Chapter 14

Days went on peacefully but there is something that is making me uncomfortable. The fact that there is a little fly near my land is irritating. So far the little bug is not making anything that will warrant my wrath. Though that bird of hers is interesting and it is a good summon.

The bird is not powerful in combat but I know that it has a really overpowered skill which can cure everything. It can nearly bring everything back to life. That was the all curing bird in a myth which heals all with a song. It grants knowledge for civilization to advance.

Sadly that was only a myth which I casually read when I took supplies from a market back then. That book for little children is interesting. If that kind of existence is present in my world back then, that world can advance without me going through the hardship.

Though what interests me more is its color. The mix between the different hues of red and blue is captivating. In a world of magic, the cure spell was common as clouds. Some spells can bring back someone to life with various side effects but you can get my point. Though the knowledge is a bit tempting and it made me consider in performing a summoning magic again. Will I be lucky this time?

As of now, I am admiring the beauty of my land. The plants are now energetically basking under the sun. My favorite pitcher plant was truly voracious. It gobbles up any animal that was tempted by its fragrant smell.

I really wonder why this plant was not growing much and its pitcher was still the size of my thumb. It made me laugh when it gobbled up an elephant size animal which was then disappeared inside the small pitcher.

That was hilarious indeed. I made sure to keep the other plants away from the pitcher plant. I think it would not end well and how grateful am I when I saw the pitcher plant gobble up weeds that started to grow around it. How voracious is this plant?

Since I have nothing to do for now, I took out the crystal ball in my bag which has accompanied me for so long. I activated it and tried to see the world through it. The land is still in chaos as the faceless hunters were still as reliable as always. The demon race which invaded this planet was thinned out. There are only seven strongholds which was the last haven for them. I think it is time to terrorize the human race once again.

I closed my eyes and tried to connect to my entire summons. Even though we are separated with a distance, I can still command them with a simple thought.

Crush the fortress of human race.

I saw in the crystal ball how my summons turned back and left the strongholds of the demon race alone. They started to dash wildly towards the human fortresses. With this I am still keeping my job as the demon lord. Ah… what a beautiful scene… oops…

The humans still have not discovered the way to end the faceless monsters. Meh...they will discover it soon enough. If they do not then that will be too bad I guess.

Struggle and survive. Keep your crown as the top dog in the food chain. You guys always manage to persist through trials and I will enjoy your struggles very much.

For the rest of the day, I watched as the human fortresses were flooded by different monsters. There were still a few ancient dragons there but the faceless hunters still ranks the top in number. The smaller and weaker monsters were now gone and only the stronger ones are flooding the human race.

The clash with the demon race was grueling enough that also thinned out my army. Is it time to summon once again? I wonder if that will be too much for them to handle? Nah… who are you kidding? They are the human race. They will survive better than cockroaches.

“Come and peel off the light that covers all. Call of the Ancient!”

“Serve even after death. Call of the Emperor.”

“Unbind from sleep. Dragon’s Call”

The invocation chants were a bit short. I like it since it was practical and only takes a few seconds though it cost stupefying mana. Then a dozens of monsters appeared out of the summoning circle.

The other summons were only advance level and they will be weeded out soon. They are ineffective in sieges as their only purpose is to be a meat shield. The dragon apparitions were different since they can be called glass cannon. With an absurd power, they will die after firing it once.

The faceless humanoids are called Lost Lambs. I can’t relate why so I stick to calling them faceless but let’s correct that and call them Lost Lambs formally. They are my most efficient member of the army. They have both the endurance and attack power needed to battle out for a long time. Their numbers only increased and have not diminished until I eliminated some back then.

For the last, the Call of the Emperor summons beings with random shapes of humanoid and beast alike. The attack power of them varies but their abilities also has huge variety ranging from magic to physical. Their sizes also can be huge or mediocre.

“Wreak havoc in human lands.”

I was a bit ashamed since they will not encounter the front line defense of the human race. Meh... they should be fine with this much. This will teach them that they are not truly safe even with their armies concentrated into one.

This is war and war never occurs in only one place. The creatures only made random noises before heading towards the human lands. I wonder how much human trash can be cleaned with this much. Should I cast summoning magic again? Let’s hold back for a bit. I might end up annihilating them if I send them with two batch of my summons.

Maybe a little more will not hurt? Yeah a little more then so this annoying itch will go away and stop bugging me.

“Beacon!”

Then the weaker version of the call of the ancient created about fifty summoning circles. Oops… I forgot to turn off my multi-cast. Nah… It will be a shame to destroy them myself due to my error but they will not do much. I sent them away towards the human lands too. They will arrive first compared to the earlier batch since they were smaller and more agile flying units.  

I watch them fly away and admired their disappearing backs. I guess even though they look ugly, looking at them in cluster is cool on its own.

I should watch what their reaction is right? I went down from the mountain since I am afraid that the summoning will damage my garden. I chose the place since it was a rocky at the top and trees and other vegetation lives until the middle of the huge mountain.

Now… Let’s see how humanity responds.

(Note: Before changing into another POV… I need to apologize for making the Lisa’s part into a first person… that was supposed to be exclusive to Drake. Now off we go into another Lisa part.)

Dream Island, Seashore

“What was that terrifying sensation?” Lisa is trembling and her dinner started to burn.

“I felt the immense power of summoning magic.” A voice of a man sounded into Lisa’s mind.

“Summoning magic?” Lisa was dumbstruck.

If that is the range and intensity of summoning magic then the creatures are surely to be monstrous.

“Is it a primitive one or the other type of summoning?”

Lisa is looking towards her summoned companion hopefully. She is clueless on what type of summoning it is and the knowledgeable Adarna was her only hope. She found out that Adarna way a mythical beast which grants knowledge and cures diseases which no one could cure. Whatever the intensity and absurdity of it, the song of the Adarna can nullify it after the last note of the song.

She is truly thankful for the ideas and the range of abilities of Adarna. Adarna also has a way to tame other creatures with its song.

“The magic is either highest class Elite type or Early Forbidden. I am afraid that one magic which I detest the most was used.” Adarna was looking in the sky with a grim expression.

“Call of the Ancients…”

“What is that?” Lisa is hearing this spell for the first time.

“It was a magic that cannot be called summoning basically. It only connects the Lost Paradise towards another Plane. Those despicable creatures residing the Lost Paradise ended up destroying their plane. Only survives with the help of summoning magic from other plane which keep their plane intact. It was too bad that the inhabitants of the Lost Paradise don’t need to consume anything to survive or drink. Only through taking in mana into their bodies. They should have been annihilated otherwise. It was truly too bad.”

Wow, Adarna must have hated them for him to talk this much.

Lisa thought something as she watched the Adarna lost in thought.

“So are they strong?” Lisa asked curiously.

“Strong?” Adarna turned towards Lisa with an amazed expression.

“They are basically immortal! The only way is to absorb the mana when their bodies are destroyed. That itself was a tough thing to happen as they regenerate faster than a troll. If they are summoned in numbers, the only way is to destroy them in one go. Then absorb the mana. Which basically next to impossible when you need to absorb mana equal to casting several elite spells.”

“Tell me… Are they strong?”

“That…” Lisa was speechless.

“The lowest member of the Lost Paradise is the Lost Lambs. The worst of it were the Lost Seers which can devastate a land alone with in a day.”

“Why would someone invite those cruel existences into our land?”

“War… That is the only answer I can conclude with the information you gave me.” The expression of Adarna turned grimmer the next second.

“What is it?” Lisa asked wondering why the calm and composed Adarna was making a difficult face.

“I think the one we met a few days ago is the Demon Lord.”

“What?”

“Think about this…”

“You and I, then that man is the only resident of this particular land. Suddenly creatures of that caliber started to appear. It is not me and you who called them that mean the man did it.”

Lisa is also thinking about it and the things that Adarna speaks make sense. The man was powerful, a member of the demon race. Lastly, the overwhelming hostility she felt from the man was enough of proof.

She is wondering why he let her go but the fact that there are creatures originating from this land speaks volume than her wonder.

“What should we do? That is the demon lord… If we can eliminate him… then the war will end!”

“You little girl is so naive…” Adarna shakes its head disappointed.

Lisa was confused unto why Adarna will say so.

“If it is so easy eliminating the demon lord, why does humanity needed to muster up their armies for a single entity? Are you stronger than the combine force of the human race?”

“N...No...”

“Next… Why will a powerful creature which has its own intelligence have too much hate towards your race? Didn’t you guys fought the demon lords back then too and can still win or come into agreement on somethings? Why will it be different now?”

“I… I don’t know.” Lisa now knows how little she is reading the situation.

“Another thing…”

“There’s more?”

Adarna looked at her sternly like saying “Really nigga?” (Please, I don’t intend to sound like racist and I only copied it from the vast videos I saw in the internet. I can just say are you for real but come on… It sounded more fun… No offense please! I love all races!”

“Ok… I will listen quietly.”

“As I am saying… Something changed only around hundred years ago. That means the demon lord is not the same as the ones you fought for so long. This one is driven by something. That something made him hate humanity to the extent that he is willing to invite some resident of the Lost paradise.”

“Lastly… We are still alive in here.”

Lisa is more confused with the last thing Adarna mentioned.

“Think like this… If he really hates humanity to the point that he wants to drive it to extinction, he would not let us off the hook. Why will he tolerate us then?”

“I don’t know but that fact sound important so please continue teacher!”

Adarna chuckled a bit with how innocent and pure this little girl is.

“I think we have and only we, have the chance to speak directly with this demon lord.”

“What? Why will we do that? I don’t have the authority to represent humanity!”

“But you have the chance to speak for humanity.”

“That’s… you are so mean…”

The two continued to talk about their guesses about the demon lord. Their conversation revolved around the possible things they can bargain for. The possible events that made the new demon lord hate them to this point but not enough to drive them to extinction.

Lisa kept on refusing to go near the demon lord once again. She kept telling that she already used all her luck in surviving the encounter. She don’t have enough luck to survive the second encounter.

“You spineless kid!”

Adarna was frustrated on how cowardly the girl is. Even how much reasons and facts he throws towards Lisa, he can’t seem to convince her. It was making him a bit bitter. Who was he? He was the bird of knowledge and cure!

“I don’t want to meet him again!”

“But he will end up destroying human race at this rate! He might not be aware of it but the things he summoned are enough to reduce human race more than half of your population!”

“But... But... I am just a naive girl who can only use healing and support spells. How can I stand up to the existence like demon lord?”

“Take courage Lisa… Even peasants will revolt against nobles when their life gets threatened. Remember your life in the past. That life can be enjoyed by many more in the future and that will be destroyed if you don’t act now.”

In the end, Lisa was coaxed into meeting the demon lord again. Lisa was a bit tearful. She considered the life that can have a bright future. She steeled her resolve ant take the chance for that future to happen.

When the night became deeper, Lisa and Adarna finally decided to sleep. The next day, Lisa was walking towards the garden with a fearful expression. Adarna was on her shoulders giving her words of encouragement. When they finally saw the garden again, their mouths opened because of what they saw.

“Why the heck are the plants so huge?”

“This does not conform to knowledge! How can Seerly and Cabo plant coexist together like this? This is impossible!”

The knowledgeable Adarna is muttering words which Lisa can’t understand. Lisa on the other hand was shocked to see the plants so huge and healthy even though they were usually seen in questionable environments.

Their shocked expressions turned into fear when a man in a red luxurious robe appeared in their vision. The expression of the man was truly furious as his eyes seem to blaze with the red color of them turning into deep crimson.

“What are doing here?” The man nearly screamed and his voice was sending suffocating pressure.

“We wish to discuss something with you demon lord.” Lisa’s voice was inaudible as it tremble the same as her body.

“Discuss?” the overwhelming pressure disappeared suddenly.

“I thought you decided to do something foolish already so I can kill you… Too bad… come on and mess up already.”

The expression and the way he speaks do not resemble his image earlier. He sounded easy going but irritated at the same time.

“Yes… We wish to talk with you.”

“Why should I listen to beings who built their civilization with lies and schemes?”

Lisa and Adarna were stumped for words. They could not find the answer to that question.

“We wish to know the reason why are you doing this your Excellency.” Adarna finally spoke.

“Wow… someone can talk directly to my head.” The demon lord smirked.

“Still… Why should I explain myself?”

“We want to know why we are being treated this way… Why do you need to destroy our peaceful lives?”

Lisa suddenly raised her voice and when she realized what she did, she trembled in fear. Her face is like the face of a person saying what have I done?

“The cool sister told me so. That was the deal.” The demon lord nonchalantly said like it was normal.

“The cool sister?” Adarna was contemplating again.

“Let’s see… She can be called god in here I guess. She made me to crush your human lies.” The demon lord was smiling mischievously. The real reason was not that but he was having his own fun.

“The god? What is with that? Why will god do that?”

“It was a deal,” The demon lord said in a normal way. “I become a demon lord and she will grant me a wish. That is all there is.”

“What is with that absurd reason? This is unfair!”

“I feel that way too when I am caged but no one is benevolent enough to feel the same.” The demon lord said bitterly.

“Caged? What are you talking about?” Lisa and Adarna said at the same time.

“That is none of your concern. The only thing that matters is that I am going to crush humanity.” Demon Lord said with a devious smile. His eyes seem to shine brighter red.

“You will not do that.” Adarna suddenly said.

“And why is that?”

“Because you are not allowed to.”

“You are right… But the cool sister went away already… No one will be there to admonish me.”

“There might be none but you still won’t destroy this world.”

The demon lord’s expression turned grim suddenly.

“Tell me why I should not obliterate the both of you right now…”