Minos watched as carriages and flying creatures approached the Empire, a tournament involving all of humanity's youth was going to take place.
Minos was on a mountain that was a great surveillance point for him at least, not many people would be able to see with clarity from the top of a giant mountain miles away from the Empire.
Minos watched calmly in a position where it seemed like he was meditating, the mountain was high so snow fell gently on him and its freezing temperatures didn't bother him in the slightest due to his thick fur.
Many great figures of humanity passed by Minos on mounts or in luxurious carriages, the saintess of the Holy Empire Yuruisu, the prince of the Keuian Empire, and royalty from kingdoms spread around.
Most demons with bad tempers like Ithral would probably take a shot at one of those carriages, but Minos having been alive longer than almost every living thing on the planet and in the demon world 'The Abyss', knew he couldn't face every human and make it out alive. The Abyss was a place where demons on par with Minos mainly resided, as it was a place with great resources for demons to train but now with their legion taking over this planet slowly, most of the demons realized that the planet they were currently conquesting 'Ixia' was far more beneficial for them... Especially since they have a long grudge against every race residing on it.
Minos watched as a talisman he had on his pair of pants began glowing a purple hue, it was linked to a curse that could tell the location of a person for a bit of time... And the person it was linked to was Dawn, in another location at the same time Dawn had been taking a sip of a drink she left sitting aside while she was training her swordsmanship.
"Ithral succeeded... Our lord will be proud!" A small chuckle escaped the minotaur's mouth and he began sliding down the mountain the opposite way from the Empire.
****
The elder demons were sitting around a table some rejoicing, some staying silent and indifferent.
"With this, our lord will reward us!" A demon celebrated
"Yes...Yes." Ithral said while looking at the table, he usually treated everything like bugs but around people clearly stronger than him he was respectful and reserved.
"Our attack will take place after the tournament, during the humans planned banquet. Do not forget our goals and overstep your bounds..." Minos warned the demons with a serious look.
"Yes, Elder Minos!" The demons bowed their heads slightly.
"Azgorath, Ithral, Mala, and Morpheus will hold off the human's main forces, I will personally find the Hero and the dragon."Minos declared
Demon ranks went by, King-Prince-Great-General-High ranked-Low ranked. Minos was a Prince ranked demon, Azgorath was a great demon, and Ithral, Mala, and Morpheus were general demons. Azgorath was a demon with white long hair, red eyes, and a very handsome appearance he looked mostly human and could function in human society due to his ability to conceal his demonic energy. Mala had green hair and eyes green-tinted skin, and long fangs, and was very beautiful. Morpheus's appearance was just black, he looked like he was censored out by something, and he looked like a shadow.
"The rest of you here will... open a gate to The Abyss in the outskirts of the Central Empire, which will give them even more chaos to worry about... And will allow other prince-ranked demons to ascend onto Ixia."
Gates required pure mana, so within demon territory it was impossible to open gates to The Abyss, due to the demon's unique nature that corrupted mana. Even despite all the negativity towards demons some, demons are granted citizenship in other races' domains and are assumed to have betrayed their own race.
*****
Buttoning up my Disciplinary Committee uniform I entered a large room, it was a reception where youth entering the tournament would register. The tournament was simply known as ' Crossael' the name coming from the original winner of the tournament who funded and established it as a tournament between nations. Occasionally during the Crossael other races like orcs or elves would turn up, but because of the current crisis at their borders dealing with demons, it would dangerous for the youth.
In about an hour, many people would begin pouring into the room to register for the tournament, I would probably see Dawn and many other popular figures. The room itself was about the size of 4 football fields and it was luxurious with white tile floors, golden beams, and arches. The Disciplinary Committee was stationed here to support regulating any altercations between youth, as well as to speed up the registration process.
'Lately, it seems I've been getting closer to Zenith again... I have dreams about his life and sometimes It seems I hallucinate him in corners of my room or in crowds. This might mean our souls are fusing to a higher level, maybe I'll be able to learn the next forms of his swordsmanship...'
Every form of Zenith's swordsmanship is incredible, especially everything after the second form. From the third form, each of the forms is versatile for a situation and each of the forms have a name,
Third Form- Falling Blade
Fourth Form - Sky Cutter
Fith Form - Judgement Cross
Sixth Form - Soul Splitter
Seventh Form - Blade Devour
Eighth Form- Reflection
Ninth Form - Dominance Draw
Tenth Form- Eternal Blade
Forms 3-9 are all versatile forms that can be used in different situations, while the Tenth Form is on a whole different level compared to them, even though I wrote great descriptions of them, It's impossible for me to even attempt the Eternal Blade It seems like it goes against the rules of nature and every other rule...
'Once I assimilate with my true lineage I should be able to use most of the forms. These names are kind of embarrassing though... Perhaps I won't get into the habit of saying them out loud? I shouldn't.'
There was one minute left until everyone could enter, all of the Disciplinary Committee members each had a task, mine was to stand guard at the entrance and report any suspicious activities and greet the entering people.
The Crossael was amazing but it wasn't why everyone was here, most of the attendees were here because of the anniversary banquet taking place a few days after the end of the tournament, the banquet wasn't just a banquet it was a festival throughout the entire capital, but for nobles and famous figures, they could attend the banquet... The reason why the banquet was so popular besides the festivities and the Empire itself was that there was a room where just the youth would be in there allowing every young talent granted entrance to the banquet to meet and socialize with each other.
This was important mainly because of Dawn a born legend who carried around a holy sword that could vanquish demons with a small nick on the arm, and it even released holy power. Being a Hero on its own was Unique Magic, the Hero had access to powerful Holy abilities and unparalleled talent... 'Truly an individual made for thwarting demons.'
The guard in front of me opened the door closest to me, knocking all the thoughts out of my head and I began greeting everyone entering... 'This tournament should be fun.' I smiled brightly.