In a temple in the divine realm, a beautiful goddess with stark white hair that flowed mysteriously sat at a marble meeting table, sipping some warm tea.
She let out a content sigh.
A refined and dignified old man appeared near one of the four unoccupied seats.
“Hello, Io. It’s that time again, aye? I felt it. A new Demon-Lord has awakened.” The old man said as he sat down.
With a wiggle of her finger, a teacup appeared before the old man, filled with an amber-colored liquid that lightly steamed.
“Ah, thank you.” The old man took a sip. “Hmm, you shorted the whiskey.” He complained while divining a bit more into his cup.
“You drink far too much, Nanduun.” A young woman appeared in a gout of fire and sat in the seat next to him.
“Hah!” The old god, Nanduun, laughed.
“Hello, Tilra. I am glad you could make it.” Io gave the other goddess a pleasant smile.
A cup of coffee, a small container of creamer, and a bowl of sugar cubes appeared before the goddess Tilra.
In a swirl of sand, a wild-looking man with a wide grin appeared. “Woo! Demon-Lord time!”
“Must you be so loud, Orbus?” Tilra complained while adding some cream and a couple of sugar cubes to her coffee.
“Oh, come on! Nothing unifies the races more than a terrible enemy!” Orbus slid into his seat, where a bottle of bourbon and glass appeared.
“Thanks, Io! You’re the best!” Orbus poured himself a glass and sipped the golden liquid, enjoying its smooth flavor. “That’s good stuff. Where’d you get it?” He asked Io.
“A friend in another cluster,” Io replied.
“So, who was in charge of choosing the Demon-Lord this time?” Orbus asked.
“You never pay attention at our meetings.” Tilra badgered the god, only making him laugh.
“Wasn’t it Sylfaerune this time?” Nanduun asked. “Where is she anyway?”
In a flash of light, the goddess of the Sky and Sun appeared.
“Sorry, I-.”
“Fashionably late? The best for last? Which is it this time?” Tilra dug into Sylfaerune.
“Busy. I was busy finishing something.” Sylfaerune looked annoyed at the younger-looking goddess as she sat at the table.
“Welcome, everyone. I am happy all of you were able to make it. As all of you have felt, a new Demon-Lord has been born. Has everyone properly summoned their Hero?” Io asked, in a motherly tone.
“I got mine when the poor sod tried to commit suicide. He lost everything in his life, so I have worked with him for the past couple of months. He is ready to enter the world and begin his new life.” Nanduun reported.
“Mine was desperately sick. They were basically stuck living a life of pain and misery. I made an offer, and they accepted. She is a very nice girl.” Tilra reported.
“I found one that was in a horrible situation. I worked something out with the gods in charge of the core world to make her wish come true. I swear, I will never understand how such evil people get to such high company positions.” Orbus reported.
“Mine is a delightful woman. She had dreams of being a powerful wizard. Before summoning her to my realm, I worked out the details of her previous life.” Io reported.
The only one who remained silent was Sylfaerune.
“Syl?” Io looked at her younger sister in concern.
“I had no issues finding a Hero. He is a spirited young man with no attachment to his old world.” She reported.
Tilra looked at Sylfaerune suspiciously. “You didn’t force it, did you?”
“No! I swear! I took the time and found one.” Sylfaerune replied, getting indignant that Tilra questioned her.
Tilra didn’t believe the goddess for a moment. She knew that Sylfaerune had a habit of being haphazard when summoning Heroes.
“Very well. Seeing as the Demon-Lord has just awakened, we will proceed with Oracle distributions and send our Heroes in at the same time. Does a week from now at noon sound good for everyone?” Io asked.
They all agreed.
“Now, what do we know of the Demon-Lord? Syl?” Io asked.
“Um… He is a winged demon with deep tan skin.” She reported.
“Do we know his trait yet?” Orbus asked.
“That is important. We don’t want a repeat of the Pestilence one.” Nanduun added.
“Thus far, he does not seem to have a particular trait. He may be an All-Rounder type.” Sylfaerune reported.
“Hmm. That sounds like it might be interesting.” Orbus nodded his head.
“Very good. If anyone sees that this Demon-Lord will be detrimental to the world, be sure to report it to everyone. We will have another meeting to find a way to deal with it as quickly as possible.” Io concluded their meeting.
The gods returned to their divine temples to finish their plans before sending their Heroes in.
Io looked to Sylfaerune’s empty seat. “Why could you not be more honest?” She sighed, knowing her sister was hiding something.
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Michael had ridden through the night, not feeling tired in the least bit. It was early morning. The sun was up, and the sky was blue. He wanted to get to Hallibrush as soon as he could. During that time, he decided to look at some of his new abilities.
One with Darkness was an ultimate Stealth ability. It allowed a person to completely erase their presence, even near the dimmest of shadows. He could also dive into one shadow, popping out of another he knew the location of. The descriptor gave him the idea of using shadows to travel long distances in an instant. He planned to try it out later. There was also the ability to ‘spy’ through shadows.
Martial Combat and Melee Weapon Mastery basically made him an ultimate warrior. He could pick and use any weapon to a high level of skill. If someone disarmed him, he could fight barehanded without taking a single hit.
Survivalist would allow him to survive in any type of environment. It did not matter how hot or cold the weather would be. He would always be comfortable. Perception-wise, as an example, he would know what the temperature was without being affected by it. One line said, ‘The coldest of waters or hottest of lava, you are unaffected.’ Which made him think he could probably swim in lava like it was nothing.
Elemental Mastery was an upgraded form of Elemental Control. He no longer needed an element to be present for him to use it. So long as he had a clear image of what he wanted to do, he could.
Mana Mastery would be something anyone using a lot of magic would want. Other than giving a person a borderline ocean amount of mana, their efficiency was so high that there was zero waste of mana.
Savior was one skill that surprised Michael. It gave him access to high levels of healing magic. He felt like a Demon-Lord, who could naturally regenerate, was already overpowered, knowing healing magic would make for an annoying boss in a game.
Master of Travel explained why he was not tired, even though he traveled through the night. The descriptor went, ‘On the road or in the sky, you are most at home. Exhaustion and Rest are best when you are traveling about.’ While Michael was traveling, it was the equivalent of sleeping for eight hours.
The last thing he checked was one of the Lord passive skills because he was overly curious. The Lord of Debauchery.
This passive skill prevents any type of addiction or dependency on terrible habits like alcoholism, drug abuse, or gambling. No matter how much damage a substance may cause to a person, you are immune to such effects. This skill also significantly increases physical stamina, to near-unending levels, during carnal activities. This skill also provides active abilities: captivate, hypnotize, and dominate. Races will naturally find you greatly attractive. Additional Passive skills included: Master of Pleasure, Increase Stimulation, Powerful Orgasm, Pregnancy Control, Master of Kink, Powerful Pheromone, Poison Immunity, and Addiction Immunity.
Michael was sure that the Lord of Debauchery was from Eevicaln the Lustful. He stipulated the time when he questioned the Commander of the soldiers might have had something to do with active abilities, like Dominate.
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Shaking some dirty thoughts from his mind, Michael looked ahead and saw smoke in the distance.
Bringing his Magic Cycle to a stop, he put it away and extended his wings. Michael was high in the sky with a single flap of his wings. His upgraded ability, Flight, allowed him to freely fly through the sky so long as his wings were out.
Michael flew toward the rising smoke, hoping he wasn’t too late.
From above, Michael could see that the town was a decent size, housing around 200 to 300 residents, but it was looking to be in terrible shape. The main gate of the wooden walls was destroyed. Several buildings were damaged, and a few were burned to the ground.
Michael used his new Demon-Lord Vision and zoomed in on the area around a central building with a lot of movement around it.
Human soldiers surrounded the central building that looked to have been turned into a final bastion of safety in the town. The humans looked to be hooting, hollering, and yelling at the building.
Using One with Darkness, Michael tapped into a shadow down below.
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“C’mon, you stupid beasts! We just want to find you a good home!” A soldier mockingly shouted at the building.
Several other soldiers laughed at his cruel joke.
A man in fancy armor watched the scene with a cruel grin. A soldier approached him.
“High Commander.” The soldier kneeled.
“Report.”
“The beasts have about one more day’s worth of supplies left.” The soldier reported.
“Good. We’ll give them a few days of starving and then break in to take them. Just remember, we have no use for the old or newborns.”
The soldier acknowledged the order and went about his business. But once he was gone and the High Commander was alone, a large hand reached out from the shadow behind him and instantly dragged him inside.
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Michael pulled the terrified man up to his face. “Hi.” He growled.
“Wha-?”
“Dominate.” Michael tested the ability.
Michael had learned that ‘Dominate’ can only work if someone is in a state of emotional distress or bliss. When Michael had heard the High Commander mention the killing of the elderly and babies, he bolted down to the ground and used the shadow of a tree to drag the bastard to him.
The High Commander’s head began to lull, and his eyes unfocused. This confirmed that this was the ability he had used on the soldier before.
“You will answer my questions,” Michael stated.
“Yeeeesssss…” The man answered.
“Don’t drag out your words,” Michael said, annoyed.
“Yes, sir.” The man responded while sitting up straight.
Though he could have found out with an info screen, he decided to ask.
“Who are you?” Michael began.
The man was the second son of Baron Reggis, the one the Baron was hoping to marry into the County of Delta. Michael discovered all kinds of crimes that the Baron was responsible for, including the death of Count Delta and his wife. They were responsible for drawing the ogre and the pig-orcs to the Great Beryl Forest, to the ambush location to kill the Count. The pig-orcs stopped the Count’s vehicle while the ogre was used to kill them all. Some of the pig-orcs survived by running, and that is why the trunk came into possession of the ogre. The Baron had wanted to retrieve the chest and the documents within, but he didn’t have anyone strong enough to take it on. If he had sent a more significant force, he might have been connected to the whole thing since it was outside his domain. The second son also knew a great deal about their slave trade business. With all the information Michael was getting, he wished severely that he had some way to contact someone about it.
“Hey.” Michael got the attention of the High Commander. “Do you have a Crys-Link?”
The man nodded and pulled it out for Michael.
“Excellent. Do you have a contact with the Philbra Merchant Company? Or perhaps someone of Delta County?” Michael tried.
The man lazily nodded again. “I have the contact of the daughter of the County of Delta. Lady Melissa Von Delta. My future fiancé.”
Michael had the man call her, a wicked grin on his face.
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The doors to an ornate-looking room burst open, and a beautiful young woman rushed in. Inside the room was a man in his early twenties with a tired look and a middle-aged butler.
“Melissa, what is it?” The man asked tiredly.
“Benson! A recording crystal! Now!” She ordered the butler nearby.
The butler quickly got one and brought over the snow-globe-looking item. After pressing a button on the side, he notified the young lady it was recording.
“Melissa, what is going on?” The man asked, not knowing what was happening.
“Brother, you must listen to this. Good sir, you are on audible.” She spoke into the Crys-Link.
“Greetings, my name is Michael. I have someone here who has quite the confession to make to you all there. His name is, err, go ahead and introduce yourself.” Michael spoke to someone nearby on his end.
“My name is Daniel Yul Reggis.” Daniel said.
“Is that really him?” The brother asked.
“You know I hate and despise the man. I hate his voice and would recognize it in a crowd. Not to mention that it is his number.” Melissa answered with disdain.
“What is this about a confession?” The brother asked.
“Go ahead, Daniel. Confess everything you just confessed to me.” Michael said.
The ordeal took an hour. Several additional questions were asked, and answers were received. But by the end, the Delta siblings and butler were furious.
“That son of a bitch! I will see to it his whole family is executed!” The brother yelled.
The sister was angry but turned to the Crys-Link. “Good, Sir Michael, we must investigate much of this, but you have done us an unrepayable boon. Please come see us in our County. We would assuredly reward you greatly.”
“Don’t worry about a reward for me. Did you guys get contacted by Yanni Philbra?” Michael asked, changing the subject.
The siblings looked at each other briefly.
“Yes. We have spoken to Master Philbra.” The brother answered, wondering what the connection between the two was.
“Yanni is a friend of mine. Just give him a decent deal, and I’ll be happy with that. I’m sure he would reward me through his company. See, I can’t really enter human lands, or at least it would be troublesome. Thusly I am heading to demi-human country since I would be welcome there.” Michael explained.
“I see. We will be sure to speak to Master Yanni before the end of the day.” The brother replied.
“Alright. Whoops, this guy is about to break. Sorry your, uh, lord and ladyship, but I need to go. Hopefully, this helps you guys out. It will certainly help the demi-humans having such a diseased noble fall. Have a good day!” Michael ended the call.
“What shall we do, brother?” Melissa asked.
“Get ready. We are going to the royal palace.” The brother wrote a message on a letter, sealed it, and handed it to the butler, “Benson, see to it that this gets to his majesty immediately. We will not be far behind the messenger.”
“Understood, sir.” Benson took the letter and rushed out of the room.
The sister stopped before leaving the room. “Brother, did Master Philbra not mention that a friend of his found mother and father’s trunk? Do you think that Michael may have been that friend?”
The brother stopped collecting things and thought for a moment. “It is possible. I will try to investigate further. I will want to thank the man in person.”
With the confession in hand, Count Delta got support from the royal palace to sanction and investigate the details of the recording. The entire Barony was confiscated within a couple of weeks, and the Reggis family was summarily executed or imprisoned for life. The royal family was happy to know such a disgusting practice of slavery was rooted out. When asked what reward the Count wanted, he named Yanni Philbra as a replacement for the Reggis family.
When the Count informed Yanni of his promotion to Baron, he suffered several bouts of hyperventilation and laughter of disbelief. But when Yanni was told it was thanks to Michael, Yanni could not stop laughing while shouting about how Benevolent his friend was.
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Michael tossed the High Commander into his Void storage, bringing his living storage number to 11/30.
Diving into the shadow, he shifted into the shadow he had pulled the High Commander into.
Michael found the area to be in a mad panic. Soldiers ran about, searched, and called out for their High Commander.
He wanted to test his limits. Michael wanted to see just how strong he really was. Changing locations to near the main door of the central building. Michael jumped out of a shadow and landed in the courtyard.
“ATTENTION!” Michael roared, rattling windows. “I HAVE YOUR HIGH COMMANDER! YOU WANT HIM BACK!? FIGHT ME!” Michael issued his challenge with an excited grin.
Throwing back his cloak and expanding his wings, Michael awaited his first foes.
A team of spearmen stabbed at him at once. He easily sidestepped the attack and wrapped the tips together under his arm. Swinging his trunk of a free arm, he shattered the shafts of the spears, removing their tips. More soldiers charged at him.
Using the broken tips, Michael threw the tips, each spearhead piercing through the legs of various soldiers.
Spinning, Michael used his wings for batting several soldiers away, sending them crashing into buildings or each other.
A group with heavy shields formed up and marched toward him. A group of men stood behind the shield soldiers. Michael could clearly see the gathering of mana in their hands and the color, making it easy to determine what element each caster was using. Michael could see the path or location of the attack. His new Demon-Lord Vision was overpowered!
As soon as the casters unleashed their attacks at once, Michael rushed forward toward the shield users, easily avoiding the magic attacks. With a mad grin, Michael punched one of the shields with all his might.
The shield nearly evaporated under the force of the attack. The air pressure from his punch was enough to shatter the man’s arms and send him bowling into the casters.
“Hot damn!” Michael was over the shield soldiers with a single jump, landing before the terrified casters. With a single swing of his wing, the men were launched in various directions.
Michael never knew how fun fighting was, especially when you are an overpowered Demon-Lord.
Michael continued his rampage through the soldiers, and not even one could fight him.
It took less than thirty minutes, and the soldiers were either injured, unconscious, or had fled for their lives.
Michael stood before the stairs of the central building with a happy smile.
The doors to the central building opened, and a few demi-humans came out. It was an old, gray-colored shitzu demi, followed by a couple of large bear demis.
“Greetings, sir demon. Are you here to help us?” The old man asked.
“Ah, yeah! I met a demi named Rana on my way here. She told me about your guy’s situation.” Michael answered.
The demis became elated at hearing news of Rana.
“Is she alright? What of the children?” The old man asked.
“They are fine. Last I saw them, they were heading to Venture to get more help.” Michael answered.
“Oh, thank Io. I was so worried when it looked like some soldiers chased after them.” The old man sighed in relief.
Michael told them what had happened on the road and how he had saved Rana and the children.
The old man and the others who came out bowed their heads to Michael. “We owe you a truly great debt, sir demon. Might we know your name? Ah, I am the mayor of this town, Toto.”
Michael had to stifle a laugh, drawing confused looks. “Uh, sorry. You just reminded me of something, is all. My name is Caeldaemos. Nice to meet you, Mayor Toto.”
“It truly is an honor, sir Caeldaemos.” Mayor Toto bowed his head once more.
The mayor turned to his people and ordered any of the soldiers to be captured immediately.
Michael used the shadows around the town to search for any remaining soldiers in the town limits and quickly captured them, turning them over to the demi-humans.
Once all the soldiers were captured, Michael removed the ones he had in his Void Space, giving them over to the people of Hallibrush. He did become concerned, though, about other potential issues with the living storage of the void space. The warning about panic and high-level confusion was genuine. The soldiers began to panic because the atmosphere and location were so different. Michael would limit it to things he did not care about, like a monster or beast needing relocation.
The last thing they did for the day was building a makeshift gate to replace the destroyed one until they had more time to make a solid new one. The rest of the night was a small celebration as everyone was quite tired from their terrible ordeal.