugged.
"..." Asmodeus didn't say a word and continued eating.
"The outer hell was empty like a draught in hell. I didn't see a single demon until the gates of middle hell, where I ran into the bandits. And I know that all the demons, including the soldiers and the citizens of the outer hell, were forced by the demon lord to pass through the crack and attack the realm.
I bet there used to be more guards and soldiers in the middle hell, too, am I right?" he asked curiously while passing a large piece of meat to Asmodeus.
"Yes," Asmodeus nodded while chewing. She pointed her gaze to her plate and asked, "Are you not hungry?"
"It's not that I am not hungry, but I just don't feel like eating. I will get the drink, though. And perhaps we will find some fruits in the market."
After eating, Zach and Asmodeus did some shopping for their trip and left the city. Zach didn't have the currency of hell, so Asmodeus paid for everything.
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