Freezing silence pressed in on me. I couldn’t help it. I trembled.

When I tried to call out, my voice died in my throat. It was like the darkness around us contained a presence so vast, it even suffocated sound, crystallising the blood in our veins until it could no longer flow.

My stomach fell to my feet, my heart racing, and I managed only ragged breaths.

The darkness receded.

I jumped, my skin vibrating at the sight of the man before me. He was tall, with curved black horns rising from a mane of white hair, and pristine ebony armour that glinted maliciously.

A mask made of glossy black metal covered his face, and a putrid burning stench invaded my nose. Sulphur.

No. No fucking way…

I peered past him—Hana and Duke Kalvin had bolted up, throwing their chairs back, but stood frozen, their hands trembling on the hilts of their still-sheathed swords. Hana’s brow was creased in determination, but Duke Kalvin’s features had twisted into an amalgamation of fear and rage, his teeth both bared and chattering.

Next to her chair, Scarlet gibbered, having fallen off. Cannara was, somehow, still asleep. Everyone else just gawked.

“Who are you?” I choked out, but I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

The armoured man raised a hand toward me, devastating claws extending from his gauntlets. “My name is Tenma. You have something I want.”

I gulped. Because of fucking course the actual, true-blooded Demon Lord would pop up in front of me the moment things started to go right! Excuse me, System? I take it all back! I don’t want to be an Adventurer and fight Demons, please help!

…

Figures.

His mask had an opaque visor, but just because I couldn’t see him staring at me, didn’t mean I couldn’t feel it. That gaze bore into me like a drill destined to pierce the heavens, and I was just a pit stop.

What could I possibly have that he’d want? Anything I could think of, I’d sold almost as soon as I got here.

“What would that be?” I finally said, my breaths ragged.

He cast his gaze over my Council, scrutinising them. “I can smell it—another Relic. Athena’s?”

Shia’s eyes shot wide, and I scrambled to regain his attention.

“No Relics here, mate,” I said, standing and trying to sound as confident as possible. Inside, my heart was currently playing the xylophone with my ribs, and my lungs felt about ready to shut down.

“Perhaps not to your knowledge,” said Tenma, ignoring me. That was—what the fuck?! Was I so little of a threat I wasn’t even worth his attention? Well, fuck that. I had a new Skill, and I wasn’t afraid to use it!

All right, maybe a little bit.

Before I could, a great roar pierced the air.

“Tenma!” The sound of scraping metal reverberated as Duke Kalvin rocketed at the Demon, slashing his greatsword down with power that belied his injury’s recency.

Clang!

Tenma blocked it with a finger.

Duke Kalvin shook from the effort, pushing desperately to drive down and sever the single claw that held his blade steady. Without a glance, Tenma flicked that finger, sending Duke Kalvin careening to the side.

He wasn’t deterred. Taking an offensive stance, he growled.

“Do you remember me, Tenma?”

“Should I?” said Tenma, tilting his head.

“You obliterated my entire battalion in Alusa.” Duke Kalvin shifted, his sword’s tip aimed at the Demon Lord’s heart. “I was the only one left on that battlefield, apart from you.”

“Alusa?” said Tenma. “That was Vox’s, yes… But I don’t remember.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I swallowed again. Naturally, a huge-scale pitched battle was just another Tuesday to this monster. Great.

And now my High General was trying to fight it.

Surging forward, Duke Kalvin aimed to pierce Tenma’s heart. Sparks flew as a gauntlet batted the blade away. Stumbling, Duke Kalvin clenched his jaw, twisting and unleashing a ridiculous slash that, if not properly controlled, could have levelled the entire Chamber.

Tenma caught it.

The grizzled elf gaped, his breathing uneven as he attempted to wrench his weapon from the Demon Lord’s grasp. He strained, his face turning red.

Closing his fist, Tenma shattered the blade.

A screeching sound erupted, quickly receding as Duke Kalvin began to hyperventilate.

From behind, Cannara aimed a dagger at the point between Tenma’s shoulder and neck.

That canny little… had she been pretending to sleep, or was she just good at waking up to action?

It wouldn’t matter, though. I’d seen enough to know we didn’t stand a chance here, even with my new Skill. He’d probably shrug it off like it was nothing.

Cannara’s knife struck the armour and creaked, the blade snapping off and shooting away. Her legs seemed to lose their tension as she landed, but she wrinkled her nose and pulled out more weapons.

“I have no reason to kill you all,” said Tenma, his tone frustrated, “do not give me one.”

Honestly, I would tend to agree. This was potentially the most powerful being in Sarabethia. The worst, and I mean absolute worst, thing we could do was piss him off. Shia prepared a spell, and Tenma’s head snapped to face her.

Fuck. My heart and stomach swapped places as a blue spark crackled between Tenma’s fingers.

I had no idea this would be the way I ended up using this Skill, but here went nothing.

“EVERYONE STOP!” My voice filled the Council Chambers, the echo rolling across the walls.

My Council all froze in place, varying degrees of shock on their faces. To be fair, they weren’t the only ones. Who would expect a fucking Demon Lord right after a bit-part villain like Aleister?

Tenma turned to me, his shoulders slack, and began marching over. Each stride was sure and precise, quaking with the power of a thousand suns. I couldn’t help but step away, trying to keep the same distance.

It meant nothing, though, when I collided with and fell back into my throne. Tenma advanced unimpeded, leaning his face close to mine and studying me. Every now and again, his head would incline, and I’d feel a tickle of cold breath on my cheeks.

I didn’t whimper. That is one thing I can confidently tell you never happened.

“It can’t be…” He drew back, gasping. “A User?”

My chin hit my feet, and my body slackened. What? “How… do you… the System?”

“It’s not important.” Tenma reached up, gripping his mask. “Now, show me the Divine Grimoire.” He removed the mask, revealing a narrow, angular face with a hooked nose and hard black irises.

“We don’t have it,” I said. By now, they were all free of my Skill, but they got the message. As long as I could keep him talking, maybe we could get away with it.

“It is not you from whom I smell it,” said Tenma, glancing back. When his eyes locked on Shia, he immediately turned, impassive. “You.”

“No.” I tried to stand up, but my legs wouldn’t let me. Get away from my Mage, you bastard! “No!”

Tenma stalked over to Shia, who stared at the floor, trembling. Duke Kalvin tried to block him, but Tenma grabbed him by the throat.

“You annoy me.”

He tossed him across the room, sending the elf smashing into the stone walls, an explosion of stones and debris rocking the room.

“Father!” yelled Shia, her face drooping.

“Oh?” Tenma raised an eyebrow. “Your father? You care about him, then?”

Fuck, no. Fire and ice intertwined in my veins, the cold knot of fear dragging my guts down.

I knew where this was going.

Grappling a screaming Shia, Tenma dragged her by the neck to where Duke Kalvin lay panting, and said, “I know you have the Grimoire. Give it to me, or he dies.”

There was nothing I could do.

Buried by this realisation, all I could do was watch as Tenma’s expression darkened further for every second of hesitation. Her face cycled from shock to fear to anger to despair, before scrunching up, tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Please don’t hurt him.”

“The Grimoire.” Tenma backed away, but only slightly. He was careful enough that cheap tricks wouldn’t fool him, then.

“I can take you to it.” Shia’s voice sounded fragmented, like she had to tape each word together before sending it out.

“Shia…” Duke Kalvin’s groans rose from his position, but she just looked away guiltily.

“I’m sorry,” she said, opening a portal and beckoning Tenma through.

The Demon Lord narrowed his eyes. “I was born at night, child, but it wasn’t last night. You may go first.”

“No…” Hana found her voice, even if it was small, and grew in stature as she rose behind Tenma’s back. “You cannot go with him!”

“How do you know he won’t just kill you on the other side?” said Cannara.

“I don’t,” she said with a bitter smile. “But this way, Tenma won’t hurt any of you, right? And my father gets to live, so…” Remaining rigid, she turned away and stepped through the portal, Tenma following.

Thump.

Time seemed to slow around me, my Council beginning to pick themselves up, fraught. Hana and Konstantin had already run over to Duke Kalvin. I felt bad for Arter and Kell—they never signed up for this, and both looked like they’d just seen The Human Centipede for the first time.

Thump.

Why couldn’t I do anything? I was supposed to be a King, yet I couldn’t do something as simple as protecting them.

Thump.

My new Skill had amounted to nothing. But in the end, Shia was totally outmatched too, and she’d taken that risk. Whether it was for us or so she wouldn’t be heartbroken, it didn’t matter.

She was alone.

I ran for the portal.