Chapter 7: The human realm

RICCARDO'S POV

The human world was in another realm. Their world and views were different from ours. We were stories—make-believe tales. Only a few knew we were real, and among those few was King Adolf, my ally and friend.

I never thought I’d make friends with a human, but Adolf saved my life once. I was severely injured after an ambush from some rogue werewolves.

Only after I had killed them did I realize how badly hurt I was. My healing abilities were slow—almost not working at all.

I somehow wandered into his realm by accident while trying to get home. He saw me injured and made sure I was taken inside and given immediate medical attention.

He didn’t even know I was a demon while doing all of that. I told him afterward, and he nearly had a heart attack when I proved it to him. Since then, we’ve been friends and allies. Only he, his wife, and some of their court officials know that supernatural beings are real.

Now, he needed my help.

The wizards were moving fast and attacking my allies. Since the incident with the Elders, they had become bolder and more aggressive. I knew it was only a matter of time before they faced me directly. Cowards. The wizards had cast numerous spells on the city, and Adolf sounded truly distressed in his letter as he described what he had seen and experienced.

He begged me to come and take a look—to see if I could break the spells.

I agreed.

I placed Antony, my most trusted guard after Harry, in charge of looking after my mother, and the general of the army, Caden, was to oversee the castle in the meantime. I would be gone for some time.

I had been avoiding eye contact with Luana since the morning incident. How could I have been so stupid? I didn’t even know what had come over me to say such horrid things. Like her? Impossible. Never.

But avoiding her was difficult—we were sitting in a carriage opposite each other. Harry was with the coachman. She kept looking in my direction, which was very uncomfortable.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” she asked, her voice slightly higher than usual.

I could tell she was pretending to care.

“Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know… You haven’t looked my way once today. Not that I’m complaining, but I thought you might be unwell or something. Didn’t you get enough rest?”

I understood the hidden remark. She must have noticed I knew, because she smiled—quite evilly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, really?”

She crossed her legs, her black floral dress rising just above her knee. I raised a brow.

“What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to seduce you.”

I leaned back, completely taken aback by her comment. Then I laughed.

“So that you can kill me, right?”

“Exactly. A slow, painful death.”

“You’ll have to try harder than that.”

“I’m trying really hard… You’ll see the results soon. I will kill you.”

“Let’s see, shall we?”

The carriage stopped—we had reached the valley. I was against the idea of teleporting to the human realm. I wanted to prevent any magical interference; our magic might clash with the wizards’ spells and cause more harm to the people there.

So, I suggested we travel to Keyys Valley, where magical energy was thinner.

As we got down from the carriage, I saw Luana run over to Harry and whisper something in his ear. They both began to laugh.

What was so funny?

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sire,” they both chorused.

She seemed genuine with Harry… and fake with me.

On arriving in Eastall City, the town looked unusual and quiet. The palace was just a stone’s throw away, so I suggested we walk. As we moved forward, I could feel the environment was dying—especially the plants. The trees had turned a dark shade of blue, the same as the bushes. The water in the stream had become a darkish grey.

This was definitely poison.

The appearance of the castle was in a much more horrible state than the town. It was wrapped with prickly vines from top to bottom. You could say it was being squeezed. Only the entrance door was free.

Adolf came out, running towards me like something was chasing him. I had written him a letter earlier, telling him I had arrived through my pigeon.

“I’m so glad you’re here, old friend. It’s good to see you,” he said, out of breath.

“It’s good to see you too, Adolf. Don’t worry—I’ve got this. You might want to step back.”

He did. Harry and Luana moved to shield him.

There were some spells that wizards performed that Demon Kings could break, but we kept it a secret. Only the kings could break fifty percent of their spells. Eternal sleep wasn’t among them.

I focused my eyes on the castle, my legs in a firm and steady position, my arms behind my back. I closed my eyes, then opened them again after three seconds.

At that moment, the vines started unraveling themselves under my stare. Slowly and gently, they dropped to the ground, the thorns withering as they fell. In no time, they were all gone, and the castle was free.

This was a poison spell. That was what had also affected the town. I needed to purify the air, the trees, and the water, or everything could die by the next day. I could perform the spell from where I stood, which was good—but Harry would have to check on things later.

“Purifica questa città e riportala a com’era.”

The wind blew aggressively, the ground shook, and the sky turned grey. Gradually, the trees and bushes turned green again.

The water fountain, formerly spouting grey water, returned to its clear, original color.

The sky brightened blue again, and the air became fresh.

Everything was back to normal.

“Oh, thank you, Ric. How can I repay you?” he said, shuddering as he smiled. He was relieved.

“It’s what friends do,” I replied with a smile.

Just then, an eerie presence filled the air. Luana felt it too, because she tapped my shoulder and pointed to the entrance. Her eyes were a bright shade of gold—it was the first time I had seen her like that.

“There’s a wizard inside the palace.”