Michael was on his second day on the north road, still grinning like an idiot while riding his Magic Cycle. His nightmare last night was about the same as when he was with Yanni and the mercenaries. It was a guess, but he believed that he would not be pulled into the darkness again if he stayed positive.
But fate could be a cruel mistress at times.
Michael came to a stop when he saw a demi-human running toward him.
“Please! Help me!” She cried out to him.
She was being chased by a few men in armor.
Logan
Class: Soldier (Rank 6)
Str: Rank 7 Dex: Rank 5 Int: Rank 6
Status:
Physical: Normal Magic: Normal Mental State: Excited, Blood-Thirsty
Injuries:
Skills:
Swords: Rank 6 Melee: Rank 4 Shield: Rank 4
Spear: Rank 4 Survival: Rank 3 Dodge: Rank 2
Abilities:
Thrust Power Slash Teamwork March (Passive)
Michael dismounted his cycle and moved over to the now-collapsed woman.
The woman looked like a humanoid version of a border collie, her womanly features being what Michael believed the internet would have described as ‘Thicc.’
“Woo! Looks like we got another one, boys. This one looks to have some nice things too.” One of the soldiers whooped. The Cloak of Concealment only did enough to hide that Michael was a demon, so the soldiers assumed he was a demi-human like the woman.
The three soldiers stood by with weapons still holstered.
“What is going on here?” Michael demanded to know.
“Ya see, that there beasty is a criminal. We are just doing our job.” One of the soldiers replied mockingly.
Michael knew that to be a lie. He had checked the woman’s info screen, and she did not have the ‘Criminal’ descriptor.
“Prove it with a Divine Oath, and she is all yours. I will not get in your way.” Michael stated.
A look of despair came to the woman’s face.
“We swear by Sylfaerune that we are just doing as ordered.” The haze of light rolled over the soldier that spoke.
Michael narrowed his eyes at the man. “I did not ask about your job. I asked whether this woman was a criminal.”
Michael brought a hand to the axe on his belt.
“Tsk. Enough playing around. Kill the bastard!” The soldiers drew their weapons.
This moment was when Michael used an ability he had not had the chance to use before his mana had been unlocked. Element Control.
The skill gave him the ability to manipulate the elements around him so long as the element was present. So far, he has tested a few things with earth and fire elements. He was hesitant to do anything with the elements of the sky as they were Sylfaerune’s domain, which made him sick to his stomach.
Michael stomped his foot on the ground, and a rock-like fist rose from the road and punched one of the soldiers in his nuts. The man collapsed instantly.
The surprise was enough to cause the two other soldiers to hesitate, which was enough time for Michael to plant his axe in the skull of one of them.
The coldness surrounded his heart, suppressing any form of mercy for the believers of the garbage goddess.
The last soldier was terrified of Michael and tried to run. But Michael was not letting that happen. Placing his hands on the ground, Michael turned the ground at the fleeing soldier’s feet into quicksand.
The man screamed and thrashed as he rapidly sank.
Darkness began clouding Michael’s thoughts as he watched the man sink. From within the darkness, elation began to flow into him.
No. Michael didn’t want this. He tried to stop, but his body was hesitating. Fear was bubbling up from within him. What was happening?!
A soft hand laid atop Michael’s. “Please, that’s enough.” The woman said.
Her words were enough to allow Michael to tear back control and stop the soldier just below his collarbone.
Taking several breaths, Michael pushed back the darkness and stabilized his mind as much as possible.
“T-Thank you,” Michael said to the woman.
“It is okay. I felt like you were conflicted. Thank you so much for your help, sir.” The woman replied.
The two of them stood up.
“I’m Rana. Thank you again for your help.” She bowed her head to Michael.
“Michael. I could tell you weren’t a criminal by looking at the situation. Who are these men?” Michael asked.
“They’re men of Baron Reggis. The bastard cut our town off from Galgalake, so we couldn’t call for help. They even installed mana disruptors to spoke anyone from using their Crys-Links. I ran with several children to get to Venture, the closest town in demon country, to request help from them, but… they caught us.” Rana began trembling. “They threw the children into a cage. They intended to hunt me down like a damn beast. The bastards!” Rana kicked the head of the suffering soldier. He squeaked oddly as he rolled onto this side, still holding his groin.
“Please, sir, if you could help me get my children back, I will do anything to repay you.” Rana went to beg from the ground, but Michael stopped her.
“I… I don’t know if I can help you with that. This time was too close.” Michael replied.
“Close? But you dealt with them so easily.” Rana was confused.
“Not the fight itself. I… Think might be cursed or something. When negative emotions build, I feel like I am losing myself. I despise Sylfaerune and her followers. Anytime I hear her name and see her believers getting away with such cruelty, I just….” Michael hugged his body.
Rana placed a warm, comforting hand on Michael’s arm since her short stature made it awkward for her to put it on his six-foot-two-height shoulder.
“I… understand. Then, if you could, take me to Venture. It should be about a day trip to get there on your Magic Cycle.” Rana said, concern for her children on her face.
“Ha!” The nearly buried soldier laughed. “You think everything will be fine!? By the time you return, we will possess your town, and your people will be gone!”
The soldier did not seem to be in his right mind. The fear of nearly being buried alive drove him mad.
Rana began to cry.
It pained Michael to see her cry. If it had been David, he would have never abandoned the woman, especially if he had the power to help.
“Io, please give me strength.” Michael prayed.
Taking a deep breath, Michael agreed to help Rana as best he could.
It took only a short time on the Magic Cycle for Michael and Rana to reach the location she ran from. There were eight soldiers, a couple of militaristic carriages with armor, and a transport carriage with a large cage on the back in the area ahead.
When the soldiers saw them, they called themselves to arms, preparing for Michael’s arrival.
Michael stopped and let Rana off.
“Please be careful, sir,” Rana said and offered a prayer to Io to protect Michael.
Nodding, Michael silently took his cycle to full throttle.
Riding at full speed at the soldiers, who were launching arrows and spells at him, Michael dragged a foot across the ground, hurling stones at them. He wasn’t aiming for accuracy, just enough to keep them off balance.
“Dammit! Kill the beast!”
“Someone grab the brats! Use them as shields.”
Fury exploded in Michael’s mind. Using children as shields? How could a goddess of the world support such actions?! Damn, Sylfaerune! If Michael became the Demon-Lord, he would crush every temple, every idol, and every symbol of the goddess. Michael would erase her existence from the world!
Michael screamed in pain as it felt like blades were diving into his mind. He fell from his cycle, rolling about the ground his wings became visible.
“By Sylfaerune! That’s a damn demon! Surround and kill it!”
The pain was horrible. It was maddening. Michael thrashed about the ground as the soldiers surrounded him.
Darkness.
Michael was back in the dark abyss.
“Ho, ho. This one is good. His hatred is excellent.” A voice echoed.
“I think he will make an excellent vessel.” A sultry voice added.
“It is time for us to return, to fulfill our desires!”
Michael was bound, unable to move.
“Who... the hell are you?” Michael gritted through the pain.
“Us? We are your predecessors. We will give you the power you desire. You will inherit our wills and destroy this world!” A voice replied.
“What… will happen… to me?” Michael demanded to know.
“We will merge. You have too much kindness. We will erase that. Be grateful.”
Erase? Were they going to erase parts of himself? No! What if he forgot his family, his friends, he didn’t want to forget!
The beings swung by, tearing at his soul bit by bit, causing great bouts of pain.
More was going to be taken from him? These things were no better than that damn goddess.
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Michael’s fury grew. His strength returned to him. Straining against the bindings, Michael got a foot beneath himself.
“W-What? What are you doing!?”
“I will not be discarded again! I will not be some toy to play with!” Michael felt power surging through himself, getting his other foot below him and causing the binding to whine in protest as he pressed himself to stand.
“S-Stop! We are giving you what you want!”
A silver haze of light expanded from his body. “I don’t need or want your help! If I am going to fuck that garbage goddess in the ass… I WILL DO IT ON MY OWN!” Michael roared, shattering the bindings.
“It can’t be! How can he have that ability!?”
“No! I am fading!”
“He is destroying us!”
The silver light exploded from Michael.
Michael came to his senses. He was back in the world, surrounded by a group of terrified-looking soldiers. A few were staring at his waist, wide-eyed.
Michael was a bit confused. The soldiers seemed… shorter?
One of the soldiers screamed and charged Michael from behind.
The man’s weapon bounced off Michael’s wing like he had struck a wall.
“Hey!” Michael spun, his outstretched wing batted the man, launching him thirty feet away and into one of the carriages.
Michael watched in shock as he saw the carriage come back down onto four wheels.
“What?” Michael did not understand what was happening. Did he really do that?
The other soldiers began to attack Michael in a panic.
It was not long before all of them were beaten, broken, and unconscious.
“What the fuck is going on?” Michael headed toward the cage where a handful of demi-human youth was imprisoned.
The demi-humans were scared of Michael, cowering away to the furthest corner of the cage away from him.
“It’s okay. Rana asked me to help save you guys. See, she is coming over now.” Michael pointed out the woman who was booking it toward them.
Seeing the cage needed a key but also noticing he had gotten a massive boost in strength, Michael tried and succeeded in ripping the cage door open right off its hinges.
Michael looked at the cage door dumbfounded as Rana arrived and began helping the children off the carriage.
“Seriously, what the hell is going on?” Michael decided he would need to check his info screen asap.
“Hey Rana, are all of them there… Uh, is something wrong?” Michael asked her.
Rana covered her eyes like many other girls, but some younger children stared at Michael, way lower than his face or torso.
“Um, good sir, you may need to look to your clothing….” Rana said, embarrassed.
Michael looked down to see his clothing was in shreds. “What the hell!? I just got these….” Michael paused when he noticed a VERY noticeable log casually swaying between his legs. “Well… That’s new….” Michael pulled his cloak to cover his nether region. “Um… Sorry about that… I’ll, uh, be right back.”
Michael changed into a fresh set of clothing, finding out that his physical body had undergone several changes.
Besides the monster serpent now secured away in a new pair of boxers, he lost quite a bit of weight.
His body was now built like a barrel, like a guy from a Strongman Competition, arms, and legs thick and solid. Michael never really knew about them or the significant differences between Strongmen and what he thought strong men really were. He had the misconception that bodybuilders were these hulking monsters that could bench press a car, but the reality was that most of them were only above average. Strongmen, on the other hand, may look like heavy-set guys, but the truth was that they were strong enough to drag a semi-truck behind them like they were taking a walk!
David was the one who brought the truth to Michael’s attention when he was lamenting that he would never look lean and tone. After seeing the type of raw power Strongmen were capable of, he made it his goal. But with his physical changes, he now had a problem, namely with his change in height.
“God dammit. Everything is now too short!” Michael complained.
His pant legs were now a few inches short with his six-inch increase in height, topping him out at six-foot-eight.
Michael spent quite a bit of time searching through what clothes he bought from Yanni that Rana called over to check he was alright. After assuring her he was fine, he found a single pair of sweatpants that were just barely long enough. Putting on a new shirt, one designed for demons with wings, he put on his cloak.
Speaking of his wings, he finally figured out how to make his wings shrink! By using a bit of mana to his wings, he could change between two sizes, small and normal. While they were small, he could spread and rest them over his shoulder blades with no issue.
Michael headed out from behind the carriage to find Rana and the young demi-humans who had stripped the soldiers of their equipment and tied them up. The young demis worked together, dragging the soldiers into a big pile.
“Um, did I…?” Michael began asking Rana.
“So far, all of them are alive,” Rana answered.
“Ah. Thanks. I’m not used to killing.” Michael scratched the back of his head.
“It is quite alright. We can take them to a city for judgment. No need for you to carry the burden of their deaths.” Rana smiled up at him.
She looked him over, seeming to feel a bit bashful. “I must say, my lord, you have changed quite a bit. Is that a special ability of demons? I think I may have heard that some demons can somewhat change how they look.”
The word ‘lord’ stuck out for Michael. “True. I am curious to see what may have changed.” He said, pulling his hand mirror out of storage.
Bringing up his info screen, Michael froze and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
Caeldaemos
Class: Demon-Lord (Rank 52)
Str: Rank 12 (+25) Dex: Rank 10 (+25) Int: Rank 11 (+25)
Status:
Physical: Normal (Enhanced) Magic: Normal (Enhanced) Mental State: Shocked
Injuries:
Special: Will of the Demon-Lords
Skills:
Melee Weaponry: Rank 10 (+30) Martial Combat: Rank 8 (+30)
One with Darkness: Rank 7 (+40) Survivalist: Rank 14 (+25)
Elemental Mastery: Rank 16 (+50) Mana Mastery: Rank 20 (+50)
Savior: Rank 11 (+5) Master of Travel: Rank 12
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)
Michael was without words. So much of himself had changed he had no idea where the hell to start. He felt that trying to get through all the changes would take a while, he decided to focus on two at the moment.
Will of the Demon-Lords.
Error. Error. Error. Error. Error.
Consciousness’s of all previous Demon-Lords erased.
Powers of previous Demon-Lords absorbed and converted.
Will of the Demon-Lords. An unprecedented occurrence when the will of a Demon-Lord candidate overtakes the consciousness of the previous Demon-Lords, retaining their true self and refusing corruption. Doing so maintains the original body’s will and absorbs all the power of the previous Demon-Lords in the form of passive abilities.
Demon-Lord’s Call.
Error. Error. Error.
System compensating…
Solution generated.
Demon-Lord’s Call. A unique ability similar to Hero’s Call, an ability unique to Otherworlders summoned to Owtrelus. Using this ability reduces the power of those viewed as ‘Enemy’ by 25%. Anyone viewed as ‘Ally’ will have a 25% increase in overall power.
Michael had a worried look on his face while pursing his lips.
“Is something wrong, my lord?” Rana asked.
“Uh… I think I went and broke the system.” Michael replied.
“System?” Rana cocked her head.
“N-Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Michael waved it off.
Michael had not only become a Demon-Lord but seemed to have broken through the world’s rules. One thing that he noticed was that his class rank was 52. He remembered that when he was learning about classes, the info screen specifically pointed out that a Demon-Lord gets capped out at 50. Thinking about it for a minute, he realized that the garbage goddess had made the biggest mistake of her divinity.
The only people who did not have a cap on their rank were Heroes who, in particular, were from another world! The rank cap only affected people of the world! With Michael being from another world himself, he had no cap!
A broad and slightly vicious grin came to Michael’s face, causing Rana to take a few steps away.
His goal of fucking Sylfaerune over seemed highly possible in his current situation. He looked forward to enacting some of his ideas to get back at her. Though he hoped the gods did not have some ‘insta-kill’ ability that would ruin his future plans.
“Um, my lord?” Rana was a bit nervous.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I was thinking about something.” Michael nervously laughed.
“What about?” Rana pried.
Michael wasn’t sure if he could fully trust Rana. Sure, he saved her and her kids, but he knew a lot of people are more willing to put those important to them over a stranger.
“Just, uh, these changes gave me quite a few benefits. I have someone who screwed me over badly, and with my new benefits, I can get back at them.” Michael decided to keep the finer details to himself.
“I see. That person must have done something truly horrible to you for you to make that face earlier.” Rana relaxed.
Michael apologized once more.
“Mama! This one here is the commander! He is awake!” A demi-human girl called over to Rana. The girl had ears, and her hair color was similar to her mother, but she had a bit more human-like features when it came to the rest of herself.
“Please come along, lord… I do not know your true name, sir.” Rana observed.
“Ah, yes, my demon name is Caeldaemos,” Michael answered while following the woman to a human man.
“You damn beasts! You will get nothing out of me, demon!” The man yelled.
Checking the man’s info screen, Michael learned the man’s name was Arthur. It annoyed him that the man shared the name of Yan’s son.
“Listen here, Arthur.” The man was taken aback by having his name called when he did not say it himself.
“You will answer my questions.” Michael felt his mana stir inside his body. He had no idea what he had done until he noticed the commander acting strange.
“As you say….” The man seemed to be in a daze.
Did Michael just brainwash the man? Something for him to figure out later. He didn’t know how long the ability would last.
“What are you doing in demi-human lands?” Michael began his interrogation.
They learned from the commander that they were employed by Baron Reggis. The Baron was a greedy man who desired more power than he had at his current station. The only way for him to raise his station was either through acts of valor, significant societal contributions, or the one he was working toward, monetary contributions.
The Baron had been running a secret slavery business, selling anything other than humans to various nobles of other human countries. Since his domain butted up to demi-human lands, it was easy for him to kidnap and sell demi-humans. Occasionally he would get a hold of a demon or a rare fae-folk.
The commander told them that the Baron was close to becoming a viscount. He was pressing so hard because it would open an opportunity for him to connect his family to a County that was having major trouble with the loss of its head, the County of Delta.
The Baron had to rush because it became known that a merchant group had come into possession of important documents that would close his opportunity for good once in the hands of the new lord of Delta.
“Alright, last question for you, commander. Did the Baron have anything to do with the death of Count Delta?” Michael asked.
“I… I… I do not… know…” The man looked pale.
“You may want to release him, Lord Caeldaemos. I think what you did may be breaking his mind.” Rana recommended.
“Um, you are released.” Michael tried, not knowing if it would work or not.
The man stopped swaying, and his senses returned to him. “What… What did you do to me, you foul demon!?”
Seeing strength returning to the man, Michael was happy to know he didn’t destroy the man’s mind.
Rana kicked the man in the face, shutting him up from all his cursing, and followed Michael to one of the carriages.
“What do you plan to do?” Michael asked her.
“We would like to return to our town, but you heard the commander, a larger force was heading there to burn it to the ground. We need more help.” Rana replied, looking up at one of the carriages.
“Can you drive one?” He asked.
“I can manage. I haven’t driven a military one before, but I should be able to.” Rana opened the door to look inside.
Michael had to turn away as she stuck out her rear, swaying her tail back and forth as she looked inside the driver’s compartment.
“Mama is single.” Rana’s daughter teased.
Michael shushed her. He was embarrassed enough at being caught.
Rana hopped down. “This should be fine. There looks to be enough space in the back for the children. These bastards destroyed my carriage earlier, and we tried to flee on foot. This will be a fine replacement.” She smiled.
Michael was thankful that Rana either didn’t hear or chose to ignore what her daughter said earlier.
“So, I am guessing you will head to Venture?” Michael asked.
“Yes. I will take the children there to request help. With it being humans invading, I know that many demons there would be more than happy to volunteer. Our town is also a close friend with them.” Rana explained.
Rana called for the children to load up into the armored carriage. Once they were secure inside, she turned toward the soldiers.
Michael was busy looking at another ability he was curious about, Void Space.
Void Space. An ability that gives the user access to a personal storage area similar to but infinitely more significant than the Spatial Storage skill. The user can store an infinite amount of non-living objects within. It is possible to hold a finite number (0/30) of living beings within for a short period of time (1 week), but it makes it impossible to access non-living storage until all living beings are removed. Living beings will be put into a time stasis while being stored and will have no memory of being put into storage. It may cause delirium or severe confusion upon being removed from living storage. The cooldown of using living storage is 3 weeks.
“—lord?”
“My lord?” Rana got Michael’s attention by touching his arm.
“Huh? Uh, yeah?” Michael was a bit stunned by how overpowered Void Space was.
“What should we do about the other carriages and the soldiers?” She asked.
Michael stifled a laugh. He had the perfect answer for it already.
“I have an ability that will allow me to take them with me. I will probably head back and grab those two guys that are still alive back there. I can only carry them with me for a week, though.” Michael explained as he stored one of the unused carriages.
“Wha-? That is amazing, my lord! You must have a high-ranked spatial storage!” Rana’s tail was wagging back and forth.
Michael just smiled at her while he went to store the prison carriage.
“Get away from us, demon!” The soldiers who had woken up started yelling at Michael.
“Don’t worry, gentlemen. I won’t abandon you all here to die or escape.” Michael raised his hand at them.
A blackish mist surrounded and blipped the soldiers out of existence.
Michael turned to see Rana’s mouth hanging open, and her eyes bugged out.
“Like I said, I can only carry them for a week.” He tried to assure her.
“I-I-I-I see. Well. Um. Where do you plan to go?” She asked, trying to compose herself.
“What is the name of your town?”
“Hallibrush?” She said, wondering why he asked.
“Then I will head there to help. Could you give me directions?” He smiled at her.
“What?! Are you mad?! The commander said nearly forty soldiers were heading that way! That is too dangerous!” She cried.
Michael smiled widely. “I think I will be fine. If things look bad, I can always run, and I will take as many people to safety as I can.”
Rana was worried about him but, in the end, conceded. She informed him that it would be impossible to miss if he continued down the main road.
After saying their farewells, Rana took the armored carriage to Venture, and after he picked up the two living soldiers from earlier, Michael made his way toward the town of Hallibrush.