A spark of electricity strikes against a tree, followed by the crashing roar of thunder in the distance.

Boom!

As the roar echoes throughout the encampment, the King's troop remain still. 

"It's starting to rain." said one of the King's knight as he looked up at the clouded skies. 

Luckily, the helmet he wore blocked the rain from coming into his view. The knight recalled how just a few moments ago, the skies were a beautiful blue color just like the sea. Now, however, the shade of blue was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it had been replaced by a sinister looking color -- one that you might see when you think the world is coming to an end.

"Shhh! Quiet." said the older knight. "Don't let mother nature become a distraction. You need to stay focus."

"Yes, sir!" exclaimed the young knight.

As the two knights continued to stand in their position, the rain only became heavier and heavier.

And suddenly...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Multiple streaks of lightning strikes against the trees surrounding them. The King's troop begins to scatter like ants as each of the surrounding trees fell precisely into their encampment.

"W-we're under attack!" yelled one of the knights.

Panic slowly begins to set in as the young knight nervously shakes.

Initially, when the King had ordered for them to be stationed by rear gate entrance leading to the only path towards the Luminas Mines, he thought it would just be a normal guard duty to prevent people from entering due to monster activities. It was only after they had arrived at the scene that the young knight knew he gravely was mistaken. 

Multiple knights cladded in different armors whilst bearing a crest of nobility along with others who bore a crest which represented a different country were all stationed in a single place. 

Although the young lad was naïve, he wasn't completely stupid. Even he could understand that the unity between the knights of the different kingdoms all gathered here today for one sole purpose... and that purpose is to unite against a foe so powerful that it could threatened to extinguish the stability of the world.

Suddenly, a loud voice yelled out and snapped him back into reality.

"Stand your ground and get back into formation!" commanded the older knight. "Do you guys truly think that cowering away will prevent the enemy from moving forward!? Is the King's army so weak that we tremble in fear at just the sight of mere sparks!? Now, hurry up and get back to your li-"

However, this time it was the older knight who became distracted. In the middle of giving his command, he noticed that in the left corner of his eye the young knight was shaking uncontrollably. 

"H-h-he's..." the young knight quivered as he slowly pointed in the direction of the forest.

As the older knight turns to look, the younger knight's panic sets in.

"HE'S HERE!!!" exclaimed the young knight.

As everyone else turned to look in the direction where the knight had pointed, all they could see was nothing but darkness.

'Was it nothing but just a farce?' they all thought.

However it was then when sparks of electricity struck in the skies once again that allowed light to swiftly shimmer upon the deepest parts of the forest, followed by the crashing roar of thunder, only this time it was much more sinister than before.

BOOM!

From the far distance, in the darkest shades of the trees, stood the silhouette of a man... no... a 'being' that had far surpassed the realm of mankind. 

As this 'being' steps away from the shadows, the knights all tremble in fear. 

Why?

Well, the reason for their collective reaction was simple. The sole entity who was making their way towards them perfectly matches the scary tale that was once told in their childhood.

As the tale goes, 'The Demon King rules the depths of the underworld, and in it, are his four loyal servants that each had been given a title. If you come across any of them, be sure to run away, hide and remain quiet or else the Demon Lords will come find you and eat you.... however...'

In each and every story, there is always entity set in place that exists to defy the moral boundaries set by god.

'If you have already hidden away in a safe spot, but still hear the sound of something heavy being dragged against the floor; pray. Of the four Demon Lords to exist, there is one in particular who was the cruelest of them all. Those who tried to hide from him will burn away in a painful death as he gazes upon you with his bloodshed eyes. If you try to run away, he will sever your legs with his demonic blade from the distance as you suffer from an excruciating death. And if you pray, as his heavy footsteps approaches you, the best thing that he will do to you is swiftly put an end to your suffering, erasing your existence from the face of this world.'

That was who the Demon Lord of Pride was.

BOOM!

The skies roar again as another flash of lightning envelops the area, this time, showcasing the identity of their foe much more clearly.

"IT'S THE DEMON LORD OF PRIDE!" yelled out the young knight.

The heavy footsteps, followed by the screeching sound in the air as the entity drags its weapon across the muddied floor, rang loudly even while in the midst of the heavy rain.

Skkkerch. Skkkerch. Skkkerch.

While some of the knights trembled at the sight of their opponent, there were also those who were brave enough to continue forward.

"Listen up!" commanded the older knight. "Today, we will fight until the death! Under no circumstances should anyone allow this vile beast make it past us today! Do you hear!?"

"Sir, yes, sir!!!" 

"Mages, attack!!!"

An army of over a hundred mages who remained on the top of the gate all consecutively began to focus on chanting the same spell. With their combined effort, an enormous amount of residual energy spiraled towards the center of the gate. As it continued to grow larger, the energy began to combust, emitting a large kinetic heat wave inciting its will to burn anything in its path to a crisp.

Ignisera!

With the combined efforts of all the mages, the powerful magical energy blast towards the demonic entity.

KA-BOOM!

Upon collision, a powerful explosion erupted in the far distance. Their attack had succeeded.

"I-is it over?" questioned one of the knights.

Every single one of the knights who stood on the battlefield held their breathes. An entity that rivals the presence of a god had made their appearance, and yet they had just attacked it.

"Tell me the status of the situation!" exclaimed the older knight.

"I-it's unknown, sir! We are unable to determine if the beast is still alive or not, sir! The smoke is blocking our view!" radioed one of the knights stationed from a high view point.

However, soon their questions were answered.

Skkkerch. Skkkerch. Skkkerch.

A familiar sound of a blade being dragged across the muddy floor echoes into their hearts.

The knights were at a lost for words when it came to the sight upon them. The sea of flames continued to spread, engulfing and disintegrating the trees in the surrounding area after the formidable attack, yet the rain became even heavier than before. 

All of the knights froze in terror. 

Even though the entity was so far away in the distance, its deep, demonic voice crept into the crevices of the army, sending chills down their spine.

"Foolish humans." the entity spoke, and as it did, the knights can feel the ground tremble. "The first strike was the first signal at your impending doom. While the second strikes served as a warning to not stand in the way."

As the demonic entity emerges from the smoke its face bore nothing but a skull, yet its eyes still emitted a deathly stare upon the army. As its body fully escapes from the grasp of the smoke, the knights could clearly see that the demonic entity now possess a face. 

In fact, its face resembles that of a human.

"He regenerated!? From that kind of attack!?" another knight exclaims in disbelief. 

The older knight who had been giving the commands began to take a few steps back. He could feel his entire view of the world breaking just from being in its presence.

The voice continued to speak in their mind.

"The third strike was that you should've ran for your lives when you saw me."

"Y-you wretched demon!" the older knight yelled out. "Quickly! Send out the next atta-!"

However, he found it difficult to finish the last part of his command. For some reason, his vision had darken. It was like the world itself had been consumed by an infinite amount of darkness, yet it made no sense. But as he struggled to come to his senses, the voice spoke in his head once again.

Ultimas Devoureas

'Ah.' as his consciousness was slowly beginning to fade, he finally realized what was happening. 'So it was pointless after all.' he thought. Soon after, the only thing left for the older knight was to embrace death itself.

Over one thousand. With just a swing from its sword, the demonic entity had decimated over one thousand people.

"Aaahhh!" screamed out the knights who remained. "Forget this! I'm getting out of here!"

In a collective group, the remaining knights unanimously agreed with that decision and took off.

Ah, yes. The psychological reaction of a human being. 

When faced with the decision of life or death, the human body will activate a response that enables them to either fight against their destiny, or flee from their impending doom. 

And like the little rats they are, those who try to flee their fate scatter in different directions.

Unfortunately for them, their fates were sealed the moment the Demon Lord of Pride had appeared.

Just like how the tales had told, their vision of the world began to twist. Some were met with dirt in their eyes, while others saw multiple legs flying up midair before disintegrating... no... more accurately, minced into tiny pieces.

And not too long after, their remaining limbs met the same fate. With each swing that the Demon Lord struck, flew an arm belonging to a person who was missing their legs. 

Cries of tear and agony filled heavy air, and not too long after came silence.

Total annihilation. 

It was the only description way the young knight could describe the situation he was in... and now he was the only one left. 

'How could this happen?' the young knight thought to himself. 'There were over a thousand of us that gathered from all over the world here today... yet... and yet...!'

The young man was unable to finish his thoughts. The same sound that haunted everyone else who were here mere moments ago continued to play.

Skkkerch. Skkkerch. Skkkerch.

The young man observes in terror as the entity makes its way across the blood drenched field. No matter how much the rain tried to wash away the pool of blood, the field seemed to have only flooded. Yet, even in the midst of the rain, he young lad could clearly see it.

The face that entity wore was that of a young human male, yet its body was fully cladded in thick black scales. Wings, about the size of a dragon's, protruded from its back, yet the entity's lower half seemed more similar to that of a minotaur. And more so... that 'thing' that had incited fear into the hearts of many men today could clearly be seen.

As the demon grew closer and closer, a long, thick black scaled tail was made apparent. It seemed like a part that came from the same race as a reptilian.

Now, there was only one thing left that came to his mind.

Pray.

The Demon Lord of Pride came to an abrupt halt.

There was only one knight left that remained on the field, yet instead of cowering away in fear for his life, or attempting to foolishly run away, the knight chose to pray.

An act of mercy was the kind of thing a person would give to their opponents who have surrendered. However, mercy can come in various ways.

Some may choose to let their foe live to strike again another day, while others may strive to find a way to achieve peace in both parties.

And for the Demon Lord of Pride, the final act of mercy was his most delectable meal.

Yes, he could almost taste it. 

Nothing is more delicious than a prey who had submitted itself in the face of its predator. 

As the young knight continued, a small shadow looms over his body. Even though his eyes were closed, he could still see the differences between the different shades of darkness. His body grew heavy, like there was a sudden weight that had been added on top of him and he could feel his body was sinking into the bloodied ground.

Yet he kept praying. 

In this short life that he lived, there were many experiences that he got to live through. The world had changed ever since the threat of the demons had been made apparent. As a child, he recalled a time in his life where he saw the faces of the five people in the distance who were destined to become heroes. Yes, they were suppose to be the ones who stood in the pinnacle of society as the frontlines against the demons.

…but because of a series of unfortunate events, one of the five heroes met a tragic end.

Darkness continued to envelope itself across the young lad's body as the heavy weight slowly crushes his body. The sharp, excruciating pain of feeling his bones being crushed forced him to open his eyes for just a brief moment. 

That was when he saw it.

"W-why? Why do you have that face!?" he exclaimed. 

With the entity now closer than ever, he finally realized who the face belonged to. It was none other than that same hero who met a tragic fate.

Again, the young knight screamed.

"Tell me! Why do you have his face!?" his voice shook underneath the pressure.

The Demon Lord of Pride dismisses the foolish lad's outburst. 

His meal was about to be complete, so there was no need to keep playing around with his food.

As he wills it, the darkness obeyed his command and instantly consumed the young knight's body.

The young knight could no longer see anything. He could feel that his body sinking deeper into the pits of hell. 

'Well... it looks like this is the end.' he thought to himself.

In the final moments of his life, the young lad prays once again.

And that was when a miracle happened.

In the midst of the darkness that surrounds him, came a light which shines in the distance.

Although the light was but a small orb at first, it quickly grew brighter and purged away the darkness around him.

At first, the young knight couldn't open his eyes, but soon after the light dissipated. 

"I-I'm alive?" he questioned.

He couldn't believe it. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out how he was able to escape the depths of hell... or at least that was what he thought.

"Are you alright?" a soft, yet strong voice calls out to him.

When the young knight looked up, there were four figures, enveloped in light standing before. 

'Yes... it's them.' he thought to himself.

The four heroes now come face to face against the Demon Lord of Pride.