《A Tragedy for a Demon Lord》


 Prologue- The Beginning of the End

    The Beginning of the End- Erebus Valefor


    When I was born into this despicable world, I was blessed with a kind and gentle family, albeit a weird family where my father is a demon lord and my mother a human, but a happy family nonetheless.


    My days were filled with innocent joy together with my loving mother and respectable father.


    From my father, I was taught what it meant to be strong, and from my mother, I learned what it meant to be merciful.


    Even though they are the polar opposite of each other, not once have I seen them argue with each other.


    I remembered what my mother once told me when I asked her why she loves father.


    ¡®My baby, when you discover what it means to love a person, then you will understand why I gave up everything for your father.¡¯


    No matter how hard I tried to wrap my head around such a foolish idea, I could not understand even a fragment of it. When I continued to pester her about it, my mother would tell me that it was something that I would not be able to learn, but rather it is something that I had to experience.


    While her words were confusing, I believed her. The mother who would gently smile at me as I drifted to sleep every night-the one who caressed me with her love and read me bedtime stories, who was concern over my health, who took care of me when I was sick- how could she possibly be wrong?


    And father, who would watch silently whenever mother put me to sleep, would never refuse my mother¡¯s request. Whether it was because of the guilt of taking mother from her home, or not being able to give her the happiness she deserves, he never left mother¡¯s side.


    Even though father and mother never once said it, I knew that mother had sacrificed everything to be with father. No matter how hard my mother tries to hide it, I knew that my mother would cry on occasion when she remembers her families and friends; but, even then, she would smile and love me.


    I could clearly remember the day when my mother found me watching her cry. She beckoned for me and, even though she was crying her eyes out, she would smile and hold me tightly.


    I was her miracle, she could say over and over again.


    In truth, I was a miracle. The birth rate of a demon lord is said to be very low. It was the way the world worked. For the strong and less likely to die, they were less likely to reproduce. If the balance did not exist, the world would have been destroyed by now. Demon lords are said to be at the top of the hierarchy of the demon race, and while we are sacred and revered by those underneath us, we exist as few.


    Not only is our blood sacred, it was a sin to dilute it with the blood of other races. In order to keep our sacred blood amongst each other, it is normal for demon lords to marry their offspring off to other demon lords.


    My father, however, never thought of such matters.


    Not only was mother a human, our race¡¯s worse enemy, my mother had a weak physique and giving birth to me drained most of her energy. It was impossible for my mother to give birth a second time, and even though my father was pressured by his vassals to seek out another partner, he would refuse wholeheartedly.


    As the years pass by me, I grew to learn what it means to be a demon lord, and the duties that I would inherit along with the title of Valefor, the 6th demon lord.


    But I was clueless of the fact that I was an abomination, a disgrace to both humans and demons.


    My father kept me a secret from the other demon lords, and for that matter, I did not ask him.


    After a while, it was something that I noticed.


    No matter the occasion, I would never be allowed to leave the castle.


    Besides the servants that lives with us, mother, and father, I never once interacted with others.


    The outside world was as distanced as the sun and moon that rises and falls every day and night.


    Even though the world beyond the castle was separated by a single glass window, it was far too distanced for my hands to reach out and grasp.


    *****


    I remembered the last day of my innocent youth.


    My mother, who I loved, hung under the chandelier like a broken marionette whom string had snapped. My mother, who would constantly smile no matter the wrongs that I committed, who would gently brush my hair, who put her love into taking care of me, who treated everyone with kindness, was reduced to a broken, hollow vessel without a soul.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.My father, who I had respected, was butchered. His body was twisted in ways that I could not have imagined. With weapons piercing through all of his joints, he looked like a bloodied ragdoll.


    It was a nightmare that I never thought would occur. I could not hold back the tears that trickled down my face.


    My heart felt empty, hollow, as if someone had carved it out with a small dagger.


    Standing before my father was a group of people.


    Their expression was cold and merciless. The moment they laid their eyes on me, my body trembled. It was as if I was staring at death itself.


    ¡°The abomination has shown itself,¡± one of them spoke.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and dispose of him,¡± another responded, drawing out his weapon, ¡°I already feel sick to the stomach just looking at him.¡±


    ¡°A pity, to lose one of the seventy-two houses,¡± another grumbled, ¡°I guess this is the end of the Valefor bloodline.¡±


    Even though I wanted to scream, to call out for help, I found that my voice would not obey me.


    I was frozen, petrified by the fear of what would come next, that I could not muster the courage or energy to speak. My body was trembling as if someone had tossed a bucket of ice water onto my body. I wanted to run as far away as I can, to hide from their watchful, disgusted eyes, but I could not look away.


    All I could do was watch blankly as they drew closer to me.


    ¡°Enough,¡± one of them said, moving between us, ¡°there is no need for us to kill the child.¡±


    ¡°Agares, you understand what you are saying right?¡±


    ¡°You wish to save this child?¡±


    The others spoke out, disappointed by one of their comrade¡¯s decision.


    ¡°I do not need you to question my action,¡± Agares replied, ¡°this innocent child does not bear the sins of his father. We have already dealt with the sinner. This matter is already settled.¡±


    ¡°It has not Agares,¡± another demon lord responded, ¡°as long as that hybrid remains alive, this matter has yet to be concluded. You understand that this abomination must be killed.¡±


    ¡°He is a half-breed, but he is still one of us,¡± Agares shouted, ¡°there is no reason to kill a child who bears no sin. He was not given the choice to be born!¡±


    ¡°He has sinned. His sin is being a human.¡±


    Agares sighed, ¡°If you want to kill an innocent child, then you have to go through me.¡±


    ¡°Agares¡­ do you plan to betray us?¡±


    ¡°Far from it,¡± Agares answered, ¡°he is a male demon lord, one of the few from the next generation. If we kill him, who is the last of his bloodline, then we are simply killing ourselves.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Then, what do you suppose we do? We cannot possibly let him live after having killed his entire family in front of him. That would be the most nonsensical thing to do.¡±


    ¡°If he wants revenge, I¡¯ll gladly wait for that day,¡± a giant man laughed hysterically.


    ¡°Give him to me,¡± Agares proposed, ¡°as he is now, he is useless to us. But given the proper training, he¡¯ll be a valuable asset.¡±


    After a moment of silence, the man who stood beside the cold corpse of my father said, ¡°¡­ Very well.¡±


    He had not spoken a single word before.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious Bael!¡± One of the demons protested, ¡°if he continues to exist, our name will be thrown into the ground!¡±


    ¡°I oppose this decision,¡± another spoke out, ¡°we have killed his parents. I am sure that he wishes for nothing more than for our death. Let¡¯s tie up all the loose ends and kill him.¡±


    ¡°I have already made up my mind,¡± Bael glared at the few who protested, ¡°if you wish to make a move on him, you shall be killed by me.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Rather than being grateful, Agares glared at him, ¡°what are you possibly thinking Bael¡­¡±


    ------------------------


    Hello, this is my first work, and being a newcomer, I hope that if there is any error, you would kindly point them out. I would like to hear everyone''s feedback if possible in order to make my story an enjoyable experience for everyone.! ^0^ Thank you for reading.

 Chapter 1: Agaress Domain

    Agares¡¯s Domain- Will O¡¯ World


    ¡°It¡¯s that half-breed again,¡± the whispers of others grew upon him.


    ¡°Why does our lord allow such a disgusting hybrid to breath the same air as him, we will never understand.¡±


    ¡°How disgusting, he¡¯s looking at you!¡±


    ¡°Someone should put that abomination out of his misery.¡±


    The maids continued to whisper amongst each other.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you hate it, what they are saying about you?¡± Agares asked, walking down the corridor with the teen by his side.


    ¡°No.¡± He replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°Is that so, because I feel like it is the opposite for you,¡± Agares responded, ¡°even if you want to try to hide it, I can see right through you.¡±


    ¡°My lord, I do not¡­¡± he wanted to continue but Argares interrupted him.


    ¡°You are still a child, and part of being a child is that you let your emotions get the better of you,¡± he explained, ¡°everyone goes through it. You do not have to deny it.¡±


    Erebus wanted to speak, but he stopped himself.


    Seeing that the boy was rather dejected, Agares laughed heartily, ¡°even if you are wrong, you should try to deny it.¡±


    Erebus looked up at him. There was a hint of annoyance.


    ¡°Well, Erebus, you must endure their criticism,¡± Agares continued, noticing that he was unusually silent, ¡°endure it, endure their mockery, endure the humiliation, that is all that you can do. Do you know why?¡±


    Even though the morning was bright and the gentle wind sweeps through the castle, Erebus couldn¡¯t help but feel dejected.


    ¡°I am aware of it, my lord,¡± he responded nonchalantly, ¡°I am weak.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± he responded, patting Erebus on the head, ¡°there is no place in this world for the weak. Once you acknowledge that, then can you improve yourself. Only the strong may survive. If you wish to rid yourself of the humiliation, become stronger, strong enough so that no one can look down on you.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I understand,¡± he nodded his head obediently.


    ¡°You are talented, Erebus, far more than your father,¡± he said, looking pass him, ¡°you have more potential than most would know, but that is all- potential. Unless you wish for it to remain that way, you must continue to train and unravel your potential.¡±


    ¡°My lord, if I remain by your side, and do as you say, how long¡­ how long do you think I must endure?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I am uncertain of,¡± Agares replied, ¡°you are a fletching. Given enough time for your wings to expand, the sky will be your limit. But if you are constantly boggled down by the opinions of others, then your vision will blur and you will eventually crash.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Even though he was trying to hide his disappointment, Agares saw right through him.


    Patting his head, Agares assured, ¡°you do not need to rush. You are already strong enough to reclaim your father¡¯s throne.¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Erebus stopped, and with a resolve expression, asked courageously, ¡°my lord, if that is the truth, then why is it that I am still the 72nd demon lord.¡±


    ¡°You are still a child compared to us, Erebus. Within the coming month, you will be eighteen years old, but compared to me, who is five hundred seventy-two years old, do you expect to receive the same amount of respect as the rest of us? For your circumstances, it is more complicated than you may think,¡± Agares turned his gaze towards the garden on the right side of the grand hallway that they were walking down, ¡°you are talented, and many have acknowledged that fact, but it will take more than that for them to forget the fact that you are a half-breed. Besides yourself, there has never been a demon lord who have claimed one of the seventy-two thrones before whom blood is that of a human. Such discrimination has existed since the birth of the original demon lords cannot not be easily changed within a few years.¡±


    His fingers curled up into a tight fist, ¡°¡­ then, what else must I do-¡±


    Before he could continue, a childish voice arose in front of them.


    ¡°Father,¡± a girl around his age appeared, calling out for her father as she rushes toward Agares with a bright and cheerful smile on her face.


    ¡°Lilith, my daughter,¡± he declared, spreading his arms wide open. The sight was not what one would expect of the second most powerful demon lord who ruled over his territory with an iron fist.


    Without even bothering to glance at Erebus, she hugged her father before wrapping her arms around her father¡¯s arm, ¡°Father, listen, today I was able to conjure my first spell!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing sweetie,¡± Agares replied, caressing his daughter¡¯s head, ¡°as expected of my beloved daughter.¡±


    Agares glanced at Erebus, urging him to speak with his eyes.


    Erebus sighed, ¡°congratulation, Lilith.¡±


    Lilith glanced at him with the same disgusted expression as ever before smiling towards her father, ¡°Father, will you come have tea with mother and I?¡±


    ¡°I have matters to discuss with Erebus,¡± Agares responded, noticing how lonely and silent the boy by his side became, ¡°perhaps I will join you later.¡±


    ¡°But Father!¡± She protested, pouting cutely as she tugged his arm, ¡°can it not wait?¡±


    ¡°¡­ My lord, this matter is of little importance,¡± Erebus said, stepping away from the picturesque family before him, ¡°since your daughter wishes to spend time with her father, it would be rude of me to interfere. I will deal with the issue accordingly. Now, please excuse me. I have overstayed my visit.¡±


    ¡°Erebus, wait!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Erebus turned back around.


    ¡°If you are not too busy, why don¡¯t you join us for some tea,¡± Agares offered, ¡°we may discuss the issue over a cup of tea.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Erebus bowed lightly before leaving down the hall silently.

 Chapter 2: Prophecy of the End

    Valefor¡¯s Domain- Will O¡¯ World


    On top of a distant hill stood a majestic, ancient castle. The structure, composed of six towers-five of which mounted at each corner, and one of which was the central tower that reaches into the sky in the middle of the castle- stood impressively before the few cities on the plain below it.  Surrounding the castle was an enchanted forest blooming with wildlife that separated it from the city that surrounds the castle.


    Within the castle, Erebus stood outside of a room belonging to his priestess.


    ¡°Gwendolyn, I am coming in,¡± he said, knocking on the wooden door within the cold, marble corridor.


    ¡°Please enter, my lord,¡± a voice responded from the other side of the door.


    Her voice had a certain warmth to it like that of a mother beckoning her son to come into her embrace. It was calming to hear her voice, and for the first time since the past week, he found himself at a moment of peace.


    When he opened the door, he found a single priestess lying by the pool of water at the center of her room. Her feet were submerged in the water and, even though she looked composed, her feet betrayed her as they were swinging within the pool playfully like a child who was given a toy to play with.


    No matter how many times he had entered her room, he would always be struck by the sheer beautiful of it.


    Having sapped a great deal of his domain¡¯s treasury, she had designed her room to be as close to nature as possible with a giant sunroof above them, magical grass that apparently does not need maintenance and glows with the color of amethyst rather than the standard marble flooring of the castle, countless rose bushes, lantern-like florae, and giant statuses of the Goddess of Darkness littering everywhere.


    At the corner of her room was her bed which had stuffed animals littered everywhere. Even that was not plain, as it was far grander than his bed, who is supposedly the master of castle.


    Looking at her bed, he wondered what went through her mind when she decided to fill ever surface area of the bedsheet with stuffed animals. It would be a miracle to sleep on such a bed without falling off or being suffocated by the sheer amount of plushy present. If she was not by her pool, she would be taking a nap on her bed.


    And, to top it off, at the center of her room was a beautiful gazebo made from ancient vines, jewel embroideries, and stained glass. The interwork of the structure is composed of a few benches weaved from darkened, magical vines, priceless rose-shape jewelries, and an enchanting pool.


    That structure alone would have costed her forty years¡¯ worth of salaries. It was estimated that the gazebo alone took five years¡¯ worth of taxes in order to complete. It was a giant endeavor and one that still burdens his domain greatly. In fact, it made his treasurer cry tears of blood when he signed the contracts.


    Every time he entered, he would have a headache from looking at her needlessly expensive gazebo. If not for the fact that his priestess protested constantly for an entire year, he would have never done something as foolish as waste such money on a pointless structure that no one except for her could enjoy.


    It is so ridiculous and selfish that the treasurer voiced that if she does not do her job, he would sneak into her room at night and chip off a piece of the gazebo in order to alleviant some of the financial burden that the kingdom had incurred from funding such absurd structure.


    Nonetheless, he was not here to complain about her decision.


    Even though he had entered the room, she did not so much as to look up from the pool. Rather, her eyes were glued to the water, yearning for the truth from the ripple that her feet caused as it swayed back and forth.


    ¡°You are being awfully lazy,¡± he said, walking toward her, ¡°are you trying to play the role of a kidnapped princess?¡±


    Adorn in a beautiful spring dress and without a single blemish on her perfect, snow-white skin, she was like an angel ripped out of a fairytale, ¡°my lord, I believe the right words would be ¡®cool beauty¡¯.¡±


    While her voice carried no sense of emotion, he could tell that she was interested in having a conversation with him at the very least. Being the priestess of a demon lord meant that they belonged to the demon lord, to serve and fulfill his every wish.


    The cruel truth is that she was no better than a prisoner to him. Her world is composed of the four walls that surrounds her and nothing more. She had little to no freedom. Not only that, her very existence, engraved into her the moment that she was born, was to serve him.


    ¡°I do not believe you can call yourself that when you are surrounded by trash,¡± he responded, pointing at the dirty plates and wrappers on the ground around her.


    ¡°My lord, you jest,¡± she replied, ¡°as the priestess of my lord, my desire is to fulfill your wishes.¡±


    Her fake smile radiated with innocent and playfulness that made it impossible for him to refute.


    With a sigh, he sat down beside her and look into the pool.


    When he sat down beside her, she rested her head on his shoulder.


    ¡°I am not your pillow,¡± he said, ¡°if you are tired, go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°I would never ask my lord to be my pillow,¡± she responded solemnly, yet she did not remove her head from where it was, ¡°that would be rude of me.¡±


    Rather, the tips of her lips edged up slightly, as if reminiscing a pleasant memory.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.His eyes trailed around the belongings that surrounded her.


    Besides her staff, her room was littered with useless and childish junk that you would not expect from a respectable servant of a demon lord. In fact, just taking a glance, he could see numerous plates of snacks, toys, books, and expensive crystals. If he did not know better, she was not taking her job seriously.


    But he couldn¡¯t blame her. The life of a priestess was one that is boring to the point that some priestesses would rather kill themselves and escape the boredom rather than to continue serving their lord.


    Still, even with that knowledge, no matter how he looked at it, she was not being productive in any sort of way.


    Perhaps I am being too lenient on her, he thought, staring at her. He noticed that her sapphire blue eyes were staring up at him.


    ¡°My lord, if you continue to stare at me like that, I fear that I will be pregnant,¡± she said, looking at him with the same stoic face that she wears every day, ¡°though, if it is your desire, I will gladly bear your child.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, if you continue to fool around, I will be docking your pay,¡± Erebus threatened.


    ¡°My apologies,¡± she responded rather swiftly, ¡°may I inquire the reason for your sudden visit?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen anything prophecy that would help me?¡± Erebus asked, glancing at the pool of water in front of him.


    It was a simple pool of water that screams of being a hoax, but having been guided by her multiple times, he had learned to ignore it and played along.


    The pool is nothing more than a catalyst that allows his priestess to predict the future with. A while back, he had asked if the catalyst had to be a pool. It seemed that the only criteria that a catalyst needs to fulfill is that it must have a reflective surface, but a pool was the most popular amongst priestesses, the main reason being that they could enjoy a nice swim.


    In her response, she told him that she liked to get her feet wet and it was a lot more interesting than looking at a reflection of herself in the mirror for hours on end. She told him that some priestesses would become so sick of their own appearance that they would smash their face against the mirror until either they pass out or the mirror breaks. Usually, it is the former.


    It truly is a pitiful job.


    Placing her hand on the surface of the water, the pool began to react. Darkness swallowed the clear surface of the water, and with her eyes closed, she peered into the void.


    Her stoic expression faded away into that of pain, ¡°my lord, I see¡­ in the distanced future, that my pay will¡­ rise.¡±


    Erebus immediately rose from the ground and began heading towards the door without uttering a single word.


    ¡°My lord, please, please don¡¯t leave me!¡± She shouted panicky, latching onto his leg, ¡°it¡¯s been so long since you last visited that I had to play with you! If you abandon me, I will cry!¡±


    Even though she had an emotionless face that revealed little on how she felt, he could tell that she was worried.


    ¡°Gwendolyn, let go of my leg,¡± he glared at her nonetheless.


    ¡°If I let go, you will surely punish me,¡± she responded swiftly, holding onto his legs even tighter.


    ¡°I am glad that you can understand that much.¡±


    ¡°My lord, please have mercy.¡±


    ¡°I will be merciful,¡± Erebus sighed, ¡°no more snacks for the next month.¡±


    ¡°My lord, you might as well kill me yourself!¡± She shouted, tears welling up in her beautiful, emotionless, sky blue eyes, ¡°at least then, I will not have to suffer through the torment of starvation.¡±


    ¡°Gwendolyn, I will give you one last chance,¡± Erebus said, pulling her arms away, ¡°speak, what did you see?¡±


    Gwendolyn nonchalantly stood back up, brushed her dress, and returned to her pool with an elegant demeanor. Her expression was that of absolute seriousness, as if everything that happened before was nothing more than an illusion, ¡°my lord, I had been blessed with a divination four days ago.¡±


    For a moment, his entire existence screamed at him to leave. But, against the better of his judgment, he stayed and swallowed the anger.


    ¡°But, my lord, I¡­ I do not wish for you to hear it,¡± Gwendolyn said after a moment of silence.


    ¡°Gwendolyn, do you remember what I made you promise the first time we met?¡±


    ¡°I will never lie or hide anything from you,¡± she replied, remembering the words she had spoken on that fateful day.


    ¡°No matter how painful it may be I wish to hear it,¡± Erebus said, resolving himself to hear the truth.


    ¡°¡­I understand,¡± Gwendolyn responded, visibly shaken, ¡°please, do not regret your decision my lord.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, she spoke melodically, ¡°Upon a path of fallen snow shall thine walk, in a world that exists parallel to that which birthed chaos that has consumed thee, through carnage and sorrow shall that which you seek reveal itself. And, at thine end shall thee shall fall into eternal slumber.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Erebus frowned, ¡°a world parallel to that which I was born into?¡±


    ¡°¡­ My lord, this prediction,¡± she muttered, ¡°I believe it is unwise for you to listen to it.¡±


    ¡°Gwendolyn, what do you think of it?¡±


    ¡°My lord, if I must say, I believe that if you pursue this prophecy, then you will surely die.¡±


    ¡°Do you not wish for me to die?¡± He asked, noticing her trembling body.


    She shook her head, ¡°I do not fear your end, my lord. Alive or in death we shall forever be together.¡±

 Chapter 3: Departure

    Valefor¡¯s Throne Room- Will O¡¯ World


    ¡°My lord, you have called for us?¡± His most loyal servants appeared, kneeling before him.


    Their eyes beam with interest and curiosity.


    Besides the management of their master¡¯s castle and territory, they were free to do with their time however they wish. Since their lord seeks solitude, they dutifully kept their distance whilst revering him.


    Even though their age and appearance differ greatly, they all share a common point. They were all picked up off the streets and given a new life by the person before them.


    Before they became his servants, they were nothing more than the trash of society- half-breeds, slaves, serfs, heretics, criminals, and others who were never given a chance at life.


    Sitting on a throne of pitch black glass, with the hanging, glass chandeliers illuminating the dark room underneath it, he looked down at those that have gathered under his command.


    There were twelve vassals that were kneeling before him.


    ¡°I have decided,¡± Erebus spoke out after a moment of silence, ¡°I have decided to leave this castle and embark on an adventure. Where it leads me, I am uncertain.¡±


    When they heard his decision, his servants stared blankly, unable to absorb what he had said. Most, startled by the news, looked up at him in hope of finding anything that would contradict his statement.


    ¡°My lord, if I may ask,¡± the closest demon to him said, raising his head calmly, ¡°why have you decided to leave?¡±


    His expression was a mixture of concern and fear. Even amongst his most loyal subjects, the one before him was most devoted vassal.


    ¡°Ignus, I have received a prophecy from my priestess,¡± he answered solemnly, ¡°in order to achieve my goals, I must not remain in the demon territory. Rather, there is a grand, open world outside these walls that I must see for myself. Only then, will I find the answers to my problems.¡±


    Ignus, who was his treasurer and devoted worshipper, nodded his head and said no further.


    The others, seeing how calm Ignus became, grew more worried.


    ¡°My lord, the world is far too dangerous to wonder by yourself,¡± a few demons began to protest, ¡°take us with you.¡±


    ¡°That, I cannot and will not do,¡± Erebus responded with an unwavering resolution, ¡°you are needed here.¡±


    ¡°And what of you my lord? You are the core of our world,¡± the secretary of defense, Nidhogg, responded, ¡°once you leave, what will happen to us? What will happen to those who swore to you? I implore you to stay my lord!¡±


    ¡°There is no hope for me to achieve my goal if I remain here.¡± Erebus answered him, ¡°But, even though I will no longer be here, I will not forsake the lives of my subjects. In time that requires my presence, I have instructed Gwendolyn to call me back.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Even then, my lord,¡± Nidhogg continued, ¡°you are the symbol of our kingdom, without you-¡±


    ¡°Have you grown so weak that you require my presence to keep order, Nidhogg?¡± Erebus glared at him with annoyance, ¡°if you cannot maintain order without me, then I do not need you.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, my lord,¡± Nidhogg replied helplessly, biting down on his lips.


    Erebus sighed and said dejectedly, ¡°No, I should be apologizing Nidhogg. I know that I am abandoning my duty as the demon lord, but this is the only path I can take in order to achieve my goals. I cannot remain here.¡±


    ¡°I understand my lord.¡±


    ¡°Is there any other question or complaint?¡± He said, looking at his vassals.


    ¡°My lord¡­¡± one of the less visible figures, a girl adorned in a pitch black robe, raised her hand slightly, ¡°ah¡­ please don¡¯t¡­ stare at me.¡±


    Noticing that the entire audience hall had their attention on her, she began to shrink in fear.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.She became frightened by the stares of others and hide her face under her hood.


    ¡°Do not be afraid Echinacea, ask me what you want to know,¡± Erebus said with a soothing voice.


    ¡°Wh-what¡­ will we do¡­ about the diplomatic, financial, and social aspect¡­ of the kingdom¡±


    ¡°Small matters will be taken care of by the respective individual assigned to each task, whilst the important matters that requires my decision will now be settled by the majority vote of the council, which will be composed of all representatives of all fields.¡±


    ¡°Thank¡­ you¡­ for answering¡­ my question,¡± she said, bowing lightly before trying her best to hide her presence once more.


    ¡°Ignus, you seem like you wish to say something,¡± Erebus said, noticing the fact that Ignus has been staring at him for a long duration of time, ¡°do you wish to raise a complaint?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not believe that there is anything I can say that will change your mind, not after you¡¯ve decided on the matter,¡± Ignus responded, smiling wryly at his master as he shook his head, ¡°rather, I pray that your journey will be a successful one.¡±


    *****


    Knock. Knock.


    ¡°Who is there?¡± Gwendolyn asked.


    The voice answered, ¡°it is me, Ignus.¡±


    ¡°You may come in,¡± Gwendolyn said, without removing her eyes from the glass window she stood by, ¡°though I do not see why you would want to.¡±


    The dark priestesses of demon lords are confined within their room for the reason beyond mere desire to keep them locked up.


    Each priestess wields an incredible amount of power that allows them to peak into the void. As a consequence, many priestesses are cursed and any who associate themselves with them will receive their curse. It is said that only demon lords are immune to such curses that are attached to the priestesses.


    Still, there were people who did not fear the curse.


    ¡°I hate coming in here as much as you hate me entering your room,¡± he said, showing visible sign of annoyance at the sight of her room.


    They were mortal enemies since the day that she wanted her room to be built in a manner that defied all logic. Ever since then, whenever Mikhail is accompanied by Ignus, she would avoid talking to them, and visa-versa.


    ¡°I do not want your stench in my room,¡± she responded, ¡°if you want to say something, then say it and leave.¡±


    ¡°He will be leaving now,¡± Ignus said after a moment of silence.


    ¡°I know,¡± she replied, her gaze gentle and silent, ¡°if that is it, you may leave. I do not welcome you here.¡±


    ¡°¡­Erebus told me about the prophecy, how he will die at the end of his road,¡± Ignus said, seeing that she would not say anything on the matter, ¡°why did you tell him? You could have hidden it from him and prevent all of this. When he dies, it will be your fault. It will always be your fault, as it always has been. Every time he changes, it is always because of you. You, who continues to sow the seeds of change into him, urging him to walk towards his death, to challenge insurmountable odds. Are you proud of yourself? I have never believed in the Goddess of Darkness, or your pathetic existences, but if this prophecy comes true, and Erebus dies, I will not let you die a peaceful death.¡±


    ¡°Is that all you have to say?¡± Gwendolyn responded, pressing her hand against the glass window, yearning for a place far away from here, beside her lord, ¡°are you done now?¡±


    ¡°How weak,¡± he responded, leaving the room.


    Once he finished what he had to say, he closed the door without waiting for her response.


    From inside, he could hear her soft cries.


    ¡°My lord, please come back to me safely,¡± Gwendolyn muttered, holding her hands together and praying to the Goddess of Darkness.

 Chapter 4: Lallygagging on a New Adventure

    Border of the Kingdom of Valefor- Valefor


    Upon a grassland arrived a carriage.


    When I arrived at the border, I stepped out of the carriage that had brought me thus far.


    Exiting the carriage, I stood stepped onto the soft grass underneath me that was fluttering from the gentle pushes of the wind. With my hands resting on the hilt of my sword, I stared out into the vast expands before me.


    With numerous large patches of clouds high above us, a stunning sea of flowers and tall grass, with hills far off in the distance, and drifting flower petals within the wind, the scene could not be any more beautiful than if it was painted upon a canvas.


    The plain expanded as far as the eyes can see, and without a single obstacle, the wind¡¯s gentle breeze swept through. It was an untouched piece of nature that had existed far before my father¡¯s rule. Besides the few animals gazing off in the distance, there was few live that existed in this peaceful little world.


    For a moment, I felt envious of the butterflies that resides within this patch of land. How they could fly so freely, without a single worry of what would become of them.


    This is one of the few places that I treasure. A certain beautiful flower existed within this plain that my mother once adored. A certain wild flower that could not be cultivated.


    ¡°My lord, it is still far from the first human settlement,¡± one of my servants interrupted, ¡°please allow us to escort you there.¡±


    ¡°No, this is far more than enough,¡± I said, looking back at the castle off in the distance, ¡°there would be no point in trying to hide myself if all I am going to do is parade into the human continent with a group of demons. Besides, I wish to remain here for a moment.¡±


    ¡°¡­ But master¡­¡±


    They look distressed upon hearing my response.


    ¡°You do not have to worry, I will not be in any danger,¡± I told him, ¡°I can walk there myself.¡±


    ¡°Understood, master.¡±


    ¡°Please bear in mind that the first human settlement is directly across the forest towards the east, if you simply head straight, you will arrive within a few hours.¡±


    I simply nodded and began my journey.


    As I walked off into the distance, I could hear the demons behind me speak.


    ¡°Do you think our lord will be alright?¡±


    ¡°Our lord is a natural magnet for trouble,¡± another whispered in response, ¡°it would not be a surprise if he stumbled upon a dragon¡¯s cave in search of water.¡±


    ¡°I heard that our lord was lost for ten days within the castle when he tried to find the kitchen for the dark priestess Gwendolyn.¡±


    ¡°Let us pray to the Goddess of Darkness that our lord returns in one piece,¡± another muttered.


    How dare they belittle me, I thought, grinding my fingers in rage.


    Even though I wanted to head back and kill them to exchange for some gold at the first human settlement, I decided against the better of my judgment.


    *****


    When I arrived at the forest, I found that my body was far more tired that I had expected.


    Even though I have only been walking for a few days without rest, I did not expect that my body would give out so soon.


    Gripping my hand, I wondered, have I lost my touch?


    As I wondered through the woods, I began munching on the jerkies that I had brought along.


    I remembered asking the chefs to prepare it. Even though it was supposed to be a famous adventurer type of food that is meant to last a long time in any temperature, the chefs almost cried. They were heartbroken through the entire process, but they did not disobey me.


    I thought it would be rather plain, but with all of their effort, they made it taste rather wonderfully.


    I will have to commend their effort once I return.


    Just as I was about to take another piece of jerky out of the bag that had been prepared for me, I noticed, off in the corner of my eyes, a group of cloaked figures.


    There were three of them, two on the ground with one crouching on a tree branch high above.


    It seemed that they had spotted me too.


    I raised my hand and waved at them.


    Instead of the response I expected, they turned to look at each other before darting off.


    Where were they going? I wondered, picking up my pace in order to catch up to them.


    When they turned around to look at me, they were startled by the fact that I was coming closer and began running faster.


    Before long, I began to chase after them, screaming, ¡°please wait for me, I only want to talk!¡±


    The truth was that I had lost my map in a rather¡­ humiliating accident possibly involving an open flame, a log, and a misplacement.


    Because of that, I had no idea where the human town was. So, I figured if I follow them, I would be able to be led back to the settlement. Once there, I can explain my situation.


    Thankfully, I had met them with my appearance having been already altered to that of a human¡¯s form. Since the demon blood that flows through my vein is a special incubus type blood, I had little to change. With my wings, horns, and tail gone, and my eyes expanded to be circular, rather than slit, I was practically a human in appearance.


    As I continued following them, I noticed that the forest was opening up.


    Without any time to think, I darted through the clearing after them.


    Passing through the tree line, I immediately regretted my decision.


    In front of me stood an entire army.


    Now, after staring blankly at the army, did I realized how foolish I had been.


    The three that I thought were hunters were undoubtedly scouts, and upon contact with me, they began to flee.


    When I began following them, they must have signaled for the army to prepare for a fight.


    With the people in front of me on high alert, and weapons drawn, it would be practically impossible to escape unharmed.


    From the amount of tents, campfires, and wagons of supplies, I had to guess that there were at least fifty thousand soldiers present.


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, I dropped my sword and raised my hands in the air, ¡°I come in peace!¡±


    The knights who drew their weapons glanced at each other awkwardly before lowering their weapons.


    The entire camp stationed closest to the tree line became silent as a graveyard.


    Since they lowered their weapons, I felt some weights coming off my shoulders. For a second, I thought I would have to fight the very people I intend to join in the first place.


    I looked around the camp with my arms still in the air.


    There were tents as far as the eyes can see and from the looks of it, this was nothing less than an army worth of men.


    Along with the knights, magicians, and archers, were magical beings belonging to the faction of light.


    Thankfully my instinct kicked in and I surrendered without a fight. This amount of enemies would definitely be a needless struggle. If I am unlucky, I may perhaps lose my life. The tragedy of having a story come to an end before it even starts is one that was no laughing matter.


    After a while, a group of knights appeared.


    They were clad in armor far more extravagant and defensive than the standard armor that the normal knights and foot soldiers used.


    What was far stranger was that this group of extravagant knights were all female, from the bulge in their armor. It was not that I was staring, but it simply caught my attention.


    Still, from the slight hue that the armor emits, they were enchanted with magic.


    Even the weapons that they carried on their waist emitted a similar light hue through the sheathe.


    ¡°Hello there!¡± I said with the most innocent of voice that I could muster.


    The leader of the group continued to walk towards me while the other in her group spread out to form an encirclement.


    ¡®Did¡­ I say something wrong?¡¯ I thought, looking around worriedly.


    My hand slowly descended down towards my sword. My hand immediately stopped.


    ¡®There was no need for it,¡¯ I tried to persuade myself consciously over and over again.


    If I show no sign of resistance, surely they won¡¯t kill me straight off the bat, will they?


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.She immediately drew her sword and swung it towards me.


    I bit my lips and closed my eyes.


    ¡®Please don¡¯t stab me, please don¡¯t stab me, please don¡¯t stab me!¡¯ The thought repeated itself like some sort of forbidden spell, taking up my mind completely.


    Goddess of Darkness, I have done nothing wrong! I have fed your messenger, housed her, let her do as she pleases, so let me live!


    After a moment of silence, I peeked to see that I was still alive.


    When I opened my eyes again, I found myself staring at the blade that hoovered a mere centimeter from my neck.


    The sword was a beauty, like its owner, the wielder of a fiery pair of hazel eyes. The translucent blade was made purely of magic crystal.


    After a moment of silence, where my heartbeat was beating so quick that I had feared that it would shoot from my chest and disappear into the sky, the woman drew back her sword and sheathed it.


    ¡°What is your name,¡± the woman spoke afterward.


    Her voice carried a strong sense of dominance that made me shudder in fear. Swallowing such fear, I replied to the best of my ability, ¡°my name is Mikhail.¡±


    ¡°Tell me, Mikhail, why are you within these woods,¡± she responded swiftly without allowing me a second to think.


    I did not think that I needed to explain myself this early. Originally, I planned to create a backstory before I get to the settlement, but I was too busy immersed in the new environment to have composed a backstory for myself! Why did I procrastinate!


    Then, the idea struck me.


    ¡°I belong to the fourth division of the Kelia army that was tasked with the challenge of slaying the seventy-second demon lord, Valefor. Our symbol is a radiant spear between two pigeons,¡± I informed, remembering the flag of the treacherous army that had marched against me.


    What remains of them is something I would rather not talk about, but now they finally had a use.


    ¡°¡­¡± Her silent gaze was like daggers to me. It neither confirms or denies the situation, and with every seconds that pass, the tension continues to grow.


    I began sweating bullets as our eyes locked for what felt my eternity.


    ¡°My lady, he speaks of the truth,¡± one of her guards muttered.


    ¡°It is common knowledge that the Kelia¡¯s army fought against the 72nd Demon Lord, that alone will not buy our trust,¡± she responded nonchalantly, ¡°Besides, it is said that their entire army was wiped out. Why are you still alive?¡±


    ¡°Our army consisted of one hundred thousand knights, magicians, archers, foot soldiers, familiars, and siege works.¡± I suggested, ¡°while the demon lord was able to wipe out our army, and disorientate us, a few of us were able to escape due to the sacrifice of others.¡±


    When I looked at her, I found that her was less and less pleased about me.


    What did I do wrong! This person, does she not have a heart?!


    Am I dealing with a demon here? I am dealing with a demon aren¡¯t I?! Why is she more of a stereotypical demon than me?!


    ¡°So you fled during the battle,¡± her eyes grew colder by the seconds.


    ¡°My lady, I was ordered to. If not for my commander¡¯s order, I would have fought side by side with my comrades to the end!¡± Once more, I forged a story from what time I had, ¡°It is with heavy heart that I had to leave them.¡±


    Her frown grew more apparent, as if she could not believe my story, ¡°why would your commander order you to run away?¡±


    ¡°He told me that I must live in order to inform my kingdom of what we saw that day¡­ the nightmare that occurred on the battlefield, as well as the information we have gathered on the demon lord and his vassals.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, if we all died in battle, no one would know of our sacrifice and no one would know that we were deceived. In order to avoid the demonic hunters that came after those who fled the battle, I hid myself and laid low for a week. It was only due to these wood that I have been lost for so long.¡±


    She seemed displeased and with a dangerous tone, she ordered, ¡°very well¡­ tell what you found.¡±


    While I felt that the crowd was buying my story, the woman in front of me, the deciding factor, was obviously displeased with me.


    I swear, I must have done something to her in my past life to have gain such enmity.


    Was it because she was not pleased to know that the previous army was wiped out, or was she displeased that I was lying to her? Did she catch on? No¡­ that¡¯s impossible¡­


    ¡°It was a trap my lady,¡± I pleaded to the best of my ability, forcing myself to shed tears of sorrow, ¡°we were deceived by the information that we received.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what do you mean?¡± One of her knights couldn¡¯t help but ask, startled by my sudden cry.


    ¡°The Demon Lord Valefor, he was not the weakest amongst the seventy-two demon lords, but rather he still remains as the 6th demon lord.¡±


    ¡°How can that be¡­¡± the crowd began whispering amongst each other.


    ¡°We were shocked ourselves,¡± I responded swiftly, ¡°on the day that we marched to the castle, we found ourselves facing an army twice our size. Their demon lord was able to single handedly slaughter our strongest, and we were butchered like swine in a slaughterhouse.¡±


    ¡°¡­ It was strange that their ranks were reorganized recently,¡± the female general muttered, ¡°but the rumors were that the one who inherited the demon lord spot was a half-breed and the youngest amongst them.¡±


    ¡°My lord, it was a complete hoax,¡± I answered, shaking my head in rejection to her statement, ¡°we had received that information to. Because we believed that the demon lord was still new, our kingdom decided to attack him before he becomes stronger. But, what awaited us was a blood thirsty monster that had the ability to slaughter our entire army. It was only upon engaging him in battle did we realize that we were deceived. After much consideration, the entire situation revolving around the demon lord, Valefor, did not make sense. Demon lords are revered by the demon race. There would never be a case where one of their own kind would do something as mingle their blood, much less marry a lesser being and produce an heir of mix blood with a human. It was an unspoken taboo, and their pride knows no bound. The rumors were merely spread in order to keep their secrets from being revealed! The truth is that they knew that we would attack their weakest demon lord, and with every demon lords being irreplaceable, they made to make sure that none of them died. To accomplish that, they had moved one of their higher ranked demon lords to their lowest rank in order. In our foolishness, we had only expected for a battle against a weaker opponent, but we were lured in and defeated. The Demon Lord Valefor had crushed our army, slaughtering every single one of my companions without mercy in order to prevent the information from spreading. We were nothing more than moths attracted to the flame.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± the leader in front of me finally spoke, ¡°is that all you know?¡±


    ¡°In order to protest their weakest, they replaced the weakest demon lord with the strongest. But, their pride is their greatest weakness. Even though they wish to protect each other, they still view each other in ranks of strength. In their hierarchy, the weakest amongst them would still be the previous 72nd Demon Lord Andromalius. Rather than attacking Demon Lord Valefor, it would be wise to attack Demon Lord Andromalius.¡±


    Like hell do I want you to attack my home, I thought, directing them to attack my enemy.


    After a while, she asked, ¡°why are you telling us all of this? What do you gain from this?¡±


    ¡°The demons are the enemies of our race. To hold information on such matter would be the most regrettable decision of my life. If you all manage to slay a demon lord, it would not only be a great victory to your kingdom, but be a great victory for all of mankind.¡±


    ¡°Very well, thank you for your information.¡± The leader said, ¡°as reward, we will shelter and provide you with enough supply to return to your kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Before then, come along with me,¡± the leader ordered.

 Chapter 5: An Unfortunate Event

    Helen¡¯s Tent- Valefor


    After dismissing her guards, she stood in front of me.


    ¡°Tell me the truth,¡± the female general spoke, staring down at me with keen, sharp eyes.


    I began to sweat profusely.


    She couldn¡¯t have realized that I had lied to her, did she? The thought surfaced instantly.


    Where did I go wrong! I shouted in my mind, rattling through our encounter for any errors that might have slipped.


    I don¡¯t believe I slipped once! It is impossible, unless¡­ she can read my mind.


    Apple. Apple. Apple. Apple. Apple. Apple. Apple.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± She asked, noticing my sudden change in expression, ¡°confess now or else I won¡¯t be merciful.¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you are talking about, my lady,¡± I opted to play the fool.


    She crossed her arms and glared menacingly at me as if I am her prey, ¡°are you going to honestly pretend you don¡¯t know what I am talking about?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°If you are not going to say it, then I will. While your alibi was solid,¡± the female general replied, unamused by my acting skill, ¡°you have forgotten one important thing.¡±


    ¡°¡­?¡±


    I was beginning to sweat bullets as my eyes darted around the room.


    There was no darker, more foreboding sign than the look on her face. It was as if she had checkmated me, or that she had defeated a difficult challenge that had her stressed out for weeks.


    My surrounding suddenly turned grim.


    The clouds swept through, covering the sun. The sunlight that came through from above grew dim.


    If the earth underneath opened up and lava began spewing out from how grim the situation is, I would not be surprise.


    ¡°The first error is that you are not dressed the part. Even if you are a knight, you would not be able to afford such an expensive sword, nor would you wear the clothing that you have on the battlefield.¡± She spoke rather objectively, ¡°not to mention, if you have been on the move for the past four weeks, your clothes would be dirty and you would reek of sweat. Yet, not only are you clean and smell of flower, but there¡¯s not a speck of dust on your body, or wound to show that you were in any sort of conflict.¡±


    I stared blankly at the general.


    With the despair on my face evident of how correct she was, she triumphantly asked, ¡°now, tell me, who are you really?¡±


    ¡°I really screwed up didn¡¯t I?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    Her deduction was spot on and my identity that I had worked relatively¡­ hard to acquire had completely shattered.


    I have been foiled!


    It was not my fault that I never prepared myself for such a situation as encountering the human army¡¯s camp in the middle of the wilderness. It was the equivalent of taking a step outside only to be struck by lightning, on a clear day.


    ¡°Truth be told, I would have been bought by your story entirely if you dressed for the part,¡± the general replied.


    I sighed and rested my upper body against the table, resigning myself to defeat, ¡°are you going to kill me now? If you do, please, at least give me a last meal. That would be nice¡­ may I request fresh milk and tiramisu¡­ apple pie would be nice too, apples are in season I believe¡­¡±


    Seeing how I surrendered so quickly, she couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°If you give me a reason to.¡±


    With a voice deprived of life, my eyes looked up to her from the table, ¡°You are not going to kill me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see a reason to right now,¡± she answered, smiling deviously at me, ¡°you may have lied to me, but you only did it in order to save your own life right? Seeing that you did not attack me the moment that your identity was revealed, I see that you are not all that bad either. Besides, I have already tested you with my blade. Had you retaliated to save your life when I drew my sword, then regardless of your race, I would have killed you on the spot.¡±


    Since she was allowing me a chance to redeem myself, I saw that all hope was not lost and shot straight up.


    ¡°Ah, perfect,¡± I clapped my hands together, ¡°please do not kill me. I will cooperate.¡±


    ¡°Tell me the truth, the complete truth, and I will be lenient.¡±


    I smiled feebly, ¡°I guess since I have already lied to you once, and got caught, I will simply assume that you won¡¯t trust me as easily.¡±


    ¡°You already had your chance,¡± she replied coldheartedly, ¡°this time, you¡¯ll be needing some evidence if you want to support your case.¡±


    ¡°Very well, the truth is that I am not a foot soldier,¡± I responded, thinking quickly on how to persuade her to remain on my side.


    What would make her believe me? Should I tell her the truth?


    If I told her that I am a demon lord, the 72nd demon lord that they are about to attack, I would be tied up and hung. That kind of fate would be what people consider a bad end.


    Threatening her would be the equivalent of tightening the noose around my neck at this point.


    Should I hold her hostage? That would do nothing but set me back! I would have to dispose of this entire army. That would be the greatest waste of resources since Gwendolyn polluted the entire drinking supply with sugar and tea leaves during summer. Granted, I did enjoy it.


    There¡¯s no doubt about it, I must once more¡­ lie my heart out!


    Stolen novel; please report.I told myself, ¡®make a concoction of lies and truth, so wonderfully done that she won¡¯t be able to separate the two!¡¯


    ¡°I am a half-breed,¡± I finally answered her question, ¡°a mix between a human and a demon.¡±


    Time to gain sympathy points!


    Tears began to trickle down my cheeks.


    In truth, I was able to cry on command. It had saved me from my mother¡¯s lectures in the past.


    Since she was a woman, there is no way that she will not fall for the crying trick! Her maternal instinct won¡¯t allow it! Now, feel sympathy for me!


    Just as I glanced at her in hope of seeing a favorable reaction, a sword fell down onto my shoulder, hoovering just a centimeter from my neck.


    ¡°If you have time to cry, then you have time to tell me the truth,¡± the female general warned, ¡°no more tricks or else the next time, I¡¯ll remove your head.¡±


    My shoulders sank as low as it could.


    This person is too fierce!


    When I looked at her, I noticed now unnaturally calm she was.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem surprise by the fact that I am a demon,¡± I said, quite shocked myself.


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the few viable explanations,¡± the general replied, ¡°Is it right for me to assume that you are an incubus?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I replied, dispelling the glamour spell that I had casted on myself.


    With my horns, wings, and tail visible, the general simply nodded her head as if affirming her assumption.


    ¡°So, Mikhail, if that is your real name, and why are you here?¡±


    This person likes to get to the point.


    I smiled helplessly, ¡°if I told you my reason was to help you- would you believe me?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°My demonic name is Erebus, while I received the name Mikhail from my human mother. While it is hard to tell, I am a half-breed, and since I was young, I have been tormented by my birth,¡± I told her, ¡°for me to have human blood flowing through my vein was bad enough, but since I also have demon blood within me, I am seen as a disgrace to everyone- I am a trash worse than slaves. I figured since I will never have a future if I stay in the demon lord¡¯s domain, why not live as a human.¡±


    There was a split second where her eyes grew wide in surprise, ¡°you want to live as a human?¡±


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t discover the truth, do you think other people would suspect me to be a demon?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I thought if I join the human side, maybe I would be able to find a job, fall in love, settle down in a small peaceful town, and live my life out that way. That¡¯s really all that I wish for. Unfortunately, I was caught by a certain sword wielding individual before my new beautifully planned life could start.¡±


    ¡°You have a rather mundane wish,¡± she replied, drawing her sword back.


    Those are some fighting words! I choked back the urge to scream at her.


    Even though it may be a lie, that was unwarranted.


    ¡°For you, perhaps, but that¡¯s all I really want,¡± I muttered, feeling a tinge of pain within my chest.


    ¡°And for that reason, you want to assist us?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the many reasons,¡± I replied, smiling dazzlingly, ¡°wouldn¡¯t it be great if I could take revenge on the people who tormented me?¡±


    ¡°Then, does that mean what you said about the 72nd demon lord was a lie?¡± Piecing the information, she muttered after much consideration, ¡°Did you just want us to deal with the 71st demon lord?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± I answered, leaning back against the chair with my hands supporting the back of my head, ¡°it¡¯s the truth. Your army won¡¯t be able to defeat him. In fact, it would be a miracle if you could inflict a wound on him. If you fought against him one hundred times, you would lose one hundred times. That is why, if you want to be able to return with the honor of killing a demon lord rather than becoming the food for the crows, then I suggest the 71st demon lord- the weakest one amongst the seventy-two demon lords.¡±


    ¡°Very well, I have decided, I will not kill you,¡± the female general said, ¡°instead, I will hire you.¡±


    I figured that she would do just that.


    There was nothing more valuable than having accurate information on their enemy. Usually, it would be impossible to extract information from demons since they tend to be loyal to their revered demon lords. But because she knew that I have a deep hatred towards the entire demon race, my very existence being my evidence, I figured she would at least see me as a tool to accomplish her duty.


    ¡°However, if I find that you lied to me,¡± she said, glaring at me with a malicious aura befitting of a demon lord, ¡°then I will kill you myself.¡±


    For a moment, I felt like she would do better as a demon lord than a general. In fact, if she continued to act in such manner, I feel like I should surrender my seat to her. Regardless¡­


    ¡°I understand,¡± I immediately raised my arms up in show of surrendering, ¡°I will do my best in order to assist you in every way I can!¡±


    ¡°You will be joining my group,¡± she ordered, ¡°that way, I can keep watch on you.¡±


    ¡°¡­Please have mercy,¡± I begged out of genuine distress.


    If I have to serve such a demanding and unreasonable, merciless woman, I fear that I might bash my head against my sword and die like the many priestesses that serves the demon lords.

 Chapter 6: Stealing His Important Object

    Near the Border of Valefor¡¯s Domain- Helen


    ¡°My lady, I have an issue with¡­ him.¡±


    ¡°My lady, is it possible for you to relocate him?¡±


    ¡°My lady, I hate to inform you this but¡­¡±


    ¡°My lady¡­¡±


    Throwing my paperwork aside out of rage, I stormed out of my tent with my sword in my hands.


    Goddesses be dammed, how is it humanly possible- or demonly possible- to cause so much trouble in the span of a few weeks!?


    ¡°Mikhail, I am going to kill you!¡± I shouted on the top of my lung.


    Ever since I took him my group in order to observe him, he has done nothing but cause trouble and countless headaches.


    I was starting to think that using him as a whetstone for my sword would be a better choice than to have him around.


    From Chloe¡¯s last report regarding the observation of Mikhail, his last act had ten tents simultaneously catching on fire. Thankfully, no one was hurt but that was still a serious issue.


    Since he appeared, a lot of people have been complaining to me about restraining him.


    I stormed towards the sound of chaos.


    Since we¡¯ve been marching towards the 71st demon lord¡¯s domain with the route that he had picked for us, we have encountered an unheard of amount of trouble, one of which involved a poisonous flower that many touched after seeing him interact with it.


    On a special day a week back, the trouble maker, Mikhail, had found a flowerbed of poisonous flowers and decided to rest at the center of it. When he got close, the flowers would release a great deal of mist and pollen that changed color constantly. Seeing that there wasn¡¯t a problem with Mikhail when he laid there, everyone figured that there wouldn¡¯t be an issue if they went through, or touched it.


    Unfortunately, because he was part demon, he was immune to the poison, but for everyone else, they were left in bed for an entire day after the occurrence. Because it was a slow acting, weak poison that spreads upon touch and would remain on the body for an entire day, many people contracted the poison before the first person became reacting. This caused us to delay our march by an entire day as over fifty percent of the army had been a victim of the flower.


    While I wanted to say that I had the fortune of avoiding it, it was not the case. Rather, Mikhail came over and showed me the flowers which I then touched.


    Forgetting about the traumatizing experience of being unable to move my body for an entire day, I finally spotted the cause of my trouble. His pitch black hair that resembles a moonless night sky was one of the many feature that made him easy to spot. Unlike the black hair that other people had, his was far darker and more beautiful.


    Silently, I drew my sword from its sheathe and approached him.


    Like a rabbit that senses a predator approaching, he stood up and looked around.


    As he turned around, I swung my sword down.


    Immediately, he jumped back.


    His crimson eyes darted around the surrounding frantically hoping to find an escape route.


    ¡°Di-did I do something wrong?¡± He asked with his legs visibly trembling.


    ¡°I have had enough of you,¡± I shouted, ruffling my hair in frustration, ¡°why are you causing me so much trouble?! Did I do something to you in the past life?!¡±


    Chloe, who had followed behind me, silently nodded.


    Since I told my private group of knights composed of females that he was a half-breed between a demon and a human, many have tried to avoid him. It was not received well. Still, I would much rather have them avoid Mikhail than have them hate on him. Out of the twenty-four knights that were under my command, a third of them hated him. Since he was a half-breed, and many knew the unfortunate fate that they suffer through, they did not all hate him. Amongst those that hate him was my closest friend and servant, Chloe.


    Fortunately, even though they hate him, no one has caused any trouble with him.


    When I turned my eyes to what he was doing before, I found a dead carcass of a wild boar.


    It was partially skinned.


    The knights that were surrounding him were also helping him.


    When they noticed my gaze, they all stood up and darted off to their own respective group.


    Since we were constantly marching and only given a small amount of time a day to rest, few people went out and wasted their time hunting for fresh food.


    Because of that, it was rare to see such treasure. Wild animals were rare to catch since they would all be scared off by the sound of fifty thousand men marching through their forest.


    Just imagining what we could do with the wild boar in front of me, I began to salivate.


    It has been a year since our expedition started and since then, I could count the amount of times we had fresh food.


    When he noticed that I was eyeing his catch, he looked even more fearful.


    Remembering all the trouble he caused, I realized what must be done.


    In order for my stomach, I mean revenge, I must not allow him the pleasure of eating such a meal.


    ¡°For all of the trouble you have caused me, I will be confiscating that wild boar,¡± I told him before turning to Chloe, ¡°Chloe, please have it carried to our camp and tell the others we¡¯ll be having fresh meat today.¡±


    ¡°Understood my lady,¡± Chloe responded, glaring at Mikhail, before ordering a couple of people to help her carry it over to our camp, ¡°a wise choice of punishment.¡±


    Mikhail, who was watching the boar leave, had subconsciously reached out for it with his hands.


    ¡°Wi-will I be able to enjoy it with everyone?¡± He asked, looking at me with a pained face.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°¡­You, you, demon!¡± He shouted at the top of his lungs.


    Did you think I would forget the troubles you have caused?!


    I began to laugh.


    Unexpectedly, I was growing a bad habit. If I continue interacting with him, I might become a sadist.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    *****


    After sharing the wild boar with the others, I called Mikhail in.


    The matter that we would discuss today retained to the demon lord and our future action.


    We were quickly approaching the domain of the 71st demon lord and our strategy on dealing with the demon lord was being questioned. I, myself, had a lot of doubt on the task at hand.


    ¡°This is a map of the 71st demon lord¡¯s territory and the general layout of his castle. I do not have a perfect map of his domain but this should be more accurate than what you may have,¡± Mikail said, laying out a few maps, ¡°it would be best if we organize each battalion to fit the terrain. Mage battalions should be stationed here, archers on the other side and-¡±


    ¡°Why do you have this?¡± I asked, looking at the map that he had laid on the table.


    ¡°Must you really know everything?¡± I could tell that he was till scornful from having all of his effort taken away.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I replied, resting my sword on his shoulder.


    If it was anyone else, I would never dare to do something as dangerous or audacious as this, but it was Mikhail. That was enough reason for me.


    Looking down at the sharp blade, he sighed dejectedly. I could tell that he was starting to regret his decision on joining my side, but even though he was in such a state of frustration, I couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh.


    ¡°I figured that it would fetch for a high price if I sold it off,¡± he answered my question reluctantly, ¡°the general layout of the 71st demon lord¡¯s castle was something that I had drew while I was a water boy for the chief, and the maps of the territory can be purchased from the market as long as you are a demon.¡±


    Seeing that he had answered my question obediently, I drew back my sword and sheathed it casually.


    Needless to say, but the other commanders also knew of who he is. Since I vouched for him, they were willing to listen without saying a word.


    ¡°Continue,¡± I ordered when he stopped talking, ¡°what do you suggest we do?¡±


    ¡°In order to kill the demon lord, I suggest we trap him.¡±


    ¡°A siege tactic?¡±


    ¡°No, we cannot give him the opportunity to request assistance from the other demon lords. If any of the higher ranking demon lords appear, even alone, it would spell disaster. What I am suggesting is that we attack him from the front with a majority of the soldiers, while we hide some group around the demon lord¡¯s domain in case he decides to flee his castle,¡± he explained with a serious appearance. The sulking, vengeful person was completely gone from him. ¡°I suggest twelve groups of one thousand should cover the perimeter, while the rest battle against the demon lord¡¯s army.¡±


    ¡°If we split our forces as you suggested,¡± One of the commanders said, ¡°then our main force would not be able to deal with the demon lord¡¯s army.¡±


    ¡°We do not need to defeat their army to win, we just need the demon lord¡¯s head,¡± he responded, ¡°if you cut the head of the general, the army will naturally collapse. If we can distract his army, surround the area with hidden groups in case the demon lord flees, and send a small, but strong group composed of twenty-five people at max, to sneak into the castle and assassinate the demon lord, then there is a high chance that we will not only win, but be able to kill the demon lord. He does not possess a standing army. He probably has barely started to recruit soldiers for his army. It will be ill prepared and won¡¯t compose of much more than twenty of thousands at most. If we account for the disparity between the strength of a regular human and a regular demon, their strength will be barely the equivalent of our army.¡±


    ¡°A feint¡­ and assassination,¡± the general muttered, ¡°and what happens if the assassination attempt fails?¡±


    ¡°Then the hidden groups should converge and assault the castle,¡± I replied, ¡°it¡¯s the only fall back plan and the last chance of taking the demon lord¡¯s head should we fail. But it would be a lot more difficult.¡±


    ¡°What if the army is unable to hold off the demon lord¡¯s army?¡± A commander grunted, ¡°how long do you expect us to hold off the enemy?¡±


    ¡°I do not know how long it will take since I do not know what sort of demon we will encounter within the castle, but if you cannot hold them off then we¡¯ll all be dead,¡± I replied, ¡°but, I believe this is the safest gamble.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± one of the commanders spoke, ¡°this is all assuming that he will be within his castle when we assault his army- what if he decides to lead his army?¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be likely.¡± Mikhail shook his head, remembering the sight of that pathetic lowlife, ¡°he is not brave enough to fight on the frontline. He is a weakling who is only a demon lord in name. He¡¯ll be too afraid to risk his life and powerless compared to others.¡±


    ¡°How are you so sure?¡± Another commander asked, feeling rather uncertain about his suggested plan.


    ¡°I have dealt with him before,¡± he replied swiftly, ¡°while I could do nothing to him, I could see his characteristic. He¡¯s a coward who only knows how to use his mouth.¡±


    Seeing that no one had anything else to say, I clapped my hands together to gather their attention.


    ¡°Very well, that sounds like a plan.¡± I declared, ¡°we¡¯ll do as you say. But, as for the people who will be assaulting the castle, you¡¯ll be coming with me.¡±


    He froze for a moment and looked at her, ¡°eh¡­?¡±


    Strangely, he had a bemused expression on his face when I said, ¡°you know the general layout of the castle the best, and if you lied to me, you¡¯ll be the first I cut down.¡±


    ¡°Can you put a little bit of trust in me?¡± he asked, ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything else I can tell you except for the color of my-¡±


    ¡°After this entire ordeal, I¡¯ll trust you.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± he rolled his eyes, ¡°well¡­ we should get marching¡­ as for how we¡¯ll infiltrate the base, once the time comes, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    I really regret trusting this demon before me.

 Chapter 7: Infiltrating the Enemys Base

    Forest Outside Andromalius¡¯s Domain- Helen


    ¡°What do you suggest we do in order to infiltrate the castle?¡± I asked him immediately the moment we separated from the army.


    ¡°Hmmmm, if we march to the castle with our appearance, we¡¯ll be killed before we can even enter,¡± he responded rather casually, ¡°I say, we disguise ourselves as demons.¡±


    I glared at him, ¡°besides yourself, I do not see how any one of us will be able to accomplish that.¡±


    ¡°It would be impossible if we don¡¯t have any magic,¡± he said, clapping his hands, ¡°but, since we do, specifically me, we might as well use it, right? Everyone, try your best not to freak out.¡±


    While it was preposterous to hide the fact that we were humans, he extended his hand out and a magic circle appeared underneath us. It immediately engulfed us in a layer of translucent of darkness before becoming transparent.


    I wanted to draw my sword and ask him what he had done, but before I could, someone screamed out.


    ¡°My lady!¡± Chloe practically screamed in fright, ¡°what happened to you?!¡±


    When I turned to look at Chloe, I found that a beautiful demoness had taken Chloe¡¯s place.


    The demon that possessed Chloe¡¯s voice had black, feathery wings sprouting out from her waist with a heart-shape tail swinging back and forth between her legs. Her armor was replaced with rather mundane clothing that normal townspeople would wear.


    The first thought that ran through my head was if demons had infiltrated the group. No matter how strange it might be, it was a thought that I couldn¡¯t brush off. My right hand slowly reached down my waist towards the hilt of my sword.


    Before I drew my sword, I realized that everyone had taken the appearance of a demon. The knights that were accompanying us muttered in shock as they turned to look at each other. Some even went as far as drawing their weapons.


    After a moment of consideration what had happened, I retracted my hand from my sword.


    ¡°Chloe¡­ is that you?¡± I asked, looking at the bewitching demoness.


    Chloe nodded her head, ¡°it¡¯s me, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Why¡­ why have you become a demoness?¡± I ask, completely startled the change.


    She frowned and replied, ¡°my lady, I wish to ask you the same question.¡±


    When I looked at myself, I didn¡¯t see any change at all made to my body. Yet, everyone around me had changed.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    There was one person that could have caused such pandemonium in such a short moment.


    The others must have realized it too as their stares all turned towards a certain individual.


    After considering everything, I immediately looked at Mikhail.


    The handsome, devious half-breed was replaced by a beauty. Her silky, black hair reached down towards her waist, and with the bewitching color of the starless night sky, it fluttered with the wind. For a second, I felt that my heart had fallen out of place as I felt an undeniable attraction toward him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± his voice, whilst changed to resemble that of a female, said embarrassed.


    I wanted to knock him out with the flat of my sword but my reasoning told me not to.


    I frowned, ¡°what did you do to us?¡±


    ¡°I am an incubus,¡± he replied, curtsying rather politely in front of all of us, ¡°illusion is my forte. I had casted a glamour spell in order to hide your real appearance. While your appearance hasn¡¯t changed, everyone will perceive you in an altered appearance. Unless you are seen through magic perception eyes, it would be impossible to be discovered.¡±


    The more I observed him, the stranger he grew to be. At first, I had thought that he would simply be a cannon fodder, but strangely enough, he was more of a mixed bag of tricks.


    ¡°I feel like you are scorning me,¡± he said, noticing the change in my eyes almost immediately, ¡°I did tell everyone not to panic too much.¡±


    I drew my sword and swung down at him.


    A sharp glint appeared in his star lite, crimson eyes for a second as his hands shot up, catching my blade between his palms.


    ¡°Ha ha!¡± He exclaimed proudly, ¡°I have finally caught it! You know, Helen, if you keep using the same scare tactic, I will eventually be able to read you like an open bo-¡±


    Looking at him, I couldn¡¯t stand the smirk on his face.


    I immediately kicked him in the knee swiftly with enough strength to cause him to fall onto the ground, and just as I lowered my sword onto him, he raised his arms into the air, ¡°I surrender, please do not hurt me.¡±


    I sighed.


    What was I thinking believing in a demon who could not be any more relaxed?


    *****


    As we approached the walls of the city that surrounded the demon lord¡¯s castle, Mikhail said, ¡°let me do the talking everyone.¡±


    While I saw doubt within some of my knights¡¯ eyes, they all became silent as the gates came to view.


    The imposing outer walls of the city was at least thirty meters high and had countless magic towers installed. These giant towers each had a large magic crystal floating at the top underneath the roof. Not only that, there were even magic cannons and archers mounted on the wall, ready for an attack if it ever came.


    It seems like they knew that we were coming and had fort up. Their victory condition was undoubtedly to wait for us to exhaust our strength whilst protected by their towers and call help from another demon lord.


    Looking at the sheer scale of their defense, I knew that a siege would be impossible. We had neither the time or strength to penetrate through their walls, and not enough supply to last.  Naturally, Mikhail had predicted that and suggested to infiltrate them, cause a disturbance with the army, and while we have them disorientated, we would assassinate the demon lord.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.¡°Greetings,¡± he immediately said, with a seductive tone.


    Knowing that fact that behind the appearance of a goddess was none other than the demon that she had talked to, her body shuddered in disgust.


    ¡°State where you come from and your intention,¡± the guard said, forcing himself to act serious when his eyes were following down Mikhail¡¯s body.


    ¡°We come from Valefor¡¯s domain, from the main city, Hibiscus, in order to find business here.¡±


    ¡°Hibiscus, that is a long way away,¡± the guard muttered, ¡°what sort of business are you seeking here?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it the joy of pleasing those that seeks affection,¡± Mikhail responded seductively, folding his arms under his chest in order to lift them up higher for the guards to see, ¡°there is not enough customers in Hibiscus so we figured that we would come to the magnificent Andromalius¡¯s domain.¡±


    One of the guards had an aura of mana that flowed from his eyes.


    ¡°Are you pleased with what you see?¡± Mikhail said, blowing the guard a kiss.


    He smiled wryly, ¡°Please excuse me, I have a wife. Well, they¡¯re not using any sort of magic.¡±


    The leader of the guards nodded and glanced over at Mikhail.


    ¡°You have come to the right place,¡± the guard said, reaching out to grope the beauty in front of him.


    Mikhail sidestepped and smiled teasingly, ¡°If I give myself to you all so simply, it would not be fun at all, and the people behind us will not be pleased. If you wish for my service, you must seek me out. I will be waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll find you tonight, so reserve some time for us,¡± the other guards said, smiling perversely at the thought of ravaging the beauty in front of them.


    Mikhail winked and, after receiving a pass through, along with the others, he walked towards the nearest alley.


    ¡°That was disgusting,¡± I couldn¡¯t help but admit.


    Mikhail, who still had the appearance of a beautiful goddess, was barfing with one hand on the wall and with his head hung down.


    No ordinary person with even an ounce of self-respect would have done what he did, yet he did it in order to cover our identity.


    The others clapped their hands together and prayed that his sacrifice would not be in vain.


    ¡°How did you deceive his eyes?¡± I asked, remembering having been observed by the magic perception eyes.


    ¡°I told you, I am an incubus,¡± he said, between vomiting.


    He raised his hand and gave me a thumbs up, ¡°illusions are my forte.¡±


    Even though I should feel amazed, seeing how pathetic he looked, I couldn¡¯t feel anything but pity.


    *****


    Once he regained his composure, even though he looked a bit pale and dejected, we began walking down the streets toward the castle that stands at the center of the city.


    As we passed through the streets, Mikhail began buying snacks and food from practically every vendor that we passed through.


    Using his charming look, he was able to get most of them for free.


    ¡°You know, I think this is pretty convenient,¡± he said, taking a bite from the meat skewer that he had received from a nearby vendor, ¡°oh, this is good, you should try some of this.¡±


    ¡°Mikhail, this is not the time to enjoy yourself,¡± I responded, glaring at him.


    At first, I thought he was simply refilling his stomach with the content that he had lost a few minutes ago, but with a stern expression, he refuted.


    He sighed, ¡°this is the perfect time to be acting this way. You will look suspicious if you keep being so serious. Blend in, enjoy yourselves. It will help us more if you can relax.¡±


    Once I thought about what he said, it made some sense.


    There were twenty-five of us, including him, which was no little number. With this many of us walking down the street, albeit a distanced from each other, we still looked rather out of place.


    Helpless, I took the skewer he had offered and took a bite.


    It was really delicious, and while I wanted to comment on how tasty it was, I noticed his annoying victory smile.


    ¡°Blend in and we will be less likely to get caught,¡± he scolded me when given the opportunity.


    While I wanted to strike back, I found that it was impossible.


    Instead of saying anything, I pouted and continued eating in silence.


    Chloe, who was walking by my side, was offered one from Mikhail.


    Even though she initially wanted to reject him, I had insisted, forcing her to reluctantly take it.


    After feeling my pocket, I found the coins that he had given to every member of our group.


    At first, I had thought that it was in case the situation calls for it, and that we would have to pay the toll to enter, but with his performance, it was not necessary.


    The others, taking advice from Mikhail, began trying out some of the food and purchased some souvenirs whilst still on target. There were some who were more hesitant and did not buy anything, but they still couldn¡¯t help but look around, absorbing the view.


    Any city that is directly controlled by a demon lord would always be prospering. This was mainly because their territory is an object of comparison amongst demon lords, so many demon lords made it a duty to make their capital as beautiful as it can be to show off their wealth and power.


    ¡°Until we infiltrate the castle, do not give the signal,¡± Mikhail warned quickly before darting off to another sweets shop.


    Grinding my temple with my hand, I followed behind him.


    Within my pocket was a magic crystal that, once shattered, would give the message to the commanders to attack.


    Right now, we could do whatever we want before the battle starts.

 Chapter 8: Strolling through the Castle

    Andromalius¡¯s Castle- Helen


    ¡°We have been called to serve the magnificent demon lord, in his private chamber,¡± Mikhail said, curtsying slightly outside the castle door.


    The guards stationed in front stared blankly at our group before turning their attention to Mikhail.


    While our numbers were far greater than what which you would expect, the guards nodded almost immediately when his eyes fell on Mikhail¡¯s body. I guess because of Mikhail¡¯s appearance that he was too captivated to process any information in front of him.


    Rather, from the looks on the guards¡¯ eyes, they seemed to be enchanted by him to a degree where they would agree to whatever he said without bothering to think about it.


    For a moment, I felt scared of the possible things he could do if he used his abilities in an evil way.


    The guard captain glanced at us once more before returning his eyes to Mikhail¡¯s chest.


    Even if he wanted to find any fault, with so many beauties, there was little to say to refute Mikhail¡¯s statement.


    Not only that, because we did not have anything on us besides our clothes, he must have figured that it was impossible for us to cause any problem.


    The truth was far from it. Our weapons were concealed behind Mikhail¡¯s spells, and like what happened previously at the entrance gate, the guards looked at us with mana infused eyes.


    After a while, they nodded.


    Off in the corner of my eyes, I noticed that Mikhail¡¯s hands, which he held behind his back, was trembling.


    ¡°I see¡­ come this way,¡± he said after giving us a glance filled with wicked and perverse desire.


    Some of the girls shuddered but wordlessly followed.


    Three of the five demons were tasked with leading us to the demon lord.


    I glanced at Mikhail, who, after entering the castle, became deathly silent.


    To our surprise, Mikhail immediately moved forward after the gate closed behind us, and drawing his dagger, he covered the demon¡¯s mouth with one hand and drove his sword through his head.


    Pulling the blade out with a river of blood pouring onto the marble floor, he turned to the demons by his side.


    When the demon to the right heard of the pitter patter of blood, he turned around to look.


    Caught by surprise, his vision blurred as a sword pierced through the center of his head.


    His arms dangled lifelessly his head was pinned against the wall. Blood splattered against the wall.


    While simultaneously stabbing his sword into the demon to the left, he turned to the demon on the right side with a murderous look.


    The other demon, who was reaching for his sword, was grabbed by the head and slammed against the wall.


    Without mercy, Mikhail dashed forward, dragging the demon¡¯s head against the wall with all of his might before slamming his body onto the ground where he stabbed the demon¡¯s heart with his dagger.


    The entire battle was concluded in less than five seconds. Before anyone could realize what happened, three corpses laid in front of us.


    The moment that the last demon faced his end, I turned away.


    Even for a knight, the scene in front of us was something that no sane individual could possibly look at without feeling some sort of horror.


    When I glanced at the demon, whom body was twitching had had more than half of his head missing, I noticed, under the crack of his helmet, the terrified expression on his distorted face before his death.


    The mural that he had painted with blood resembled that of a crimson shooting star.


    I couldn¡¯t help but cover my mouth, forcing myself not to vomit.


    With his back turned to the demon whom blood was spurting out from half of his head, Mikhail pulled his sword out of the wall, and watching as the second demon collapse onto the ground with a loud thump, he sighed with relief.


    When I looked at Mikhail, there was a demeaning smile plastered on his face.


    Stretching his arms out and sheathing his sword and dagger, he said happily, ¡°that felt good.¡±


    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± I said, holding back, ¡°they would have shown us to the demon lord¡¯s room.¡±


    It was hard to believe that this person was the same person carefree person who would easily surrenders to her whim.


    ¡°Unlike the guards at the gate, there is no doubt that the demon lord would see through us, and before we can defeat him, we will be surrounded,¡± he replied, smiling like he did when we were looking through the stalls back in the city, ¡°the more we kill now, without anyone knowing, the fewer will react once we fight him, or once we leave. And, we need to catch him off guard if we want an easier time to kill him.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­¡± I glanced at the dead bodies.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Helen, they¡¯re just demons. Now, we should dispose of the body in one of these room and hide for the time being,¡± he suggested, lifting one of the bodies up and dragging him away.


    Just¡­ demons, I stared at him quizzically. Even though they were demons, to have such little amount of care about the value of their life. Not only that, he was a demon himself. For him to care so little about them¡­


    While I thought about it, he continued to move forward.


    Chloe, who stood by my side, frowned with a disgusted look on her face.


    The two knights closest to the corpses hesitated before carrying the bodies behind Mikhail. The rest began disposing of the evidence with some quick water spell that washed away the blood and flame spells to burn away the water.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said, turning back around for a moment to speak to everyone, ¡°I forgot to mention this, but do not use any magic spells unless you have to. This demon lord may not have the wealth or power to have a magic core, but there is a high chance that if we use magic, the powerful demons that reside within his castle will be able to detect the flux of mana, and once that happens, our cover will be blown.¡±


    After being warned, we followed behind him.


    I wanted to ask him a few things, but remembering what just happened, I found myself unable to ask.


    Eventually, we were able to sneak into one of the many empty rooms and dumped the bodies.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.Mikhail, who was guarding the door, turned around to look at me, ¡°it would be best to signal the attack. The safest place once the battle begins would be here for us. The battle will draw away many guards from the castle in order to bolster their army. Once that happens, we¡¯ll move out and sneak our way towards the demon lord. They¡¯ll be too preoccupied to worry about the defense of their castle when their front door is being attacked.¡±


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked, visibly concerned when I stared blankly at him.


    Shaking off the strangeness of his sudden switch in personality, I nodded my head and took out the crystal.


    *****


    His footsteps were silent, and with his figure absorbed within the darkness of every corner. It was as if he was one with the shadow. And, with every move he made, his victims grew in the number.


    There was no mercy in his attacks, and with every strike being lethal, there was little to no resistance from the demons that fall to his blade. If we did not know that it was him, we would have never thought that the horrendous things that were committed in this room would be done by someone who seemed so passive all this time. It was like watching a monster unleashed upon a group of defensive children.


    There wasn¡¯t a single spot within the room that was not covered in blood.


    With a trail of corpses behind his back, he became was more frightening than the enemies that we thought we would be fighting.


    After having singlehandedly cleared an entire room with over twelve demons by himself, he stood at the center of the corpse-riddled room.


    While it was still difficult to hear him breath, I could hear enough to tell that his breathing was growing louder.


    His shoulders slumped down with fatigue and his chest were expanding and contracting erratically.


    It would be far scarier if he wasn¡¯t tired from having killed so many demons.


    The scene in front of me was nothing less than a gut-wrenching portrait of death.


    With hands covered in blood, he brought his fingers through his hair as he drew it back.


    For a moment, he had a dangerous bloodlust within his eyes.


    But, as he turned around, it simply¡­ vanished.


    ¡°Thank goodness that they didn¡¯t scream,¡± he said, breathing a sigh of relief, ¡°is everyone alright?¡±


    My head immediately nodded almost subconsciously.


    I couldn¡¯t help protested sheepishly, ¡°Mikhail, I am starting to question whether or not you are an ordinary incubus or not.¡±


    After everything that he showed me, there was no way that he was normal- even for a half-breed.


    Even though he had single-handedly wipe out a room full demons, he didn¡¯t seem to be even slightly affected.


    ¡°Is that a compliment?¡± He replied casually, smiling back at me with the same smile he would constantly wear as if there was nothing wrong in the world.


    ¡°If you wish to take it that way,¡± I answered back, holding back the trembling within my voice, ¡°are you alright yourself?¡±


    I was starting to believe that he was a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing, but from his past record, he didn¡¯t seem like someone that would betray us.


    At first, I had assumed that everything he did, the sudden change in his characteristic when faced with his enemies, was simply out of hatred, but even hatred could not burn for so long, or delivered so mercilessly. Though, I can¡¯t say that I comprehend his thought process anymore.


    Whatever his motive was, as long as it does not hurt us or our race, then I don¡¯t believe it would be a trouble.


    ¡°Oh, are you concerned about me?¡± He asked, brimming with joy.


    ¡°It would be unfortunate if you collapsed out of fatigue,¡± I responded casually, ¡°because we will not be carrying around deadweight.¡±


    It was strange, even though I had just met him, there was a likeableness about him that makes me relax around him, and there was this sense of dread, like a bird ignorant of the fact that it had landed on a monster¡¯s mouth. Even though I have seen him make little work of the guards of the castle, I still couldn¡¯t find myself to hate him.


    I felt confused.


    Some of the girls who had gone pass the viciousness and barbaric slaughtering of demons were actually cheering for him. In truth, they were our enemies and if we were to spare them, they would return the favor with the tip of their sword.


    It would be better for them to died rather than us.


    When I thought of it like that, it made his action more excusable.


    The others, while weary of him, were also pleasantly calm about his actions.


    Perhaps it is the incubus blood that flows within his veins.


    ¡°Tsk, how cold hearted,¡± he protested, ¡°but I am alright. I just need to catch my breaths and I will be back to normal.¡±


    ¡°If you need, we can rest for a little,¡± I suggested, feeling a tad bit bad that he was doing everything.


    Even though our group had a sizeable amount of experience when it comes to combat, we had never dealt with demons in such large quantities before and it was quite overwhelming.


    On occasion, we would be able to assist Mikhail and kill a runner, but most never had that kind of chance when they face Mikhail.


    ¡°No, that won¡¯t be necessary,¡± he replied almost immediately, ¡°the longer we stay here, the more people will die outside the gate, and the more likely we will be caught.¡±


    ¡°No matter how swiftly we were clearing the rooms, if any one of us were harmed, it will only cause us a delay at the end,¡± I voiced my thought, ¡°if you need any time to recuperate your energy, don¡¯t hesitate to say the words.¡±


    ¡°I will keep that in mind,¡± he said, standing straight up, ¡°let¡¯s keep moving.¡±


    I had never expected for Mikhail to be more useful than what I had imagined.


    Demons are far stronger than humans on an average level, but he was a mix blood, so he should not have been any stronger than an average demon, yet he was far stronger than anyone I have ever met.


    Watching his back, I hated to admit it, but amongst the chaos, it was nice to have someone to rely on.

 Chapter 9: Carnage

    Inner Corridor- Helen


    Dashing through an empty hallway, with chandeliers hanging from above, I glanced at the knights behind me.


    While they were all showing sign of exhaustion from the constant movement and combat, they were still holding strong.


    It was to be expected since they were the knights that I have gone through everything together with. They were my servants, friends, companions, and amongst them was Chloe who I considered as my family.


    Looking at them, I was glad that there haven¡¯t been any casualties. Even though we knew that death could overtake us at any moment, and that a knight must always walk side by side with death, it still hurts to lose a close companion.


    The sisterhood that we have formed, I did not want to see it break apart. I didn¡¯t want anyone to die. It was idealistic of me, but I continued to pray that this would go smoothly.


    If we did not have Mikhail, maybe we would have not gotten this far.


    As we progressed towards the demon lord¡¯s room, the security and amount of demon present grew to be far too overwhelming for Mikhail to handle alone and most of us had to fight our own battle.


    Not only that, since we started, there has yet been a moment of rest, and while everyone was tired, they did not show any sign of stopping.


    There was a battle raging outside the castle walls. Many of these soldiers were dying under my command. With every second that passes, more and more people are will die. In order to save as many as we can, we must quickly slay the demon lord.


    Mikhail, who was ahead, was sweating profusely.


    With more enemies, there were more instances where we nearly gave away our position and caused the remaining guards to swarm us.


    Once we made it into an empty room with a few marble statues depicting the demon lord and the Goddess of Darkness, two rows of Corinthian columns that supports the ceiling, and glass chandeliers hanging above us, lighting up the room, I decided to stop.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough everyone,¡± I ordered, ¡°let us stop for a moment and rest up for a little bit. If you all push yourself too hard, it will not do us any good-¡±


    Suddenly, I felt a cold breeze against my body. It caused my entire body to shudder as if a bucket of water had been poured over my body.


    My mind immediately screamed of danger, but my body felt petrified.


    Before I could react, Mikhail turned back swiftly and pushed me aside.


    As my vision blurred, I watched as Mikhail¡¯s arm was sliced off his body.


    The others, noticing the drowning malice that the air carried, immediately surrounded me in a protective formation.


    Mikhail, who lost his arm, drew his sword from his waist.


    ¡°To think that rats have infiltrated the castle,¡± a voice drifting within the hall said in contempt, ¡°I must praise your effort for getting this far undetected, but this little game will now be coming to an end.¡±


    Mikhail clicked his tongue, ¡°be careful, he¡¯s a dangerous one.¡±


    Even though he was bleeding profusely, he did not bother with his injury.


    When his arm was sliced off his shoulder, he did not even flinch as he swung his feet at the general direction that the invisible blade of wind came from.


    I immediately stood up and looked helplessly at my sword which had been dropped. It was too far away for me to pick up.


    The wind began to blow once more.


    Numerous wounds began to appear on Mikhail¡¯s body as he stood silently, enduring every single attack without faltering for even a second.


    His sword was held in front of him, yet he did not swing it even once.


    It baffling to watch.


    ¡°If you are not going to do anything, then die!¡± The voice shouted, showing a hint of impatient.


    Mikhail¡¯s eyes sharpened into that of a blade and immediately swung his sword down.


    Just as everyone thought that he had simply swung at the air, there was a disruptive explosion of force that was released instantly from his sword.


    It stopped against a wall of wind that had instantly formed.


    The wind began to gather around underneath the wind barrier, and a translucent figure appeared in front of Mikhail.


    Just for a moment, it resembled a shady, constantly changing demon figure, but just as it appeared, it immediately vanished.


    ¡°You are a danger one as well,¡± the demon said, not bothering to attack as its voice drifted to the top corner of the room, ¡°but, something tells me that you are not a human.¡±


    Even though he did not attack us, one by one, the chandeliers above were unlit.


    Helplessly to retaliate, we watched in horror.


    ¡°¡­¡± Mikhail lowered his sword.


    He was regaining his breath.


    Once the room was completely pitch black, the wind demon began attacking Mikhail once again.


    Their exchange lasted for a few minutes with a standstill. The wind demon was no longer able to land a blow on Mikhail, but Mikhail was unable to land his attacks due to the wind barrier that would appear the moment his sword got close.


    ¡°This smell, you are¡­ an incubus,¡± the voice muttered, ¡°but your appearance¡­¡±


    Mikhail drew his sword back, ¡°this is annoying but you will have to die.¡±


    ¡°I see, so you are the reason that they¡¯ve decided to attack us. I thought it was strange that the humans would attack us when the demon lord, Valefor was farther out than us and acknowledged as the lowest rank. But, if you think you can kill my master, you are overestimating yourself,¡± the demon filled the hall with laughter, ¡°for threatening me with death, and for betraying your own race, I will tear you apart limb by limb!¡±


    Stepping back, he continued to swing his sword at the air.


    Even though it seemed like he was randomly swinging his sword, they all connected with the wind demon¡¯s attack.


    The backlash from their battle was huge, and having been caught in it, everyone stared helplessly at their situation. The demon was not our opponent, everyone knew that.


    It was something beyond what we could comprehend.


    Everything around the two of them were destroyed. The tall pillars that had surrounded them were nothing but blocks and pieces of marble when caught in their fight while the floor was covered in deep trenches formed from their attacks.


    Suddenly, a stray wind blade that the demon released struck one of the knights on our left flank.


    Whether it was out of random, or a trick to have Mikhail look away from the wind demon and break his concentration, I was unsure of. But, it marked the beginning of a massacre.


    The armor that she wore was ineffective against such destructive power, and her upper body slide down her lower body as she was cut clean in half from the waist.


    There was a long moment of silence before the girls around her screamed in horror.


    Her closest friend, watching blankly, immediately turned to the demon.


    The room, filled with unrest, immediately descended into a battlefield.


    ¡°Die you monster!¡± Her closest friend shouted, casting a spell.


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t-¡± Mikhail turned around and shouted hurriedly.


    Unfortunately, it was a second too late.


    From her magic circle, a giant fireball formed.


    Catching the attention of the wind demon, its presence completely vanished.


    Immediately after, a gust of wind in the shape of a crescent blade swept through, slicing the fireball in half, causing it to explode.


    The conjurer was sliced in half, while those around her were engulfed in flame.


    Having stood behind her, my body was splattered with her blood.


    Chloe stepped in front of me and slashed at the invisible blade, shattering it before it could cut me. I saw death for a moment reaching out towards me.


    As I watched her body collapse into halves, my body began trembling.


    Horrified, I stepped back only to lose my balance and collapsing onto the ground.


    I couldn¡¯t feel an ounce of strength coming from my legs.


    No matter how horrifying it was, no matter how much I wanted to look away, my eyes would not listen. It was like staring into the bottomless pit of the abyss, waiting for the horror underneath to surface and drag me into the darkness. I wanted to scream, but nothing would come out. It was as if I was silently being strangled by fear itself. Her innards seeped out from between the space that her body had split apart.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.Her face was contorted by horror and fear. It was a miserable look of a person scared of death.


    The others, seeing the tragic fate of their companions, all began to cast their own spells in a hurry. They were overtaken by fear of sharing her fate and anger for their fallen companion.


    The wind swept right through and more began to fall into a bloody mess. Countless spells were sent flying recklessly without an actual aim.


    Mikhail, who most had casted their spells toward thinking the monster was close to his proximity, was caught in their spells and was sent tumbling as his body was impaled by shards of ice, burned by multiple fireballs, and struck by fragments of sharp rocks.


    Amongst the explosion, his body flew out and crashed against a marble column, forming cracks at the point of impact. His wounds were further opened from the impact, and with a cough of blood, he collapsed onto the ground. The pillar was coated in his blood.


    His body became motionless as a pool of blood formed under him.


    ¡°Annoying, you are all annoying!¡± The voice belonging to the wind shouted.


    Within the room, a maelstrom of wind rushed from every corner of the room onto the center point where it emerged. The beast began to take form at the eye of the whirlwind.


    With a pair of gigantic claws twice its size, a lower body spiraling about like a whirlwind, and the upper body resembling that of a gargoyle with bat-like wings, the wind demon released an ear wrenching screech.


    Struck by its voice, those who were casting their spells were disrupted and was caught in the backlash of mental damage from failing to conjure their spells or had their spells explode in front of them.


    The knights were in a state of chaos with everyone acting separately.


    Since we were all disorientated by the chaos that had unfold, we were easy targets for the wind demon, and wherever the monster struck, more lives disappear.


    With the hall dyed in the blood of my companions, our group fell into the pit of despair. Everyone was panicking. When faced with death, it was only reasonable that they would act in such way. It was our first battle against a malicious demon who even Mikhail had trouble with.


    This is what it must feel, I thought, remembering the events that took place moments ago. We were being slaughtered like the demons that Mikhail had killed previously.


    The disparity of strength between the demon and us were far too big to fill.


    Blades of wind began to form from all direction, bombarding our general position.


    Chloe appeared in front of me amidst the chaos.


    Even though everyone was trying to protect themselves or recklessly attack a monster that was virtually invisible, Chloe did not hesitate to cover for me.


    ¡°My lady, it¡¯s impossible to defeat this monster,¡± Chloe said calmly, ¡°the best option now is for you to retreat.¡±


    Faced with the impossible, it seemed illogical to continue fighting any further.


    Yet, everyone was still fighting desperately.


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t leave when everyone is still fighting,¡± I replied, picking up a bloodied sword from the ground whom owner was sliced into eight pieces, ¡°if we cannot kill him, we won¡¯t be able to proceed. If that happens, many more people will die.¡±


    ¡°My lady, if we call for the hidden groups to advance, then our-¡±


    ¡°Chloe, you don¡¯t have to worry about me,¡± I replied, desperately holding back the fear I felt within my heart from pouring out, ¡°at this time, we should be thinking of a way to defeat this monster, not cowardly running with our tail behind our back.¡±


    Even though I had suggested that, the battle was growing worse by the seconds.


    The majority of the knights that were present were either killed or gravely injured.


    The people that I had known since I was a child, the servants that trained by my side, the friends that I have made through enduring terrible experiences with, the friends that I had made countless bonds with, were reduced into piles of indistinguishable meat and flesh.


    Without a sign of damage dealt to the monster, we were drawn into a helpless situation.


    *****


    In a matter of minutes, within the room riddled with corpses, only nine of the twenty-five of us were left.


    After a while, the wind demon dispersed its body and began tormenting us separately in amusement.


    One by one, the knights that he targeted would be torn into a thousand pieces from a storm of wind. They were cut with precision in order to avoid hitting a vital.


    From just looking at it, we could see that it was testing how far it could go before the person it tormented would die.


    It was a revolting game that it played.


    Whenever the creature spoke, his voice would come from a different direction then where it was last heard, and whenever he struck, it was from another direction from where they faced.


    Without a target, it was impossible to land any sort of offensive spells, and without a body to slice at, our weapons were useless.


    We did not know how Mikhail was able to locate him, but at this point, it wouldn¡¯t mean anything if we knew. There was nothing we can do.


    Having lost my arm that held the sword that I had picked up, I sat on the ground, staring blankly as everyone around me die. The pain that I felt from having lost my arm was nothing like the anger and frustration I felt as I watched my servants, my friends, my family perish one by one with death worse than the previous.


    I looked at Mikhail, hoping that he would stand up and do something about the situation, but no matter how much I wished for it, he did not show any sign of waking up.


    Mikhail, who was laying on the floor, didn¡¯t seem to be alive. Ever since he was caught in our spells, it would be impossible for him to be fine. At most, I hoped that he was just unconscious or badly injured.


    Having given up on living after witnessing the nightmare before me unfold, I began to ponder within my delirious head.


    If I died, I knew that I would have to apologize to him.


    If he gives me that smirk expression he always wears on his face when we meet again, even if I do feel sorry, I might not say it.


    It was while I was thinking about how I would apologize to Mikhail when Chloe came into view.


    Chloe, who managed to dodge a few of his attacks out of luck perhaps, was in no better condition as Mikhail.


    Her armor was completely destroyed. Even with her undergarment revealed, and her flesh sliced up in multiple location, she continued to fight in front of me. Her breathing was heavy and her face was paled like a corpse.


    From her condition, I knew that she would not last for much longer.


    I wanted to apologize to her, to tell her to run away. At least someone should live.


    ¡°Ch-Chloe, ru¡­ run away,¡± I muttered, using the remainder of my strength to speak.


    Chloe turned around, and having been distracted by me, she was struck in the back.


    I gasped in horror. What have I done¡­


    Her body collapsed onto mine.


    As I held her, with dilated eyes staring off into the distance, I felt her blood pouring from the deep cut that had been inflicted on her back. Her body was growing colder and colder by the seconds.


    ¡°Thank¡­ you¡­ for letting me be by your¡­ side,¡± Chloe muttered weakly.


    With Chloe in my arm, I closed my eyes and awaited my death.


    ¡°For your offense, I will send you all to your death,¡± the voice taunted, ¡°now, who shall be the next to die?¡±


    Even with my eyes closed, I could hear the miserable screams of those struck down.


    Then, everything became silent.

 Chapter 10: Hopes Descent

    Inner Hall- Helen


    After a moment of silence, I opened my eyes. Expecting to have died, I found myself staring at the wind demon¡¯s claws hanging centimeters away from my face.


    I had thought that it was waiting for me to open my eyes in order to torment me, so I closed my eyes once more.


    But, I did not feel any pain or any discomfort except for the throbbing pain from the empty stump where my arm used to be.


    When I opened my eyes again, out of curiosity and fear, I found that the wind demon was frozen in place.


    After shaking off the illusion that it was just a dream, I noticed that there were strands of light that covered most of the demon¡¯s body.


    When I traced them back to their origin, I found that there were a few magic circles invoked around the room.


    In total, there were seven magic circles, four of which were in each corner on the ceiling, whilst the other three formed a triangle formation around the demon.


    It was a light spell of binding from the glowing light mana essence that gathered around each magic circle. When I thought of the caster of such a powerful spell, I found that there wasn¡¯t a single person within my group that had reached that level.


    Then, it dawned on me, and immediately, I turned to look at Mikhail.


    Even though demons are weak against light attribute spells, I found him, against all odds, alive.


    He staggered up off the ground, and vomited out a half a gallon of blood.


    The amount of blood that he had lost before should have killed him alone, yet he managed to stand, wiping the blood from his mouth.


    When he saw what had happened to everyone, an aura of death burst forward from his body. It was as if his heart was screaming, wishing to destroy everything, everyone, and tear this entire world apart. It was the sense of staring into death itself. He felt like he no longer needed to hide it back, the surge of bloodlust, the madness, the chaos that he kept deep within him.


    It was an entirely different aura than that which he hid himself with, and it was one out of pure wrath that was strong enough to suffocate me.


    Feeling my chest beating rapidly, I watched in amazement as he moved towards the demon.


    Darkness traced his every movement.


    The crimson in his eyes sharpened.


    His fingernail extended outward like claws.


    ¡°Since you like to play with their body, you wouldn¡¯t feel bad if I played with yours,¡± he said, grinding his teeth in rage, ¡°would you?¡±


    The demon wanted to speak, but just as he opened his mouth.


    Mikhail grabbed his mouth and, with his fingers piercing through the bottom of his mouth, he pulled out his jaw.


    ¡°Ah, you will have to excuse me, but it was so repulsing to look at you that I had to tear it off. I am sorry, truly I am, and¡­ um, does it hurt?¡± Mikhail said softly, as if he truly did feel sorry, ¡°if you don¡¯t answer me, I don¡¯t won¡¯t know when to stop¡­I told you, answer me! Ah... since you are not going to say anything, you won¡¯t be needing your tongue anymore do you?¡±


    Mikhail reached into his mouth and grabbed his tongue. He began to tear it off slowly whilst savoring the expression on the demon¡¯s face.


    ¡°That desperation, that look of fear, I can see why you enjoy it so much,¡± he said, casting aside the wind demon¡¯s tongue, ¡°since you are a demon, I am sure that your pain tolerance should be higher than the girls you tormented. Isn¡¯t that great? We can truly enjoy ourselves now, can¡¯t we?¡±


    When he realized that his greatest strength had become his worst nightmare, his head slumped down.


    He was defeated.


    There wasn¡¯t a single motion of resistance.


    Mikhail smiles were filled with a deceitful amount of joy that taunted the wind demon to his wit¡¯s end, but with fear carved into his soul, he could only tremble and quiver in front of this monster.


    Mikhail, who was smiling pleasantly, reached out with his only hand and forced his thumb and index finger into the demon¡¯s right eye. In attempt to stop him, he closed his eyes with all of his strength.


    Mikhail¡¯s finger simply tore through the thin layer of skin and gouged out his right eye mercilessly. Rather than removing his eyes, Mikhail stopped after he crushed the removed eye in his palm in front of the demon¡¯s remaining eye to let him see it all. Mikhail wanted him to experience it all, everything that could crush any person¡¯s will to live.


    Even though he had lost his tongue, eye, and had his jaw torn off, the demon tried desperately to scream for help. Realizing that his end would not be swift, or painless, he was desperate for someone to come to his aid.


    There was not a single thought left of fighting against this monster in front of him. It was the only thing that he could do in order to live. He began to struggle, but the more he struggled, the deeper the light strings cut into his flesh. Just looking at him, I saw that there remained not a single ounce of power or dignity in him. They were stripped off him and destroyed by Mikhail who was far more vicious than himself.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.I wanted to close my eyes, but I found that I took joy in watching him suffer. It was a disgusting feeling, to feel this much hatred and release. But, if I could see my face, I am sure I would be smiling.


    As the minutes passed, the desperate attempt to scream for help grew quieter and quieter as the wind demon¡¯s body was reduced to a shadow of its former self.


    When he noticed Chloe¡¯s condition, Mikhail stopped himself from going any further.


    With only the bones holding his joints together, claws and joint broken and twisted in manners that should not be possible, and chunks of flesh removed from his stomach in order to have his organs pulled out and left hung in the air like jungle vines, the demon did not have the energy or will power to move, even if it could at this point.


    There was practically nothing left but an empty shell of a demon.


    When he came over, I remembered Chloe¡¯s fallen body in front of me.


    Her body has become so cold.


    ¡°Mikhail, you have to save Chloe!¡± I shouted, knowing that I was asking him for too much, ¡°she was hurt protecting me.¡±


    He knelt down and took her hand.


    Then, he looked at me.


    I didn¡¯t want to hear what he had to say. His face had already said it all.


    Mikhail bit down on his lips before saying, ¡°she is barely alive, but in her condition, without proper treatment, she will die.¡±


    ¡°C-can you do anything, Mikhail, to save her?¡± I asked, holding her tightly in my arm, hoping to share with her all of the heat within my body, ¡°she is the only one I consider family, you have to save her Mikhail.¡±


    ¡°I can¡­¡± Mikhail said, looking rather perplexed.


    ¡°Why are you hesitating?¡± I asked him cautiously.


    Even though he must know how to save her, why didn¡¯t he do it? What do hold him back, I thought, trembling at the idea.


    ¡°What I will do to her, I believe that if she knew, she would rather die,¡± he replied, holding back something.


    ¡°What¡­ are you planning to do to her?¡± I asked, feeling like the situation has become far stranger than I had thought.


    ¡°The only way is to heal her with dark magic,¡± he responded.


    ¡°You can heal with dark magic?¡± I let out subconsciously.


    ¡°The truth is that both darkness and light can heal, just as there are two distinct races under the goddesses,¡± he explained, ¡°without the ability to heal, it would make demons far weaker and be put in a disadvantage. In order to prevent that, there were methods invented in order to heal a body of its injury.¡±


    I knew that I shouldn¡¯t ask, but with Chloe¡¯s life on the life, I spoke, ¡°wh-what would be the consequences¡­?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no real strings attached to using a dark healing spell,¡± he replied, ¡°but since it¡¯s a dark spell, it will react negatively to the light that naturally flows within every life belonging to the races of light.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°In order for me to heal her with dark magic, I must first¡­ turn her into a demon,¡± he said without holding a single thing back, ¡°that is why I do not believe she will want to be brought back to life.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I stared vacantly at him, unable to process the words he had said.


    No, rather, I wanted to believe that I did not know what he was saying.


    ¡°That is why I do not think that she will want to live if she knew what I would have to do.¡±


    ¡°¡­ No, you have to save her life.¡±


    ¡°Helen-¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t say anything else,¡± I said, raising my eyes to look at him, ¡°I will bear her resentment. So, please¡­ please save her.¡±


    ¡°¡­She will truly hate you for this.¡±


    I know I am being selfish, but please.


    ¡°Chloe is my only family¡­¡±


    Mikhail stared silently at me, as if understanding my pain.


    A large magic circle composed of one central magic circle encompassed by eight other magic circle, appeared underneath us.


    When it formed, a dark hue began to pour out from underneath, filling up our surrounding with a dark fog.


    Chloe¡¯s body floated up into the air. From the root to the tip of her hair, her scarlet color became submerged into darkness, while her body turned beautifully white.


    As these changes happen, her wounds began to heal and disappeared without a single trace of a lingering scar.


    There wasn¡¯t anything that was different about her that I could perceive.


    She did not sprout a heart-shape tail, or a pair of wings. Besides her hair, and the beautiful color of her body, her figure was not altered.


    Once completed, she descended onto his arm.


    Mikhail laid her down on the ground and covered her with his shirt before retrieving the arm that he had lost.

 Chapter 11: Restoration of Faith

    Inner Corridor- Helen


    When everything was over, and those that needed treatment were treated, many broke into tears. Whether it was out of sorrow for their lost companions, or because they were genuinely relief to have survived, I would never know.


    In a desperate attempt to vent out their anger, frustration, fear, sorrow, they began stabbing the wind beast, cutting it into pieces, tormenting the body that had lost its soul.


    Mikhail, who was inspecting his dismembered limb, nodded with satisfaction and held it against the stump where his arm used to be.


    Darkness began to flow from the stump on his shoulder and attached itself to his arm. In mere seconds, his arm was reattached and without a mark to even show that it had been removed before.


    One by one, he pulled out the pieces of ice shards and shards of rock that had stabbed into him.


    ¡°I am sorry¡­ about what everyone did¡­¡± I apologized, remembering that most of his wounds were dealt by us.


    ¡°That is alright, I had a good nap,¡± he said, stretching his arms out happily, ¡°I haven¡¯t slept like this since I was a child.¡±


    Before I could sigh in relief that he had no lingering resentment, he threw his arms up into the air, ¡°do you think I would say that?! I nearly died because of your stupidity! If I wasn¡¯t blown into smithereens, I could have dealt with him myself and there wouldn¡¯t have been this many casualties¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have said that¡­ I am sorry about everything.¡±


    His words were harsh, but they were true. If we did not interrupt, there wouldn¡¯t have been as many casualties. Like a dagger, the cruel truth plunged into my heart and twisted it in pain.


    My face must have betrayed me because he had noticed that I was crying before I did.


    He moved toward me and, with only inches away from each other, he brought his hand up and wiped away my tears with his index finger.


    ¡°It is alright if you want to cry,¡± Mikhail said calmly, ¡°it just shows how much you care about them.¡±


    I looked up at him, desperately holding back the emotions I felt, ¡°is it really alright¡­?¡±


    Mikhail silently nodded and opened his arms to me.


    Unable to help myself, I took a half step forward, with his arms wrapped around me, I began to cry.


    ¡°It hurts,¡± I muttered, holding my chest with my hand, ¡°it hurts a lot.¡±


    ¡°Do not run away from it,¡± Mikhail said tenderly, brushing my hair gently with his right hand, ¡°it is a part of life, and one that you must embrace. Their departure is not something you should feel sad about. Just as death is a point of end, it is a point of beginning. Their journey has already started. And wherever they are, I am sure that they would want for nothing more than your happiness. They have left this world, but we must continue what they have left for us and¡­once we accomplish that, all we can do is remember them, and live life to the fullest for them. Then, when we meet them again, we can tell them about everything.¡±


    Choking up on my emotions, I held his shirt and pressed my head against his chest, muffling out the screams that came out of my mouth- the feeling of despair, the feeling of saying goodbye, the feeling of hating myself for being alive, the feeling of regret, the feeling of frustration from being weak. I felt like my heart was tearing into pieces.


    I wanted to escape from the pain so badly, I wanted to die. I wanted to end the pain that clings onto the fiber of my soul.


    Yet, I knew that I couldn¡¯t, not only because I had people that would be abandoned if I left, but because I was weak. I was too weak to do anything. I was too weak to save them and too weak to save myself.


    I looked up at Mikhail who was looking at me with a trace of remorse in his eyes.


    ¡°They¡­ didn¡¯t die in vain¡­ did they?¡± I asked him, hoping to ease the pain.


    ¡°No, they didn¡¯t,¡± he responded, looking past me, ¡°they fought bravely and saved us all. They sacrificed themselves to protect you, and all those they love, and all the innocent lives that would fall victim them.¡±


    He smiled gently, as if remembering something within himself, ¡°besides, if you continue to remember them, then they will continue to live in your heart. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Amidst the sorrow, I hated that¡­ I hated that I felt relief that everything is over, that I could find comfort in his arms. With his heat lingering on my body, and soul, I separated from him and tried my best to smile.


    ¡°I am sure they would be happy if you sent them off with a smile,¡± he said comfortingly.


    I could not continue this self-loathing. If¡­ If I ever see them again, they would get angry at me if they found out that I was crying on their behalf. I slapped my hands on my face and shook away all of the remaining negative feeling within my heart and smiled brightly.


    I have to move on, for their sake and mine.


    Once everyone settled their emotions, we began to separate around the room.


    Even though Mikhail wanted to say that we should leave as quick as possible in to avoid any guard attracted by the commotion, he silently watched the doors while we gathered the dead to say our final farewells.


    It was a selfish thing for us to do since hundreds to thousands of people were dying outside, people who had families like the people who died by our side, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself for being so selfish.


    While we gathered the bodies, we tried our hardest to find a few personal keepsakes to return to their respective family. From the bodies, we also took the silver, flower necklaces off the body of those who had died. It was a symbol of our sisterhood that Chloe had suggested when we created our group. It was all that was left of them that we could remember them by, and it has been tradition that we carry them on our neck in hope that they would live on within the roses.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    When Chloe woke up, I was the first to hug her, crying like a baby as I held her.


    She was confused, but when she realized that she was still alive, there was tranquility within her heart. Hugging me, she allowed me to cry in her chest.


    Before I could say anything, Mikhail came over.


    He dismissed me with a forceful sort of voice, making me leave to help the others as he inspected her body in order to see if there was any problem.


    With much reluctance, I left, glancing over my shoulder of a few occasion.


    She stared up at him, then looked down at her clothes.


    She reached up to slap him, but he took her hand, ¡°you shouldn¡¯t be moving your body unnecessarily right now.¡±


    ¡°What did you do to me?¡± She said, glaring up at him.


    ¡°I brought you back from death,¡± he said, lifting her up and carrying her like a princess ¡°and I made you into a demon. I figured now your personality fits your race.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± her body was trembling in anger, ¡°I should have just¡­¡±


    ¡°You should have just died?¡± He responded, ¡°for the price of becoming a demon, you are allowed to be with her again.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You know, she told me that she would gladly take the blame,¡± he continued, looking over towards where I was, ¡°that she would bear your resentment for being so selfish. But, don¡¯t you think that she¡¯s rather selfless¡­ for your sake, she would bear your hatred, just so you can live again.¡±


    Holding onto her chest with her hands, she muttered softly, ¡°I would never hate her¡­¡±


    ¡°I knew that as well,¡± he replied, ¡°it¡¯s a cheap price to pay for a second life, and to be with her for even a minute longer, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t thank you,¡± she responded, looking away.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to,¡± he replied, ¡°I have already seen enough.¡±


    She pinched and stared murderously at him once more.


    ¡°We will be moving now, so if you don¡¯t want to fall flat on your face, don¡¯t move around,¡± he said, carrying her towards the group.


    Feeling their eyes on her, she couldn¡¯t help but regret her decision. She wanted to cover her face and dig a hole and jump into it.


    She didn¡¯t say a word of gratitude, but it didn¡¯t seem like Mikhail cared one bit about it.


    When Mikhail came over with Chloe in his arms, I was quite shocked.


    Gathering up the courage, I smiled and welcomed them back.


    Thankfully, nothing happened.


    Chloe did not have an issue with her body, but since she¡¯s been changed, it would take time for her to recover.


    Mikhail had decided to support her until we find a place to hide.


    ¡°Thank you, Mikhail,¡± I said, mustering up the courage to speak to him again after the embarrassing thing we did, ¡°you, you really helped clear my mind.¡±


    I was glad that he was the one I opened up to.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to be of service,¡± he replied teasingly, ¡°if you need a chest to cry on, I will gladly offer mine again any time.¡±


    Giggling lightly, I drew my sword.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s my cue to stop,¡± he said, turning around with Chloe in his arms.


    As I watched him head towards the door to watch it, Mikhail stopped, and without turning to look at me, he said, ¡°this world is a cruel and merciless place, do not linger in the past because you will lose the future, and those who care about you will disappear one by one, and before you know it, you will be alone¡­¡±


    Once we were in a secured room with a single entrance, Mikhail placed Chloe down onto the ground gently and turned to look at us.


    There was high tension in the room. From everything we saw, there was no way that Mikhail was anything close to ordinary.


    For the sake of their life, everyone knew that they would have to listen to his orders without an exception.


    ¡°I am sure that you are all aware of this but, they must have realized by now that the castle has been infiltrated and, rather than coming to stop us, they have most likely to move to their demon lord¡¯s side in order to protect him,¡± Mikhail said, ¡°the next battle, which will determine it all, may be more difficult than the battle we just experienced.¡±


    When Mikhail said it, everyone turned pale. The thought of having to go through another hell was almost more than what everyone could take.


    Some collapsed onto the ground and began crying again.


    Even though we have survived, it was torture to have to know that we would have to risk our life again- this time with even fewer numbers.


    ¡°That is why, I think it would be best if I go alone,¡± Mikhail said, noticing how demoralized we have become, ¡°if I travel alone, I may be able to make it to demon lord before they reach him. Our chance of victory would be far higher than if we took our time and marched forward.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what about us?¡± One of the fallen knights asked, looking up at him in desperation, ¡°what¡­ what will we do?¡±


    ¡°Their main priority right now should be reaching the demon lord so they won¡¯t be checking every room for us. I will go deal with the demon lord and then come back. Everyone else, stay in this room and I will come back for you all once I am finished with everything.¡±


    ¡°Will you be alright? You said that it will be harder¡­¡± I asked, frightened by the aspect of him challenging a demon lord and his guards alone.


    ¡°I should be able to do something about it,¡± he replied sheepishly, ¡°you just have to believe in me.¡±


    ---


    Help everyone! As you may see from the title, I have decided to change the title of the story from Fallen Snow to A Tragedy for a Demon Lord as it would be for befitting. I hope you enjoy and, because I am new with writing stories, and this is a very rough draft, if anyone spot any grammatical error, please don''t hesitate to point it out or criticize. Thank you, and please enjoy! ^-^

 Chapter 12: Extinguishing a Cursed Existence

    Within a Small Room- Valefor


    Within a small room, without any sort of decoration, sat a lone woman by the mirror.


    Even though I had entered her room without permission, she did not look at me.


    ¡°You have arrived,¡± the priestess said, without turning away from her mirror, ¡°my awaited end.¡±


    ¡°You had already known?¡± I asked, closing the door behind me.


    ¡°The mercilessly cold night that will consume the bright sun,¡± she muttered, ¡°who will reap the consequence of a past endeavor, and the flower that lives for the sun will wither from the night¡¯s gentle breeze. I had not expected the night to be you, my lord.¡±


    The priestess finally turned around and looked at me.


    Even though she knew she would die, her eyes did not betray how calm she was.


    In fact, there was a gentle smile on her face.


    Feeling that the situation has become rather strange, I sheathed my sword and asked, ¡°did you not tell your lord of your eminent death?¡±


    ¡°We are mere messengers of the Goddess of Darkness,¡± the priestess replied, ¡°no being can escape their fate, and no fate is worse than death, except for ours. It would simply cloud my master¡¯s judgement. And, even if he knew, it would do nothing for him.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to live?¡± I asked, extending my hand out.


    If she swore loyalty to me, then I would be able to use her. She would not have to die.


    She would not have the tragedy of living a life absent of joy, of happiness, and dying pointlessly.


    There was no reason for her to refuse.


    The life of a priestess is the worst that could be imagined.


    ¡°Thank you, my lord,¡± the priestess said, shaking her head, ¡°you are as Gwendolyn described. A gentle heart swallowed by the shadow of the past.¡±


    ¡°Take my hand and I shall give you a new life.¡± Gritting my teeth, I muttered, holding back the anger that I felt, ¡°You will not have to serve me, you will not have to serve anyone, you can be free.¡±


    Why can¡¯t you accept my offer?! Why can¡¯t you be happy?


    Why¡­ why must you remind me of her?


    I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to take her hand and force her to come with me.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.But, when I saw her expression, all my thoughts melted away like snow.


    ¡°As much as I wish to accept your kind offer, I must wholeheartedly refuse,¡± she replied adamantly, ¡°I do not wish to live any longer than I must. I have come to accept my death a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± My hand slipped down to my side, ¡°you are as foolish as the rest.¡±


    Our eyes were locked together.


    ¡°Our life is not our own, my lord. We are accursed beings. Only death will release us from our fate,¡± she replied, smiling gently at me, ¡°we, who are born to be nothing more than an accessory for another, who will never be able to live for ourselves, gladly welcomes our death. Even Gwendolyn is no exception. While hers is a dream-like wonder, she is shackled by the chains that is your existence my lord. Do not hesitate my lord, by taking our lives, you are simply freeing us of our shackles.¡±


    A tragic fate.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I have a request, my lord,¡± she thought after a while and asked, ¡°if you could, I ask that you free my sisters.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Is that all?¡±


    My body began to tremble lightly.


    How could she be so selfless¡­ I thought, biting down on my lips.


    ¡®Why did she have to say such words!¡¯ I cursed at her.


    I did not want to kill her.


    In order to get my revenge, if I had to kill such beautiful, innocent life, could I truly do it? For the first time since I made my resolve, I felt weak and pathetic.


    It would not end with just her death, but rather many more will end up dead if I continued my path.


    For my happiness, innocent lives would have to suffer. I knew that since the beginning. But, words and reality are two different things.


    Once the demon lord dies, his loyal servants and the peaceful territories that he governs would fall into pandemonium. Many would lose their life, and many more will suffer.


    My arms felt heavy and tired.


    Drawing forth my sword, I held the blade parallel to my chest and readied myself to plunge my sword through her and pierce her heart.


    As she laid on the floor with a peaceful smile on her face, I felt a trace of pain as blood trickled down from my palm.


    Opening my hand, I noticed how my hands were trembling.

 Chapter 12.5: Release from Burden

    Within the Small Room that I call Home- 71st Demon Lord¡¯s Priestess


    A sad child appeared before me.


    His body covered in the blood of his enemies.


    Sheathing his sword, he entered my room like a lost kitten.


    Even though he seemed calm and composed, his eyes could not deceive me. Behind his powerful posture was a scared, frightened soul who was at his wits end.


    ¡°You have arrived, my awaited end,¡± I said, looking at the mirror before me.


    All life must come to an end, and my life was no exception. I had foreseen my death long ago, but for it to have arrived so soon was quite a surprise.


    Having lived a life confined to the space of a single room, I wished for nothing more than to see the end to this empty life that I have lived.


    The child, whether he knew it or not, had a distressed look on his face.


    He had failed to hide his emotions.


    ¡°You had already known?¡± He asked.


    ¡°The mercilessly cold night that will consume the bright sun,¡± I muttered the prophecy, ¡°who will reap the consequence of a past endeavor, and the flower that lives for the sun will wither from the night¡¯s gentle breeze. I had not expected the night to be you, my lord.¡±


    I finally looked away from the mirror that had been a part of my life and turned my eyes toward the child.


    When our eyes made contact, his eyes quickly turned away, almost frightened at the thought of looking at me. Could he be feeling guilty of his future actions?


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile at his kind heart. Even though he had to kill me, he still had the heart to feel sorry for me.


    ¡°Did you not tell your lord of your eminent death?¡±


    Seeing how he did not want to kill me so soon, I replied, following along to his wishes.


    I, too, wanted to talk to someone.


    ¡°We are mere messengers of the Goddess of Darkness,¡± I replied to him, ¡°no being can escape their fate, and no fate is worse than death, except for ours. It would simply cloud my master¡¯s judgement. And, even if he knew, it would do nothing for him.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to live?¡± He suddenly asked, extending his hand out towards me.


    The simple gesture was enough to cloud my judgment for a split second. While I wanted to take his hand, I had already made my resolve.


    I have lived long enough, been chained to a fate worse than death, and now that my time has come, I wish for nothing more than to be freed.


    I knew that my decision was foolish.


    ¡°Thank you, my lord,¡± I said, shaking my head softly, ¡°you are as Gwendolyn described, a gentle heart swallowed by the shadow of the past.¡±


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.When I look him, I could finally understand how a tragic child such as herself could regain her smile.


    If I had such a master, perhaps life would have been worth living. As much as I want to believe that it would have been different, it has gone far long enough.


    ¡°As much as I wish to accept your kind offer, I must wholeheartedly refuse,¡± I replied once more, ¡°I do not wish to live any longer than I must. I have come to accept my death a long time ago.¡±


    His hands sunk lifelessly down to his side. There was a trace of frustration on his face.


    ¡°You are as foolish as the rest,¡± he muttered.


    His words were filled with sympathy and brooding anger.


    Perhaps I am. If I took his hand, my life would change.


    I believed it, I truly did.


    But, for me to take his hand would mean that my entire life would have meant nothing. I had lived for the 71st demon lord. If I betray him and join the child, all my years of yearning for death, all my years of suffering, all of my years of pain and agony, all my years of loneliness, it would mean nothing.


    I would deny my very existence if I betrayed the demon lord I served.


    I was far too gone to be saved, I wanted to tell him, but I felt that it was unneeded. It would only hurt him more if he knew. Only death would be my salvation, and once I return to the Goddess of Darkness¡¯s side, mother¡¯s side, then I can truly find my happiness.


    With a heavy burden, and a firm resolve, he raised his eyes to me.


    ¡°Our life is not our own, my lord. Only death will release us from our fate,¡± I replied, smiling gently at him, ¡°we, who are born to be nothing more than an accessory for another, who will never be able to live for ourselves, gladly welcomes our death. Even Gwendolyn is no exception. While hers is a dream-like wonder, she is shackled by the chains that is your existence my lord. Do not hesitate my lord, by taking our lives, you are simply freeing us of our shackles.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± he responded once more.


    ¡°I have a request, my lord,¡± I thought after a while and asked, ¡°if you could, I ask that you free my sisters.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Is that all?¡±


    I nodded my head.


    Finally, he drew his sword and held it firm within his hands.


    In my final moment, I saw that the child was crying. Whether he knew it or not, I did not tell him. Rather, for the first time since I was born, I felt like I had finally felt happy from the bottom of my heart.


    For you to cry for me, it is more than I could ask for.


    ¡°Good night¡­¡±

 Chapter 13: Message to the Others

    Bedroom of the 71st Demon Lord- Valefor


    ¡°Salutation, seventy-first demon lord, Andromalius.¡±


    The moment his voice traveled through his bedroom, the room¡¯s chandeliers were instantly destroyed, purging the room into pitch darkness.


    ¡°Wh-who is there?¡± He said, looking around worriedly.


    ¡°It seems like I had it on time,¡± I said, hiding within the shadow.


    ¡°Show yourself,¡± the demon lord ordered, ¡°or I will have your head!¡±


    His eyes were focused in front where he had heard the sound of the doors closing.


    Just as his eyes adapted to the darkness, a few bodies fell onto the ground with a loud thump.


    When he turned toward that direction, he noticed that the bodies belonged to his family and his priestess.


    A single, fatal cut had ended their life. From the expression on their face, they had died without suffering.


    ¡°You¡­!¡± Just as he was about to speak, he felt a cold, sharp blade resting against his neck.


    ¡°For someone like you, I thought you would have put up a better resistance,¡± I replied, holding his head back with my hand over the upper half of his face, while my other hand held him down with my dagger against his neck, ¡°this is a bit anticlimactic isn¡¯t it? I had expected you to put up a fight, but this is just embarrassing.¡±


    Even though he was shaking from the humiliation, he could not let himself die in a place like this.


    He was a demon lord, the greatest existence within the demon race, and possibly all races belonging to the Goddess of Darkness.


    ¡°Release me, and I shall grant you all the riches you would possibly want!¡± The demon lord offered, knowing that temptation was the downfall for many heroes.


    ¡°I do not need your wealth,¡± I responded, holding back the taste of disgust in my mouth.


    I could see that the life of luxury had dampened his senses, and complacency and laziness has dulled his fangs.


    Seeing that I had refused his offer so blatantly, he felt threatened for the first in a while, ¡°then women, land, power, ranks, I will give them all to you as long as you release me.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I want something else.¡±


    His voice grew angrier and angrier as if boiling inside, ¡°what is it that you possibly want?¡±


    ¡°Of course it would be your life,¡± I answered, brimming with joy and happiness.


    ¡°You¡­ wait, th-that voice¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you recognize me?¡± I asked, genuinely surprised that he would recognize my voice since it was heavily altered.


    ¡°I see,¡± I muttered, ¡°so you can perceive through my magic. While it is a basic spell, I must admit, I had looked down on you.¡±


    His body was trembling in rage, ¡°Valefar, you¡­ you, you have betrayed us?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh hysterically at his response, ¡°betrayal would imply that I was on your side in the first place.¡±


    Trembling with anger, he muttered, ¡°wh-why are you doing this to me?!¡±


    ¡°Do you really need to ask me that?¡± I responded, quite bemused by the situation, ¡°have the wine washed away your memories?¡±


    With his life in my hand, I could torment him however much I wanted to.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± He cursed furiously, ¡°I should have killed you when I had the chance! And, I should have killed your whore mother in front of you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but you didn¡¯t, and now I have come to reap your life. Isn¡¯t it funny how it all comes full circle?¡±


    Realizing what I had said and the situation he was in, he began to backtrack, ¡°wa-wait, please forgive me Valefor!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen to me Valefor, if you help me repel the enemies, I¡­ I will forget everything that happened. In fact, we can still be allies. I can help you kill the others, do not make the wrong choice-¡±


    Before he could finish, I slit his throat with a single, fluid motion.


    I sighed, how pathetic.


    If he was going to plead for his life, he should have at least offered something worthwhile. His loyalty was brittle and his life meant little for me. But, even if he was useful, it would not change my decision, I was simply curious in what he would offer.


    Everything he did offer I could easily take from his cold, dead hands.


    As he bled, I released him and watched silently.


    He began struggling, grasping his neck with his hands and hoping to stop the bleeding. No matter what he did, the wound that I had inflicted would continue to bleed, even though his hands.


    He would not have the luxury of dying peacefully.


    I had thought that a part of me would feel disgusted, that I was a part of this pathetic race, and that another part of me would be screaming in joy that I was one step closer to fulfilling my revenge.


    Yet, I felt no emotion. No remorse, no anger, no sympathy, no joy, nothing¡­


    He brought out his wings, and as he was about to fly, I reached out and grabbed him by his wings.


    He desperately tried to resist, but with fear drowning out his reasoning, he struggled helplessly.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.I forced my foot onto the center of his back, and pulled his wings backward.


    The sound of bones cracking and flesh tearing could be heard throughout the entire room.


    His bone and flesh began to tear as blood poured out like a fountain, spraying the entire area full of his blood. With a forceful push, I pulled his wings off.


    He screamed horrendously as he began to crawl toward the door, hoping to make it before I could reach him.


    With how weak he had become, I casted aside his dismembered wings and simply walked up towards him.


    I grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him down onto the ground.


    Drowning in blood and fear, completely swept away by the concept of death, he was unable to struggle.


    I quickly mounted his body and looked down at him.


    ¡°When you are the one who watches others die, the concept of death must have felt so far away, so foreign; yet, now here you are, experiencing it for yourself,¡± I said, staring down at him like one would look down at a lesser being, ¡°I wonder, is it all that you thought it would be?¡±


    While he was sure to die, it would take some time. A demon lord¡¯s body was far stronger and more durable than that of a human, and even though he was dealt an otherwise fatal blow, it would take time until the flame of his life is extinguish. No matter how much of a piece of garbage he has become, he was still a demon lord.


    I lifted up my daggers into the air. Light mana began to gather around the simple, dulled steel dagger.


    In order to hasten the process, I began stabbing his chest over and over with my dagger making sure to avoid any fatal locations.


    With light mana infused into the dagger, causing it to resonate with a brilliant glow, the pain that he experience would be a hundred times worse than if it was a plain dagger.


    Horrified by my sudden action, he began screaming but all that could be heard was the muffled cries of a dying man.


    As he tried to push me away in a futile attempt to save himself, his hands were sliced into pieces.


    I wanted him to show me more of his terrified face.


    I wanted him to experience enough pain that he wishes he was dead.


    I wanted him to cry and beg for mercy.


    I wanted him to suffer everything that I had suffered.


    I continued to stab him until my hands stopped moving.


    Looking down at him, I found that his entire chest was torn to shred.


    There was nothing left intact.


    He could no longer resist. His eyes were empty of life and his body laid limp against the floor. Around him was a pool of his own blood.


    While I wanted to wipe the blood off my face, I was unable to. My body was drenched in his filthy blood.


    I stood up, and drawing my sword, I held it firm over my head and brought the sword down, piercing through his heart.


    I wanted to feed him to the dogs, but Helen would probably need his corpse in order to verify that he was the demon lord.


    Though, I glanced at the corpses that I had used in order to distract him.


    It was rude of me to use the corpses of others in order to accomplish my goals, but it was necessary.


    Their soul no longer resided within their body.


    The corpses in front of me were mere containers.


    Still, I didn¡¯t feel good about it.


    With a snap of my finger, a magic circle appeared underneath them and their body were lite up with a majestic, white flame.


    Clapping my hands together, I prayed that their next life would be a successful and joyous one.


    Once I did that, the doors opened.


    A swarm of guards appeared.


    When they saw the scene in front of them, they raised their weapons.


    Their eyes were filled with rage.


    ¡°You bastard, how dare you kill our demon lord!¡± One of the guards shouted.


    ¡°I have finished what I came here for,¡± I told them, holding Andromalius¡¯s corpse by his hair, ¡°your lord is dead, if you want to sacrifice your life for nothing, then come attack me. But, if you wish to leave to your family, then I will not stop you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± The guards glanced at each other.


    They knew that their strongest general had died, and with their lord¡¯s death, there was no one that could possibly match me. When before a person who could defeat a demon lord, their sheer number would mean nothing.


    They would be throwing their life away for nothing.


    If they were loyal towards him, not for the sake of filling their pockets with coins, or having the prestige of being a servant of a demon lord, then they would have done everything in order to retrieve his corpse from my grasp.


    But, seeing that they were slowly moving backward, I saw that there would be no more conflict.


    ¡°Before you leave,¡± I said, looking at the bravest of them all, ¡°I have a message for you to deliver to the remaining demon lords- tell the other demon lords that one day, their end will come too, and that I shall be the sharp blade that pierces their heart.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±