The fishing village of Roguebert was plagued by heavy taxation and monsters. Fishing was their primary industry, and because they were able to catch an abundance of fish, they managed to scrape together enough funds to pay the unreasonable taxes. However, at some point in time, squids, octopi, and other invertebrate monsters began to appear in the waters near the village to attack fishing vessels.
This drastically reduced the number of fish they could catch, and they were no longer able to pay their taxes. Needless to say, the citizens of Roguebert went to the magistrate in charge of their area to protest and inform him of the current state of the village. However, the magistrate refused to listen to their cries of desperation; on the contrary, his tax collection methods became more barbaric and severe. Families who couldn’t pay had their houses ransacked to pillage any valuables, and ultimately, he kidnapped girls and children to sell to others.
Roguebert wasn’t the only village that suffered from monster attacks. All throughout the kingdom, many fired their distress signals to beg for help. Invertebrate monsters attacked villages like Roguebert near the sea, bird monsters destroyed villages over a large area, panther and wolf monsters emerged from remote forests to wreak havoc, and countless lava monsters emerged from volcanic areas to terrorize anyone nearby.
A mass outbreak of monsters appeared all at once throughout the kingdom, destroying anything in their path. Each horde of monsters had a boss—a massive creature that stood at the top of it all. Together, they were the Four Fiends.
The one who gathered all of this information was a woman of the Church who received a divine oracle. She, Saint Fran, was considered the very symbol of holiness. The oracle she received told her that the appearance of the Four Fiends was only a prelude to an even greater battle; it was merely an omen of the resurrection of the Demon Lord.
This information was shared only with the royal family and the upper echelons of the military, for fear that it might panic the masses. The eldest princess of the kingdom, Asteria Roi Scintelleo, was first to act. She was this game’s main heroine.
✶✶✶
In the original game, the main character was Abel Karat, a boy who possessed powerful fire magic despite being a commoner. When he saw that his academy friend, Princess Asteria, was trying to throw herself into a battle against the Four Fiends to save her citizens, he practically forcibly joined in.
He was aided by Sorceress Maylene, head of the royal army’s magic squad and the master of many spells for such a young witch. They also fought with Marshal Ganado of the royal army, along with six hundred seasoned soldiers and three warships. They possessed overwhelming power and made all the necessary preparations to fight against the island-sized kraken, Sea Monster Strafe, which ruled over the seas near Roguebert.
It was there that Abel met one of the heroines, a female sailor called Faltiana. When he saw the sorry state of the desolate village, he valiantly declared that he would defeat the monster and save the village. Faltiana, moved by the main character’s righteousness, decided to join in on the fight and face the monster.
The battlefield was atop the sea. They headed for Strafe, who revealed its striped head above water, and three ships sailed to defeat it. Countless monsters appeared and threatened to sink the warships, but Abel and his allies defeated them all and pushed ahead fearlessly. But misfortune befell them in a split second. Just when Strafe was within range, one of the warships behind Abel was obliterated.
A massive invertebrate monster appeared before him—a kraken. He’d faced many monsters of this type before, but he’d never seen anything so huge and towering.
“The ship disappeared in a flash...” a soldier said.
Chaos ensued as Abel and his allies tried to wrap their heads around the fact that two hundred soldiers’ lives had been snuffed out in a moment.
“The ship devourer...” Faltiana muttered as cold sweat dripped down her face. “There’s always been legends of a demon who devoured ships. Is that—no, are these monsters the source of it all?”
Abel slapped his cheeks so hard that the sharp noise rang out through the deck as he did his best to amp himself up. He cast a sorrowful glance at the sunken ship before he glared at the kraken responsible for this cruelty.
“Prepare for battle, guys,” he said. “We will kill it. I’m done with making sacrifices!”
The soldiers heightened their morale thanks to his words as they let out a powerful battle cry that encouraged them all.
✶✶✶
Through a harrowing and difficult battle, Abel and his allies managed to defeat the kraken. The soldiers shouted victoriously, and now that Strafe was firmly in range, they fired their cannons at its head.
In the distance, a fleet of over ten black vessels watched it all unfold. Their flag was of a crescent moon devouring the sun—the family crest of House Lightless. A pair of brown-haired and dark-haired men observed the grisly battle—one would later be called Raymond the Second Demon Lord, and the other Shadow Wolf Lofus.
“I’m astonished to see how overjoyed they are from defeating such a weak enemy,” Lofus remarked. “How amusing. And I see that your fiancée is there as well, Raymond.”
Raymond said not a word and only furrowed his brow as Lofus laughed through his nose.
“Apologies, former fiancée, was it?” Lofus asked. “Are you still bothered about her? A woman who would be enticed by such a monkey—a mere ignorant peon—need not be remembered. She is unworthy of someone like you, who’ll ultimately rule over the world.”
“A peon...” Raymond muttered. “Yes, Abel truly is a peon who doesn’t know his place. That vulgar man...”
“There’s no need for you to be so bothered.”
“Huh? Ah, I’m sorry, Lofus. I suppose I was in the doldrums for a bit there.”
“No matter. I’m here because my father told me to support them, but it seems we’re not needed. What a waste of my time.”
Lofus spoke with ennui. Strafe was a monster that appeared within the Lightless fief, and so the royal family had asked the marquess for his assistance. The marquess sent his son, Lofus to the battle, and the boy decided to take Raymond with him. The Lightless armada didn’t directly involve themselves with the battle against Strafe, but the black ships were assaulted by the monsters Strafe had deployed over a wide range. The Dark Knights on board made short work of them.
The fleet of House Lightless killed far more monsters than the royal army’s deployment, and the dark ships were more than enough to offer any sort of backup and support. Lofus gazed at Strafe, its head peeking from the water, and clicked his tongue.
“Its size is just for show, nothing more,” Lofus muttered. “My Dark Knights could’ve easily taken care of them. The royal army only got in my way so that they can steal the glory.”
“But I admit that the monster contains a fair bit of mana,” Raymond said. “It’s truly a pity. Had the royal family not snuffed this monster out, I would’ve formed a contract with it. I suppose the corpse can still be used as your familiar. What do you think?”
“I don’t need a big lug like that. It’s way too huge and difficult to wield.”
“You think so? You know what they say: Go big or go home.”
As Raymond and Lofus chatted away, the ocean’s surface suddenly bulged and gave way to a massive kraken. It was just as big as the one that Abel and his friends were fighting against. The kraken reached out to the black ship with its many tentacles, hoping to drag it down to the ocean depths, but neither Raymond nor Lofus seemed bothered by it as they continued their conversation.
“Lord Lofus!” a sailor cried. “A monster! Please, you must flee!”
A moment later, a colossal, dark wolf emerged from Lofus’s shadow and swallowed the kraken whole, tentacles and all. The seawater splashed in the air and rained on the deck like a spot of rain. Silence fell upon the ship, and Lofus pointed his icy gaze at the sailor who shouted a warning.
“You...” Lofus rumbled menacingly. “Who gave you permission to disturb our conversation?”