Chapter 1: 1 Unexpected Restart

The sun rose shyly behind dense, heavy clouds that heralded the arrival of a morning blizzard. I don't think there could be a more appropriate weather for my current mood.

Turns out I had an unexpected enemy last night that wouldn't let me sleep: my pillow. I struggled with it all night, but the bastard wouldn't give me any comfortable position. I ended up finding no consolation under the sheets.

So I left my tent at dawn while the other members of my group slept and I've been here ever since, sitting on a rock on top of a frozen hill, looking out over the landscape; trying, and failing, to think of nothing.

It was a total, overwhelming defeat.

Yes, the pillow hasn't been my only recent enemy. It's been a little over fifteen hours since we had to flee our last confrontation. It's not the first time we've been forced to retreat in the face of a formidable adversary, but that added to what's to come has really shaken our morale.

Our true target is none other than Rorom, better known as the Demon Lord. We went on a secret mission to break into his mobile fortress, which we had a lot of trouble tracking down, with the aim of directly challenging him. Not only were we discovered before that, we were also defeated! And by a mere general! If we can't defeat a general, imagine the king himself!

Even so, we can't miss this opportunity and we have to go after the king anyway, since if he changes places we may never be able to find him again. With our confidence destroyed, this is going to be a hell of a task.

As I pondered my mistakes in the previous battle, I was interrupted by a female voice comming from some bushes:

"Zeph, I finally found you!"

A thick fur coat covered Eleanore's entire body, but it couldn't hide her beauty. Her long silver locks fluttered in the wind and blended in with the pale tone of her skin and the surrounding scenery. – What the hell are you doing here?! Everyone is worried!

"Sorry, Elle. I needed some alone time."

"But you shouldn't leave without telling us. Also, why are you shirtless?! You will catch a cold!"

I chuckled at Eleanore's silly concern. She knows I have a very strong resistance to the cold, yet she always worries about the most frivolous things. That's why we call her the mother of the group.

"Come, breakfast is ready."

I followed her down the hill, even though I knew I will probably get scolded by every single member of the party when we get to the camp.

To my surprise, however, this did not happen.

When we arrived, everyone was sitting around the fire, having their hot soups with a gloomy, silent expression. The mood, in general, was so down that I would have preferred to take the scolding.

Our group consists of six people in total, counting Eleanore and myself. From left to right: Adna, the elf sorceress; Borr the Barbarian; Treyll the dragon rider and finally the beautiful Princess Arya, who is a bit of everything and served me some soup as soon as I arrived. I sat between her and Treyll.

We finished eating and began the preparations to move on. I was a bit away from the group, finishing to wear my armor, when someone sneaked behind me to break the silence:

"Sir Zeph, I know we're not having a good time after what happened. We all want time to reflect. But don't go out like that without warning." The Princess said, trying not to look me in the eyes.

"Sorry Arya, but it's not like I got very far. Don't worry, I would never leave you or--"

"Don't get me wrong" – she interrupted me – "I know you wouldn't turn your back on us, but we're all under a lot of pressure, you're not the only one. Imagine if you woke up in the morning and found one of us gone... just the stress of imagining what could have happened... that's the last kind of thing we want to think about right now."

I was speechless. She was right, I was selfish and didn't think about their feelings. I thought it would be a silly thing to do all this drama just because I've been absent for a bit, but we're hiding in enemy territory right after we barely escaped death.

I guess they expected me to lift everyone's spirits like I always did, but instead I went around unannounced, leaving them worried. Realizing my mistake, I grabbed the Princess's hands, which took her by surprise, and said:

"Sorry, Arya. It won't happen again, I promise."

She was all flushed but looked pleased. I decided to go apologize to the rest of the group, but I was interrupted:

"If the lovebirds are finished, it's time to leave. - Treyll appeared before me and shared with me some of the luggage he was carrying. Clothes, supplies, sleeping bags, among other adventurer's utensils."

 

He and I took the lead along with Borr, who carried most of the luggage, while the girls followed us down the path through the frozen forest. Our destination were the ruins of Kaltgard Castle, from where we would prepare to storm the Demon Lord's stronghold.

This time, we wouldn't lose. We didn't have that luxury.

I was already immersed in the future and reflecting on the enemy movements I witnessed the last time, but Borr had something else in mind:

"Guys..." he said, whispering so that the girls wouldn't hear him. “I think Eleanore's soup didn't sit well with me. I need to shit."

"Hahahaha!" All of Borr's discretion was ruined by Treyll, who burst out laughing. "For a guy your size, you have a pretty weak stomach."

"Ah, shut up you gecko rider!"

I looked back and luckily the girls seemed to be deep in their own conversation while Treyll replied:

"No need to be stressed. I also want to get water out of my knee. And you, Zeph?"

"No thank you. I prefer not to have company when I go to relieve myself. But have a good time you both."

"Hey, you are making it sound weird!"

We laughed.

"Ara ara, should I give Eleanore some cooking advice?" Adna asked, suddenly appearing between us, grabbing my arm, pressing it between her voluminous breasts. She knew what we were talking about even though she hadn't heard us; one of her high elf skills is reading minds, after all. So Borr was quite embarrassed and I was doing my best not to think about the current state of my arm. But Treyll was another story:

"Hey Adna, what am I thinking now?"

"Sorry Treyll, but I can't have sex with you. And I think you need help, those fetishes of yours don't look healthy."

She said it matter-of-factly, not noticing the malice in Treyll. Elves have a different way of looking at life, as they can read each other's minds; they don't have the same modesty as humans, at the same time they are more pure. Eleanore suddenly appeared and grabbed Treyll by the ear:

"How many times do I have to tell you not to show her these things!"

"You're despicable, Treyll!" The Princess agreed, pulling his other ear.

"Calm down, you two, it's just a joke!" He protested painfully.

I was relieved to see that the group seemed to be getting back to normal.

After Borr relieved himself, our walk continued normally through the frozen forest.

We arrived at Kaltgard Castle in the late afternoon, where we organized all our supplies and spent basically the entire night discussing strategy. We concluded that we couldn't lose another day, as the longer we delay, the greater the likelihood that the Demon Lord has moved his stronghold. Besides, after our recent defeat, he wouldn't expect us to attack so soon. Finally, even with the last defeat, I still had an ace up my sleeve that was especially tailored for the Demon Lord, and now that he was using his armies to fight on three different fronts in distant locations, it was the perfect time to attack him.

In other words, all was not lost but we had to take action immediately.

So, leaving our luggage behind, we set out the next day before sunrise, prepared for the final battle.

 

 

It took about five hours until we reached our destination.

The imposing fortress of Helgard seemed carved into the rock of a floating mountain, held to the ground by gigantic chains that served as an anchor and bridge which we used to climb. As for the fortress itself, the walls and columns were made from the bones of creatures large and small, including humanoid beings. That architecture could not be described in any other way but as satanic.

However, to our surprise, it was completely empty. At least in the beginning levels. We knew we wouldn't find an army, but we expected that it at least would be guarded by some elite demon.

Nonetheless, we arrived at the Demon Lord's lobby gate without any resistance. And there he was, sitting quietly on his throne.

"Well, well, you finally arrived. I've been waiting for you, hero of Alrya, Zeph Rygard."

"Demon Lord, thank you for clearing the way for us. But you will regret it."

He laughed, clearly not intimidated by our presence. He rose from his throne and his stature made Borr look like a child. He must have been at least eight feet tall, and his muscular body was made of something I couldn't tell if it was armor or flesh. He hid his face within a helmet covered with great horns that revealed only his eyes glowing like live coals, and on his body he wore a long black cloak that swirled like flames, seeming to have a life of its own.

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He raised his right hand in the air, summoning his massive two-handed mace, the infamous Voideater, a weapon that not only kills his opponent, but completely obliterates its existence, altering reality itself to be as if that victim had never been born.

"Imagine, hero, if you and your group had never appeared. How would the morals of the free nations of this world be? They would certainly be hopeless, which would greatly facilitate my conquest. So you did me a big favor by coming here."

Of course, we did know about Voideater and we wouldn't have come without an ace up our sleeve.

"Enough talk, Rorom. Show us what the title of Demon Lord means."

"Hahaha! We'll see how far this confidence goes!"

And he charged at us.

As agreed, we assumed our combat positions in our proper places.

Adna and Treyll would stand in the rear supporting us respectively with spells and arrows, while Eleanore would cast physical boosts on us. Princess Arya, who wielded a long sword and shield, would attack the demon head-on at close range and me at medium range, as my weapon is a long spear. Our real goal would be to keep Rorom busy while Borr focused his special ability, which required about three minutes of energy buildup. In the meantime, he would stay in the vicinity of the confrontation, making superficial attacks so as not to arouse suspicion without losing his concentration.

Therefore, Borr was the key player in the initial phase of the combat, and if he failed the whole plan would go down the drain.

As expected, the demon's attacks were so heavy that deflecting them was like trying to bounce a meteor back into space. I had only blocked two hits and my spear, called Alva, looked like it was about to break. Fortunately, while I could not block any more attacks, I could count on my agility to dodge. The same couldn't be said for the Princess, whose shield wouldn't last long.

The demon charged all at us, but his movements were limited by the spells and arrows fired by Adna and Treyll.

"Not bad, not bad." He said, seeming to enjoy the combat. He began swinging his mace with one hand, conjuring something in the other. We studied it, we knew what he was about to do.

The Princess imbued her sword with electricity and, in one glance, looked at me with the look that said "that move".

Understanding immediately, I stomped on the ground, which conjured up large ice spikes that grew in a row around Rorom, basically at the same time as he blasted his magic, which was a passive increment of physical abilities he used on himself, but which generated a torrent of flames around it. The ice columns were shattered and immediately melted from the heat, and the Princess plunged her electrified sword into the water-covered ground. The shock only stunned the demon a little, but it was what we needed.

"Now!" I shouted to Borr.

"Deep Style: Atlas' Embrace!"

He yelled, leaping towards the enemy and pinning him by the neck from behind, causing the demon to kneel. At the same time, Adna conjured up several energy roots that enveloped the demon, further immobilizing the monster.

"Hahaha! You think you can hold me?"

He said that, but he couldn't free himself, which surprised him.

"It's no use, Rorom. As long as I have Atlas' Embrace activated, not even ten thousand men together could surpass me in physical strength!"

"Impressive. But does that also give you ten thousand lives?"

He made his back bones grow like spikes that pierced through Borr's body, who screamed in pain, but still didn't let go of the demon.

"I said it's no use! I won't let you go even if I die!"

As they spoke, Eleanore and I had already prepared the ace up our sleeve that we had secretly developed especially for the Demon Lord: a spell that transforms my spear into a reality-altering object like Rorom's Voideater mace. What it did is that it can completely freeze anything alive. There are no exceptions, while the skill is activated even a god would be frozen to death completely if touched by the tip of my spear.

And just like that, I charged the demon while he was immobilized and drove my spear right into his chest, while the Princess pulled Borr out of the demon's thorns, which, as I'd hoped, froze completely.

Everything was so fast I could hardly believe it.

"Did we win? Just like that?" Treyll said, astonished as the rest of us.

Princess Arya and I raised our weapons to break the frozen demon, but suddenly an explosion threw us both away. My vision blurred, and as much as I wanted to get up quickly, my body was unresponsive.

I looked through the dust and Demon Lord Rorom was there, standing as if nothing had happened.

"That's not possible! The skill failed?!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

He laughed heartily at our desperate expressions.

"Fools! So that was your grand plan? Hit me with an attack that freezes any life? It is certainly an impressive spell that would have defeated even a god. However, you made a fatal mistake: I am no god and no demon either, I am a specter! A being from the world of the dead! Your attack doesn't work on creatures that are already dead!"

Of course, we had considered that possibility, but all the information we gathered, including historical records of other heroes who had faced and defeated him in the past, pointed to him being a demon. And as far as we know, specters cannot have physical form. Only living creatures can.

Either he was lying or we made a fatal mistake out of ignorance. The former seemed more likely now.

I tried to move my body, but couldn’t. That explosion was clearly not normal:

"You must have noticed by now, that your bodies are paralyzed. All you did with that attack was give me the opportunity to use this stun skill. Now you will all disappear, and no one will remember your existences!"

I looked desperately at my companions, but we couldn't even speak because of the stun magic. However, before Rorom could raise his sword, the entire place began to shake as if we were being hit by an earthquake.

"What's happening?" It seems that even Rorom was taken by surprise. "Looks like you had a plan B after all, huh? But that won't save you."

Our Plan B didn't involve an earthquake at all, we weren't the ones doing that!

The tremors began to make the whole place collapse, and luckily for us the roof fell right on top of Rorom, delaying him. I regained movement just in time to dodge one column and push Adna out of the way of another.

"We have to get out of here!" Eleanore yelled.

"Over there!" The Princess pointed to the only window in the place, running towards it carrying Borr on her back, and we followed, but the ground below us collapsed before we could reach it and we fell several meters along with rubble.

I got hit on the head by something.

Everything went dark.

 

 

I woke up with a huge chunk of rubble on top of me. I crawled out from under it with difficulty, I think I have some broken ribs. I tried to get up, but couldn't.

I lay on my back to notice that it was already night! It was about ten in the morning when we arrived at the fortress! I can't believe I was passed out for so long! There was smoke and lights on the horizon, the sky had no stars; and there was the sound of sirens.

Wait, sirens?

I saw Eleanore passed out under another pile of rubble, and I crawled there to help her. I lifted the rubble with difficulty and lifted her in my arms, but she began to wake up.

"Zeph? What happened? Where are the others?"

"I don't know. We have to look for them."

I finally took a good look around and saw something I never expected to see again: There were crowds of people on the sidewalks, filming with their smartphones. There were also police cars and ambulances approaching.

A part of the Demon Lord's fortress had collapsed right in the middle of Shibuya, in the city of Tokyo, Japan!

"W-what place is this? Who are these people?!" Elle asked as I helped her back on her foot.

"Eleanore... remember the conversation we had about my origins? I know where this place is."

She looked at me confused.

"This is my homeland. The world I originally came from. Earth."

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