A choking atmosphere suddenly enveloped the caverns.
Not a single Freyan remained within the same vicinity as that of Jin and Meldor. The moment Meldor struck Jin with one of his awfully painful thunder strikes— and the latter still standing up as if nothing happened— everything became serious.
In truth, none of them have seen anyone survive any of Meldor's powerful spells, and yet somehow; Jin barely sustained any damage. The fact that he was only suffering from a minor burn made them believe that he was indeed no ordinary demon. However, if it were the Jin of the past, he would've been toasted dry by now, easily.
None of them knew that, and as such, the acclaimed demon king in front of them was as equally domineering as their tribe leader.
"What a cocky demon you are. Tsk tsk, kid… I mean, your "Majesty"? Do you think I'm scared of that shiny little sword you have right there? Your proud family's heirloom? Pah! Don't make me laugh, that thing's nothing but an ornament!" Without warning, Meldor conjured and hurled a yellow energy ball towards the hovering Seyna.
As wise as he, or his programmed A.I., is, Meldor would obviously know what the Seyna was capable of, or so his program thinks. For a self-learning A.I., Meldor would certainly learn a thing or two from his, or other's, "past".
It is a way for them, the non-playable characters, to improve and evolve.
However, the current Seyna was different. It was now something no A.I. could learn.
The rushing ball of yellow light made its way towards the demonic sword Seyna; an unstoppable force seemingly lurking inside that very bright sphere. With such blinding speed, Meldor's attack would definitely destroy the sword— Only if it lands, that is.
*Swoosh!*...*Boom!*
A speeding sound followed by a supersonic boom echoed through the cavern walls;
*Boom!*
Another explosion followed as Meldor's attack landed, not on the sword, but on the cavern's roof. Rocks started falling. Jin nimbly moved around, evading the falling debris overhead. A cloud of dust puffed up from the impact, causing the surrounding visibility to tremendously drop. Jin could not see anything, and nor does Meldor, however—
A streak of red light suddenly illuminated the foggy cavern.
"Ack!" An anguishing cry suddenly resounded under the misty veil. The clouds of dust gradually cleared. A bloody Meldor appeared from the shroud, his entire body punctured with deep wounds. As soon as everything went visible once more; everyone could now clearly see what was happening:
The relatively tiny demonic sword Seyna was slaughtering the gigantic Meldor!
Meldor kept swinging his staff to shoo the pesky sword. However, a seemingly nonstop barrage of attacks kept rushing towards him. The sword was blindingly fast! If it were not for Meldor's Troll bloodline, which increases his regeneration by ten folds that of ordinary humans, he would've died from severe blood loss.
"This kind of trick… you won't get me like this, demon!" Instead of attacking the speedy sword, Meldor directed his gaze towards Jin. Without hesitation, he conjured and attacked Jin with the same lightning ball as he threw towards Seyna. The bright sphere streaked without stopping. A whistling noise resounded as it got closer to Jin, however…
Jin, who was now an agile beast instead of a beefy monster, swiftly evaded the attack.
The cavern was once more fogged with dust, reducing everyone's vision. A streak of red light zipped, and an anguishing cry resounded once more. The same scene unfolded, it looked grim for the tribe leader. The onlookers could not help but feel terrified, a sense of fear tingled own their spine. How was this possible? Even Meldor, the strongest one in their race, could be beaten into a pulp like this? The demon himself didn't even attack!
Meldor could not accept the fact that he was somehow being bullied by Jin.
Him? The strongest of the Freya race, being browbeaten by some third-rate demon king? Meldor was angered and struck the ground with his staff, a bright magic circle came about from the cracks that were formed. Instead of conjuring one ball of light at a time; Meldor created a dozen of them in a snap, as they all came about from the runic circle.
The cavern brightly illuminated from such spectacle. Taking revenge from all the beating he received, Meldor directed every single one of the spheres toward Jin. This time, he would surely get the brat. There was no way anyone could survive or even avoid a bombardment of such magnitude.
However, the very same thing happened, only in a much flashier fashion. Jin avoided every single one of the sphere attacks. Although some were close calls, none of them landed. Heaps of dust blew up once more, a thicker shroud covered the entire cavern.
Instead of a mild cry, an agonizing noise resounded within the dust clouds. It was no question that Meldor suffered another beating from the demonic sword. With blinding speed paired with limited visibility, there was no way anyone, even the great Meldor, could avoid the brutal volley of sword piercing...
"...Ack! Demon, st— Stop this!" Meldor pleaded, a flash of fear apparent in his eyes. What the hell is happening? How is it possible for an ornamental sword to deal such devastating damage unto him? Was this not just an object displayed by the Vel Frey's to flaunt their status? It was actually a lethal weapon all along? Questions flashed within Meldor's head.
As a self-learning A.I.; incomprehensible things would obviously bug Meldor.
The rest of the Freyans who were watching the one-sided "fight" felt enraged. However, none dared to step out and challenge Jin. They could not risk ending up with the same fate as Meldor. Although the Freya race somehow created a form of society, they were still savages; they still believe in the law of the jungle— Whoever is stronger deserves everything that the weak shouldn't. Jin, in this case, was obviously stronger than Meldor.
If Meldor were to attack any further, he would just end up getting brutally beaten by the sword. If only they were fighting outside… No, that wouldn't even make that much of a difference. Meldor could only look at Jin with imploring eyes. Although he was still a prideful being, he was no idiot. He felt like if he were to push the issue any further, the young demon king might not hesitate in ending his life.
In his mind, he would've done the same. Meldor would see no purpose in keeping a lesser leader to rule the people. If a stronger one appears, it would only be right for them to challenge the seat and dethrone the weaker one. It has been how they run their little society, and Meldor has had the best results thus far and was then chosen to lead.
"*Cough!* Cough!*...Tsk, you want to lead the Freya race? So be it… End me now and have your way." Meldor coughed a mouthful of blood. Although his regeneration was great, it could not keep up with the amount of damage he sustained.
"I am not here to end the life of a very capable ruler. You might have misheard what I said earlier; I came to ask for subservience, not domination." Jin clarified as he walked towards Meldor; withdrawing Seyna, toggling the skill off.
"Work with me, and let us make a utopia for others like us. Let us prosper together." Jin added. His sincere tone made everything he said very convincing, those that heard him would easily be wooed. However, Meldor was still hesitant. It was not about pride anymore; if he simply hands over the Freya race to the rulings of a demon, it would be in his conscience if anything bad would happen to them.
"I... I'll agree, but in one condition, I will still have a say in leading my people. This might be an insult towards your victory against me… But please, hear me out… I only want what is best for everyone here… for my people." Meldor replied while taking a knee.
Jin pondered for a moment, 'This counts as successfully completing the quest, right?'
Coincidentally, a notification rang,
...
[Side Quest: Lead the Freya Race] (Completed!)
["Although you're just partially leading the Freya people, it would be enough for now. Earn their trust further, and fulfill your promise to them; Lead them, and your own people, to prosperity. Keep your grandfather proud!... He's still watching you from beyond the grave."]
[Received Reward(s): Demon King Krell's journal]
…
'So it does count… then, that settles it.' Jin felt relieved after seeing the completion of the side quest. He then turned his attention towards Meldor. "That would be fine by me. I'd also want what is best for my own people as well. As allies, I want us to live together. Tsk tsk… this place isn't ideal for you, and your people to live in, isn't that right? Hmmm… You should move and stay in the Priyan Kingdom, how about it?"
Jin immediately proposed the idea of them, the Freya race, to move and live in the Priyan Kingdom. That way, he could ensure that there would be a strong fighting force staying inside the kingdom the moment the area re-opens. If his grandfather's experiment was successful, then these people are multiple times more capable than that of an ordinary demon soldier.
However, another idea popped inside Jin's head. 'Wait, is my speed right now fast enough to challenge the King Bushwolf? If I were to fight him, no... How about having Meldor and I work together... Damn, that might just work, right?'