Eternal Thief

The Imperial Demon Domain has been closed for years now, and no one knows what happened. The last news was about the first imperial prince's abdication and the new Demon Empress's rise.

At this moment, within the Throne Room of Imperial Demon Palace, Leona sat on the demon throne in a black empress dress and face hidden behind a mask. She was giving off a majestic aura that made her seem out of the world and unapproachable.

Down the throne platform were two rows of seats, all filled with high-ranking palace officers and council members. The atmosphere in the entire hall was suffocating and gloomy.

Every demon had an ugly expression, and they didn't dare to speak and agitatedly looked at the Demon Empress with fear.

"To conclude everything, three days ago, the secret realm was destroyed, three ancestors went missing, and now all those old men are gathering outside the imperial domain. The elusive thief, Sky Stealer, causes all of this. Did I miss something, Eastern Minster?" Her voice was icy and filled with hidden wrath.

The Eastern Demon Minster lowered his head in shame and fear as he hesitantly added, "Her imperial majesty missed the event that happened yesterday in the Life Demon Grand Duchy. According to our spies, the thief robbed over half of the duchy, including the main city. Even the Grand Duke couldn't escape, and now it's absolute upheaval outside!"

Every demon was dumbfounded when they heard this impossible report. Over half of the territory was robbed in one day. What kind of concept was this?

Furthermore, most of them don't know about the secret realm and their ancestors, so they can't understand it. All they knew was that a huge powerful crowd had shown up a few hours ago, and they all demanded to enter.

Some of them even recognized the old imperial demon family members had vanished hundreds of years ago, and there were even two former demon emperors. These were the people they could identify. There were influential figures of devil and hunter races as well, and some of them were overlords of their time.

That's why they were all gathered here in so much hurry to seek Leona's permission. They didn't dare to open a pathway for those terrifying existences. They didn't even let the people they had instated in the three forbidden countries in.

They feared the terrifying thief would sneak in and rob them of everything!

'Why did you choose to come here? Why demons again?! What kind of grudge do you have with us that you won't let us live in peace?!' Leona's mind was ragging with these thoughts, 'Could it be he's back to take revenge on me for what I've done to his little hunter bitch?'

Leona felt extremely fearful at this moment as she no longer dared to go after Ace once she heard his new deeds, and he almost sounded invincible now!

"Activate the legacy formation and completely isolate the imperial domain. No one is allowed to enter as long as that thief is alive. Let those old fossils rote outside. They had lost everything and wanted to implicate us as well. There is no place for such an incompetent bunch. They can live with those rebellious fools." Leona coldly declared in an irrefutable tone.

She would be a fool to open the passage now. Before, she wanted to let those Grand Dukes destroy each other and then sweep them in one go. That way, she pretended not to care about the continent.

However, now, with the Sky Stealer in the mix, everything changed. She would never let her empire fall so quickly like her brother. She wasn't an idiot and powerless like him.

After so long, she had finally consolidated her position. She won't let it fall under the hands of a thief!

If it were any other time, those old councilmen would be first to disagree, but now, they couldn't be glad.

But suddenly…

"Clap…clap…clap…"

Sounds of clapping started to ring in the throne hall, and everyone was shocked as they couldn't believe someone was courageous enough to perform such an act.

"Audacious!" Leona's voice reverberated like a thunderclap as she was utterly furious by this impudent act in her court.

"Oh, pardon me, Empress, a commoner like me doesn't know the law of the imperial court. Please forgive my audacity. But you see, I couldn't help myself seeing such a decisive act." A jolly yet jeering voice sounded in the hall, which was unfamiliar to everyone.

Furthermore, this voice came from none other than the platform where the demon throne stood, and Leona's heart palpitated when she looked to her left.

A tall figure materialized under everyone's flabbergasted eyes. He wore a long black robe, and his head was covered under a long dark hood. On the back of his robe, a dark blue majestic owl symbol was engraved with mysterious tiny runes.

Before anything could react, a suffocating pressure descended in the hall, suppressing every signal demon. They felt like a mountain suddenly appeared on their backs, and they couldn't move at all.

"Everyone, I humbly introduce myself. My name is Sky Stealer!" Ace nonchalantly stated.

But in everyone else's ears, his name struck like a thunderclap, and a chill ran down their spins, and all they had but one thought in their mind, 'How!!?'

Leona felt like she was in a nightmare as her eyes couldn't blink as she gawked at the dark figure standing a meter away from her.

"W-what…do…you…want!" She spoke with every power she could muster as her heart beat like crazy, threatening to burst out of her supple chest.

Ace looked at the masked empress as he could clearly feel her chaotic emotions: rage, anger, resentment, helplessness…

"Now, now, Empress, we are old acquaintances. There is no need to be so cold." He chuckled darkly, "But I'll quench your curiosity. I'm naturally here to collect treasures from the imperial domain. But sadly, they are only subpar at best. I wonder if the imperial domain is so poor. So, I came to you to seek your opinion. How about you lead me to your treasury and chat while we're at it?"

Despair filled Leona and everyone's hearts. They had never imagined such a day would come when they would be utterly helpless against a thief!