----------------------------------------
Among the higher demons, Azahi was one who was well known. He, along with only 72 others, were personally chosen by the Archdevils to lead the Demon armies.
His legion, which consisted mostly of more beastly demons, had already ravaged many towns, and had slaughtered dozens of adventurers. He was proud of his underlings, even if they were incapable of higher thought.
“See how more efficient this is? We are already on our way to assured victory!” He boasted to his fellow chosen.
“I still think that your refusal to capture possible sources of information is a poor decision.” Krika chastised from his left.
Krika, who had received command of a veritable horde of lesser demons, had been adamant in his decision to take plenty of captives, both for information and for fun. Although his victories were slow, he had extracted priceless knowledge from the heads of dozens of captures. Combined with him having been the one to convert dark elves to their side, he was practically a living legend among the Dark One’s ranks. His most recent victory– taking complete control of a small town and capturing two adventurers who had escaped another general’s minions– was just another victory on his increasingly large roster.
“Finding ones who could possibly be useful is so difficult! Why not simply kill whoever we can get out hands on, and torture any who remain for whatever we need?” Azahi was not truly upset, he knew that aimless slaughter wasn’t exactly the most efficient form of warfare, but it was so fun!
Krika just sighed, something that had become common during such meetings, as the generals who could come close to him in intelligence were few and far between.
Azahi was having a great time.
----------------------------------------
Sou were not having a great time.
After arriving at the church, the town they had arrived in almost immediately came under attack by hordes of insectoid demons.
Adachi was in no condition to fight, and was practically falling asleep anyway– not to mention her lacking arms, which were beneficial, although not required, for spellcasting.
So Sou, currently one-armed, forced himself into the front lines, fighting what seemed to be an endless wave of demons. Some were large, some were small, some could fly, and some burst from the ground like nothing he had ever seen before.
When one tore his sword from his hand, he had to resort to punching. Then he felt a stinger enter his back, and he quickly started to tire.
No! He had to fight! For the town! For Adachi!
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
But no matter how many blows he threw, the horde did not cease, and eventually, his vision was consumed with the ugly shades of the demons.
And when he fell, he did not get back up.
----------------------------------------
Lucifer was doing fantastic.
He’ll be the first to admit that after his creation, he was a bit confused, although thankfully his wife– who scared just about everyone but him– helped him realize his mission.
What was this mission? Why the complete takeover of the universe of course! How did you not get that silly? It's not like it'd be hard, his demons breed and adapt so fast that they could overrun anything he sets them upon! Sure they weren't all that strong– or smart for that matter– but there were a lot of them!
Plus, his generals (picked mostly by Lilith) had been taking great victories recently. High and low ranking adventurers had been killed– or in the case of Krika captured– giving them more information, gear, land, and inspiration for future demons. Frankly he couldn’t wait to design them.
Even if this invasion failed, it's not like they couldn’t try again, and the best way to improve is to lose! For every invasion that is fought off, the demon legions get stronger, and the plans better.
He had even figured out how to grant immortality– which he obviously used to make the captured adventurers immortal so he could torture them forever– but also to get some of the mortal races that the Dark One made to be his immortal demon generals, and it was going great!
Esiyae– the first of the dark elves– had taken great joy in commanding her assigned legion of lesser demons to lay siege to the elven lands, almost as much as Aktom the orc had taken in destroying the town of adventurers that had he had been enslaved to prior to his escape and transformation into a demon general. Trin the goblin and Yur the skaven were enjoying laying out plans to take large swaths of the dwarven mountains, and even the Golem general, Ghun, was helping plan the siege of the human capital.
Most of the generals were pure demons of course, such as Meno, who was having great success in the north; and Spiriah, who was still sulking after his attempt to kill a band of high ranking adventurers had only resulted in one of them dying.
But still, if he didn’t have the ability to commune with the Dark One– who was known by different names depending on which of the dark races you asked– he was sure he wouldn’t be as confident.
He wasn’t aware of his creator’s full plan of course– only parts of it– but the fact that a loss wouldn’t matter did take quite a weight off his shoulders, as well as the shoulders of the generals.
Lucifer almost considered going to the Dark One’s chamber now, with its walls and roof that were too far away to see, and its minimal lighting, which shrouded the Dark One in, well, darkness. He couldn’t see the Dark One– even the eyes of the races that it had made couldn’t pierce that darkness– but he could see the glint of the light off of some of the chains that bound its form.
What the Dark One looked like– much like its name– depended greatly on which race you asked. The orcs believed it to be a great warrior clad in armor of stone, one that could fight even the stars. The goblins believed it to be the best of spies, who snuck its way into the universe from beyond, and forced its will upon reality. The skaven believed it to be the master of crafting, a being of fire and smoke who forged the dark races from shadow. The dark elves believed it to be a god unlike the others, who defied the order of the universe and was punished for it. The greater demons believed it nothing less than a living shadow, a shroud of darkness that covered the universe itself.
Whatever the Dark One was, it wrapped all who devoted themselves to it in a blanket of shadow, accepting all refugees, and shielding them from the blistering light of the Bright One.
They might not win this time, but they would win one day, for the one who had given them so much.
----------------------------------------