Five-star Demon

"Deputy Demon Medal?"

Hermes didn't remember there being such a thing, but he still dripped a drop of blood onto the blue medal.

The bond was complete.

The Black-robed Person had perhaps noticed the surprise in his eyes and said with a faint smile,

"Haha, that Deputy Demon Medal has to be kept at our Demon Castle. When it becomes ownerless, we'll know that you're dead."

Hermes understood.

"That makes sense."

So the so-called Deputy Demon Medal was merely a tool for determining whether someone was alive or dead.

Cruel, perhaps, but that was simply the reality of life in Hell.

At least becoming a Star Demon meant the Demon Castle would help determine whether you were alive or dead. Who would care about the nameless people who died in the wilderness?

In any case, the Demon Castle was an official organization in Hell!

Putting aside his unnecessary sentimentality, Hermes picked up the Demon Medal and pinned it to his chest.

Suddenly!

The Demon Medal automatically fused with his High-grade Divine Artifact armor.

A Demon Medal by itself offered little protection, but when fused with a divine artifact, it appeared on the chest as a medal emblem.

Very intelligent.

"Let's go. I'll take you to turn in the mission to eliminate Fort Master Zhe Lan."

Aiken personally stepped forward to lead the way.

Seeing Hermes come out, Bamer hurriedly got to his feet and moved to a spot just behind Hermes's side.

Technically, once Hermes and Bamer had returned to the Demon Castle, Aiken's mission was already complete.

But he was curious, too:

"What makes this Hermes so special? Why would a veteran Five-star Demon like Salif follow him?"

Driven by this curiosity, Aiken regarded Hermes with new interest and wanted to observe him up close.

The first-floor hall.

"This Demon Assessment was way too brutal. A thousand people went in, and only seventeen came back?"

"Nothing this brutal has happened in the past few hundred thousand years. The mission must have gone explosively wrong!"

The first-floor hall of the Demon Castle served the widest variety of purposes.

It offered everything from commerce to entertainment.

Even people who didn't take on Demon Missions still lingered here. They could pick up information, and even just watching the excitement was more entertaining than anywhere else.

Besides, the Demon Castle guaranteed absolute safety, so powerful figures throughout Hell who had obtained Demon Medals loved to come here.

"They're coming down!"

All seventeen had completed the assessment, and Hermes was the first to come down.

"Huh, something's not right!"

The sharp-eyed among them had already noticed something unusual in the way Hermes, Aiken, and Bamer were standing.

"Isn't that the Middle God who had a grudge against Saba?"

Hermes was a towering man, already over three meters tall, and his short golden hair was eye-catching.

His hair wasn't an ordinary gold, but a gold that shimmered with metallic flecks.

"Right, where's Saba?"

Someone finally remembered that Saba, the "Skeleton Man," hadn't returned.

The discussions in the hall continued without pause, but the noise remained relatively subdued.

That was the Demon Castle!

There weren't many places in Hell this orderly.

"I thought that lecher would ambush the big guy during the Demon Assessment. Who knew he'd die on the mission instead?"

No one cared whether Saba was dead or alive. He wasn't popular, but that didn't stop everyone from enjoying the spectacle.

Just then, Aiken led Hermes to the front desk.

"Clang!"

Hermes slapped a Withered Wood Scepter down on the enormous metal counter.

Feeling the aura emanating from the counter,

he guessed that it had been imbued with High-level God Power and made into a divine artifact.

How extravagant!

Hermes muttered to himself.

"This is the Five-star Demon Mission to eliminate Fort Master Zhe Lan, who has been terrorizing the Zhelan Desert. The mission item is his scepter."

Bamer Salif said.

"Certainly, Lord Salif. I'll add the points to your Demon Medal and issue the reward right away."

Looking at Salif, who remained half a step behind Hermes, Susimita said.

Even though she knew Salif, she didn't dare presume to treat him as a junior.

She took the scepter and handed it to the appraiser beside her. When the appraiser nodded, Susimita held out her hand for the Demon Medal.

"I didn't complete it. My lord did it alone."

Elimination missions like this had no particularly strict procedural requirements.

There were no restrictions on star rank, either.

If they dared, even a one-star Demon could take a seven-star mission.

Escort missions were different. Employers would specify the star rank they wanted and set different rewards depending on the rank.

With Bamer following him, Hermes didn't need to handle anything from start to finish.

If the Demon Castle wanted to make things difficult, Hermes could simply accept the mission first and turn in the mission item later.

But the Demon Castle wasn't so hidebound that it would make trouble for the strong.

"What?"

Susimita froze.

She had known Salif for hundreds of years, but had never heard him speak of having a lord.

"I said my Lord Hermes completed the mission. My Demon Squad and I failed ours!"

Bamer raised his voice.

"Also, to correct you, my full name is Bamer Salif. From now on, I'll go by 'Bamer.'"

"Ba...mer? Lord Salif's name was Bamer?"

Star Demons usually traveled abroad, and some even crossed continents to take on Demon Missions.

But given enough time, they always returned to their old haunts.

They also bought houses in cities, giving them a fixed residence.

A place to belong.

"Whoa!"

Bamer had spoken loudly enough to repeat himself, and everyone had already been paying close attention to the news.

Now, not only Susimita but at least several hundred Star Demons in the first-floor hall had heard what Bamer said.

"Ah, how is that possible?"

Lord Salif's full name was Bamer Salif, and from now on he would call himself Bamer.

And he had actually become a follower of Hermes?

A Middle God,

a Middle God who had only just passed the Demon Assessment, had completed a Five-star Demon Mission?

The repeated shocks nearly fried their brains.

"Boom!"

Hundreds of one- and two-star Demons surged toward the front desk.

They wanted to see for themselves

who this Hermes was, the one who had completed a Five-star Demon Mission.

Not everyone was there just to watch the fun,

so most of the Star Demons didn't recognize him.

"How is he a Middle God?"

The Star Demons who had surged to the front were the first to realize something was wrong.

"Ah, a Middle God?"

This time, some fool with a sheepish look actually blurted it out.

His exclamation immediately drew the attention of the Demon Castle staff.

Everyone hurriedly moved away from him.

The guy quickly shut up, afraid the Demon Castle would kick him out. This was the Demon Castle; he couldn't go around shouting like that.

Even in the drinking area, everyone kept their behavior in check.

The Demon Castle didn't even allow people to spread their Spiritual Sense over a wide area.

It was extremely rude!

Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to crowd around the front desk where Demon Missions were turned in.

One sweep of Spiritual Sense, and what could they not see?

"Look, Lord Salif really is standing beside that Middle God."

Someone whispered.

"He really is!"