"Forgive me, my Lord but I must confess that I am happy with the results," Chief Damien replied.
"As expected of you," the Demon Lord said to him and focused on the battlefield.
"The winner is Alex!" The host announced and the veil went back up into the sky, with the blood moon disappearing and the sky returning to normal.
The barrier disappeared as well and everyone cheered for Alex. They were both excited and astonished while some male demons were proud because they had finally gotten a male winner this time around.
"As the winner, please go up to our Lord and receive your reward," the host said to Alex who slowly got up and stood straight.
He could not be more happy with himself because of his achievements. With this victory, he was certain that he had gained the respect and admiration of many demons out there.
"Alex!" Emilia yelled and hugged him from behind. Even Alex was taken aback by her action but he didn't directly push her away.
"If you keep pressing your soft chest against my back, I'll be forced to—"
"Sorry," Emilia mumbled and quickly pulled away with her cheeks already red.
"Let's go and receive the reward," he said to her and began to make his way toward the Demon Lord and his followers. When they got there, they both knelt before their Lord.
"Alex is it?" The Lord asked them.
"Yes," Alex replied with his head lowered.
"What kind of reward would you want? Wealth? More power? Or fame? Which one?" The Demon Lord asked him.
Alex figured out that it could be some sort of test so he knew he had to be careful with his reply.
"I just want somewhere I can call home," he replied. Though it may not seem like it, this was something he wished for — A place he could call home.
"Are you sure?" The demon Lord asked him.
"I am," Alex replied.
"Stand up," the Demon Lord said to him and he stood up and faced him. The Demon Lord stared at him intensely for a while and when he was satisfied with whatever he wanted, he continued. "You are an honest demon," he said to him. "If I asked you to serve me, would you?" He asked him.
"No, I refuse to be under anyone," Alex replied.
"What insolence!" Chief Yama yelled out of a sudden and everyone turned in his direction. "How dare you talk to our Lord in that disrespectful manner?" He yelled at Alex before turning to the Demon Lord and falling to his knees. "My Lord, he has no disrespect for you and should be punished according to the rules," he said to him.
"Is that so?" The demon Lord asked him.
"Yes, my Lord!" Chief Yama confidently replied.
"Then, what do you think should be his punishment?" The Lord asked him.
"My Lord, according to the rules, he should be punished by spending two nights in the cold room," Chief Yama replied and those who heard him gasped.
Emilia who was still on her knees fell face flat on the ground and began to plead.
"My Lord, please if you want to punish anyone, it should be me for not teaching him the rules," she said to him.
"No! My Lord, don't punish them. Punish me instead," Chief Damien fell to his knees and pleaded.
Seeing how they were all supportive of Alex, Chief Yama clenched his fists in anger.
"It hasn't gotten to this extent," the Demon Lord said cheerfully and laughed. "Young demon, look... They don't want you to be punished," he said to Alex who glanced at both Emilia and her father.
"I am grateful," Alex said. Truly, he was grateful because no one had ever stood up for him before.
"Chief Yama, he is new around here and is still unfamiliar with the rules. We will forgive him just this time, next time we won't, what do you say?" The demon Lord asked Chief Yama.
"My Lord, I —"
"That's alright," the Demon Lord said to him seeing that he was reluctant to say something. Then he turned to Alex and continued. "No male demon has ever successfully won the blood moon dance contest, you are the first, and as such, I will reward you with a city and some wealth. If you become successful, you will have more access to rewards in the future."
"Thank you, My Lord," Alex said with a bow.
"You may leave," the Demon Lord said to him and he and Emilia bowed and left the place.
As they left, Alex noticed that Emilia wasn't happy.
"What could be bothering you this time?" He asked her.
"Aren't you suspicious of the Lord?" She asked him with a worried look in her eyes.
"Is this about the reward he gave to me?" He asked her.
"Yes," she replied and Alex sighed.
"He is testing me, I know that already. The city he gave to me could either be a useless place or a poor place, if I can't make it prosperous within a year, it will be taken back and if I indeed make it prosperous, he will come for it. Either way, it is actually not a reward but a test. He is more cunning than Chief Yama," he explained.
"What do we do?" Emilia asked him.
"Nothing. It's a game and I'd love to play along with him," Alex replied.
As soon as they left the boundary of the ceremony ground, a group of guards was waiting for them.
"We were asked to escort you to your new place," the leader of the guards said to Alex.
"Okay," Alex replied and they followed them.
The leader of the guards drew a circle on the ground and asked them to stand in the middle but before they went to stand, a few guards had done the same and soon vanished on the spot.
"Is that safe?" Alex who watched them disappear whispered to Emilia who nodded her head.
"It's a teleportation spell," she said to him.
"Okay then," Alex replied and then went ahead to stand in the middle of the circle. As soon as he stood there, he saw himself vanish, and in a split second, he saw himself at the entrance of a city with the other guards standing close by.
Soon, Emilia also appeared next to him and lastly, the leader of the guards. Seeing the city, Emilia frowned.
"Tekoa is the poorest city in the entire demon realm with all manner of evil going on," she mumbled.
"Is it that bad?" Alex asked her.
"Even the Lord himself finds it hard to tame such a wild city," she replied.
"Are you speaking ill of our Lord? Do you want to be punished according to the rules?" The angry guard leader asked Emilia after overhearing her.
"No one is speaking ill of the Lord, it is a truth known to everyone. This city is the worst place anyone can be!" She argued back.
"The Lord decides to bring you here, who are you to talk against him!" The guard leader yelled.
"You—"
"That's enough!" Alex cautioned Emilia who wanted to speak more. He turned to the guard who was fuming and apologized. "Don't take her words heavily, we won't ever speak against the Lord," he said to him.
"That's better!" The guard leader said and turned around. "Let us go," he said to them and led them inside the city.
As they walked inside the city, the demons all came out and stared at them, some were curious while some didn't look pleased seeing them. Nevertheless, they walked until they got to a place that looked like an estate and walked in through the entrance gate.
To get to the main house, it was some miles away and they had to trek for a while but the guards were patient enough to escort them until they got there.
"This whole place is yours and this is your main house," the guard leader said to Alex as he pointed to the entrance of the house. "You can also employ servants as many as you want to help you out, they can stay at the other smaller houses if you wish or they can stay here with you."
"Okay," Alex replied.
"Here, this is the money the Lord asked me to give to you," the guard leader said and brought out a small bag of money and handed it to Alex who signaled Emilia to collect it.
"This small?" Emilia asked with a frown.
"What? Aren't you satisfied or do you want to question the Lord's order?" The guard leader asked, almost pissed off.
"We dare not complain," Alex replied to the guard Leader and signaled to Emilia to keep quiet.
"That will be all, have a good stay in your new place," the guard leader said to Alex and turned and left with his guards.
"The mansion isn't that bad but the city itself," Emilia muttered as she gazed at the house.
"I think we will have companies tonight," Alex said, gazing at her.