Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam

Chapter 1088 - 268: The Desire of the Old Gods

The lavish, golden-glittering mansion sat atop a small hill in the Capital City, held aloft midair by spiraling roots in a way that flagrantly violated the laws of physics. Spreading branches unfolded into stairways leading up to an aerial pavilion, while unceasing water flowed down from this ancient tree that pierced the clouds, forming a circular lake at its base."See? That’s a Demon’s craftsmanship for you."

Lindong stood beneath the treehouse, tilting her head back to gaze up at her own sky palace. Before she left, she’d given those thirty Demon servants a rough concept of what she wanted from her new home, and they had gone all out to turn those imagined scenes into reality.

Even in the Demons’ Capital City, a structure like this stood out by a mile. With the exception of the special race of succubi, the aesthetic sense of most Demon groups took after their master Sincaro—full of rugged, grotesque visual impact. Each building looked as if someone had forcibly stitched together elements of Victorian Era and Holy City architecture, and then tossed in a few of the Demons’ personal "interpretations" for good measure.

For example, adding skulls in wildly inappropriate places as symbols that broadcast their evil identity.

Quite a few Demons in the Capital City were utterly absorbed in this art-piece of a sky palace; when Lindong and Ethan returned to her temporary residence, they found the slope crowded with Demons who had come to gawk.

It seemed that aside from the three major Demon gangs Angela had mentioned, most of the civilians here led a fairly slow-paced life.

"They’re basically the perfect contractors."

Some designs that even Lindong herself had no idea how to realize had been turned into reality by the Demon servants.

Maybe even if she’d asked for something as ridiculous as a "multicolored jet-black" wall ornament, these Demons would still find a way to make it happen. After all, this world sat somewhere between Magic and science; many crystallizations of Holy City technology had left their shadows here in the Capital City. It was proof of Sincaro’s long-term collaboration with the Lord of the Holy City—and, on the other hand, this place had been born from the faith in an Old Gods.

"Isn’t this all a bit too high-profile?"

Ethan asked in a low voice.

This was Sincaro’s turf, and Lindong’s residence had already become a landmark building in the Capital City, making it hard not to draw attention.

"That’s the only way it lives up to the status of a Prince Demon." Lindong smiled faintly. "I only made use of His thirty Demon slaves; the things He borrowed from us were far more valuable... Won’t you do me the honor of coming in for a look?"

Lindong gracefully extended her right hand to Ethan, inviting him like a true succubus queen.

Ethan clasped that palm wrapped in white gloves, and the two of them stepped onto the spiraling root staircase. The intense shift in visuals made him feel as if he’d fallen down a rabbit hole.

Inside, the palace was dominated by dark gold and deep violet. From the vaulted ceiling of the great hall hung crystal chandeliers; within each prism, flowing starlight was imprisoned. The walls were not solid, but woven out of bands of light, faintly reflecting the water currents outside. Beneath transparent crystal flooring, thick tree veins throbbed slowly like living creatures—only what flowed within them was not sap, but shimmering liquid mithril. The air was laced with the mixed scent of sandalwood and cold frost; with every step, concentric ripples of light spread out underfoot, as if they were walking on a river of stars.

"Looks like they even designed a sense of ’breathing’ into the place."

Lindong lightly brushed her fingertips against the wall of light, and a ring of warm gold immediately rippled out from the point of contact. The palace was slowly waking with its master’s arrival.

At the same time, all the noisy chatter outside was shut out beyond the front doors.

For the moment, this dazzling palace belonged to the two of them alone.

This was another of Lindong’s stipulations—without the master’s permission, no Demon servant was allowed to set foot inside the palace. They would be housed instead in an annex on the other side of the slope.

"This doesn’t feel like your style."

Ethan looked around, feeling as though he’d stepped into the fairy-tale castle from some girl’s dreams. He was getting to know Lindong all over again. At first, he’d thought she chased a minimalist aesthetic; he hadn’t expected the great First Seat of the Holy City to harbor such a girlish heart.

"What?"

"I thought you’d have them design this place into an ecological pod."

"That would be a total waste of their abilities."

After only a brief exchange with the Demon servants, she had discovered their potential.

They were born builders, perfect assistants. Who knew what genes Sincaro had pilfered to create these Demons?

"Thanks to them, my impression of Sincaro has improved a little."

At the very least, His followers weren’t as much of a piece of shit as Sincaro Himself. They had their own redeeming qualities. "If you just call someone ’a piece of shit’ over and over, you end up blind and subjective."

"I thought you came here to give Sincaro a hard time."

Ethan followed along with Lindong’s train of thought. Lindong was the smartest person he’d ever met; one hour was enough for her to gain a comprehensive understanding of this world and the Demons’ ecology.

"That was before I saw this city. You should’ve noticed it too—the biggest difference between Sincaro and the other Old Gods."

Lindong walked to the window and looked down. Between the uneven spires and crooked chimneys of the Capital City, Demons of all shapes and sizes scurried like ants; from the forge district drifted fumes of sulfur and metal, and beneath a few smoking skull-shaped chimneys, Demon vendors were leisurely hawking fruits that glowed with a ghostly violet light.

If you ignored their skin color and horns, this place was almost no different from human society.