by Virlyce
“Dragon?” the queen tilted her head to the side and released her hold on Yella. “I thought I sensed something, but I wasn’t quite sure…”
Bella nodded. “The matriarch imprinted him.”
The queen’s eyes widened, and she flew down to Vur’s face level. She bowed her head. “Thank you for saving me,” she said. “My name is Stella Arger, queen of the fairies. It’s a shame I have no valuables to give you as a reward. Would you like some clothes instead…?” She gazed at her naked savior.
Vur shook his head. “Rella, Bella, and Yella are my friends. I don’t need a reward for helping them.”
“Awww.” The fairy trio let out a cry and encircled Vur with a hug.
“Then think of it as a gift for a friend,” Stella said. “Wasn’t there anything that you thought was interesting in our home? A slime? A plant?”
Vur tilted his head. “The lightning elementals seem pretty strong,” he said. “Could I have one?”
“Lightning elemental…?” Stella asked and furrowed her brow.
Yella flew next to her mother and whispered into her ear.
Stella’s face flushed red. She coughed a few times and nodded. “Alright, a lightning elemental it is,” she said while the fairy trio giggled. Her body glowed with a blue light, and a buzzing pink egg materialized in front of Vur. “Infuse your mana into it to contract with it. Take good care of it.” She seemed as if she wanted to say something else, but she bit her lip and kept silent.
Vur grabbed the elemental with his hands and infused his mana into it. “It makes my hand feel funny,” he said. The egg buzzed harder in response. “Thank you.”
“You should give it to Tafel when you’re older to protect her,” Rella said with twinkling eyes. The fairies giggled.
***
Chad knocked on the door in front of him. He wore a black cloak made of shadows. It hid the contours of his body and changed shapes constantly like a fire in the wind.
Dustin opened the door, and he narrowed his eyes at the visitor. “Chad,” he said. “I heard you came back. What brings you here?”
“I’m looking for information on a boy,” Chad said. “Human child with golden eyes. I thought you might know something.”
Dustin furrowed his brows. “He’s an SSS-ranked adventurer named Vur from Konigreich, the new kingdom. Child of the dragons. That’s all I know about him.”
Chad nodded. “Thanks. Oh, and have fun being the new demon lord.”
“What?” Dustin asked and blinked.
Chad chuckled. “You’ll find out real soon. It’s a shame I couldn’t stay longer. Take care of yourself, Dustin.” A black light enveloped Chad’s body, and he vanished.
26
Lindyss gasped as frigid air rushed passed her face. She plummeted towards the sea of white fluffy clouds and gritted her teeth as a translucent blue membrane enveloped her body. Her hair fluttered behind her as she fell through the clouds. She frowned at the terrain beneath her—fractured, broken. A trail of destruction split the city into two jagged parts. A few charred and collapsed piles of wood were all that remained of the buildings on the fracture.
Did Exzenter send me to the wrong place? No…. What did Vur do this time?
A fang-shaped rune appeared on Lindyss’ forehead, and it, along with her eyes, glowed with a purple light. A pair of translucent, violet batwings materialized in the air behind her back, spanning the length of two grown adults. Her wings flapped as she hovered in the air, observing the capital that had a massive crater on its edge. Lindyss sighed and flew towards the crater while rubbing her temples. Vur was definitely there. Craters and Vur went together like apples and pies.
***
“This aura…,” Stella muttered and frowned while floating in the air. She had been watching Vur experiment with the lightning elemental when a chill ran down her back. She raised her head, squinting her eyes at the sky. “It’s her.” She clenched her hands as her eyes turned blood-red. Her horns turned black as her clothes rippled around her.
“It’s Aun—,” Vur said as he raised his head and instantly lowered it again with a groan. The hemisphere of mist around Vur and the fairies trembled before dispersing. Lindyss descended in front of Vur, separating him from Stella.
“What did you do to him?” Lindyss asked while baring her teeth. Purple lightning crackled down her arm, forming a protective barrier around Vur.
Stella snorted and waved her hand. A tendril of black smoke drifted towards Lindyss. “You should worry about yourself, witch.”
Lindyss pointed her arm towards the smoke, and lightning flowed to her palm.
“Silence.”
The lightning in Lindyss’ hand dispersed, and her vision went white as a piercing pain drilled into her head. The black smoke enveloped her, causing her to cough and hack before she fell to the floor.
“Did you forget my specialty after four hundred years of lazing around?” Stella asked as she descended to the ground and sauntered towards Lindyss. “I didn’t forget. I will never forget.” A black mist billowed out of Stella’s body as she loomed over Lindyss. “That day you took everything from me, I told you’d I pay you back a hundred times over. Every day, I cursed you in my head even as the demons tortured me.”
Lindyss clutched at her throat, trying to grasp the smoke around her neck to no avail. Her face turned red and veins bulged around her neck. She looked up at Stella with wide eyes, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
“Stop! You can’t hurt Auntie,” Vur said. His eyes glowed with a golden light, and a faint image of a blue dragon head materialized in the air above him.
Stella pointed at Vur and said one word, “Sleep.”
Vur’s eyes widened as his body grew heavy. His head drooped, and his shoulders twitched as he struggled to stay standing. He took three steps forward before falling down, landing on his face.
Stella turned her attention back on Lindyss. “I’m not going to kill you,” she said as she smiled. The black smoke receded. “That’d be too merciful.”
Lindyss shivered as she gasped for breath and propped her upper body up with her elbow. Stella placed her palm on Lindyss’ forehead, causing her to convulse as a red glow flowed into her body. Lindyss’ eyes rolled up until only the whites were showing, and she let out a low moan. Her eyes turned pink, then red, as saliva dripped from her mouth.
Stella smiled as she took a step back and turned towards the fairy trio. She extended her hand towards them. “Come, let’s enjoy the show.” Her eyes were no longer red, but her horns still shone with a black light, casting shadows on the ground.
The trio glanced at each other and trembled before nodding. They floated behind their mother as she flew into the sky. Yella glanced back at Vur and sighed. She waved her hand, and a hemisphere of smoke enveloped his sleeping body.
Lindyss howled as translucent, red batwings flared up behind her. Her palms touched the ground as she crouched before springing into the air, chasing after the fairies. When they arrived in the center of the capital, Stella grinned and summoned a sphere of mist that engulfed her and her children. Lindyss’ red eyes blanked for a second as her body came to a halt in the sky. Noises coming from the city below reached her ears. Her gaze lowered, focusing on the demons milling about. A drop of saliva fell from her mouth as she growled, lightning circling around her body.
***
“Father died?” Lamach asked. His eyebrows were furrowed as he frowned at the man in front of him. Lamach and Gabriel were sitting on a couch in a carpeted room. A man and woman, both wearing black clothes with purple crossed horns embroidered on their front pockets, were sitting across from the princes. The man nodded as he placed his elbows on the table between them and propped his chin up with his knuckles.
“He was killed by Chad of The Black Hounds,” the man said and sighed. “And neither of you are strong enough to lead the nation.”
“Bring him back,” Gabriel said and glared at the man. “How am I suppose
d to prove my strength if he’s already dead?”
The woman frowned and narrowed her eyes at Gabriel. She opened her mouth to speak, but the man raised his hand in front of her face.
“We tried. His soul was thoroughly dispersed. Even a phoenix down couldn’t revive him,” the man said, ignoring the woman’s glare. “For now, the general populace doesn’t know, but we can’t hide it from them forever. We—”
“Then who’s going to be the demon lord?” Gabriel asked.
The man’s knuckles cracked. “Not you,” he said and smiled. “It’s—”
Boom!
The floor shook and screams pierced the air. Thunderous reverberations echoed through the room as the windows shattered. Lightning flashed, flooding the room with a red light. The walls cracked and dust cascaded from the ceiling.
“What’s going on?” The man stood up and stepped towards the shattered window. Black clouds with coils of red lightning snaking through them blotted out the sky. The city was ablaze, and an elf with red wings hovered in the air above the royal library. Lindyss turned her head towards the castle, and the man gulped as he met her gaze. His chest tightened as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight. A blood-red lightning bolt flashed, and he dove to the side without thinking. The bolt struck the table, setting it and the carpet on fire.
Gabriel cursed as he scrambled to his feet and fled through the door, followed by the rest of the occupants. Demons bustled through the hallways, shouting at each other.
The man seized a guard’s shoulder. “Tell me the situation.”
The guard wrinkled his eyebrows and reached for his sword, but relaxed when he saw the horned emblem on the man’s clothes. “The Corrupted One is attacking the capital. We’ve been ordered to put out the fires and try to direct citizens out of harm’s way as the demon lord prepares himself to combat the threat.”
The man’s expression didn’t change. “Take the princes to a safe area,” he said and nodded at the woman by his side. The two of them left as the guard blocked Gabriel and Lamach from following.
“Step aside!” Gabriel said. “Don’t you know who I am?”
The guard gulped, but didn’t move. “Their orders precede yours, First Prince. Forgive me.”
Gabriel ground his teeth together but didn’t say anything.
***
Eight robed demons were standing in a circle, surrounding a glowing orange orb. The surface of the orb wriggled and bulged as worms swam around inside of it, pressing against the thin membrane. A circular rune inscribed on the floor shone with a red light, illuminating the demons as their mana was sucked out of their bodies.
“Is this really the only way?” a man asked. He was the demon who had been talking with Lamach and Gabriel earlier.
“No, but this is how we’re doing it, Troy,” one of the demons replied. “Chad and Tina disappeared after killing Zollstock. We can’t rely on them.”
Troy frowned at the worms wriggling inside the gelatinous orb. Their pulsating movements made him nauseous. The metal doors behind him swung open with a clang, and a demon clad in black dragged a hornless demon by his right leg into the room. The hornless demon remained silent and expressionless as his bare skin scraped against the rocky floor. The black-clad man tossed the demon into the red circle of runes underneath the orange orb.
The hornless demon grunted as his body collided with the surface. His eyes widened, and his body shook when he saw the worms. “Please, no,” he said. His lips were cracked, and the outline of his bones were visible underneath his skin. “Not the worms. Please.” Red tendrils rose out of the rune beneath the hornless demon and wrapped around his body, pinning him to the floor. “No. No!”
One of the robed demons chuckled. “Don’t worry, this’ll be the last time,” he said and smiled. He turned towards the black-clad man. “Bring all of them.”
The man nodded and stepped outside of the room. Doors slammed open and shuffling sounds echoed through the chamber. A few moments later, a line of hornless demons stood at the entrance to the room. Their mouths were slightly parted, and their stares were unfocused as if they were looking through the walls past the men. Each of them shook as they approached the wriggling orb, a few wetting themselves. More red tendrils erupted from the runes and wrapped around the twenty or so hornless demons, positioning them around the orb.
“How do we stop them afterwards?” Troy asked.
“They’ll die on their own … given enough time.”
“Too many lives will be lost,” Troy said and frowned.
“Can you stop the Corrupted One?”
Troy’s brow wrinkled. “No, but—”
“Then join hands with us,” a bearded demon said. He motioned towards the pile of demons on the ground with his head. “Or join hands with them. The choice is yours.”
Troy gritted his teeth, pausing for a second before extending his arms out to the side. “Well?” he asked. “Let’s hurry up and do this.”
The bearded demon smiled and extended his arms out to the side as well. The other robed demons followed suit. Pillars of red light blossomed and engulfed their bodies as the bearded demon chanted. Orange streams of light extended from the orb and made contact with the foreheads of the demons lying on the floor. The threads of light wriggled as worms squirmed out of the orb, following the paths into the bodies of the demons. The demons screamed with wide eyes as the worms dug into their skulls and disappeared from view. After a few moments, the screams stopped and were replaced by groans.
The hornless demons thrashed against the ground and grabbed the red tendrils trapping their bodies. The tendrils dimmed as they dissolved into particles of light which flowed into the demons through their hands. A breeze blew through the chamber and whipped into a cyclone around the struggling demons. A few managed to climb to their feet and lunged at the robed demons, but before they could reach, a white light flashed and they disappeared from the chamber.
The bearded demon let out a shaky breath before he nodded. The image of the hornless demon’s outstretched hand reaching for his throat was still fresh in his mind. “Let’s board the airship and get out of here.”
***
“Disgusting.”
Chad and Tina were sitting on the edge of a building with their respective groups standing behind them. Tina frowned as her eyebrows knit together. The two adventurer groups didn’t say a word as Lindyss—wings and eyes still red—rained lightning down on twenty naked, hornless figures throwing rocks at her from the ground. Each time a lightning bolt struck their bodies, they grew a little bigger. Their flesh wriggled, and the head of a worm burst through their skin every so often.
“What are those doing here?” Tina asked as she gripped her staff. “How’d they even store those leeches?”
Chad snorted. “You’re too trusting of the royal family. Of course they’d weaponize those freaks.” He stood up and said to The Black Hounds, “Let’s go.”
“Wait,” Tina said, looking up at him. “You’re not going to stop them?”
Chad shook his head. “I was going to wait. Let the royalty sweat a bit before stopping the Corrupted One,” he said. He motioned in the direction of the hornless demons. “But those things—they brought it on themselves.”
“Dustin’s still in the city, you know?” Tina asked and raised an eyebrow. Chad narrowed his eyes at her. He smiled, showing his teeth before leaving.
***
Bzz! Bzz!
The lightning elemental vibrated on top of Vur’s sleeping head, emitting trails of blue electricity. Vur snorted and rolled over onto his side, causing the elemental to fall onto the ground. It rattled and bounced in place three times before jumping back onto Vur’s head.
Bzz!
Red lightning trails snaked outwards from the elemental and enveloped Vur’s body. A few wisps of smoke rose into the air as the lightning came in contact with his hair. Vur let out another snort and swatted the lightning elemental with the back of his hand before rollin
g over onto his stomach. The lightning elemental tumbled along the ground and stopped after crashing into a rock. It let out a low buzz before shaking itself off and hopping back towards Vur. It tilted its body to the side and remained motionless while facing the naked boy. After a moment, it straightened its body and wind swirled around it. A miniature black cloud appeared above the elemental and grew larger as the wind circulated faster. Tiny purple sparks coursed through the cloud, emitting low rumbles.
The wind stopped. A purple lightning bolt shot out of the cloud and struck Vur’s left butt cheek. He twitched and yelped as his eyes shot open. His head swiveled around and his gaze focused on the dissipating cloud. The pink elemental froze as Vur glared at it with pink-tinged eyes. Vur rubbed his eye-boogers away with the back of his hand, and the elemental shuddered before hopping away.
“Wait!” Vur said.
The elemental didn’t stop.
“Where am I?” Vur muttered as he clambered to his feet and trotted after the pink elemental. The ground was cracked and patches of burnt grass littered the path. Black clouds filled the sky, rotating around a single red orb hovering above a smoldering building. Vur squinted at the orb and sucked in his breath. Images of Lindyss choking on a black mist flooded his mind, and his eyes turned red. He shone with a golden light as a web of runes spread throughout his body, starting from his forehead. His feet left miniature craters in the ground as he dashed past the elemental towards the direction of the orb.
***
Troy sighed, his face pressed against the window of the airship. The hornless demons were still fighting Lindyss, who had decided to cancel her wings and fight on the ground. The demons’ bodies had swollen to the point where it would’ve been appropriate to call them worm-filled water balloons. Black tendrils sprouted from Lindyss’ shadow, fending the demons off as a torrent of spells flowed from her hands. The hornless demons were unharmed by Lindyss’ spells, but at the same time the black tendrils swatted them away before they could reach her.
A red moonlike object floated in the sky above Lindyss’ head, glowing with a dim light. The demon corpses littering Niffle stirred and released a red mist as the light shone on them. The massive reanimation spell sent shivers down Troy’s spine.