Somewhere in the demon realm, a couple of days prior....
A demon lord lay tattered and bruised on the ground. His pleas for mercy still echoed the castles corridors even though he had long given up at the notion. He had failed his mistress, and as the Demon King of Destruction, she was just fulfilling her role. When she saw that I returned empty handed, with both my companions dead, she didn't ask or say anything. She just immediately started beating me.
I knew what fate awaited me when I returned. Facing the demon to the death was a better option than returning to her. The only reason that I even returned was to inform her of the danger that demon posed.
"My lady, I understand I have failed you and accept my fate. But, please, allow me to tell you something of dire importance before you end me." I beg of her.
Her fist pauses just inches from his face. "Fine. I should at least hear you out before you die."
Fighting through the intense pain that assaults his body, he manages to rise into a kneel before her. "We followed the demon you sent us after for weeks, but we are positive that he's capable of immediately teleporting off the demon realm at a moment's notice. Once he returns, it's in a completely new spot anywhere.
We had a chance encounter with him a week ago and learned that he's as big as this castle. We attempted to trick him to buy us some time to catch up with him, but he has high levels of intelligence and ran off before we could.
A couple of days ago, we sensed his presence once more and finally engaged with him. His appearance was slightly different, and he was in a crazed state. Unable to communicate with him, we engaged in battle. Whatever we did to him just healed back at an extreme rate, and the moment Bruiser went in to restrain him, he was consumed by him." I tell her.
"Wait... you said consumed him?" She asks and I weakly nod.
"Mana core and all. Not only that, but his power seemed to increase as well. Soon after, Murky was consumed as well. I only escaped to bring you back this information to warn you of the threat he poses. That is all I have to report to you." Having finished, he collapses to the ground, too exhausted to remain kneeling. However, he was no longer the Demon King's concern. She had stormed off the moment she heard him confirm that a demon was eating other demons and growing more powerful.
Heading into the deep recesses of her castle, where none dare venture without her permission, she comes to a wooden door in one of the basements. She pauses before it, shivering a little at what she was about to encounter, then enters.
A swirling vortex of energy spirals continuously spirals around the room until it begins to trail to the figure in the center of the room. A giant floating eyeball constantly absorbs the energy through its iris. Unable to stare at this thing for long, the Demon King clears her throat, making the demon pause in its consumption of the energy.
She allows the voice to enter her mind. "Ah, my King. My apologies, as I am not yet at the capacity to perform the divination into the church quite yet." His nasty voice echoes throughout her head, making her cringe but she tolerates it for now.
"Forget that, I have more important matters for you to divine into." She tells him.
"More important than the annual raid? Oh, do tell." He says starting to come towards her in excitement. She holds her hand up, making him stop his approach.
"There's a demon within my territory, who is capable of using the ritual at will. He's as huge as this castle apparently and shows high intelligence. Can you find him for me?"
The demon wastes no time in fulfilling her request, as his eye turns completely black, and stars appear on them. After a few seconds, the demon hums with excitement. "Oh, he is a big boy. He's currently collecting quite the bit of mana cores. Although it would appear that he's finished and is leaving back to the human world. Hmmm. That's interesting." The eye demon muses.
"What is it?" The Demon King asks with a bit of impatience.
"It would seem that I cannot see where he has traveled to. There is an alternative, as I can use all my accumulated energy to see where he will return. Is that what you wish?" He suggests.
The Demon King mulls the thought over. No doubt this meant that they would have to skip this year's raid, giving the other Demon Kings the possibility to ascend to Demon God. However, she wasn't dumb to let this demon remain unchecked. There was really only one option. "Do it." She commands.
All the energy in the room disperses as the demon's eye glows a brilliant gold color. This was really the only part of the interaction with this demon that she enjoyed. Just as quickly as everything started, it ended as well.
"He will reappear in the fifth quadrant, near the borderline of your territory within two days. Good luck my King." With that, he falls to the ground, turning into stone. The Demon King lets out a breath of air in relief. She hated having to interact with him as his appearance weirded her out. Why did he have to look so disgusting.
Leaving the room without another thought as she knew he was going to remain in that stone form for quite some time, her mind was filled with plans on how to continue. She contemplated going herself, before quickly dismissing the thought. Leaving her castle was a definite no, as the only thing that could stop a Demon King, was another Demon King. If word got out that she left her castle defenseless, they would scramble to come collect the valuable treasures she's accumulated throughout the years.
This would have to be left to someone reliable. Unfortunately, her only reliable lieutenant was currently groveling on the ground after getting beat by her. As she made it back to him, she noticed that he hadn't moved at all, making her sigh in disappointment. This is why she needed that demon under her. Someone more reliable than these fools.
"Listen, Slasher, you have an opportunity to redeem yourself. Here is where the demon will appear in two days' time. Use as much force as necessary to subjugate this demon." She grabs his head, pulling him up to her face. "Do not fail me again." She warns and he gulps.
She watches him scamper off to complete his orders as she sighs in exasperation. Eating others to increase your own strength. With a power like that, your growth would be limitless. If this idiot did what he was supposed to, his power would be hers to use.