Amidst the unknown wilderness, a far cry land teemed with death and dark miasma, Ash have finally reached the last stretch of their journey to defeat the Demon King.
The place was devoid of any life, the air filled with anguish from the howling souls who drifted aimlessly in the air.
Standing atop a high cliff, Ash scanned the war-torn valley, his crimson pupil widened and shrunk every now and then. His long, and wavy red hair danced with the wind. He might look very young, but he was already in his late twenties. Thanks to his Flameheart's lineage which gave him the handsome and masculine trait.
Legend has it, the Flameheart clan was the direct descendants of the phoenix. But, it seems like the phoenix's blood in their veins has been thinning out over the generations.
"Finally! The Valley of Death!" Shouted the Hero from behind.
"We finally made it, Hiro-sama!" Said the cute mage beside the regal-looking young man, Lilanna.
Although Ash was the one who guided the hero's party to this point, Ash had never given enough credit for his efforts because of his weak constitution as a Beast Master, the weakest class amongst the party. He could only rely on his tamed beast as the guide during the journey.
"There, the Demon King's Castle should be under that vortex of miasma." Ash said, pointing at the distance.
Hiro shoved Ash to the side.
"Move! I want to see it!" Said the leader of this party. He didn't even look too exhausted from the restless journey. "Hah! So, this is Demon King's domain?! Too weak! I can end his evil reign this very night!"
The mage of this party, Lilliana, the Ice Princess whose heart melted by the prince charming, trudged closer and stood beside him.
She fell in love with Hiro. No, simping would be the best word to explain her whole situation due to the Hero's passive skill; [Harem King]. Of course, the Ice Princess didn't know about Hiro's debauched ability.
So, where are the other women, if you may ask? They're already dead, they sacrificed themselves for the sake of this Hero to reach this point out of blind love. They were dying with a silly happy face. But in all reality, they sacrificed their lives for nothing but vain. Thanks to this stupid, pushover Hero and his stupid number on his Aura.
"Hiro…" Said the Ice Princess. "Before we continue, let's take some rest and resupply our provisions. Also… This could be our last time to enjoy ourselves before the finale. Emm, so…"
Hiro pitched a small tent between his crotch, he knew exactly what she actually wanted.
"Let's move a bit further. This area is not that save for camping." Ash suggested.
"Sorry Mr. Guide, duty's call," Hiro said. Flicking the end of his golden hair to the side. "Prepare the tent. Me and Lilanna will take a bath first.
Ash couldn't help but to oblige since Hiro was his boss, literally. Thus, the tent was pitched in less than ten minutes.
The Crusader Knight, Sir Bolton, couldn't help but to shake his head. He opted to go somewhere quiet to pray to the Holy Sun as to regain his Power of Faith.
Meanwhile, Ash had a bad premonition about the journey. Everything was too easy from the beginning. He began to suspect the Demon King's army had devised an ambush at the end of the road.
"Ash!" Shouted the Hero before he entered the Magic Tent. "Watch the perimeter, don't let any creature approach my tent."
Ash grumbled dejectedly. Cursing under his breath. "Blimey! Seems like the gods were drunk when they chose this punk!"
"What did you say?!"
"Nothing, sir." Ash replied.
Notwithstanding Hiro's arrogance, Ash strode toward the tree lines. He deployed the bees that he kept inside a jar to patrol the area. Afterwards, Ash summoned his magical beast, Glowpaw, by deploying a Magical Beast Scroll on the ground. Soon, the black and small, dog-like beast emerged from the magic scroll.
Woof!
"Glowpaw, give me an alarm if there's strange movements from the woods, silently."
Woof!
Understanding Ash's order, the small dog beast's paws glowed in bluish hue, and thus, it disappeared into the thin air.
Heading back to the campsite, Ash was in utter disbelief by the time he saw Hiro and Lilanna were already at it inside the tent, drowning in love and lust.
Ash massaged his nose bridge. He then muttered under his breath. "At least, turn off the light first and cast concealment magic!"
Not wanting to disturb their routines, Ash opted to rest atop the tree branches, after tying the knots, he slipped into the hammock, muffled his ears with his fur hat. Perfect for dampening the amorous noise below him.
As the drowsiness began to swallow his senses, Ash began to see an image of his village and all the joyful memories before the Holy War engulfed the land in fire.
For once, the Demon Race and Human Race were in a peace treaty. Both sides were reluctant to invade each other's territory due to the status quo. However, everything changed when the Hero was summoned from another world called Earth.
Since then, humanity began to overpower the Demons and the balance was tipped. Ash's village was caught in crossfire, everything was swallowed by the inferno by the time he returned from the training ground.
If it wasn't for the money that he loaned to the Mercenary Guild to help his village to recuperate, Ash wouldn't want to tag along with Hiro. He hates to admit it but the world revolve around money, especially in this warring era.
"Welp, this world is doomed anyway. To be alive is already a blessing."
When he almost fell asleep, Glowpaw landed on his chest suddenly, waking him up from the half sleep state. The black dog whimpered in fear.
After reading Glowpaw's terrified face, Ash immediately jumped out of his hammock, standing firmly atop the tree.
Before long, a huge dark cloud formation spewed out from the miasma vortex in the sky.
"Impossible! Those are Demonized Wyverns!" Ash cursed. He gritted his teeth. "They are not supposed to be here. Unless…"
"Hiro! We have company! Hurry put your clothes on!" Ash shouted aloud while climbing down the three.
"For God's sake! I ain't cum yet!" Hiro furiously stormed out of the tent, only wearing a bed sheet to cover his lower half.
However, his face turned pale when he saw the sheer number of Demonized Wyverns in the sky.
"Oh, shit."
Second later, the Elder Dragon was summoned by none other than the Demon King himself!
Devilish laughter soon followed, echoed like thunder throughout the moonless night.
"Hahaha! Foolish hero. You think I would sit idle on my throne?!"