The moment they went through the gate, they felt uneasy. They couldn’t tell if the feeling came from the sorrow that was in the demon world or if it was being in the presence of so many demons.

  “Well, I guess there's no returning now,” Elena said as she looked at the city that was right in front of her.

  “Yeah, so this is where our journey begins. It really does give an uneasy feeling. I can feel pain and sorrow everywhere,” Shane said as he looked at the wall between him and the city.

  Around the demon world, volcanic ash would fall. This is why Arthur had made sure that each of their outfits had a mask.

  Because of the change in environment, it would take time for their bodies to adapt. Since they couldn’t breathe in ash for long, they had to wear the mask to breathe normally.

  As they moved on forward to other cities that were closer to the demon king’s castle, the less ash there would be. Currently, they are in the lowest city, which the demon king has basically abandoned.

  “Elena, Shane, make sure you wear your mask at all times here. This is the most toxic air in the entire demon kingdom,” Arthur said as he put on his mask.

  When Shane and Elena hear what Arthur had said, they instantly put on their mask without hesitation.

  “Wow, it feels a lot better now. I can feel the sensation of pain and sorrow going away,” Shane said as he looked at the ash falling around him.

  “That makes sense. Each particle of ash bears sorrow and pain. The mask keeps you from breathing in the ash. We will be able to take off the mask as we move forward,”

  “Why would we be able to take off the mask later?” Elena asked, looking at Arthur.

  “Well, we are currently in a city that the demon king basically abandoned. When demons deem a city unnecessary, they abandon it and that leads people to fall into even more pain and sorrow. The only thing they get is a general stationed here, and it seems like the one here has brought a lot of suffering to the people,” Arthur said as he looked at the large amount of ash that was floating around the air.

  “Why would they abandon a city that is next to a gate. Wouldn’t that cause a lot of problems if other angels infiltrated the demon world?” Shane asked as he looked at the gate that had now shut.

  “This gate was on its last use; it will completely disappear after a 1 or 2 more openings. So they abandoned it when they realised it would no longer serve them. It’s really sad how easily they abandon their people here.”

  Gates to the demon world were always near volcanoes, and the older they were, the less power the crest of the Demon King Akuma had.

  “So what is the name of this city in front of us?”Elena asked as she darted her eyes toward the city that lay in front of them.

  “Well, if I’m correct, the city in front of us is called Eilos. If we want to make it to the demon king's castle, we have to cross three more cities.”

  “So we have to cross three cities in less than 10 days. Is that possible? How far apart are the cities from each other?”

  “Well, we should have enough time if we can find transport. But it's going to be hard, especially in this city.”

  “Why is it especially hard here. I thought it would be the easiest here?” Shane asked as he started walking towards the city.

  “Well, there's a reason why there's a lot of ash here. It must mean that the general is not letting anyone leave without his permission.”

  “Wait, don’t tell me, if we want to get out of this city, we have to defeat one of the demon king's generals,” Elena asked as she began to look in fear.

  “There has to be another way, right. Can’t we just go around the city?” Shane asked as he stopped walking.

  “Sadly, we have to go through the city. Around the city, some traps had been set up to make sure that when the city was attacked, the angel had to enter through its front gate.”

  The city of Eilos was formally one of the most protected cities in the demon world, so who knew what kind of traps had been set up around it?

  Along with traps, they would also have to worry about the general environment. The barren lands of the demon world would also have lava pools and canyons with no end. So if lost, it would basically be a death sentence.

  Cities and general trails or trains were the only way to traverse the demon world safely. Without them, you would basically be walking toward a quick death.

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  “And, the moment we defeat the general here, word will spread that we are here. This will make them cautious and reinforce the other cities that lead to Demon King's Castle,” Arthur said as he began to think about what their next move should be.

  “So, what makes you think that we will be able to do what other angels couldn’t?” Elena asked.

  “Well, that's because we have Shane. I know he will surpass both royal families.”

  “Isn’t that a lot of pressure to put on me. I’m glad you have a lot of faith in me, but this seems a lot.”

  “Don’t worry, Shane, you also have us to support you. We will get through this together,” Elena said as she went to Shane's side.

  “Yeah, Shane, we will defeat this demon king so no one else has to suffer. So are you ready?”

  As Shane looked at Arthur and Elena, he remembered all the other people that he was doing this for. As he envisioned all their faces, his resolve strengthened.

  “Alright, let’s go.”

  “Hey, wait, before we go, Shane, bring out your katana. We’re going to need to be prepared at all times.”

  “But won’t they be able to tell that we were angels. Don’t they mostly have English broadswords?”

  “They won’t notice if you keep it hidden under your jacket. There should be a scabbard in your outfit for your katana and dagger.”

  “Oh, so that's why they were there. I was meaning to ask why you included them in my outfit.”

  Since Shane still had Enyo in his hand, he put that in the sheath on his right.

  As soon as Enyo was safely placed in his sheath, he said, “Bare your soul, Mika.”

  “Bare your soul, River”

  When both their katanas had formed, they immediately put them in their scabbards. Both their powers would go unnoticed because of the number of demons in the area, so that they wouldn’t be noticed for now.

  “So are both of you now fully ready?” Elena said as she began walking towards the city again.

  “Yeah,” Shane and Arthur said in sync.

  When they entered Eilos, they noticed that there were barely any people outside, and those who were looked wary of them. As they continued walking, they saw an inn.

  The inn looked a little dirty on the outside, resembling a Victorian-era inn, with wooden trim around the stone walls and elegant wooden carvings.

  When they entered the inn, the only person there was the owner behind a desk. Around the lobby were only a couple of sofas with red cushions and a coffee table in the middle of them.

  The moment they closed the front door, they all took off their masks because the air inside seemed safe.

  As the owner saw that people had entered his inn, he was shocked and said, “Oh, hello. I wasn’t expecting anyone to come by here. It's been so long, I thought I would never have a customer today.”

  “Hello, my name is Arthur, and it's nice to meet you. This is my son, Shane, and my daughter, Elena.”

  Arthur had told the owner a lie to keep their true intentions hidden. It would be better if he said they were a family so that the owner wouldn’t be too suspicious of them.

  “Hello Arthur, it’s nice to meet you and your family. My name is Randy. So how can I help you?”

  As Arthur got closer to the front desk, he signalled to Shane and Elena to take a seat on the sofas. When Shane and Elena saw that he signalled them to take a seat, they sat on the couch closest to them.

  “Well, we're looking for three rooms. We will be here for about two days.”

  “Ok, so you're planning to leave in two days. I’m surprised that you’ll even be able to leave the city. You must have some strong connection; it's tough to leave this city.”

  “You could say that. We’re currently travelling across the country because it might be the last time I see them for a while.”

  “That seems nice. So you asked for three rooms, that will be 100 irios for 2 nights.”

  Irios was the demon currency.

  As Arthur heard the amount, he pulled out two 50-irios bills and handed them to Randy.

  “Thank you for your service. Your rooms are right next to each other. They will be upstairs towards the right. I hope you enjoy your stay,” Randy said as he handed the keys to Arthur.

  “Thank you. Have a good day.”

  As Arthur picked up the keys, he headed toward Elena and Shane so they could go to their rooms.

  As they reached their rooms, Shane took the middle one, Arthur the one to the right, and Elena the one to the left.

  Each room was simple, with only a closet, a desk, and a bed.

  Before they entered their rooms, Arthur had told them to come to his room.

  As they entered Arthur's room, Arthur made sure the door was closed and that no one was listening to them.

  “Alright, so we have two days to get out of this city. Within those two days, we will defeat the general and find a way out of here.”

  “So what’s our plan, Arthur?” Shane asked, looking at Arthur.

  “Well, tomorrow we will go to a bar to see if we can find any information on the general in charge of this city. We will also know if we can spark a revolution here to make it easier. We will need to find some allies if we want to succeed.”

  “Alright, so we should rest tonight because tomorrow the real work starts,” Elena said as she looked at the floor.

  “It's great that both of you understand my plan, so make sure you get good sleep tonight: goodnight, you two,” Arthur said as he led Elena and Shane towards the exit.

  “Goodnight, Arthur.”

  “Goodnight, Mr Ravenscroft.”

  As everyone finished saying goodnight, Arthur closed his door, and Shane and Elena went to their rooms.

  “Well, are you ready for all this?” Shane asked as he walked Elena toward her room.

  “Yeah. I’m ready as long as I have you by my side.”

  As Elena finished speaking, she opened her door, and before going into her room, she said, “Goodnight, Shane. I hope you sleep peacefully.”

  When Shane saw her smile, he blushed.

  “Goodnight, Elena. I hope you sleep peacefully, too, because tomorrow we will flip this world upside down.”