"To say that I was scared... or even that I am scared, would be a grave mistake. That is not the case."

A demon with skin the deep shade of indigo flew through the skies at high speeds.

The lands surrounding him were filled with darkness as he soared across the rocky landscape.

"To be scared of something would mean that you consider such a thing to have power over you. Only once you acknowledge something as having power over you can you truly fear such a thing."

This demon spoke these words, talking to nobody but himself.

"For there is not a single person, creature, entity, or existence who holds power over me."

With a light grin, the demon flapped his wings lightly, accelerating himself.

"Why do I follow the rules of the pact between the seven hosts? Because I agreed to them. There is no further reason. I agreed to them, and I am not a man who will so easily break my word with others."

The demon, who had scabs on his lower lip which had now air dried due to the wind, looked down to notice his tie, which had been painted purple with his own blood in a few spots.

"Why then did I call together the seven hosts to form an alliance against the antiheroes, when I myself have no concern with them? A simple matter. I did not wish to break my pact, therefore I confirmed the conditions with the others. However, it appears that as a result of this, some chaotic events will be spurred into play. After all..... I will need to keep the other hosts in check once the threat has been eliminated. Should I reestablish the pact to prevent excessive expansion? Or perhaps instead I should try to defeat them and become the lord of demons?"

Placing his hand to his chin in thought, the demon began to contemplate his options.

"Regardless, I refuse to accept the lot which has been given me."

Thinning his eyes in irritation, the demon pierced the landscape before him with a glare.

"They believe they can assign me number 3 among the rankings? It is quite ridiculous. I suppose I should take this opportunity to show all that I am number 1."

Envidia- the Host of Envy who held the power to obtain anything which others possessed which she did not, was assigned the ranking of number 1 among the seven hosts.

This was not necessarily because her ability was the strongest among the seven hosts, but rather because she had utilized her ability during the assignment of rankings to ensure that she would get the number 1 spot.

"A petty trick she used, but I will prove to all that my power far surpasses hers."

With a confident smile, the two fangs of the demon once more pierced the scabs, causing drops of blood to fall from his lower lip.

Ignoring these drops of blood, the demon could not retract his own smile.

"For those who humble themselves.... will be exalted. And those who exalt themselves..... will be humbled."

----

"Hey boss..... I'm sorry to bring this up again, but after all I'm really curious."

Three people worked at an outdoor carpentry workshop, all focusing on their respective pieces while they crafted furniture and other items from wood.

Two young plant kin- a male and a female and a middle aged man who was known as their boss.

The young male had grass instead of hair, and he was currently using a rotary machine to whittle down a log into a cylinder.

"What exactly happened when you went to the village of the ratmen?"

Setting down a large sack filled with wooden planks, the man whose skin was made from bark let out a grunt as he wiped his brow.

"You really want to know, huh? Well, I guess I shouldn't have brought it up and left it on a halfway note like that. Keep your hands moving and I'll tell you the story."

Standing next to these two, currently performing some detailing work on a nightstand was a girl who had leaves for hair and an outfit made from the petals of flowers.

Perking up an ear, she listened in as well while the two continued their work.

"Where to start..... I guess from the beginning, eh? I was young and dumb. I thought the world revolved around me. I thought that everything would just go in my favor, and I never thought of death as something that I would have to worry about in my lifetime."

The man chuckled to himself, mocking his own past self.

"Dumb, right?"

The two kept their hands moving, working without response.

For they had none.

Never before had they truly considered their own deaths, or viewed death as something which could encroach at any moment.

"Well anyways, I wanted to see the world outside this village. It was partially because I wanted to see if there was a place where the light never ceased to shine, but there were other reasons as well. The first- I never thought people could be so evil."

With bitter expression, the man began to lay the parts from the sack out, preparing to put something together.

"I left the village in the early morning. When I was traveling across the plains, I never thought much of the night. I would find a spot to sleep in, and I would wake up in the morning. Nothing special. Until I reached a place where the sky itself was blocked out by these brown clouds of smog."

"Brown clouds?"

The two were now interested, wondering what their boss could be referring to.

"The entire sky around this city..... no, it was the city itself. There were hundreds of buildings, as tall as three or four homes stacked on top of one another, all packed into this small area. And for miles around this city, there were brown clouds which were spouted out by these buildings that covered the sky."

The man let out a sigh, once more laughing at his own stupidity.

"Well, I started feeling a bit woozy once I got to this place. The light of the sun was blocked out after all, so not as much energy was beaming down on me. It should have been obvious, but I ignored it. I was curious. So I went into the city."

"And what did you find?"

"I found people who looked like rodents fighting. They were killing one another, throwing knives and using explosives. Ah, I guess you guys don't know what an explosive is.... well anyways, they were fighting. That's the point."

"Why?"

"Why would they be fighting? What's the point in that?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The two asked with sincerity, to which the man couldn't help but smile at their innocence, which had been kept in tact as a result of the sheltered lifestyle which living in this peaceful village had provided.

"Well..... sometimes, there isn't enough to go around. We live off the sunlight itself, so we never have to worry about having enough. But some people.... they need other things to live. Imagine if all of a sudden the sun were to be blocked out in every spot of the city except for one. What would happen?"

"Hmm....."

"I guess.... everyone would try to be in that spot?"

"Exactly."

Grabbing a hammer, the man began to nail together the pieces of wood.

"The same thing for that place. But it didn't just go for sustenance. It was for everything. Wealth, property, everything. These people were fighting so they could have. And I stuck my head into it. It was then that I realized..... just how weak we are."

The expressions of the three became stern as the man said these words, which hit deeply into the hearts of the two workers.

"How.... weak we are?"

The boy, Niko, responded with a concerned question.

"Are we..... truly so weak?"

The girl, Tera, followed up.

"We are very weak. Weaker than you could imagine. It's pathetic how weak we are. I would be surprised if there were a race of people on this planet who were weaker than us."

"Why do you say that, boss? What makes you think we're so weak?", Niko questioned.

"I was caught up in their fight. I didn't know what I was doing at the time, but this hand..... well, I tried to pick up an explosive. And this is the result."

Raising his withered hand which he could now only use as a stub, the two workers nodded in understanding.

"I was so tired I couldn't even think straight, then that thing blew up on me. I was knocked out cold, and the moment I woke up... 10 years had passed."

"10 years!?!?!?"

"What do you mean by that!?!?"

The man continued to piece the furniture together, nailing it with only one hand.

"As I said, if we're taken into a dark place, we'll never wake up again. I was captured by some gerbil group, and I was only freed later when the leadership changed. I came straight back here after I learned what had happened."

"Boss...."

"So you've been living such a life...."

"That's what the outside can do to you."

Closing his eyes with a light smile, the man chuckled lightly.

"But.... it's not all bad. After all, the one who freed me..... well, she was strange. I'll give you that. She didn't have any life in her eyes, and she spoke like a robot. 'I have no use for keeping an unidentified entity within my confines. This will not further my objectives. Remove him from this place immediately, for he will only take up space.' Was what she said when I was thrown out of the city. So I came back here and got back to work."

"I see...."

"We'll help you get back on your feet, boss! Don't worry about anything! So long as we're here, this shop won't fail!"

"That's right!"

The man smiled, looking at the two who continued their diligent work.

"Thank you. Now then.... better get back to it. Story time is over."

However, it was at that moment that something blocked out the very sun from the sky.

The flapping of wings could be heard, and the hardworking people of the plantmen village could barely find the energy to look up to see what had happened.

"Well well... it seems that I've finally arrived. Quite the journey, yet it was nothing more than a blink away for myself. My, that star certainly does pose quite the annoyance. I supposed Vex wasn't wrong to produce those strange glasses which darken your surroundings."

The words of the being who floated in the sky above the village seeped into the hearts of the people.

The being spoke with such elegance and confidence that the people of Iris had never before witnessed such grace, and they were partially struck with awe on the appearance of such a being.

"Ah, good morning to the people of the plantmen village. I woke up bright and early so that I would get here as soon as possible, and it looks like I've caught you all at a good time? Perfect."

The demon landed in the center of the village with a rumbling surge of power.

The people around him were frozen stiff, unable to even so much as make a move before him.

"Now then..... I will try not kill any of you, for I intend on using you for a greater purpose. However, if there are any who wish to show feeble resistance..... do come forth."

Holding out a hand in taunt, the demon grinned as he looked around him.

"After all.... there is nothing more entertaining than watching as a fool realizes how far above him I am."

----

"Run."

"Eh?"

"What....."

"Just run. Go. Get out of here. Now."

Whispering to the two by his side, the man made from bark stood forward, keeping his eyes on the demon who had landed.

"But where...."

"Let's go."

The girl grabbed the hand of the boy, seeing the look of Determination in the eyes of their boss.

"It doesn't matter where. We need to get out of here."

Pulling himself off, the boy looked back with a sad expression towards his boss.

"Don't.... do anything rash."

"I cannot guarantee that."

And with that, the two rushed off.

They ran behind the shop, out of the sight of the man.

"Powerless... I am..... no.... we are powerless. But even if I am powerless, I can at least do this much."

"Are you so certain about that?"

The man turned around to see the demon standing right behind him, tapping his fingers impatiently as he stood with eyes closed and arms folded.

"You...."

"You could not even see me, no? Well, I would not worry too much about that if I were you. After all, there exist very few in this world who can witness my speed, even among the demons. Even so..... that does not change the fact that you are indeed powerless."

"I'll...."

The man swung his arm around in an attempt to attack the demon, however in an instant the monster disappeared from his sight, leaving his swing to whiff the air.

Stumbling forward at the weight of the swing, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"It would seem that the herbal tea which they serve in this village is of a high quality indeed. As expected of a village of plantmen. Though, isn't this considered cannibalism?"

Turning around, the man witnessed the demon floating in the air with his legs crossed in a sitting position, and in his hand was a cup of tea which he casually sipped on.

"Ah, do not get me wrong. You probably think that you're stalling me. Your thoughts right now are likely something along these lines. 'He's fooling with me right now, but if he is doing so, then I can buy those two as much time as possible to run away.' Isn't that correct? I'm sorry to say, but I've already incapacitated them in the time it took me to get this tea."

With a light chuckle, the demon spilled a slight amount of tea, further staining his checkered tie.

"Ah... it seems no matter what, I cannot stop myself from staining my own clothing..... how irritating. Could you get me a napkin?"

"WHY YOU!!!!"

With tears running down his face, the man made from bark made another rush, only for the demon before him to once more disappear.

"Irritating. By the time I obtained this napkin the stain had likely air dried due to the high speed movement. Light and quick dabs..... ah, it looks like the maids will be doing even more laundry tonight."

Once more behind the man, the demon was casually sitting, this time with a napkin as he dabbed away at the spill. The tea was now gone from his hands, as if it had been exchanged from one of the houses in mere moments.

'power.....less.....'

The treeman felt his heart sink as he watched this scene of complete dominance by this demon.

'I knew it.... I knew we were weak..... I knew it.... better than anyone else. I knew it already..... I knew that much.....'

Falling to his knees in tears, the man could not help but lament the cruel reality with which he was faced.

Without a doubt, this demon had caught the two, exactly as he said.

In an instant he had fixed, boiled, and prepared the tea from one of the homes.

In another instant he had put it away and retrieved a napkin.

His speed was inhuman, as if he were stopping time itself.

It was something which he could never hope to face, and it only further drove a nail into his heart.

The nail of weakness.

'I knew I was powerless, but to think..... we were this helpless.....'

Looking around, he saw the fallen state of all those around him.

Each and every person had fallen to the ground in despair, unable to even comprehend the demon which had appeared in their midst.

It was beyond a disaster. It was a calamity.

It was something which was completely unprecedented for this peaceful village, and yet right now, every last shred of that peace had been stolen from their hearts as it was driven into them.

They were nothing.

Pawns to be thrown aside before the magnitude of the demons.

"My my.... to think you'd fall into tears like that. I haven't even done anything to you, you know. I simply left to get some tea and retrieved a new suit. Ah, but those two children who ran.... well, I cannot have anyone running away. After all..... each and every person here is to make up my army. However....."

The demon grinned.

"For those of my army, the weaker you are... the better."

----

"Where.... should we go?"

"It doesn't matter. We just have to get away. Keep.... huff.... running....."

Niko and Tera barreled through the streets, heading towards the Western edge of the village.

"What about the boss!?!? Will he be alright?"

"It doesn't matter to think about that!!! He told us to go, so we need to go! I... you saw that thing..... we..... we can't face that thing....."

"Are you telling me...."

The expressions of the two became pained as they ran with all they had.

"That we left him to die?"

"That....."

The girl put on a sour expression, barely keeping herself from bursting into tears.

"We need to go West. Even if it is dangerous..... even if there is no safe spot in the world, we need to go somewhere else. We have to get away from that monster."

"It is certainly rude to call someone a monster."

The voice of the demon put the two into shock, and before they even realized it, standing before them was this very demon.

He brushed back his spiraling hair, closing his eyes in annoyance as he stood before the two without the slightest doubt in himself.

And in that moment, the two felt chops to their own necks, and fell to the ground unconscious.

The demon disappeared, leaving the two before their bodies even had time to hit the dirt road as they fell.

Controlled chaos.

Orderly destruction.

This was the Host of Pride.

This was Huberos Garefol.