I let the rock toad push me down into the darkness. It was deep, incredibly so but that wasn't the part that would kill you. As I landed safely at the bottom, the thing I discovered first was the sheer volume of monsters I faced. Dozens leading towards hundreds of them and below my feet, the mass of bones that were their prey.
"Ah, what a bother," I sighed. It was so deep I couldn't see the light from above. I better head back up before the Heroes got worried and jumped in to find me. Though Heafest would definitely stop them.
I applied mana to my eyes and the sight that welcomed me would have petrified even a high ranked adventurer. They hung to the walls ready to pounce. Rock toads of different shapes and sizes but one thing was certain, they were damn hungry. Fed up with waiting a few jumped at me and I smiled viciously. My feet hovered off the ground and their bodies were cut apart. Black blood splashed the walls. Immediately their carcasses were attacked for food by other toads, the rest of them kept their eyes on me.
"Try it I dare you!" I yelled. I should thank Heafest, because of him I was able to let loose a little.
I was nearing the top and the frequency at which the rock toads attacked me came to a halt. My clothes however were perfectly fine. It would be suspicious if it looked like I hadn't taken any damage. I tore my clothes and rubbed dirt across my skin. However I couldn't cut into my skin, blue blood on a human wouldn't look right.
Now very close to where I fell in, I could hear them yelling.
"Let me go! We have to save him!" To my surprise it wasn't Carl but Sayuri who yelled.
"We can't! You heard Heafest we're not strong enough yet," Carl shouted back in pain. "Do you think I don't want to? He's my friend as well."
"If we all go-,"
"Sayuri please stop," Alicia cried sadly. "If we all die there's no point."
"Alicia is right. As I said, it is better to think Davios has already died," Heafest said in feigned sorrow.
Now's about the right to time to come back up I think. I reached the lip and tossed my hand over it.
"Don't kill me off just yet," I huffed from the cliff, pulling my head into view. They all looked so pitiful staring at the ground. Even Gary was huddled in a ball. As soon as I came into the view, it was like a god had suddenly given them all life.
"Dave!" they shouted and ran to help me up.
"How?" Sayuri said relived to tears.
"Lots of mana and even more luck," I groaned lying on the ground.
"I'm impressed," Heafest spoke with suppressed disdain. "You're hard to kill."
"Ha ha, yeah. It's ironic that I fell down as soon as you warned me though," I feigned ignorance.
"Let's move from here. We can rest outside."
Carl and Gary helped me up and supported me as we walked out.
"You should have seen it Dave," Gary began cheerfully. His earlier depression had been completely blown away now I was alive. "As soon as you fell, we were all shocked for sure but then in order to save you we had to take out that rock toad. Sis punched it so hard that its body flattened against the back wall." So that's why I didn't see its body. "She sure must have been worried about you."
"Like you can talk," Alicia snapped back, "That lance you conjured was strong enough to rip a hole straight through it and it's not like I was the only one. Even Sayuri and Carl cut through it like it was cheese."
It sounded like a power boost for sure. For a small moment unlocking their full potential. It was a shame I missed such an event. I'd have to watch out for that in the future but knowing that I was the cause of it made me feel slightly conflicted.
We made it outside the cave easily. The sun was just beginning to set and the adventurers from earlier were gone. After a short rest it was decided that we'd head back to town. I began walking back to town normally and the Heroes had all gone back to their normal levels of cheerfulness. Even Sayuri seemed happier than usual. I wonder what would have happened if I did die. Thinking about it, that would have been an interesting place to stop playing Hero and go back home. A cold glare spread across my back. It looks like I'd have another chance to decide.
We were in sight of the town standing in a wide open field still a few minutes away when Heafest pulled me back, "You four go ahead and rest at the inn."
"Hmm? What are you two going to do?" Carl asked.
I answered for Heafest, "Magician business."
"Okay then…. We'll see you soon." The Heroes departed a little unwillingly but the looks in my and Heafest eyes told them not to pry.
A silence grew between Heafest and I. We both took a few steps from each and then with incredibly cold eyes he stared at me.
"You were not supposed to live."
"You weren't supposed to try kill me," I replied still pleasant despite his overbearing hostility.
"So you knew."
"Of course. It was quite obvious."
"Then you know what will come next."
"I do, but I don't think you do."
Heafest huffed obnoxiously and stamped his staff into the ground. The already reddening sky turned crimson and the clouds shifted black. "Do you know what this is?"
"A reality plane. When two skilled magicians fight the destruction can be quite severe. This plane is outside of the world so any damage to the environment won't exist when we leave."
"An apt answer. Then you understand why I set one up."
"I assume you're going to try kill me again."
"Oh I will this time, but I'd like it if you showed me some sport first," he flicked his staff in my direction and I was sent flying across the field. Before I even landed he appeared by my side. He grabbed my arm and threw me into the ground. It wasn't an ordinary throw as the ground cratered. I stood up quickly and jumped back as a black spear was thrust where I had fallen. For an old man he really was quite limber.
"Yes, that's better. Try run from me." He vanished again and from behind shot me forwards only to appear in front of me with a giant fireball in his hands. The spiralling mass of heat alone was enough to melt solid rock not to mention its true capability. With a quick flick I changed direction mid-air as the ball of fire narrowly missed and exploded in the distance creating a wave of smoke and heat. He was quite spry for an old man and his skills were certainly impressive but this still wasn't at the level of a court magician. I'd play his game a little more.
I shot a barrage of earth lances towards him. He blocked them all with his staff while laughing.
"With your death the Heroes will be distraught and in their time of pain our Kingdom Elsbeth will be by their side to help them. With you gone they will learn to rely on us and soon enough they will no longer be the Heroes of the humans but the Heroes of Elsbeth!" Ah so that was their plan. It was actually quite cunning when I thought about it. If they had control of the Heroes that meant they pretty much had control over the entire human side of the continent.
A mass of mana gathered and his staff head twinkled. A laser shot out in a line and ran across the ground causing explosions. I summoned my cloud and flew away from it. It was time to test his defence. I thrust my staff towards him and lightning shot out. The lightning hit a barrier and scattered gouging the land. He pointed his staff at me again and shot his own lightning. Instead of my one branch his conjured an array of strikes that tore around me. A stray branch managed to hit me in the chest and knocked me from my cloud, if I was as strong as I was letting on that would have been enough to end me.
"You're better than I thought, but after expending so much mana to escape, it seems you are quite helpless." Heafest goaded standing a fair distance away.
"Well I have to say, you're disappointing me so far." I stood back up and brushed off the loose dust clinging to my clothes. His eyes twitched.
"You truly have gone insane to mock me now instead of begging for your life."
"Why would I beg? This amount of magic could be expected from a mediocre magician at best."
"You," he frowned in anger, "fine I shall fight you seriously. Grovel for forgiveness as you witness the power of Elsbeth's head court magician." He struck the ground with his staff, rope made from light tied me in place. It was certainly tough but it wasn't like I was trying to break it. Instead I watched expectantly trying to withhold the grin threatening to split my lips. With grandeur he raised his staff above his head and I felt an enormous amount of mana gather. "Hear my plea the world of lore. Strike earth upon the fallen. Strike fear in their hearts. Hear me as I call. Falling moon."
Oh wow. I looked up and in the sky. He had conjured a ten meter diameter meteor. It was far up there and came hurtling down, gathering speed very quickly.
"Now's your chance to beg Davios."
I smiled but said nothing as the meteor crashed down upon me. The earth beneath my feet fell apart as my barrier held it back. I began to laugh as the ground sunk and the mass of rock tried to crush me. The pressure was incredible. Even my Generals would be pressed to block the mass of rock. Still, it was nowhere near enough. Compared to the training I had been put through, this was child's play.
The meteor finally stopped and vanished into left over mana, leaving me still standing at the bottom of a very large crater.
"Impossible," Heafest spat in surprise to see me still alive.
I was still laughing, "I'm really really impressed." I began walking out of the crater, "To summon a meteor. That amount of power was far beyond what I thought you were capable of. I really did underestimate you."
"How were you able to withstand that?"
"It's because I'm stronger than you," I said with smile edging along insanity.
"Break!" he sent a spell towards me and the staff in my hands shattered into wasted wood, leaving a small jewel in the dirt.
"Ah… well I didn't need that anyway."
"Barrage of the Gods!" Heafest was still trying. Spears appeared behind him and shot towards me in an unending stream. They must have numbered in the hundreds but they all deflected off my barrier as I slowly walked closer to him. Ten meters apart the barrage ended, "How, even after defending the meteor. This strength, who are you?"
"A magician. A wandering adventurer. A man playing Hero. I am many things."
"I'll put you down now!" His staff began to glow blue and became encased in light. To think he still had a trump card. He fired it towards me. An earth rendering shatter resounded and energy spat across the field. The staff froze a foot from my head, caught inside my barrier.
I laughed again, "Amazing. To think Elsbeth had a magician that was this strong! Congratulations you pierced ten layers." I clapped, "Though that seems like your strongest technique. Maybe if there were ten of you, I'd be in a slight pinch."
"Who are you? Answer me!" His expression was glorious. From having been so confident to be reduced to tatters yet still he held himself high, determined to succeed.
"Me? I'm the god damn Demon Lord." I grinned and he believed me. His staff fell to the ground and I kicked it towards him. "You'll need that." He picked it up shaking. "Now let me show you what a real meteor looks like." I pulled the mana inside me and clicked my fingers. Heafest's eye were locked on to the looming mass above.
"Dear God…."
It was the span of one hundred meters. There was no way he could escape. And then with a smile on my face it crashed to the earth. My vision was filled with flashes of light and darkness as I stood near the epicentre but safe from harm. Halfway through the collision I had to hijack the reality plane in case it broke.
The result was chaos. A crater the size of a small town and at the very centre a single man flattened crumpled and defeated. I hovered over to him.
"Truly exceptional that you're still alive." He wouldn't be for long however. His mana was all spent and the injuries he had were fatal. Without immediate aid he'd die within a minute, "Lucky for you, you're worth more to me alive." I picked up his body and healed him to a sufficient extent. The reality plane collapsed and with that it was like nothing had happened. Now what would my excuse to the Heroes be?