In the beginning, there was nothing. Then, God opened his eyes and everything came into existence.
His task began with creating a world where a multitude of species dwelled on the surface, all intelligent and sensible, some even loving. After many hardships, he was finally content with this new life that Sprung from him, happy to fall back and just observe their daily antics. One could say he was satisfied, even.
But only too late did he realize that his creations weren't as perfect as he was, as he made them out to be. Soon, they began showing their ugly side, to him and to each other.
No matter what he tried thereafter, the inevitable could only be delayed, not stopped:
A time came when the eternal flames of war were born to blaze and rage. All places that were ´safe´ in one's memory perished and flooded with the vile stench of death.
Where once was happiness only hatred remained, what was once beautiful became a red void. The killing was unbearable, merciless and gruesome, yet living in this charred hell some came to see death as a form of salvation.
Once he realized that all his dearly-loved life might perish if this bloodshed were to continue, it was decided to split the world into several realms.
The clashing was torn apart, sealed away. A realm was created for every species and each realm was meant for this species alone. They were destined to live among themselves until the end of days and thus, peace returned.
After this, something happened, and he became unable to intervene with his creations ever again.
'As long as there is peace, so shall it be,' he thought
But peace was only a temporary facade. Because many, many years later a way to cross realms had been discovered.
--
Allow me to introduce you to one of the places that resulted from the war. This excuse of a realm is known as the Demonic Domicile:
A bloodred sun in the sky, burning all life go ashes in the rare moments when not hidden by a dark veil clouds.
The soil so dead that even the most persistent of plants would suffocate
And the land full of amalgamate monsters that have fought for as long as they can remember to survive yet another day.
Yet, it fitted the Demonic Volk and their extreme aggressiveness.
Demons
Though gifted with near endless lifespans, their numbers are low compared to other species. But not because of their reproduction rate, but because of their recklessness, because of their bloodthirst. Only the upper echelon, the truly strong, survive. The rest simply die on the way there.
A Demon who lived for as long as a Human would need to become an adult would already be considered rare, a 1 in 100. A Demon older than that is easily able to take on a platoon of soldiers by itself.
For this reason a myth came into being about a Demon´s age being proportional to its strength. It wasn´t wrong per se, but it would be more accurate to say that an elder Demon fought its way up there.
However, now that the life-demanding war has been banished, the number of Demons dying has somewhat decreased. Right?
Wrong
Demons continued their daily life of killing, using their realm to the fullest and fighting all creatures they happened to encounter.
Though in the end, the abundance of monsters turned out a blessing in disguise: It served as a never-ending source of food and a fast way of gaining strength by Leveling-Up. Furthermore, it was enough to sate their maniac urge for blood which helped internal conflicts to stay low.
But even with all these conditions met, Demons living together and acting in unity would still be a distant dream.
Would, that is, if it weren´t for a single individual. He was the only Demon who had watched his enemies in the war, who had learned from them and who was fascinated by their tactics. Especially by the efficiency of coordination. And now, he had acquired the power to force his realization on the rest of the Demon race. After many years of development and progress, they eventually began calling him Leader, then King
And currently, he´s known as The Demon Lord
-- -- --
Amid this very same realm of Demons, unnoticed by any form of life, suddenly a portal opens. From within appears a single Human. Or more precisely one of the strongest Humans. Codename Golden Rose, an Assassin
Equipped with a recently developed Artifact, the |Changeling Catalyst| which disguises her as a Demon, the Assassin's mission is to infiltrate the Demon ranks, starting as a foot soldier and slowly climbing her way into the royal castle. She was ordered to do so by the most influential Nation of the Human realm: The Nikites Alliance.
Their goal? – Disposal of the |Demon Lord|
The Assassin doesn´t know why Humans want to involve themselves with the Demon realm now after all this time. Does the upper echelon stride for glory? For revenge after what had happened in the past? Or was the job assigned out of fear? She can only speculate, but the lack of insignificant knowledge doesn´t bother her, it never does when she´s assigned a job.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
–
By now years have passed since the first day she started as a mere knight. In the beginning, a few ´mishaps´ happened and she was forced to dispose of some witnesses, but she had learned her lesson after that, accustomed herself more to the Demons´ nature
Not long and her achievements caught even the |Demon Lord´s| eye. Her ability to make calm judgments in any given situation, her keen instincts, her unwavering aura... They all were highly sought abilities. Her first major promotion followed after a grave fight against a flock of monsters. After the group's leader had fallen to the beasts, she took command of the team and led everybody to the best possible victory. In Human rankings, she´s now something akin to a Knight Commander under the royal family´s employ. Though that doesn´t mean she can get close to her actual target yet. Her main tasks still consist of what she was promoted for: Leading large squads to exterminate monsters.
Still, she gained at least some influence in political affairs. The Assassin was slightly taken aback in her first Gathering of Leaders as the only conversation she could easily follow was about the progress of Artifacts that Demons tried to recreate from Humans. But again, she wasn´t a top-notch for nothing, most people who worked with her considered her a ´genius´. She quickly adapted to the Demons´ ways and shortly after was the one others looked up to for advice and discussion.
– – –
Exactly at six in the morning the Assassin opens her eyes.
Stretching her arms, she gets out of bed and retrieves a |Communication Orb| out of a hidden pocket beneath the floor. Finishing her daily report to the authorities of the Nikites Alliance, the Assassin is overcome with a feeling of unease.
She dresses in her high-quality |Draugnir Robes| and accordingly dons her |Dragon-scale plate|. But instead of leaving for the day like she always does, she sits on her bed and stares at the floor, biting her fingernails.
Suddenly, a sharp screech hits her ears. She looks at the decorative skull hanging on her wall. A faint glimmer is visible in the ruby in its left eye.
She releases a shaky sigh. There´s no time. Stepping to the door, she slightly bends her body forward to not hit the horns she gained from her disguise against the frame.
Making sure that nobody is around with her Skill |Detecting Aura|, she carefully locks her room and recasts the sub-spells |Notify| and |Record| on the door.
She wipes her sweaty hands on her legs and makes her way through the vast hallways
“Good morning, Commander!” a number of Demons salute her on the way.
She gives them a stern glance and returns a quick nod, then hastily continues to her office. Today she feels it´s more difficult to keep a poker-face. She worries her emotions will show, her vulnerability. Her Anger
Arriving at her personal room and closing the door behind her, she casts |Hearing Disruption|. A dark field expands, its round surface glistening like a soap bubble, until it settles in the corners of the small chamber.
“God fucking Dammit!” she yells and smashes the desk with her fists, almost breaking it.
The woman confidently believes in her |Skill| to not let any of the noise escape.
“What do you mean I have to finish the job by today?! This fucking bastard! He wouldn´t survive a single moment here, and yet... Urgh! He knows I need more time to investigate the |Demon Lord|, so why?! Does he want me to just throw all these years of work out the window?!”
Her anger snowballs out of control
“Why does it have to be now anyways?! Only because the Princess was born? Even the |Demon Lord´s| Daughter won´t just turn into a calamity-designated threat in a day for fuck's sake!”
She plumps down into her cushioned, custom-crafted chair and starts massaging her temples, somehow or another managing to get a grip on herself again.
That is to say, she doesn't regret the outburst. Letting all that out left her feeling refreshed. Better now than later
“No use overworking my nerves. What can I do anyway? The old man knows I keep information about Demons to myself as a lifeline, yet he won´t bite anymore. I miscalculated. He´ll probably drop my support… hell even stop contacting me. I´m done for if the |Changeling Catalyst´s| power source is cut… fuck”
The Assassin notices her finger´s aggressive tapping on the desk in front of her. How long has it been doing that? She takes control of her hand again
"I would´ve just sent the whole Demon army into the Human Realm long ago... if it wasn´t for Sophie. Fuck they got me good"
The Assassin shakes her head and decides to start on her workload for the day. She needs to distract herself.
--
A few hours pass when the Assassin looks up from her paperwork. She leans back in her chair and turns to the ´one-way window´ in her room that is installed instead of a wall. She sees a river of Demons there that flows into the castle, but for them the window just looks like a regular part of the manor.
´Right, the Classification Ceremony,´ she thinks to herself ´No wonder everybody is so excited today´
Today’s main event – The Classification Ceremony: A ritual performed for newly born Demons of noble heritage.
Although powerful Demons can assert their kin´s ´potential´ with their naked eye to some degree, if the newborn's power is too strong, it will be imperceivable even to them.
In those cases, the ceremony shows its true worth; No matter how immense one´s talents, how absurd one´s abilities, the Classification Ceremony will with utmost precision reveal everything.
Well, at least that´s what´s believed by Demons, as there are no records of the ceremony ever failing.
´I´ve heard not even the |Demon Lord| could sense his daughter´s innate talents. Maybe that´s one reason for the geezer´s rash decision? Well, it doesn´t justify it in the least. Whatever, I don´t have time for this, I need to finish preparations,´ The Assassin mumbles.
Her long-term mission will come to an end today, at the ceremony. It´s a rare opportunity because the |Demon Lord| will show up in public. Furthermore, his attention will be focused on his daughter. When her evaluation and the crowd distract him, when his guard will be down, the Assassin will strike. All it takes is a mere moment. Afterward, using the confusion and chaos, she´ll easily end the Princess and escape.
It´s risky, very so, but by far her best bet.
She hides her documents, exits her office, and walks down the long hallway.
Her hands are sweaty.