Chapter 24 The Demon Plains.

The doors to the royal chamber creaked open. At the end of the hall, seated on the golden throne, was his grandfather — King Arthur.

“Ah, Rein, my dear boy! I felt the mountain scream yesterday. You split the gods’ bones with that last strike! You make me so proud!”

Rein stepped forward and dropped to one knee.

 “I’m ready, grandfather. I’ve mastered the Aether Rend. My sword and my magic is ready. All that’s left is the Hero Blessing.”

The king stood from his throne and laughed quietly, almost with pride.

“Do you know how long it took me to master that attack? Almost sixty years. You saw me use it once… and in just three years, you’ve carved your mark into the mountains. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, and yet, here we are.”

He placed a hand on Rein’s shoulder — not heavy like Liora’s, not commanding like Kael's, but warm.

“You say you want the blessing, but hear me now, boy… you don’t need it. Not anymore. You’ve outgrown it.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Hero’s Blessing is a key, yes. But it’s also a cage. It forces your power to grow one way — into the image of the last Hero. You’re no longer walking in Aura’s footsteps. You’ve forged your own path, a new kind of strength. One that the blessing might only bind.”

“So… I don’t need it. I really don’t?”

The king smiled. 

“Blessing or not. You already are the Hero, Rein. The people see it. All you have done through all these years. And the Demon Lord will learn it — the hard way.”

“Then I’m going. Let me march to the Demon Plains. Let me finish what Aura started.”

The king nodded.

 “I will send word to Liora. The time for waiting is over. She will rally our banners, and she’ll lead the vanguard. But this time, Rein… This time, it ends with you.”

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Capital – Teleportation Gates

The Day of the March

 Soldiers lined the stone plaza outside the capital’s teleportation gates — elite knights in black and silver armor, mages cloaked in deep reds, and the Kingdom’s final, desperate battalion. 

Liora stood at the center of it all, beside the glowing arcane gate, hands folded neatly at her waist. The same calm expression. The same faint smile. And yet, something was different.

Rein approached and stopped before her.

“Hero Rein. You’re on time.”

 “Is everything ready?”

Liora turned toward the gate. 

 “As ready as it can be. Coordinates are locked to our forward base near our kingdom's borders, near the Demon Plains. Once we arrive, we march. It will be some time before we reach the Demon Lord domain. I hope you are prepared.”

“I am, we can go.”

She looked at him again.

“Three years ago… you were a prince with potential. A boy who thought swinging a sword would heal a broken world. Now… Now, you’re a true Hero. Not even blessing needed. Are you ready to end this war?”

"I was ready the day Aura died. Let’s finish it."

Liora glanced behind her, then back to Rein.

“I am glad to hear it but before we move out, let me introduce you to your party members. Don't worry, nothing changed. Your fellow candidates will be joining you. You’ll move as a party — as usual.”

Three familiar figures stepped forward. Rein didn’t need introductions; he’d trained and sparred with them countless times at the Academy, vent on many monster extermination missions with them.

Selene Veyra adjusted the spear strapped at her back.

 “Try not to charge so far ahead this time, Rein. We’d rather not spend the entire march chasing after you again.”

Maribel 'Mari' Sunfield hopped to Rein’s side, flashing her usual smile. 

“Oh, let him run off. I’ll just roast whatever tries to bite him in the ass. Like always.”

Kaia Lorn lingered behind them, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before speaking softly.

 “Rein… just be careful. If you get reckless again, I can’t heal everything.” 

 “Don’t worry. I'm ready for this. Promise.”

Liora’s gaze lingered on them all.

“Three years ago, you were students. Today, you march as the Kingdom’s last hope. Selene, Mari, Kaia… the sharpest edge we have. You must assist Rein with everything you got.”

"Yes, Lady Liora!" Three of them saluted.

"Okay, let's move out already. Let's get this show going." Rein said while stepping through teleportation gates. 

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The bright blue of the teleportation gate cracked into streaks of color — space folded in on itself, light and shadow pulling apart, then smashing together again like breaking glass. The moment was weightless, soundless — like drowning in pure magic.

Then—

Rein’s boots hit the dirt.

He staggered half a step forward, instinctively reaching for his sword — but the feeling passed. He blinked, took a breath… and then he saw it.

The Demon Plains.

What was once fertile land had long since died. The ground was cracked and blackened, riddled with pale red magi-stone veins that pulsed like open wounds. The skies overhead were choked with thick, slow-moving clouds, stained violet and ash gray. No sun. Just a dull glow that never seemed to shift — eternal twilight.

Mari staggered a step, holding her head. 

“Ughhh-heee… every time we teleport, I swear my stomach flips inside out. And this smell—gods, is the ground actually rotting?”

Twisted trees clawed out from the earth like skeletal fingers, some still burning with slow embers that refused to die. In the distance, a distant roar echoed across the wind — unnatural, inhuman. Something massive… something hungry.

Selene exhaled slowly through her nose, forcing her to endure.

 “Focus. The sickness will pass. But this terrain… It’s hostile even without the demons.”

Kaia pressed a hand to her mouth, pale. 

“The air… it hurts to breathe. I’ll be fine, just… give me a moment.”

Rein felt it in his skin first — a crawling pressure, like invisible insects under his armor. Then in his chest — tight, heavy. It wasn’t just cursed. The entire land rejected life.

Liora stepped beside him, already calm.

“Welcome to the Demon Plains, Hero. You handled teleportation magic well. Most people have teleportation sickness after, but you seem fine."

"I could say the same to you, Liora. You look as calm as ever. Not even this suffocating air bothers you."

 "I’ve been here many times before. But this is your first… so take your time. Most people feel a bit sick the first hour after breathing in the polluted air of the Demon Plains.”

Rein didn’t answer right away. His eyes scanned the corrupted land — the distance was littered with half-sunken ruins, giant bones, and black stone. He saw a creature — no, several — moving across the horizon. Misshapen. Hulking. Some with too many limbs, others crawling with exposed ribs or twisting horns that bled mist as they moved. These were not animals anymore. They were abominations.

“...This place is alive,” Rein muttered.

“Yes. Alive, and starving. The magi-stone corruption spread from the Demon Lord’s castle years ago, or at least history say so. Polluted the land, the air, even the soil. Most natural life either died or… adapted. That’s what you’re seeing now.”

 “Mutated?”

“Worse than that, Rein, the magi-stone doesn’t just change flesh. It feeds on magic, reshapes will. Even the monsters out here aren’t truly wild — not anymore.”

 “Aura walked through this… led her party through it. Again, and again.”

“Yes, Rein, she did.”

“Let’s move then, to the Demon Lord castle. If that’s where he is… then that’s where we’re going.”

 “No, Rein.”

“What?”

“We don’t march straight to the castle. That’s not how this works.”

“Why not, Liora? You said it yourself — I’m the Hero now. I’ve trained for this for years. I didn’t come here to camp or patrol—I came to end this war.”

Liora sighed, folding her arms. 

“If we charge in now, you’ll never reach the castle. None of us will. Do you feel that in the air? That pressure? That’s not just corruption — it’s the Demon Lord’s domain. Deeper you push into the Demon Plains, the more your strength will bleed away. It's just too many monsters and demons to fight at once.”

 “You don't need to worry about me, Liora. I’m not that fragile, I will last.”

“It’s not about fragility. It’s about attrition. Aura tried pushing through too quickly, too directly. She had to retreat twice before they even reached the outer valley.”

“Then why not teleport us in?”

“Too dangerous. I am the best teleportation mage in the kingdom, but I am not that good. Demon Lord knows how to twist long-range teleportation magic, he is levels above me in that. Last time I attempted a direct jump within three kilometers of his fortress, half our formation ended up spread across miles — and we lost a dozen men to a mist-born abomination before I could even react.”

"Damn this, Demon Lord. We will waste so much time without teleportation."

“Yes, this will take time. Weeks. Months. Took us six months with Aura leading the charge. But we’ll build outposts, retake occupied strongholds. Defeat the Demon Lord's generals holding them. Secure supply lines, clear nests and ambush points. Every step forward has to be earned. If we just walk in blind, we won’t die in battle — we’ll vanish in the dark, picked off one by one by his monsters or his damned assassins.”

Rein looked toward the horizon again. 

“…So, what do you want me to do?” 

“You and your team will be the vanguard. Lead the advance when it counts. Clear the major strongholds. When the time comes… you’ll stand at the gates of that castle — and finish what Aura started. Let Commander Kael and me handle the strategy. You handle the fighting.”

Rein let out a long breath through his nose. He didn’t like it — but deep down, he understood. This wasn’t a storybook charge. It was war.

“…Fine. But I want to be there for every forward push.”

“You will be. But rest today while we build the camp. You’ll be killing something tomorrow.”