Arthor Note: There's a bit of an info dump in this chapter.
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The Great War.
A hellish fight that will determine the fate of the world. There were no defined players in the war; factions and races were continuously conquered, exterminated, freed, joined the war, and formed alliances. However, two clear sides were clearly known: the good and the evil. In reality, there’s no actual ‘good’ and ‘evil’; it's all a matter of perspective. These terms were assigned due to the god that each side worshiped, and held no actual description towards the cause the two sides fought for.
The ‘good’ side—containing mainly humans—worship the Goddess of Light and Sacrifice. She symbolizes the bright sun in the sky, and life. The term, “Hardships brings rewards,” was the motto of the, human created, Holy Light Church.
The ‘evil’ side contained mainly demons, who worshiped the God of Darkness and Wisdom. He was death and the fear that exists in every intelligent life form. Believers prioritize knowledge and strength over everything else, and call themselves the Godan.
No one knew who struck first, but the Holy Light Church convinced many that the ‘evil’ had invaded the land. Propaganda persuades the masses that demons were evil beings worshipping their dark god through blood sacrifices and other barbaric acts. Using the rivalry between the two factions, it was easy to persuade the people to fight for a cause that’s so loosely explained that only the Kings of the different races and other people of high power were able to comprehend the truth. The Church was also more active in converting people into believers, and occasionally, held prayers in towns. This expanded the Church’s influence throughout the land, yet also made it increasingly weak towards spies and corruption. Compared to the Church, the Godan was smaller—their following was still huge—and less active. Plus, they didn’t give a damn. True to the Godan’s beliefs, knowledge was power. The act of speaking and using false knowledge were deemed dishonorable and as despicable tactics of the inferior.
The war—stated in the records—began 30 years ago. Even now, war raged between the two sides. It was because of this war that a certain human city was invaded. Using strategies that disregarded the loss of life, the demon army rushed the human defenders. The army consists of low intelligent monsters, which were plentiful. To the demons, they were disposable pawns.
The humans used the words ‘demon’ and ‘monster’ interchangeably. However, demons and monsters are different beings. The main difference was that unlike any other intelligent beings, monsters didn’t have status windows. There were no skills that could quickly analyze the strength of a monster besides through battle, observation, and dissection. The classifications of the monster would be compiled by the adventurers guild funded by non demonic races, or other organizations.
However, what demons and monsters have in common are their cores. Instead of hearts like the humans and demi-humans, demons and monsters have crystal cores that act similar to hearts. The organs have the same functions within the body, but differ in appearance and as the humans have concluded, usefulness. An added benefit of having a core, inside or outside a body, was it’s ability to command monsters; the weaker the monster and the stronger the demon, the easier it was to control the monster. Yet, this didn’t hold true if the core of a monster was used on a demon. This was how the demon army was able to supply itself with an endless supply of soldiers.
No matter how strong the defenders were, they were still mortals who made mistakes, lost stamina, and bled out. The huge swarm of monsters overpowered the humans, gruesomely ripping them apart. The use of swarm tactics didn’t mean that the demon army didn’t have any strong monster fighters, besides the generals. This fact made things more difficult. Thus, the human defenses were overwhelmed. At such poor odds, the ‘good’ side still refused to surrender. Some who supported in surrnendering were ignored and, at worst, marked as traitors. A few ran from battle, but were killed, either by their allies or the monsters, before they could get far.
Against an overwhelming force, the lord of the city and commanders of the human army hoped that reinforcements would arrive in time. What they didn’t know was that the HQ had abandoned the site to begin construction of new defenses further away from the city. In the midst of battle, the lord and commanders barricaded themselves inside the lord’s mansion, which was turned into a military base. Compared to the bloodshed outside, it was comfortable and pleasant inside the base. They were, in a way, relaxing, while sweating bullets. In the group, the lord of the city was the fat, selfish coward. It’s not to say everyone was a coward, but a few of them were. One of the wiser commanders, brought up the subject of surrendering to reduce casualties. Another argued that an honorable death was better than yielding to the enemy.
“We can’t lose this city or risk opening up another gap in our defensive line.” (#1)
“Good men are dying out there. Their lives are more important.” (Wise Commander)
“They are dying an honorable death and will be remembered for their service for the royal family.” (#1)
“They are OUR people!” The argument between the two commanders intensified. Bystanders avoided the action as they desired no part in it. The wise commander was enraged by his comrade’s blunt statements of sacrificing others. He grabbed him by the collar and screamed in his face. “Do their lives mean so little to you?!”
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“They ARE our people so they understand their duties. They fight and die because it’s their job.” Commander #1 argued back.
“Those brave souls are dying because we told them to do it.” He corrected. The times he had ordered his men to fight a battle of unlikely odds was many. Everytime he did it, guilt flooded his mind and haunted him. Within the endless cycle of death, he swore to himself that he would save as many people as possible. This included surrendering to the enemy if it meant saving his people.
“So what! The weak always die. It’s the rule of the world.” (#1)
“You make me sick.” (WC)
Their disputation was disrupted by a sudden door slam. Every personal in the room turned towards the double doors. The doors were swung open as a guard flew onto a table and fell to the ground. Someone ran to the fallen guard to check his pulse. Sadly, the man was dead before he came bursting through the doors. Standing at the entrance was a figure clad in dark clothing. Due to its unique style and certain physical features, the humans quickly drew their weapons and prepared magical buffs for combat. The creature that stood in front of them was a demon of unknown race and identity.
The body structure—a pair of lumps on the chest area—was an obvious indication that she was a female. Her body was covered from top to bottom with dark clothing. She wore clothes that resembled a hoodie, sweat pants, and a scarf. There was an absence of shoes because she had no ordinary, human feet. Her left foot was reptilian with gray scales and talons, and her right foot was a flower petal shaped stump with a black layer at the end. It was oval shaped, where one side, located at the back, was curved into a point. The sweat pants made it impossible to see how the mismatch feet connected with the legs. Her hands were barely visible due to the long sleeves that covered most of her hands. From what they could see, the right, scaled hand was strangely large for someone of that height and size. The left hand seems normal, besides the white, sharp nails and four fingers(including the thumb). Her head was covered by the hoodie, and her lower face was covered by black scarf. Only her eyes, some parts of the face, and some white, messy hair were visible. Some hair bangs covered the left eye, and the right eye had a red iris. Stitches ran through her cheeks, and right eye. Some parts of skin, connected by the stitches, were darker(gray) than the majority of the skin, which was pale/white. A pale tail without scales protruded from her lower half; a hole was made on the sweatpants for the tail. Her style of clothing and lack of skin exposure gave off the feeling of mystery and danger. Her inconsistent body parts made her an abomination that brought out the fears deep within everyone’s heart… Death.
"Lieutenant Colonel Borus, what can you tell us about the demon?" A commander asked.
"I can't see its status. Something is blocking my skill." Borus quickly responded.
“Give up.” She said. The humans weren't sure if it was a demand or a request from the neutral tone of its voice. Without any information on the demon, it was impossible for the humans to come to a solid conclusion.
The lord yelled at the commanders to protect him like a squeaking pig. Commander #2 took up the task and charged. He swung down his sword vertically, in hopes of cleaving the demon in half. In mid swing, the human stopped in his tracks and spat out blood. The spectators were horrified by the scene they witnessed. Faster than the eye could see, the demon’s tail impaled the attacking human, leaving behind a gaping hole in his chest. The tail retracted from the body with a sickly squish. The corpse tumbled onto the pool of his own blood.
The demon took a glance of the corpse, before losing interest and redirecting her gaze at the group. To see a high ranked human die so easily shocked the lord more than anyone else. The lord screamed louder and begged for his life. His pleading became criticism towards the commanders’ inability to kill the ‘evil’. The commanders were annoyed by his nagging and incapacity to see the life and death situation they were in. Unknown to the humans, the demon was also bothered by the screams made by the pig. Again, without them knowing until it was too late, the powerful demon appeared beside the lord with her scaled hand on his greasy neck. A dull snap signaled the man’s end. Like any trained warrior, the commanders reacted quickly and swung their blades. If they couldn’t beat her with strength, then they could defeat her with numbers. That was what they thought. They thought wrong.
The demon didn’t move, nor did she make a sound. The absence of a reaction caused the attackers to ignore the upcoming danger. The wise commander believed that something was off with the situation. He hesitated when he saw the demon’s peculiar ignorance of the charging commanders. The demon had a fast reaction so she would be able to dodge or counter attack. Yet she made no signs of doing the former... This hesitation saved his life.
The floor cracked as earthen spikes pieced through the wooden floor and into the humans. All of them, excluding the wise commander, cried in pain. The lucky ones died seconds later, while the unlucky ones faced an agonizing, slow death. One spike missed its target, the wise commander, who escaped death by a hair’s length. The point was close to his neck, but it didn’t reach.
Everyone was defeated in a heartbeat. There was no winning against this monster. The remaining human dropped his sword and tumbled to his knees. The demon made eye contact with the commander as if she was shocked that he had survived the attack. He stared back into those mismatching eyes voided of mercy. He was ready to be killed in this very room. However, that death didn’t come.
“Give up.” (Demon)
Instead of death, he was given an offer. No one could stop him; the death of his peers made him the highest ranking officer left in this army. The offer was all he desired to begin with, so he took it.
“Will you spare the citizens and my soldiers?... Provide for them and treat them fairly.” (WC)
“They will live.” (Demon)
That was enough for him. He was the prisoner and such requests were unreasonable. To have his people live was better than death.
“I... Commander Adelio of Section A of the royal army, surrenders to the Demon King. All soldiers will submit to your rule and surrender without resistance.” Adelio proclaimed in defeat as his knees gave way. The commander, now prisoner of war, kneeled before the new lord of the city.
“Good.” (Demon)
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Jeetu POV
(ME - the body acting on its own)
(ME ME - the actual MC)
I accidently conquered a city and made the leader my servant. Sooo~... Does anyone know how to run a city? Because I sure as hell don’t.
“I must report back to Doctor” (Me)
‘Shut up, me.’ (Me Me)
“All reports must be made after a mission has concluded.” (Me)
‘And I said shut up. If I had full control of my body I’ll bloody duct tape Me’s mouth. Let’s see how Me likes it.’ (Me Me)
“Reports must be made.” (Me)
‘I ain’t gonna report.’ As I thought of this, my body moved towards the a**hole doctor’s office. ‘Fine, I am going to make a report because I want to. Not because I am a spectator of my own body and forced to do it by a pulsing orb inside my brain.’