With a loud roar, the giant centaur breathed its last. Its massive body combined with the massive metallic armor set made a thunderous bang as they made acquaintance with the hard stone floor. With the final guardian fallen, Lio’s party heaved a long sigh in relief. The only obstacle that stood between them and the demon lord was the imposing set of metal doors two stories tall.

Unfortunately, the fighting had taken a toll on everyone. Lio’s armor was damaged enough to look like scrap metal, the mage only had a few mana bottles left, the archer was nearly out of arrows, etc. Everyone looked like they went through hell and back, in a sense, however, they really did. The demon king’s castle wasn’t just for show, the moment they broke through the front door was when hell itself unleashed its fury.

Hell’s mercenaries hired by the demon forces poured through the fiery gates and charged towards the well prepared yet ridiculously outnumbered hero party. Fortunately, the capable mage opened her own heavenly portals to summon angelic beings to fight along their side. Due to the human kingdoms having stronger economic support, the heavenly portals managed to remain open longer and provide stronger troops. But the extra firepower could only help so much as they advanced further and further into the castle, facing exponentially stronger troops. The centaur they faced earlier was the last of the demon king’s most elite guards.

Lio’s party decided to take a quick break to catch their breaths. They settled down, started a campfire, and began roasting marshmallows. They started to recount their heroic days, laughing at memories they would rather forget, making amends, and generally having fun, knowing well that once they enter the ominous door, some of them may not make it back out.

“Lio here probably has nothing to worry about with all the cheats up his sleeve.” One member nudged his shoulder jokingly.

“ Oh come on, you know that I’ll do everything to protect you guys.” Lio nudged back.

“Yea yea yea, you can stop boasting now Mr. Hero.” The mage grinned.

The campfire party raged on throughout the night.

The party woke suddenly to the sound of speaker magic.

“Rise and shine, humans. Can we please just have the final dramatic battle and get this over with?” The demon king’s annoyed voice boomed throughout the castle, shooting chills down everyone’s spine.

They looked at each other in affirmation, stood up, and shook the drowsiness off their minds.

The giant metallic doors slowly creaked open, revealing the powerful being sitting on his golden throne.

“I have been expecting you. Oh, humans, you have ravaged my countryside, killed my brethren, and now you seek my death as an end to this meaningless war.”

“Hey, don’t say it as if demons are blameless. It takes two to start a war you know.” The mage shot back while gritting her teeth. Everyone at the party had had many of their loved ones lost in the bloody war.

“Let’s not waste more breath on words and begin our final battle.” The demon king roared.

Both sides began to get ready for battle. The imposing demon king turned on the complex magical runes on his armor to boost his combat power, the image applied countless buffs to the party, the archer readied his arrow, and Lio just stood there watching everyone getting riled up with a raised eyebrow.

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“Wait, so we’re just gonna battle it out to the death?”

Both sides paused their dramatic battle openings and stared at him.

“A battle to the death has always been the final deciding factor in major wars between humans and demons. In the first Great War, the humans lost, and the demon party took off the king’s head as a proof of the winner, this battle shall not be any different.” The demon king spoke calmly.

“Is there no alternatives? Because I can see so many ways this can, and had gone wrong. Suppose that the great Demon King, the great leader of all the demon kingdoms, get killed in a final dramatic confrontational battle with the human and lost amiably.

What happens to your people, will they just put down their arms and give up the war? Or will they pick up their weapons and continue fighting to the end? Think about what you’re doing for just a little.”

“What are you getting at, boy?” The demon’s imposing voice boomed even louder in annoyance.

“Do you want what is best for your people? Because right now if you die, I can only see more bloody battles until your people are too weak to fight back, costing even more precious lives from both sides. And even when us humans win the war in the end, the hatred of humans will always remain as our kind massacre your people, take their land, and burn their homes. And in the future, more Great Wars such as this one will ignite from the building hatred between our people. Do you really want to perpetuate such a brutal tradition?”

Silence permeated the room as both sides pondered Lio’s words.

“Are you suggesting that we negotiate?” The demon king probed.

“Yes.

“What do I have to bring to the table?” He laughed dryly. “When you kill me, you can get access to all of my wealth, my land, and my people nonetheless.”

“Right now your cooperation is crucial to help reduce further loss of demon and human lives. If you publicly admit your defeat and negotiate reasonable surrender terms, other demon leaders will more than likely stand down and we all can avoid more deadly conflicts.”

“That sounds reasonable, alright, I agree. Let’s start the negotiation.” The demon king nodded vigorously.

“Wait, you don’t have any objections?” Gaped Lio, “Weren’t you itching for a fight just now?”

“I had the same intention as you, my boy. It’s just that I’m not really the talkative type, I am well aware of the benefits of a good negotiation. I simply wanted to defeat you all before I offer a negotiation request so that I at least have the upper hand. You see, they didn’t hire me as the demon king because of my leadership skills, they hired me because I can beat the crap out of their problems.” He shrugged. “But now that you already offered first, then I have no reason to refuse. I have all the demon generals on the line, and we can open the talks whenever you’re ready.”

Lio and the rest of his gang wanted to facepalm. If you wanted to negotiate then just begin with it, risking everyone’s lives just so you can save face is such a dick move.

With negotiations well underway, Lio was free of combat duties and wandered around inside the thick forest outside the demon king’s castle.

He took a deep breath, enjoying the misty scent of the damp forest, listening to the cackling songs of demonic birds, and hearing the crunchy noises his boots made when he stepped on the thick layer of crimson leaves. The atmosphere was so demonically refreshing that he doubted there was any brutal war in the first place.

He recalled the faded faces of his family and friends back on Earth and a pang of disappointment tugged at his heart. There was no way for him to return to Earth, the summoning ritual was an unwanted one-way ticket that he was unfortunate enough to win.

He shook his head to clear the sadness. He was a hero who has defeated the demon army and brought peace to both demons and humans. His life from then on will be one of pleasure, wealth, and prestige. Might as well enjoy it, I guess.

Then he slipped on an innocent slime just milling about in its own business, slapped his head on a sharp rock, and died due to his accumulated injuries.