I glare at the glowing universe system menu thingy.
“This thing just does what it wants with no regard for anyone else, doesn’t it?”
Alice, still a bit shaken from the destructive force of my new weapon, takes a moment to register that I am talking to the air.
“Um, Lua? What are you looking at?”
“Hmmm I wonder.”
I decide to try willing it so that Alice and the others can see the screen I am looking at. Lucadon had mentioned I could control this with my thoughts last time, so this should work.
Within a moment, Alice jumps at the sudden appearance of the ominous looking screen in front of her.
Prim just looks on with interest, while Snappy clearly has no clue what is going on.
“I see, so you managed to break a grand curse set in stone for millennia enough that you were rewarded with a powerful curse resistance.”
Nodding her head at the revelation as if my shenanigans are totally normal, Alice just leans back on the sofa I created, not a care in the world.
“My lord, are there any other skills you have received from your Title?”
Prim, strutting around in her ominous black and red maid outfit, reminds me that I was supposed to have other skills from the Demon Lord Title that I never looked into.
I really wonder where she got the idea for the outfit and how she is already so good at controlling the runes I carved into her body that she was able to make it so perfectly.
In fact, it looks oddly reminiscent of something I saw in an anime once… I will need to grill her about how many of my memories she has access to later, whenever I can find a time where Alice won’t be able to listen in.
Actually, now that I think about it, I should have her connected to the little light magic chat room I built forever ago.
Wait, no. I am getting off track again.
Stupid menu thing first. Securing my dirty secrets later.
“Hmm. Can I see the Demon Lord Requirements again?”
And just like that the screen changes to show me the same requirements it had before.
You have earned the Title of Demon Lord!
Requirements:
1. Die and come back to life
2. Commit a massacre of creatures beyond your current strength
3. Create and command numerous mana creatures
4. Defeat an entity at least 2 Classes above yourself without assistance
5. Become an enemy of at least half of all sapient creatures
6. Become an enemy of the strongest entity in the mortal realm
7. Be in command of an Archdemon
“Yeahhh… I don’t trust this shit at all. I know for a fact that it is stretching several miles of BS from a tin can inorder to give me these ‘achievements.’ Lucadon must have done something fucky.”
At my mutterings, Alice chimes in with a rather interesting factoid.
“It is said that Titles come from the perception of the world and its inhabitants.”
I suppose that makes sense, but if that is true then how could I have gotten the Demon Lord Title? There is only one possibility that I can really think of, that Lucadon was either the highest ranking or just the last remaining demon in the mortal plane.
When I expressed my theory to Alice, she seemed to agree.
“Damn. Well, I should try looking at the other skills I have while I have the chance.”
Both Demon Creation and Demon Control have a list of “Unavailable”s below them so I guess they can do more that I just don’t know about yet. Something to look forward to.
Below that is Demon Lord’s Protection and then something very interesting.
Lord’s Shadow.
“Well now, I wonder what this does?”
I can feel a grin forming on my face at the edgy-ass skill name.
“I don’t see this ending well.”
“You always say that Alice. It always works out fine.”
I can feel her disagreement from here, but I am too excited to try my edgy new skill.
I try and sense for a way to activate it but find myself grasping at nothing.
Right, It is not like The System I was trained for. I can’t just wish for a skill to happen, I have to actually make it happen myself.
Did I get this from my latest advancement?
What triggered it becoming available, and why did I not get notified for it?
Then I remember that this screen only showed up when I started wondering what the feeling was.
“Ah, so I can open and close this whenever I want?”
I will the screen closed and back open in an instant. The ominous black panel vanishing and popping back into existence with little fanfare.
“Nice! Though I probably should have tested that last… Just in case I was wrong…”
Muttering to myself I refocus on the Lord’s Shadow skill.
Shadow, shadow, shadow…
Ah!
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
I only know of one smoky substance that my body produces that could work for this!
“Gross, Lua.”
“Shut up! You know what I mean.”
I pull the black smoke out from my Soul and let it fall into my shadow, saturating it with the same creeping darkness and red lightning I had used to create Prim with.
Looking down as I park the golem spider carriage in a sunbeam, I see that my shadow is a lot darker than it should be.
If this works like my chuunibyou heart thinks it does, I am going to be so damn happy!
I pick up my golem spear from the table and drop it into the shadow.
Like a lake of bloody ink my shadow swallows the spear whole.
I feel my grin widen even further as I reach into the shadow with my mind and pull the spear back out again. The shadowed shape rises from the inky darkness before I grab it, returning the color to the spear.
“I have an inventory! Fuck yes!”
I start jumping around like a little kid in my excitement. Carrying all my armor, tools, and golem cores everywhere is so not fun!
Prim, ignoring my antics, comes over to inspect the shadow with Alice.
“Certainly an interesting skill. I wonder how much you can store in it?”
“Good question. We might be able to find out if the Demon Lord herself can act her age. You are supposed to be like 20+ on the inside if everything you have told me is true.”
I suddenly find myself coughing at the mention of my real age. I honestly don’t know how to even count it properly with my two lives blended together. I gave up trying to decide almost immediately.
“Right! Prim, try entering my shadow.”
After all, any good Demon Lord should be able to store their armies in their shadow!
Prim, not feeling an ounce of hesitation at obeying my command, hops right into the inky depths and vanishes in my shadow.
“Hey, it works!”
I get a glare from Alice for carelessly having Prim jump into the untested skill.
I just shrug and reach out to Prim in my mind. I share a connection with all my demons so it is easy to track her down. Looking through her eyes, I can see her staring out from beneath me. The whole world warped and rippling above her, like looking up from the bottom of a lake.
Calling out, I have her return to the surface. Her shadowy form rising, and then taking her now usual maid-like appearance.
This skill is so useful!
One thing I do notice is that there is no mention of my Demonic Aura in the menu at all. I have to wonder what else I have that the universe has not deemed necessary to share with me.
And I wonder what other Titles there are that I can get.
----------------------------------------
Crystal, the Vice-guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild, calmly sits down across from the leader of the Steadfast Shield Clan. Her tail of runes and flames swaying back and forth through the chair as if the obstacle does not exist.
She takes a moment to get a read on clan leader Kuma before speaking.
“I need you to send a few people into the forest to look for Lua.”
The clan leader raises an eyebrow at the strange request.
The girl had left of her own accord to get stronger, and as far as he could tell, she was not a fan of her previous ‘retrieval’ in the slightest.
“Why do you need us for that? She said she would be back, so why not just wait? She can handle herself after all.”
Crystal furrows her brow at this. She was never fond of how carefree this man was. He always ignored important issues, trusting fate to make the world a better place. She had left the clan ages ago for this reason and gone to work for the guild due to its structure.
The hypocrisy of this opinion, after her recent antics and enthusiasm towards her theorized Hero, is completely lost on her.
Internally, she sighs. Deciding that the safety of Lua is far more important than bickering with this man.
“This is confidential information, but the Demon Lord was discovered to be hiding in the section of the forest closest to our border… Lua is in danger. You see… The Guild has reason to believe that she is the Hero.”
Kuma’s eyes widen at the implication.
If the girl is the Hero and the Demon Lord is really so close, the safety of the whole world is at stake if the Demon Lord gets to her first!
“Y-You’re kidding me, right?”
Stuttering out an attempt at denying his own carelessness at letting the girl leave unattended, the clan leader desperately tries to deny the woman's words.
“No.”
“Well shit.”
A lot of the clan’s people are currently out on a mission so the clan leader does not have many people to spare. Especially when it comes to people strong enough to venture into the woods where this Demon Lord is supposedly hiding.
The Vice-guildmaster does not care about hiring just anyone though. She already has three individuals in mind.
“Are you sure that is wise? The kid is less than fond of those three.”
“It is better than sending in a mass of people she does not know. The Guild is willing to make this a high priority request, one with benefits to match.”
Seeing the look in Crystal's eyes, Kuma knows that arguing is pointless.
“I’ll call them in now.”
…
..
.
Stumbling into the room after the clan leader's secretary, a golden eyed brawler, tall black haired noble woman, and blond haired wind mage stand at attention when they find the Vice-guildmaster in the room.
“Sir, you wanted to see us?”
Speaking for the group as usual, Rose Ashfort nervously looks back and forth between her leader and the Guild representative.
I really hope we are not in trouble for anything again.
“Yes. The Guild has a special mission for you all.”
All three of the adventurers finally let go of the tension in their bodies. Only to suddenly tense again as the seriousness of the situation hits them.
If the Vice-guildmaster is here, the mission must be really important…
“You all remember that girl you found in the woods?”
“You mean Lua! I have been so worried about her since she left.”
Nodding along, Rose begins to worry more than before.
“The Guild believes she is in danger. Right now we need you to help search for her in The Sea of Trees.”
Crystal taking over the conversation starts to go over the details when a shadow mage interrupts.
“I am so sorry for Jen’s actions! If she had not shown Lua that fighting arena, she never would have left!”
Bowing her head, Rose tries to apologize to her superiors.
“Calm down! No one is blaming anyone. The situation is more complicated than you know.”
The three adventurers all shift awkwardly, especially Jen, who is the main culprit for Lua fleeing the city.
Crystal takes a moment to let them adjust before dropping a rather large bomb.
“The Guild believes that she is the Hero, and that the Demon Lord is in the forest with her. Possibly even hunting her.”
Now the whole room devolves into shouting.
“No!”
“We will go!”
“We will protect Lua!”
Crystal nods her head, certain she picked the best people for the job. The only people for the job.
“Thank you, I wish you luck.”
…
..
.
“So, Lua’s the Hero... I always knew she was special.”
Walking through the town to gather supplies for their mission the three adventurers nervously and excitedly discuss things amongst themselves.
“Shhh, people will hear you! It is meant to be a secret for now.”
Rose tries to quiet Helmios down as the bell to the shop jingles upon their entrance.
----------------------------------------
Unbeknownst to the group, things were far too late on that front.
The Vice-guildmaster had already talked about her Hero theories and of the girl Lua to so many people that word had begun to spread.
A 15 year old girl who tragically died and was brought back by the gods for her light magic. A girl protected by a fairy and growing at incredible speeds while wielding two types of magic at once.
Whispers run through the streets of the city and meetings are held in secret throughout numerous countries.
The Hero has returned to the world, and will slay the Demon Lord.