Davarious First Born Light of the Autumn Wind:
It was time to end this… well not really, even if we kicked the Miltis Empire out they still existed and it would take way longer to actually stop them completely. Regardless, the Miltis Empire would no longer exist in the High Continent after this day. I had done a terrible thing to the Heroes but they forgave me. It took some time but their kind words helped me realise the things that were important, the things I needed to do now. I had left the battle for far too long and now the Human Kingdoms had pressed against the Empire in a stalemate.
In total fighting power, the Empire had the advantage even excluding if they launched a Monster into the midst. And if they did send a Monster in, the armies of both sides would be wiped out hurting hundreds of thousands of innocents. The Miltis Empire would be able to gather reinforcements and attack us again while we were recovering, dragging the war longer and longer until finally we would concede. Yes, in other words the Human Kingdoms had fallen into their trap. Even Lisanna who was blinded by grief. They believed that they would never sacrifice all their soldiers, an Empire that heartless couldn't possibly exist, but it did. Now with the majority of our fighting potential in one place, they could be wiped out all at once.
The Empire's army began to move forward and leading them was their stupid, soon to be squished into the ground, Hero. From my view point in the sky I could see Lisanna rally her knights as the vanguard and behind her Telius marched Elsbeth's army. I landed in front of them causing a theatrically big earthquake as the ground shattered.
"Var-, Davarious you're here," Lisanna said in a hastily controlled tone.
"I apologize for being gone so long," I bowed lightly. "My people needed time to grieve."
Her expression saddened, "I… I understand."
Telius appeared from behind her, "Davios, my condolences for your loss."
I held up my hand, "Thank you for your words but due to my neglect, your armies have suffered and now we find ourselves in a bad situation."
"We may be outnumbered but our knights are stronger than theirs and for what we can't make up in strength our tactics will cover." He stood proudly.
"You're wrong," I shook my head, "The Empire plans to send the same Monster that killed my father here. Your forces are too concentrated, it would be a bloodbath."
Telius was confused, "Our reports say you defeated it."
"One," I replied. "There is no telling how many more they have and don't think they care about their own men. I have seen what they are capable of."
"Then what do we do?" he growled. "If we retreat now they'll be on us regardless."
"Pull back you're men and leave it to me," I smiled.
"You can't be serious, even you can't-,"
Lisanna held him back, "Commander Rafhound, I have been charged to lead this army. We'll do as he asks. Alert the other Commanders to take pattern C and prepare for infiltration."
"Your highness, with all due respect we can't trust him entirely. He's still the Demon Lord."
"Telius," I waited for him to face me, "I won't be alone on this, so please trust me."
He paused before sighing, "Fine I'll accept your Highness' command, however I would like the right to act upon my own accord if things go south."
Lisanna nodded, "Granted."
Telius rushed off and left the two of us alone. We were still in sight of the human army so we couldn't act too friendly.
"Lisanna I'm sorry for leaving you alone… I, I wasn't doing too well but I'm better now," I couldn't look her in the eyes.
"It hurt… and it still does, but knowing you're alright now… it's more than I need." Without warning she hugged me tightly.
"P-people are watching," I stammered.
"I don't care."
I hugged her back and as we let go her eyes were wet.
"Now just what is your plan?" she asked cheerily.
"I'm going to play with someone's ego then crush it into a billion pieces," I smiled back equally cheery and handed her a note.
"…." She sighed, "Just don't take it too far."
"Oh but I will," I frowned angrily and flew off to the centre of the battlefield. The Empire were several hundreds of metres away and had begun to do their final preparation. My target stood gallantly in front of them, smiling with a supreme over-confidence that sent chills down my spine as I imagined tearing it apart.
"Oi idiot Hero!" I called loudly, "Daisok something or whatever, come here."
It didn't take long for him to appear followed by a squadron of silver plated knights.
"So you're still alive," he scoffed. "What do you want? Begging for your life?"
"No stupid, I'm going to first ask nicely for you to leave." I cleared my throat, "Piss off."
His eye twitched, "Just who do you think you're talking to?"
"Hey clam down, remember how I kicked your arse before? You sure you want to go another round?"
"Ha! Back then I only showed you a portion of my strength." He flaunted his body, "I am nothing compared to before. Bathe yourself in the glory of the Hero's armour." It was gold… seriously who wore gold into battle… talk about narcissistic. He drew a long spear, "And behold the dragon fang spear, forged in the pits of the Hellmouth and given to me by the Emperor. Its power is much greater than the blade you stole form me." He waved it dramatically and the earth split apart. It was certainly something but I couldn't sense any disturbances in the mana around us.
"Right, right. Now listen, I rather not see so many people die today so how about we come to a deal. You fight me and I fight you. You're the strongest your side has to offer right?"
"Of course I am!" he answered indignantly.
"Good. So how about this, we fight and the winner takes it all."
"If I win this continent belongs to me?"
"Exactly, and if I win I'll have you all leave."
He scoffed, "As tempting as that may be, your lands are as good as mine already. There is no point in me fighting you."
I sighed, "Figures, I knew you were too afraid to fight me again. Should I call someone else? Maybe my little sister?"
"You cur, I'm not afraid. It's simply a waste of my time."
"Sure," I rolled my eyes and switched my gaze behind him, "Hey knight, yeah you. How about you fight me? You look more like a man than this coward here."
The idiot thrust his spear at me and shattered several of my barriers as a powerful blast tore the ground apart, "Fine, I accept. I'll show you your place once and for all."
"Of course you will," I laughed. "Heck I'll even give you a handicap. For the first part I'll stay right here." I planted my feet firmly to the ground.
"You really underestimate me," he was fuming.
"No, you overestimate yourself."
"That's it! All of you leave. This battle is mine." The knights left in a hurry as the idiot started to sprout immense waves of mana. "I'll crush you!"
"So have we started?" I asked nonchalantly and yawned.
"Of course we ha-," his words were cut off as a burst of force slapped him to the side. He recovered immediately but once more I slapped him with magic. At first he tried to speak but I slapped him again. It was just enough were it wouldn't hurt too much but he also couldn't ignore it. Eventually he raged and thrust his spear at me. The tip clashed against my barrier and shot upwards. I pulled back my hand and pushed it forward. A burst of concentrated fire shot out and exploded into his chest, lighting the world red.
He vanished into a swirl of fire and just as the flames faded, he appeared above me. His spear slammed directly on top of my head but a small concentrated barrier blocked it. I looked up,
"Is that really all you can do?"
"Argh!" he pushed himself away and landed behind me. Mana rushed around him and a brilliant light flared. The sky turned dark and a pillar of energy rushed down scorching the earth but left me unharmed. Without looking I waved my hand and the idiotic Hero flew in front of me as pillars of earth chased him. With him back in my sights I clicked my fingers. A distortion emerged upon him and in a panic he threw himself away as the area suddenly turned black. The earthen pillars however caught up to him and slammed him into the ground. He was only pinned for a second before he broke free.
Truly that armour of his was pretty damn good. It was on the level of the armour I had given the Heroes, although that armour had been thoroughly destroyed when we fought the Monster.
"How?" he coughed. "You weren't this powerful before."
"Well duh, I'm a magician before a fighter," I purposely jeered at him. "Without your sword I can use all the mana I want, like this." I waved my hand and several earth lances rushed towards him from the sky. He smashed them all apart before they could reach him.
"Damn it! I'll crush you. From now on I'm being serious!"
"…." This guy was a real pain.
His spear thrust forwards with more power than before. It shattered my barriers and skimmed my cheek as I lightly moved my head out of the way. Blue blood tainted the spear's tip.
I grinned evilly, "I guess we can start part two."
His arm jerked trying to bring the spear across my neck. I teleported behind him and tapped his back. A boost of fire erupted where I had touched sending him tumbling wildly. In a fit he dismissed the spell and turned to me,
"Stop playing around!"
"I'm not playing around. If anything you are," I smirked.
"That's it! You may be strong but your armies are not," he flew into the sky and began to gather immense amounts of mana. I just watched as a fluctuating myriad of colours formed around his outstretched hands. "Say goodbye!"
He fired it and it sailed into the distance, causing a ridiculously large explosion. The entire time I just looked at him coldly. People began screaming in pain and panic from the attack. Thousands would have died from that.
"You're really an idiot," I sighed. "Even attacking your own men."
"What?" he looked at me incredulously.
I clicked my fingers and the scenery began to shift, the two armies switched sides, "You were so worked up you couldn't even see through a simple illusion. Tut, tut, that's pretty much the first rule when fighting with magic."
"Y-you fiend!"
"Hey, you're the one who killed them all," my expression was stone cold. "Just because they're your men you feel pity? You and your Empire have murdered hundreds of thousands if not millions of innocent people to get what you want! That Monster? Just what do you think it's made of? Hopes and dreams? It's not just one life but thousands upon thousands condensed into a shell of death and madness." The anger I had been containing began to leak.
The worse thing was he didn't even look fazed. He just stared at me angrily. It wasn't the fact that he killed all those soldiers but the fact that I had tricked him. He really didn't care for their lives. His heart had rotted long ago, which made it all the easier to squish him like the bug he was.
"I will give you one last chance Daisuke Sato," I glowered at him, "Put down your weapon and leave this continent. Do not ever come here or hurt anyone again and I may just forgive you."
He laughed maniacally, "Why would I listen to you? You're nothing compared to me. I'm this world's Hero, everything belongs to me! Gold, women, power all it is mine. I'm not stealing anything, I'm just taking back what is rightfully mine."
I sighed. Inside I felt a slight pity for him, a very slight pity. He was insane. Even if the Empire had initiated it, I wonder how long before he would have done something unforgivable if he never came here. Most importantly I felt relieved. No more mercy.
My hand drew to my side and from the void my staff appeared. I clenched it firmly and let my mana wash into it as the wind began to run rampant.
"Crush the earth," I whispered to no one and in a powerful burst the idiot was forced to the ground as the area around him compressed.
"Mmmph!" he struggled against it and managed to get on one knee. I walked up to him and holding my staff like a bat swung at him full force. It collided with his chest and let out the pent up mana sending him skidding across the ground.
He barely managed to stand. His armour had been shattered, his spear was broken and his hair a mess of blood and dirt.
"I-I'm the Hero… The Hero always wins…." He staggered towards me, "You… you're just a Demon Lord. I've killed dozens of you so easily… why? How are you so powerful?"
"You're wrong," I stepped closer to him. "I'm no longer the Demon Lord. The moment my father died I had no right to stay as the Lord. As for why I'm strong?" I looked down at him. "Because we have to be. My family has been facing a threat far greater than you'll ever be. With each person we lose the title of Demon Lord is passed down along with all the pain and hope needed to become what we have to be. Someone like you wouldn't understand how much we suffered."
He's eyes opened wide, "If only I had my sword. Yes, that's right, if only I had my sword then you'd die. I'd be unstoppable." His wound began to heal. As expected of a 'Hero', incredibly hard to kill.
I reached into the void and threw the sword at his feet, "Take it."
"W-what? Why? You fool," he grabbed it with gusto. "Yes this is power!" His armour repaired itself and the even the traces of blood vanished. "What's this? You actually did use it? Haha! It was your 'father' right? He died, trying to use it! Idiot! You got what you deserve!"
I unclasped my mantle and dropped it the ground. My hair returned to being light blue and the black armour vanished as the horns upon my head receded. An orb of mana swam in my hands and as I ate it my muscles swelled.
"The reason I gave it back was so I could crush you all over again. Until you've paid for all you've done, I won't be satisfied."
"Just try it!" he laughed and prepared to charge at me but I was faster and had already punched his face into the earth.
"Get up," I kicked him off the ground. He righted himself and swung at me rapidly. I dodged each strike with barely any margin knowing it would infuriate him as his speed increased further and further. Just as the blade almost caught my skin I landed a blow to his arm numbing it, causing the sword to miss. His leg kicked up and caught me in the side. The blow rippled across my body but I simply weathered the pain, grabbed his leg and threw him in a wide circle.
A pair of wings sprouted from his back in golden light, stopping his momentum. I'm not sure what the point of them was considering he could already fly but I did feel that he had become somewhat stronger.
"Witness the divine power I have been blessed with by the Gods!" His wings spread out further in an almost blinding ego. I picked up a stone and threw it. With a nice thwack it smacked his head backwards. His eyes locked onto mine.
"Blah blah blah. I swear half the words from your mouth are me this, me that. Either fight me or lie down."
He laughed again, with even more force than before, "I just realised something, the way you are now you can't use magic can you? Which means…," he faced the human Kingdom armies, "the lives of your friends are mine!"
I frowned and rushed to intercept him. We were about the same speed but because I couldn't fly he'd make it before me… not that it really mattered. A blazing red light burst in front of him and Lisanna appeared sword in hand.
The idiot Hero managed to open his mouth just in time for her sword to swing into his chest. If it weren't for his armour he would have been cleaved in two. A powerful burst of energy flew into the air as he sailed away.
"Tch bastard is still alive," Lisanna spat, her hair blazing red.
"Don't worry I'll make sure he suffers a fate worse than death," I landed beside her and we watched the stupid Hero groan in pain.
Lisanna sheathed her sword, "You're smiling evilly again but I don't care, kick his arse. We're fine on our end."
"Good, I shouldn't be too much longer anyway," I casually walked to where the idiot was struggling to stand. Again his wounds and armour were repairing at a ridiculous rate. He really did have the so called Hero's divine protection. No matter how hard you tried, a Hero from the other world couldn't be killed. The laws of our world didn't work correctly against them, even the laws of death. However like I said before, he would wish they did.
"Are you done yet?" I asked coldly.
"Screw you! That's it! You're all done for, I don't care what the Emperor wants, this entire continent can go to hell!" he pulled out a bottle and threw it at the ground. A violet smoke rose. "And to make sure you really all die-," he took his sword in hand and sent wild amount of mana into the blade. It shone brightly and started to shake before exploding into nothing.
Four black coffins catapulted into the sky coming from the Country of Irons stronghold. They landed around us. All this time I just stared at him with a chilling exasperation.
"Just try fight them again. You'll all die like your fath-,"
I cut him off with a slap to the face, "You can shut up now."
The coffin doors flew open and one of them slammed into the idiot's side. He knocked it away furiously.
"I am never doing that again!" Alicia walked out from one of the coffins unsteadily. "Ugh I feel sick."
"Yeah… even for me that was a bit much," Carl tittered out of the one beside her.
"Haha that was fun!" Gary jumped out.
Finally Sayuri poked her head out and quickly scanned the area until her eyes landed on me, "Dave you're alright!"
"Of course I am," I scoffed.
"W-what's going on?" the idiotic Hero stepped back unsteadily. "Where are they? Where are my Monsters?!"
"They're dead," Gary happily replied.
"Impossible, you're not strong enough!"
"Normally no," Carl pointed his sword at him, "But they're surprisingly easy to kill when they're sleeping. Especially with these." He held a small charm up. The fool's eyes widened so I answered his confusion,
"I made them. Those Monsters don't have a core. Without a core a powerful enough ward is all that's needed to stop them regenerating." I grit my teeth. The actual solution was much more complicated but if I had only known it one week prior….
The idiot turned and ran but I was upon him before he could take his second step. My hand grasped his wrist and pulled it back. He yelped in pain as I had no intention to be gentle. I kicked my foot into the back of his knee forcing him to bend down and from my pocket I drew a chain, wrapping it around his hands and ankles.
"Let me go!" he commanded to deaf ears. "If you don't our armies will destroy you all. I'll make sure of it."
"But with what commanders?" I replied and clicked my fingers. They appeared one by one. The Knight Commanders of the Klerical Kingdom, Elsbeth, Rentolt and Allain. Ruby Montegra, Telius Drake Rafhound, Gilda Heart and Polton Drake Verenbell. In each of their hands were the Miltis Empire's commanders. Next appeared my Generals. All eight, and with them the remaining high ranking officers.
"Impossible," he really couldn't believe his eyes.
"Yeah, if you hadn't realised, me fighting you was just a big distraction for us to infiltrate your stronghold. The Heroes killed the Monsters, the others as you can see have left your army leaderless. In other words it's over."
"That's a lie!"
"It clearly isn't." We all stared at him until the reality had final sunk in. He began to struggle to break free but the chains refused to budge.
I took out my staff and stamped it into the ground. My body began to heat up releasing steam from my skin. The mana inside me flooded out and I felt incredibly weak but it was only for a moment as I took a deep breath and forced it back inside. I exhaled calmly and flexed my fingers, a small flame appeared on each one.
"You can use magic again?" Gary looked at me annoyed, "Damn talk about being over powered."
"Well I couldn't let it be my weakness forever," I wryly smiled before turning to the supposed Hero in front of me. For all his previous glory and confidence, right now he just looked like a weak coward. "As for you, it's time you say goodbye to our world." I tapped my staff to the earth and an array of magic lit up beneath him.
"What are you doing?" he asked in panic.
"Sending you back home," I replied. "This world doesn't need you. No, this world rejects you."
"You can't!" he screamed. "I-I'm the Hero. This world…."
"Does not belong to you," I finished for him.
"No!" he continued to struggle as we just stared at him with pitiless eyes. "Screw you! Screw everyone, all of you! You're all weak idiots! I swear I'll come back and when I do I'll murder you all, each and every one of you, even you fools who were captured. You're all useless! As long as I have magic I can do anything! Just you wait I'll come back and take everything you have from you. You're friends, those weak excuse for Heroes, I'll force them to watch you die and when you're dead know that I'll be taking care of those girls very intimat-,"
And that was enough of that. I stabbed his chest with the spear tip of my staff. The mana in his body began to fluctuate and he screamed in pain.
I leaned in close, "Hey idiot. The thing is I'd love to see you come back. Struggle and think about me in your own world. I want you to remember every day what I did to you and that you deserved to suffer for it and if you ever do came back, know I would gladly slap you back down all over again." I drained the mana in his body, "There's just one thing. You won't be using magic anymore. As I said, this world rejects and most importantly, I reject you."
"No you can't!" he screamed.
"I Davarious First Born Light of the Autumn Wind, son of Alexander Golden Mane of the Autumn Wind seal you! May mana never flow in your body again." The end of my staff began to glow and the gems that circled it began to spin rapidly. His eyes rolled back into his head and as he lost consciousness I pulled my staff from his body. "Goodbye."
I took a few steps back and watched his body sink into the white light beneath him.