There were only a few more days before the attack on Crocus would begin. Before that time, Caius had to hone his skills. There was no better place to do that then in the Domus Flau. The arena was famous for providing entertainment with battles of fame and glory. The thought of fighting made the blood in his body start pumping. It was only a month since he had acquired the body of demon and he was still getting used to the power. The crash magic was very unstable and the slightest trigger could cause a shock wave to explode outwards. If he was able to fight someone here, he could make sure he had full control before the real fight began.

It was the dark of night as the crowd gathered for one of the special events taking place in the venue. There was an opportunity for an ordinary citizen to fight a skilled martial artist for a cash prize. Earlier in the day, Caius had signed up along with some other hopeful fighters. They were all led out into the middle of the arena as the announcer hyped the crowd at the arrival of the champion. A metal gate rattled open from the side of the arena as a jacked bald man wearing a title belt walked towards them. The crowd roared as the champion stood his ground awaiting the challengers. The poor fools were blinded by money and had no skill to back it up. One by one they fell until Caius was the last one left.

The two of them stood a small distance away as the announcer signaled to fight. The champion would charge him and prepare a left hook. Caius kept his hand back at his side and once the bald man was in range, he struck his fist forward. The hand would strike him in the gut and unleash a shock wave of crash straight forward. The blast of magic sent the champion flying backwards as his unconscious body rolled to the ground. It was over in one punch. At least that's how the crowd would see it. The magic itself was invisible to the naked eye. The arena was dead silent as they took in what had just happened before starting to cheer for him. The announcer declared Caius the winner as he was led back inside the stadium.

After the fight, Caius was returned to the arena lobby where he was told to sit and wait for when his prize money was ready. He lifted up his hand that threw the punch and flexed it a few times admiring his strength. There was a Lacrima TV in the lobby where Caius watched the rest of the arena fights to pass time. He was sitting in the far back to try to hide from people bothering him but no doubt someone who saw him fight would have questions for him.

Caius turned his head to a rather busty woman that approached him having questions on the recent arena fight. The cat was out of the bag. She knew his secret that he used a spell in what was to be a hand to hand only match. Though crash was invisible to the untrained eye, some veteran mages would be able to spot it. His eyes darted past her to see an older man with two children keeping a sharp eye on her. Judging by their reaction, this woman surely had some type of influence in the country and wasn't just your ordinary fan. With that in mind, he decided to hear her out.

"Well well it looks like I've been found out. If you want to tell the arena staff, I don't care. It's like you said, I just recently trained and wanted to test my limits against a strong opponent. The prize money was just a bonus." It was the partial truth. The fight was more to test his control of magic but he did yearn for stronger mages to fight. That's what the Grimoire Heart invasion was for. He would just have to be patient for now until that day came.

"Why what's it to you anyway. The way it sounds is that you have something to offer me. So what can I help you with Miss.......?" he held the last part of his sentence implying that he wanted to know her name. Perhaps she could make his stay in Crocus a little more interesting. He waited in anticipation of her response.

The attitude of the woman needed some work. She spoke as if she was a superior being and he was a child. If only she knew what he was cable of she would change she would change her haughty tone. However, the mystery of her words made him curious on where this conversation was headed. For now, he would put his annoyance aside and play along with her. Caius pushed off the table to stand up. He shook her hand and introduced himself "Asmodeus huh? Pleasure to meet you. They call me Varian. I'm a former guild mage from out of the country." Varian was of course his fake alias he used to everyone outside of Grimoire Heart. The less she knew about his true self, the better.

Asmodeus spoke highly of warriors that would offer him a challenge that he so desired. Though one was currently unavailable, the other was the old man who stood behind her. He walked up and introduced himself Sebastian, a humble servant. Caius reached his hand out to shake his hand as well. "Pleasure to mee........." his words were cut off. As soon as he made eye contact, he felt an enormous pressure from the man. Caius placed his hand on his face as his vision would start to blur. He felt some strength being sapped from his body. It was a feeling he had known all too well. Yumi had it as well as the cult master that transformed him. It was the presence of an upper class demon. If it was affecting Caius, this man must have had great power. He shook his head and returned back to normal. "I apologize. This magic is still new to me and it takes a toll on the body. Good to meet you Sebastian. You too Aura and Mare."

A sudden eruptions of cheers emerged from the crowd. The final match of the day had finally come to a close. An arena staff worker interrupted the two of them and offered Caius a check for his winnings. However, the proposition of Asmodeus was still on the table. If they were indeed demons, Caius wanted to know more about them. Perhaps they sensed that he was one as well. He kept his demonic presence hidden and would only use it when necessary. Since the arena was starting to dwindle down, Caius had an idea. He spoke with the arena staff worker and brokered a deal to give them back the winnings but in exchange rent out the arena for the night once everyone was gone so it would be just the five of them. "Well then Asmodeus. Since you are being to kind I will accept your offer and spar with Sebastian. However just him. I don't want to hurt any of the kids. In a few minutes the arena should be clear. We can go there for our spar when you are ready. Does that sound good?

76 years old? These little kids? Caius had met elves before but this seemed to be a special breed. Asmodeus certainly kept some interesting company. "My apologies I meant no offense. Despite that fact, I would like to keep it one on one." If what she said was true, the twins would just get in the way of his plans. Being a demon himself, he wished to learn more about Sebastian's abilities without outside interruptions. The arena soon cleared out after their discussion which allowed them to head to the fighting stage. Nobody was around so Caius could use this rare opportunity to let loose a little bit. If they decided to give him any problems, he could get rid of them all.

Asmodeus and the elven twins both went over the arena walls as the two combatants stood in the center of the arena. Caius glanced over to the mysterious woman and saw magic gather below her as a fresh flower bloomed and acted as a seat. Though the magic was impressive, it was what came next that caught his attention. As she laid out the rules and wished both warriors good luck, she casually name dropped she was a demon lord of lust. Demon Lord? It was the first he had heard of it. Caius had only given up his human vessel for power and was ignorant of demon realms and their culture. Were they here to recruit him? Did they know what he was? Were they were working the demon that transformed him? The unanswered questions raced through his mind. For now he decided just to focus on the task at hand and indulge them.  

Caius stood 20m away from the butler facing towards him. He held his left arm out in front of him with his right arm pulled back near his chest. His fists were clenched waiting for the battle to begin. The demon disguising himself as an old man was polite enough to give him the first move of their bout. “Very well. Prepare yourself" The battle would start right after that sentence finished. Caius wouldn't even need to move a muscle for his attack. His stance had already prepared everything he needed. Out of his clenched left fist, a stream of invisible crash magic would propel itself forward towards Sebastian. If it struck, it would no doubt shatter the old man's bones and send him flying to the ground unable to fight. Though he had a powerful aura, would he have the perception to see through this attack? If he fell right away he could move on to questioning Asmodeus but deep down Caius hoped the butler wouldn't disappoint him.

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Sebastian had good battle instinct that was for certain. As soon as the attack started to project forward, he was on the move rushing straight at him. For an old bag of bones, his speed was lightning fast. From what Caius could tell, it was even faster than his own. But while Sebastian had speed, Caius had power. Which one would prevail would be the key factor to the outcome in this clash of demons. To deal with the unknown blast, a black mirror was summoned from one of the butlers hands that collided with the crash magic around the 10m mark. However, it didn't seem to be able to break through initially. Caius knew another attack would be necessary because the man continued his charge with the mirror moving forward. The butler would soon be upon him with a full speed follow up attack.

With enough time to act, Caius had already prepared his next attack right when the mirror shattered .The best part of his new found crash magic was how smoothly each magic attack flowed together quickly. Only hand motions were required to unleash a destructive level force. Caius clenched his right hand causing a blast of crash to surround himself and expand outwards in an 8m dome. With the old man running at full speed only around 5m away and closing, there was no doubt he would get caught up in the blast of the attack. If it struck, the man's body would shatter and rag doll across the arena floor. Caius would stand his ground regardless and prepare himself in case the old man had a counter attack. If the attack was to hit. Caius would stare over to Asmodeus and the noisy elven twin to see what they though of the display.

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The old man was a perceptive one. Caius would give him that. Recognizing his attacks from the sand in the arena, Sebastian was yet again able to save himself from being struck by his attack. This time instead of a defensive mirror, the man directed his punch towards Caius to the ground instead. A dark wave of magic was able to sprout from the ground that clashed with his crash magic causing a violent explosion of power. A sand cloud from the arena covered them both as the magic dispersed in an even trade.The leftover particles from the darkness attack would disperse harmlessly when they landed on Caius body. The darkness demon surely was a worthy opponent. But now it was time to end things.

While the attack was impressive, it left the butler in a very vulnerable state. He killed off all momentum he gathered in order to stop and punch the ground. Though he was fast, he would still have stand back up and recover before charging at Caius again. This allowed ample time to prepare a follow up attack for the demon before any type of follow up attack. It was his most powerful spell. An upgraded version of the one he had used before. The reason he decided to go all out was because the butler had fended off his previous spells which were only one rank lower with ease. The man was also too close for comfort. Caius was more of a long range fighter and struggled in close combat. The butler should be honored he would get a taste of his full power. After the attacks collided, Caius quickly partially released and then clenched his right hand. A force strong enough to level buildings would be unleashed in a violent flurry outwards. With Sebas still getting up to close the gap, he would need another spell to stand against Caius' or else he would suffer a crippling blow.

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The pulse of crash magic roared outwards as it went to claim Sebastian. Though he wasn't able to see it, he had no doubt in his mind that he had been crushed by his sheer power. After the blast settled, the clouds of sand slowly fell to ground giving him a clear view of the arena. Looking around, in front of him, he didn't see the butler anywhere on the ground. A slight panic overcame him as he jerked around to find him and response. The spell was strong but it wouldn't have obliterated him completely. Did he underestimate him? Was it some type of invisibility spell? As he scanned the area, he saw that Sebas had somehow returned back to Asmodeus and the twins unharmed. There was a small sigh of relief as it looked like the butler had conceded the battle kneeling back to his master.  "Crafty old man." he thought.

With his lust for battle sated, Caius walked over to the group of mysterious individuals to ask some questions that pondered his mind. He was grateful that the duel helped with his crash magic control. However, information was a strong weapon as well.  "Ah you're pet demon was not bad as well Asmodeus." Caius would reveal he knew what the man was the entire time. Judging by her words, it was almost confirmed they knew what he was.  It was just the 5 of them now so he could break his fake personality and let out his real intentions. The demonic demonic aura would pulsate from his body to all in front of him. The darkness burned like a black flame around all it consumed. The old man was most likely not to much of a threat anymore but he would pay gauge on how it affected the twins and master.

"My power is just as you said. I recently sold out my human vessel for the power of a demon. I have a close demon friend to thank for that." he would say referring to Yumi of Grimoire Heart. Though she was a tad crazy, her display of power was enough to convince him to turn.  Caius raised his left hand towards Asmodeus. His face was not one to be played with as he threatened the busty master.  "As far as this demon of destruction, I could care less. Let's cut the bullshit. If a demon is serving you then you must have some type of rank. Who exactly are you and what do you want with me? If you expect me to serve you then you are sorely mistaken. Out with it before i lose my patience." He narrowed his eyes as magic would start to gather in his arm. She would have two choices. Answer now or die.

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Asmodeus would stagger at the pressure he emitted but managed to compose herself. This revealed that she was a weaker being than Caius. There was nothing to be afraid of from her in a fight. Regardless of that fact, he wanted to hear her out. As a new demon, he should try to learn what lie in store from him and what their culture would be like if he ran into more in the future. Yumi would never teach him as she was too busy spouting out her religious nonsense. This woman would have to do as a teacher.

A history lecture soon followed as Caius listened closely to every detail. The Abyss was the demon's homeland where it was ruled by 7 lords. One name rung a bell in his head. The demon of pride who actually was a close friend of his named Odin. This information was put in the back of his mind. It was a chip to use for later.

Continuing the story, the 7 demon lords seemed to be enemies with the holy knights and were taken out one by one in the ensuing war between them. Rather than killed, they were sealed into mortal vessels to reduce their power level. In her case, it was the form of a tiny little girl. Most likely it was the reason why a man as strong as Sebas was fighting in her place. As far as why she wanted to meet with Caius, it was just to sate her curiosity of his power which he more than obliged.

After the tale was finished Caius only could smile."A fine lesson. If I recall, you said you were the lord of lust right?" He couldn't contain it as he let out a mocking chuckle. "What rubbish. You can't even stand up to my aura and failed to beat the holy knights with the full power of your allies. Not only that, but you all got captured and weakened. I know demons far stronger than them and your butler. If this is what you call a lords power than, we are gods." He spit off to side as if to disrespect their title.


"That being said" Caius would lower his hand down to ease the tension between the two of them. "The backstory of these demon lords does intrigue me. I happen to be a part of a guild with vast resources. You said the demon of pride yes? One of my guild mates hosts him in his body. Lucifer the fire demon I believe his name was. He has long given up on that dream and serves us faithfully now. Times have changed. I can take you to him if you would like. I'm sure he has an idea where the other five are. But in exchange for this I would request you and your servants pledge yourself to our guild. It's not a bad deal if I do say so myself.

Grimoire Heart was a guild full of dark beings so these demons would be welcome with open arms. They got more power in their ranks and she got her demon lord. Caius was a man of opportunity though he was skeptical of this woman's haughty attitude. Depending on her reaction, things could be making an interesting turn.