Volume 9 : Chapter 12 – CARNAGE (2)

It would be a stretch to say that after the demon conclave assembly where Tusk’s proposal to attack the human continent was rejected.

The other demon lords did not take any interest at all would be a misstatement.

Each of them had started making their own preparations as the first war was about to take place.

Revitalizing the army, increasing military funds, and collecting emergency provisions were underway on a large scale while maintaining utmost secrecy at the same time.

And then the final thing that remained was to observe the outcome of the first war. Each of the demon lords knew that this war would be the harbinger of a much larger war on a global scale.

But none of the demon lords attempted to stop Tusk or get in his way.

Asi if each of them either wanted a reason or just let things play out. But going to war with the humans was at the core of it.

Mephisto who was good at using surveillance magic and had also secretly instigated and motivated Tusk to take the path of war was elated to see his hard work finally bear its fruits.

“I thought it would be easy to persuade those hard-headed green pea brains. But finally, after all that hard work… I can see what I had always longed for with my very own eyes.” Mephisto gawked at the transparent crystal ball he was holding in his hand with bright shiny eyes.

Like a kid purely out of curiosity stares at his most prized possession.

He could see the two armies arranged like two columns, one on land and the other at sea, in a bird’s eye view. It was only a matter of time before this peaceful, strict alignment would descend into complete chaos.

While Mephisto celebrated; an unexpected factor caught his attention on his magic crystal ball.

An individual dressed in white appeared right in the center of the armies by flying in the sky out of nowhere.

For some reason, the surveillance magic was being disturbed and Mephisto could only obtain a blurred impression. His eyes staunchly watched at this new apparition in his plans appear.

It was only after that individual removed their mask; he could finally get a glimpse of their appearance but only their silhouette was captured with his magic.

Mephisto could have never gone wrong with his magic of that he was sure. It was only after her hair flowed like a blush of white gently painted on the grey clouds.

He had a hunch… and then the unrest from around the armies confirmed his suspicions that the rumors about an individual called the White Queen did actually exist.

No one had previously seen her before until she appeared for the first time to eliminate the pirates and then vanished again.

“So, is she the one they are calling the protector of the sea? So, whose side is she going to pick here.” Mephisto laughed as he wanted to see how powerful this girl was who dared to interfere in his plan and get swept by it.

He could see the girl fly to the Tusk’s side as if to speak to him.

“It’s pointless if you want peace. Come on now choose a side. I am dying to see…. After all it's impossible to stop this war now.” Mephisto said elated.

No matter what she did his plan to push the world into a warring state was almost at its final stage. And he only hoped that the involvement of an unexpected factor could spice things up for him.

But then instead of being able to see what happened next, his magic ball gave a fleeting glow of red, until he realized that he could feel someone’s eyes on him.

Only for a brief second, he thought the White Queen was able to see him as the red glow became more vibrant directly radiating from her eyes.

It gave him a chill and suddenly he lost all visual on the ball as it cracked.

“Wait… what happened?” Mephisto was in a state of confusion as his precious ball shattered to pieces.

Mephisto was about to get the other magic visual balls that completely occupied his room. He was always ready with spares in case of a defect or he needed more eyes to watch.

But as he channeled his magic to get a visual of that place, the ball shattered again. Experiencing a massive density of magic gathered in that space, he lost his footing.

“My surveillance magic was deflected for sure. The magic of a demon lord failed… What did she do….” The impossible scene defied logic, leaving Mephisto's mind reeling. Frustration and anger made the knotted network of his veins pulse ominously on his forehead.

In his eyes, the demon lords had always been the strongest mages around. So, how anyone else could take over their magic?

Even though Mephisto was not sure of the White Queen’s race he could have felt human magic radiate from her. So, it made him more furious to lose control of the situation like this.

At the same time…

Demon Lords Asmodeus, Thrym, Volgar, and Arion were observing the war very closely.

They were one of the ancient demon lords and had the power to focus and expand their consciousness to observe the war by conceiving the movement of the vast magical energy of humans and demons on the battlefield.

From the safety of their thrones, they waited and observed.

As they perceived Tusk’s army closing in on the bank where they would be intercepted by the human army, an unsettling feeling plagued their heart.

At the same time, each of them sensed a strange magical energy surge in between the battlefield when there was still time left for each army to clash. In the start, it was something insignificant or not to be bothered about.

But as it amplified, suddenly the entire human magic concentration vanished from the area.

Did something block their magic vision..? But the fact they could still perceive the demon army’s magic meant that there were no camouflages in place.

With the demon lords in confusion and Mephisto still in a frenzy to figure out the cause of the disruption.

It had only been a minute when they had to come face to face with another harsh reality.

The demon army’s magic density dissipated entirely, completely disappearing from the sea.

At the same time, each of them felt a sharp pain grow in their hands.

As they held out their arm, they no longer could believe their eyes with what they saw.

The sharp burning pain was from the glowing demon lord’s mark on the back of their palm.

It was the principal symbol and proof that they had attained the title of demon lord and the ability to command authority over the demon race. Each of them were loyal and completely faithful to the Demon Royalty and to the bearer of the title of the True Demon Lord.

According to the demon continent’s history when the first True Demon appeared they were said to have bestowed these marks on his most powerful and trusted followers. Since then, the title of the Demon Lord has been hereditary and if the direct lineage goes extinct the title and symbol are transferred to the most powerful of the race.

At present, there were eight demon lords without a True Demon Lord leading the major races of the demon empire. And since then, the eight lines in the demon lord’s symbol have been rooted, representing their noble status.

But as they watched one of the lines from the mark burns and vanishes. The remaining lines move to acquire a uniform position in a circle.

***

“This has never happened before…. One of the marks going missing.”

“But if Tusk is dead somehow, then the title should have automatically transferred to someone else. But I have still not sensed the presence of another demon lord.”

It had only been a little while and Asmodeus was being contacted by other demon lords to know the reason for this anomaly.

Unfortunately, he had to refuse all transmissions since he himself was not aware of the reason.

The only one who had the power to affect the royal demon symbol was the True Demon Lord himself.

“But he has already decided to no longer interfere in this world. So, why does this happen now? Could it be… Has he finally decided to come back? If my lord has returned I must know…”

Asmodeus couldn’t stop himself from going insane as he kept on repeating the same thing.

He was the only demon lord who was kept aware of the situation of the True Demon Lord because of his faithfulness. Since he still couldn’t sense the True Demon Lord anywhere in this world.

In his desperation, he had only one place left to go.

In an instant, Asmodeus breaks a special magic crystal taken out from his dimensional storage to use as a supplement to form a teleportation circle instantly.

The next moment he opened his eyes, he had a blade of scythe wrapped around his neck as he sat on his knees on the ground.

“Oh, it’s just you, mister Asmodeus… so long.” A small girl tightly holding a much larger purple scythe than her height in her hand stood confidently in front of the strongest demon lord general.

“Your sensing abilities have grown even sharper princess Lili. And I see you have acquired a very good weapon too.” Asmodeus gave his regards to the Demon Lord Candidate and the daughter of his master Lili Ascalon Ashborn in her dormitory room at the demon academy.

Asmodeus who was always quiet couldn’t help but admire how the little princess of the Demon Royalty was able to sense his teleportation magic even before he transferred. And he also couldn’t help but admire the strong magic radiating from the weapon she was holding.

“So, what brings you to the Demon Academy. You tried to enter my room without permission. I won’t accept any excuse to throw you out of my window right now.” Lili only around the age of thirteen knew well how to handle herself and her position to stand above all others in all situations.

“Princess, I am delighted to see that your horns are growing larger and more beautiful. You must be growing healthy.” Asmodeus wished Lili as she removed the blade of her scythe to allow him to speak.

The horns of demons served as a distinctive feature, revealing insights into the growth of a demon. And out of all races the demon royalty possessed the most beautiful shape and shade among all horns.

“Just watch I will soon grow to have powerful magic just like my big sister.” Lili said laughingly.

“Do you mean one of your older classmates, I doubt someone here is as strong as you.”

“Of course, not I am talking about my real older sister.” Lili answered with pride.

“Eh….cough…cough…” Asmodeus who always was able to remain composed in all situations couldn’t contain his astonishment.

“Forgive my rudeness, but if I am not wrong princess, you are the only direct descendant of the demon royalty. There shouldn’t be anyone else.” Asmodeus was sure of this fact.

“That’s true but papa bestowed the royal demon symbol to big sister also and she too acquired the True Demon Lord Candidate title so that makes her my big sister. She is just strong as papa and mama. And she also gave me this weapon as a present.” Lili talked about her sister with interest.

Asmodeus’s expression grew bleak with every passing second.

“But how is it possible for someone to just meet master when he is in such an impossible place? It’s one thing if it's about the True Hero, but no other can equal them.”

“Even I don’t know the details. But you must have come for this.” Lili showed her demon lord symbol to Asmodeus with a missing stroke.

“So, you do know. So, it was master… so he must have finally returned.” Asmodeus felt that he had found his answer.

“Of course not. Father would never interfere for such a silly reason.” Lili dismissed his assumption on the spot. “You too must have felt that strange sense when this happened.”

Yes it was odd how I could sense human magic when demon Lord Tusk went missing. It was from that human they called The White Queen dressed in all white.” Asmodeus delivered the information that he found typical. He too had done his investigation about the individual who destroyed all the pirates but couldn’t come up with much.

“That was my big sister and her name is Alicia.” Lili added.

The only difference was Lili was unaffected and Asmodeus felt like the ground was being swept from right under his feet.

It was not completely impossible for strong demon individuals to be recognized by the True Demon Lord and get welcomed into the Demon Royal family. But it was so rare that any instance of it might not have been even recorded in history.

“But how is that possible? No one except for true-bred demons can have the royal demon lord symbol.” Asmodeus raised a valid point.

Demon Lord’s symbol and title are only exclusive to the demon race and there can be no exception.

“You do realize what you are implying me to be. And that’s because big sister isn’t completely human. She has the ability to change her race and even become a pure-bred demon.” Lili felt offended and angry because of Asmodeus’s ill-formed statement since Lili’s mother was half-human and half-elf.

“Princess, you are a direct descendant of my master. The demon blood is the strongest in you. But I can’t take your word for a human possessing something that should only belong to the demons.”

“Big sister is careful that’s why even a powerful magic user like you can’t feel her power right now and get fooled by her.”

“I don’t believe it.” Asmodeus refused as he remained obstinate.

“I am sure once you meet her in her demon form you will have to bow yourself in front of her. Because even papa said that she looks so much like grandma the previous True Demon Lord in her demon form.”

***

The reason I decided to leave out the human army from this war was because their king had no intention to fight.

I had already blocked all surveillance magic once Al reported them. And then I teleported all the human army back to from where they came.

In fact, it was possible this whole attack could have been orchestrated by one of the people watching and I wanted to drag them out and eliminate the cause itself.

But because the magic itself was untraceable I couldn’t be sure and focused on the current demon army.

On the other hand, the demon Lord and the demon army chose a different path entirely and wouldn’t stop no matter how much I implored.

Their attack on the human continent was like they were trying to laugh on mother’s and father’s hard work to maintain peace.

So, the simplest solution I reached was to make it such that the war never took place.

And it would start with taking everything from the idiot demon lord who didn’t know when to stop. And once I had made up my mind.

I felt calm. Freezingly calm… It was a complete U-turn from the emotions I had felt just before thinking of protecting the peace.

The rage, the frustration, and the loss that I was forgetting something important. All had disappeared and had been replaced by pure, silent calm.

There was a reason for that which I did not understand completely, but this state felt so natural to me. I was experiencing something… rather unique. Maybe the same as when I eliminated the dungeon goddess.

I could see the same land and sea through my eyes, but another world view now completed my vision within my mind.

After taking away the chance of the demon lord to engage in a war the next thing to take away from him was his army.

I could hear the demon high orcs chattering and cursing. They panicked as their prey was now gone from in front of them.

The demon Lord raised his voice questioning my intentions but I did not seem to care. Since, no matter what he did from here on out nothing can change with what was about to happen here.

“[BLACK FLARE]”

I knew a simple amount of magic wouldn’t suffice and I might have to spend the same amount of magic that I commonly used back at the Tathya Labyrinth.

And because of this desolate place, I had nothing to hold myself back.

As the magic coalesced in nature, the air crackled with the arcane energy.

I raised my hand to the low-hanging sky, and my eyes shone with a crimson glow.

The magic formation could only be described then as a dark storm brewing above the demon lord's army, the black, intangible, and massless energy twisting into sinister shapes overhead.

I cast forth black flames from my outstretched fingers. The obsidian ships of the demon lord's army were enveloped in an otherworldly conflagration. The undying flames, dancing with an unnatural fervor, started spreading all over the ships.

The orcs that overcrowded the ship soon became fuel for it. The anguished cries from the live burning orcs in hundreds soon folding out in thousands reverberated throughout the sea. But it did not reach so high up as if I was immune to them.

The few of the large ships that quickly tried to rush towards the bank to save themselves only led to a black flare outburst. And the ship sank with an eruption of flares.

Other ships tried to put out the fire using magic or water. But it only worked as adding fuel to the fire. Since the black flames used magic continued to spread relentlessly across the vessels.

As the dark inferno spread, the mighty ships crumbled into embers, leaving behind a trail of fading shadows on the sea. Half of the demon lord’s army burned alive without getting a chance to retaliate.

It was only a matter of time before everything burned down to nothing leaving black masses of burned wood to slowly sink to the depths of the seas never to be found again.

And soon, it would be time to strip away the one final precious thing from the demon lord as well.

***

Amidst the chaos and despair, the surviving demons in the shattered remnants of their once-mighty fleet struggled to comprehend the catastrophic onslaught. The air was thick with the acrid scent of burning wood as the black eternal flames became a real-life nightmare for them.

The demon lord Tusk, watched in horror as his formidable army disintegrated into half the number he came with.

His eyes, which were previously ablaze with confidence, widened in disbelief.

And all this happened in a matter of seconds that could be counted on fingers and before he could calm is breathing. With little time to react the demon lord had to make a decision.

After trying to run and seeing all methods to put out the fire failed. He realized that the White Queen was a formidable mage and he needed to use his best move as well to counter her attack.

The Demon Lord Tusk, with one hand, held his weapon high, and from a purple crystal embedded into his axe a special energy started emitting.

Reacting to the magic from the crystal, the demon lord’s symbol on his hand shines.

And from it a powerful magic formation takes place with the crystal acting as the catalyst.

It was the special magic of Tusk which he acquired right after becoming a Demon Lord.

Unlike the attack-type special magic possessed by other demon lords.

His was particularly unique and rare since it had defensive capabilities to begin with.

Tusk did not lack any firepower himself when he became a demon lord. He was both a celebrated warrior and a prodigy mage in his tribe.

But he always doubted his special magic and how it could help him as a demon lord.

“I do realize now why I gained this power. It was for this very moment to defeat and overcome you. And only then I can have my revenge.” The Demon Lord decided.

“Oblivion's Embrace.” Tusk activates his magic.

With a brilliant shine, a purple dome starts forming with the demon lord at its center.

The special ability of the demon lord’s spell was to form a safe domain for any target he assigned and anything other than that would be repelled without exception.

As the demon Lord’s singular domain grew in size rapidly, the ship on fire on which he stood shattered from one end of the deck to the other. He knew he could not save the half-burnt ships but he needed to save his people first.

As the Demon Lord falls, the water under his feet starts rebounding around the dome.

The demon army who soon realized their leader’s intentions jumped from their ships and started swimming to the safe domain, their lord raised.

In a matter of time, the few remaining thousand survivors and the demon Lord were enveloped inside a barrier domain on the sea floor.

The flow of the entire sea twisted and turned according to the will of the demon lord’s magic standing as a testimony to the exceptional strength of a demon lord’s magic power.

With the entirety of the seawater on both sides being deflected. A clear path had been formed on the sea floor for all the surviving ships for the demon army to move to a safe place as they sang praises for their lord.

It is undeniable that the magic required to maintain this kind of barrier had put a significant strain on him. More so when the black flames touched the barrier field.

Even with its deflecting power, the black flames continued to cling and burn on the barrier. Slowly it spread out to the sea as well. But the barrier successfully repelled the majority of the black flames.

In such a scenario it was difficult for Tusk to make a move himself. The best possible route to victory was for his army to reach the land and scatter. As long as they survive they can thrive and grow by killing the surrounding villages.

But first, the only one standing in his way was now The White Queen, who quietly levitated in the air and watched as they crawled into the safety of a giant barrier.

“Could she be a hero? But I don’t sense the brilliance I feel from their kind. That means I can still win and the magic of the demon lord cannot be overpowered.” Tusk thought.

Because Tusk was preparing for a surprise attack he did not expect a hero to appear on the scene so soon. And as a fact, only the power of a hero could counteract the magic of a demon lord.

With that assumption alone in mind, he came up with a plan.

The crystal in his scythe was fluctuating with the magic power overloading inside it. Tusk no longer needed it to maintain the barrier.

He holds his axe horizontally and tilts upwards aiming it directly at the White Queen. Followed by a deep breath and a plunge he throws his weapon at lightning speed.

Activating the overloaded magic crystal, it explodes right in front of the White Queen with unstable raw magic running rampant with continuous flareups.

Thinking that the forceful impact would have taken care of the White Queen and damaged her. He decided the best opening for his army to move was right now.

Concentrating all his magic now on the barrier he extends it in all directions particularly towards the land so that his army could get a safe passage.

The orcs bellowed as they started running forward ready to follow their Lord’s order.

“Victory is imminent…” Tusks cried loudly to cheer his army as he led them.

***

I did not realize his special magic would be this capable and prove useful against resisting black flare.

Because of the black flames spread out on a wide area, and working against the repelling magic of the barrier it was difficult for the fire to further spread out.

Rather it kept on burning in small parts around the raised barrier. But such a big show only gives out this magic’s weak point.

The black flames only prove the point that this barrier represses only physical and non-physical things that are designated as harmful by the user.

In his desperate attempt, the demon lord threw his axe at me with an unstable magic crystal to explode at the right moment.

Though it only took a single barrier around me to nullify the impact from it. The after smoke hid the view below. But my eyes could still see through, only to realize the demon lord was still planning to attack the human continent.

Unfortunately, this was not a game and I don’t like the idea of leaving any loose ends for a revenge war to occur next.

I don’t want another demon lord to show up with his army or a human army to demand reparations otherwise.

There’s one thing that I need to set straight right now as an example. No matter who and how strong they are. And no matter how fantastic their reason to fight is.

They can’t just show up in front of me and try to hurt her….

So, this time I will thoroughly destroy them.

It was time to take away the final thing that the demon lord’s life hinged on.

***

The demon Lord anticipated his victory as soon as his dome was about to hit the land and his army would reach the bank.

But then his dome unexpectedly stopped expanding, no matter how much he channeled it with his magic.

He noticed upward and with a forceful wind, the remnant smoke cleared up with the White Queen still showing up intact. Floating behind a thin blue magic shield of her own.

“Tch… so she survived that as well.” Tusk was worried to realise how that big explosion did not even put a scratch on a small human girl like her.

“How dare you? Why it's not working?” The demon lord had no choice but to force excessive magic to grow his barrier for his army to avoid the black flames and reach the land.

But instead of expanding, unfortunately, the demon lord heard his barrier produce a strange cacophony as if it was about to crack.

And then he soon realized the temperature inside the domain had dropped considerably as he felt the cold through his thick skin.

“What is she trying to do now?” Tusk was confused and too late to realize.

Alicia had already spotted the weakness of how the barrier could not repel necessary things like air or intangible massless energy like heat.

Alicia using her ice magic, and started cooling down the magic particles leading to the decrease in the energy that maintained the barrier and stopped it from further expanding.

“How long does she plan to keep it? It can’t be permanent. Lowering down the temperature to this degree, I will easily adapt to the change.” Tusk was sure of his capability to adapt to any environmental change as he pushed past his limits.

But Alicia did not believe in giving her enemy such grace time and she moved to a different approach.

Knowing that the magic required to take down the barrier and the remaining army was going to be phenomenal. She had one choice left to engage in her demon form when she could easily use her magic at its peak.

The demon form of Alicia gave her more freedom to use her magic and the unlimited resources she could tap into while increasing her magic efficiency.

Alicia removing the white gloves from her hand, holds it in front.

Tusk who could not see the mark clearly on Alicia’s hand, instead found his own demon Lord’s mark reacting to it.

In the meantime, he could come up with a reason. An unprecedent phenomenon occurs in front of him and the White Queen as he knew had completely changed her appearance.

As the magic from the symbol in her hand grew, her white hair developed a blackish hue. Her fully white dress developed black elaborate fabric. Small black pointy wings spread out from her back like a cape. And a long, curvy, pointy tail swished behind her.

Besides all these changes, the most prominent and substantial change was the long-curved horns that now grew out of her head.

“Who are you?” The demon Lord Tusk yelled not believing his eyes.

“…What are you?” His voice followed as his demon lord symbol erratically attracted towards the new White Queen.

“I will expand my domain and expel her before she can do anything.” Tusk decided.

Tusk forcibly started his barrier to move again despite the odds.

“⸺[ABSOLUTE ZERO]” Alicia in her demonic form evoked her strongest ice magic.

And before the water could freeze or the wind turned cold, the temperature inside the domain had already reached its maximum lowest.

The again growing barrier stopped expanding and this time it started cracking barely holding while Tusk tried to maintain it.

His fingers and toes seemed to have already frozen. His legs were covered deep in frigid ice. But with his high magic resistance, he seemed to have survived this ice calamity.

Unfortunately, the same could not have been said about his army which was completely frozen inside ice and now stood like statues.

He could not tell whether his army was even alive or not in these unnatural conditions. But he couldn’t leave them out like that at the same time.

Seeing the White Queen in her demonic form. He had a strange recollection from his past.

A small memory from his childhood, when he visited the ancient demon palace with the previous demon Lord of Orcs, which was his grandfather.

“How will I know if I ever stood in front of demon royalty.” Tusk asked out of curiosity.

“You will know. It’s because their existence is like a solid black mass obstructing the glow from a world brimming with light. At least that’s how the true demon lord and especially the previous true demon lord looked to me.”

As Tusk stood there he remembered seeing a big portrait of the previous True Demon Lord.

The only saying about the beautiful and most ruthless previous True Demon Lord was to not mistake her kindness for her weakness.

Except for their body size, their horns, black wings and hairs the similarity between the previous True Demon Lord and the White Queen was impeccable.

“You are powerless… Completely powerless. I told you that you will lose everything and that meant everything.” Alicia spoke her final words to Tusk.

Alicia flexed her hand in front, and the symbol of the demon lord gleamed, executing her authority. The command she issued was to strip Tusk of the demon lord's title.

Though this was a power only reserved for the highest demon royal member to exercise.

But with Alicia’s infinite power and magic, this indefinite rule was easily surpassed and made possible.

And in response, the demon lord’s symbol from Tusk’s hand vanished like color dissolving into the thin air.

The authority that gave him the power and confidence to go on this war was taken away from him in an instant. The pride of the orc tribe was lost and now they would become a forsaken species with their demon lord title taken.

As Tusk realized his entire reason to fight vanished right before his eyes, he questioned himself: Would there truly be no forgiveness if all he sought was vengeance and make a safe home?

“Why? Why? How could something like this happen…. Why do you have to be so ruthless?” Tusk clamoured.

The cold slowly took over his body as it froze in complete ice.

Alicia stood there with an unaffected face without a crease appearing. Her lips immovable and her eyes silently watched. Like it was something completely natural for her to do.

With the demon lord’s authority gone the barrier spell became unstable and started deforming.

As the devastating tidal waves came rushing in.  Destroying the ice statues of countless demon army soldiers and the demon lord with their forceful current.

Alicia watched as the final remnants of the demon lord’s army completely vanished into the depths of the seas.

***

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