I got a large ping on my modified [Detect People] enchant.

“A bit earlier than I expected,” I muttered as I looked at where my ritual showed as having seven days left to completion.

I pulled up the scrying array and looked at the ones that were in the direction I had felt the detection. Sure enough, a fleet of dozens of ships was on the way.

However, the second and third ping gave me pause.

I shifted focus to the southeast and, after that, to the north.

“Looks like Drydal and the United North are getting in on the action,” I stated. “Hmm. Didn’t account for that. I can’t hit three fleets, so I guess I just pick one…”

The decision was made by a mixture of coolheaded calculation, cost-benefit analysis, and eeny-meeny-miny-moe.

The ships from Gram won the honors.

“Show time,” I muttered. I started casting, even as I traced the needed outlines with powdered magicite. While the cast didn’t technically need to be a ritual, I didn’t think I would have the mana to cast it otherwise. Besides, I didn’t want to empty out my mana for no good reason when the enemy was that close.

The only downside was that it took so long to cast. However, given the boosted range of both my detection and spell, I had more than enough time to finish.

As the 6-hour-long cast neared its end, I spoke the chant.

“A [Fire Bolt] might have your name on it, and [Fireball] might be to whom it may concern, but I’m afraid for this missive, penned with magic, it’s even less personal.” I paused for one moment to finish aligning the mana. “Dear grid coordinates, it sucks to be you. [Arcane Barrage: Ignis Variation]!”

------

Dave, son of Dave, stood at the front of the lead ship. He had his eyes glued to the island. Heavy clouds and impending rain or not, he needed to be ready for-

“Unfortunately, standing at the bow and leaning forward won’t get us to the island any sooner. Though I often wish it did myself.”

Dave’s eyes widened as he spun to face the voice.

“[Admiral] James, sir!” Dave replied as he pounded his chest in salute.

The [Admiral] laughed and waved him off.

“At ease, soldier. You know as well as I do that I only have my rank because they didn’t know who else to throw an entire new military branch at,” [Admiral] James finished with another brief chuckle. “If anything, I should be the one saluting you. Last surviving member of the [Hero’s] party and our resident expert on demons and [Demon Lords].”

It was Dave’s turn to chuckle. “You give me far too much credit. Everyone knows that it’s the [Hero] who truly makes the party.”

[Admiral] James nodded. “You’ve got a point. Just a shame that pointy-eared duelist couldn’t take down the [Demon Lord].”

Dave’s sword almost appeared in his hand, but he stopped himself at the last second.

“Shalia was a true [Hero] with decades of service to Placeholder and all her people. Don’t ever say something like that again,” he said through grit teeth.

The [Admiral] winced. “You’re right, of course, I only meant-“

“[Admiral], something happened on the island!” one of the lookouts called out. “It was too fast to track with my spyglass!”

Son of a d… dwarf. Dave thought as he spun to face the island. His eyes were no better than anyone else’s at figuring out what could have caused the large breaks in the cloud cover directly above the island. However, his instincts were enough to figure that out.

“INCOMING SPELL ATTACK!” Dave, [Son of Dave] shouted. “HARD LEFT AND BRING OUT THE FLAME BARRIERS!”

With the sheer urgency in his voice, a few people jumped to follow his commands even though he was in no position to give them. Thankfully, [Admiral] James was quick on the uptake.

“All ships! Hard to port and activate flame barriers!” he bellowed into his communication artifact.

Then, everyone scrambled to obey the order.

The ships’ heading drifted to the left, and semi-transparent orange and red mana barriers flickered to life surrounding all the ships.

The latter of which was incredibly wasteful mana-wise, and Dave would be in hot water if he had called for it for nothing.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, he was vindicated.

Meteors of pure fire punched through the clouds and slammed into the flame barriers.

The barriers held through the first hit. They buckled under the second. But as the meteors kept coming, the barriers could only flicker and die, leaving the ships underneath vulnerable to the mercy of the cavalcade of [Siege Fireballs] that followed.

The lucky ships were the ones that the firestorm missed. Their crew only suffered from HP damage from the superheated water and steam tossed onboard as the [Demon Lord] seemed to have committed to boiling the very sea.

Most ships were not the lucky ones.

Dave watched in horror as one of the meteors slammed directly into the middle of the very ship he was on.

The mast, rigging, and deck immediately caught fire, and the poor crew near enough to the center were instantly immolated.

However, he wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than being on the edge of the spell, where several sailors survived and immediately jumped while flaming into the sea.

“Ice magic on the fire immediately!” [Admiral] James called out. “Everyone who is able, get buckets and-“

He was cut off as another meteor slammed into the back of the ship, rocking it and lighting yet another section on fire.

“Abandon ship!” the [Admiral] called out. “Everyone who can make it to shore under your own power, do so! Everyone else, to the lifeboats!”

Dave ran for the boats… not because he couldn’t swim, but because he was sure they would need help restoring order from the chaos that would ensue there.

He didn’t make it.

In fact, he didn’t even know what happened until he regained consciousness in the water.

Dave was shocked and disoriented and allowed himself a brief moment of panic as he thrashed around in the water.

Then, his training kicked in.

Calm yourself. Assess the situation. Act. He thought as he briefly closed his eyes. When they opened, he was ready.

He re-oriented himself and found his way to the surface. Then, he went around helping those who were struggling to stay afloat find pieces of what remained of their ship to await rescue.

And with that, there was some good news and some bad news.

The good news was that about a quarter of the ships from the fleet were still sea-worthy. That meant there was a chance of rescue, and they didn’t have to survive the long swim to shore.

The bad news was that some of the ships barely passed the mark for sea-worthy, and with the number of ships lowered by that amount, it would make for a cramped ride home.

Assuming enough of us make it out of this for that to matter. Dave thought cynically. He estimated that they had lost almost a quarter of their personnel… and they hadn’t gotten through any more than the [Demon Lord’s] opening shot.

However, as a [Son of Dave] and the only surviving member of the [Hero’s] party, he couldn’t let those feelings show on his face. He needed to remain positive about their chances… and that’s why he insisted on being in the first boat they would send to shore.

Boat meaning the small boats that they had to ferry troops to shore on, of course, because the ships had to weigh anchor a good distance out to ensure they didn’t run aground.

Either way, his “request” was granted, and he found himself rowing a cramped boat under the watch of a surly [Commander] Jarod.

“Keep it on the beat or you’ll spin us in circles,” he berated Dave for the umpteenth time, even though Dave was sure he wasn’t the one causing the issue.

Thankfully, he got a break when their squad’s [Scout] piped up.

“[Commander], I’m seeing something strange in my looking glass,” he stated. “They look like… Mithril pillars? With some tubes attached at the top?”

Dave swiveled his head around to look and… okay, that time the boat almost spinning in circles was his fault. He couldn’t help it that he was higher level and stronger than the others he was with.

With a growl in Dave’s direction, the [Commander] snatched up the looking glass.

“No idea what I’m looking at,” Jarod grumbled. “But they’re being guarded by an entire horde of daves, so they have to be something important. Everyone, keep your eyes and ears peeled.”

Dave did so as they rowed ever closer to shore. He snuck some peeks at oddities the [Scout] had mentioned. The closest one was a good distance from shore, but he could still make out the shining mithril pretty easily… and the other few that were not so shiny.

Black mithril. The [Son of Dave] identified it easily. That means the [Demon Lord] has been busy. They must be some type of trap… or enchanted item.

He thought about mentioning that to the others… but given the grim looks on everyone’s faces, he figured that they must have already figured that much out.

“Jeffries and Smith, get up front,” the [Commander] grunted. “You’re going on land first, shields out.”

“On it.”

“You got it.”

They replied as they shuffled past the others and pulled out their gargantuan tower shields.

… That nearly capsized the boat, but the rest of the squad manged to shift their weight to the back to compensate.

Similar orders seemed to have been relayed to all of the boats behind them as Dave watched other groups shifting around, pulling out their shields.

Meanwhile, now that they were closer, Dave swore that the mithril objects were moving… and that their heads seemed to be pointed at their squad.

However, they were nearly on land, and there was no turning back now. With a silent command through the [Commander’s] [Enhanced Party] perk, the entire party dismounted from the boat and charged through the water onto shore.

If there had been any question about what the mithril structures were, it was immediately put to rest as the barrels atop the closest one began moving. Its barrels rotated, and a [Fire Bolt] shot out.

The [Commander] called for the [Lineholders] to activate their shields’ flame barriers immediately through the party, but that didn’t matter.

The artifacts didn’t just shoot fire. The other artifacts joined in and [Ice Bolts], [Air Bolts], and [Earth Bolts] peppered the [Lineholders]. Their HP dropped precipitously, even with their enchanted gear designed to resist those elements.

And that was all in just a few seconds.

“[Commander], we can’t hold this!” Jeffries shouted. “We need to-“ His voice cut off with a grunt of pain as a clap of thunder came from the island.

Dave recognized a miniature version of the [Demon Lord’s] lightning spell when he saw one, and he knew that standard Gram tactics wouldn’t work here.

“Retreat!” Dave called as he sprinted up to the now-downed [Lineholder] duo and dragged them by the arm. “Back in the boat!”

The [Commander] tried to tell everyone to ignore the order via the party, but… it turned out that he was the next target. And he didn’t have as much HP as a [Lineholder].

A few bolt spells sent his way from half a dozen of the artifacts was all it took.

The bad news was that they lost their party lead and their [Enhanced Party] perk. The good news was that Dave’s hunch was correct, and the strange artifacts stopped attacking once they were back in the boat. The other good news was that the [Battle Medic] managed to get their [Lineholders] back up on their feet, and with some potions, they were almost fit to fight again.

However, Dave had an idea.

“Think you can hit those magic items from here?” Dave asked one of their squad’s [Wizards].

“Of course,” he snorted as he stood up in the boat… and nearly took the entire party into the water as it rocked.

After he steadied himself and got a few glares from everyone else, he muttered. “It’s made of mithril. Fire won’t do… How about this, then? Earth, rock my foes. [Earth Bolt]!” he cast as he pointed his staff at the closest artifact.

His aim flew true, and the bolt of rock headed straight for the block of mithril… only to suddenly be absorbed by a green barrier that appeared around it.

The [Wizard] tsked. “Of course, he would have an earth barrier around it. Well, let’s try the next then, shall we? Ice, freeze my foes. [Ice Bolt]!” he cast.

He was met with a similar result as a blue barrier briefly flashed.

The [Wizard] frowned. “I doubt that fire or air would have much of an impact, should we even be lucky enough that he didn’t include barriers for those as well.”

“But, four persistent barriers? The mana cost on that has to be absurd,” the other [Wizard] interjected. “If we keep hitting it, it should go down eventually.”

With that, they had two unsteady [Wizards] casting [Earth Bolts] and [Ice Bolts] at the nearest enemy artifact. And while everyone was certain that they were draining its mana, it seemed it won the war of attrition. The [Wizards] soon sat at 0 MP with the barrier still standing.

“I think we’re on the right track,” Dave said. “We’ll just have to go bigger. Think we can get the ships in range for a [Boulder Toss]?” he asked.

The [Wizards] looked at each other.

“Yeah, should work,” one stated, and the other nodded.

With that, the Gram army turned back around and headed to the ships. Their only awkward casualty for their failed assault being [Commander] Jarod.

Either way, with the situation explained to the [Admiral] and their only [General] left who was in command of the ground assault, it was quickly decided to pull the ships in closer for a [Boulder Toss].

“[General], I believe we can get two of the artifacts within the AOE if we target correctly,” one of the [Wizards] said as they prepared the ritual.

“Then do it,” the [General] replied gruffly. “We’re behind schedule and can’t have the knife-ears or barbarians beating us to the punch.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied.

“Speaking of our allies, have we warned them about the artifacts?” Dave asked the [General]. “A simple warning about the barriers, the spells they use, or-“

“We’ve kept them apprised of the situation,” the [General] grumbled. “The barbarians have already hit the beaches hard, though, and it was too late to retreat. It sounds like they made it through on sheer manpower.” He sighed. “Meanwhile, the knife-ears have been struggling to get their cavalry ashore with those System-cursed spellslingers targeting them. They’ve set up offshore and have had their mages plinking at the barriers, but I don’t know if we can expect any help from them.”

“Maybe we can flank the spellslingers blocking Dryadal after our mages punch through these?” Dave suggested.

The [General] nodded slowly. “Maybe. We’ll see how it goes. Dismissed.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The wait for the [Boulder Toss] to be ready was excruciating, but it eventually came. Everyone stood with bated breath as the lead caster finished off the spell.

“- [Boulder Toss]!” he shouted.

Dave wasn’t sure he would ever get over the sight of hurling what essentially amounted to an entire hill at their enemies. And he was in good company as everyone watched the giant rock crash home in a cloud of dust.

“Direct hit!” the lead shouted, and everyone cheered along… until the dust cloud cleared.

Silence reigned until one [Scout] finally pulled out his spyglass.

“B-both targets remain standing, [General],” he stammered.

“Son of a dave!” the [General] shouted as he pounded a fist on the nearby railing.

“Yes?” Dave replied out of reflex.

… He had long ago decided to make things awkward for anyone using that term as a swear by simply answering to it. He probably wouldn’t have made that choice here if his mind had been keeping up.

The [General] glared daggers at him.

“Any other bright ideas for us, [Son of Dave]?” he asked with a slightly mocking tone.

“If the barriers are that strong, perhaps we just need to hit it with physical damage?” Dave asked.

“Of course,” the [General] mocked. “We’ll attack those mithril constructs with arrows and crossbows. That will certainly work.”

Dave shrank back a bit. I suppose our ranged options are a bit limited, aren’t they? And it’s not like artifacts have an HP value…

“Actually, [General], we should be able to hit it with something a bit stronger,” a voice piped up. “We brought along some captured dwarven weapons, and while we’re not as proficient with it as they were, I think we should be able to land a hit or two from this distance.”

The [General] sighed. “Did you not see that we just attempted throwing a rock at those things? Throwing a different rock wouldn’t be more successful.”

The outspoken soldier looked nervously to his fellows, who gave him a brief nod.

“Actually, [General], we think it should. While the barriers have repelled [Boulder Toss] and its earth damage, we haven’t heard of a barrier for physical damage, so the stone throwers should still work.”

Dave and the [General] both gave the man a funny look.

“Wait,” Dave replied first. “You’re saying that [Boulder Toss] is earth damage, but a stone thrower throwing a big rock is physical damage?”

“Bludgeoning damage.” The man helpfully corrected.

“How, by the blue text, does that work?”

The man just shrugged. “Maybe because one is magical rock and the other is mundane? I don’t know for sure. I just know what the results of the testing were.” He cleared his throat. “And even if the stone throwers don’t work, perhaps the bolt throwers will. We even have some…lesser-used damage types available that the [Demon Lord] might not have prepared for.”

“It’s worth a shot,” the [General] sighed. “Ready the dwarven weapons. We need to take down those spellslingers as soon as possible.”

The [Soldiers] got to work, and the dwarven weapons were soon ready.

“Launch when ready,” the [General] commanded.

A boulder, much smaller than the one generated from [Boulder Toss], appeared from one of their inventories, and it was soon launched… and fell short.

The second went long.

The third was close but only flattened a few daves instead of damaging the enemy weapon.

Fortunately, the fourth shot was on point, and the rock crashed down on the mithril artifact.

It didn’t completely destroy it, but it did bend several important-looking parts as well as knock it down onto the ground. The [General] deemed that good enough for now, so the next target was chosen.

They managed to take down four, to the cheers of the gathered soldiers, when they suddenly stopped.

“We’re… uhh… out of rocks,” one of them said sheepishly. At a raised eyebrow from the [General], the man hastily added. “We didn’t even know if we would use the weapons! And we couldn’t justify carrying around a bunch of ammunition that we didn’t know if we would use, and we thought we could just find some more rocks on the island so-“

“Understandable, [Soldier],” the [General] replied. “We’ll just have to try the bolt thrower now and see if we can take out the remaining spellslingers.” He paused. “Though, even if you only succeeded at getting 4 of 6, that still likely saved dozens of soldiers, if not more. Well done.”

“Thank you, sir!” he replied with a quick fist pounded to his chest in salute.

“I’m still hopeful for the bolt thrower, though. So, let’s make it 6 for 6, shall we?” the [General] added.

The bolt thrower was much harder to line up directly on target, and the first seven shots missed. Fortunately, the bolts were also much less cumbersome than lugging around boulders, so they had more shots to use up.

Unfortunately…

“Direct hit… but it still looks like it will function!” the [Scout] called out.

“You mentioned another damage type; now would be the time to use it,” the [General] called out.

“Right away, sir!” the [Soldier] replied as he looked off into the distance, most likely going through his inventory.

Then, he fitted a bolt with dozens of intricately carved runes placed throughout, and they left the weapon pointed at the same place.

“Fire!” the [General] bellowed.

The weapon’s arms snapped back into position, the bolt flew through the air, and the enemy weapon… was engulfed in an explosion that reached nearly fifty feet into the air. Dave could swear that he felt a bit of the shockwave, even from the ship.

“D-direct hit, [General],” the [Scout] replied. “There’s… nothing left.”

The [General] didn’t reply. He merely turned to look at the soldier who had loaded the round.

The man held up shaking hands. “D-don’t look at me. None of the test rounds were even close to that kind of power. I had no idea.”

“Best save those, then,” the [General] stated after a moment. Then, after clearing his throat, he continued. “Try to take down the remaining artifact with more mundane rounds.”

“Yes, sir!”

That took quite a bit longer, but eventually, the remaining artifacts were knocked over and had enough bolts sticking through them that everyone assumed they wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

That meant it was time for a second attempt at invading the island.

Dave still had his trepidations as he walked onto the shore, but they were fortunately unfounded.

The remaining artifacts still attempted to attack the army as they landed, but all of the shots ended up being fired up into the air.

So… at least, Dave assumed that meant that everything was fine.

Next up was to clear the enemy monsters… which… could hardly even be called a battle. The daves were no match for competent warriors due to their slow speed and telegraphed attacks.

All the more reason Dave really wished they had never been named that.

After establishing their beachhead through the murder of a copious number of daves, the [General] came ashore as well, and his first order was to take a look at those magic items.

“We might have an opportunity to use the [Demon Lord’s] own devices against him,” the [General] stated with a grin.

Dave wasn’t a mage or a [Magic Researcher], but he tagged along anyway due to his knowledge of demons and the [Demon Lord]. He didn’t assume that he would be much help.

“Each and every barrel is enchanted with a bolt spell,” one of the mages said as he examined it. “Meanwhile, the base is enchanted with… some kind of detection spell that I can’t make heads or tails of, that feeds into a basic movement enchantment.”

“The detection spell must be the component responsible for targeting,” another mage murmured. The first one nodded his head.

“Any thoughts, [Son of Dave]?” a third one asked.

Dave shook his head. “No, no. I’m definitely in over my head here. Please, don’t mind me.”

“Well, I would hardly expect a [Warrior]-based class like yourself to have picked up [Enchanter] as a subclass,” the third mage laughed. “No, I was wondering if you had any insight into the [Demon Lord] himself that might be helpful here. Any way that you look at it, it seems odd to leave magic items like these out in the open with only daves to guard them.”

Dave frowned. “You’re right. That is an odd choice. The [Demon Lord] does a lot of things that don’t make sense, but I don’t know why he would let these enchantments fall into our hands if something went wrong.”

Dave’s eyes widened.

The limited guard. The strange reaction earlier to the enchanted bolt.

He didn’t need a third clue.

“Everyone! Get away from it! Now!” Dave shouted.

None of them moved initially, but Dave led by example and sprinted away from the almost-certain trap.

A few followed his lead… but for most it was too late.

The beach was rocked by another massive explosion that tossed Dave like a ragdoll.

He tumbled more than a dozen feet after landing, and he had a temporary deafened condition… but he was alive.

That was more than could be said of most who had been researching the artifacts.

“What happened?” the [General] asked as he strode over to Dave.

He… might have had to ask that several times before Dave could actually hear him.

“They’re trapped,” he stated as he grit his teeth at a shot of pain. He put his hand to his side, and it came back red, even through his armor. “Tell everyone to stay away from them. And warn our allies, too.”

“Accursed barbarians,” the [General] muttered. “They have mostly melee attackers. They had to have come across this before we did.” He shook his head and then looked back at the [Son of Dave]. “We’ll inform them anyway. Rest up, and get a potion or two if you need them. We need you to lead us to the [Demon Lord’s] stronghold.”

Dave weakly pounded his fist to his chest. “Yes, sir.”

Fortunately, with some help from a [Battle Medic], the bleeding was quickly taken care of, and with a good night’s rest, Dave was ready to go again by the time the army marched the next morning.

He was at the lead of the army as they trekked through a wooded area of the island, and they came to the hill leading up to the site the [Demon Lord] had been last time… and the spot that [Path to Vengeance] was indicating to him.

“Just a bit farther,” Dave said. “After the woods, we just have to-“

He was cut off as a [Fire Bolt] whizzed past his face, and he managed to duck back behind the tree for cover before the next salvo of bolts found their way to him.

They, instead, found the tree that he had hidden behind. Said tree was toppled in less than a second, and the army beat a hasty retreat out of range.

“More weapons,” the [General] stated grimly. “Get me a count.” He ordered a nearby [Scout].

The [Scout] snuck around a bit and pulled out his spyglass. He also nearly got hit on several occasions.

“I’m counting 10 of them, [General],” he stated when he returned. “Also protected by daves.”

“Can we get a shot with the bolt throwers?” he asked the [Soldiers] who were lugging the pieces to them around in their inventory.

They looked at each other and then shook their heads.

“We don’t have enough space to set up, and even if we did, we wouldn’t have a shot,” he replied.

Meanwhile, Dave had taken a peek at the artifacts and their placement on various parts of the hill. And then, while thinking about their behavior, he came up with an idea.

“Artifacts like those have to have mana stored, right?” he asked.

The [General] looked to his mage advisors, who nodded tentatively.

“That’s my understanding as well,” he stated with a weary sigh.

“Then… permission to attempt something, [General]?” he asked.

He laid out his plan, and the [General] looked up at the sky.

“System help us. Your plan seems foolhardy at best…but if it works, we can proceed without casualties.” The [General] took a deep breath. “Do it. Let me know if you need anything to assist.”

Dave didn’t… except he did request a few more potions.

He had a feeling that he would need them.

Then, with little fanfare, he made his way to the forest’s edge and psyched himself up.

They’re just artifacts. They can’t be smart. I can do this. He took a deep breath. I can do this.

And then… he did it.

Dave sprinted out of cover, and almost a dozen artifacts pivoted in his direction immediately. He took a zig-zagging path to dodge out of the way of the bolt spells, but there was one problem.

The first crack of thunder took away a chunk of his HP, and he winced before recovering and continuing his mad dash.

From there, he had to throw in rolls in addition to his changes in direction because the small lightning bolts were simply too fast to dodge.

His HP dropped precipitously, and he chugged a potion as he ran, but he was swiftly losing the battle… until he made it with a final dive.

He was at the base of the hill, where there was a decent-sized mound of earth between him and the enemy artifacts. And, just like he predicted, they didn’t know better than to keep shooting in his direction.

While he did have to fend off a few daves that strayed too close, and he also had to worry that the spells might eventually tunnel the entire way to him, his mission was accomplished.

“Now!” he shouted and also signaled through the party he was in with the dwarven weapon operators.

In response, the rest of the army got to work.

The bolt throwers were reassembled, mages started taking shots at the enemy barriers to whittle their stored mana down, and the archers and crossbowmen took down any of the daves coming down the hill at Dave.

Things were going well… at least until the sound from the artifacts stopped, and the entire army suddenly gaped up at the hill.

Dave stood up from behind his cover and bit back a curse as he laid eyes on the figure cloaked in black flame at the top of the hill.

“I have to admit, I didn’t expect your group to get this far. Either way, thank you for your help with debugging my turrets,” the [Demon Lord] stated. “I’ll make sure to patch that issue before the real deal. Now, if you all just turn around and go home, I promise I’ll let you go.”

Dave trembled, but he knew what he had to do. He took out his sword.

“[Demon Lord], I am Dave, [Son of Dave] and-“

The [Demon Lord] cut him off with a groan and a palm to his face. “Where the frick do you guys keep coming from? I swear, there’s no frickin’ way you’re related to that original guy.”

Dave had several constricting oaths around the Dave project, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

The [General], however, had something else to say.

“Give up your plans, [Demon Lord]!” he shouted while safely surrounded by the army. “We have your 2nd and 3rd in command!”

“Wait. You guys captured Anger and Hysteria?” the [Demon Lord] asked. Then, he gave a slightly bitter laugh that Dave could just make out. “Oh, every day I get closer to understanding villains who regularly off their own underlings,” he said, too quiet for the [General] to hear.

“Yeah, just… do whatever with them,” he stated when he finally spoke up. “I don’t really care.”

The [General] was taken aback. However, it was Dave’s turn again.

“[Demon Lord]!” he shouted. “With this blade, Midnight’s Edge, I will avenge the [Hero] Shalia! Come down and face me!”

The [Demon Lord] cocked his head and started walking down the hill.

“An adamantium blade. Wait a second…” he stated. “Is that?”

The [Demon Lord’s] nonchalant approach put Dave off-guard, and he didn’t expect the monster to suddenly appear right in front of him.

[Flash Step]! Dave screamed internally. Move!

He made an awkward cut at the [Demon Lord], but the [Demon Lord] was much faster. Dave received an [Earth Strike] punch to his gut, and almost before he knew what had happened, his arm was placed in a bind, twisted, and he no longer had his sword.

“Ah,” the [Demon Lord] said with recognition as he shoved Dave to the ground. “Failure number… 6. Dang, even when I didn’t get quite what I wanted, I still did good work.” Then, with a chuckle, it vanished into his inventory. “You might have even been able to hurt me with that.”

Dave was dead, and he knew it. He no longer had a weapon that he could even damage the [Demon Lord] with.

Except… it was only him who didn’t have the weapon.

“Face me in a real fight, coward!” the [Son of Dave] called out with false bravado as he pulled his backup sword. Meanwhile, he frantically tried to communicate his plan to the party.

The [Demon Lord] sighed. “I guess I really should be practicing my swordplay. Sure. You’re on.”

What followed was the fight of Dave’s life… just not like he expected.

It turned out that the [Demon Lord] was much stronger and faster than him… but also kinda bad at swordsmanship?

Dave even scored a few hits on the [Demon Lord] without being hit in return.

… The attacks simply bounced off since he didn’t have enough damage to harm the monster, but at least it served a secondary purpose of irritating him further and keeping his focus on Dave.

And then, not a moment too soon, Dave got the signal from the party.

He dove as far away from the [Demon Lord] as he could.

“What the frick?” the monster asked. And then, at the last possible second, he spun around and caught the giant bolt that had been sent his way.

He paused and looked at it.

“Dang it. I really do good work,” he stated right as the bolt exploded in his face.

“Yes!” Dave cheered… until the smoke cleared, revealing a supremely ticked off [Demon Lord].

“Alright. You all die to a man,” he stated with a coldly calculated voice that somehow chilled him more than if he had been screaming and yelling.

His staff appeared in his right hand, and then he appeared directly in front of the bolt thrower.

He sliced it in half with his sword and then began cutting down everyone who stood in his way.

This is bad, but recoverable. Dave thought as he examined the situation. We just need to get the [Lineholders] in front-

The [Demon Lord] [Air Strike] kicked the first brave one that stood up to him and then simply slashed the man a few times before he could regain his feet.

And then, the [Demon Lord] pointed his staff.

“[Hurricane].”

The gale-force wind tossed the army about like ragdolls, and the spears of solidified air ended many a [Soldier] on the spot. The wooded area was also completely stripped of trees.

The army was close to routing, and only one play was left.

It was technically against an international treaty. And it would leave the western wall open to assault. Dave could even be executed if he misused it.

However, they needed it now, and he was sure the courts would understand.

“Might System, send forth your Heavenly aid in our time of need,” Dave intoned.

A beam of bright white light appeared, and a voice resounded.

“The faithful call, and Heaven-“

“Turrets on!” the [Demon Lord] interrupted with a shout.

The “turrets” that had been docile up to that point began spinning again… and started shooting at Dave and the other army members.

“Oh, right. Not people,” the [Demon Lord] muttered as he looked up at the sky. “Will definitely need to fix that.”

“Legions 1 and 2, take out those artifacts! Legions 3 and 4, protect the faithful!” the lead angel shouted. Then, as his sword became bathed in white fire, he continued. “Legates with me!”

A group of 7 angels descended on the [Demon Lord]… and he didn’t stand much chance.

He activated a [Haste] buff, a [Strengthen] buff, and another one that was too quiet for Dave to hear, but even with all of that, he could barely retaliate against the relentless assault from the archangel and the others.

“What’s the matter?” the [Demon Lord] growled as he took attack after attack from one of the other angels as he was forced to block the archangel. “Can’t fight me fair and square?”

“I doubt you know the meaning of those words in the first place, [Demon Lord] Titus,” the angel countered as he pressed the assault.

Dave was in awe. The [Demon Lord] had been more than a match for their entire army, but here, a group of less than 10 angels was more than enough to deal with him.

And they should be more than enough for his other form as well.

Dave had a good feeling about things… until the [Demon Lord’s] staff appeared in his right hand.

“Alright, enough is enough,” he shouted. “[Hell Blaze]!” he cast at his feet.

The angels leaped back from the blaze, but a few were too slow and caught on fire. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be his main aim.

“[Blink]!” he cast, and then, suddenly, Dave had a flaming [Demon Lord] holding a sword to his throat.

“Don’t make a move, or the Dave gets it!” he shouted.

The angels briefly looked at each other, and Dave was kinda touched by that gesture. However, he knew what was at stake.

“Don’t worry about me!” he shouted. “Stopping him’s more important!”

Mishael nodded slowly. “You are correct. I am sorry, Dave [Son of Dave], you shall be remembered.”

“You say that about his life… but what about the lives of everyone on the island?” the [Demon Lord] countered.

Mishael quirked an eyebrow, but that was all he could do before Dave was shoved to the ground.

“[Plan B]!” the [Demon Lord] shouted as he slammed his staff into the ground.

Suddenly, the earth started shaking. It started soft, but it was slowly ramping up… and didn’t appear to be stopping.

“What’ll it be, archangel?” the [Demon Lord] shouted. “This isn’t the first time I’ve cracked an island in half!”

“You are insane!” the archangel replied. “You will kill yourself just to ensure you kill everyone here!?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll make it out just fine. I just would rather blow this island up than let any of you have it,” the [Demon Lord] replied. “But I guess I should also let you know… I can still stop this. You just have to pack everyone up and get the frick off my island.”

“We will not!” the archangel replied as he flew at the [Demon Lord].

“[Blink],” the [Demon Lord] stated, and he reappeared atop the hill.

“I get it. You think that their lives are worth less than stopping me. How about I convince you otherwise,” he stated. “I solemnly swear by the System and to the System-“

Mishael made it to the top of the hill and took another swing, but the [Demon Lord] vanished and reappeared again.

“-that if everyone leaves my island and stays away until the ritual is complete, I will not harm any resident of Placeholder, excluding monsters and anyone stupid enough to be found within 50 miles of my island, for the period of one year starting directly after the archangel Mishael agrees.”

The [Demon Lord] locked swords with the archangel on the next swing.

“What’ll it be? Will you sacrifice everyone here to stop a ritual that can’t harm a soul now?” the [Demon Lord] challenged.

The archangel pressed in farther and pushed the [Demon Lord] off-balance.

“[Blink]!” the [Demon Lord] cast before the next swing could hit him.

He reappeared next to Dave, and the [Demon Lord] gave him a flaming pat on the shoulder. Meanwhile, the ground shook so hard that Dave could barely remain upright.

“Well, more’s the pity. Looks like Heaven doesn’t actually care about you after all,” he stated. Then, after a brief pause. “Hmm. And all of the angels are here. So if I just wait a bit, that western wall will be nice and undefended. I guess I know where I’m headed next.” The [Demon Lord] paused for dramatic effect. “[Panic Bu-“

“Wait!” Mishael called. “Call off your spell, [Demon Lord]. You… win.”

“Swear that you’ll retreat everyone, and that no angels will attack me,” the [Demon Lord] challenged.

“I solemnly swear by the System that if you cancel the spell and allow all forces to retreat from your island unharmed, the forces of Heaven will not attack you… for a period of one year,” the archangel stated, though it looked like it was definitely pulling teeth.

“[Cancel Plan B],” the [Demon Lord] stated as he tapped his staff to the ground, and the shaking slowed to a stop. “Alright, now all of you get the frick off my island.” He stated as he turned around.

The [Demon Lord]… won?

No. It can’t end like this. I won’t let it end like this! He thought as he rushed the [Demon Lord’s] unprotected back.

The [Demon Lord] grabbed his sword out of his hand and snapped it in half before he could do anything.

“If you refuse to retreat, I’m under no obligation to spare you!” the [Demon Lord] shouted at the rest of the army. “Now, get the frick off my island!”

Then, quieter just so Dave could hear. “You get a pass this one time just because I don’t want to give the angels any excuses. You, or anyone else, tries another stunt like that, and you all die. Clear?”

Dave wanted to protest… but he found himself under an intimidating weight all of a sudden.

He slowly nodded his head.

“Good, now get going before I change my mind.”

Dave soon found himself among the throng that headed slowly back to the boats.

Morale was lower than the floor. They were unable to stop the [Demon Lord] with 3 nations and the host of Heaven at their side.

We still have time. Dave thought. Surely, we can come up with something!

The nations would try, but without Heaven’s aid, it wouldn’t even be close.