Michael rode his cycle until it turned into night. Stopping and storing the vehicle away and making sure no one was around. Michael remembered the tree shadow that he ripped the High-Commander through. Using One with Darkness, Michael set his pocket watch on timer mode and started it as he jumped in.
If Michael was to describe his feeling of moving the distance, it was akin to riding a boat down a calm river, but at breakneck speeds.
He could feel his Master of Travel skill was actively keeping him well-rested. Michael decided to clear his mind and focus on the location. He was still determining how long it would take him to travel back to Hallibrush, but he hoped he could get there before anything terrible happened to the people.
It had been seven days since he left Hallibrush, and it took four days to travel between on the airship.
Michael continued to ride the darkness, feeling at peace.
Michael had to stop a few times to eat and hydrate, but he checked himself using his mirror during one of his stops.
Caeldaemos
Class: Demon-Lord (Rank 55)
Str: Rank 14 (+25) Dex: Rank 12 (+25) Int: Rank 16 (+25)
Status:
Physical: Normal (Enhanced) Magic: Normal (Enhanced) Mental State: Determined
Injuries:
Special: Will of the Demon-Lords
Skills:
Melee Weaponry: Rank 11 (+30) Martial Combat: Rank 12 (+30)
One with Darkness: Rank 13 (+40) Survivalist: Rank 14 (+25)
Elemental Mastery: Rank 18 (+50) Mana Mastery: Rank 21 (+50)
Savior: Rank 12 (+5) Master of Travel: Rank 17
Abilities:
Flight Greater Glide Precision Throw Rapid Regeneration (Passive)
Demon-Lord Vision Demon-Lord’s Call Void Space
Lord of Slaughter (Passive) Lord of Debauchery (Passive) Lord of Elements (Passive)
Lord of War (Passive) Lord of Curses (Passive) Lord of Pestilence (Passive)
Lord of Madness (Passive)
He had not checked his status since before the battle in Hallibrush. It was interesting to him seeing that he grew quickly in various ways and raised his rank stats.
After several more jumps and breaks, Michael arrived at the Hallibrush gate.
“Who goes there!?” The guard up on the watch tower called out.
“A mercenary! Here for an extermination request!” Michael called up.
The doors opened, and the man immediately recognized Michael.
“Master Caeldaemos!? You came back to help us once again?” The guard happily came out to greet Michael.
“How could I leave my friends to be in danger?” Michael replied.
The demi-human had a beaming smile as he escorted Michael inside.
Many of the buildings that had been destroyed were well on their way to being completed.
Several people greeted Michael, thanking him for his return to help them with the goblins.
The people tried to give him gifts, but he turned most of them down, saying that the queen rewarded him more than enough. The only items he accepted were custom-made trinkets that people made with all their appreciation for him. One of them was even a small, highly detailed wooden statue of Michael himself, fighting the human soldiers.
Michael arrived at the town hall, where he met with Mayor Toto.
“Welcome back, Master Caeldaemos. It is a pleasure to have you back in our town. I understand you are here about the goblins?” The mayor asked.
“Yes. Can you give me their direction? I would like to get started right away.” Michael asked.
“Of course. But are you not tired from traveling here?” Mayor Toto asked.
“Nope. I am raring to clear them out.” Michael pounded his chest with a wide smile.
“Very well. But once you clear them out, please stay for a day or two. We will want to thank you.” The mayor asked.
Michael agreed, and a hunter in the town showed Michael where the nest was on a map. He thanked them and headed out of the town to the north-northeast.
Michael slipped about the shadows, checking various areas until he found a tunnel that led below. Four goblins in oversized armor and weapons stood about the entrance on guard.
He recognized the armor. It was the human soldiers that attacked Hallibrush. He assumed that some of them must have been ambushed by the goblins.
Michael used earth magic to temporarily seal the tunnel, to keep them from calling for help.
The goblins panicked and became alert.
Michael raised himself from a shadow and stood before them with his fanged mace in hand.
[Huh? Great master?] Michael heard the goblin speak.
“What? What the hell do you mean by ‘great master?’” Michael asked, confused.
[Great master is great master! Great master led us to destroy and have fun!] The four goblins knelt before Michael.
This must be the power of the Demon-Lords, Michael realized. Demon-Lords were able to communicate with monsters.
“I don’t want you attacking people,” Michael ordered.
[What? Great master not want destroy?] The goblins looked at each other in confusion.
“Correct.” Michael put on airs.
[If great master not want destroy… Then you not true great master!] The goblins stood and charged at Michael.
Michael quickly smashed the head of one goblin with his mace. Another tried to stab him with a spear, but he effortlessly danced away and performed a backspin kick that launched it to splat on a thick tree.
[Wah! Danger!] One goblin tried to run away.
Michael launched a fireball, consuming the screaming goblin in flames.
The last goblin fell to his knees. [Why great master? Why not want destroy?] It asked.
“Because it is wrong to destroy the lives of others for your own greed.” Michael coldly said, thoughts of the garbage goddess, Sylfaerune, coming to his mind.
Letting out a roar of anger, Michael splattered the last goblin.
His blood boiled. Michael will protect his friends with everything he has, even if it goes against the gods’ plan.
Michael sank into a shadow, moving into the tunnels to finish his job.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Io was relaxing on a couch while knitting an oversized sweater. One by one, the other gods arrived and joined her in the sitting area.
“Syl is last again.” Tilra rolled her eyes.
“Eh, just the same old, same old.” Orbus didn’t seem to care too much.
“Hmph, I have better things I could be doing,” Nanduun complained.
Sylfaerune finally arrived and took a seat while ignoring Tilra and Nanduun’s annoyed stares.
“Has everyone’s Hero adjusted to the world?” Io asked them all.
“Mine is having a blast! The island nation welcomed them warmly. They are ranking up at a good rate too. Mine is rank 15 already. She should be able to achieve the Operator class soon. How about yours, Io?” Orbus happily reported.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Hana is doing quite well and has met many interesting people. She is rank 18 and close to getting the Elemental Control skill.” Io pleasantly reported.
“My girl is becoming a true hero. Because of her past situation, she focuses quite a bit on support and healing skills. Her class goal is Saintess. Currently, she is rank 15.” Tilra reported.
“Nice choice of class,” Orbus commented, getting a nod of thanks from the goddess.
“Would you like to go next Sylfaerune?” Nanduun offered, trying to ensure she didn’t get the last spot to brag.
Io added her own urgings, and she caved.
“Fine, Nanduun. My hero is doing well. He is a rank 16 warrior. He will be working toward becoming a Knight of the Sun.” She reported, annoyed by Nanduun, who smirked at her triumphantly.
“My hero is doing well amongst the demons. The two months of etiquette I gave him made his life easy there. The demons are warming up to him well. He is currently a Rank 16 Lancer. Since he heard how demons sometimes use wyverns as mounts, he decided to goal to be a Dragon Lancer.”
“Very good. I am glad to hear that everything is going well. Though there is a bit of troubling news.” Io began, bringing a hand to her cheek.
“Still no news on the Demon-Lord?” Nanduun asked.
“None on my side,” Orbus added.
“What the hell did you pick to become the Demon-Lord?” Tilra sent her question to Sylfaerune.
“It was a demon! His mind should have been consumed by the previous Demon-Lords and should have been rampaging across the lands!” Sylfaerune replied in a fluster.
Sylfaerune knew what Michael looked like from when he broke her idol, but they would ask how she knew if she brought up too much. The line of questions would eventually lead to what she had done, and she couldn’t allow that.
“I see…” Io said, a sad look in her eyes. “If anyone learns something about the Demon-Lord, please share as soon as possible.”
The other gods agreed, and all left back to their temples. Io’s eyes lingered on Sylfaerune’s seat.
A dark portal opened nearby, and a man walked into the temple.
“Well, that was interesting.” The man said, sitting down near the goddess.
He wore a fine set of armor from neck to toe, all jet-black. His long red hair settled behind the seat as he adjusted it and stroked his beard. “You called?”
“Yes. I apologize for requesting your assistance, Lord Tulsen.” Io replied to him.
Lord Tulsen had an air of confidence befitting the power he wielded. “It is alright. I get requests like this from gods all the time. It is up to me if I accept or not.”
“I have not had time to speak with the gods of the Core World about Michael. Could you take this and inquire with them about his situation. After, I may request your help for him.” Io handed Lord Tulsen a sheet of paper.
He looked over the page. “Ah. I see. I will check in with the gods of the Core World and return. As for helping this Michael, I will do my own investigation and see if he needs my help. Deal?”
“Thank you.” Io bowed her head to the man.
Shortly after, he disappeared into another portal.
Io sighed. “Please don’t take things too far, Syl….”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael glided through the darkness of the cave. The tunnel was too small for his significant height, so he planned to strike from the shadows.
Michael heard the voices of a few goblins down a side tunnel.
[Hee! HEE! This so much fun! Beat them harder!]
[Hey! That one still good for breeding! No break!]
From the sound of their conversation, Michael assumed that survivors may be present. He quickly headed in that direction and found the goblins in a small cave. Six goblins were around a bloodied human man and woman who were stripped of their clothes. There were a few other human men, but they were nothing more than bloody corpses, partly eaten. Tears flowed from the woman’s eyes, her mind seemingly broken.
[Hee! HEE! Kill human male! Eat good tonight!]
The goblin raised his stolen maul above his head. Just as he moved to bring it down, a massive fist popped out of the darkness, punching the little bastard’s head clean off.
Michael knew the two survivors could be soldiers that attacked Hallibrush, but they didn’t deserve this fate.
The five other goblins were stunned, trying to piece together what had happened. Then a fanged mace swung out, crushing the heads of two more.
Not knowing what was happening, the remaining three ran toward the exit. Three globs of darkness struck their backs as they ran. They had no idea what hit them, but they felt fine, so they ran deeper into the cave system.
Michael had tried out an ability he got from the Lord of Curses passive skill, Versatile Curse. The skill allowed him to create curses just by using his imagination. He had considered using it on the rude bird lady at OWP, cursing her with a week of minor lousy luck. The one he used on the three goblins was Curse of Delayed Goblin Madness. After a short period, the goblins would be driven mad and begin attacking anything that resembled a goblin. If they didn’t have a target to attack, they would tear themselves apart. It was a cruel curse, but Michael felt the little bastards deserved it.
Michael rose out of the darkness and checked on the two humans. He used his highest Savior ability, Panacea. It was capable of curing not only physical wounds but even mental. From its’ description of the spell, it would not be able to deal with long-term trauma.
The man and woman rose from the hard ground, confused and unable to see anything in the darkness.
“H-Hello?” The woman asked.
“Linda?!” The man replied.
“Ted!” She began to feel her way toward him, and the two embraced.
“I’ll get you two out of here,” Michael spoke, causing the two to jump.
“Y-you saved us?” Ted asked.
“Yup.” Michael handed the two of them some old clothes of his that wouldn’t fit him.
“Listen up.” Michael began. “Feel for the wall on your right. Follow it until you reach outside. I am going to finish off the rest of the nest.”
Ted and Linda accepted his orders and headed off. Michael sank back into the darkness and dove deeper into the cave system.
Before long, Michael started hearing screams and bestial growling.
[Why do this!? No!]
[Stop them! Why attack fellow goblin!?]
[Forget it! Just kill the two traitors!]
Michael noticed that one of the goblins spoke better than the others. Slipping into the large cave, Michael saw that two others lay dead on top of the three he cursed, and several were injured. Checking around the area, Michael found several human and demi-human women in the cave, some pregnant with goblins.
Disgusted by the goblins, Michael decided his plan to deal with them. He would crush them.
[Huh?! Females gone!]
[What? Find them! Look for invaders, now!]
Before they could exit the main cave, the entrance closed, and the room shook and began shrinking toward them.
[What is happening!?]
[Dammit! I will not die like this!]
The smart one began readying a spell, only to be consumed in a gout of fire.
[AH! He choose kill self!?]
The goblins thought their leader chose to kill himself instead of being crushed by the room. Before long, the remaining sixteen goblins were bundled together. It was then that Michael turned the area into a goblin juicer and brought the ceiling of the enclosed space down on them, killing them all.
Michael felt disgusted over the situation. Though a part of him was glad, they were dead.
As for the women, Michael had moved them to the smaller cave further up. As Michael swam his way back up the cave, he sealed the tunnels behind him.
When he arrived at the small cave, he used Panacea on all the women. He then tested if the Pregnancy Control ability of Lord of Debauchery would help them, and he was glad to see their stomachs return to normal.
Michael explained to them that he was a mercenary hired to deal with the goblin nest. After running a water spell over their bodies to clean them, he handed out what clothes he had to help them cover themselves. Michael asked them to follow the right wall to the exit like he did with Ted and Linda, which they happily followed toward the light of day. After they had left, Michael continued collapsing the cave system until he got close to the entrance, where he exited the shadows out of sight.
Michael walked out of the cave, much to the humans’ surprise. He finished collapsing the cave and turned to face them all.
“As I said before, I am a mercenary. My name’s Caeldaemos. I will escort you all to Hallibrush.” Michael informed them.
The humans looked at Michael in confusion while the demi-human women cheered and hugged each other.
“What?” He asked them, a bit too curtly for his liking.
“Um, you’re not going to kill us?” Ted asked.
“Not unless you attack me. I swear by Io.” Michael replied, the silver haze rolling over him.
The humans relaxed and swore that they would not endanger their savior.
The trek back to the Hallibrush was smooth, and they arrived back at the town. The demi-humans were warmly welcomed, but the humans were treated with great suspicion until they learned their truth.
“We were slaves,” Ted repeated after swearing to Sylfaerune he was speaking the truth.
Michael didn’t like to hear the bitch goddess’ name, but he noticed a twinge of regret in Ted saying her name.
“I see. But I thought humans did not enslave their own kind.” Mayor Toto pointed out.
“Things changed a week ago when the Baron was put under house arrest. The slaving system he created fractured, creating several groups with their own beliefs.” Ted explained.
“Seems like that goddess is still doing a shit job in her area,” Michael commented.
The humans looked up at Michael, their eyes searching for some kind of guidance.
“What else can we do? She is the goddess of humans….” Ted replied.
Michael huffed in annoyance. “You do realize there are four other gods, right? Stop depending on that garbage goddess and try one of the others. I know a human who believes in Orbus.”
The enslaved humans were from a rural town, and their literacy was slightly lower than the average person who lived in a town or city.
“I suggest trying the temple in town. The priestess there should be able to give you some guidance.” Michael advised them.
The humans thanked Michael for his advice and followed a demi-human out of the town hall.
“We owe you once more, Master Caeldaemos.” Mayor Toto said as he watched the humans leave the building. “We will look after them for now, at least until they decide what to do from now on.”
“Thanks…” Michael replied, a bit of a grimace on his face.
“Are you alright?” Mayor Toto asked.
“Um. I’m sorry. It’s just… What I saw happening in there really disturbed me.” Michael answered.
Mayor Toto’s expression tensed, and he nodded his head. “I understand. Take some time to rest. We will hold the party tonight.”
Michael thanked the mayor for his consideration and headed to the inn, where they reserved a room for him.
Rana met him at the inn. She wanted to see him again but quickly noticed his troubled mind. She joined him sitting on the bed, holding his head to her chest, humming a soothing tune.
Her scent and soft warmth were intoxicating to Michael, melting away the nasty feeling of what he had witnessed in the goblin nest.
Images of Liara flashed through his mind, causing his eyes to shoot open, and he gently pulled away from Rana, sitting up on the side of the bed.
“My lord?” Rana asked.
“Sorry, Rana. God, I feel like a piece of shit….” Michael scratched the back of his head.
Michael felt guilty like he was doing something like his ex, using Rana’s kindness and feelings for him. It made him feel sick to his stomach.
“Rana, I…” Michael began, but his words caught in his throat. He didn’t want to hurt her.
“You found someone in the city?” Rana asked, tilting her head to the side, unsurprised.
“You knew?” Michael asked, taken aback.
Rana giggled. “Of course I did. It’s faint...” Rana sniffed at him, “But I can smell another woman on you. Hmm, a fox?” She contemplated.
Michael chuckled. “Yeah. Her name is Liara.” He smiled, wanting to see her as soon as he could.
“I see.” Rana moved to sit next to him. “The famous War Priestess Liara, huh?”
“War Priestess?” Michael asked.
Rana smiled. “I guess you have not gotten that far yet. She was a well-known mercenary forced to retire because she lost a leg during a dangerous job.”
“If she is famous… could she have not restored her leg with an Elixir?” Michael asked.
Rana brought a finger to her maw. “Best to ask her such a thing, don’t you think?” She teased.
Michael laughed at himself, agreeing with her.
“Well, either way, are you feeling better?” Rana asked.
“Yeah. Gah. Monsters a screwed up in the head.” Michael commented.
“They are. It is known that they are creatures of destruction. When a Demon-Lord comes to be, they band together beneath them to destroy the world. These are strange times right now.”
“You mean because there has been no news on the Demon-Lord?” Michael asked.
“Correct. Nor strange movements amongst the monsters. I heard Mayor Toto arguing with our domain lord about not finding any news. Our domain lord thought the goblin nest was a sign and commissioned the job. What do you think?” Rana explained.
“I don’t think so. The goblins had the armor and weapons of the soldiers that attacked here. The ones who escaped were probably the reason the nest got bigger.” Michael replied.
Though Michael didn’t voice it, he felt he might have been responsible for the nest since some soldiers escaped while he was fighting. Was it an effect of being the Demon-Lord? It made him anxious.
“Either way, we were fortunate to have you come to our aide once more.” Rana smiled up at him.
Michael stood and helped her to her feet. “Shall we head to the party?”
Rana giggled and accepted his hand. “What a gentleman.”
The line stirred some… Lovely memories in Michael’s mind, and he felt his face getting hot.