Chapters 34 and 35

~five years before~

"Cheer cheer!"

The entire colosseum was filled with applause and cheers as finally after many competitions with innumerable defeats, a new demon lord was declared.

The thousands of Demons that filled the colosseum with noise, fell silent once the Demon King, Val Dradrigo Eminence the second, arose from his seat.

He looked down at the two demons, the now lowest ranking demon lord and the used-to-be demon lord passed out on the ground.

A slight smirk of interest and satisfaction came upon the king's face as he looked down upon the young demon standing in the arena.

"What is...?"

Before the demon king could finish his question, the new demon lord pointed at his next competitor.

Not even acknowledging the king he pointed, staring down the second-lowest ranked demon lord.

"I challenge Demon Lord Casio, to his place in the ranks!"

It was rare to see someone win against a demon lord, let alone challenge the next highest seat. 

The king turned towards Casio, sitting in one of the farthest seats from the king.

The demon lord got up from his chair walked to the edge of the viewing balcony, then walked to the stairs.

He stepped firmly onto the sandy ground of the battle area.

The middle-aged demon lord, with a smug face, starred down the teen Demon lord.

King Val waited for the two to get in their ready-for-battle stances.

He peered down at the figures below and announced his approval.

"Begin!"

Once he heard those words uttered by King Val, he dashed forward.

Before Demon Lord Casio could even strike, a hand was already against his neck.

He fell to the ground with a thump, unconscious.

With ease, the newly announced demon Lord defeated yet another foe.

After a moment of silence, the new demon lord pointed toward the next demon lord.

He didn't even acknowledge the king.

————-

One after another, this youth performed an impossible feat, defeating all fifteen demon lords. 

Finally, the only person he could challenge at this point was the king, but once the king spoke, this new demon lord didn't point his finger or even interrupt.

He waited till the king finished his question, standing back straight, proudly in the middle of the arena.

"What is your name?!"

The new demon lord stared at the king.

"My name is Leon Vanity.!"

The king muttered to himself for a moment.

"Huh, Vanity."

He then put on a face and spoke loudly to everyone in the coliseum. "Welcome the newly integrated Demon Lord, Leon Vanity.!"

He looked down at Leon and spoke directly to him. "Demon Lord Leon, as a Demon Lord you'll receive a territory, with it, comes responsibility. Are you capable of handling this responsibility and helping our mighty empire prosper?!"

Leon nodded.

The King gestured to Leon with his hand to come up with the viewing balcony.

The crowds continued to cheer and scream in delight.

Leon jumped up the balcony, though it was more like a leap.

He now stood in front of the now-alone King.

The other Demon Lords were still recovering or unconscious, so they weren't present.

Leon knelt for the King.

"Vanity, that was the name of a demon lord, one of my best allies. Brutus Vanity was his name, though he died a little while ago. Are you perhaps related to him?"

"Yes, your highness. He was my father. Before his tragic death, he trained me to be a warrior as well as a future demon lord, just like him."

"Oh. Well, Brutus was a good demon lord, he knew how to handle certain scuffles for me. Now that I think about it, why didn't you just lay claim to his title? It would have saved you the effort of fighting all the other lords.?"

"I wanted to prove myself as worthy of the title. I didn't want to live off the achievements of my father."

"Haha, interesting. I hope you can live up to my expectations, as he did. You have already proven your skill today."

"Thank you, your highness. I hope for the same."

"We'll discuss your territory selection after the events today are completed, though with all the lords as they are now I doubt we could continue."

"Yes, your highness."

—————

"Ahem(clears throat), greetings your highness."

The 15 demon lords all now with new ranks, and statuses, were standing in front of demon King Val.

They all did slight bows, showing respect to the king who has remained in power all his life.

The group of lords all were in a meeting room.

A long table with enough chairs to be filled by each of the lords was in the center.

A large elaborate, nicely drawn map of the world laid flat on the long table.

The large demon continent was at the top of the map, with two slightly smaller continents near the bottom.

The two slightly smaller continents, the Elven and Human continents were connected by hundreds of islands. Some islands were large others small, mostly occupied by the Beast man race.

The northernmost part of the Human Continent is closest to the Demon continent. Everything that was under the Demon race's control was outlined in bold.

This huge mass of land was separated by dotted lines.

These lines separated the Demon Races' domain into 15-16 large territories.

The king in front of the map brought Leon the second-highest rank up close.

He gestured his hand towards to map.

"These are all the territories governed by Demons, each is controlled by a separate demon lord. As the new highest rank amongst the demon lords, you can pick any of these to control."

"Though you can't choose this one, I govern that one."

The king pointed towards the territory that had the capital in it.

"The best territories would be around mine, those usually would have a larger populace and economic growth."

Leon peered down at the map, looking at each territory.

He moved his finger along the paper, reading the cities and towns.

The other demon lords had no say in which he could choose, Leon might just choose the territory they were governing.

If a demon lord of higher rank chooses the territory you were governing, you would have to move out and go to a new one.

The more experienced demon lords knew this. Cold sweet and anxiousness started building between them all.

Eventually, Leon moved his finger towards a secluded territory, one broken off from the Demon Continent. He tapped the page, and all the demon lords, even the king looked astonished at his choice.

"Demon Lord Leon, I know I said you can choose any territory you wish to rule, but why would you pick Azeron."

"It's a good strategic settlement, with some thriving cities, a major port, since the Demon Race keeps pushing further down, it would be a good place to rule."

"If that's the territory you wish to rule, then Azeron it is."

The group of Demon Lords were pleased with his decision.

———

The lords went to their rooms, still fatigued and annoyed.

Leon stayed back. He looked toward the King as they both stood in the meeting room.

"I'll send word to the harbor. I'll make sure a ship will be ready to sail to Azeron. The territory may be under our control but it still has rebellions and invasions, it is relatively new and unmanaged. I hope you can fix these problems."

"Of course, Your Highness."

"If that is all, I will take my leave."

Leon bowed and walked out of the room. The next day he made his way to the ship harbor.

A guard was posted and guided Leon to a ship ready to sail.

Leon boarded and was off. He spent the next day organizing his plan of handling the territory, as well as where to go.

From the detailed map and information provided the home base of operations is a large residence next to a town, located near some cliffs.

The larger port city had no such residences and probably wouldn't take too kindly to a demon docking.

The ship sailed till they made it to a high cliff. From a distance, you could see the large building and forests atop that cliff. There weren't any harbors or good places to dock, that was a downside.

But this was nothing to Leon, his strength allowed him to do what many others couldn't.

He told the captain to bring the ship as close to the cliffs as possible.

"We can sail down the coast some more in search of a better landing if you wish.?"

"No, bring me close to the cliff face."

A small beach was just at the foot of that cliff's face. 

Leon took a small to that beach and waved to the ship. 

Once alone Leon burst off from the rocky beach. With his mana, he was given enhanced strength and dexterity. 

He grabbed the side of the cliff, found good footing, and climbed his way up.

Sending rocks everywhere, red mana seeped out of him as he leaped higher and continued till he made it to the top.

He looked around and noticed a large mansion in the distance on a high point nearby, the town close to it.

————

Once he made it to the garden entrance he was greeted by many soldiers, led by an older gentleman.

He had a younger version of himself on his side, most likely his son.

In a deep masculine, brutish voice, the man yelled.

"Who are you, Demon?!"

Leon muttered.

"That's rude, shouldn't you introduce yourself before, forcing me to do so."

"Who are you, Demon?! What are you doing here?!"

Leon sighed not having a polite welcome. 

"Huh. My name is Demon Lord Leon Vanity, I have just been announced as ruling lord of this territory."

"No way, your just a kid."

Leon looked the manly knight that stood in front of him in the eye.

He then grabbed a piece of paper from his bag and held it up.

The contents proclaimed him the ruling lord etc. with the demon King's insignia stamped on it.

The knight looked astonishing, his expression turned to anger.

"I don't believe it, that makes no sense.! Even so, we don't want any demon to rule this land, let alone a child like you."

"If you want proof that I'm fit enough, why don't we fight, if I win then you and your men should accept me as your new lord. If you win then I shall leave this land, as a bonus I'll leave the rights to this land in your hands."

"Hoho, mighty big words for a scrap like you, but we don't blindly accept those who simply want to fight for their positions!"

Leon crossed his arms and looked at him.

"I understand, but I promise once you lose you'll see I'm a pretty decent person who is trying to help Azeron."

The knight growled as his teeth clamped together hard. He found Leon's remark somewhat sarcastic and agitating.

"Fine, I'll keep you on your word. Once you lose, you leave. If you can beat me, well you'll have to work for my trust and approval."

"That seems agreeable."

—————

- to be continued