Chapter 0:

Prologue

Reincarnated As The Devil King's Henchman


Zephyr climbed through the miniscule hole in the side of the cave wall and gazed in awe at the labyrinth underneath. An aqua blue jet of water cascaded down the ravine, rushing past the cold stone wall and landing in a stoned off area reminiscent of a fountain. Zephyr quickly folded up her map and cast 'Temporary Store' to move it to her pocket dimension.

She gazed once more into the abyss and a silent “wow!” escaped her lips as she began preparing a teleportation spell. In a matter of seconds she materialized at the bottom of the ravine in front of the fountain-like structure. She stared up at where she had once been and realized just how far down she’d really come. She wasn’t here to admire the view though, she had a much more serious job to do. Reminded of her mission, her face immediately morphed into a stern, fixed gaze straight ahead.

The majestic tip of her polished iron sword flickered against the goblet-lit background as she withdrew it from her pocket dimension. Ahead of her was a long passageway decorated with incessantly burning goblets lining the walls on either side. A regal colour adorned the floor: the gold trims glistening in the light of the goblet fire whilst the purple down the middle emitted a strangely ominous aura.

Her glistening, golden hair flowed behind her as she took each step. She narrowed her murky green eyes straight forward, staring down the seemingly endless corridor. She was wearing a pure white breastplate with intertwining gold trims. It looked like it would be heavy, but in actuality it was as light as a feather, at least to Zephyr. Zephyr's 'Body Mold' skill allowed it to fit perfectly with no constraints, thus making it seem so light. Her skill made it so that her pale skin had almost absorbed the armor, as if it was apart of her own body to begin with. It was indeed a very useful skill and she was thankful that she had been able to acquire it with relative ease after some simple body training a few months prior.

Unfazed, Zephyr continued to stride down the beautiful corridor until she reached two giant golden doors. They loomed over her, heavenly in nature, pulsating with flickering orange reflections across the whole structure. Zephyr, now growing more and more nervous, clenched her trembling fist around the door handle and pushed with all her might. It took two minutes of agonising labour and several high-tier strength spells and potions in order to finally pry the two parts of the door away from each other.

Darkness!

The fires that once littered the hall were snuffed in a single, terrifying moment. Zephyr, whether by luck or misfortune, had acquired the 'Luminosity' spell back when she was just a rookie adventurer. As she cast it a ball of light erupted from thin air, as the very atoms suddenly combusted simultaneously.

Zephyr’s lips curdled and dried as she realized what she was looking at. Her face assumed a twisted expression and she felt numb all over. In front of her, in the darkness, was a pair of blood red eyes and a sadistic smile underneath. Even with so few distinguishable features this creature would still be enough to make any sane adventurer run until their legs burned with ferocious agony. But Zephyr couldn’t do that; she couldn't even squeal and could only barely manage to continue breathing. Although that may have been mostly due to the thick, choking air that now engulfed her and less so due to fear.

The crimson red eyes burned brightly with the desire to kill, and the jet black pupils in the middle narrowed in on their prey. The smile grew even wider, menacing fang-like teeth now fully exposed. They shone with a pure light, juxtaposing the dark created by this being. It slowly edged closer to Zephyr, wrapped in a veil of darkness. Zephyr began to feel her heart thump rapidly and relentlessly, as if prying at her ribcage to try and escape from her chest.

“W-w-w-what are you?” she managed to ask.

“Me?” the voice responded in a sadistic voice “well, considering you got this far I think you already know who I am.”

That’s right. She did. Although she was too scared to admit that it was really him. Her mother had told tales of him to her back when she was a child, warning her to stay as far away as possible from him. He was the last line of defense before one could enter the Devil King’s throne room. This was the infamous Melicsto, the Henchman to the Devil King.

Without need for any further words he plunged his hand deep into Zephyr’s chest and removed her still-beating heart.

His sinister hand, coated so heavily in black that Zephyr could only just make out that it was a hand, enclosed around her heart. A black aura ran through the veins and arteries around it as it seemed to rot away in his clutch. With one final grin he clenched his hand into a fist and she crumpled to the floor. Her blood, if it could even be called that anymore, coated the walls. It was a thick, black pus-like substance. Melicsto's very presence had caused it to metamorphosize into this rotted, toxic-looking state. Barely conscious, she gazed into his crimson eyes once again.

“H-help,” she managed to whisper feebly.

No one would be coming to help her though and she already knew this but still she clung on to life desperately as her consciousness began to escape her. Deep at the bottom of the world, beyond the magnificent fountain and down the goblet-lit corridor. Deep in the Devil King’s lair, Zephyr died. Melicsto’s haunting eyes where the last thing she ever saw and even now they made her very soul tremble is it escaped from her body. This was the power she wanted to fight against. This was the Final Defense, the Butcher of Souls, The Devil King’s Henchman.

Joe Gold
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