My Hidden Heresy Skill Forged an SSS-Ranked Harem for Infinite Points

At that last phrase laden with mystery, Mirian paid much closer attention to the demon’s movements. Alicia and Karol also stepped a little closer, not wanting to miss the demonstration of Beatrice’s power.

The darkness floating over Beatrice’s hand moved like a living being.

The dense shadow completely covered her hand as if it were a thick black glove, becoming immensely dense and opaque. And showing no kind of fear.

Beatrice deliberately dropped two of the burning fireballs straight onto her own darkness-covered palm.

The flames simply sank into the dark aura and were completely devoured, disappearing in silence, as if they had never existed.

”I do not understand how darkness works, the demon kings apply it in many ways, right now this was the only thing I could think of,” Beatrice revealed, clenching her shadowy fist.

”But that is not what I want to show you,” she said while three fireballs remained floating. And almost immediately, the darkness covered one of the fireballs. And another of the fireballs changed its hue. Becoming more opaque as if it were losing its heat.

”Since I was little, we were taught that demons had wings, horns, and a tail. And each one represented a power. The dominant element, darkness. And authority,” Beatrice explained.

”Authority?” Mirian questioned, looking confused.

”Wings, and a tail? But is that not a myth?” Alicia asked.

”Yes, it might be. But, the demon kings have a skill that everyone calls Authority. In this case.”

Beatrice looked at her companions, making sure they were paying attention.

”It is said that the deity sealed the power of the first demons, and that is why they lost their wings and their tails. And since then the generations were born like me. But with the passing of time. They discovered the elemental manifestation of darkness, and somehow it is believed that that alters the demons’ seal. And releases their power, elemental authority.”

”Those who master authority, in this case, fire. They can not only create fire with independent reactions or in the shapes of wild animals without burning themselves. The most terrifying thing for other demons is that authority can directly interfere with your own element.

”They can subjugate foreign magic, making all your elemental attacks completely useless, besides the fact that their immense darkness protects them and they use it to attack. If I had to say it in a way... that is a little more understandable,” Beatrice said, looking at the little balls of fire and darkness over her hand.

The ball of fire and darkness suddenly grew larger.

And the ball in the center, the one that was opaque before.

Increased its brightness and density.

”What I believe is that, if there really is a seal, the elemental manifestation, and the manifestation of darkness. They make a resonance that activates authority.”

”Wow, that is simply incredible. And to think you would achieve something like that,” Mirian said, finally grasping how broken and absurd the demonic leaders’ skill was.

”It seems our little Beatrice will soon be a full-fledged Abyssal general with that new power,” Karol added with a huge smile of pride for her companion.

The blue-haired mage looked at her entire team, evaluating the fruits of their risky combat against the rock beast.

”Does that mean, doing the math, that right now we have two SS-rank members, two S-rank members, and one Infernal-rank member in our small assault team?” Alicia asked aloud, calculating the military strength they now represented.

”Exactly,” Karol said, responding with immense pride puffing out her chest.

This bloody and crazy battle against the world’s most defensive dragon had raised their individual ranks by a lot, rewarding their effort after avoiding death.

Karol had firmly established herself in the coveted S rank. Mirian ascended to the SS rank thanks to her lethal damage. Alicia, with her beast form revealed, also proved to be at a level very close to the S rank.

And Beatrice, the lethal assassin, was now a powerful and respected Infernal-rank demon who carried the feared Demon King Factor in her blood.

This whole night assault was going perfectly, exactly as planned in the villa meetings, and even better due to the sudden power increases.

Or at least, that was what all of them thought right now, celebrating in the snow and believing the worst had already passed.

...

Meanwhile, completely oblivious to his companions’ celebration, Ryan was walking at a firm and swift pace, getting closer and closer to the dark and dangerous doors of the feared demon king Rigal’s central castle.

The freezing wind howled with fury, whipping Ryan’s white combat clothes as he advanced alone.

His boots crushed the thick layer of snow, leaving a solitary trail in the middle of the fortress’s immense outer courtyard. All around him, the silence had become absolute, heavy, and highly suffocating.

Just a few scant minutes ago, the deafening noise of the brutal battle between the two demonic rulers was making the very earth tremble beneath his feet. The mana explosions, the savage roars, and the clash of overwhelming forces were clearly perceptible for miles away on the frozen plain.

But now, there was absolutely nothing. Only the dull, constant sound of the biting wind crashing against the massive stone and ice walls.

’I do not like this sudden silence at all.’ Ryan thought, frowning as he kept his right hand firmly resting on the hilt of his sword.

’The main combat ended far too soon. Even for two demon kings, a fight to the death over territory should have lasted a long time, not just a few minutes.’

Ryan looked up. In front of him stood the immense double doors of Kowarre’s central castle.

The enemy base’s main structure was gigantic, built with thick, heavy blocks of dark stone and ice that seemed to absorb and devour the scarce light coming from the cloudy sky.

Without hesitating for a single second, he pushed the heavy reinforced wooden doors.

The doors gave way with a long, dull creak that echoed massively into the dark interior of the fortress.

Ryan entered with firm steps, prepared to dodge any kind of hidden magical trap or physical ambush from the ceiling.

His cold green eyes scanned the place in a fraction of a second, ready to unleash his superhuman strength at the slightest enemy movement.

But the immense and luxurious first-floor lobby was completely empty.

’The whole place is completely empty. This makes no sense.’ Ryan thought, walking slowly toward the very center of the large, silent hall.

He advanced through the silent enemy hall, feeling that the sound of his own footsteps echoed far too loudly in the room’s dead air.

A strange energy slowly descended from the heights of the dark fortress. It was not a simple flow of mana scattered in the environment. It was an extremely dark aura.

’Without a doubt, that is the power of a demon king.’ Ryan thought, raising his cold gaze toward the spiral stone staircase that led to the upper levels.

He did not rush at all. He maintained an extremely firm, measured, and calculating pace, saving his energy for the worst.

Finally, after a couple of minutes of a tense upward walk, his leather boots stepped onto the hard surface of the third floor.

In front of him, guarding the entrance to the main area, stood immense double doors of dark oak hand-carved with grotesque, violent, and detailed images of large wild beasts devouring humans in the woods.

The overwhelming, heavy, and dark energy that flooded the rest of the castle came straight from inside there, seeping through the cracks in the wood.

Ryan took a deep breath, filling his lungs with cold air to calm his heartbeat. He gripped the hilt of his sword, mentally preparing himself to face the worst possible scenario, and pushed both heavy doors with a strong shove of his arms.

The third floor was a single, immensely large and spacious throne room.

Huge, thick black marble columns supported a soaring vaulted ceiling from which heavy, rusted, unlit iron chandeliers hung. Pale light poured in through the immense, beautiful glass windows that adorned the side walls.

Or at least, what was left of them.

Unlike the building’s peaceful and clean lower floors, this immense upper hall did show a horrifying trail of catastrophic destruction. The real, savage fight had been waged solely up here behind closed doors.

And right at the back of the immense room, raised majestically atop wide stone steps, was a very large throne that Ryan could not tell if it was made of crystal or simply ice.

Someone was sitting there, waiting in absolute silence amidst all the destruction around them.

Ryan narrowed his cold green eyes, forcing his sharp sight through the fine rock dust still floating in the hall’s air, trying to completely identify the relaxed figure wrapped in shadows.

The strange figure in the chair was not a conventional demon with horns on its head like the rest of the troops.

It was a beastman.

A large, muscular, and imposing being, covered almost entirely in thick, wild, and hard dark gray fur. His huge, thick arms ended in lethal claws, sharp as steel blades, resting lazily on the throne’s hard stone armrests.

And his fierce bestial face, which perfectly blended the savage traits of a ferocious canine predator with a highly disturbing cruelty and intelligence, possessed bloodshot eyes that shone in the deep darkness like two cursed rubies.

That imposing, monstrous, and relaxed beast sitting in front of him with total superiority was the undisputed ruler of the frozen lands. The demon king Rigal.