"I got this, I got this, I got this!" Damian anxiously mutters as he was jumping in spot repeatedly. His chest expands and contracts repeatedly as he increased his breathing rate.

Athena just smiled sheepishly at the sight of Damian anxious jumps. However, she wasn't worried as him because she knew how powerful he was compared to other demons now with his new powers coupled with the fact that he had one of the best support, her. Though, deep down, she wasn't worried about him because she truly believe in him. Whatever happens, she knows he'll conquer them.

"Come on, relax! It's gonna be fine!" Athena tries to calm his nerves down but Damian just shook his head.

"Relaxed is the last thing I wanna be right now! I need to focus!" Damian spoke seriously as he suddenly fell down catching her by surprise.

She immediately dove down to see if he was alright only to realise he was actually trying to do some push ups.

Her worries faded as she smiles again, chuckling in turn seeing the shenanigans of the demon prince.

"Don't worry! Just believe in yourself! I do!" She tries to lift his spirit but his anxiousness was a wall to hard to knock down.

"You make it sound so easy... hyappp!!" Damian grunts as he pushes his arms up, thrusting him back to a standing position.

"It is! Sometimes you just need to have faith in yourself!" Athena beams as she walks around him.

"Demons... don't have faith." Damian says as he looks at Athena who stares at him back.

"Well... then again... you're not just ANY demon, right?" Athena says as his eyes bulge in realisation.

He wasn't his old self. He had new powers, new strength and most of all, he has Athena who has been by his side for a while now. He clenches his fists before rising with a determined gaze.

"Yeah... you're right! I can do this!" Damian reminds himself as Athena's lips curves upwards with admiration for him.

"See! What I tell ya! Chill, it'll be a walk in the park!" Athena tries some slang she heard from Damian.

"Please don't use the word 'chill' anymore, it's just doesn't work when you use it!" Damian points out as he creases a bit.

"WHAT!! But that's what all the cool kids say! Right?!" She asks him in shock as he just shakes his head.

"Yeah but... only 'young' people can pull it off!" Damian smirks at her as she just stares at him in disbelief. Damian notices her reaction and chuckles in delight.

"I'm just messing with ya!" He cackles as Athena smiles a bit after hearing that.

"You better!!" She responds with a punch on his shoulder earning an ouch from the prince.

"Owww" Damian rubs the spot as Athena giggled simply.

Both of them continue their antiques as they made their way to the training grounds where he supposedly will have his first training sessions. As they were about to reach the grounds, Athena suddenly lifted her hand and stopped Damian in his tracks.

"What?"

"So, you remember the rules?" Athena asks him as realisation hit him at the back of his head.

"Yeah!!" A short answer escaped his lips but Athena wasn't satisfied.

"And... they are...??" She crosses her arms and gives him a stern look.

"Don't use my 'other' power and don't kill anyone!!" Damian says nonchalantly as Athena nods.

"Good! Definitely don't kill anyone! Remember, your powers are enhanced, control your strength, otherwise-

"-otherwise all our plans might just bite the dust!! Yeah, yeah, I get it!" Damian grumbles as Athena puts her faith in him.

"And the last rule?" Athena suddenly asks him which made him shot at her. A look of confusion was visible on his face.

"What? There were more?" Damian asked her.

A giggle suddenly escaped from Athena as she looks at him with a bright smile.

"It's nothing... just know, that you can always count on me!" Athena says with a smile as she raises her arms. A fist was already formed as she looks at him with determination.

Damian who caught wind of what she meant gazes at her with burning confidence. He bumps his fists with her as he could feel himself getting fired up.

Soon, both of them entered the fields where they could see multiple demons loitering around at the center. Some of them were just sitting on the grass as some were busy conversing with each other.

As they went closer, they could see some of their gazes shifting towards them, well... towards Damian. However, he breathes in and continued walking as he knew how to protect himself.

"Yo guys! Look at the fresh meat!!" One of the demons, an imp demon called out to his friends. He had red skin with two horns protruding out of his head. He was decently build for his size which was a bit smaller than Damian. Since imps, are smaller in build compared to other demons but they made up for it in terms of speed and agility. He wore the same protective gear the rest of the trainees had except his was more worn out.

"He looks lost! Wanna show him around Lock? Heheheheh~~~" A hell hound demon cackled towards the imp demon named Lock. His body was covered in blue fur except his mane and which had a series of white fur. He was definitely larger than even Damian, standing over 200 metres. His gear was filled with claw marks and fur sticking to them.

"I dunno Strafe... Hmmm... Have anyone ever seen that guy before?" Lock asked his friends but all of them responded by shaking their heads. He then shakes his head before spitting on the ground.

"Dammit, does any of these nobles ever learn?" Lock commented as Strafe was perplexed.

"How'd you know he's a noble?" Strafe asked Lock who was annoyed.

"Look at him! All prim and proper! Not a speck of dust or wrinkle on em!" Lock grumbles at his hell hound friend who doesn't seem to understand.

"Chill out L-boy, all in all, I wouldn't mind having another noble cutie nearby!" A demoness suddenly walks besides him as he lets out a tired sigh.

"Of course you would like that wouldn't you, Pinky?!" He stared daggers at the demoness besides him who was awkwardly close to him. She was a reptilian hybrid demon demonstrated by her snakelike pink eyes surrounded by a lake of black iris. She had a marveled figure, some would call her a beauty amongst the soldiers. Her hand was covered in green scales but they darken a bit towards the centre of her body. She wore a protective leather breastplate and some leather pants. Her outfit left her stomach bare but she prefers it that way. A large tail was present behind her with a green top and light coloured bottom.

"Why, jealous?!" She scorns him but he just cackles at her.

"Not a bit... You know why?" He turns to her with confidence as his hands rests in his pockets.

"He'll leave the session by today! Especially since the 'Death Flash' is our instructor from what I've heard!"

His words instantly made his two friends look at him with horror but he kept smiling. Both of them then knew that the newcomer, Damian, probably wouldn't last for another day.

Unfortunately for Damian, one of the rules established by Lucifer, one which he needed to comply with was that none of the other trainees except for the instructor chosen will know his identity nor can he reveal who he actually is. Since his father wants to set a fair ground for all the demons involved.

"Tchh, so fucking stupid!" Damian thought as he walks towards the centre.

The rule his father set up might be good for him to not abuse his royal powers or benefits but, what's fair when the people he will be training with are royal guard candidates, the best of the best demons who'd been trained since they were young and had years of combat experience unlike him who just started kicked some punks asses in an alley.

"They look pretty strong, not gonna lie! Seems hell really up their game in terms of combat qualities!" Athena comments but Damian didn't falter at her words.

"Well, they haven't seen me yet!" Damian tells her as she smiled at his remark.

"No, they haven't!" She smiles back.

If Damian could pull the this first training session off, he could finally have the control he needed.

"Yo, greenhorn!" A voice suddenly greeted him as Damian turns to look at the owner. It was the imp demon from earlier.

"Names Lock!" The imp demon introduces as he extends his hands. Damian scans the imp demon in front of him as he was a bit shorter than Damian but he definitely outgrows any imp he's ever known. Damian was hesitant on shaking it but since Athena didn't give him any warning, it should be fine.

Oh how he was wrong...

He shook the imp only to get tugged on by him as he came tumbling down to the soil. As his body crashed on the tough soil and all he could hear was the laughter from the other trainees including the group in front of him.

He clenches his fist as he focuses some magic on them. Just as they were about to ignite, suddenly, he could feel Athena's warm hands cupping his fists. He looks up to see her with a warm smile as he immediately retracted his magic without anyone noticing.

He then gets up by pushing himself off against the dirt. He wipes the brown filth off his training attire as he looks at the trio with a serious look.

"Really? I thought the whole 'bullying the newbie' shit was old-school!" Damian says to them not letting them get into his head.

"We weren't bullying, more like... testing, to see of you could survive the session!" Lock cackles as Damian couldn't help smirk in disgust.

"Gee, thanks!" He remarked sarcastically with an annoyed smile up his face.

"Don't mention it! Besides, I'm feeling generous so let me give you a little tip!" He suddenly walks closer towards Damian.

"Nobles like you and warriors like us, we're not the same... While you were busy suckling on your golden spoon, we were training our asses out here. So don't think just because you're qualified for a royal training session, you're the same as us cause you're not! So, my only piece of advice, just lay down and die or else don't get in my way!" He growls at him as his fingers poked Damian's chest. Suddenly, his serious scorn was replaced with an evil smile as he walks away.

"Just give it a thought okay, greenhorn?" He chuckles as he made his way back to his friends.

"Gee, he must've really hated nobles!" Athena commented as Damian suddenly sighs.

"Well, I wouldn't blame him. With how things are going, it made sense that this guys are mad!" Damian says which made Athena confused. Damian saw her perplexed look and turns to her to explain.

"In the case for normal soldiers, usually lower class demons who sign up will end up as foot soldiers or those sent to the front lines. In a way, that means...

"... they're more likely to die!" Athena continued as Damian nods.

"Which is why many lower class demons hate us nobility since we can just rise to higher ranks with our status alone. So, while most nobles stay behind all safe and sound, those beneath them just suffers!"

Athena understands what he meant but something just doesn't make sense.

"Well, that would be terrible but isn't hell currently in a state of peace? So, soldiers wouldn't get conscripted to the frontline anyways?" She says as Damian shook his head.

"Not exactly, unlike the surface or maybe heaven, hell still suffers from a lot of other problems. Gangs, smugglers, demon beasts, small rebellious group trying to gain power from other regions... it's hectic!!" Damian groans out as he explains the situation.

"You seemed like someone who knows much about the current situation of hell for a person that hates it?" Athena asks him as he shook his head which made her curious.

"I do hate it here, but it's still my birthplace. Although I wouldn't want to be mixed up in all of that, I still hope for a peaceful life wherever I go. But still, I just don't want to end up endangering myself or my friends just because i ignored things here..." He explains which definitely caught her by surprise. In the end, she couldn't help but smile at the demon prince in front of her.

"Well, I don't think you should be worried since, I'll doubt anything serious is going to happen anytime soon!" Athena soothes him as Damian couldn't help but chuckle at her words.

"It doesn't matter... It's ultimately my dad's problem! He'll handle it anyways, he.. always does!" He shrugs it off as he mentions his father with a disappointed tone but Athena didn't comment on it but let his feelings steady down by themselves.

She understood how unfair it was for his father to treat him as the heir instead of his own son. It was the same case for Athena.

"Anyway, you got a scan on those people?" Damian suddenly asks her as she giddily nods with a bright smile. A new power Athena showed him was her ability to gather information and creating strategies, exceptional ones at that.

"Look who're you talking to!! I'm the best crystal there is!! I have scanned EVERYONE!!" She boasts with her arms crossed and head held up high.

"Good, that'll at least give me some advantage against those guys!" Damian said as he looks into the trio who started the beef with him earlier with his eyes locked onto the imp. He clenches his fists as his face lit up with a determined smile.

He had one goal that day, to ace the training evaluation and never have to worry about it again or at least only when he needs to.

He didn't have any intention to mingle with the rest of the demons there. Instead, he just sat on a nearby bench and reviewed the strategy with Athena.

"Tchh, look em'! All easy going and shit! I can't wait to knock him out for real later!!" Lock clicks his tongue at the sight of Damian just sitting around.

"Hey, L, don't let em' get into your head! I think you should focus on the evaluation!" Pinky says to him as she was twirling around with a crossbow.

"Haahhh" A sigh slowly escapes his lip as he looks at her with an unamused expression.

"I'm not! And didn't I say stop calling me these stupid ass nicknames! It's just Lock!!" He grumbles at his friend as she just responds with a chuckle.

"Well, since you said that, I might just continue then, hehe!" She cheekily laughs at him as she further inspects the crossbow.

"Huh? Did we need to bring a weapon with us?" Damian asks Athena as he looked around. A bunch of the demons present were tuning and inspecting weapons which made him nervous.

"I... don't think so... but I guess it's a habit of theirs!" She explains her theory making Damian grumble.

"Well, I hope so! I don't want them to use their own weapons in the battle evaluation later! I'll be fuck!" Damian commented as Athena just giggles at him.

"What do you need to worry about? Your body and magic themselves are better weapons than those junk!" Athena comments with a smile.

"Plus, you have me! You'll kick their asses with my help!!"

She adds making him wonder about her sudden battle crazed personality. Well, she had been through a large war, so maybe that's why.

"SHE'S HERE!!!!" A demon suddenly screams catching Damian and Athena's attention. He then saw all the demons suddenly lining up quickly. Damian stood up in a rush as he immediately makes his way to the group.

He didn't know much about the discipline of the candidates so he just followed what he can and stood as far back as he could.

Suddenly from in front of the crowd, he could see a female demon walking pass them. Somehow she looked familiar but he couldn't put a finger on it. It was Jill.

"Oh, it's the demon that stalked you the other day!!" Athena points out but Damian was still scratching his chin.

"Who?" He was still clueless about it.

"When we were practicing fire magic?" Athena points it out as Damian's eyes widens in realisation. His expression then suddenly changes to confusion.

"Wait, so you're telling me, SHE'S the instructor?!" Damian asks as he was underestimating Jill but Athena shakes her head.

"I don't like her, from what I can tell, she's experienced... none of the trainees here could take her on even if we were to combine forces!" Athena spoke with a serious expression as Damian starts to become wary of her.

"But it's fine, luckily the only opponents you're facing today are these guys! Though, it would be a different story if it was her!" Athena smiles at Damian as she delivers the relieving information.

"Yeah, luckily, I guess you can't judge a book by it's cover huh?" Damian smirks at Athena as she was proud of him. He was beginning to mature and learn things.

ATTENTION!!!

Jill suddenly screams as the trainees straighten their posture with a stomp of their foot except for Damian who was still unaware of the procedures.

Jill could see Damian still relaxing in the background as she lets out a long sigh. Luckily for him, she wasn't going to judge him for his behaviour but his abilities in various expects.

She then takes a look at all the candidates around her as she smirks.

"It seemed that there are a lot of candidates this year, the most... compared to other years!!" Jill suddenly comments at them as she walks pass them, taking a great look at each candidate.

"It won't matter, after today, most of you are going to be begging me to quit! Our evaluation today is for the toughest out there!! If you can't survive here, don't expect yourselves to come back alive when you're out in the battlefield!!" Jill roars as she stops in her motions trying to comprehend if there are any shifts in their emotions.

"Of course, my words won't do our evaluation justice, and since you're all dying to experience hell, I'll allow it!! Just know, we don't need extra baggage in hell, if you wanna quit..."

Jill suddenly says before her tail suddenly forms itself into a sharp blade with two spikes protruding out from the back. Her tail suddenly lashes out, as it cuts through the air. The sound of her tail whistling intimidates every soul there was in the lineup.

Her tail then dives before cutting through the group in a straight line. Dusts and soil flew leaving the candidates blind of what she did. After the dust settled, the candidates couldn't believe their eyes as a deep trenchlike line on the soil spanning across their formation was seen. The line also was cut deep showing the strength of her tail.

She then looks at them with bloodlust as she cunningly smirks.

"... make sure you don't die getting past me!!" Jill ends her sentence as she retracts her tail as it reforms back to original.

Damian couldn't help gulp at the sight of her powers as he begins to sweat. He knew now that there was no turning back. He clenches his fist as he knew he needed to concentrate.

Jill suddenly leers at him as she brings out a notepad.

"Now... for our first evaluation... the beast trials. You'll be facing off against one horned stone salamander each!! You'll be given 10 minutes to prepare!! So take your time..." Jill explains as she looks besides her staring at Damian.

Suddenly, the crowd starts to murmur at the mention of the horned stone salamander.

"Really? We're fucked!!"

"Is she serious?!!"

"Damnit!! I just need to survive!!!

"Fuck this trial!! Shit!! I'm a goner!!"

The combined murmurs completely display the atmosphere of the trainees once they heard about it. Damian not being knowledgeable on hell beasts turn towards Athena who was expecting him.

"Well... they're a third level ranked hell beasts according to my knowledge..." Athena explains as Damian couldn't help feel concern at the level of difficulty.

"Don't worry, with my help you'll be able to...

She suddenly skips in front of him before enthusiastically pointing at his face with a finger.

"knock it out with ONE punch!!" Athena explains.

Meanwhile, Lock and his gang was discussing with each other.

"Didn't think they'll go out this early!!" Lock curses as his expression was that of worry.

"Don't worry!! We got the beast encyclopedia here!!" Pinky suddenly smiles as her tail caresses his chin.

"Well, couldn't say I'll owe you for this one!!" Lock had to admit as he crosses his arms.

"So, any headers on how do we actually fight solo against a third level ranked beast?" Lock asks as Pinky explains.

"Well, first, they're strong but they're too HEADSTRONG!! They probably won't think twice when charging an enemy! So, the plan is either, use their large inertia to dodge and take out their legs... or...

"Or what?" Strafe asks as he was jumping in spot, looking hyper.

"Or land a really powerful hit on its head..." Pinky explains as Lock shakes his head.

"I ain't doing that! You either need to have a hell of a strength or an even higher amount of accuracy... maybe even both! Too risky!!" Lock theorise as Pinky smiles at him as she pinches his cheeks.

"Wow, thought you were the dumb one!!" She says before he slaps her hands off of him.

"Get off, plus, the dumb one is probably these blubber head here!!" Lock pats his hands on his hellhound friend as Strafe carved an angry look.

"Hey! I'm not dumb!!!" He roars as the other two just laughs at his rage. He continues to argue against them which was futile as they were still laughing.

Meanwhile, Damian was eyeing the antiques of the trio as he couldn't help but sigh. He looks down at his hands as he begins putting on some gloves.

"What's the matter? You miss your friends?" Athena asks as she sits besides him.

"Nah, I'll probably see them after all this! So..."

He suddenly jumps up with a pep in his step as he grins at Athena.

"Let's finish this quick!!" Damian smiles with a determined fire in him as he was done preparing. Athena couldn't help but smile at the sight of her friend.

"Attention!!!" Jill suddenly calls as Damian immediately falls back in line. This time, he knew how to behave as he immediately remembers his position earlier.

"I hope you all enjoyed your sweet time!! We'll move to the arena!!" Jill says as the candidates begins marching towards the arena.

It was like the coliseum but much smaller in scale. There was an audience stand where the candidates would gather. The stand surrounds a deep pit where the battle would take place. The pit was covered with magic infused walls and floor to avoid any damage or accidents but scratches could be seen throughout the arena pit.

Now, our first trial will begin with candidate... Red!!" Jill suddenly calls out as Damian couldn't help but sigh.

Since he needed to come under an alias, he chose a simple name of Red. He steps forward, walking pass the group of demons who was staring at him. He could hear the murmurs surrounding him but he kept gazing forward.

"He's finished!!" Lock comments as he couldn't help but grin at Damian's imminent failure.

Damian steps into the pit as he begins eyeing the terrain. No escape except for the gate behind him which will be closed when he's fighting.

In short, the match will only end when he defeats the salamander or if the instructor stops the battle, in which case he either would be dead or almost dead.

He then spreads his leg out as he clenches his fists.

Suddenly, the gate in front of him opens slowly. The participants all couldn't help but tap their feet in anticipation of the outcome of the match.

Damian could feel the ground shaking a bit as seconds go by. Out of the darkness of the front gate, he could see a snout suddenly emerge from beyond the shadows.

Then, he couldn't help but scrunch his forehead as he sees the legs of the beast as it emerges. A set of large claw slams into the ground as sparks went flying from the friction it made with the ground.

Slowly, the terrifying beast makes it full appearance as the audience couldn't help but gulp. It has two sets of legs with claws larger than swords. It's crown was littered with small spikes as it's entire body was filled with stone like scales. That's probably where it's got its name from. It also had two sets of eyes on each side which meant that no prey could escape it's sight.

RRRROOOAAARRRRR

It releases a terrifying roar that deafened unprepared members of the audience. Even Pinky and Lock couldn't help but cover their ears. It continues to roar as it stands on one feed, increasing his already blood curdling stature. It then descends before slamming onto the ground as it's eyes gaze at Damian.

Jill just stands by on the closed entrance behind Damian for any accidents that should occur. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Damian as she knew the king intentionally hurt increased the level of difficulty for his son.

The salamander just eyes Damian as it observes it's prey. Meanwhile, Damian just stands still and didn't move an inch.

"Look!! He's scared stiff!! He's gonna die!!" Lock cackles at Damian but his two friends felt sorry for Damian, having to fight something that even they might have a hard time with. They just watched him, as they prepare for the worst possible outcome.

Damian suddenly moves one of his legs as he twists one of his feet to the side. The salamander immediately picks up his movements as it's eyes starts to shrink. It suddenly leaps of the ground before charging at Damian in full speed. Each step it took shook the ground and raised the heartbeats of the other trainee. They were sure that Damian was a goner.

But Damian just stood still which alarms Jill but she couldn't do anything unless something serious happens. She just readies her tail blade as a look of concern flashed on her face.

Damian just stood still as the salamander draws closer towards him. Each step conjured am earthquake but Damian didn't falter. Instead, he took a deep breath as he stills his nerves.

"HE'S GONNA DIE!!" Pinky suddenly yells out loud catching Lock and Strafe by surprise as she knew Damian won't be able to evade in time.

Jill immediately noticed the situation as she immediately yells at the guards to open the gate. However, she won't be able to make it in time to stop the rushing salamander.

Once the salamander was close, it let's out a screech as it opens it's jaws, ready to engulf Damian whole. Some of the candidates turn away and even Lock was looking anxious at the situation.

It suddenly leaps as it was within range, it's large shadow almost engulfing Damian. It's gargantuan hungry maw overcoming him.

"NOW!!" Athena suddenly yells as Damian's eyes opens strong. He suddenly bends down as fire starts engulfing his legs. Soon, he springs upwards at the flames from his legs boosts his momentum.

"Let's finish this!!" Damian roars as he was airborne. Suddenly, the same red hellfire engulfs his fist as his eyes lights up in valor.

The salamander can't move mid-air as he missed Damian who was jumping to his side.

HAAAAAAAA

Damian charges up his fists as he comes flaring towards the beast. His ascend leaving a trail of fire behind him like a rocket in lift-off. He managed to avoid the dangerous maw of the salamander as he was nearing the side of its face.

Using the momentum, he then thrusts his fist, making it's way towards the eye of the salamander. It's reptilian pupil shrunk as dark red flame begins to engulf it's vision. His fiery fists combined with his cometlike momentum, met the side of the stonelike head of the salamander.

The contact let out a deafening explosion as fire begins seeping out from it's eye. The salamander then let out a pained cry as he feels the scorch coming from the painful hellfire. Furthermore, Damian's punch cracked the skull of the salamander due to it's monstrous speed and weight.

Suddenly, the salamander was blasted away after the explosion as it's body flies towards the opposite side of the arena in high speed. It's stone like scales was then met with the magic reinforced wall as it crashes against the hard surface breaking it's spine as the sound of the crash filled the arena. Faint leaks of croaks can be heard from it due to the amount of pain it was feeling. It then slowly slid down the wall revealing a small crater from the impact.

The arena was filled with silence from what happened. All the candidates couldn't help but had their eyes bulging at the sight of what just happened. Lock and Strafe was stood up from their seats frozen in shock while Pinky was holding both of her hands to block her mouth gaping open from the event that took place.

Jill on the other hand couldn't believe what just happened in front of her. She turns swiftly to the body of the stone salamander as it's horn was broken and had fallen off. The side of its stone covered face was scorched as purple blood leaks out from it's mouth.

In the centre of the arena, stood the victor, Damian who was standing and gasping for air. His chests quickly pumping in and out as he just gazed at the sight of the mangled beast in front of him. A worried expression was visible on his face.

"Oh shit... Didn't mean to punch that hard..." Damian muttered as Athena couldn't help smile besides him.