Hurried footsteps approach from the shadows in the grand hallway.
The two skeleton guards stand at attention as the Demon Lord, Sathum Moonblood, walks towards their direction with anxiety on his pale face.
The Royal Vampire extends a clawed hand to open the door behind the skeleton guards.
Turning the doorknob, Sathum takes a deep breath to summon his courage.
As soon as he steps into the room, the smell of medicinal herbs waft into his acute senses.
The room is in chaos. Healing mages and midwives scurry about, like their lives depend on it.
The pure-blood vampire walks over to a skeleton wearing ancient robes.
[Dr. Grimm, I just got the news. The baby isn't supposed to be delivered for another month, why did Elaine go into labor so suddenly?] (Sathum)
[It seems that the baby gained consciousness early, my king. As you know, when a demon gains consciousness, they will start to absorb mana from their surroundings to form their mana core. Unfortunately, the baby is still inside of Her Royal Highness Elaine. The baby is rapidly depleting Her Highness's mana reserves to dangerous levels. A few moments ago, she ran completely out of mana and now her body is supplementing life force to supply the baby. If this keeps up any longer, both her and the baby will die.] (Dr. Grimm)
The Demon King paled even further upon hearing the report.
[Is there anything we can do?] (Sathum)
The ancient doctor sighed. Reluctant to do so, Dr. Grimm open his mandible to speak once more.
[The only method this old one can think of is to supply Her Highness with mana externally. Unfortunately, you are the only one with mana rich enough to sustain the baby. If inferior mana is supplied, it will harm the baby's mana core.] (Dr. Grimm)
Sathum immediately nodded his head and urged Dr. Grimm to make room so he can begin.
[Are you sure, my king? This method puts you at risk as well. If the baby depletes your mana completely, you and the Queen's life forces will be in danger.] (Dr. Grimm)
The Demon King said nothing. He placed his hands upon his wife's pregnant stomach and began to supplement mana.
Elaine's pain gradually began to diminish, and color was restored to her face. Her drooping wolf ears perked up and she regained consciousness.
[Sathum? What's happened?] (Elaine)
[Shh. Don't speak so soon after waking up. The baby will be fine. Just relax and focus on delivering our child.] (Sathum)
One of the midwives handed Elaine a Royal-Grade healing potion and helped her recover. Dr. Grimm just stood to the side; his orbital sockets laced with worry.
Time passed, and the momentary peace brought by Sathum's mana was exhausted. The pale vampire's face became sickly yellow as his own life force was being drained. Similarly, Elaine had once again lost consciousness from weakness.
[How can the baby's mana core still not be done forming!? If this keeps up, we'll be forced to abort the child to save the king and queen!] (Dr. Grimm)
Sathum, who heard the mumblings of his most trusted advisor, glared daggers in his direction.
[Even if I were to die, I will never allow this child to come to harm! How many more mana potions are left? I refuse to believe that we cannot sustain the baby until it is done!] (Sathum)
Just as Dr. Grimm was about to argue back to his old friend, a royal messenger with the ears of a cheetah rushed frantically into the room.
[U-urgent news, Your Highness! A hostile force has somehow appeared before the castle walls! They appear to be mainly human, but we have also seen dwarves, elves and even draugnirs among their ranks! Their numbers are great and even a scout with blessed eyesight cannot see the end of their army!] (Messenger)
The entire room became deathly quiet.
[Looks like our enemies have formed an alliance against us. How laughable. Just as soon as my child is about to born, we are invaded by leeches.] (Sathum)
[What are your orders, Your Highness?] (Messenger)
[Immediately send Beldu to secure this room. That golem is only a little weaker than me. He will be enough to ensure our safety until the baby is delivered. Have Harpy Divisions One through Five circle the army closest to the walls and deliver a detailed report on their strength. I must remain here and continue supplementing mana to the baby. Other than that, have our necromancers summon their highest level undead to protect the city. Evacuate the citizens through the tunnels and wait for further orders.] (Sathum)
The Cheetah Messenger nodded and swiftly departed to relay the orders. Sathum silently lowered his head in prayer that the baby will be delivered soon.
Hours passed and the fighting had reached the inner castle. Countless demons who had failed to evacuate in time were purged. Tremors rocked the delivery room as high-level magic was unleashed one after the other.
But just as the midwives and healing mages had lost hope, the sounds of a baby crying filled their ears.
Dr. Grimm took the baby from a midwife and used Status magic on his form. Confirming that he was healthy, Dr. Grimm handed him to Sathum and reported that all was well.
Sathum feebly took the baby and tried to quiet the whirlpool of emotions in his heart. Joy, pride, and fatherly love was overshadowed by anger towards the invaders ruining his son's birth.
He turned his head and looked at his unconscious wife. She was in no condition to escape, much less fight by his side, as they had often done so in the past.
By now, the fight had reached right outside the room. Steel clashed and Beldu the Golem's roars echoed throughout the castle.
[Insolent human! I admit, your might is great! But you will have to climb over my dead body to reach His and Her Royal Highness!] (Beldu)
Haughty laughter pealed in response to Beldu's rage.
[That doesn't seem to hard to me. Really, the council was overly worried about this plan. But so far, nothing has even come close to stopping me. So, right now, I really wonder how you're planning on keeping me from entering that room.] (???)
A terrifying force was heard from outside the door and Beldu's roars were abruptly cut off. Leisurely footsteps slowly made their way to the door.
*Bang*
The door was busted open by a powerful kick from the unknown assailant. Sathum placed his newborn son on top of his wife's sleeping body and took his place besides Dr. Grimm. They both stood resolutely in front of the bed, ready to defend it at all costs.
[Who goes there!? Who dares violate the Spring Treaty signed by my Royal Grandfather!?] (Sathum)
A figure adorned in steel-plate armor emerged from the dust. With flowing blonde hair and a relaxed smile on his face, the knight propped his spear onto his shoulder and bowed sarcastically.
[A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Demon King. My name is Gale Leonhart, chosen hero of the goddess Aetheria. I have come with my friends in the alliance to take your lands and eradicate your demonkind from the face of the continent. I hope you don't take too much offense at this unannounced intrusion.] (Gale)
[Impudent! Does the Spring Treaty that guaranteed peace between our races mean nothing in your alliance's eyes!?] (Dr. Grimm)
[Oh, that little thing? Rules are dead while people are alive, old man. The Spring Treaty was forced upon the other races when the demons rampaged across the continent. A treaty that essentially shackled the other races while the demons continued to live wickedly. Who can blame us from being fed up with this kind of treatment?] (Gale)
Gale continued to converse casually while calculations whirled around Dr. Grimm's skull. They had practically no fighting power in the room. Sathum was drained of mana and had severely limited life force remaining. Elaine was unconscious and had no way to fight. A newborn was sleeping in his mother's arms, while the rest were just cowering midwives and mages with no offensive power. Grimm, while being a formidable mage himself, would not be able to defeat a knight who took Beldu down.
They were at a severe disadvantage.
Sathum was having similar thoughts to Dr. Grimm. But his focus was on the safety of his family. He prayed that somehow, he could negotiate his way out of this and avoid bloodshed. Or else, his family was doomed.
[Shackle other races!? Bah! What nonsense are you spouting, boy!? The Spring Treaty only established that crossing each other's borders was taboo! Trade could be maintained under a watchful eye! Plus, the war was started when the humans invaded demonic lands first! Your people were the aggressors in the past, same as you are now!] (Sathum)
Although Sathum sounded enraged, in his head he was as tranquil as could be. He needed to buy time for his main army to arrive at the scene and defeat the alliance's forces with numbers.
[Of course those conditions were unacceptable. Who in their right minds would even consider trading on fair terms with lowly demons? You all should be count yourselves lucky that the Spring Treaty even lasted this long in the first place.] (Gale)
Gale appeared to be getting impatient. He was tapping his spear up and down upon his pauldron and squinted his blue eyes.
[Ah, now I get it. No wonder you haven't attacked yet. You're buying time for your army to show up, aren't you? I wouldn't count on that, my dear Demon King. The only remnants of the army remaining are currently station outside the castle walls, battling with our forces. They won't be able to break through any time soon. What confuses me is why you haven't attacked yet. Why are you so weak right now?] (Gale)
Sathum was currently blocking Elaine and his son from view. The one thing he desperately wanted not to happen was for this human to discover the reason why he was in a weakened state.
The conversation ended and tensions rose. Dr. Grimm was silently preparing chantless magic and Sathum was doing his best to appear imposing. He wanted to bluff his way out now that his army couldn't aid him.
As a strained stalemate ensued, the worst possible scenario for Sathum came to light.
*Waa-Waaa*
As if sensing that things were not going well for his father, the baby began to cry.
Sathum's face turned rigid and he dared not move, fearing that any reaction of his would confirm what was going on in his enemy's head.
Gale's mouth hooked into a sardonic smile. He stood on his toes and peered over Sathum's figure, spotting the baby and sleeping werewolf mother. When he made visual confirmation, he busted into genuine laughter.
[I see! I see! So that was the reason you're here and not in the sanctuary. Your, what I assume being, son was born! My congratulations! But unfortunately, this only adds onto the urgency of my mission. Her Holiness Aetheria definitely wouldn't want that monster to be allowed to grow. He's just a headache waiting to happen. So, if you'll kindly offer your heads to me, I'll make your deaths as swift as possible.] (Gale)
This time, Sathum was truly enraged. Enemies could ravage his kingdom and take his lands, but for them to threaten his family was his reverse scale. Regrettably, he was in an extremely weakened state.
Dr. Grimm, sensing that things had developed to the point of no return, unleashed a fierce torrent of fire towards Gale and activated a magic circle to teleport Sathum and his family away.
Gale stood in place, calmly watching the flames approach. With a casual step forward, Grimm's flames seemingly disappeared, and he had shifted positions right in front of Sathum and Dr. Grimm.
Sathum couldn't register what had happened. Why had the flames extinguished so quickly? One had to know that those were Hellfire Flames, a Rank 8 magic! Magic as powerful as that would never just disappear without a trace!
Then, Sathum spotted a glowing pendant on the knight's chestplate. It seemed that the artifact that Gale was wearing played a part in defeating Dr. Grimm's magic fire.
Just as the teleportation circle was about to be activated, Gale swung his spear casually without any fancy movements at all. As soon as the spear contacted the airborne circle-
*pssshhh*
The teleportation array was shattered! Dr. Grimm was shocked but immediately went to plan B. He waved his skeletal hand and bolts of lightning shot towards Gale.
Sathum identified this spell as well. Similarly Rank 8, Heaven's Wrath! Even he would be wary facing this magic lighting at such a proximity.
But contrary to Sathum's expectations, Gale did not evade nor make any attempts to block. He simply stood in place and allowed the heavenly lightning to hit him.
Dust flew around the room as the lightning exploded onto Gale's steel plated armor. When the room settled, Gale was standing in his original spot, with his characteristic smile plastered on his face.
[Comfy! I really didn't expect such a high-ranking magic to appear in this godforsaken kingdom. That's the royal capital for you. Unfortunately, all magic under Rank 9 is rendered obsolete in front of my pendant. This thing is a godly artifact bestowed upon me by Aetheria herself. I didn't quite need it, but she insisted.] (Gale)
Gale shrugged his shoulders and made a helpless expression on his face.
[Now, I suppose it's my turn.] (Gale)
With a speed that neither Sathum nor Dr. Grimm could see clearly, Gale brandished his spear and thrusted towards Dr. Grimm's ribcage. As soon as the spearhead contacted his ancient bones, holy light shined and set flame to Dr. Grimm. Dr. Grimm screamed in pain and frantically tried to put out the flames with water magic. Distracted by the pain, he had let his guard down.
Gale used this opportunity to swing his spear and cracked the spear against Dr. Grimm's skull. Once again, flames rampaged on the right side of his skeletal face and Dr. Grimm was helplessly trying to extinguish them. Only a few moments passed, and Dr. Grimm's screams quieted down. His bones collapsed onto the ground as his consciousness faded, and all that was left was a pile of robes and his mana core.
[Now that the annoying mage is out of the way, I suppose it's your turn.] (Gale)
With a carefree smile, Gale Leonhart turned towards the Demon King Sathum and readied his spear.