Dark lords were a dime a dozen; few lived long on the frontier, the badlands, or civilized territory. When a dark lord forms their lord stone, the counterforce awakens a hero to defeat them. No sane man would blaspheme and take a monster girl to bed unless they had no choice. Sane men cut their throats instead of joining the eternal conflict. Hanzel, the dark lord of gnolls, gripped the talisman hanging from his neck by a silver chain. A blackened, mummified child's hand clutched his lord stone.
Five years ago, he remembered running from a burning hut in the snow clutching his sister's hand. She had saved him and broken the witch's spell. While the witch suffered the consequences, they ran through the snow under the moonless night while wolves nipped at their heels. They could only let the wolves drive them deeper into the woods.
"Don't worry, children, I will save you. What else is a mother for?" The witch said.
A chill colder than the harsh winter wind fell down his spine. Hansel heard the wolves die one by one until all he could hear was his breathing and his sister's.
"Did you think I wouldn't catch you, children?" The witch's voice whistled on the wind and froze his blood. Between one breath and the next, it felt like he would freeze and die on the spot. "Running away was a bad move. You will be punished." The witch said.
He heard his sister shriek but kept running, clutching her hand. The witch cackled behind him as he ran further into the woods. He prayed to lord Vulcan that a hero would come. Then, when his sister's hand went cold, he turned his head to see.
The whole time he had held only her hand. Frozen blood covered the end of it. He was left alone in the howling winds, lost in the woods. Hansel's sister was gone leaving him alone in the world. Only the village where his father and stepmother lived remained. He couldn't go back; this winter was harsher than before. Hansel and his sister Gretal were sent out into the woods to die. He knew it but tried to keep it from his sister.
Hansel clutched her hand and hid in the hollowed-out stump of a log to get out of the wind. The boy clutched his sister's hand while he shivered in the cold. His village had thrown him away, and the witch made him truly alone.
It was wandering the woods, lost and alone, that led him to Shinzi. Two years after meeting his best girl, he attacked his home village and sacrificed the people to make his black lord stone. He became a dark lord in full from the ashes of their sacrificial pyres.
He didn't have the strength to put his father on the pyre. "What did you do to your sister?" His father asked.
Shenzi, his best girl, grabbed the man who threw them out to starve and tossed him on the fire. It was his sacrifice that built the foundation of his lord stone. That was when he gained the power of will and his first spell.
Bang!
His thoughts returned to the present as his subordinates died. With every crack of thunder, someone he relied on died. Then one of the rounds hit him. His will stopped a flat metal lump from ripping into him.
Hansel froze when he saw the lump fall and stared at the weapon in the man's hand. Then, through his will, his sight pierced the darkness and saw the aspirant. It was dangerous to spread his control thin not only for his opponent but for Hansel as well. Once the parasites reached a certain population limit, his tier 2 spell control pestilence would fail. He didn't dare get angry; an angry commander made mistakes.
Noises like the crack of thunder filled the cavern. Each shot took out a gnoll Hansel had lain with and loved. Jasari died from a shot through her neck, killing her and the parasite he would have controlled. There was nothing he could do except wield his will like a shield. Another shot impacted his will, breaking against it. Hasel focused on his dream to revive his sister; it empowered him stronger than whatever weapon the aspirant lucked upon. He didn't sense the presence of another lord stone in the area.
"My lord, we have lost the momentum. Now it the time to call a retreat." Shenzi chuckled. "We're fighting over bones; all I see on the roof are goblins."
"I want that weapon. If I had it, then fortifications like this would be a thing of the past." Hansel said.
A crash alerted him to the aspirant's charge. The long-range weapon was put away. He freed a long sword and cut down the infected and living alike. Hansel sensed no will, only an overbearing strength. Blood splashed on the stone path under the torchlight from the fort. The aspirant looked less like a man and more like a monster with swords instead of limbs.
"You are the promising heir to my father, Ur, not this beast. So fight for the sake of advancement and let the goblins become fodder for your advancement." Liara said.
Hansel didn't know about the dark elf; she arrived a few months ago with big promises. Her people made descent scouts and were able to find other groups in the cave system quickly. Thus far, she had found a blue and red lord stone user, and he managed to take out their patrols and use the survivors as sacrifices. While his army hadn't grown much, he had reached the second tier. With Liara's help, he gained the parasite from Ur. She praised him for walking a similar path to her father, but it felt like he had instead stepped off his own. The control spell he gained felt off. His lord stone ran hot when he used it.
So, what was he going to do? The underground war for a fallen dark lord's territory was beneath him. Let the others pick over bones. His goal was always to fight the witches. So, what was he doing in an unfamiliar land battling goblins for their fort? He already had the gnoll tribe; his next step was to gather more allies and strengthen his base.
"You aren't planning to retreat after I made my way here, are you?" Their distance was only 20m, and Shinzi growled while her warriors spread out into a defensive formation. "You best call off your ladies. I would hate to ruin more of the assets I hope to absorb." The aspirant said.
"My girls would rather die than be used to craft your lord stone." His girls stomped their feet and took up fighting stances. Their spotted fur bristled, and their yellow eyes glowed. "You're foolish if you think charging at me will help you. I am Hansel, the destroyer of Vul village, the dark lord of gnolls, and the bane of witches." Hansel yelled.
"I am Silas, the nobody that is going to kill you. I would give you a moment to pray to any god that might listen, but being a dark lord, they aren't inclined." Silas whispered something in a language Hansel couldn't understand, and then the blood of all the dead rose and gathered in front of the man. "You aren't dealing with your average dark lord anymore." The aspirant said.
…
Blood soaked the handle of his rapier, causing it to slip uncomfortably in his hand. Silas couldn't see out of his left eye from a blood splatter, and some lucky lady managed a deep slice on his ribs. His ankle possibly had a hairline fracture from his initial jump, slowing him down further. Then there was the act he finished. He collected enough blood to reach the second tier and even had an image to use. Unfortunately, it would take more time than planned to fully form.
The misfortune curse had placed him on a timetable, and Silas used most of his time to farm blood or collect hentai points. He had enough for a high-tier roll but held it in reserve.
"You call yourself a dark lord but have no stone. Do you at least know why you fight? What great tragedy sparked your decision to throw away the succor of the gods?" Hansel said.
"I was raped twice by my wife. What drives you, a dead sister, an abusive mother, or did your father banish you to preserve family honor?" Silas watched the dark lord's face go from pity to outrage. The aspirant smiled, knowing he had won their initial duel. "I abandoned the gods because they didn't have my best interests in mind. Power is a goal but not the goal. I want revenge in the only way I know how, which is to become as free and happy as possible." Silas said.
The man looked disgruntled. A small dark aura gathered around him before it weakened, and a boulder flew at Silas. While the gnolls hesitated, Silas shot forward and stabbed with his rapier. The blade hit Hansel's barrier but failed to pierce. He was forced to step out of the way of the falling rock ripped from the boulder and turned into projectiles before one of the gnolls stabbed her spear at him.
His foot caught on a root. Silas used the guard of his rapier to parry the spear stab and punched the gnoll in her spotted hyena 8-pack abs. She fell back a few steps, and Silas rolled. Pieces of the boulder the guy grabbed rained down, shattering on the ground. When he nearly got out of range of the boulder, the gnolls stabbed at him. They were boxing him in and trying to tire him out. The jokes on them; he took hentai-grade libido boosters before the battle. He had at least 24 hours of methhead energy.
Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm 10% complete..
That message was a lifesaver. Blood essence spent to modify his physical abilities instead of flat-out increasing them would soon pay off. For once, he thought long-term. The same amount of blood essence would only double his current strength.
One of the gnolls swung down on him with a hammer. Silas tried to parry with his rapier, but it shattered. Then, he pulled night's end from his inventory and fired at her point-blank.
The gnoll's chest exploded, blasting her heart out of her back. Before Silas could turn the lever, a rock slammed down on his position. A spear came for his throat. Silas traded night's end for a new rapier and parried.
"Your technique is pathetic." A gnoll said before he dodged to the left at random. He saw a bolt pierce the gnoll's leather armor and get stuck in place. "How did you know?" The gnoll asked.
"Anytime someone speaks in a battle, they're either buying time or baiting you for a trap." Silas equipped his rifle and quickly pulled the lever before blocking a blow with his rapier. "Can you guess which one I'm doing?" Silas asked.
"You fell into my trap," Hansel said
Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm 20% complete..
Silas repeated the sutra and drew in the blood of the fallen, feeding his Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm a little more. The parasite infected had encircled him. He pulled a vial of refined vampire blood and chugged it down. The wounds that covered his body began healing. Silas would be immune to parasites and diseases for the next couple of hours.
He wanted to laugh. What other reason could he have to come out into the open and steal the show than to ease up tension on the gobline village? Hansel made a lot of assumptions by targeting him. For instance, speed.
Silas shot forward and jumped over the nearest parasite-controlled gnoll. While living, gnolls would have raised their spears and made him pay for it on the way down. Unfortunately, the parasites were slow and needed to be led by the nose. He noticed how shitty their control options and performance were when he sniped a few of them earlier. Jumping a little over 20ft was enough to bypass the encirclement.
Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm 35% complete..
He could feel the phantasm taking shape. The blood essence flowing through his body felt alive, and soon the second tier of the process would be complete. Silas pulled his rifle and killed another living gnoll before stabbing another through the chest with his rapier. He quickly whispered the sutra and collected the blood essence.
Those he drained came back as undead puppets with sluggish movements. Hansel's RTS game wasn't going too well. Micromanaging individual units must suck.
"I hope this isn't all the gnoll. I wanted to at least fuck a few. I'm not really a furry, but I can see the appeal. I like the spots." Hansel lost focus, and his boulder crashed into a wet stretch of the cave. The boulder was sucked into the ground. "Wow, you're having performance issues; that must be embarrassing," Silas said.
"Are you a paladin from one of the cities? How can you have a potion of healing?" Hansel said.
He wouldn't confirm or deny the man's shot in the dark. It would be better for Silas to let Hansel develop wild theories.
Silas stepped out of the way of yet another bolt and let it hit a living gnoll. Dark elf crossbows were loud even in the cave. He heard the sound before the bolt hit, giving him time to dodge. The other sounds of battle didn't distract him, thanks to his dull human ears. Having great hearing was a problem when sensory overload was factored in.
Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm 48% complete..
"That explains it; you have allies on their way; that's why you're stalling us." Hansel picked raised a horn from his side and blew it. "Shinzi call a retreat," Hansle said.
Silas crossed the distance the moment he knew who Hansel's second was. He turned the leaver on his rifle and fired. The gnoll's chest exploded, covering Hansel in her blood. Then to add insult to injury, Silas raised his hand and used his sutra.
Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm 52% complete..
Hansel placed the emaciated corpse of his second on the ground and stood up tall. "I'm alone now; the witches took my sister, but you took the woman I loved. Prepare to die." All the corpses on the battlefield glowed with soft blue flames. "Have you ever seen a dark lord's spell up close?"
Silas stepped out of the way of another bolt and laughed at the dark elf's cursing. "I have only one spell that I can truly call mine. Let me show you." A haunting song filled the air from the ground around him. Silas looked around and heard it coming from the bodies themselves. Blue flames rose from the bodies of the dead from both sides, and Hansel's black aura deepened until he was the darkness of the cave system himself.
He shot forward, pulled his rifle, and shot his remaining rounds before charging in with his rapier, but it was worse. When there had been some give before, it was a wall to him after Hansel's spell. Still, he drove forward as the tip of his blade turned red hot from the friction. The blade snapped off once it went white hot before a blast launched Silas away.
Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm 59% complete..
Hansel raised his hand, and various stalactites broke off from the high cave ceiling before blasting toward him. Silas dodged them while he ran for the monkey territory.
"Stay and face me, you cowardly paladin," Hasel said.
He dove to the side, but a stalactite still impaled his shoulder and knocked him to the ground. The aspirant bounced, bleeding everywhere until he came to a stop.
At that moment, Silas believed he may have made a mistake.
"Get up, you bastard paladin. I'm not done with you." He dodged, but his leg was grazed by a stalactite. "What's wrong? Does it hurt?" Hansel asked.
Silas clenched his teeth and choked down a scream. The grazing blow had cracked his femur. However, the refined vampire blood was already kicking in and healing him.
That's when Hansel appeared in a flash and stomped on Silas's leg. At that moment, he screamed and failed to hold it in.
Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm 65% complete..
"I'm going to make it hurt, and then I will kill all your paladin friends." He felt a force grab him. "No, first I'm going to make them watch as I rip you apart with my will, then they will suffer." Hansel took a step dragging him along. "Come on, don't drag your feet; you wanted to go this way, right," Hansel said.
Silas concluded the spell impaired Hansel's judgment. "You should kill him now and present a corpse to the paladin. That guy is slippery; if you give him time, he'll find a way out of your grasp." The dark elf took on a thinking pose. "Unless you make sure he can't even crawl away." The dark elf said.
"I like the way you think," Hansel said.
That was all the warning Silas got before he felt his other leg twist. Then, he felt his left femur snap. Silas couldn't think; all he could do was scream. His arms followed, leaving him a broken mess.
Sutra Demon Apocalypse Phantasm 67% complete..