A lord’s manor in a remote part of Holylight...
Lord Billitzo Lang, who ruled over a few of the remote villages in the area, looked delighted at his first good news in a while. Surprisingly, the resurrected ‘King of Devils’ was dead. It had been nearly hopeless to tax those villages before a monster like that started wreaking havoc.
(Luck is coming my way...)
Soon after, he received the news that the Demon Lord had been spotted. Billitzo was now fully convinced that the Goddess of Luck was smiling upon him. No matter how many times he urgently sent a horse to the Holy City with the message pertaining to the King of Devils’ resurrection, there had been no response. However, the news of the Demon Lord’s appearance, Billitzo figured, could not go ignored.
(I best cry as loud as I can to get the Holy City involved.)
Billitzo himself did not believe in the existence of the Demon Lord or the like. He only thought that his foolish subjects were causing a ruckus. What he feared was that he would spend the rest of his life in this remote part of the country. With some kind of commotion, he had the chance to escape (what he called) a claustrophobic, isolated cesspool.
(‘Burned down a village’ has a better ring to it...)
According to the report, only a single house had burned down. Billitzo had scoffed at it. From that report alone, he saw enough evidence to doubt the Demon Lord’s existence. He figured that, most likely, a starving ex-mercenary or the like resorted to arson.
(But... How did the King of Devils die?)
Legend has it that the King of Devils was sealed away by the Wise Angel, long ago. For the most part, it wasn’t an entity that humans could do anything about. It was more akin to a natural disaster, like an earthquake or hurricane.
(It wasn’t a complete resurrection, I suppose. How often have legends been accurate, anyways?)
Billitzo was born a noble, and never once had to struggle in his life. If a storm had passed already, he didn’t think to go look for the reason. He would only use that fact as his ticket out of his oh-so-terrible situation.
(I know. I’ll say that the Demon Lord defeated the King of Devils!)
‘Brilliant,’ Billitzo muttered to himself. A neat solution to his problem, he thought. What he didn’t know was that his improvised lie was actually the unbelievable truth.
--Somewhere in Holylight
A girl in a nun’s robe was screeching in a manner unbecoming of her modest appearance. She was aboard an extravagant carriage on her way to a remote part of the country, but the ride seemed too rough for her taste.
“It’s disappointing, isn’t it!? How pathetic your devotion to me is!?”
✦ ✦ ✦
The coachman shriveled his neck into his shoulders in response. A noble among all nobles was aboard the carriage... one of the Holy Maidens. One wrong move and he could be burned at the stake. This Holy Maiden, the youngest, was particularly bratty. No one knew how to handle her, exactly. Her appearance, however, was worthy of her title. Her wavy, pink hair was as graceful as cherry blossoms — even her eyes were blush pink. Despite wearing the clothes of a nun, her limbs were slender and attractive. Partially due to her young age, her breasts were still lacking.
“I am about to defeat the legendary Demon Lord! What if my butt gets bruised before I even get there!?”
“I-I’m terribly sorry... The roads out here aren’t paved, and...”
“...Are you criticizing the policies of the Sanctimonium?”
“N-Never!”
Around these parts, there weren’t roads, per se. In the Holy City, the roads were paved with stone, and sometimes maintained with magic, but roads in the poorer regions were left untouched. Even a little bit of rain would become a flood.
“Ar-Are the other Holy Maidens not joining you today?”
“What are you trying to say...? You don’t think I can handle it on my own?”
“Oh, Lady Luna! There’s no doubt in my mind that you won’t need anybody else!”
“Pff. Duh. I can’t let my sisters steal my thunder forever!”
Luna Elegant, aged 16. Her name was just about the only elegant thing about her. Twenty five guards surrounded her carriage, but Luna was not counting on their help. She fully intended to finish the job on her own and claim all the glory for herself.
True, she did have an impressive gift in magic that was sure to be a powerful weapon in her fight against the Demon Lord...
--Holylight, en route to the Holy City
Sometime before that storm started brewing around them, the Demon Lord and the child were causing a commotion on a road without another soul or any lights to be seen. At first glance, they might look like a father and his child, but something was off. The Demon Lord’s cheeks were rosy, and he was on the tipsy side. When a carriage had passed them on the path earlier, a generous passenger had gifted them a few bottles of liquor.
“Emerge, a fragment of my brilliance... ‘Survival Pack’.”
The Demon Lord shoved his hand into a pitch-black void and produced a large object: an item made by the Empire. As its name might suggest, it was packed with all sorts of camping tools. This was one of the essential items used in the Game.
“Wow, Master Demon Lord! Is there anything else in there!?”
With cheeks as rosy as the Demon Lord’s, the child shouted in excitement. The child wasn’t drinking, but seemed buzzed by proxy. There were practically no age restrictions for drinking alcohol in this world, and it wasn’t uncommon for children to drink, but he forbade it. This Demon Lord seemed rather pedestrian, sometimes.
It’s worth noting that liquor came by cheaper than water in this part of the country.
“There is no end to my darkness... ‘Defense Pack’.”
The Demon Lord didn’t seem too hesitant about playing his part, now. Striking a weird pose, he took out another item, also made by the Empire. This one was packed with various tools used to defend against other players. Another must-have for participants of the Game. These items were useless on their own, but unleashed their true potential when they were combined.
“Combine Items... ‘Construct Fortress’.”
At the Demon Lord’s command, two items merged together to create a ‘Base’ in the blink of an eye. This was a very useful item in the Game, as it greatly reduced the damage inflicted by other players, and allowed the user to recover safely. A player could also combine more items with the base to add all kinds of features to it.
“Is this magic!? Master Demon Lord, I can’t believe it!”
Aku, sprung onto the Demon Lord in pure joy. Pleased by this reaction, the Demon Lord let out a hearty laugh.
“This isn’t magic, no. Aku, let me tell you something important.”
The Demon Lord said, and took a deep breath. As if this was an all-important lesson in life, he pointed his finger at Aku.
“Remember this... With the powers of the Empire, nothing is impossible!”
Brushing his hair back, the Demon Lord thrusted his fist into the sky. He looked supremely lame. ...Or just plain drunk. Aku had no idea what he was talking about, but responded with cheerful applause.
“It’s so... Big. And rock hard...!”
Aku said some accidently suggestive things, but the drunken Demon Lord didn’t take notice. In fact, he continued to brag on in an even more elated tone.
“This thing can even withstand Cannon Fire from the likes of Rocket Launchers. If you didn’t have one of these in the Game, you slept with one eye open. Patch it up with Reinforcement Materials and Fireproof Walls to upgrade the base to a Medium or a Large, and that will boost its Defense.”
“Cannon Fire...? It all sounds complicated, Master Demon Lord...”
“Well, it just means it’s sturdy. Aku, we’re sleeping in this base tonight. I’m too fragile to sleep out in the open.”
“Yes, sir! You can leave the chores to me!”
The pair, in their own world, strolled into the base, humming along, oblivious to the foreboding air around them.
SP — down to 10.
✦ ✦ ✦
--On their way to the Holy City of Holylight.
(So this is what a bath is...!)
From the moment the Demon Lord and Aku had settled at their lodging for the night, Aku was greeted by one pleasant surprise after another. Aku’s first impression of the place was that it was very sturdy, in complete contrast to the houses back at the village. Aku could easily imagine the building withstanding a charging bear or boar. In fact, the child felt confident that not even a powerful monster could breach this structure. The lodge even held cots and a kitchen. Aku couldn’t help but feel like a respectable member of society, somehow. Back home, the child’s bed was made by laying a cheap piece of fabric on a pile of straw. Compared to that, this was heavenly.
(But best of all, this bath...!)
The Demon Lord had called it an ‘oil drum bath.’ Imagine Aku’s shock upon finding hot water in such a place! This was an unbelievable height of luxury for the child. Even as Aku bathed in it, the child’s trembling didn’t stop.
(I don’t get why Master Demon Lord was apologizing, though...)
His exact words were ‘Sorry. This lodge is the best I can do right now.’ Aku didn’t really understand what he was saying, to be honest. Of course this was the best he could do, Aku thought. The child could not begin to imagine any more luxury than this.
(I wonder where Master Demon Lord came from? I thought it was the Dark Realm or something, but...)
Aku recalled him mentioning ‘the Empire’ after a few drinks. As the child was pondering such things, the Demon Lord called from the other side of the door.
“Sorry it’s so cramped in here. But just you watch... One day, I’ll set up a hot springs resort.”
The Demon Lord walked away. Some of what the Demon Lord said was difficult for Aku to comprehend. The child wished for a smarter mind to understand him better, but soon realized that the wish might have been futile.
(What’s a “hot springs resort”, anyway?)
Curious, Aku continued to enjoy the bath... It was a peaceful sight, indeed.