Book 1

Part 1

Towering deep blue mountains peered down on the vast expanse below. Where the mountains ended, a great yellow savannah plain began. Beneath the azure blue skies, the lush gold savannah spread out, like a majestic carpet, across the lands. However, the problem with this picturesque landscape was the freshness of the air. To be more precise, the air had stagnated and dark foreboding clouds began to gather above the savannah.

War was upon on this land, at the opposite ends of the savannah were two great armies.

One army which originated from the desolate plains consisted of all sorts of monsters, ranging from Orcs to goblins to Trolls to Ogres to Dark Elves. These were the readily identifiable monsters – there were many more which no one had seen before – a sabretooth tiger the size of an elephant. A six tusked, four ears and 3 eye elephant like monster which was as big as a mini-hill, a lizard longer than the longest snake of this world…..where did such monsters come from? And these monsters which could be seen at the front line were just ordinary foot soldiers of the Demon Empire.

The other army which originated from the lush green plains and boundless flowing rivers were armies of the living and ‘goodness’.

The humans made up for the largest of the living races. The humans, with their attire ranging from simple mage clothing to white knight armour. Some humans were on foot and some on horses. The humans easily made up for the majority of the forces. Amidst all the humans, there were pockets of proud elves that could be seen (those who swore allegiance to the humans), adorned in gold armour, riding their white stallions. There were also pockets of short muscular dwarves, clad in thick steel battle armour, riding warthogs. Lastly, the scant number of beastmen could be seen; they wore nothing more than fur clothing. However, it suited them just fine given their wild nature. The beast-men had the highest physical endurance amongst all the races and it would hurt their pride to ride a ‘fellow’ animal. There were many other minority races present in this united army. However, they are too insignificant to describe.

This was a war between the Demons and the Humans. Many of the other races cared too little to help in the war, which is why few of the other races appeared in this war. In these matter, the other races believed it would be best if the humans perished – not everyone thought like this. However, such people were few and hence their representation in the entire scale of war was tiny.

The armies met with a bang, the sound of sword’s clashing rang throughout the valley and plains. The armies hit each other with unimaginable force. The ground trembled with the intensity of the battle. Carrions dared the rain of arrows and hovered close by, waiting for the battle to end. It was to be a feast for them; corpses of the soldiers.

The battlefield was consumed in chaos. The sky was lit with hundreds of flaming fireballs and arrows only to be extinguished by the magical rains right before they reached their destination. The obnoxious and intoxicating gases settled in, the fumes of anger, hatred, despair meddled with the minds of the warriors. This was the raging Battle of the Plains – a battle that would go down in history. It was the finale between good and evil.

Part 2

In an oval stone cased throne like room, dimly lit with purple flame torches, twelve creatures in armoured suits were gathered. Some of those armoured creatures were skeletons, some orcs and some were varied demons like vampires and other undeads. Each warrior carried a ferocious and baleful aura that would scare the average human to death. These demon warriors stood straight, with helmets in one, in a circular fashion around the throne. They stood around, a demon who sat on a flat stone throne. This demon had a different aura from all the other monsters gathered here. His aura was neither baleful nor filled with anguish. Instead, his aura had a more material form – dark purple flames. The body of the demon sitting on the throne was encased in purple demonic flames – hot enough to scorch anyone who tried getting near him into cinder and ash. This demon sitting on the throne, is none other than me  – the great Demon Overlord, Hades!

We were in the middle of a strategy meeting to discuss the progress of our campaign in the human realm. When suddenly the door of my throne room burst open and a skeleton knight rushed towards me. “My Lord! News from the battlefield!”

Then as though he remembered something, he fumbled, rolled on the ground and assumed a kneeling posture. He bowed his head with respect – he awaited my permission to speak.

“Insolent fool, how dare you forget your manners in front of his lordship!” My trusted General of the Demon armies, Xerxes, spoke. “My Lord, let me kill this impudent pile of bones!”

The skeleton knight’s bones rattled as it shivered in fear at the thought of death.

“No!” My voice roared in the stone hall. “Let him report the news first.”

“Disaster my liege!” The skeleton knight spoke up hesitantly. “The Hero has made an appearance!”

“Hero?” I ask with some confusion and uncertainty. What is a Hero? I have never heard of this Hero before.

“He is a mortal human bestowed with the blessings of the Gods!” The skeleton knight explained.

“Fool! A mere mortal sends you into a state of panic! You are shaming the pride of the Netherworld!” my Vampire General, Dracula, shouted at the stupid skeleton knight.

“Heeeh!!” The skeleton knight squirmed in fright as it got a taste of Dracula’s killing intent.

“Sire!” Another skeleton knight rushed into the room, in state of panic, “I bear news from the battlefield!”

“Another one?” I mutter distastefully. “Is it about the Hero?” I ask, these skeletons tend to be pretty stupid.

The skeleton knight nodded his head vigorously.

“What about him?” Medusa, General of the reptilian army, spoke up.

“They have broken past our final defences and are rushing here!”

My eyebrows twitched slightly when I heard the news. The twelve generals surrounding me did not show any signs of panic – but that is exactly why they are generals of the great demonic armies!

I have always known that conquering the human realm would be difficult, but who knew that the humans had such a powerful weapon – this being called a Hero.  At first, we were winning the war but then the tide slowly turned against us. As I was concerned about the change in tides, I recalled the Great Demon Generals back to the nether realm for a strategy meeting. It took them several weeks to get back – however…it is difficult to imagine in the last few weeks of their absence the humans have completely undone our progress.

It is not all that difficult to imagine the strength of a creature blessed by the Ancient Gods. After all, all of my Generals have been blessed by the Gods – the bare minimum qualification needed to be a General.  Nonetheless, this human called the ‘Hero’ intrigues me. To have not only have defeated my demonic armies but to have also broken past our defences – this Hero is worth meeting.

“Is there anything else?” Xerxes asked.

Both skeleton knights shook their heads – conveying there was nothing else to report.

In an instant they were turned into ash.

“Stupid low class monsters, worrying at the slightest of troubles!” Xerxes shouted out after crushing them with his bare fist and grinding them into white powder.

“My Lord! Leave this to us! We will take care of this immedi….”

*RUMBLE*

*RUMBLE*

*RUMBLE*

*RUMBLE*

Dust began to fall of the ceiling as the entire floor shook heavily. My Generals weren’t in the slightest perturbed however there were faint traces of shock on their faces.

“Impossible….” Xerxes muttered.  It seems as though the castle is under siege.

“Xerxes…” I finally spoke up as the turmoil came to a halt.

“Yes, my Lord!”

“I will personally go greet this mere mortal and hammer the nails of fear into his coffin.” I said dispassionately.

The other Generals were about to protest when the castle began trembling more violently – seriously what is that Hero doing in this castle that it is shaking so violently….

Part 3

I found the Hero on the lower floor of my castle. He had golden brown hair and blue eyes. A typical human face but the aura he was giving off was definitely first class. Amongst all my encounters with the human race, I have never met anyone who carried such a strong and holy aura….

Wait…can it be….is it not his aura…but rather the sword’s aura, that he is carrying?

I see now, in addition to the blessings of Ancient Gods he also possesses a divine artefacts. Not everyone is worthy to wield a divine sword and wear divine armour. Divine objects grant an astonishing increase in raw power, defence, agility and so on. A single piece of divine equipment will provide a boost to one’s ability to the extent the gap can be considered as large as the heavens and earth – such is the power of divine artefact.

However, the price of said ‘power’ is the strain it carries on the body. Even amongst my great demon army Generals, there is no General who can carry more than one divine artefact. Yet, here I am seeing this ‘Hero’ holding a divine sword and wearing an entire set of divine armour. No wonder my armies in crushed in a blink and now I have this sword wielding lunatic in my castle.

Heh – I see now finally an opponent worthy of me. By the way, for those wondering, I too own divine artefacts – my unholy sword the Ragnarok and a complete set of unholy (dark attribute) armour.

I guess now that I have sufficiently analysed him and his power – I can say he does have the qualifications to fight me.

Time to make an appearance.

Part 4

An ominous existence suddenly appeared in front of the Hero – although this creature appeared to be of one of the demon tribe, he carried with him a terrifying and baleful aura. The demon was covered from neck below in a black vile robe – it gave off a melancholy and malicious aura of its own. So vile was the atmosphere that any ordinary human would be spewing out their innards right now. The demon wore a  proud and arrogant look on his face – seeing the ‘Hero’ come to a grinding halt.

The two men stared at each other in silence. They both were sizing up the other.

After a long pause and silence, the Hero finally broke the silence. “Are you the true Demon Lord?”

“True Demon Lord?” The Demon asked warily. “Fool! I am the only Demon Lord! There is no other demonic being which is stronger than me!!”

“I see…” The Hero replied with some complicated expression. “Then do not disappoint me…” He finally spoke with his lips curving upwards, into a smile.

With that much said, the Hero rushed towards the Demon Lord – his single dash left an exploding trail of shock waves behind him.

Part 5

The fist of the two men collided sending violent shockwaves everywhere. The immediate surrounding castle walls exploded as though they had been struck by a hammer which had descended from the heavens.

Upon impact, the two violent auras of both hero and demon lord, clashed violently against each other – both were trying their best to suppress the other with their might. If the twelve generals were to witness this clash close up, they would have disintegrated into ash. Hence, the Generals watched from a distance with great admiration as their Lord took on the Hero – toe to toe.  Neither Hero nor Demon Lord were lacking in strength in any manner. The generals were surprised to see that their Lord exceeded their own abilities by a hundred fold. However, they were even more shocked to see that a mere human possessed sufficient power to compete on equal footing with the demon lord.

After the first strike, both hero and demon lord, leapt back. A faint trickle of pearly crimson blood descended from the lips of the Hero, as he stood panting, watching the demon lord for any sudden movement.

The Demon Lord was in no better condition, although he took no direct damage, internally he had never depleted half his strength. If it was a battle of duration then it seemed like the human would win but if it was  battle of power, the Demon Lord knew he held a slight advantage.

“Not bad human!” The Demon Lord spoke, there was a subtle change of tone in his voice – he now saw the human in a different light. “You are easily stronger than my strongest General. Swear your allegiance to me and I you will not have to forfeit your life to me, today….”

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But before the Demon Lord could complete the sentence, the Hero began laughing. “Swear my allegiance to you? Does the strong ever bow to the weak? Stupid Demon, do you still not understand the difference in our strengths?”

The demon lord unconsciously took a step back, “Foolish mortal, I was going to let you go if you swore your fealty to me. I was even willing to make you my foremost General….but it seems it is you who has not understood clearly the difference in our powers….you still believe this is the human realm? If it was the human realm, then there is no doubt, you would have won against me….but silly human this is the netherworld. In this realm, the atmosphere, and everything else only strengthens me but will weaken you as our battle proceeds.”

“Oh?” The Hero spoke with slight surprise as he raised an eyebrow.

The demon lord was slightly shocked by the lack of reaction, however he quickly collected himself. What is with the slight surprise? Aren’t you supposed to be terrified?

“Now that you mention it, the air does feel a bit corrosive…” The Hero murmured as he looked around.

“Don’t tell me you did not notice the toxic air you were breathing till now! It is thick in miasma. A normal human would have died the moment he entered this realm!” The demon lord arrogantly declared. “The more you fight me, the weaker you will become!”

“But you know right, this is just air and some malicious aura?” The Hero spoke with complete calmness and composure. He did not seem in the slightest bit afraid of the facts which the Demon Lord revealed.

The demon lord stood silently and looked on at the Hero stupidly.

“If it is this much, at most it will only make me sneeze.” The Hero declared arrogantly.

Only make him sneeze? What kind of existence is this human called Hero? Even I the great demon lord cannot enter some places of the netherworld because of the extremely corrosive nature of the miasma. Yet, this human….a pitiful human, is saying this miasma is only going to make him sneeze….too arrogant!!

“You little punk….” The Demon Lord muttered as he began to gather the surrounding energy.

The earth began to tremble as the demon lord gathered the miasma and began concentrating it in the shape of a sphere in his palms.

“Huh?” The Hero leisurely stared at the Demon Lord, who was obviously making preparations for an ultimate attack…

The black ball of sphere, was trembling in the hands of the demon lord, this was his ultimate attack, he had put all his strength into this attack. The sphere of miasma was giving off an extremely violent and evil aura. Even the Generals who were watching from the distance, retreated several miles as the power of the attack was severely damaging them. Just by being near the black sphere, the Generals could feel their body corroding away. It was true, the ground around the demon lord disintegrated into nothing, creating a crater around the Demon Lord. Furthermore, the air around him swirled violently, enough to slice thick steel into pieces.

“Hehehehe…” The Demon Lord who had closed his eyes for so long finally smirked as his attack was complete. “MUAHAHHAHAHAHA”....stupid human, you should have struck me while you had the chance…..now face my wrath! Even your soul won’t survive an attack of this magnitude!!”

Without saying anything more, the Demon Lord launched his attack. The rapidly rotating sphere shot out of his arms in an astonishing speed, giving off the illusion the black sphere was a black laser. As the sphere moved across the battle ground, it tore up the ground beneath it and set fire to the air around it. Black flames covered the air around it and black lightening was randomly shooting out from it – it were as if an uncontrollable power had been unleashed in the world. A power so strong it would consume the entire world.

The Demon Lord fell to his knees as he watched the attack depart – he had used his entire strength in creating that attack. The demon lord was smirking as he watched the clueless Hero stand in front of the sphere. “Die, mortal fo….” The demon lord stopped dead in his tracks and was unable to complete the sentence, as he was completely shocked by the scene unfolding in front of him.

The Hero, cut the black ball of doom, into two halves with a single slash of his divine sword.

“Impos…sible….” The Demon Lord muttered as he stared stupidly at the Hero. That was his most powerful attack, yet the Hero cut it into two halves with a single sword slash. Even cutting it should not have been enough to disperse the energy, yet a single flick of the Heroes sword dispersed the violent energy. Even the demon lord was certain he could not dispel the attack after he launched it….not so effortlessly atleast.

Once the sphere was dispersed, the Hero calmly sheathed his sword. “Is that all? Is that all that the mighty demon lord has to offer?”

For the first time in his life, the demon lord actually felt afraid. “You….what are you…..” The demon lord stuttered as he struggled to get up. The twelve generals immediately appeared by the side of their Lord.

“Majesty!” Xerxes called out, as he shouldered the frail demon lord.

“Oh so are these the twelve Generals of Hell?” The Hero asked.

“Human! Do you think you can kill our demon lord so easily? You will have to kill us first….” Medusa declared.

“Then, I will do just that.” The Hero coolly replied.

The Generals took a step back. They were confident that the Hero must have expended most of his power after taking on such a strong attack head on. Everything from here on out that the Hero displayed must be false bravado.

The Generals tightly clenched their weapons.

“You guys still don’t get it….” The Hero spoke with dismay, “I have been holding back all this while…”

The Demon Lord and Generals were flabbergasted when they heard that. Holding back? Why on earth would someone hold back in front of the mighty Demon Lord? It was too insane of a thought….unless this human has completely transcended the limits of mortal realm….

Xerxes held on the Demon Lord tightly. “Dracula, Medusa.” He called out to his companions. “He is likely to be bluffing…but just in case, I am moving the Lord out of here. Take lead and hold him back till then.”

All the Generals nodded hesitantly.

“Think you can really leave?” The Hero said calmly.

In the blink of an eye he appeared behind the generals, standing next to the Demon Lord.

“What!!!” Xerxes cried out in shock, when he noticed the Hero standing beside him.

“Come, let me show you my true strength!” The Hero declared as he removed his self restraint.

As the hero removed the divine armour he was wearing, an aura far more terrifying than even the demon lords’ descended from the skies. A violent earthquake split the ground into countless pieces and the heavens themselves  roared in fury as lightening flashed countless times and thunder roared in the background.

“This….” The demon lord muttered in shock and disbelief. The Hero had indeed been holding back. Even after fighting the demon lord and taking on his ultimate attack, the Hero had this much strength in him. “He can’t be human…”

The Generals agreed with their Lord’s conclusion – this much power was not possible for a normal human to contain.

“Protect the Lord!” Xerxes declared as he jumped back and the other Generals turned to attack the Hero.

However, before anyone had noticed all the Generals lay dead on the ground. Even Xerxes who was clutching his Lord felt his knees grow incomparably weak – when did he get me? Xerxes wondered as he realized his body had been shattered into millions of pieces. Forgive me, my Lord. This one did not have sufficient strength to protect you… Those were his last thoughts before he died.

The demon lord stood with a dumbfounded expression as he watched all his Generals collapse at the same time. The attack was so quick that even he could not see it. However, he slowly realized what happened and rage built up within him. Those monsters were his Generals but also his companions since birth and friends. Watching them lose their lives so easily, the Demon Lord could not help but feel angry. Staggering, the Demon Lord stood up slowly and began mustering every ounce of his strength depleting his life to its very limits, the Demon Lord brought forth all his strength. Compared to the previous aura, the Demon Lord was giving off a significantly more powerful aura. It was as though he powered up an entire notch.

The Hero watched this all calmly. “Yes, bring out all your power….show me a battle which will excite me….”

The Demon Lord, suddenly appeared behind the Hero – which startled the Hero. This speed was definitely in no way inferior to his own.

“You want a fight to excite you, this will be your last…” The Demon Lord coldly whispered into the Hero’s ear. Then slammed his fists against the Hero’s neck…however his fists went right through the Hero effortlessly….it was an afterimage.

“Not bad….but if that is your strength, then let me tell you it is only on par with half my strength.” The Hero spoke as he appeared several feet behind the Demon Lord.

“You….what …. Are you?” The Demon lord repeated his question. Seeing the Hero dodge his attack so easily, the Demon Lord believed every word the Hero spoke. Instantly, the Demon Lord lost all will to fight and collapsed to the ground – kneeling next to his fallen comrades corpses.

“You what are you….” The Demon Lord asked once again as the Hero slowly walked towards the mentally-broken demon lord.

“Me? I am a battle-loving maniac.” The Hero calmly spoke, “I enjoy fighting. No, I absolutely love it and have been searching for the absolute peak of strength. However, seeing you at the peak has been an absolute disappointment.”

“Hehehhee..” A wild and cold laugh escaped from the lips of the Demon Lord.

The Hero’s eyebrows arched in a frown. “What is so funny?”

“You think I am the peak of strength? Fool! In the nether realm, I just one of the many rulers of a tiny prefecture!….if you truly want a terrifying opponent then fight the Ancient One!” The Demon Lord’s eyes flashed in anger.

The Hero was startled by this revelation but stayed silent. “Goodbye Demon Lord.” He whispered. “Thank you for the information. This one will be sure to defeat the Ancient One.”

Saying this much, as white light descended from the sky and enveloped the demon lord.

“ARGHHHH!” The demon lord cried out in pain as the armour he wore slowly dispersed way like gas and his skin began to burn away. “FOOLISH MORTAL!!! I WILL COME BACK AND DRENCH HUMANITY IN A BLOOD BATH, ONE LIKE THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE!!! I SWEAR UPON MY DEAD GENERALS. I SWEAR UPON MY PRIDE AS THE DEMON LORD!!” The wretched demon lord screamed and howled in agony.

The Demon Lord’s body disappeared completely.

“Well, then? I guess I should go looking for this thing called the Ancient One.” The Hero spoke calmly as he walked as leisurely as ever past the dilapidated ex-Demon Lord’s  castle.

Part 6

Ugh where is…..why are my hands so small….wait what is with these human hands!!! These can’t be my hands!! Why am I naked!!!

Hey!! Stop lifting me up like that human!!! I am the Almighty Demon Lord!!!

You hear me!! Almighty…

Ouch why did you spank me!!!

That hurt….you hurt the mighty demon lord…

*WAAAHAHHH!!* (cries)

“Congratulations, it seems to be a healthy boy.”

Oye, oye…don’t tell me I have been reincarnated?

Muahahahaha!! Hero! You may have won the battle but the war is far from over! I will have my vengeance and humanity will be soaked in a never seen before bloodbath!!!

Hey put me down!!! What are you doing human woman!! You dare touch the Great Demon Lord with your dirty hands!!!

“Try to feed it some milk…” A voice encouraged.

Hey stop!! I will absolutely not yield!! Even if you force those voluptuous hills into my face…I absolutely will not cave in….I will absolutely destroy all humans!!! Hey!!! Are you listening to me….stop forcing that into my mouth!!!

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Author's Notes:

1. No commitments and  (very) short chapters.