“So, there are two demons leading the undead armies? And they are under the lich’s command?” I asks, my voice steady despite the chaos around us.
“Yes, and one is right here in the forest. Your female friend found out about it and decided to leave you behind,” the tree demon replies, its voice a low rumble.
I frowned at the thought. “How can she just leave me behind?”
“Well, she mentioned something about revenge, but it didn’t sound sincere. She looked confident that you would be fine without them,” the demon muses, its eyes glinting with a mix of curiosity and pity.
I glanced back at the demon, now standing tall in its newly humanoid form. “What’s your name, anyway?” I asks, genuinely curious.
His expression fell, a flicker of sadness crossing his features. “I… I don’t have one,” he confessed quietly. “I’ve lived in this forest for centuries, alone. Demons usually receive their names from their parents or the Demon Lord, but…” He trailed off, the weight of his unspoken history hanging heavy in the air.
A pang of sympathy struck me. No parents, no name, centuries of solitude. Maybe, despite his demonic nature, we weren’t so different after all. “How about I give you a name, then?” I offered, a playful grin tugging at the corner of my lips. “I can’t exactly call you ‘demon’ in front of the villagers; they might freak out a little.”
His eyes widened, a mix of hope and disbelief flashing across his face. “But… a name given by another species? No, when a demon receives a name, their powers increase. You are neither my parent nor a demon king. Well, there are cases where demons were named by other species, and they did work.”
“We’ll find out,” I says, my grin widening. I thought for a moment, searching for a name that felt right. “I’m calling you Sheru. It reminds me of my dog back on Earth. Loyal, strong, and a bit of a troublemaker.” I almost laughs, expecting him to recoil, but I realized he might not understand my naming sense.
Suddenly, the energy around Sheru coalesced, transforming him strikingly. Gone was the lanky, awkward figure; in his place stood a powerful, handsome demon, his human features now more defined, his eyes blazing with newfound power.
Sheru gazed at his hands, flexing his fingers as if testing his strength. “This power… it’s incredible,” he whispers, awe evident in his voice. “I’ve seen demon generals with less power than this! How is this possible? You’re not even fully human…”
I chuckles, my heart swelling with pride. “Let’s just say I haven’t been entirely honest with you. I merged with the 126th Demon Lord, Geolard.”
Sheru’s jaw dropped. “Geolard? The Bone Demon who challenged the gods? But how…?”
“We’ll talk later,” I interrupts, my mind already focused on the more pressing matter at hand. “Right now, we need to get to the village. Fast. Tell me more about those demons leading the undead army.”
Sheru snaps to attention, his newfound power tempered by deep respect. “Of course, Lord Ronin.” He hesitated for a moment. “The first wave is led by a fallen hero, corrupted by the Lich. The second wave… they’re just mindless fodder, meant to wear down the village’s defenses.” His voice turned grim. “Their goal is to eliminate Gloria, Warzheil, and Sil. Sil is a High Elf, a master of wind, water, and healing magic. She’s been a thorn in the Lich’s side for years.”
I frowned, realizing the urgency of the situation. “So even if we move now, it’ll take hours to get to the village on foot.”
“You can reach the village in an hour?!” Sheru exclaims, his eyes wide with disbelief. “But it’s at least three hours away, even on a Greizer! Only the Demon Lord at his second stage or heroes at level 900 can run that fast!”
“Well, like I said, I’m full of surprises,” I replies, a grin spreading across my face. “Come on, I’ve got a plan. But I’ll need your help.”
As we emerged from the forest, I spotted a herd of wild Greizers grazing peacefully in a nearby meadow. “Excellent,” I says, my gaze fixed on the majestic creatures. “Transportation, delivered.”
But before I could take a step toward the magnificent beasts, Sheru grabbed my arm, pulling me back into the bushes. “My lord,” he says, his voice hushed with urgency, “forgive my boldness, but you seem unfamiliar with this world. Greizers possess immense mana reserves and wield potent wind magic. And that herd… it has an Alpha Greizer.”
“An Alpha Greizer?” I repeated, intrigue piqued. My knowledge of this world’s fauna was admittedly lacking.
“They’re incredibly rare,” Sheru explains, his voice filled with a mix of awe and apprehension. “Only one in every hundred herds has an Alpha. They can manipulate gravity, their speed is unmatched, and they’re fiercely aggressive. Trust me, you don’t want to tangle with them.”
“How strong can their magic be?” I scoffs. “Just a breeze compared to what I’ve faced.”
Sheru stared at me, his eyes wide with disbelief. “A breeze? They can summon twisters that’ll rip you apart! And this Alpha… it can run at 200 kilometers per hour, practically flying on air. Normal Greizers can only levitate for short bursts, but this one…” He shook his head. “It’s on another level.”
I grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. “Well, it looks like I won’t be needing that encyclopedia after all. You’re a walking library of knowledge, Sheru.”
Before he could retort, the ground trembled beneath our feet. We peeked through the foliage and watched in horror as a vast army of undead surged from the forest, their skeletal forms a grotesque parody of life.
“Oh no,” Sheru whispers, his voice tight with fear. “The herd is in their path.”
The Alpha Greizer, a magnificent beast with a mane of silver and eyes that burned with fierce intelligence, let out a defiant roar as the undead horde approached. The other Greizers rallied around their leader, their movements synchronized, their hooves pounding the earth in a thunderous rhythm.
We watched, captivated and horrified, as the Alpha Greizer unleashed its power. With a flick of its head, it directed the herd’s movements, coordinating their attacks with chilling precision. Then, with a surge of gravitational force, it slammed dozens of undead into the ground, their bones shattering into dust.
But the undead army was relentless. They surged forward, their numbers overwhelming, their hunger for destruction insatiable. The Greizers fought bravely, their wind magic slicing through the air, but one by one, they fell, their bodies collapsing into lifeless heaps.
Sheru’s voice cracked with emotion. “They don’t deserve this… such a noble species, reduced to… They’re loyal creatures, fighting to the death for their riders. It’s not right.”
I couldn’t stand to watch any longer. “They’re fighting for their lives, Sheru,” I says, stepping out of the bushes. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I stood by and did nothing.”
“But lord!” Sheru protested, grabbing my arm. “The army is too big! It’s suicide!”
I shook him off, my gaze fixed on the Alpha Greizer, now surrounded by a sea of grasping claws and gnashing teeth. “Can a Demon Lord take down this army?” I asks, my voice hard.
Sheru hesitated. “Y-yes, but… you’re not a Demon Lord. Forgive my disrespect, but you don’t possess even a fraction of Lord Geolard’s power.”
I met his gaze, my eyes burning with resolve. “I’m not a fool, Sheru. I don’t pick fights I can’t win. And let me be clear – I killed your current Demon Lord.”
Sheru stared at me, his mouth agape, as I strode toward the battle, activating my suit’s combat systems. “Stay hidden, Sheru. This is going to be a quick cleanup.”
“He killed the Demon Lord? But… he has no mana… how is that possible?” Sheru whispers, his mind reeling.
I rushed into the fray, my newly forged spear singing as I carved a path through the undead. A wave of black energy erupted from the blade, shattering bones and sending skeletal warriors flying. I reached the Alpha Greizer, its silver coat matted with blood and sweat, its eyes blazing with defiance.
“I’m here to help!” I shouts, raising my voice above the cacophony of battle.
But the Alpha Greizer, its pride wounded, didn’t appreciate my interference. It lashed out with a powerful kick, sending me sprawling into the dirt. My suit absorbed the impact, but the sudden jolt knocked the breath from me.
“Look, I’m trying to help you!” I mutters, turning back to the Alpha Greizer.
The creature snorted, shaking its head, clearly unimpressed with my efforts.
“He’s not a fan of you stealing his thunder, Lord Ronin,” Sheru says, his voice laced with amusement as he stood beside me.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But we need to get him out of here. This army is too big, even for a prideful Alpha Greizer.” I turned to Sheru, my brow furrowed. “These undead... aren’t they animated by mana?”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Sheru explains, expertly dodging a skeletal warrior’s axe as he spoke. “Miasma is the unrefined energy that gods release when they convert cosmic energy into divine power. Nature can refine miasma back into mana, but it’s a slow process. Undead, being essentially a part of nature, can tap into this miasma directly, using it to fuel their existence.”
“So they’re powered by… divine exhaust fumes?” I asks, trying to wrap my head around this complex system.
Sheru chuckled. “You could say that. And it’s not just undead. Miasma can corrupt living beings too. It’s toxic, especially in its concentrated form. That’s why the gods don’t like us demons – we can manipulate miasma and turn it into what you humans call ‘demonic power.’”
“Fascinating,” I mutters, dispatching a skeletal archer with a flick of my spear. “Listen, Sheru, can you get the Alpha Greizer and its remaining herd out of here? Tell him I’m not fighting for him; I’m fighting for the village.”
Sheru’s eyes widened. “How do you know I can speak to them?”
I shrugged. “It’s a hunch. Figured if trees can talk to animals…”
“I’m a demon, not a tree,” Sheru protested, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
“Right, right. A Treant. My bad. Just get them out of here once we get an opening.”
Sheru rolled his eyes but nodded. “I’ll try. But this one’s stubborn. He might not listen.”
“Just do your best,” I says, turning my attention back to the battle. The undead horde seemed endless, wave after wave of skeletal warriors crashing against us like a tide of bone and rot.
“There’s no end to them!” Sheru exclaims, his voice strained as he summoned a wall of earth to block a charging group of skeletal knights. “We’ve taken out maybe sixty, but there are still hundreds more!”
“Don’t worry,” I says, a grin spreading across my face. “I’m just getting warmed up.”
As we fought, I peppered Sheru with questions, eager to learn more about this world’s magic system. “So, can humans use mana freely?” I asks, deflecting a skeletal warrior’s sword with ease.
“No,” Sheru replies, panting slightly as he unleashed a barrage of thorny vines, ensnaring a group of skeletal archers. “Damn this human body… it’s so weak. I need to pace myself or I’ll run out of mana.”
“Yeah, well, now you know how it feels to be human,” I says with a chuckle.
“Humans are weak, fragile creatures,” Sheru grumbled.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” I reminds him, my voice hardening.
“Right, right,” Sheru says, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Humans, and most other beings, can only use a fraction of their total mana reserves at a time. It depends on their mana pool and their ability to control the flow of energy. It’s like trying to hold water in your hand – the more you try to grasp, the more it slips away.”
I nodded thoughtfully, my mind racing with the implications. “So, it’s like a pressure valve, regulating the flow of mana to prevent burnout?”
Sheru blinked, impressed. “You’re surprisingly perceptive, Lord Ronin.”
I flashed him a quick smile. “Hey, I may not know magic, but I know physics. And this ‘gravity magic’ you mentioned earlier? That’s just basic manipulation of mass and energy.”
Sheru’s eyes widened. “You know about gravity?” He asks, incredulous.
Sheru’s explanation of mana usage and its limitations sounded like a convoluted mess compared to the elegant laws of energy and motion I was used to.
“And Physics?” Sheru looked at me, his brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s that?”
“It’s the study of how the universe works. The pull of the planet? That’s called gravity. You guys have gravity magic, but you don’t know about gravity itself? That’s… ridiculous.”
“It’s far more complex than your ‘physics.’ The Alpha Greizer, for example, can manipulate the air itself, creating a dense surface to push against with its gravity magic. Can your physics explain that?” Sheru argued, his voice defensive.
“Actually, it can,” I started to explain, but a sudden tremor shook the ground, interrupting our conversation.
A colossal figure emerged from the forest, its bones towering over the trees, glowing with an icy blue light. Crystals, pulsing with frozen energy, protruded from its skeletal frame.
“A Frostbone Titan!” Sheru exclaims, his voice laced with fear. “They have one of those here?”
“Explain!” I demands, my grip tightening on my spear.
“Bone Titans are creatures from the Underworld. It’s a high Difficulty Boss Entity,” Sheru says, his voice hushed with awe. “They’re incredibly powerful undead, servants of the Underworld’s overlord, Kronos.”
“Kronos?” I frowned. “You’ve got that guy here too?”
Sheru nodded, launching into a hasty explanation. “The Primordial Gods, the first beings of creation, had sons who became the first generation of gods. But one of the Ancient Gods, the second generation of the gods after the Primordial Gods, Kronos, wanted to destroy everything – Earth, this world, all of it. His own sons, the Elder Gods Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon, were forced to seal him away in the depths of the Underworld.”
“The Titanomachy,” I says, recognizing the myth from my own world.
“You know the story?” Sheru asks, surprised.
I nodded. “It seems like some myths transcend mere imagination.”
“When Kronos tried to destroy Earth, he was defeated by his own sons. The Primordial Gods sent their sons, the Ancients and the Elders divided randomly to protect this world, and we’ve been under their rule ever since. But from what I know, the gods of Earth have been away for a long time now to fight a cosmic war trying to hold off evil beings trying to imbalance the laws of life.”
“And now, it seems Kronos is sending his minions to cause chaos,” I says grimly, my eyes fixed on the approaching Frostbone Titan.
“It’s too powerful!” Sheru exclaims, summoning a barrage of earth spikes to slow the Titan’s advance. “We need to get out of here!”
“Not yet,” I says, my voice calm despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. “We need to get that Alpha Greizer to safety. He’s the only one who can outrun this thing.”
The Alpha Greizer, now surrounded by a dwindling number of its herd, fought with fierce determination, its gravity magic creating shockwaves that sent skeletal warriors flying. But it was a losing battle.
“Oi, Horsie!” I shouts, hoping the creature understood my intent. “We need to retreat! Get out of here!”
The Alpha Greizer snorted, its eyes blazing with defiance. It was not a creature to back down from a challenge.
“He’s too stubborn,” Sheru says, dodging a swipe from the Titan’s massive bone club. “He’ll fight to the death.”
“Then we’ll fight with him,” I says, raising my spear. “Sheru, get him out of here. I’ll hold them off. This is my fight not yours, you are free to go where ever just leave.”
“I can’t just abandon you, my Lord! And where will I go even if I leave?” Sheru protested, summoning a wall of thorns to shield himself from a barrage of ice shards.
“Don’t be a fool,” I says, my voice firm. “I can handle this. I’m fast, I have always trusted my guts as they are mostly right, you are good person Sheru, oh right, go become someone who can help me in future. Just get out of here with the Greizer.”
“You are the one being a fool!” He shouts while fighting with a twisted expression. “I am a demon! I understand that you are different and don’t care about my identity but where will I go? Humans won’t acknowledge me!”
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“Sheru, I trust you, so trust yourself” I shot back “You have talent and the looks, all you need is a change in behavior and some luck and humans will trust you, now leave, you are just holding me back.”
Sheru hesitated, torn between his loyalty to me and his desire to survive. He glanced at the Frostbone Titan, its icy aura growing stronger, its presence chilling the air.
“Alright, I will go check up on the village before leaving.” he says finally, a note of resignation in his voice. “Be careful.” He rushed toward the Alpha Greizer, dodging and weaving through the chaos of battle.
“
Don’t worry I will follow suit.” I throw in a calm note.
“I can’t believe he is fighting a monster in level 1500s! But maybe... just maybe he can do it; all I can do is obey his order.”
Back in the Village
The hunting party returned to the village, their faces grim, their mounts laden with the carcasses of two Groth Rabicorns—large, horned rabbits that were a staple food source for the villagers. But the usual celebratory atmosphere that accompanied a successful hunt was absent. A palpable tension hung in the air, a sense of foreboding settling over the gathering crowd.
“Gloria, you’ve returned!” Sil exclaims, her relief evident in her voice. But her smile quickly faded as she noticed the empty space beside Gloria. “Where is Ronin?”
Gloria’s gaze dropped to the ground, her shoulders slumping with guilt. “Grandma Sil, there’s… there’s a problem. We encountered a massive army of undead in the forest. Hundreds of them, led by the Lich’s minions. We… we had to flee.”
“What?!” Sil’s expression turned grave, her brow furrowing in thought. “How much time do we have?”
“Not much,” Gloria replies, her voice trembling slightly. “The first wave is four hundred strong, and they were only an hour behind us. The second wave… even bigger… seven hundred at least.”
Just then, Warzheil emerged from his forge, wiping his brow with a soot-stained rag. His eyes scanned the returning hunters, lingering on the empty space beside Gloria. “Where’s Ronin?” His voice, usually booming with laughter, was now sharp with concern.
Kade stepped forward, his expression apologetic. “We couldn’t find him, Warzheil. We ran into the undead army, and…”
“So you left him to die?!” Warzheil roars, his face contorted with fury. “You abandoned him in that cursed forest? I thought you had made up, but to think you would leave him there to die!”
The hunters flinched with fear and hung their heads in shame. Gloria bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes as she couldn’t meet Warzheil’s gaze, the guilt crushing her. But Wyran, one of the younger hunters, stepped forward, his face pale but resolute.
“It’s not fair to blame them, Master Warzheil,” he says, his voice trembling slightly. “I didn’t want to leave Ronin behind. I argued against it, but… I couldn’t disobey Gloria and Kade.” He looked at Warzheil, his eyes pleading. “If you allow me, I’ll go—no, we will go back and find him. I won’t leave him to die.”
A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. Warzheil’s anger seemed to dissipate as quickly as it had arisen, replaced by a gruff smile.
“Well said, young one,” he says, clapping Wyran on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit of a true Pack of Wolves. But listen well, all of you. This isn’t about blaming anyone. We’re a family, and we don’t leave family behind. Do you understand?”
The hunters nodded, their expressions a mixture of shame and relief.
“But… aren’t you worried about Ronin?” one of the villagers asks, his voice laced with concern. “Those undead… they’re ruthless.”
Warzheil threw back his head and laughs, the sound echoing through the village square. “Worry about Ronin? That lad? Ha! He’ll be fine. He’s more than capable of taking care of himself.” His smile faded, his expression hardening with determination. “Now, enough talk. We need a ship! Everyone, to the shore! Builders, gather your tools! Villagers, grab anything that floats! We have two hours, maybe less, before those undead reach us. Let’s move!”
Spurred into action by Warzheil’s commanding presence, the villagers sprang into motion. They rushed toward the shore, their voices a mix of fear and determination.
“I’ll stay behind,” Sil says firmly, her gaze fixed on the distant forest. “Someone needs to defend this village, even if it’s just a delaying tactic.”
“I’m with you, Sil,” says Warzheil, stepping forward. Others followed, forming a small but determined defense force.
Gloria watched as the villagers scurried about, their faces etched with fear. She couldn’t shake the image of Ronin disappearing into the forest, the dread gnawing at her heart.
“He’ll be fine,” she whispers to herself, her voice barely audible above the rising panic. But even as she said the words, a part of her knew she was lying.
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