"On our left!"
He called out, prioritizing on keeping the dark-scaled wyvern in the air steady on its path.
While the unlikely trio were soaring through the clouds, an unwelcome presence came at them from the left:
A verdant-skinned goblin with pointy ears, golden eyes, and leather armor fit for a rider, using a black-feathered griffin as its high-altitude steed.
"On it!"
Klaus steadied himself, sitting on one knee atop the wyvern's back as he drew an arrow from his quiver, pulling the mystical, lightly-glowing string of his white-built bow back as it let off a quiet hum.
"El Gaia: Bolt Release," he whispered the incantation, activating the seal inscribed on the pale bow.
With those words, he released the arrow from the string, allowing the mystically-enchanted projectile to move swiftly through the fearsome winds–THUNK.
Through the skull of the goblin, the arrow sank itself into it without any issue, enhanced by the quietly-spoken spell that augmented both accuracy, speed, and power.
"Nice shot!" Marlow smiled, standing up on the back of the soaring wyvern.
Even though the goblin rider was handled, the angered griffin still came, flapping its large wings as it dived towards the group.
"--Leave this to me!" The tall, well-built man dressed in cobalt armor smiled as he unbuckled his greatsword from his back.
As he gripped the ivory-strapped handle tightly, Marlow smiled as he mustered his monstrous strength, waiting for the griffin to draw closer before he reared his weapon back.
Just the movement alone of preparing for the massive swing generated a cold breeze before Marlow yelled out, swiping his thick, dark-steel greatsword through the high winds just as the large bird attempted to sink its talons into the wyvern.
The massive swing cut straight through the feathered avian, splitting it into two in a gruesome, but efficient matter.
"Hell yeah!" Marlow celebrated, returning his greatsword to the strap on his back.
As the burly, sharp-haired man celebrated by pumping his gauntlet into the air, a sharp turn from the wyvern made him lose his footing as he slipped.
"Woah–!"
"I've gotcha!"
The black-haired half-demon had caught the muscular man by his wrist, holding a smile as the two shared a laugh.
Though he wasn't the one who slipped, Klaus was freaking out, helping Merlin lift their third onto the back of the wyvern.
"Jeez…" Klaus held his chest after returning his bow behind his back.
"Ha-ha! That was close!" Marlow boisterously laughed.
–
"This…thing goes fast! Way too fast!"
Klaus said through his rippling cheeks as he held tightly onto the scales that protruded from the wyverns back, holding on for dear life as it moved at breakneck speeds.
"Ha-ha! This is amazing!" Marlow held his arms up, enjoying the flight through the clouds.
"Isn't it?" The half-demon smiled with a hearty laugh.
It wasn't long before they broke through the mass of dark clouds that acted as a light wall around the massive kingdom that stood as the paramount of the world powers: Grandzania.
The black-scaled wyvern slowed down briefly as the famous empire came into view at last.
"Woah…" Klaus let out.
It stretched far and wide, even reaching high as the grand castle reached up past the clouds, extending far into a network in the sky.
"Alright…land us right over there," he told the wyvern, patting its back.
A murmur sounded from the small wyvern's mouth as it flapped its massive, powerful wings, guiding the three towards the colossal, red-steel keep that stretched into the sky.
There was a bridge that extended from one of the cloud-high floors of the royal castle, made for such landings as the creature landed itself on its smooth surface.
"...Alright, we're here! Well…for better or worse, that is," he claimed, hopping off of the wyvern's back and looking up at the imposing keep.
"This is it, huh…? The famous "Abode of Primordial Lords"--holy crap, I think I'm going to piss my pants…" Klaus nervously chuckled.
It didn't help that powerful, high-altitude winds howled against them while the three stood on the bridge.
"Come on–I'm sure they're already waiting," he said, beckoning for his two companions to follow, "--Though, I don't mind making them wait."
"Demons move pretty fast, huh?" Marlow chuckled.
"...Really. They don't waste any time around here, do they?" Klaus added.
The two followed him inside the large, lavish door to the high floor of the massive keep. As soon as the two humans entered the castle–they immediately froze.
A gigantic gathering of magical energy swirled in the interior; piling up to such a density that the idle nature of the mana took to a tangible heat–causing the two to sweat just from being inside of the castle for a few seconds.
What's this? I've never felt anythin' like this before, Marlow questioned.
This is…a royal demon gathering?! Klaus thought.
"What's wrong? Are you two coming, or what?" He looked back at the two.
They were already clad in sweat and breathing heavily, just standing in the empty corridor that was decorated with paintings and antiques.
Of course, they could see Merlin was completely unaffected by the magical pressure that occupied the space.
"He's somethin' else, ain't he?" Marlow said with a wry smile.
Klaus nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead, "...It's nothing to him; this overwhelming magical pressure…Amazing."
They looked on as the black-haired young man's emerald cape flowed behind him as he marched forward, adjusting his greaves as he stopped just before the tall, black-steel door before him.
"It's been awhile since I've seen my family–half a decade, I'd say. Ever since I was exiled by Father and became an adventurer," he said, looking up at the door.
It bore the insignia of the royal demon family: a horned dragon head that protruded with immaculate craftsmanship on display.
"Are you going to be okay?" Klaus asked, trying to hide his shaking hands.
"You should be asking that to yourself," he smiled with a small laugh, "--I know this is all a lot, and pretty sudden–you two don't have to come in."
Marlow placed his dense, cobalt gauntlet on the young man's shoulder, giving him a bright smile, "Are ya' kiddin'? I'm not missin' an opportunity like this over anythin'! There's not a damn human in this world that can claim to be present for somethin' like this…"
"I feel the same way…It's frightening–but at the same time, I'd never forgive myself for not following you through those doors, Merlin," Klaus told him.
He looked at the two that had been his loyal companions for a good couple years now, seeing the conviction in Marlow's gray eyes, and the resolve in Klaus' emerald eyes before smiling himself and nodding.
"Then…without further ado!"
He placed his hands against the heavy doors, exerting his strength as he parted them slowly, revealing the chamber that laid beyond the illustrious gates.
As soon as those dense doors were opened, that dense, fiery pressure that was held within the castle was magnified, or rather, unleashed in full against the two humans who felt it pour into the corridor like a breathtaking storm.
It was when those two companions of the demon prince walked into the large, exuberant room that they found out where the swirl of imposing aura came from:
The room resembled a ballroom; a place of reprieve–food was laid out and musicians playing. It seemed impossible to dictate what could merit such overwhelming pressure at first before they realized–
Present in that room were all of the members of the Demon Lord's bloodline; all in one place, chatting among each other at the banquet.
Even more imposing was the sight they saw beyond the renowned crowd: sitting in a colossal chair at the other end of the room, the Demon Lord himself sat, dressed in his intimidating, massive set of all-black armor.
"That's…" Klaus muttered in disbelief.
Marlow nodded, "--The Demon Lord. Holy…I've only heard about him from children's stories…"
The archer gulped, "He's pretty damn huge, isn't he?"
"Huge is an understatement, ain't it?" Marlow responded.
While the two were distracted by the overwhelming presence within the banquet hall, Merlin had disappeared from their sights–blending into the royal crowd that gathered at the impromptu event.
"Where did he–?" Klaus looked around.
"Err…" Marlow's eyes went wide, pointing in front of him, "Is that…?"
Just as Klaus looked up to where the burly man was pointing, his eyes widened as well, looking at where their friend seemed to disappear to.
Not only them, but it seemed the entire crowd turned to look at the black-haired, half-demon, half-human.
"Yo, pops."
He placed a single boot on the marble steps that led up to the Demon Lord's dragon-wing designed seat, commanding a deafening shock wave beneath his stomp, holding a confident smirk as he looked up at the one who ruled over the world-stretching empire.
"Long time no see," he said with a certain lack of respect.