Inside the Destruction Palace, Shuten, Ibaraki, and Lunara found Kali in her destruction form sitting on her golden throne, silently awaiting their arrival. While this wasn’t the first time Shuten and Ibaraki saw Kali, this was the first time they got her attention. Every single time they saw her in the past, it was just from afar, while hiding in the shadows to avoid getting killed by her.

While Lunara had gotten used to Kali being around, the other Demon Lords couldn’t even fathom that. Kali wasn’t a queen or a ruler of the abyss like anyone else; she was an absolute dominator who ruled by blood, steel, and sheer power.

The demons worshipped her out of fear and terror, not love and compassion.

"Shuten and Ibaraki, the Crushing Demon Lord and the Penetrating Demon Lord. Like Lunara, who specialized in slashing attacks, you two specialize in bludgeoning and thrusts. Impressive power, especially if we count your demonic release."

Lunara, Shuten, and Ibaraki were all Oni demons, albeit a bit different in nature. An Oni demon is a demon that can take a humanoid shape, usually around three meters tall, and they all have horns and a body similar to humans, but sometimes have ears as long as those of elves. Some of them even have tusks like those of boars.

Lunara was a moon only, who could turn into a hare-like demon, showing impressive physical feats and the ability to control the moon to an extent. She had once dropped the moon on Arad’s head, showing the extent of her power.

Shuten is a Red Oni, or as they are called by humans, Blood Oni. When releasing her true form, she turns into a giant, red-skinned demoness that rampages through the battlefield with her Kanabo. What makes her even more dangerous is her drunken fighting style, which makes her moves unpredictable and several times stronger when hammered down.

Ibaraki, on the other hand, is a Yellow Oni; they are also called Desolation Demons. They are a bit shorter than other Oni, being as tall as regular humanoids. But they were all born in the Desolation, a land of pure sulfur in the depths of the abyss, where not even powerful demons dare wander.

Many Yellow Oni are known for their flame or acid demonic magic, but some managed to develop rare affinities like Ibaraki with her thorns.

Unlike everyone else in the universe, demons’ bloodlines are complicated, mainly because they split into many bloodlines and origins, especially with the mother of all demons constantly birthing new ones or modifying the old species. Humanoids had always found it hard to keep track of demons, especially since they are always bloodthirsty and violent, which makes studying them extremely hard.

Kali, who sat on her throne, was an Asura demon, also known as the Destruction Demons, multiarmed demons with tall figures, buff bodies, and a tendency for destruction rather than bloodshed.

"Since your mission under Amaterasu has ended, now, I have a new one for you two. Reconnaissance in the abyss. I want you to look for the lost kingdom of succubi hidden in the shadows. The base of operation of the Mother of All Life, and Death Herself."

The two paled the moment they heard that. That place was cursed, and no demon had ever found it before unless invited. Word is that the shadow kingdom of succubi is constantly drifting through the shadows of the endless and dark abyss, never staying in the same place for long.

Shadow dragons and demons can track it down, but not because of any special privilege or power, and only because if you can’t swim through the shadows, you’ll never have a chance of finding it anyway.

Shuten and Ibaraki instantly knew that they had no chance of fulfilling that order on their own, which quickly called into question Kali’s intentions. Was she sending them on an endless mission? To their deaths? Or did she have a plan?

They didn’t need to wait long to get their answer.

"She’ll be going with you, and make sure she stays safe." From the shadows of the walls, a dark elf woman walked. She was tall, had short hair, and wore a simple yet exquisite-looking robe.

"This is Grace, one of Arad’s wives and a shadow drakaina. Soon, we’ll need to take another one of Arad’s wives to the shadow kingdom, and so we must find the place first. I can use my authority to locate it, but that would be extremely rude to both the Mother of All Life and Death Herself." She smiled.

"Don’t worry, I’ll mark you all with my demonic magic so no demon shall dare lift a finger against you, but that magic won’t keep the mindless beasts away, so be careful."

Grace looked at the two demon lords, and then threw a glare at Kali. "Those two? I never saw them before."

"Of course, they’ve working under Amaterasu for a while. They are trustworthy, but a bit hard to manage." Kali pointed at Shuten and Ibaraki, "Both of them are stronger than you, but you have a skillset that would allow you to win against them both if you chose a battle of attrition."

She stood and looked at Grace. "For why we can trust them, they are one of the few demons who can control the primal urges." She then giggled. "They do a better job than even Merida."

"Fine, if you say so." Grace approached the two, "Nice to work with you."

The two demon lords stared at her for a second and paled the moment they could smell Arad on her. That man, no, that dragon was a true terror. They didn’t just see a woman; they saw a woman standing between the claws of a titanic black dragon.

Grace might not even need Kali’s magic; most demons would just sense Arad’s magic on her and give up.

The peculiar magic Arad left on all of his wives was nothing like anything that the two demon lords saw; it was dense, black, thick, and heavy. It felt like miasma, without the demonic part. It was as if the universe itself had marked them, and that they were being protected by it.

Grace here was just another shadow drakaina, but for some reason, even the ancient shadows here in Kali’s palace bent to her, and even Shuten and Ibaraki’s own shadows showed signs of submission to her will.

"Nice to work with you too." Shuten replied, and then threw a glance at Kali. "Do you have any place in mind where we could start searching? The abyss is VAST."

Shuten was right, each layer of the over one million layers in the abyss was larger than the mortal world, and they only got more dangerous the deeper one went. What was even more terrifying was that new layers were constantly made at the bottom.

"How about the locations with the most succubus activities? The kingdom of the succubi is just that, an entire kingdom of only succubi. While they have tentacle dungeons to feed off, they sometimes leave the kingdom to hunt for males." Kali looked behind her, and a beautiful naked demoness floated out of the silk curtains. "Let’s start with my layer."

That was the Demon Lord of Lust.