《What if The Demon Lord is The Hero》 Prologue - Is It Peace That You Require Prologue ¡°Human..... What will you get if this war ends?¡± a man wearing a robe of shadow ask. ¡°Peace¡±. A lone standing crimson haired warrior girl answers without the slightest hesitation. The man laugh ¡° Is that what you think would emerge from your victory of this war. Look at your surrounding¡± the shadow said. The crimson hair girl look to her surrounding and saw war between the demon and the people of <> compromising of various races like the humans,elves,dwarfs and many more. She also saw her other 11 companion known as the 12 heroes which have travel day and night along various continent to kill the Demon Lord, fighting in the front line of the floating <> which is the Demon Lord castle. The demon they are fighting like the imp and goblin is not a problem because even though they are abundance in number their power is lacking, but just as she thinks that a few troll came running and smash the human shield formation which will turn the table of the war. This is because the troll is almost 30 meter in heights. The girl then remembers her mission which is to slay a dragon which is said to be the commander of the army that is giving order by telepathy and what happen that lead to the conversation. The dragon is rumored to possessed an <> so it doesn''t need to be near the battlefield. Using her magic she search for the dragon mana and after pint pointing the location leave the other heroes to slay the dragon. Arriving there, she saw a black dragon, and before she have the chance to bring out her weapon, she was kick from behind and plump to the ground with a big bang. The girl get up right after that and search for her attacker, and saw a man standing on top of the dragon head. Assessing her damage she reach for her weapon and before she could rush toward the man, he was already standing right in front of her making her flinch but regain her composure and fall back. She is surprised by the speed of the man and before she could take another step, she heard a voice. ¡°Why have you come here human¡± Ask a voice that sounds as if an old man is speaking, but the voice is not heard by her ear but her mind. ¡°I come to defeat you, Dragon of Chaos <>¡± ¡°I see, so you know of me, I am <>, and the man in front of you is my master. Hearing that the man is the dragon¡¯s master, the girl come to a conclusion that he is the demon lord, the girl then freeze up as she is shock as to why the demon lord is here and not at his floating castle. But the girl ignore it and think of it as an opportunity to kill him, ready her weapon and charge towards the man, and thrust his rapier with immense speed that cannot be seen with ordinary eye but the man easily dodged the rapier but she did not stop, and with her feet try to kick him but instead of dodging the man stop it with his hand. Because of the power behind the kick, the ground near the man¡¯s feet began to crack and form a crater. The girl intend to fall back but cannot as her feet is still being held by the man and before she could retaliate, the man put his palm on her stomach and murmur something maybe a chant she think and before she can react, intense pressure like being punch hit her making her thrown backward a few meter. Because of the intense pain she could not think straight but she do know one thing, the thing that hit her is not magic. This is because she have concentrated his mana there to form a defense layer. ¡°What is that technique¡± she ask, but she received no answer from the other party making her mad. A vein pop on her head and she lose control, using her remaining mana she summon her contract being ¡°By my name, come thou that dwell in the sea of fire, thou that have contracted thy selves with mine, come and lay waste to my enemy, <>¡±. After she finished chanting, the air around start to spiral and change its colour to bright orange-ish and form a humanoid version of fire. Now you¡¯ve done it demon lord, making me use most of my remaining mana to summon this guy, lets see how you fare with this. (girl) ¡°Go <>, [comet punch].¡± (girl) As soon as she said that, the humanoid fire move towards the man and ready to unleash its attack. The man stood there and see the summon being as nothing of a threat and murmur something before the summon being explode releasing a condensed flame and wind. After the flame have died out, the girl is nowhere to be found and suddenly as fast as the wind she appear behind the man and stab her rapier aiming to the man¡¯s heart and blood gush out like an open faucet. The girl have already expected that such spell could not hit the demon lord which is said to be the strongest magician, enhance her body to increase her endurance towards fire and increase her speed and just as her summon being block the demon lord¡¯s view of her, she charge towards him. At the very least the tactics was successful she thought seeing the blood gushing out or so she thought. The girl drop down to the floor and using her hand to cover her wound, not just normal wounds but her right arm holding the rapier is missing. Because of the ecstasy of the battle, she didn¡¯t feel the pain just now, but after coming to her senses she saw what look like her rapier on the ground. She does not need explanation as to what happen but just fall down, but not because despairing because of her carelessness but to stop the bleeding. She focus her almost non-existent mana towards her right arm and the flow of blood slowly stops but still dripping but at least her life was not in danger anymore when suddenly she felt something cold on her neck. ¡°You have a strong heart for a human¡± (man) A clear and captivating voice said to the girl. For the first time the man spoke, and the girl doesn¡¯t know how to react as it was a compliment, maybe in other place she would be happy someone compliment her but not when the person complimenting her hold a blade towards her neck. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.The blade that is placed near her neck is a katana with a black hilt and the blade have a thin line of red zig-zag shape. Even though the katana is placed near her neck, she does not falter nor feel scared, as she is use to life and death situation, but never once she thought about her death, things and person she will left behind, regrets that cannot be fix, things she haven¡¯t yet fulfilled. That makes her shiver for a while but as one of the hero showing weakness in front of their enemy is not an option, not just because of duty, but because she doesn¡¯t want to and she haven¡¯t yet given up. So she with determined eye look at the man right in his eye. One look at the man¡¯s eye she can see nothing, not fear, excitement,happiness,blood lust nor killing intent not even light reflecting in it but there is one thing that she cannot forgive as the man walk away from her without showing any interest. ¡°Is that how you show your pity, leaving me after you have toyed with me¡± Even she think that come out wrong but to receiving pity from the demon lord nevertheless make her rage with anger. ¡°Ojou-chan¡± a voice sounded in his head again ¡°My master did not toyed with you nor does he show pity towards you in fact I think he have taken interest in you¡± said <>. Hearing that the demon lord have taken interest in her the girl become more pissed and doesn¡¯t consider if it is a good or a bad thing and said ¡°Oii demon lord¡± say the girl she grab her separated arm while trying to stand up ¡°Fight me till the end, I will not leave here until I have achieve my goal or I¡¯ll die trying¡± The girl doesn¡¯t need to wait for the man answer as suddenly black shadow surround the man and the ground shook because of the sudden release of mana by the man. Rumble rumble rumble rumble When suddenly it all stop and once again her neck felt the familiar cold she just receive just now, but this time the katana dig deeper into her neck making few droplets of blood steadily flowing to the ground. ¡°Why do you fight, human?¡± a sudden question The girl who did not expect for a question fumble with words but then confidently answer ¡°To end the war¡± a short few words answered with an infinite amount of confident making the man smile, but the girl did not see it. That is what happen that brought to this conversation think the girl and the sound of something buzzing and explosion bring the girl back to the present The cause of the buzzing is by a red beam that is release by a cyclops that have just join the battle. Cyclops is a one eyed demon almost the same height with a troll but posses a power to destroy an entire town by its beam coming out from its eye. The weakness of cyclops is they are slow and weak to physical attack so usually they move in a pack protected by other troll or goblin and Imp. But the fact that they have showed in the battlefield will be disadvantages by the heroes and the soldier of <>. Even though the heroes all have extra ordinary power, no matter how strong a person is, if they a greatly outnumbered it will prove to be difficult at the looks of it now the soldier and demon are fighting at the ratio of 1:5 that means one soldier need to fight 5 demon at the same time. Unlike the humans the demons soldier mostly compromising of the imps and goblin is infinite as their they are reproduce chemically inside the floating castle. After a while of assessing the battlefield she have concluded that they will need to retreat if the situation persisted but she is puzzled by the question of the demon lord. The demon is not mocking them of their lost but ask her if she thought that peace will be achieve if the war is over. She then grip onto the man¡¯s katana and turn around and give the man an answer ¡°Yes, I think the world will be peaceful if the war end¡±. The words she spoke it self are not that uncommon as he have heard it many times. But the unwavering confident and optimism make the man chuckle and finally laugh. The girl for some reason didn¡¯t get angry of the man but instead speak once more ¡°Maybe for you this is just a game, maybe for you this is just a way to relieve your boredom but this is what I believe.¡± The man stop laughing and look to her eyes while the girl continues ¡°I will not give up even if I¡¯m missing my arm, I will not give up even if you try and stop me, I will not give up even if you kill me, I will be reborn and when I am, I will strive to stop the war, no matter how many times it will be. ¡°Now come and get me¡± The girl said and holding her legendary rapier <> on his left hand and release her mana concentrated on her arm making the blood from her dismembered arm flow again and with her remaining mana, chant ¡°Thou who have made a contact with me, bind with me and let us walk the road of ashes, come <>¡± The girl poured all her mana to summoned her contract being and not just normal summon but a binding summon where the contract being fuse with its host to produce significant power, but it contain high risk where the power of the contract being can go outrage if it is not controlled properly and of course, kill the host. ¡°I know this is a pathetic attempt to kill you but at the very least I will injure you or kill the dragon, like I said I will not give up and fortunately that is my strong point, even if I fall I will bring you down Demon Lord and bring peace to the world.¡± With that said, the girl concentrate her power onto the rapier and the rapier accept the power and burn brightly in fire. The girl took a stance to attack, but before she can attack the man open his moth and say something she cannot comprehend. ¡°What do you mean?¡± She ask to confirm what the man is saying. ¡°Like I said. Let¡¯s make a bet¡± The man say repeating his word but now with a smile and a mischievous light can be seen from his eyes . This is a story of a girl that make a bet with a demon lord. A story where maybe the demon lord is not as bad as we think, but what do you know? This is just prologue after all. Chapter 1 - Peace? Chapter 1 : Peace? ¡°Jo¡¯ou-sama...... Hime-sama...¡± The faint sound of a maid out of breath calling for her master. A normal typical scene in the palace of the Human Kingdom <>. The sudden disappearance of the Queen and the princess is not uncommon even though each time they disappear the maid have to search the palace up and down calling for their name. Walking through a garden full of flowers she finally saw what she was looking for. Basking in the sunlight a woman with a crimson hair sitting down on the ground brushing a girl¡¯s hair that have the same intensity of red as her¡¯s but slightly different because it is mixed with a few strand of black that reached to her waist. ¡°Raisha-samaaa, Raila-samaaaa!¡± The maid smile but the intensity of her tone doesn¡¯t fit to the smile on her mouth ¡°Ahh It¡¯s Marie¡± Said the girl while getting up and run towards the maid. ¡°Raila-sama, How many times have I said not to run while wearing your night gown. You can trip yourselves¡± Marie said to the girl, Raila a lively girl full of energy, wearing a pink night gown who is just laughing and hugging her ignoring a word that she said. ¡°I understand the princess, but why have you not change yet from your gown, Raisha-sama?¡± (Marie) Raisha look back to the maid, a woman having a motherly aura in his 40¡¯s having a black hair that is tied behind wearing a maid uniform, a black dress under a white apron. Your everyday normal maid. Raisha stand up and look towards the slow and steady rising sun when suddenly she is covered with a blanket. ¡°You are pregnant Raisha-sama, at the very least cover yourselves for the baby. Don¡¯t you know that babies are very sensitive to the cold and it is not good for you to be ill when the time come. It¡¯s not that far away if I recall, and I sure hope that it will be delivered without complication¡± (Marie) With a look of concern shimmering in her eyes Marie keep on rambling about babies and the do¡¯s and don¡¯t for a pregnant lady. Raisha look down to her overgrown belly and touch it delicately and smile when the one inside respond with a kick from her touch. Raila seeing that sprint to her, ¡°Is the baby kicking again mama?¡± (Raila) while putting her hand towards her mother¡¯s belly and become overjoyed to receive a respond with a kick. ¡°Marie too¡± (Raila) She said while grabbing Marie¡¯s hand and put it onto Raisha¡¯s belly. ¡°Wait Raila-sama, I couldn¡¯t possibly do that¡± (Marie) ¡°Marie, you don¡¯t need to be reserved about this¡± (Raisha) This time Raisha took Marie¡¯s hand and put it on her Belly. The two hands on her belly make the baby inside somehow active as it replies with a few kicks. Marie who is reluctant at first is now somehow trance by it. Raisha feels satisfied by the two who is eagerly and fascinated by the new life in her belly but starting to get uncomfortable when the baby starts to kick more frequently maybe restless by the sudden touch. ¡°So why are you looking for me, Marie?¡± (Raisha) Trying to get out from the situation Raisha ask Marie about her purpose of finding her. ¡°*cough* *cough* Right.¡± Marie said while releasing some small cough to gain her composure back. Marie forgot her real reason for finding Raisha and get too absorbed by the baby activeness. ¡°The king would like for you to be present in the Throne Chamber, Raisha-sama¡± (Marie) ¡°No¡± (Raisha) ¡°So let¡¯s.... Whatttt?!¡± Raisha with no intention of going sit back on the spot and tapping the ground asking for her daughter Raila to join her. Raila sit down and now she is tapping the ground asking for Marie to sit. ¡°No Raila-sama I still have my duty¡± ¡°Mother always skip on her work¡± ¡°Ohooo... Really... Raisha-sama. I think we need to have a long conversation one of these days¡± Raisha is starting to have a cold sweat, why do you need to talk about that oh daughter of mine she thinks. Marie was about to continue when her hem of the skirt is pulled by Raila. She is still tapping the ground asking for her to sit down but now with a teary eye. Marie sigh and shake his head but sit nevertheless ¡°Just for a short while, would that do Raila-sama¡± Raila nod while smiling. ¡°But you still need to go to the Throne Room, Raisha-sama¡± Raisha who kept silent just stare at Marie, the head maid who have been with her since she was a children and hand her something. She have handed Marie a comb and turn around. Marie just smile and start combing her hair and Raila just sit there watching. After finishing, Marie bring Raisha to her room. The room is not what you would imagine a queen¡¯s room would be. A big table with books scatter all around it is placed near a big glass window, next to it is a wood shelf filled with thick books and a small bed with a wooden frame just fit for one person. The only thing that makes the room looks more queen like is a mirror with various precious stone like ruby inlaid on it. Looking herself in the mirror, she sigh. If he saw me like this, he will be laughing for sure. A once proud and noble warrior, one of the only two girls of the 12 Heroes reduce to this motherhood state. After the war, I went back to my own kingdom, where father King Edward Rudolh The 4th the current king of <> is overjoyed of my safe return. After losing mother, which is one of the factor making me stood up and join the battle even though receiving resistance from many party which can¡¯t have the first princess of <> an heir to the throne to be in any danger, that doesn¡¯t stop me from going Since her return, the king have hosted many party in order to celebrate their victory in the war where she met a young king that receive the throne from his father. The young king Aaron governs the south of the human continent <> while King Edward governs the north area <>. This and that happen and I¡¯m married to Aaron, under 3 conditions. The first one is I will stay at my place of birth the North Palace <>, the second one is I will do what I wants, there will be no restrictions on my freedom, and the last one is that I will choose my own aide and guard. Her marriage with Aaron is not a political marriage or whatsoever, and its not because of love either. It¡¯s just simply because both of them have merits of doing so.... Wait, when I think about it, it is a political marriage. ¡°Hahhhhh..¡± (Raisha) A sigh escape her mouth A king withot a Queen may be called an incompetent King and bad rumors can spread, while for Raisha herself it was a good way to learn to be a ruler as her days with the battle is over since the demon lord has been ¡°defeated¡±, and she looks downward and grasp her belly. Having a children is a blessing she thinks while smiling. Marie brought her a white gown beaded with light pink diamond. Slipping off her night gown. Raisha look to her body and spot a scar at her right arm. A souvenir of war, a reminder of what happen on that day almost 10 years back. A reminder for herself about a bet she made with a demon lord. A bet that ends the war abruptly. A bet just between the two of them. Her arm twitches as if it remembered the feeling of being severed. Just thinking about that makes her clench her fist but released it after seeing that Marie is waiting for her to settle before continuing her duty of preparing her for the audience with the king. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Far away from the palace, from the busy day life of the merchant on the plaza, from the hustle and bustle of the town, across the border of the human continent, into the neutral land of <>. A hut made of wood stands sturdily inside the vicinity of the <>. A forest which merchant and even veteran adventurers tend to avoid because it is rumored to be the den of high ranked demon, and quite a few adventures have lost its live there. The door of the hut made of Azur Tree open and show the contents of the hut, a sofa of 4x3 sets in the middle of the hut near a coffee table in front of the fireplace, a kitchen filled with cooking utensils like pot and knife, a table with a flower pot on it, few racks full with books of different genre and two bedroom. The inside is bigger than the outside appearance of the hut and a shadow of a woman came out from the hut walking towards a man. ¡°As expected of Arvos-sama. You are good at using the hoe as you are with your katana¡± Said the woman while giggling. The man turn back showing his black hair that is keep short and a little bit spiky here and there, with a blue eye and height¡¯s around 180cm. He carries an aura of superiority but with a hoe in his hand the aura dissipates somewhere else. The woman hands over a glass of water towards the man. ¡°Thanks Ilia¡± The man said while taking the glass from her, Ilia having a long hazelnut colour hair reaching her waist with a green eye and an air of calmness. She is about 156 cm tall, wearing a white silk one piece and feet covered with vein. Even though she looks like human, Ilia is a nymph. A nymph is a nature spirit that typically associated with a particular location or land form. Ilia resides in the forest for more than 150 years but her appearance maintain. She flourishes the land and make sure the forest is free from destruction and intruder. *Tap*Tap*Tap* The sound of footsteps getting nearer can be heard from their position and from the forest emerge two shadow one appear quite small and another one appear almost 120 cm tall. The first shadow that emerges have a pointed ears a semi circular head, a green eye and its most attracting features, its green skin colour which determine it is a goblin and appear to be carrying an axe. The second shadow, smaller than the first one having a green-brownish like of tone colour, a round head, a green eye and have an ear similar of that to a man but much wider and longer which can be concluded as an imp and carrying a pile of firewood. ¡°Ah, Tobi and Timp. Sorry for always troubling you¡± Arvos say referring to the goblin and imp respectively in an apologetic manner. ¡°Wo-od..... Foo-or you.... Happy to do i-itt¡± The imp reply with a happy face not a full sentence and while stuttering but its enough to be understood. For an imp to speak the human language it will take a long time so to be able to speak like that is quite magnificent.While the goblin just nod expressionless. When suddenly Tobi is lifted of the ground with a white not so delicate hand, Ilia¡¯s. Tobi struggle to break free from her grasp when he stops as he look at Ilia who is smiling, but her smile is as if a demon is lurking behind her when she ask a question that makes the two pale. ¡°Where did you two get the wood if I may ask¡± As the one who protects the forest she can¡¯t have anyone to destroy it. That is why she ask, even though the author thinks it is wrong to use brute strength for questioning. ¡°Did you chop it from the trees here¡± Again Ilia ask a question maintaining her demon smile, but as Tobi¡¯s head is being hold she look at Timp for answer. Tobi couldn¡¯t answer orally crushed by Ilia¡¯s gaze so he just shake his head. Ilia have her doubt, so she keep glaring at Timp, making Timp shake his head much faster. Then she let Tobi down. ¡°What good children you two are, neh¡± Tobi just nod slowly at Ilia¡¯s remark Suddenly, the wind that is just blowing slowly, rage and change direction making Ilia¡¯s white one piece get blown upwards showing its content, but she hold it down as soon as that happens. After the winds pass, she turn to Arvos to ask but stops as he is wearing a serious face. ¡°It seems the wind have change¡± Wind have always been a conductor of messenger. Wind can turn the table of a war if one knows how to use it. Wind also bring prediction and news about something mostly something big as the thoughts of people that turn into desire makes the wind unstable and run wildly. Arvos could not determine the source which change the winds but he can feel an obnoxious feeling coming from it. ¡°Timp, go find Ariel for me¡± Hearing that, Timp give the pile of wood to Tobi and run towards the forest. ¡°Where is she Ilia?¡± ¡°She¡¯s at the usual place, My lord¡± Arvos just nod hearing that. At that time, at the palace of <>, Raisha is walking up a steps layered with a red carpet heading towards the throne room. She is now wearing the dress given by Marie. The stairs railing is decorated with a flower carving and after polishing it shines as if to show the flower is alive. There are also a few guards guarding and all of them lower their heads when Raisha walk pass them. ¡°By the way Marie¡± Marie who is walking behind Raisha lift her head hearing her name. ¡°Why did father ask of me?¡± Raisha ask, because usually his father doesn¡¯t summon her to the throne room. Marie just hold her head and sigh ¡°In case you forgot Raisha-sama. Today a messenger from <> is coming¡± Raisha stop when she learns that. She turns back to face Marie, and before Marie can say anything, she just walk down and say ¡°I¡¯m not going¡± ¡°Raisha-samaaaa¡± Marie half screaming half crying run towards Raisha. Back to the <>, while waiting for Timp. Arvos post a question towards Ilia. ¡°Ilia¡± ¡°Yes Arvos-sama¡± ¡°Are you wea-¡± Arvos post a question regarding the content that is revealed when the wind blows her one piece. ¡°I¡¯m wearing it Arvos-sama¡± ¡°Are you su-¡± ¡°I¡¯m wearing it Arvos-sama¡± Ilia answer Arvos question without waiting for him to finish and smile. A smile that says Don¡¯t pursue this topic. ¡°All right¡± He answers with a cold sweat started breaking.