Walpurgis Night

Adam felt sweat pouring down his face as he shakily kept himself standing up. He felt tired, like he had just ran a marathon and was about to just fall flat on his face.

Whatever he had done, that thing with his hands that absorbed magic, had drained him.

Was the fight…over?

Adam looked at Raum and saw that the demoness was starting to fade away. Her physical body had cracks lined throughout it, like it was a porcelain doll just moments away from shattering.

She adjusted her glasses, took in a deep breath, and regained her sense of calm, her blush fading away.

"I admit my defeat," said Raum with a shake of her head and a sigh. "You have awakened your Shadow Magic, something even talented demons take over a century to accomplish. I cannot levy further objections against you on my end."

"Darling!" Leila's voice cut through the Meadow as she slammed into Adam like a high-speed missile before wrapping her arms around him.

Adam skid through the dirt a few meters from the force of impact, and that hug would most definitely have killed an ordinary man. Adam, however, took it with ease and hugged Leila back, raising her up in the air and smiling at her while she snuggled her cheek into his chest.

"I knew it! I knew it!" said Leila. "You are the best one for me! The one I chose! With Shadow Magic, magic reserved only for Royal Demons, not even mother will object to you!"

Raum put her shadow pen to her lips and scrutinized Adam, and he shuddered, feeling like a lab rat under the gaze of a crazed scientist. "Hmm.

Awakening Shadow Magic within days when it takes the ordinary demon with potential over a century is no small feat. You are a rarity among rarities...a rare sample indeed, yes, yes.

The fact that you possess a Gene does contribute to your potential, but that alone should not suffice. There must be something else…" Suddenly, Raum's eyes lit up as she pointed her pen at Adam. "How about I take you to my laboratory? You are an exceptional specimen that I would be more than happy to inspect thoroughly.

Do not be so scared. I will be gentle."

"No," said Leila as she hugged Adam tighter before shooting Raum a death glare. "Darling is mine. And mine only."

Raum sighed. "Of course, princess." She raised a brow as she saw Leila affectionately clinging close to Adam. "Princess, you do understand that it is customary for Royal Demons to have multiple wives, no? In fact, a Royal Demon that has only one mate would be looked down upon."

"But I will be my darling's one and only Bond!" said Leila. "Nobody else will have his heart. Nobody else will share their heart with him. Plus, he can take wives for show. Parade those fools around if he wants so long as I am the only one truly beside him."

"I…see," said Raum. "That may be difficult to do, considering how many prying, gossiping eyes and ears there are in Hell.

Regardless, that is a matter for later, when you two are truly accepted in Hell. For now, here-,"

Raum took her notebook out and manifested her shadow pen again. She scribbled a series of notes as she nodded at Adam and then wrote out a large, flourishing sweep across the page before tearing it out and facing it towards Adam.

The whole page was completely covered in almost unreadable scribble, and it was hard even to tell whether that was because it was written in a different language or whether it was because Raum's handwriting was just that god-awful.

"Uh, I can't read that," said Adam as he squinted his eyes.

"Ah, yes, you do not know the script and tongue of Hell demons just yet," said Raum. "But it will come to you naturally. At your rate of exceptional growth, I would not even be surprised if that knowledge manifested tomorrow."

"No, Raum," said Leila as she also squinted her eyes to try and read it. "Your handwriting is just terrible."

Raum stared at Adam and Leila for a second, then flipped the page back to herself, then sighed. "Yes, that may be true, but my notes are not important. Look at the bottom of the page."

Adam's eyes tracked down to where Raum directed and there was a string of text emblazoned in glowing red where everything else was written in inky black.

"Your seal?" said Leila.

"Yes," said Raum. "My seal of approval. Approving of this mortal, this, erm, what is your name?"

"Adam," said Adam. "Adam Park."

"Adam of the Park? Quite an odd title, but yes, this Adam of the Park is now fully recognized by me, Raum, Great Earl of Hell, to be worthy of ascending into Royalty," said Raum. She tapped the notebook with her finger, and the page tore on its own and floated right into Adam's hand.

Adam looked at the page in his hand. "So…what do I do with this? Fold it up? Keep it locked up? Make a paper plane out of it?"

"Crumble it in your fist," said Raum.

Adam did as instruct, and as the paper crumpled, it dissolved into black and red particles that fed into Adam.

Again, Adam saw text flash before his eyes. Red text that indicated it was from his Power Matrix.

>>>

[Seal of Raum obtained]

>>>

"Princess…" said Raum. "I believe I taught you this when I tutored you of our customs. You understand how difficult it is to induct an outsider into the echelons of demonic Royalty, yes?"

"I do," said Leila. "But I chose my darling, and I will stand by him through it all."

"What does it take?" said Adam, starting to realize that maybe he had stepped into something far, far bigger and complicated than what he had bargained for. He had a hunch that marrying a pretty demon princess was not going to be all that he was going to go through in the future.

"There are Seventy-Two Great Royals in Hell," said Raum. "A demon seeking to ascend into Royalty requires Seals from at the very least ten of them to be considered."

"That doesn't seem so bad," said Adam. "Just ring up your friends from Hell and maybe I can talk them into it. I think I can be charming enough when I want to be."

"Hm." Raum shook her head. "The Great Demons are a…divisive group, and none grant their Seals freely. You will have to obtain them individually. In addition, that method of ascension is only for demons.

For an outsider like you, who was not demon to begin with, the process is even more difficult. You require an Obelisk."

"An Obelisk?" said Adam. He groaned internally at how many steps there were. First, he had to unlock Shadow Magic, something that seemingly even talented demons only unlocked after a century, and then he had to get 10 glorified letters of recommendation, and then now he had to get this thing called an Obelisk.

Adam kind of understood why Leila had wanted to leave Hell. If all of Hell had these many rules and restrictions, then it must have been an awful place for a free spirit to be in.

"An Obelisk is a crystallized ingot consisting of a vast amount of mana and compounded mortal suffering, misery, sins, and lives," said Raum. "Within a ritual called Walpurgis Night, an Obelisk sublimates and forms.

Here, you may obtain one."

"Walrus what?" said Adam in confusion, but he noticed that Leila had tensed up, her pointed ears pricking up in alertness.

This was important information.

"Within this ritual, the Royalty of Hell will take in new blood from the outside," said Raum. "It is a ritual of immense significance that occurs only once every five hundred years. Within it, one hundred candidates are chosen and fight to the death over the course of thirty days.

To the last one standing, an Obelisk is granted, allowing them to enter Hell as a Prospective where they then must vie to obtain ten Seals to truly be recognized as a Royal."

"A battle royale between one hundred people? Damn, that's metal," said Adam.

"Metal?" queried Raum.

"Metal, it means brutal. Hardcore," said Adam.

At the mention of the word 'hardcore,' Leila shuddered in pleasure as she cuddled close to Adam.

"Metal…brutal, I see. Human linguistics is quite interesting indeed," said Raum, nodding to herself and adding a note to her notepad. "But regardless, I will continue.

Among the hundred candidates chosen, many will be sponsored by Great Demons themselves. The Great Demons will sponsor mortals, granting them power, and in return, if they obtain the Obelisk, will obtain that Great Demon's Seal and, if that Great Demon is one of significance, from others in their faction.

The mortal then becomes bound to their sponsor's service.

Thus, Walpurgis Night is the perfect opportunity for a Great Demon to improve their standing and strength in the politics of Hell's circles.

No doubt, the princess was looking for a suitable Bond herself to enter into Walpurgis Night, am I wrong?"

"You are right," said Leila. "And I know my darling is perfect for it. But Walpurgis Night is due to happen in ten years, no?" She smiled, baring her fangs. "In ten years, darling will possess such might that no lowly mortal champion the Great Demons can muster up will ever stand a chance."

"No, princess," said Raum as she shook her pen in place of her head. "Being away from Hell has given you outdated information. Walpurgis Night is to begin twenty days from now."

"…Twenty days?" said Leila, shocked.

"Yes," said Raum. The cracks across her body intensified, and red light began to shine through them. "Ah, it seems this physical form has reached its limit. I am afraid I do not have more time to speak with you, though I do wish I could."

"Just tell me this," said Adam. "Will you be on our side? Or not? Considering you seem to be under Leila's mother's service."

Raum stared at Adam for a moment before she slightly smiled at him. The only hint of a positive expression she had shown so far. "I have granted you my Seal, so yes, I am.

But beyond that, even though the princess has escaped from Hell and fallen from her mother's graces, I swore to care for her as her butler, and that oath is independent of her mother's wishes.

First and foremost, my duty is to ensure the princess's wellbeing."

Raum pointed her pen at Adam. "You, Adam of the Park, said something about wanting the princess for who she is, not for what she can do. I still do not truly understand, but I do know she is happy.

Happier than she has ever been. Perhaps…there is some truth to your ideals. I will allow the princess to be in your care. Ensure that she stays happy."

"You don't have to tell me that," said Adam as he wrapped an arm around Leila's waist and brought her close.

"Oh darling, you always know what to say," said Leila as she heard Adam's firm commitment to her, blushing brightly.

"Ugh," said Raum under her breath as she show the public display of affection. Leila threw a piercing glare at her.

"I mean, good," corrected Raum. "And I will return later when I can to aid you. Keep your eyes open for crows."

And with that, Raum quite literally signed off, writing in the air with her pen before she faded away in a shower of black and red particulates.