part0002

Naberius, Lord of the Fire Giants, couldn’t believe his eyes. The horn of his master, kept inside the treasure room for hundreds of years, had broken free from its chest. It was currently hovering in front of him, surrounded by a small, translucent, dome-shaped barrier. The broken horn was quivering, its tip pointing south. Toward the Great Cavern.

This was the first time something like this had happened in more than a thousand years. It could only mean one thing: Barkuvara, one of the three most powerful demons in history, was close to waking. Something must have happened to the ice prison for the horn to have such a reaction. Naberius surmised that a crack had finally formed on the seal binding the body of his master.

A smile gradually formed on Naberius’ face.

“It seems that even the magic of Agreas couldn’t win against the passage of time,” said Naberius.

Agreas, also known as Agares among the humans, was the very same demon who sealed Barkuvara during the Descent more than a thousand years ago. And that wasn’t enough for the traitor, he also killed the next demon who ascended the throne.

Agreas and his Arzomos Tribe were the scourge of the demon race. The pathetic fools who sided with the humans.

Throughout the centuries, various demon tribes had tried killing the Arzomos, but they failed every time. Even the high demons couldn’t do anything when faced with absolute power. Agreas and Kel’ Vual—the current tribe leader of the Arzomos—were simply too strong, despite their age and the injuries they’d sustained throughout numerous battles.

But Naberius was certain that the Demon Realm would soon be turned upside down. Agreas and Kel’ Vual were reaching the end of their lives. And the moment his master woke up, the Arzomos Tribe would finally be wiped off this land.

Naberius called for one of the demons under his command.

“You called for me, My Lord?”

“Send a message to all of the tribe leaders. Tell them that a chance to unseal my master, the Demon Lord Barkuvara, has come.”

The servant trembled. “R-Right away!”

After receiving the message from the Lord of the Fire Giants, the leaders of the various demon tribes scattered all throughout the Demon Realm gathered in the capital. This was the greatest news they’d received for several centuries.

In the grand hall of Naberius’ castle, seven powerful demons gathered around a round table.

The Lord of the Sky Demons, Malphas.

The Lord of the Corrupted Land, Digtree.

The Lord of the Parasitic Demons, Plagas.

The Lord of the Wraiths, Azrath.

The Lord of the Sea Demons, Xazal.

The Lord of the Red Tower, Elrenar.

And lastly, the former right hand of the demon sealed inside the ice prison:

The Lord of the Fire Giants, Naberius.

Although several lords from minor tribes hadn’t answered Naberius’ call, the number of those gathered had already exceeded Naberius’ expectations. He hadn’t even expected six tribe leaders to show up. With this, it should be possible to pull off his plans.

“First, I must thank every one of you for coming to the capital,” said Naberius. Although his real appearance was that of a fifty-meter fire giant, he’d shrunk himself to human size to live in the capital.

The Lord of the Red Tower, Elrenar, clicked his tongue. “Stop with the pleasantries. All of us have already read the message.”

The Lord of the Sky Demons, Malphas, nodded her head in agreement. “You’ve told us that Barkuvara is going to wake up soon. The horn, show us.”

Naberius had anticipated that the tribe leaders would demand to see the broken horn of his master. He took out a chest and opened it, revealing the broken horn which floated up slowly.

All of the tribe leaders stared intently at the broken horn, at its quivering body, and at its tip, pointing in the same direction as the Great Cavern. The place where the Arzomos village was located. The place where Barkuvara had been sealed by Agreas.

“It’s real,” the Lord of the Red Tower finally said.

“Of course.” Naberius closed the chest tight.

“Naberius, are you planning on attacking the Arzomos?” said the Lord of the Red Tower.

“That’s right.” Naberius looked at every one of the tribe leaders in the room. “The horn of my master is proof that he is close to waking up. All that’s left is an outside interference. The seal has greatly weakened. It should be easy now to destroy it from the outside. Furthermore, the portal to the Human Realm is also located inside the Arzomos village. If we succeed in this plan…”

The tentacles of Plagas—the Lord of the Parasitic Demons—squirmed from uneasiness. “The Arzomos are still guarding it. Although there are fewer than a hundred, Agreas and Kel’ Vual alone are enough to kill all gathered here in this room.”

“Agreas suffered grave injuries when he killed the Demon Lord Kalkarus. Although several hundred years have passed, it should still be impossible for him to have fully recovered from that battle,” said Naberius. “The only real threat is Kel’ Vual. That old demon who’s close to reaching the limit of his lifespan.”

Now that they thought of it, Naberius had a point. Although Agreas and Kel’ Vual were monsters capable of sealing one of the three strongest Demon Lords in history, they had become too old. Furthermore, Agreas had suffered grave injuries during his battles with the Demon Lords Barkuvara and Kalkarus. He was nothing but a shell of his former prime now.

“My tribe has run out of lands to corrupt,” said Digtree, the Lord of the Corrupted Land. “The portal to the human land protected by the Arzomos sounds… enticing.”

Xazal, the Lord of Sea Demons, shook her head in dismay. “I came here with high expectations. But, Naberius, if you do not have a concrete plan to win against the Arzomos, my tribe will opt out of this war.”

“Your father led the vanguard army during the Great War. It seems that unlike him, his daughter grew up as a coward,” sneered the Lord of the Corrupted Land.

Xazal raised her long, scaly tail and pointed its tip threateningly at Digtree. “Unlike you, my tribe will not benefit from this war. The sea of the Demon Realm is vast. We have no need for the portal to the human land. Consider this: Even if Agreas is old and injured, he’s still the demon who sealed the Demon Lord Barkuvara and killed Demon Lord Kalkarus. Don’t be foolish! All of you will die if you attack the Arzomos village now.”

“That remains to be seen. And think about this, Xazal, you and your tribe will lose the favor of Barkuvara when he wakes,” said Malphas.

“It doesn’t matter.” Xazal stood up, unperturbed by the Lord of the Sky Demons’ remark. She looked at Naberius for a moment, then left the room, leaving the six tribe leaders behind.

Naberius was untroubled despite this, as though he’d expected at least one of them to leave.

“If there is anyone else who wishes to leave…” Naberius said as he scanned the faces of everyone in the room.

“Only short-sighted fools like Xazal will opt out of this war even after seeing the broken horn,” said Elrenar. “The Red Tower will send two hundred thousand demons. But under one condition.”

“A condition,” said Naberius. “What is it?”

Elrenar licked his lips. “The bodies of Agreas, Kel’ Vual, and the rest of the Arzomos. I want them.”

Naberius had heard that Elrenar had been conducting a lot of gruesome experiments in the Red Tower for several hundred years now. He’d even heard that they’d managed to create the perfect chimera—a strong yet obedient monster capable of killing a high demon.

Under normal circumstances, Naberius wouldn’t have enlisted help from this lunatic. But the Red Tower was among the most reliable forces in the land right now.

“I promise to intercede on the Red Tower’s behalf once my master wakes up,” said Naberius. “As long as the master permits it, the bodies of all the Arzomos will belong to the Red Tower after the war.”

Elrenar grinned and laughed. “Don’t go back on your word, Naberius! Finally! The corpse of an Arzomos!”

Naberius locked eyes with Malphas.

She said, “I will mobilize all of the sky demons under my command.”

Naberius was satisfied with her answer. “My master is benevolent. You shall be handsomely rewarded for this favor,” said Naberius.

“I’ll look forward to it,” said Malphas, her voice soothing to the ears.

Plagas rubbed his chin with his tentacles. He was still reluctant. After all, the Arzomos Tribe was among the three strongest tribes in the Demon Realm.

Should he participate in this battle and earn the favor of Barkuvara? As the weakest tribe leader in this room, Plagas was not confident of surviving if the leader of the Arzomos chose to target him.

Plagas carefully considered the pros and cons of the battle. Eventually, he came to a decision.

“Very well,” Plagas said. “My parasitic demons will also lend their strength in this war.”

The Lord of the Corrupted Land touched the table using his fingertips. The part that made contact with his fingers formed cracks, before turning to dust.

“My interest lies not in the demon sealed in the ice prison,” said Digtree. “The portal to the Human Realm. I want unrestricted access to it.”

“Consider it done,” said Naberius. He turned to the last tribe leader, who’d remained silent until now—Azrath, the Lord of the Wraiths.

Seeing Naberius’ gaze, Azrath closed his eyes as he hesitated for a moment. He reluctantly said, “The wraith army will lend their aid to help unseal the Demon Lord Barkuvara.”

Naberius understood the reason behind Azrath’s hesitation. His master held animosity toward the wraiths before he was sealed by the Arzomos, over a thousand years ago. It was surprising that the Lord of Wraiths was participating in this attack since they’d suffered a lot during the reign of the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

“Like I said previously, the master is benevolent,” Naberius reiterated to Azrath. “He will surely return this favor.”

Azrath finally relaxed.

This was obviously what Azrath had been hoping for. Since it was only a matter of time before the Demon Lord woke up, the wraiths probably deemed it best to participate in unsealing Barkuvara, lest they suffer from his tyranny once again. No matter how cruel Barkuvara was, he still held the pride of an absolute ruler. He would surely show favor upon the tribes who helped unseal him from the ice prison.

Naberius spread his arms wide and declared, “And finally, my army. More than ten million lesser demons from the capital, and three hundred fire giants. A week from now, we shall launch an attack on the Arzomos village.” Naberius paused and looked at everyone in the room. “This time, we shall unseal the demon trapped in the ice prison.”