“Now how about we make a deal?”
A shiver runs up my spine as its grin cracks further and further across its face, far beyond what a human smile should be capable of. Which I suppose should be obvious, considering this thing is the furthest from a human one can get.
“And why would I make a deal with you after you kicked me off a damn cliff?!”
Not hiding my indignation, I shout at the monster before me for the long ass month I have had since the aforementioned spartan welcome to the forest. I nearly died so many times! I am still covered in blood from blowing my hand off less than a day ago. I swear to the gods that if I didn’t know that this thing could kill me before I even have a chance to blink I would have already stormed out of this temple.
“Now, now, now. There is no need to get so testy about it. I did that for your own good. I even made sure you would survive the fall after all. Convinced the plant to wait to try eating you until after you woke up and everything!”
Speaking about my horrifying wakeup call that morning to Snappys jaws of acidic death, as though I should be thanking it when it was the one who got me into that situation in the first place! The blurred nightmare drones on and on.
“Ah! Where are my manners?-” And before I can ask, what fucking manners? The monster, the demon, introduces itself. “Greetings young ladies, I am the Archdemon Lucadon. At your service.” The whole introduction being done with a rather exaggerated bow, one which looks terrifying coming from the seven foot tall grinning shadow.
I try to recall anything I had learned about the demons of this world, but remember that most of the books I had read treated them more like fairy tales than actual living creatures. They only ever agreed on one thing, demons were extremely dangerous. I am not sure how to respond to this mythological creature before me when Alice chimes in with something I had not realized.
[ The way it said that, “young ladies,” it knows I am here with you. Do not let your guard down. ]
Shit, I didn’t even think about that. Of course something this powerful would easily notice the magic Alice was using to project herself into my vision. Despite the fact that Alice’s image should only be seen by me I can see the demon looking at her as well.
I don’t know what I should do here, and I can see Alice is rather tense from meeting this demon. I had tried to get information about this creature right after my first encounter with it, but Alice couldn’t speak on it due to the system restricting her.
I want to ask all about it now that she is free, but now clearly is not the time. Especially when the demon in question would undoubtedly see any messages Alice sends me.
With no way out, I make a decision.
Fuck this.
Sticking to my guns and being who I always am, I decide to treat this demon like I would anyone else I find so incredibly annoying.
“Sure, whatever.” Rolling my eyes I turn my head away. “You said you wanted to make a deal, right? What is it? And why ask someone as weak as me when I am sure you could trample any problem in your way?”
The demon only grins further at my rude attitude towards a being far stronger than myself, a being who could swat me in an instant.
“Ah, yes the deal. I have been watching you since you arrived in this forest you know. A corpse teleported right into the middle of the sea of trees was of no real interest to me at first. A mere passing annoyance at whoever was treating my vacation home as a garbage dump.
However when a power far beyond even my comprehension stitched you back together I was quite intrigued. It was truly magnificent work! Your two souls being stitched and woven together so intricately that it all works together in perfect harmony, Now that caught my interest.”
Spreading its lanky unnatural arms, the arrogant demon that clearly likes to hear itself speak, begins to gesticulate its tale as though it is the most fantastical story ever told.
“And once that obnoxious little system got involved I couldn’t take my eyes off you! Three different souls all overlapping the same mana core in harmony! Truly a masterpiece, I would love to shake the hand of whatever deity helped make a monster like you.”
“I am not a monster!”
“Oh, but you are. Or, at least you will be. Someone with two incredibly rare magics and completely free from the system's shackles. Immune to any and all mental interference, and a rebellious part of the system itself with its own soul hitching a ride! An individual like you is a once in a lifetime prodigy, and I am talking about my lifetime not yours.”
While I am not happy to have my resume listed out like that, in what seems like an almost cult-like zealotry. I realize that it is right, and that I am very much a monster. I wonder if this means I will one day have the power to take down my parents for what they did to me.
“You still have not told me what this deal is.” Trying to get the demon back on track I bring up the little detail it keeps conveniently forgetting.
“Of course, of course. The deal is simple, I would like you to help revitalize the demon population. You see, we are a special type of life form that The System can’t get its hooks into and I am sure you can guess how the system would react to a creature it can not control.” Pausing for a moment to let the information sink in, the demon leans in towards me. “Yes, just like you we are also enemies of The System. We have been hunted for millenia and our numbers are dwindling, oh woe is me. I would like your assistance in fixing that little problem.”
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This time Alice is the one who steps into the conversation.
[ How exactly do you expect Lua to do that, and what does she get out of it? ]
This is something I am very much wondering about myself. How am I supposed to help bring back the demon population at Class 1? I know nothing about how demons work, but I get the feeling that they don’t reproduce like humans do.
The demon quickly reads through Alice’s message bubble appearing in its vision, and immediately dodges the question.
“Oh worry not, it will all become clear once you accept the deal. As for compensation.. You wish to survive, yes?”
Taking a step back and getting in a defensive position I bite my lip. I am not liking where this is going.
“Are you threatening us?”
The demon suddenly looks shocked and a tiny bit panicked, breaking from its normally confident facade for a moment.
“Oh devils no! I would never dream of it! I was merely offering my assistance in your growth… You two seem to be the rather impulsive sort from my observations. Tell me, how did you plan to escape this temple after angering all The System’s dogs outside?”
At that I finally freeze, and I can see Alice stiffen as well. Yeah… We might not have thought this through very well. There has to be dozens of those strange masses of tendrils and energy outside right now. And considering that I am no longer connected to The System, they are going to take killing me very seriously.
Seeing our reaction, the now placating shadow gives us a bit of hope.
“You may be at ease, for I have already taken apart those little toys out front. Call it a show of good faith.”
I am horrified that it is talking about killing all of those things that are now on high alert as though they are nothing but “toys.” I am starting to not want to know what level this demon is anymore.
Not totally believing it and its claim to be helping us out, I begin to walk outside to verify its claim of an olive branch.
Pushing past the towering obsidian doors I come outside to see a pile of metal scrap in front of the barrier protecting the temple. The red lights around the city are still glowing strong but the protectors are all clearly dead.
“See? Nice and safe. Now how about that deal? I will provide you any assistance I can, and in exchange you will help rebuild the demon population. Oh, and I suggest you decide quickly.”
Throwing that last line in as though it is a mere afterthought I get suspicious once again.
“And why should we decide quickly?”
Ignoring my suspicious glare, the demon answers simply.
“Did you think you could break one of The System’s toys, and enter a temple of rebellion without having a whole slew of reinforcements sent to fix you?”
“Oh… How long do we have?”
“Hmmm, I would say about 30 seconds.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!”
This asshole was stalling this whole time so I would have no choice but to accept its deal! Indignant and panicked I try to think of a way to get out of this without having to accept the deal. Then I see off in the distance where the cube like cavern opens up, a swarm of much much larger tendril-covered masses of glowing crimson energy than the ones I had dealt with before appear.
I clearly have no choice in this matter…
“Fine! You have your deal, demon!”
“Ha ha ha! Wonderful, now let's get out of here.”
Just as the demon raises its hand to snap its long twisted fingers to teleport us away, I see a deep black box with blood red text appear in my vision.
You have earned the Title of Demon Lord!
This comes with the benefits-
.
.
.
Your new title will be broadcast to every sapient creature in the mortal plane
“Alright, what the fu-!”
----------------------------------------
All across the world, every intelligent creature stops as a message fills their vision.
Attention Residents Of The Mortal Realm!
The Demon Lord Has Risen
May Her Reign Be Eternal
Panic breaks out at this unexpected message.
Citizens in the streets shivering in fear as they read the Title.
Human kingdoms and empires calling for immediate war rooms to prepare for this new threat.
A certain religious sect begins their own secret preparations.
Dwarves start building new and more powerful fortifications to defend their strongholds.
And the Elves simply choosing to ignore the message as they are the only species that have lived long enough to remember the previous holder of the Title.
Finally in a kingdom not far from The Sea of Trees an oracle of great power is called to the palace.
…
“What is the meaning of this? I have never seen a message like this before from The System!”
Shouting angrily the king of the nation struggles to contain his panic.
Meanwhile the oracle, one of the longest living humans within the entire mortal realm replies blithely.
“That is because this is not a message from the system. For the first time in over a century someone has acquired a Title. You would do well to study up on your history, boy.”
Despite treating the king as though he is a mere child, the guards in the room do not move in the slightest. Moving against someone of her power would be nothing more than a ticket to a quick death. That and her position in this kingdom has always been higher than the ever changing royalty.
“Urk, I-I uh…”
The king tries and fails to come up with an excuse. Having just recently taken his place on the throne, the oracle's term “boy” is not entirely inaccurate. Even if the man is in his 20s.
“I don’t need your excuses for avoiding your studies… More importantly I must inform you that I have never heard of this Title before.”
Taking a seat on the long plush sofa the seemingly young woman takes a sip of the tea prepared on the table.
“I have already tried to divine more information about this Demon Lord. However there seems to be something interfering with my magic. Something very powerful. I have only met a demon once before in my long life, and it was a terrifying experience. It took many powerful mages to take down the single creature. If these monsters have one powerful enough to be their Lord, I fear our kingdom alone will not suffice to combat this threat.”
The king's face continues to pale with each word the silver haired woman speaks. And once she finishes the leader of an entire nation shrivels up and asks in a quiet voice.
“What do we do?”
Staring down at the rather sorry excuse for a king the woman answers simply.
“You will do nothing. I will go and speak to the nearby kingdoms and attempt to broker a united front against this Demon Lord, whatever it may be.