Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

A trail of dust rose behind Adam's bolting figure.

With each urgent step, the wind battered his half-melted armor as the scenery blurred in his eyes.

Heart racing against his chest, he avoided the trees on his way for half an hour before he emerged from the forest.

He exhaled, his ragged breath echoing against his territory's calm farms. But he couldn't waste time, not when Loki did something weird to his demon den.

Under the evening sun's rays, he passed by the Tomte and Sam, who overlooked the empty fields and Demeter's Harvest Hall, before he leapt across the river. Landing on the paved street, he passed by the oikas, Gate, and the demonic altar.

He noticed that the latter had changed once again. It now reached higher into the sky, and the tube-like fingers began to resemble thick branches. They spewed more demonic essence, and its purity forced his shoulders to cramp and shudder in eagerness.

He stopped for a moment and narrowed his eyes at the dark rocks and the green veins splitting them. Their arrangement and the way they pulsed strangely reminded him of a living being.

He shook his head.

'Why does the altar almost look like a petrified tree trying to recover?'

The question crossed his mind before he focused on the demon den a few dozen meters behind.

Unlike its usual hellish appearance, the building now looked...

"The heck does it even look like?! What have you done, Loki?!"

He facepalmed at the strange yet functional building.

Half of it released fiery green flames that distorted the surroundings, while the other half wafted horrible frosty air that froze the ground.

Demonic engraving pulsed a bright green shine on the right. As for the left? He saw old Nordic runes pulsing pale blue.

He massaged his forehead, inhaling sharply as he pushed the heavy doors open.

A burst of burning and chilly air carrying the scent of sulfur and frost crashed on his face. His flowing hair fluttered back as his teeth clattered and his tongue clicked in annoyance.

"Now that the heat doesn't affect me much, you had to add frost! What is this? The definition of trolling?"

Enduring his disgruntlement, he scratched his head at the green liquid flames dancing in half the pool. Opposite it, glacial blue flames swirled in a masterful balance that forced his eyes to enlarge.

However, when he squinted at the bottom of the pool, a sensation of weakness overcame his powerful legs and he almost fainted in anger and horror.

An icy shiver running down his spine, he pointed his shaky finger at a gaping tear in space.

"What's that?!"

On the other side, an ugly giant, his skin a pale shade of blue and his fists the size of his house, returned his gaze.

His lips curled next as Adam trembled.

'Don't smile at me. I'm not here!'

However, the giant waved at him and opened his mouth.

"I thought I would have to wait longer. Welcome to your new demon den! First thing first, I stand in Jotunheim, the realm of giants."

Meanwhile, Adam's eyes rolled in their sockets as his mind rumbled.

'That crazy trickster really opened a portal to Jotunheim in my territory! Is he stupid? How did Tiamat accept and praise him for it? They can invade us anytime they want now!'

The giant shook his head and took out a pipe the size of a car from his loincloth. After taking a freezing puff, he continued.

"I'm in the eternal permafrost created from Ymir's bones and guard a fragment of Élivágar, the river he was born from. No one in this realm can survive here but me. I'm also the one controlling this tear. So, don't worry about invasions." He took another puff. "By the way, I'm Hrimgar, one of Ymir's direct descendants. Nice to meet you."

However, Hrimgar's politeness and explanation only added to the dread dancing in Adam's eyes.

'Ymir's descendant! He must be on the demon duke or prince level!' Still, he sighed in relief. 'At least they can't use this tear to invade my territory.'

The realisation bringing a sliver of relief into his troubled heart, he nodded at the giant.

"I'm Adam. Nice to meet you too, but I doubt you waited just to tell me that."

Hrimgar shrugged and pointed at a small, steaming pond behind him.

"Loki linked the fragment of Élivágar to your den. You can throw ten cores of the fourth tier to create a jotun through it." He chuckled. "I would have warned you about our race's penchant for violence, but I won't do you this insult since you're commanding demons already."

Before Adam could react, he continued. "The second feature allows the frosty energy from Ymir's bone to mix in your territory's air. You won't need it, but it'll help any individual with an affinity for ice, not to mention the jotuns you'll summon in the future. That ends my explanation." He waved his hand again. "I'll close the tear to let you rest in peace.

See you next time, and good luck fighting the Aesirs!"

Just like that, space twitched and repaired itself. After a minute, only a faint crack remained where the once gaping tear stood.

Eyes wide, Adam watched it for a moment before he clenched his fists.

"I can summon jotuns! I must create a giant division in my army. We'll be unstoppable!" Your next chapter awaits on mvl

A wistful smile split his face as he imagined his division of jotuns and balors marching on the demon king's cities.

However, he couldn't help but think that a dozen tier-four cores were too much for a single summon.

He tucked his fingers around his chin, trying to find a logical reason.

'The only giant demon I know about is the balor. But it's a creature of the sixth tier. So, that may explain the price.'

He nodded, convinced by his idea since the jotuns would eventually grow to the same rank.

Then, grinning from ear to ear and satisfied by Loki's merging despite his earlier reservations, he left the den and went to the Gate.

On his way, he whistled an RPG's tune as he threw the Kundala up and down eagerly.

Once before it, he smirked and took his pitching stance.

"No matter who I get, he has to be an SSR fighter!"

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AN: Who already guessed who the next mythical figure is? I'm curious to know. :D