63: Blood Demon
"I'm a demon as well," Ryder's one simple statement managed to stun the others once more.
"You're a demon?" High Duke Oris exclaimed in surprise. He looked at Devilia as he wondered why she didn't tell him, but she looked even more confused than him.
'He's a demon?' She looked at him in shock.
"Yes. I'm a demon. My master confirmed it himself. Only after that did he take me as his disciple," He further added.
"Ahh... Little friend, it's not that we don't trust you, but we just can't understand why a young demon like you would be in the outside world? In the last 500 years, no demon has left this place," High Duke Magna asked.
He had already believed that Ryder was Salem's disciple after watching the violent reaction of the Scythe, but he couldn't believe the claim of him being a demon.
"This... I can't talk about that, but I'm indeed a demon." Ryder was visibly stunned at the question. He had no knowledge about this; thus, he skipped it and pretended to be ignorant.
"Sigh, Since you can't answer that, can we at least have a test? We can check your bloodline to see if you're actually a demon. And even if you're a demon, which clan of the demons are you from," High Duke Magna said.
"You can have the test," Ryder said without any worries. After all, he was a demon now; there was no way that he would fall the test.
As for the demon clan, it didn't matter to him. Even if the test said that he was from the weakest clan, the others wouldn't insult or belittle him because of that. He was their king's disciple, after all.
"That's great," High Duke Magna said with a smile on his face as he made a circle in the air using his finger. A spatial portal appeared in front of him.
He inserted his hand inside that spatial portal and brought a semi-transparent crystal orb outside.
"Come closer. You just need to place your hand on top of it. It will do the rest," High Duke Magna held the orb in his hand as he told Ryder.
"Alright," Ryder nodded and stepped closer to High Duke Magna.
He didn't think too much and simply placed his hands on the crystal orb.
There
Even Ryder himself was wondering as to what was happening.
'Is this thing broken?' He thought with a weird look on his face.
High Duke Magna started speaking after a while. He felt like he was just wasting his time at the moment.
"That's enough. You can..." As he was speaking, his words stopped coming out while his mouth opened wide in shock.
Those who were seeing that Orb had the same reaction as him. Even High Duke Oris couldn't help but frown as he saw the orb change color.
The orb was showing Blood Red color, and it was shining so brightly that a shade of red also appeared on the faces of Ryder and High Duke Magna.
Ryder finally breathed in relief as he saw the orb react. He realized that he had passed the test, but before he could celebrate, he saw High Duke Magna step backward. The crystal orb fell to the ground, and it shattered into pieces.
High Duke Magna brought his sword out and pointed it at Ryder.
"You're from the Blood Demon Clan!" He said as he clenched his teeth. Ryder could see the hate in his eyes.
He realized that he had somehow screwed up without even realizing it.
"High Duke Magna! Lower your sword! How dare you point your weapon at His Majesty's disciple?" High Duke Oris let out loudly as he appeared between Ryder and High Duke Magna.
"But Oris! He's from the Blood Demon Clan!" High Duke Magna let out loud. He didn't lower his sword.
"So what! Do you think His Majesty wouldn't have discovered that? Since he selected him, that must mean that this boy is worth his trust. Since he believes in him, I will believe in him as well. And if you don't lower your weapon right now, I would think that you're challenging His Majesty's authority!" High Duke Oris responded. He brought his sword out as well as if he was ready for a fight if needed.
"Don't twist the facts! I'm not against His Majesty, but we can't ignore the fact that he's one of the Blood Demons!"High Duke Magna said.
" I can't believe one of them is still alive!" High Duke Mila let out softly as she glanced at Ryder.
"It's indeed shocking, but since the Emperor doesn't mind it, I don't think we should either. No matter what the Blood Demon Clan did in the past, we can't blame it on this kid. Maybe His Majesty thought the same. If he was unworthy in his eyes, he wouldn't have given him his Moon Scythe," Another High Duke said.
He was called High Duke Musam. He was considered to be the 4th strongest in the Demon Realm amongst the High Dukes.
He had been silent since the meeting began, but he didn't want to see High Duke Magna attack, Ryder. That might be dangerous. Not just for him, but others as well.
The other High Dukes said the same thing and took Oris' Side.
High Duke Magna saw all that and ultimately lowered his sword.
"Since His Majesty didn't mind it, I guess I'd ignore the fact as well," He said. He looked somewhat unwilling when talking about it though.
" We might choose to ignore the facts, but I don't think the citizens would accept him. We can't let the citizens know about it, or there might be trouble in the Demon Realm," High Duke Mila pointed out as she attracted the attention of everyone.
At this moment, only High Dukes were talking, and Dukes didn't speak, though they all had an opinion of their own on the matter.