Chapter 4: The Devil's Impossible Heir
1640 Words
Sunset had already fallen over the Demon Kingdom when Aiden finally reached the Hall of Fame.
The enormous doors stood open, revealing a vast chamber carved entirely from ancient black stone. The hall was large enough to accommodate more than ten thousand demons, yet tonight, an unsettling silence hung over it.
At the very front of the hall sat Lucifer.
He occupied the highest throne, his body relaxed against the dark stone while his eyes stared blankly into the distance.
But his mind wasn't in the hall.
It was far beneath the kingdom.
In the forbidden Underworld.
In the Blood Hall.
He wondered what was happening to the creation he had left behind.
Was it developing?
Had the ritual worked?
Or had he made the greatest mistake of his existence?
Aiden entered quietly.
He had served Lucifer for nearly a thousand years. He had known his master since he was young, and perhaps more than anyone else, he had learned how to read the smallest changes in Lucifer's expression.
Tonight, however, Lucifer's face revealed nothing.
Aiden stopped several feet away and bowed.
"Your Lordship."
Lucifer slowly lifted his head.
"Aiden."
"Yes, Your Lordship."
"Take note of everyone who doesn't attend tonight."
Aiden immediately understood.
"Yes, Your Lordship."
He climbed the steps and took his position behind Lucifer.
He had followed his master for centuries, through wars, rebellions, and bloodshed.
But something about tonight felt different.
There was an unfamiliar tension in the air.
As if the entire kingdom was holding its breath.
---
A few minutes after sunset, the demons began arriving.
One by one.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
The enormous hall slowly filled.
Each clan took its designated position according to rank.
The Demon Hybrids occupied the left side.
The Blood-Born Demons gathered on the right.
The lower-ranking demons filled the remaining sections.
Soon, every seat was occupied.
Aiden looked around in surprise.
He had expected many demons to ignore Lucifer's summons.
Instead, almost the entire kingdom had come.
Lucifer glanced sideways at him.
"I thought they said they wouldn't come."
Aiden swallowed.
"It appears they changed their minds, Your Lordship."
Lucifer gave a faint smile.
"Of course they did."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Every demon turned toward the throne.
Lucifer slowly rose.
Instantly, thousands of demons stood.
"ALL HAIL THE KING!"
The thunderous voices shook the hall.
Lucifer lifted one hand.
Silence immediately returned.
"Thank you for coming."
His voice echoed through every corner of the enormous chamber.
"I called you here because I have received countless petitions concerning my succession."
Several demons exchanged nervous glances.
Lucifer continued.
"You have begged me to choose an heir."
His eyes swept across the crowd.
"You have formed alliances."
His voice became colder.
"You have started clan wars."
Several demons lowered their heads.
"And some of you..."
Lucifer paused.
"...have even dared to search for forbidden ways to create the blood required to claim my throne."
A ripple of unease moved through the hall.
Lucifer smiled.
"How amusing."
His laughter echoed through the chamber.
"You actually believed you could create what nature itself has forbidden."
His smile disappeared.
"You failed."
Silence.
"None of you are worthy of my throne."
A collective gasp escaped the crowd.
Lucifer's eyes burned.
"Only a true heir of the royal bloodline can sit upon this throne."
He placed a hand on the armrest.
"This bloodline has ruled this kingdom since before your clans had names."
His aura began spreading through the hall.
Darkness seemed to gather around him.
"I am the last true demon."
Every demon remained frozen.
"So stop your petitions."
His voice thundered.
"End your clan wars."
The pressure in the room intensified.
"And abandon your attempts to create royal blood through forbidden magic."
Lucifer's eyes swept over them.
"Because I see everything."
His aura exploded.
"And any clan that dares challenge my authority..."
The flames surrounding the hall suddenly turned black.
"...will be erased."
The demons lowered their heads.
No one dared speak.
Until someone did.
"Your Lordship."
Every head turned.
A tall demon slowly rose from the left side of the hall.
It was Reynold, leader of the Demon Hybrid Clan.
Aiden's eyes widened.
He knew this was dangerous.
Reynold bowed respectfully.
"May I ask a question?"
Lucifer stared at him.
"Speak."
Reynold straightened.
"If you truly have no heir..."
He paused.
"What happens to the throne when you are gone?"
The hall became restless.
Reynold continued.
"You are the last of the true royal bloodline. When your reign ends, who will rule us?"
One by one, demons began nodding.
It was the question everyone had been waiting to ask.
Lucifer stared at Reynold for several seconds.
Then he laughed.
A low, chilling laugh.
He rose from his throne.
And before anyone could react—
WHOOSH!
He appeared in the center of the hall.
Every demon stared.
Lucifer's voice thundered through the chamber.
"Who told you I have no heir?"
Silence.
Reynold frowned.
Lucifer looked around the room.
Then he smiled.
"I have an heir."
The hall erupted.
"What?"
"Impossible!"
"He has no mate!"
"Who is the heir?"
"Is it a secret child?"
Lucifer raised his hand.
Silence returned.
"I am not talking about choosing an heir."
The demons stared at him.
"I already have one."
Aiden's heart stopped.
Even he hadn't known.
Lucifer's voice echoed through the hall.
"I have a direct heir from my bloodline."
Shock spread across every face.
Reynold's expression hardened.
"That's impossible!"
Lucifer's eyes immediately darkened.
Reynold realized his mistake but continued.
"You have no mate, Your Lordship!"
He pointed toward Lucifer.
"How can you possibly have a direct heir?"
The hall fell silent.
"Even if you had mated with another demon, the child would inherit diluted blood. He would be a hybrid."
Lucifer's face became expressionless.
Reynold's voice grew bolder.
"So unless you can prove that this heir carries the royal blood, your claim is nothing but—"
He never finished.
BOOM!
Lucifer disappeared.
He reappeared directly in front of Reynold.
His hand closed around Reynold's throat.
The demon's feet immediately left the ground.
A gasp swept through the hall.
Lucifer's nails elongated.
They pierced Reynold's skin.
Blood trickled down his neck.
Reynold struggled.
Lucifer's eyes burned like the flames of Hell itself.
"You dare call me a liar?"
His voice was dangerously quiet.
Reynold's face began turning pale.
Lucifer's fingers tightened.
Reynold's powers began draining from his body.
"Your Lordship..."
He gasped.
Lucifer leaned closer.
"Who dares challenge me again?"
No one answered.
Lucifer looked around the hall.
Thousands of demons stood frozen in terror.
"I am Lucifer."
His voice shook the chamber.
"King of Hell."
His aura intensified.
"King of Demons."
The walls trembled.
"And no one..."
His eyes flashed crimson.
"...dares challenge my word."
He released Reynold.
The demon crashed onto the stone floor.
His clan members rushed toward him.
Lucifer turned away as though nothing had happened.
Then he disappeared.
A second later, he was seated upon his throne again.
The demons stared at him in terrified silence.
Lucifer leaned forward.
"You want to know what happens to the throne after I am gone?"
His voice echoed.
"You will accept my heir."
No one moved.
"He will come before you."
Lucifer's eyes swept across the crowd.
"And he will prove himself worthy."
A murmur spread through the hall.
Lucifer smiled.
"I am giving you an opportunity."
He stood.
"Challenge him."
The demons stared in disbelief.
"Bring your strongest warriors."
His voice grew darker.
"Bring your strongest bloodlines."
He paused.
"And bring everything you believe makes you worthy of my throne."
Lucifer's eyes burned.
"Because when my son stands before you..."
The entire hall went silent.
"...you will kneel."
Aiden stared at his master.
His son?
Lucifer had called the mysterious heir his son.
But where was he?
Who was he?
And how could Lucifer have produced a true-blooded heir without a mate?
Lucifer turned.
"Until then, remember this."
His voice thundered one final time.
"The throne has already chosen its heir."
A burst of dark energy exploded from his body.
Then Lucifer vanished.
The meeting was over.
---
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The silence was suffocating.
Then whispers erupted throughout the hall.
"Lucifer has a son?"
"How is that possible?"
"Who is he?"
"Where has he been?"
"Why have we never heard of him?"
Reynold slowly pushed himself off the floor with the help of his clan members.
His face was pale.
But his eyes burned with anger.
"This changes nothing."
His voice was low.
"If Lucifer truly has an heir..."
He looked toward the empty throne.
"...then we will find out what he is."
One by one, the demons began leaving the hall.
Each clan returned to its territory to discuss Lucifer's challenge.
For the first time in centuries, the entire Demon Kingdom had been given something to fear.
An unknown heir.
A mysterious son.
A challenger whose face nobody had seen.
Whose blood nobody had tested.
Whose power nobody knew.
But none of them knew the truth.
None of them knew that far beneath the kingdom, inside the forbidden Blood Hall, something was taking shape.
The golden-purple emblem pulsed beneath the ancient moonlight.
Thump.
A crack spread across its surface.
Thump.
Another crack appeared.
Something inside moved.
And although Lucifer had declared that his creation would inherit his throne...
Even he didn't know exactly what was being born.
He had wanted an heir.
He had wanted something powerful enough to protect his kingdom.
But the forbidden ritual had mixed forces that were never meant to exist together.
And somewhere within that glowing emblem...
something far more powerful than Lucifer was beginning to awaken.
The future Demon King had been announced.
But the world had no idea that the heir they were preparing to challenge...
would one day become the greatest threat the supernatural world had ever known.
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