In the demon realm, the sky was perpetually shrouded in darkness, with the distant cries of undead birds echoing through the air, leaving trails of deathly waves in their wake. In the midst of a vast plain, a towering and sinister castle stood imposingly, with no other sentient demon life forms within a ten-mile radius. This was the castle of Rotgar, one of the five Archdukes of the Abyss in the demon realm. No one dared to approach.
Suddenly, the stillness was broken. Above the castle, a teleportation circle emitting a faint purple glow opened, revealing two intertwined figures. As soon as the man and woman appeared, a dozen black flame arrows shot up from below, aiming to pierce them through.
The man with horns atop his head moved his shoulder slightly, and the thin wings on his back enveloped the pair. The black flames hit the thin membrane but were all deflected and dissipated.
"Hey, Rotgar, is this how you welcome me?" the man called out discontentedly as he unfurled his wings.
From the castle, a tall figure with large wings flew out. His long black hair billowed in the wind, and beneath his curved black horns, his handsome and sinister face showed displeasure. His long, narrow eyes, filled with mockery, narrowed further. With a sardonic smile revealing sharp white teeth, he said, "Baran, since when did I ever welcome you?"
"Come on, we've been friends for thousands of years. Do you really need to be so unfriendly?" Baran laughed it off, unfazed by Rotgar's attitude. "I'm getting married and came to personally deliver the invitation!"
With a flick of his hand, an intricately crafted invitation landed in Rotgar's hand.
Rotgar held the invitation between his fingers, his gaze shifting to the woman Baran was holding. Just one glance, and he knew she was a human woman.
The human woman had thick, golden hair, and delicate, beautiful features, but her expression was that of a frightened deer in the woods. At this moment, she was tightly clutching Baran's waist, as if afraid of falling.
Rotgar, being a demon, and one of the five Archdukes of the Abyss who had climbed out of the abyss, was a natural-born racist, looking down on other races, especially the weak humans, whom he saw as dirty and useless.
Every time he met Baran, he would mock him, but over the millennia, he had indeed come to regard Baran as a friend. Now, hearing that Baran was to marry a human woman, he thought his friend was joking. "Have you lost your mind? A human woman is filthy to touch, and you want to marry her?"
"Hey, don't say that in front of my future wife. Katherine is different. She is as pure and beautiful as a unicorn, and I have fallen in love with her," Baran interrupted Rotgar and then looked down at his future wife, lifting her chin and kissing her tenderly.
Katherine blushed, wrapping her arms around Baran's neck, looking enchanted.
Rotgar frowned deeply, wanting to make the annoying couple leave.
Considering his friend's feelings, Baran quickly ended the kiss and looked at Rotgar in high spirits. "Rotgar, I used to think that physical pleasure was the best thing in the world, but now I've discovered that the taste of love is the sweetest. You should stop hiding in your castle and experience the wonders of love yourself."
Rotgar snorted. "Love? Your love is for a lowly and deceitful human? Baran, you are a disgrace to demons. I bet you'll be ruined by a human woman sooner or later."
"Don't say such harsh things, Rotgar," Baran complained. "There are some deceitful and annoying humans, but there are also pure-hearted ones like Katherine."
He smiled tenderly at Katherine, who blushed deeply, her emerald green eyes reflecting Baran's handsome face.
Unable to bear it any longer, Rotgar turned away, saying coldly, "Do as you please. I won't attend your wedding."
He ignited a black flame in his hand, burning the invitation to ashes.
Before Rotgar could return to the castle, Baran called out, "Rotgar, let's make a bet."
Rotgar paused, looking at Baran with newfound interest. "What bet?"
Baran said, "You look down on human women, thinking they are all vain. Before the wedding, there are still six months left. If you can get a hundred human women to accept your marriage proposal within these six months, you win. If you can't, you have to attend my wedding."
"If I win, you'll kill your love?" Rotgar sneered, finding the bet laughable but intrigued by the challenge.
Katherine shrank back at Rotgar's words.
Baran quickly comforted her and glared at Rotgar before saying, "If you win, I'll give you the Abyssal Seed I acquired recently."
Rotgar's eyes changed. What was once a slight interest had now turned into a determined goal. He had been searching for the Abyssal Seeds for thousands of years and had only found two. Baran's seed was something he had to have!
"Deal," Rotgar said with a confident smirk. "You can keep it safe for me during these six months."
Baran, seeing Rotgar agree, didn't mind his possessive attitude and added maliciously, "But you can't force them to accept your proposal, nor can you bring them to the demon realm. You have to use your charm to win their hearts in the human world."
"Human women are easy to handle without force," Rotgar replied nonchalantly.
"Then I'll wait for your good news," Baran said with a sly smile, activating the teleportation circle and leaving with Katherine.
As the teleportation light faded, Katherine softly asked Baran, "What if he wins?"
Her voice, as soft as silk, made Baran's heart tremble. He quickly flew them back to their bedroom, dismissing her concerns. "He will lose. With his terrible personality and inability to speak kindly, no woman would marry him."
"But..."
"Shh, don't mention him anymore. I get jealous. Call my name, sweetheart."
"Ba... Baran..."
Meanwhile, Rotgar returned to his castle, folded his wings, and walked through the empty, cold corridors to the underground level.
He knew that Baran offered the Abyssal Seed as a bet because, unlike him, Baran didn't care much about it. Baran also believed he would lose the bet. As his friend for thousands of years, Baran had often said that even if he truly fell in love, he couldn't pursue the other person because he couldn't say nice things and would drive any woman who loved him from love to hate with his words alone.
But even Baran didn't know that Rotgar's innate ability, "Possession," allowed him to obtain some of the target's memories when used.