The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

Farun couldn't believe he had been captured. The Dark Lord had suspected that the army sent to seal the last Gate was ambushed and destroyed by Dragonkins. After all, only they ever opposed the Demon Lord. However, he was captured by a powerful monster, not just an ordinary one but a scion. He had never seen a monster with such exceptional magic skills before, which made him realise that the Demon Lord was wrong. The Dungeon must have wiped out the army. This was bad... Farun was chained, and his magic was sealed. He couldn't recall his way here, wherever he was. His head was spinning, and he felt ill, a dead giveaway he was the victim of various mana drain and sleeping skills. He stood up, and the nausea was way too much. Farun threw up, which only added pain to his empty stomach. He wiped his face with the forearm and took a look around. His hands and legs were chained, and it was obvious that the metal was enchanted to prevent him from using any skill. The enchantment had some vulnerabilities, but he could still do nothing about it.

He took a look around and found himself in a prison cell. The front half of his cell was made of solid-looking, thick iron bars, and the rear half was a solid wall made of stone. He wobbly and slowly approached the wall and put his hand on it. With a sigh, he sat heavily on the floor, recognizing that his situation was rather grim. Enchanted stone. It was impossible to break through it. He faintly sensed other captives in the nearby cells but was too weak to discern who they were. However, he forced himself to stand up and slowly approached the bars. He couldn't tell how big the prison was. From his cell, he could see the rows of cells on the opposite side of the corridor as far as he could see on both sides. Every cell was occupied, but his fellow inmates were fast asleep. It was dark, and the air was stale but breathable. He slowly returned to the rear of the cell, where he found crude bedding made of hay stuffed into some rags. In resignation, he threw himself down and fell asleep before he knew it.

Farun was woken up by the unpleasant sound of a loud horn. Surprised, he noticed that the other prisoners consisted of many races. Humans, Elves, Beastkins, but most importantly, other Demonkins. They were all standing near the bars, staring into the distance with an empty, unseeing gaze. As he came closer to the bars, he noticed a towering Greater Demon in the cell right next to him. If Farun was right, his name was Hürnrrät, and he was one of the Captains who were presumed dead. However, it was a bad sign. If he had been captured and held captive for so long, Farun himself would have had a minimal chance of fleeing. He was about to introduce himself to Captain Hürnrrät when the distant doors opened with a dry squeak, and the prisoners stepped deeper into their cells. He followed suit not to gain any unnecessary attention from whoever or whatever passed for a warden. The sound of the opening doors was followed by the squeak of wheels from some sort of cart. It took a while, but the cart finally arrived close by, and Farun couldn't believe his eyes.

The cart was pushed by a Succubus, and judging by her mana, it must have been Cahrona Ashes. If she was alive, then not everything was lost! He shook his head and put on a neutral facial expression, deciding to observe the situation first. In the meantime, Cahrona poured soup into bowls and gave them to the prisoners. Everyone made sure to thank her, which surprised the Imp even more. He needed to learn more. When she finally arrived at his cell, he saw much evidence of rough treatment on her body. She was bruised, and evidently, she was not sleeping well, judging by the dark spots under her eyes. Farun also noticed a chain that bound her to the cart, which was only long enough for her to reach the cell she was near.

"Oh? I haven't seen you before," she quietly said to him as she poured the soup. "Are you part of the scouting party?"

"No. I was captured during an observation mission," he responded just as quietly. "Are you, by chance, Lady Cahrona Ashes?"

She visibly trembled and took out a piece of bread. But once she gave him the food, she looked displeased. "Hush! You’ll make it look like I'm important!"

"I'm sorry..." Farun whispered and took the bowl of soup. "Thank you."

She did not respond and returned to her cart. Soon after, she moved forward with her duties and disappeared from his sight.

"Oy..." Farun noticed the concerned face of Hürnrrät looking at him from the partially opened side of his cell.

One-third of the cells from the front were more like cages, with thick bars restricting access to nearby cells but allowing the inmates to see each other. His assumptions yesterday about the cell being half cage and half stone prison were incorrect. His cell was also much smaller than he initially thought it to be.

"Oy!" The giant Demon slammed his fist on the bar, startling the much smaller imp. "Are you dumb?"

"Sorry, I'm so sorry, my Lord!" Farun pressed his face against the floor.

"Shut the fuck up, you idiot!" Hürnrrät's voice was terrifying. "We are in the Dungeon, so stop your babbling, moron! You live only because you have a considerable amount of mana. But if you start shouting the secrets you know, the scion will take you."

"The scion?" Farun started to become frightened. How was it possible that someone as powerful as Hürnrrät was so afraid?

"You don't know what a scion is? Then you are dumber than you look like." The large Demon sighed and gave him a death stare. "I don't care if you want to commit suicide, but if you expose Cahrona to danger, I will kill you myself!"

Farun swallowed in fear but dared not to say a word. In the meantime, Hürnrrät slurped his entire soup in one go. He gave him another cold stare and sighed. "I let it slide this time. But you know how important she is." Farun simply nodded as he was too afraid to speak. "Good. Whatever you do, don't you dare let them find out about Cahrona. As long as she is alive, there is a chance that the Dark Lord will finally raid this place and recover her. The army should be on the way here anyway."

"They won't..." the imp whispered so only Hürnrrät could hear him. "They are trying to find this place, but it may take them decades."

"Damn it." Hürnrrät slammed his fist against the floor. "We must endure..."

"If only I could use my power..."

"Pft... If anyone could use their power, we wouldn't be sitting in these stinky cells, you moron." The Demon clicked his tongue. "Only Cahrona is allowed in the kitchen to use her skills and powers."

"Why only her?" Farun started eating his soup, but suddenly, a strange warmth spilled from his stomach.

"You felt it?" Hürnrrät pointed his finger at his belly. "The scion simply picked her to do that job. Since then, all the prisoners started feeling better, so they allowed her to do what she wanted. She can't run away, so Cahrona became our cook. She adds her magic to our food. Strengthening and regeneration- I don't even know what else. She keeps us all alive."

"Why?" The Imp was flabbergasted.

"The more of us stay alive, the longer she will live, too."

"She doesn't know she is..."

"Shush, you idiot!" Hürnrrät snarled at him. "We don't have much time, so I'll be brief. Now, my group is going to the mines. I do not know where you will be assigned, but if you want to live, do what they ask. Welcome to Tartarus, Imp..."

Farun nodded, confused and frightened. A few moments later, most of the cells opened, and the prisoners stepped out in an orderly fashion. After the people left the block, it became eerily quiet. Dripping water tapped somewhere in the distance, echoing through the desolate place. His door remained closed, and he wondered what would become of him. Farun shook his head, still stunned by everything he had seen. He needed to break free. He tried to use his strength to break the chains, but they were unbelievably strong.

"Pointless..." A woman's voice made him jump.

Behind him stood the same scion that captured him. He had never seen an Elf with wings before, but that was the only way he could describe her. She gave him a bored look, and a pulse of mana almost hammered all the air from his lungs.

"Ah... I was right to catch you," she cackled. "You know the Magic Bullet spell, you bug?"

"Y-yes..." Farun responded hesitantly. The Magic Bullet was just an advanced version of the Magic Arrow, so it wasn't harmful to admit it.

"Good. From now until you die, your job will be creating scrolls with that spell." She snapped her fingers and walked away.

Farun scratched his head and wondered what was the point. However, inscribing scrolls might give him an opportunity to run away. He was confused about everything here, and his head was spinning. As he turned around, he was shocked once again, seeing a scribe's desk with a pile of what was probably scroll papers along with an inkpot and quill meant to be used for writing. He quickly approached this new addition to his cell, inspected the utensils he received with hope, and slowly formed a plan. However, the paper was of such poor quality that inscribing even a Fireball spell would fail. The ink wasn't any better...

"What are you doing?! Get to work quickly!" Cahrona's hushed voice almost gave him a heart attack. "You will be punished if you don't make your quota!"

"What?" He looked at her in disbelief as she swept the floor in front of his cell.

"You have to make at least thirty scrolls per day," she explained without looking at him. "I have to warn you against doing anything foolish. Don't anger the Dungeon."

The Imp simply nodded and watched her walk away. He couldn't fathom his predicament but decided to play along. As he considered how to produce the required scrolls, he noticed a few slices of bread on the floor and greedily picked at them. Cahrona must have left it for him. He got to work and discovered that creating such a rudimentary scroll was extremely tiring. He couldn't tell how much time passed, but other prisoners started returning. He managed to produce only twenty scrolls before the scion returned.

"You worthless bug." She pierced him with a scornful gaze. "You have not met your quota!"

Farun shuddered upon hearing her voice. "I wasn't told how many I should make."

"You're supposed to be intelligent..." She sighed, highly disappointed. "No matter. From now on, you will produce thirty scrolls daily. The punishment for today's failure will be cutting your food portion. Next time, the punishment will be one lash for each missing scroll. Well then. There is still time, bug, so keep working, and maybe you get a bit more food." She raised her hand and pointed towards the table. "Better work diligently for your own good."

The scion took the scrolls he had produced and left his cell. In fear, he quickly returned to work, and before he knew it, he dropped unconscious, entirely out of mana.

The following days were the same. Farun woke up, ate a meal, and was forced to work all day, which ended with another meal. He would hear the screams of his inmates who had not met their quota and saw the skeleton wardens walking the corridor holding vicious-looking whips. He worked relentlessly so he would not be hit with such a weapon. Hürnrrät explained a few things to him and told him about the horrible punishment inflicted upon those who had not met the quota. Cahrona was always somewhere in the background, and somehow, the mere sight of her gave him the strength to endure. The days passed in a blur, blunting his senses and forcing him to realise there was no escape. One night, he was woken up by Cahrona's soft voice, who had brought him some food. He noticed she was sneaking additional food to everyone, which stirred something deep within him. With the weeks changing into months, all with the rhythm of falling asleep and waking up, he lost all sense of time. The only constant in his life was Cahrona. Her sweet scent lifted his fatigue and her smile brightened his day.

Something finally broke inside him after all this time in this prison. He couldn't be saved from this hell, but if Cahrona returned to the Dark One, the Devilkin forces may raid this place and save them. But... But if she returned there, she would die. He looked at the pile of paper and the rarely cleaned pile of failed scrolls and came up with an idea. He can't produce a teleportation scroll, but maybe, just maybe, he could write a spellbook. It was a risky bet, but even Cahrona could learn the teleportation spell if he succeeded. He dedicated himself to that project and meticulously wrote the book. It was much easier to write it than any scroll since he wasn't infusing the text with his mana. It took him another week to adjust the formulas and write everything she must know. The only problem was her low mana count. As an Imp, he was able to use the teleportation spell on his own and teleport on short distances. However, it was worth a shot. She must run and hide. Farun hoped she would believe him... Finally, one night, he whispered to her when she was again giving the inmates additional food.

"Lady Cahrona, please listen to me very carefully."

"Farun?"

"Yes. It's me. Listen, you must run from this place, but you mustn't return to the Dark Lord or any other Devilkin forces," he whispered, barely seeing her in the darkness of the prison.

"Do you think I would be sitting here if I could escape?" she asked with a tired and bitter voice. "What is this nonsense about not returning home, Farun?"

"The truth is... You were deceived. I know it's hard to believe, but I beg you, once you escape from this place, you must hide forever. You were supposed to be sacrificed to seal the last Leyline Gate as the final victim. Promise me that you will never return to the Dark One, and I will give you a way to break free from this nightmare."

"What are you..." Farun could hear Hürnrrät painfully moaning in his sleep in the adjacent cell. In a panic, he covered Cahrona's mouth and hushed her.

"Just promise me," he begged. "I'm already done, Lady Cahrona. I won't survive in this terrible place much longer. But it was you who kept me alive for so long. That's why I want to repay my debt."

He quickly took out the crude spellbook he had created. Its cover was made from a few pieces of failed spell scrolls drenched in soup to make them thicker. The pages were crudely sewn inside by the thin strips of the old rug that made up his bedding.

"This is a spellbook from which you can learn teleportation. Swear to me that you won't return home. Swear to me you will run away so far that no Devilkin can find you." He waved the book and saw the shock on her face. "There is much you were unaware of. Please, Lady Cahrona, promise me..."

"All right... I won't return to the Dark One." She nodded, and he quickly pushed the book into her hands.

"Run, Cahrona. Run and live a happy life, and forget about your race. We all had wanted to kill you."

"I..." She opened the spellbook and quickly read it. "I know, Farun..."

"I see..." Farun felt an icy cold ball form in his stomach. But he just smiled and exhaled. "And despite that, you helped us. You are amazing, Lady Cahrona. It's a shame you weren't born to be a Dark Lord."

"Do you want to serve me, Farun?" Cahrona asked. Suddenly, the doors to the cell block opened, and someone started yelling.

"Yes, Lady Cahrona. I would gladly serve you..." he replied despite the distant screams, but as soon as he finished, he started crying out in pain.

"Farun?!" He saw shock painted on her face, and her hand extended towards him.

He grabbed her hand and felt his own hot blood dripping from his nose. His vision turned red, and he barely heard anything. In his last moments, Farun realised he was dying. He had not forgotten about the hidden curse etched directly into his heart to ensure the loyalty of everyone who possessed the teleportation skill. The Dark Lord wasn't merciful, after all. Farun, however, had chosen to ignore the consequences and died happy, holding the hand of the rightful Dark Lord, Lady Cahrona Ashes.