3 days have passed since Alex test-drove his TM01. The squad was hyped to kill the Demon Lord and take his gold.
They were having a final meeting at Summerville’s base, which they started to call their HQ, about their plan and how to murder a Demon.
The one with more knowledge about demons was Comoron. He said that from past legends, they could deduce that the Demon Lord had subordinates, all as strong as dragons.
Alex asked Comoron for details about such legends.
“Well, those legends are usually called ‘The Hero’s Tale’; it tells how the first hero defeated the Demon Lord. If you ask how he did it, the hero Kordak used orichalcum and mithril to damage the demon. Those materials are hard to get, but as far as we know, they are the only known weakness to demons.”
Comoron said.
“How can we get those ‘Orichalcum’ and'mithril’? Also, why do those names sound oddly familiar?”
Alex asked.
“I don’t know... I do have Mithril with me; as for Orichalcum, it is extremely hard to find.”
“How hard are we talking about?”
“The kingdom has a sword made of it. Many think that the sword is made entirely of Orichalcum, but the material is extremely heavy, so a sword made of it would be at least as heavy as two adult men, something not so practical for a hero specialized in fast combat and fencing.”
“Hmm… Hey, now that I remember it... Didn’t you say some materials could be mixed with pure mana to create magical materials? Such as Mana Steel?”
“Yeah, I do... Wait, are you suggesting that orichalcum and mithril are just like mana steel?”
“Yes. Exactly!”
“That’s... GENIUS, why hadn’t I thought of it before?”
“Sometimes, another point of view can help more than years of research.”
“Yeah…”
“Hand me the mithril; maybe I can figure out what’s it.”
After Alex finished that sentence, Comoron handed him a button made of pure mithril.
Alex took the material, analyzed it, and then had an idea.
“Hey, can I destroy this material, potentially forever? I think that I had an idea.”
“Well… I don’t have any particular attachment to this button anyway, but it is still expensive, so please, be sure you know what you are doing.”
“Alright.”
After that, Alex took a small chunk of the button. The material was so resistant that he had to melt it using magic.
It wasn’t easy. Comoron said that only the best blacksmiths could manage Mithril, and Alex made it as if it were nothing.
As Alex took the chunk off, he depleted it from mana, and what remained was only pure material. From what Alex knows, no element in the universe isn’t made of atoms; the same goes for magical stuff.
“This piece of material is mithril, but mana depleted. If we figure it out, we can do infinite mithril. Isn’t that good?”
“It is…”
Comoron said. He was shocked to see that Alex had managed Mithril like a pro; even though he said to himself that Alex could no longer surprise him, he was wrong again.
“Well, I will send this chunk of metal to someone who can discover from what it’s made, and then we will face the Demon Lord. As for Orichalcum, we should be able to create something similar, enhancing some crazy military materials.”
“Which material do you recommend?”
“Of course, depleted uranium.”
Alex proudly said.
“Wait, isn’t depleted uranium heavily controlled by the state?”
Harper asked. He was quietly listening to the conversation until now.
“Yes, it is, on Earth. The Unified Republics proved amazing; I even bought some depleted uranium yesterday.”
“Wait, where did you buy it, Alex?”
“On a Junkie shop, where else could I find it?”
“Alex… You do not find depleted uranium at a junk shop, do you!?”
“Well, I found it anyway.”
“Alright, I won’t say anything anymore. Just do what you proposed previously.”
“Alright, here I go!”
As Alex said it, he picked up the depleted uranium chunk he had bought and inserted magical power at it nonstop.
The piece of metal wasn’t big; it had only 3cm³ or 4cm³, but it was still enough to prove if Alex’s theory worked.
As he inserted mana at it, the chunk started to saturate. As it became fully saturated, the color changed to black.
Comoron looked at it stunned.
“HEY! The color looks like Orichalcum! It is not the same, but very similar. Maybe we are getting closer to finding the lost recipe of orichalcum.”
“Lost? I thought you guys find it in nature.”
Alex said.
“If it were the case, probably Orichalcum wouldn’t be as rare as it is.”
Comoron said. Alex had probably just discovered the main ingredient of Orichalcum, the material often called “god’s metal” in the kingdom.
“Well, if it is as rare and strong as you said, we can use it to kill the Demon Lord. If that ‘hero Kordak’ or whatever his name is, defeated the Demon Lord using only a sword, we can defeat it using something far more powerful and civilized.”
“Guns?”
Michael asked.
“Exactly!”
“Now you are speaking my language.”
“Well, let’s end this pointless conversation. We need a plan to kill the Demon Lord.”
Comoron said.
“Plan? Alright. I will give ya one. We will destroy the demon forest, at least the demon lord’s territory.”
Alex said. He already had a plan.
“Alex, won’t it interfere with the local fauna and flora, in addition to destroying the ecosystem?”
Harper said, but Alex interrupted him.
“Ecosystem? The Europeans destroyed the forests in South America; they destroyed our forests; our oceans are polluted, and we are still alive. I think that the demon forest is a small price to pay in exchange for destroying the demons once and for all.”
“Now that you put it that way, you are right.”
Harper complained.
“First of all, why are we destroying the Demon Forest?”
Comoron asked.
“After fighting there a few times, I noticed that the forest itself was demonic. Even though there are still many things to explore there, we can just collect in another place.”
Alex said.
“That’s not the problem at all... The Demon Forest is full of something called Miasma. Even though we destroy the place, it will soon recover itself.”
“Miasma, huh? If the forest uses it to recover, let’s just overload that system and make sure the place will take a long time to recover.”
“That’s not the case... The demon lord creates the miasma; we cannot do anything against it. The previous hero hadn’t killed the demon lord, but he overloaded his natural regeneration with orichalcum and mithril blows. The demon lord cannot be defeated.”
“He can. I killed a dragon; the demon lord is nothing.”
Alex said.
“The demon lord is far stronger than anything else you’ve encountered so far.”
“Hmm… In the worst-case scenario, we can nuke him.”
“And where exactly do you want to get a nuclear weapon?”
“Of course, in Asmeria.”
Alex said.
“Sorry to interrupt your ‘conversation’ guys, but nuclear bombs are the only thing Asmeria does not permit to sell. The same goes for nuclear materials. Alex could only get a small chunk of depleted uranium because it is not radioactive anymore.”
Emily said.
“Oh, well… Make sense.”
Alex said.
“Well, nuclear strikes aren’t an option, so what will we do?”
Harper said.
“Let’s just recapitulate everything we know so far. I think this is getting confusing. The hero, Kardash or whatever, defeated the Demon Lord using an Orichalcum sword and Mithril, right? Well, we are close to knowing how to make those, but as far as we know, it hadn’t effectively killed the demon lord. Well, the hero Kardashev used a sword after all, so the demon lord mustn’t be strong, right?”
Alex said.
“The hero KORDAK, was the strongest man alive in the kingdom. He could break mana steel in half using his bare hands. A sword in his hands could inflict as much damage as the bullets that saved me in the Demon Forest from those wolves.”
Comoron said.
“Well, as much means we have the upper hand here, right?”
“No. The hero defeated the Demon Lord with an army of thousands. While the subordinates were occupied with the hero’s companions, Kordak defeated the demon lord in a fight that cost his life. His sword has been stored in the capital city until now. As we are going to fight him alone, we aren’t in the ‘upper hand’.”
“Well, we will traditionally fight that demon. As for his subordinates, maybe some missiles will do the job. I don’t know... Let’s use that mithril to kill them. Fragmentary missiles full of mithril shards could do the job.”
“We can try that. That’s our best option, to be honest. If things go wrong, we can just retreat using the portal after all.”
“That’s settled then.”
Alex said.
Alex sent the depleted mithril chunk he had to inspect at a jewelry store as they finished their planning.
…
10 hours later, they finally discovered what mithril was made of.
“According to the guy at the jewelry store who inspected the chunk, it is made of 5% bismuth, 25% Mercury, and 70% silver.”
Alex said.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Mercury? Isn’t that liquid metal?”
Harper asked.
“Yes, it is. Even the jewelry seller was confused about how it was solid. Well, we can figure it out anyway.”
“Let’s mix it so.”
“Surely! We will try to make one ton of mithril, so we need a forge. As far as I know, Mercury's boiling point is below Silver's melting point, so we need to mix it carefully. Well, we can rent a forge anyway. We will buy one later though.”
Alex said.
After that, they left their base and started to buy the materials.
Alex melted 700 kilograms of silver; he had traded it for 70 kilograms of gold in the kingdom. That was one of the biggest transactions he had made so far; it better be worth it.
Michael and Harper bought 250 kilograms of mercury and 50 kilograms of bismuth. It wasn’t as expensive as they thought.
When they finished buying, they reunited at the HQ, where Alex had a brilliant idea.
“Hey, remember when I cast fire to melt the mithril button? That fire was 1000°C, enough to melt everything here. What about I use magical power with the fire to melt the material and turn it into mithril at the same time?”
Alex said.
“It is worth a try, but it is dangerous; what if things go wrong?”
Harper asked.
“Hmm. Comoron, can you protect us against melted iron?”
“Yes, I can. Why?”
“We are safe then. Let’s do it.”
As Alex said it, he cast the fire spell.
He could launch fire at 1000°C, enough to melt all the materials.
Using a barrier to protect the materials, Alex cast magical power and fire inside of it, melting every material and mixing them into a single unit.
The red mercury, white silver, and colorful bismuth mixed into one single piece of metal that glowed strong.
The result was a beautiful, glowing, colorful metal with square formations. It was almost alien, but the results were there.
The material was resistant and sharp; a scratch Alex made in his own skin using that material could barely heal.
They were ready to kill. Using magic, they cut the metal into small shards and gave it to Emily, so she could create fragmentary missiles using it.
Alex took some for himself, bought some jewelry, and used Mithril to create something unique. He would give those to Alicia and Luna.
Michael also made an earring for Jenifer; she was still in shock at the revelation of their "operations.”.
Harper and Comoron stayed to work on the missiles. According to Emily, she could make at least 5000 fragmentary grenades using the material they had given her, or the same quantity of ammo.
Michael left first to talk to Jenifer; they would marry soon, and after the shock she received seeing their headquarters, Michael must be there for her. Harper was not upset about Michael letting him work while he left and took care of his wife; Jenifer was Harper’s sister after all.
Alex helped them with the hard work until the boring part came; he left after that. Alex had a wife and a daughter to take care of, so none of them were upset about him leaving them in the middle of their work.
…….
…
“I’m home”
“Father!”
Luna jumped at Alex. Even though she had a 12-year-old appearance, she was still barely a month old; her maturity clearly demonstrated it.
“I made dinner, dear.”
Alicia said. She had cooked more of the dragon’s meat Alex left on the fridge.
The dinner was fried Milanese dragon beef, dragon stroganoff, rice, and French fries. Something ordinary yet unique.
The taste was divine. Neither the best restaurants could compete.
Once again, Luna ate her progenitor. Since Alex was magically, and now, biologically, her father, she held no feelings towards the poor dragon on the table.
“The food is great! I think that I will miss Dragon once we eat everything that’s left.
Alex said.
“I feel the same.”
Alicia answered.
“Can’t Father just kill another dragon?”
Luna asked.
“I think that I can... Well, next week we will taste Demon Meat; let’s see the difference.”
“Yay! I never tasted it before, but the taste makes me salivary.”
“I think that you two are being a little rushed... But I’m not going to lie, Demon meat excites me.”
Alicia said.
“Then it is settled. We will eat the demon lord next week.”
Alex said.
After that bizarre talk about Alex’s newfound hobby (eating exotic beings), he gave both of them the jewel he had prepared using mithril.
“Oh, it is beautiful! What material is it made of?”
“I loved it, father!”
“Oh, thanks. That earring and ring were made of mithril, a magical material we just figured out how to make. I will create something better later using orichalcum, but the material proved heavy, so it may be better to stop at Mithril.
“No need, dear. Those are already beautiful.”
Alicia said.
“At this moment, Michael’s house is probably at a fuss.”
Alex said.
“Yeah, Jennifer will need some time to adapt to her new reality.”
“Well, it is not bad, is it? Look at us; before opening the portal, we were nothing more than common folk, but now we even have a beautiful little dragon living with us.”
Alex said. Luna flushed.
“Yeah, we are better now than before. I think that Jennifer will also think like this later on.”
As they talked, Michael’s house was really a fuss.
“So… uh… Well… You know?”
Michael could barely break the awkward silence since the dinner at Alex’s house.
“I am not angry, Michael. It is just too much for me. You are fighting in a futuristic environment, and you can use magical powers even.”
“Yes… Technically, we are fighting in the magical world for now, but soon we will work there too.”
“I’m sickly worried, you know that!?”
“I know, but I promise you, I am doing nothing more than what I master. We are fighting powerful entities, alright. But we are also going with heavy military equipment, even safer than the current US Army equipment.”
“I understood that part; I can’t even be angry, because it was you who told it, and at the right time as well... What am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, but I thought that you should know it.”
“You are right... There’s nothing we can do, huh.”
“I hadn’t told it.”
“Whatever, it is not that I’m angry; I’m not angry, but this...”
Jenifer said.
Michael knew very well that women usually lie about their feelings in this kind of situation.
“Jeny, I know you are angry, but it was not my secret. I couldn’t tell you; even so, I did. At least we can pay our rent on the right day, eat to our hearts’s content, and even pay for a good marriage ceremony instead of doing it poorly.”
“Yeah, I get it. Well, I know you have a job to do tomorrow, so leave me alone for a while. I need to process the situation.”
“Before you go, here’s a small gift. We made some magical metal today, and it was a beautiful material. I imagined it would look good on you.”
After Michael said it, he handed Jennifer an earring and a hair clip made of mithril.
“Okay, I admit. It is truly exquisite, and this colorful material really suits me. Even so, I’m still angry.”
Jennifer said, but she could barely hide her cheeky smile.
She went to her bedroom and slept. Not much after that, Michael also entered and slept as well.
….
..
Emily showed the results of her work: 3000 fragmentary mithril grenades, 250 heavy penetration bullets, 500 anti-tank ammunition, and 25 liquid mithril injectors.
Those last ones were missiles designed to be stuck at a surface, penetrate it, and inject liquid mithril at 1500°C.
They were the triumph against the Demon Lord.
After listening to how Alex bought depleted uranium, Emily bought approximately 5 kg as well.
She used them to make normal bullets, but to save material, she made only a cover of it and filled the rest with lead.
The bullets were still made of depleted uranium, so Alex had to turn them into that pseudo-orichalcum. Emily also bought some artificial diamonds. Unlike on Earth, they were relatively cheap in Asmeria, as they could easily mass produce them.
She used those diamonds on the top of each bullet, making them absurdly sharp. Seeing how the depleted uranium was easily malleable, she added a small quantity of iridium into it, making the metal harder and more fixed.
She asked Alex to deposit magical power into it. They used mithril wires to connect each bullethead, making it easier for Alex to place magical power, as mithril was a good magical conductor.
As Alex played magical power, the metal turned into a perfectly black surface, mixing the diamond as well.
Even though it was black, it glowed blue. Alex had never seen something like this; no one there had, except for Comoron, who was shocked.
“It is... Orichalcum.”
“What? No way, I just added random materials to make it more suited to kill the demon lord.”
Emily said.
“I just added magical power into it... Nothing special.”
“The orichalcum alloy is an extremely resistant material. I think that I know how it is made. Depleted uranium, iridium, diamond, and lead. As for the ‘nothing special’ you probably thought, it is TRULY special. Emily, even though you said that you just added material to make it more suitable, you are a genius, so you must have figured out the league necessary to make orichalcum, as for you, Alex. You are just a monster full of magical power, even enough to rob a dragon's offspring.”
Comoron said. Emily flushed; she wasn’t used to being called a genius. As for Alex, he knew that his magical power was above average, but not the magnitude.
“Well, if we have orichalcum, we have everything needed to kill the demon lord, don’t we?”
Alex said.
“If you inject the mithril in the demon lord’s head and shoot the orichalcum bullet there, you can theoretically kill it.”
Comoron said.
“I think it may work. Good luck, boys.”
Emily said.
As she said it, Harper moved the TM01s outside the HQ garage. There were three of them; as Comoron and Emily were going on the mission as well, they would share one of the models, while Harper and Michael another. Alex was by far the most talented pilot, so he would manage one of them alone.
Alex and everyone else left the HQ, and they saw the magnificently magically improved triphibic. Emily had already installed the missiles on the models. Alex had 15 injectors, while the other two groups had 5 each.
They ignited the engines; it was faster and better than when Alex had tested it. Emily was not procrastinating; she corrected every error and issue on the vehicle after Alex’s demonstration.
Alex opened the portal. It was a glorious green light with red lightning at its border. It was different from the blue portal everyone else had through Alex’s shares.
As they crossed it, they saw a huge forest; it could easily be called a jungle.
They didn’t care though; Alex just ran over the trees, destroying them mercilessly.
They knew where the Demon Lord was, or at least a close location.
Through Emily’s and Harper’s satellite, they saw a concentration of demons, and they were heading directly there.
As time passed, anxiety grew over Emily, who had never been in battle before. She would just throw up if she saw what Alex did in the Germanium fleet’s battle.
Oh, remembering those, the ships were almost completed and ready for work. Emily had worked on them.
Even though she’s a small girl with average strength, she mastered drone controlling and programming.
Everything was going smoothly, well, at least for them. The monsters outside were all run through by the TM01s, and just an unholy pile of meat remained from them.
Alex thought it was a waste, as they could serve as a good dinner. Well, he would eat the demon Lord, so it was not a problem.
Mapping, they deduced that the demon forest was 2 million square kilometers, or 0.77 million square miles. The forest was big—the size of a big country on Earth—and it meant that the kingdom was big as well.
Even though they discovered other continents, the main continent, where the kingdom and the empire were, was the biggest.
They had finally reached the demon’s location. It was a demon village, full of "families," or whatever it could be called. New demons were born from eggs laid in an unholy demonstration of pure disgust, something that made them want to destroy all the demons just for them being ugly.
And it was exactly what they started to do. Alex could feel the anger he had felt before—that same anger that killed all the Germanium fleet and tortured that, Dragon.
It was the first time that Alex had noticed it, so he controlled himself.
Even so, there was one vehicle mercilessly killing every demon in an evil, efficient way.
It was shooting normal ammo even at the younger ones; no one was spared.
There was an older demon that survived the runover. When his hope for survival was high, that vehicle reserved and ran over the demon again and again until it was nothing but a disgusting bloody milkshake with dirt as filling.
That sight was terrible; they needed at least a few of the demons alive to ask for the demon lord.
Even though they were an unholy, disgusting sight, they were civilized. Those demons had families. Well, they were enemies after all, but even so, that person inside the vehicle could spare them from suffering by efficiently killing them instead of playing with their lives.
Alex couldn’t see it anymore, so he called everyone through the coat of arms.
“Hey, who’s the crazy one killing the demons in such a way? Remember, they are enemies, but also living beings; no need to play with their lives.”
Alex said. He felt hypocritical saying it because he played with other people’s lives twice already and almost a third time if he hadn’t controlled himself a few minutes ago.
“It is me. I killed all of those disgusting creatures like they did to our people! I feel no remorse for killing them like insects... No, insects are better than them. They DESERVE pain, as they inflicted infinitely more.”
It was Comoron who said it.
He had an uncontrollable hatred towards demons, as he saw them killing for fun.
“Comoron, control yourself. I will not enter in your way, as the one who will judge you is not me but God. Even so, we need some of them alive for information gathering, so control your fucking self, right?”
“Those demons are not worth it. I can get more info.”
“CONTROL YOUR FUCKING SELF, COMORON! WE ARE IN AN OPERATION, NOT IN SOME KIND OF ODD TORTURE GAME! AH, WHATEVER, GIVE THE CONTROLS TO EMILY, OR RETREAT!”
Alex shouted through Comoron’s head. He was shaking; he had never seen this kind of authority before; it was the same as the kind of orders through the coat of arms.
“Alright. I’m sorry, Alex.”
Comoron said.
“I will assume control over the vehicle, Comoron; take care of the ammo, right?”
“Okay.”
“I know the anger you are feeling. I also feel that way toward the germanium citizens. Just don’t let it control yourself. I’m here for you, and if I ever encounter one germanium officer, I hope you will be there for me.”
“I understand… Thank you, Emily.”
“You are welcome.”
Comoron and Emily grew a little closer after that, but it is a story for another day.
Alex captured 5 demons, Harper/Michael captured 8 of them, and Comoron/Emily hadn’t captured any.
After wiping off the demon village from the face of the earth, they interrogated the captured demons.
Alex was the one designated, as he was the one with more experience in interrogation.
He slapped the demon’s face, expecting it to talk.
It hadn’t.
“Mister Demon, I will ask you directly. Where is the demon lord?”
Alex asked the demon using the kingdom’s language. The demon finally said something.
“I don’t understand you, filthy human. Don’t worry, our almighty demon lord will crush you and your race with iron fists; his wisdom is unbeatable.
“Hmm, so this is the demon language? I’m glad you spoke, so I can finally speak it as well.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?”
“I know every word that you know. Well, we are not wasting time anymore. Answer me: Where is the demon lord?”
“I will never answer that ques- AAAHHHR”
Alex cut the index finger of the demon.
“I will ask again.”
“He’s in your asshole, asshol- AAAAHHHR”
Alex introduced a mithril needle below the demon’s nail. It surely hurt.
“I was a bit offended by your words. I will ask for the last time, Where is the demon lord?”
“I already said, I will never answer yo- WAIT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
As the demon said that he would never say the demon’s lord's location, Alex brought a small demon there. The adult demon instantly recognized the young one as his own son.
Alex placed a mithril knife at his neck.
“Where is the demon lord? Last time asking.”
“He’s 72 miles south. Please spare my son!”
Alex knew the demon was lying, so he cut off one of the young demon’s arms.
“Liar. Last chance, if you lie again, your son will die.”
“Ok! I’m sorry. He’s 102 miles north. As for the east-west angle, I don’t know; it is more east if I’m not mistaken.”
“Finally, was it hard, Demon? Well, whatever, I don’t know if you are lying or not, so I will place this explosive inside your son’s brain. If you try to take it off, he dies; if I press this button, he dies. It also has an AI that will detect if you say about what has just happened, and guess what? It will explode as well. I’m introducing them inside both your and your son’s brains.”
“Please, spare us.”
“We will; just don’t say anything that has just happened.”
As Alex finished talking with the last captured demon, he released them.
One of the demons tried to tell the other one about his torture, and his brain exploded. It was a good way to demonstrate that Alex told the truth.
All the captured demons had an explosive chip in their brains. Through torture, all of them admitted that the Demon Lord was North-East.
Michael and Emily were left horrified by what they had just seen. Harper knew that Alex had let the unknown anger take the best of him again, yet he controlled himself better. The only one that seemed satisfied was Comoron.
Well, they will fight the Demon Lord tomorrow, so it is a good chance to sleep after massacring the demons.