Volume 3 Chapter 50 – Queen of the Demon Kingdom (Patreon)

Asdeus looked down on Morrigan from her palanquin, acting as if she was already the queen. Everyone tensed as the two women stared at each other. The soldiers following Asdeus's procession tensed, as did the demon soldiers who were standing on the side of the street, hands poised on their weapons. The demons that had previously come out to look out of curiosity, slowly stepped back, some making their way back into their houses.

"Morrigan, how pleasant to see you again," Asdeus's expression changed to the sickly sweet smile of a venomous serpent. 

"Address me properly as Crown Princess Morrigan or Her Highness," Morrigan said sternly. The demoness' smile wavered for just a split second, but she quickly readapted her pleasant facade.

"Of course, of course. Aren't you happy to meet your teacher again?" she cooed.

"You were never my teacher. Merely a torturer who sought to take advantage of me. Everyone here already knows what you did to me back then, yet you dare to crawl back here with your head high, claiming that King Alphegor supports you," Morrigan spat. Muted whispers erupted in the crowd.

"This was the same demoness that tortured the Crown Princess as a child?"

"Isn't she a wanted criminal?"

"Why would the King support her?"

"The audacity!"

The whispers grew in intensity, demons throwing judgemental glances in Asdeus's direction.

It's likely that a fight will break out right in the middle of the city, however if I can defeat Asdeus right away, perhaps the enemy troops will fall into chaos and retreat. Where did she even get these soldiers of various races to assist her? They can't all be mercenaries can they? If they are then where did she get all the money to pay them?

"My dearest Morrigan, I never tortured you. I understand that for a child a scolding from their teacher might seem harsh, but know that I did all that out of love. I've always—"

"It is Crown Princess Morrigan! Disrespect me again and you won't live to see the next day," Morrigan said in the same powerful amplified voice that Alphegor liked to use. The ground near her feet trembled a little from the intensity and her eyes burned red with power.

The smile on Asdeus's face disappeared. "I had really hoped that we would be able to come to a peaceful solution."

The soldiers on both sides tensed further, clutching onto their weapons, ready to spring into action at any moment. Morrigan's heartbeat quickened. She needed to avoid large-scale bloodshed and deal with this quickly. Her fingers twitched, ready to tap into her magic power.

"You enslaved my father, the Demon King, and my teacher, the court mage, and you expected that there would be any chance for peace. Release them at once," Morrigan pointed her finger at Asdeus.

"Enslaved? What are you talking about? They submitted to me willingly. They understood that the vision I have for the future of the Demon Kingdom is superior," Asdeus said and then motioned for the drow to lower the palanquin. She got out of it slowly, deliberately accentuating her body movements. "It is time for you to understand that I am the future of this Kingdom. Kneel!"

Morrigan felt an odd tingling on her skin, but then it faded. She stared at Asdeus who gaped at her in shock. The demoness lifted her hand and the tingling sensation returned. "Kneel!"

Morrigan raised both of her arms freely, then moved one leg and then another. Her body was firmly within her control.

Her body control magic is not working on me. Why not? It used to work on me before.

"What is going on?"

"Is she trying to use some kind of magic on the Princess?"

"It's not working, is it?"

"KNEEL!" Asdeus screamed, raising her hands high. All the demons, and soldiers, including Alphegor and Azrael kneeled low to the ground, bowing their heads to Asdeus, unable to resist her powerful magic. Morrigan, however, stood as she had before—an unyielding mountain.

"I am Morrigan Nactstern. I do not kneel," Morrigan spat. Asdeus took a step back.

"H-How is this possible? How can you resist?" The demoness looked horrified, but then her face turned into a disgusting grimace. "It doesn't matter. You can't do anything on your own."

"She's not alone," Galandir spoke up and stepped from the crowd, also unaffected by Asdeus's body control.

Galandir's also not affected. Could it have something to do with the magic he possesses? But then it could be that I am not affected because we've exchanged our magic.

"I'll repeat this only once—release my father and everybody else!" Morrigan commanded in a strong voice.

"Attack her!" Asdeus bellowed, pointing her finger at Morrigan. Everyone began rushing towards her—demons, drow, citizens, and soldiers alike. Even Alphegor and Azrael were running at her, their faces scrunched up in a clear attempt to resist her control.

"I don't think so!" Galandir called out and with one swift motion erected a giant wall of ice that surrounded the area around Morrigan, himself, and Asdeus, separating them from the crowd. Morrigan did not waste any time and hurled a bright blue fireball straight at Asdeus.

The demoness erected a shield deflecting the attack and then released a flurry of flames out of her mouth, melting the surrounding ice wall. Galandir dodged by flying out of the flames' reach, but Morrigan didn't even bother moving—taking the attack head-on. The only thing she did was guide the flames away from her clothes, so they would not burn, but anything that came in direct contact with her skin did not hurt her in the slightest.

Asdeus was grinning like a madwoman when she saw Morrigan engulfed in flames, but the grin disappeared as soon as she saw the princess reappear completely unscathed.

"Fire doesn't affect you either? How? You disgusting little worm!" The demoness raged and then began throwing balls charged with electricity in her direction. Morrigan slipped into her shadow form and they collided with residual bits of the ice walls. 

Asdeus began to frantically look around the street, trying to search for Morrigan, but the princess had already made her way to the palanquin and materialized behind the demoness. Without mercy, she hurled a blue fireball at nearly point-blank range. Asdeus erected a protective shield at the last moment but stumbled back from the force of the attack. 

Morrigan did not relent in her attacks, instead throwing one fireball after the next, slowly stepping closer and closer to the retreating Asdeus. She barely had any time to block the incoming fire, stumbling backward with each attack.

"I will not stand for this," she suddenly screeched. The hold on all the surrounding people disappeared as they looked around in confusion. But instead, Alphegor appeared in front of Asdeus like a shield. Morrigan stopped her fireball right before it hit her father and gritted her teeth.

"How dare you use my father as a shield?!" she yelled at the demoness, who cackled and ran her fingers over Alphegor's face.

"I do not need to control you when I have the Demon King under my control," she said and then withdrew a small dagger from her sleeve and put it dangerously close to Alphegor's neck.

"That's low, even for you!" Morrigan snarled but took a step back as did all the demon soldiers, who had already managed to grab their weapons.

"There's no low moves in battle, cockroach. There are those who win and those who lose. Now if anyone makes any sudden movements, the King dies," Asdeus warned. Morrigan clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. What could she do? How to stop Asdeus?

"Morrigan, defeat her." She heard her father speak into her mind. "Do not worry about me. Defeat her and save our Kingdom. Only you can."

"I will not let you die, Father," Morrigan replied stubbornly, trying to come up with a solution but none of the magic she had at her disposal would allow her to attack Asdeus quickly enough to save Alphegor. 

"Morrigan, I am but one demon. You must think about the many—"

"Wait… I know what to do!"

"You win, Asdeus!" Morrigan said and lifted her hands up in surrender. "Please, release my father. I'll do anything as long as you spare his life."

"Smart girl. Apprehend her," Asdeus commanded her soldiers, moving the dagger a little distance away from Alphegor's neck. This is exactly what Morrigan had hoped for. The drow grabbed her hands but she stared intently at the dagger in Asdeus' hand, concentrating her fire magic on it. Just like she had destroyed the drop of blood the fallen had seized from her, she slowly heated up the blade until it began to glow bright red.

"What?" The demoness yelled and threw down the heated blade. Morrigan let blue flames erupt all around her, forcing the drow to instantly retreat. Galandir then jumped forward attacking any of Asdeus' soldiers that still tried to approach Morrigan with his ice blasts.

The princess did not waste time, she shadow-teleported right next to Asdeus, blue fire glowing in her hands.

"OBEY ME!" Asdeus yelled in a desperate attempt to take control of Morrigan again.

"No," she replied coldly and had the flame surround the demoness. 

Asdeus erected a protective shield at the very last moment, but Morrigan's attack was so powerful that the shield broke. Blue flames burst caught onto the villainess, burning her clothes and skin. She screamed but somehow managed to douse the flames out with her water. 

Asdeus's body was horribly burned on one side, and she slumped to the ground. Alphegor took a deep breath, finally released from her control, and crumpled to the ground as well. 

"Attack!" Yelled one of the drow, eager to protect their leader. But Morrigan did not hesitate—she raised her hand and thousands of blue fire orbs appeared right above the enemy soldiers. They all froze in place and stared and the blue fire in fear.

"Anyone who dares to even take a step will be reduced to cinders," Morrigan warned, her eyes burning with red light as she looked down on Asdeus. The demoness grimaced in pain, but there was still fight left in her. She staggered up, clutching on her horribly burned left hand.

"Do not think for a moment that you've won…"

"Seize her!" Morrigan ordered, and demon soldiers rushed towards her. In a futile attempt to resist, Asdeus tried to attack the soldiers with ice. But Morrigan created a protective barrier in front of them and readied to launch one of her blue fireballs at her, only to feel her father's hand on her shoulder.

"We need her alive," he said firmly. Morrigan understood—they needed to find out how she managed to orchestrate this whole attack. 

"Galandir, knock her out!" She called out to her friend.

"With pleasure," the elven boy called back, and before Asdeus could realize what had happened, dropped a ball of ice on her head. Not big enough to kill but large enough to knock her unconscious. Demon soldiers instantly ran up to her and tied her up in anti-magic cuffs.

Asdeus's force watched in horror how their leader was dragged away and then one by one began dropping their weapons. As the clatter of weapons hitting the ground died down, there was a moment of silence as everyone looked at Morrigan who was still holding the blue flames above enemy heads.

"It's over?" Somebody from the crowd asked shakily.

"It's over!" Azrael confirmed with a smile, and the demons erupted into cheers. The soldiers instantly turned to work, tying up and rounding up all of the enemies while Azrael gave them directions.

"Father, are you alright?" Morrigan asked, looking up at her father. A wide grin appeared on his face and he pulled her into a deep hug.

"When did you become so strong?" he whispered into her ear. She nuzzled into his embrace, not feeling strong at all. In fact, he felt much stronger than her, his hands much larger than hers, trained by many battles he had taken part in.

"I… I just didn't want anyone to get hurt," she muttered, feeling tears well up in her eyes. He patted her back and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes before anybody noticed them.

"Could you be strong for me for just a moment longer?" he asked, and she cocked her head curiously. Alphegor stood up and pulled Morrigan along with him, then turned towards the cheering demons. Seeing the King looking at them, they quieted down and bowed before him.

"People of the Demon Kingdom, I have failed you today as your King. While most of what Asdeus spouted were lies, there was one truth in them—I have grown old."

"Father, no!" Morrigan protested, but he lifted his hand to silence.

"You all deserve a new ruler—a stronger ruler," he said and looked at Morrigan. All the people turned their gaze to her. She blinked in surprise.

"Wait, you can't mean…"

Alphegor lifted his hand and the familiar black crown appeared. He stepped towards Morrigan and looked at her.

"From this day forth I name you, Morrigan Nachtstern, the Queen of Demon Kingdom," Alphegor announced in his amplified voice that carried itself through the whole Kingdom. He placed the crown on her head and then bowed before her.

People gazed at her for a moment longer, then bowed low to the ground.

"Long live Queen Morrigan!"

"Long live Queen Morrigan!"

"Long live Queen Morrigan!"

She looked around her in disbelief, seeing everyone bow before her. Even the soldiers who were apprehending the enemies, bowed, forcing the prisoners to bow alongside them. Only Galandir remained standing and their eyes met. He smiled at her and then also bowed.

"Long live Queen Morrigan!"

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