The Demon King Shall Save The World.

Prologue

  Somehow it was fitting, for these to be his final hours upon the earth.

  A sigh escaped his lips, eyes pointed downwards towards the battle field, to the tides of men and beasts below. They had made it into the fortress, the armies of man, dwarves and elves; all had rallied against him – perhaps that would be consolation prize? Either way, when your opponent was the combined might, of three races backed by the gods; defeat was simply a matter of time. But still his men had stood beside him to the bitter, bloody end.

  He shook his head, turning his gaze backwards; she had arrived.

  Behind him the doors burst open, clattering to the ground free of their hinges, a deep gash marring their’ surface, as she strode forwards to meet him. She was beautiful even now; her hair was scarlet, cut short at an angle, the stroke that had severed it leaving a faint scar behind upon her nape. She was slender and sweet, and clad in heavy armour, enchanted to the limit of endurance, while behind her trailed an immense blade as tall and wide as a man, lacking a point, but with a guillotines edge. She was bleeding badly, her left arm a visceral mess, one eye shut and smeared with blood. It seemed that Nabb had done her job well; he supposed he would soon meet her in the hereafter.

  This was the first time they had met, the Demon Lord Gorren, and the Hero Alda.

  He gave her a bitter smile turning to face his old foe, cape thrown backwards in the breeze. “Just... Give up.” She panted out those words with what little strength she had, the first words to pass between them, ‘give up’. His lips coiled tighter their’ corners turning. “You’ve lost this fight, give up... there’s no point, anymore.” She hefted up her blade resting its guard upon her shoulder. Even now, weakened as she was, she possessed incredible strength.

  “My, I didn’t know heroes could be so cruel. Where’s the rest of your’ party, dead?” Gorren questioned, with a sigh turning his back upon her to return his gaze to watch as the tides of battle slowly turned below, as his forces were crushed and his city razed.

“They’re keeping your’ general distracted. Now surrender, we both know how this will end!” Her voice rose into a desperate plea her hair spilling forwards to cover her face. She truly was naive, a kind hearted fool if ever there were. And slowly from the depths of his chest, laughter sounded out, causing the air to shake, the deep rumble of magic striking his tower rising up from below to join him.

“Surrender and be slaughtered, how inhumane, no how human. We’re not animals, we’re not monsters; no matter what you say. How can a hero be so cruel – take life so wantonly.” He smiled rising up to mount the parapet facing her down with deep black eyes that had held a contempt born from two decades of strife.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Look at what you’ve done how are you not monsters? Do you know how many people have...” She stepped forwards, the tower beneath them quivering and cutting her off. And in that moment, He cut in

“I once promised an old friend, I would find a road towards peace, that I would stop the needless violence. But it was you humans that denied me this; it was you that drove us to war. For each one of you we have killed, hundreds, thousands of our kind have died before. If we are monsters, then we are the monsters you make.” He laughed staring down at his opponent, now fallen to her knees as the very foundations of the spire trembled. Gorren paused for a moment his laughter dying low, a heavy strain entering his voice; “it’s a shame, really it is. I couldn’t keep my promise. With this war the final chance at peace is extinguished, I always think ‘what if I had found another way?’ but it’s pointless now. When this city falls the species you refer to as monsters will be hunted down, slaughtered; every man, woman and child. Congratulations Hero, you won.” He smiled then, it was bitter and sad. The smile of a man that had reached the end of a road not worth walking, and no choice but to go back and try again, and so he did; he fell backwards, and he fell down.

  A wave of magical flame engulfed the tower, dragging it down with him, the final blow to the Ren kingdom, as its first and last king plummeted to the earth.

  But before he could fall any further, before he could join his old friends beyond, he was stopped in his tracks, by the woman who had come to kill him. She was latched onto his ankle, her sword tumbling down below, as with her one good hand she held him in place. “You don’t get to die like this!” She yelled, a single light blue eye staring daggers. “I don’t understand a thing you just said, but you’re human right? I’m not from this world – I don’t know how it works. But I can promise you this I’m going home with a clean conscience!” She yelled, pulling him upwards towards the light, and the dawn rising in the distance. “I make you that promise, so pull yourself together. Get up here, and I’ll hear you out. If it turns out your not mad or stupid, then I’ll help you: I’ll help you save your people. We’ll do it together, Promise.” Her face was strained but he knew the words she spoke were true.

  A small smile crept across his face, and for the first time in a long time it was honest, the honest smile of a dying man. He reached up seeking for her hand, she released his leg and before he could fall grasped out to reach it. She was grinning down at him now, bloody and beaten, but grinning. And that was when he noticed it, the stones crumbling away beneath her.

  He reacted on instinct he supposed, drawing in magic and blowing it away, he threw her backwards as the stones collapsed forcing him down, once more towards the earth. He fell at last and for good.

  And everything went black.

 But then slowly colour once more colour pervaded his vision. It was hard to tell at first, the way the black slowly faded into shades of brown and gold and blue. But soon a hazy image appeared as if viewed through watery eyes. He could feel the wind upon his cheek, hear her voice calling out to him. And that was when he realised, he stood before his home, in shock awe and fear. For he knew what he was seeing was not a dream, nor some grand delusion. He was standing in the body of his four-year-old self, atop a hill blooming with lilies; his house sitting below, and his sister by his side.

  “Go are you okay?”