Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

Wolfe chuckled as he hugged the bored succubus. "Rail, meet King Petros, of the Fallen. Petros, this is Rail, one of my closest friends, and a former investigator from the Demon Realm's Security Force."

Petros smiled at her. "Greetings, Miss Rail. Tell me, is it common to hang off others like that? Perhaps I'm a bit too used to the formalities of my world, but such contact with a married man is a bit, well, unusual in public."

That made the Succubus burst into laughter. "Oh, sweetie, you're adorable. I'm a Succubus, I've touched much more of him than just his clothing, and the same is true for his wives. They're quite cuddly."

"Rail, don't pick on our guests. They don't really know about Succubus culture." Wolfe admonished.

She paused for a moment as she looked at King Petros. "Did you say this is the King of the Fallen? I recall him being shorter, and uglier."

Petros looked at Wolfe with a smirk. "I see what you mean, they don't have any sort of filter, do they? Yes, Miss Rail. I am the King of the Fallen, but that has only been true for a few days. The change was quite recent."

Rail smirked and looked over her shoulder. Millie and Chloe, the twin Bloodletter Demons from Wolfe's bodyguard, were standing there, wearing gold dresses under alabaster white armour that matched their skin tone.

"I think you might have won." She informed the bodyguards.

Wolfe turned to see who she meant, and motioned them forward.

"King Petros, these are Millie and Chloe, two of my bodyguards. Ladies, this is King Petros of the Fallen."

The two demons gave a formal curtsy, but they were obviously confused as to what the leader of the Fallen was doing here, when their Empire was at war with the Demon Realms.

Risa noticed the commotion, and the onyx skinned Wrathbringer marched over to the group.

"Well, spill. Who won the bet? There's a new King, so did Wolfe kill the last one?" She demanded.

King Petros laughed. "They're a fun bunch, aren't they? No, Saint Noxus did not kill our former King. I did."

Risa sighed, while Rail climbed down from Wolfe's side.

"I think we might have all lost. Nobody bet on third-party intervention." She informed the others with a frown.

"You made a wager on the King dying?" Petros asked.

Chloe and Millie nodded in unison. "As soon as Cassie and Ella returned with some Princess and a pair of beastkin. They said that Wolfe stayed behind to take care of a matter, and with his usual level of tact and grace that suggests that someone was going to end up dead.

We bet on the King, Risa bet on him seeing sense after his retinue died, and Rail went for the soft route and wagered that he would negotiate a deal after a short conflict."

Petros laughed. "Well, that is close to what happened, so if you're wagering on who is closest, it would be the Succubus. The King came, and an argument ensued, which was about to lead to violent conflict, which I ended by assassinating the King. His arrogance got the better of him, and he was unprepared for the Antimagic countermeasures that Saint Noxus used against him."

Rail looked at Wolfe in shock. "You shot him with Null Stone? That's just cheating."

Wolfe shook his head. "I locked down the mana in the area. Human mages don't have mana cores, so like a female Demon, or a Witch, if you restrict the mana flow, they have trouble using magic and have to break the restriction with their limited internal reserves and the ambient mana inside the barrier."

King Petros frowned at Wolfe. "Do I want to know what Null Stone is?"

Wolfe shrugged. "We put some in the trials, as a unique little reward for the attendees. It is a radioactive alloy that resonates with mana and prevents the use of magic. If you use it in a projectile, you can prevent a mage from activating any spells until the object is removed, and the projectile will break weaker barriers on contact, as if they were never there."

"And you put that in a trial, where strangers will go to collect rewards? You're not concerned that it will be used against you?" Petros asked.

"If they mined what is there for a thousand years, it might be enough to break the barriers on the trials. But Null Stone is mostly only effective on the first two Ranks, and above that, you can overpower it." Wolfe explained.

"Well, that's a relief." Petros sighed.

Risa smiled. "We can show you some less depressing things if you would like. Are you a fan of fancy weapons? Because a friend of mine just finished up a new masterpiece that's waiting for judging if you would like to take a look."

Petros smiled, intrigued at the offer. But the rifle slung over one of the guard's shoulders caught his attention.

"Those staves. You give them to your city guards?" He stammered, remembering the damage that the rifles could do to an army regiment.

"I don't think that they have ever actually been used in the city, and certainly not with fully enchanted rounds. They're more decorative, in case something gets around the wards on the city. But they are the same ones that you're thinking of." Wolfe agreed.

"I think I'm going to need a drink to get used to this place. Tell me, Miss Wrathbringer, do they have any decent liquor on the way to your friend's workshop?"

Risa laughed. "He's a Dark Iron Dwarf. There should be good liquor in his shop. But we will stop and get more."

The twins shared a conspiratorial smirk at the thought of getting the human hammered on Dwarven Whisky, as they weren't certain if he could use the magic to refresh himself through it, and followed along with the group headed to the forges.

Petros gave Wolfe a knowing look. "I wonder if we will see Thorin down here, or if he's still occupied."