Side Story Part I  

A demon’s scream echoed out shrilly before being cut off abruptly as Zeke stepped on its neck, a brittle crunching snap accompanying his action, followed by a frightening silence. His cold and piercing dark eyes stared down at the demon beneath his feet as he killed it without batting eyelid. Very much like how one would step on a bug and accidentally kill it without thinking twice about it.

Zeke lifted his head and turned to face upwards. His eyes slowly closed. Inky-dark smoke swirled around him as the short leaf blade sword that was

held in his hand which was covered with thick black demon blood disappeared in a whirl of smoke from his hand.

His hair had grown long, and it had reached down to his waist. When he opened his eyes, the whites were now visible in them. His pupils’ color had changed as well. There was now a rim of intense blue circling around his seemingly black inferno irises.

After staring up for some time, a long sigh escaped him before he moved again, passing through the pile of demons he had just slaughtered. Though the demons here do shed blood, however, the stink of their blood was different from the usual coppery iron scent that was characteristic of the inhabitants of the earth. These monsters’ blood was foul and reeked with the scent of decay and death, which was expected since this is the Underworld.

He then sat on a stone that had been spared of the splatter of blood from the earlier carnage and rested his wrist on his bended knee. On his other hand, the thumb and pinkie were fiddling with the wedding ring on his ring finger.

It has been a long while since that day. But the good thing was that Zeke did not have much luxury to drown himself from missing Alicia because of all the things he had to deal with in this world.

The underworld was apparently just as he had expected. It was nothing but a world of utter chaos. However, everything was more complicated than he had thought. There was clearly a definite pecking order even amongst the demons themselves. Demons go after each other even if they are from the same species, and wars were just endless. Lesser demons were fighting against lesser demons. From time to time, higher demons would appear and just one high demon would be enough to slay a hundred lower demons with one swing of their weapon. Dead bodies of demons and ripped limbs were strewn all over the ground, lending a more eerie air to the already gloomy atmosphere in the Underworld. The worse thing to all this chaotic situation was that he could not find his mother no matter how he searched.

He had also learned about the ridiculous game of power struggles going on in this world where all princes must fight for the right of succession to the throne. And the rules of the game were that they must kill each other until only one is left standing. Everyone who had the rights to the throne and was a descendant of the Darkness – this Underworld’s so-called god - was a participant in this game. And the last one who is alive will be the default new ruler of this world – the one who will be called the King of Darkness.

At this point, there were only four candidates left, including Zeke himself. The other two princess were strong and fierce and determined to end him. But too bad for them because he was more determined to stay alive. Also, he did not bother to hold his powers back like how he did back on earth anymore. Here, he unleashed the full potential of his demonic powers and allow it free reign. The two princes that had thought he was easy meat had bitten off more than they could chew. This was truly a dog-eat-dog world where the top dog reigns supreme.

Zeke had gotten information that the winner will be granted one wish and this wish could be anything the winner wanted. This had made him decide to actively participate in the game. And so far, he had managed to kill two candidates already. Well, it was not that he had a choice anyway. They were already going to kill him even if he did not intend to participate. He knew that this was a place where the rules of survival of the fittest is in play all the time. He was just more motivated to win when he had found out that the throne - which he did not want at all – was not the only price.

He was only gunning for that ultimate wish that could grant the winner literally anything they wanted. So initially when he had stepped up and joined in the game, he had gone all out and given his best in fighting and killing off all the demon armies that his opponents had thrown at him. He had slain and decimated countless demons. All in the hope that he would be able to get rid of his competitors and emerge the winner and claim that much coveted wish - only to be utterly disappointed as time passed. He had gradually come to learn of more things that had ruined his plans. As he fought against his competitors, he sometimes interrogated the higher demons who acted as the generals of his enemies. From them, he found out that the one who ultimately win is required to sit on the throne and rule the Underworld. And as the ruler of the Underworld, he would not be allowed to stay away for long periods of time in another world no matter how powerful he might be. It was apparently this world’s rule of nature. It was something no one could go against - not even the king of the Underworld himself.

As such, Zeke did not want this power. He had zero interest in it. What he wanted was to return to Alicia and never leave her and their child ever again. He was not interested in ruling this world! He only wanted to live a peaceful life with his family. That’s his dream right now. A dream that he would give anything up for to obtain.. And obtain it he would!