Slow day.
Castles being seized, people dying left and right, screams everywhere.
Yet- the day didn't seem to move forward. So slow.
"When is this going to end?"
Sat in his throne Gerar spoke aloud; his voice, sublime.
A voice that would send shivers down the spines of even the bravest be it God or men. His shoulders rested on his hands and his eyes looked straight ahead. It was hot, and it was unbearable for humans but for demons, this amount of heat was nothing; actually, it was winter in Demonica.
Dressed in fancy dark spiky battle armor, he sat impatiently. Golden velvety eyes, two profoundly large horns- and a majestic yet demonic presence. The Demon Lord of Sin and disaster.
His throne was decorated in blood, and the stench of fresh blood was like perfume to the demons. So, the smell of iron was intense yet comforting.
"When the hell is he going to come?"
Burning red floor.
Smoking.
Walls- with gargoyle statues- and souls of the dead looming and whispering about in the darkness, covering almost the entire throne room.
"I believe he has already infiltrated the castle and is on his way here as we speak." There was only one other demon in there; the advisor to Gerar, Count Belihide. The demon with white hair, one of the few to actually survive the Hercian persecution. And that was for good reason too: Being the smartest among the demons, he was the obvious choice as a military tactician.
The infiltrator in question was the hero of humans, Daniel. However all was according to Belihide's plan. He purposefully weakened the defenses to lure the hero in. Although it was illogical to do so, he had no choice but to go with that plan as his lord, Gerar demanded so. Surely the demonlord had a plan, or so he thought.
Whack! A loud noise came from just outside the majestic door, entrance to the throne. Another sound echoed and the door cracked opened like biscuits.
"Say your prayers Gerar! I've come for your head!" Dressed in heavenly armor gifted by the gods, Daniel entered the room. He was declared to be the strongest and the bravest human alive.
Hah! "Die!" Shing!
Countless demons and men were fighting just outside the room, however once the hero and his party entered, the door rematerialized and closed. Their battle cries vanished as quickly as they appeared.
Only the faint groans remained…
"Unfortunately, I don't pray," Gerar said placidly. "And who taught you such corny lines?"
The hero wasn't alone. He had two girls beside him. All three of them, sweating like pigs on a sunny day. Breath loud and audible; hearts pounding.
Perhaps from the heat- or perhaps from the intense pressure emanating from the lord of the demons.
Either way,
"I'll leave the girls to you," Gerar said, as he casually stood up.
"As you wish, my lord."
Belihide swiftly bowed and unsheathed his sword. His long scimitar relayed the color of blood.
Gerar also picked up his weapon by the throne. The legendary Death axe, said to have the power to cleave a thousand souls at once. Each soul it snatched, the sharper it got.
In Gerar's hand it shimmered in eternal mysterious darkness; unmatched in the history of Entora with the Death axe, Gerar stood proud. Sometimes it even whispered things into his ears which he for better or worse, definitely ignored.
"For centuries, you have tormented us humans. But it all ends today!" Daniel declared, passion brimming in his eyes.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, a handsome man.
But that was about it. You'd find men like him everywhere these days, men with conviction. Men with goals. Men with honor.
"We will defeat you and bring peace to the world!" One of his companions, Fisa, said.
"Peace, peace, peace. What is wrong with a little chaos? With nothing but peace you'll turn into maggots feasting on the dead." A disgusted shrug. "Instead of boring me with your shitty wit, bring it!" Gerar demanded, axe pointed.
Breath going out of control- sweating like hell yet- "I swear to the gods, I will have your head!" Daniel roared.
"You've already said that and what god? Which god are we talking about here?" Gerar sighed as he just stood there. "Last I checked, those wusses wouldn't dare even look at the demon kingdom funny, and you think-"
"Prepare to die!"
"Are you coming or not?" At this point Gerar just felt bored if nothing else.
"Di-" His two-handed holy sword pointed- about to charge,
'This is pointless.'
The hero was indeed charging.
But to Gerar, it was just children running around in slow motion.
Sigh.
Gerar teleported behind the hero and struck a knife into his back; just a typical knife. "In the end you were nothing but talk. Belihide, are you sure this one is the legendary hero?" He casually stared at his companion.
'This is, his strength? He is the most powerful man alive?' What a disappointment. With a snort- Gerar casually walked back to his throne- looking down on the bunch.
"He should be, at least according to my sources," Belihide bowed. "Though… I- might or might not have screwed up a little in assessing his actual capabilities…"
"Danny!"
"Hang on!"
Risa, Daniel's companion swung her knife at Belihide but he teleported back.
Daniel was still alive. Gerar could have killed him right there, but he was too bored, so he just went along.
Why not torture him for some fun? But even torturing had lost all merits at this point after centuries upon centuries though.
"I'll heal you right away!" the other one run for him too- "Risa!"
"I know, I know," Risa said, knife at the ready, eyeing the demon lord.
The healer was Fisa. The girls were twin sisters and both of them valued the hero a bit too much.
Gerar and Belihide on the other hand were taking it easy. Seeing blood or tears of their victims didn't even sway their hearts in the slightest, rather it gave them great joy.
Also… boredom.
"Oh, divine goddess of love and purity, guide this soul to the path of righteousness and cure all pain." Fisa bowed on the floor as light swirled around Daniel's wound. "All cure!"
Light descended, even in this pit of hell.
Daniel was healed to full health and he ground his teeth while swinging forth his two-handed Holy sword "Damn it!" The demon lord was too much for him and he knew it. But he never in his nightmares conjured up the possibility of the damn demon being this strong.
"If that's all he's got, then what's the point in this farce?" Gerar yawned. "Maybe taking another nap for a few decades would be better? Be sure to train hard and come back next time." He shooed the hero like a cat.
"Indeed, my lord. But let's just kill them and eradicate all the invaders of this city first. That way, unless someone really strong is born, they won't dare-" Belihide felt invincible with his lord present. There was no doubt in his mind that his lord could singlehandedly crush each and every single rebel.
But the problem was, Gerar never liked exerting too much strength. Why? Even at his fifty percent, the strongest of the strong would crumble…
'How long do we have to continue this?' Gerar paused. "Tell me, Belihide, how long does a demon live?"
"About a thousand years my lord. But-"
But the demon lord could easily surpass that limit and was probably going to outlive every single darn demon. Actually, at this point, he was mostly immortal anyway.
"What happens when they die?"
"The get reincarnated and-"
And they lose all their talents, memories, having another shot at life without worrying about what they did or could have been in the past.
'It's about time I ended this. I've been living for far too long…. Anymore and…' And he was about to go nuts.
Gerar couldn't even think how he'd live another five or ten centuries let alone forever. "I think I've had enough."
"What-" Belihide couldn't understand.
"Enough of this world that is," Gerar said.
'Besides, as long as I am alive this war will never end. If a rebirth is all that is needed to nerf me, then so be it!'
Besides, it was more fun to start from the beginning and crush stronger opponents anyway.
"But my lord!"
"It's too boring, damn it!" After killing most of the gods, he didn't have anything else he could do for fun.
He didn't care for something as trivial as peace. Besides, he didn't believe peace was possible and a thing to even begin with.
"What'll happen to the empire?"
The three humans, meanwhile, were watching everything with awkward twitches. The moment they understood how outclassed they were, they shook from their very core. Hugging each other like lost children waiting for their mums.
And now they were watching this melodrama?
Confusion was the least of their worries though.
"Who cares? What's the point in squishing humans if you can't even feel it anymore?" He whined. "Besides, I've gutted them, boiled them, skinned them, roasted them, electrocuted them, let maggots eat them, bury them alive, disintegrate them, cleave off one portion at a time- what else am I supposed to do?" And he whined like a child.
"But-" Belihide kind of panicked for a second… "Then- then- let's force men to kill their own children and-"
"Meh…" Gerar shrugged. "It's more fun seeing woman do that. They love their kids more anyway. But…" He might or might not have already- ahem! "Don't but me! If you think you can run this country then run it! I'm done!" Gerar pouted like a three year old.
Meanwhile Daniel blinked about ten times to make sure he wasn't in the wrong reality.
Boiled alive?
Roasted?
Gutted?
What….
Why?
The intense heat was making the hero's party question all their life choices but-but at the same time, the ongoing drama scene before their eyes was something else entirely.
"Then what will you do now?" Belihide sighed, a hand on his forehead.
"I can't self-destruct, so, why don't you kill me with that sword of yours?"
"No thank you. Besides, you'd just regenerate." Belihide knew it was impossible-
Impossible to kill this demon before him.
After all- he was the strongest creature alive.
Even the supreme gods couldn't stand in his way-
And him? Just a demon general? How the hell was he going to do that!?
Was that even possible to begin with?
In the end-
Belihide just… sighed.
That was one long ass first chapter, huh?
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