Demon Lord and Hero

Year 1450 of the Draconic Sage calendar.

The Demon Lord fidgeted with the glass of red wine he held between his fingers, taking occasional sips as he awaited the arrival of the Hero. He could hardly taste the flavor as the liquid passed his lips. Perhaps it was just water. One couldn’t tell under the shine of the blood moon.

He heard the clacking of footsteps throughout the large throne room, echoing from the long hall hidden by the gargantuan wooden door facing his high seat. Suddenly, the door slammed open, revealing a man with auburn brown hair and piercing gold eyes. In one hand he held a glimmering white sword, and in the other, a strangely shaped object that the Demon Lord did not recognize.

“Welcome. What business do I have with a human such as yourself?” The Demon Lord mused, to which the man frowned and furrowed his eyebrows.

“I need not introduce myself to you, Demon Lord.”

“Of course. I was only joking. Why the fervent hostility, Edward Gellner? I have high respect for all who come to challenge me. Especially a Hero such as yourself.”

The Demon Lord stood, taking a few paces around his throne. His smile persisted as he looked down upon the human he called Edward Gellner.

“And you’re here alone, I see. An interesting choice, I must say. So you couldn’t recruit the Draken family to your cause?”

“…” Gellner’s brows furrowed as he continued approaching the Demon Lord’s throne.

“Goodness, and what happened to your beloved party members? Ah, I hear Farendel had a little accident the other day. Are The Wanderer and Niam still alive and kicking? What about your trapper and your priest? Not to mention that wife of yours—“

“Cut the shit, you filth. You know what you did to my party. I’m here to kill you swiftly. Nothing more,” Edward interrupted, pointing the strange object at the horned menace. He was angered, clearly not in the mood for talking.

The Demon Lord gazed at the object in confusion when suddenly, a projectile came bulleting at him. By the literal skin of his nose, he dodged the magical explosion that blew a gaping hole in the back wall.

And the skin of his nose that had been blown off wasn’t regenerating. He felt burning pain as the hero’s holy attack incinerated the cells off his face.

“Magnificent! That was a magnificent attack! How did you do it? I’m sure I recognize that object from somewhere,” he cried out as he looked back at Edward, who immediately dashed toward him, winding his sword up for a slash.

The Demon Lord, with a fraction of a second to react, summoned his own sword and blocked the attack, the collision of their weapons crumbling the castle around them into rubble.

“Hasty today, aren’t we? I usually banter with my foes before I kill them,” the Demon Lord spoke as if he was teaching Gellner basic battle etiquette.

“My son will be born any minute now. I don’t have time for idle chit-chat. And I have nothing to say to scum like you,” he stated, thrusting his sword forward, breaking their momentary clash of metal.

“Ahhh, the birth of your son, yes? What is that, your tenth? A magnificent occasion indeed!” The demon parodied somewhat sarcastically. “So that is the reason you resist in futility? Family?”

“Don’t call it futility! Your downfall will ensure my son enters a world free of your tyranny!”

“Why, I haven’t even met any of your children, much less caused them harm! Such prejudice from a proclaimed hero such as yourself,” he shook his head mockingly.

“You damned bastard!”

Their clash intensified, each strike of their swords sending shockwaves through the shattered remains of the castle. The air crackled as the Hero’s holy magic clashed with the demonic magic produced by his opponent. The very fabric of space around them was being warped to the whims of their fight. Each clash from two beings at the pinnacle of power caused natural disasters in their immediate wake. If they weren’t fighting in the barren expanses of the Demon Continent, doubtless there would be many casualties.

The Demon Lord grinned, his sharp fangs glinting in the dim light of the blood moon. "Do you not enjoy a duel to the death? Are you not having fun right now?!”

“Fun?” Gellner swiped his glowing blade with the power to eviscerate a mountain, bearing the full brunt down on the Demon Lord. “You’re concerned about fun right now? You don’t understand anything, do you?”

The Demon Lord held his arm out, effortlessly negating the Hero’s attack. “You truly are a strange fellow. Why would I understand you, who fights for something so meager?” He replied.

“It is anything but meager!” He shouted furiously. “I fight for hope, for a better future. For the lives of those I care for! But I never expected you to understand such a concept, you fiend,” Edward exclaimed, pressing forward with relentless attacks.

Somehow, his words hurt the Demon Lord. Though he did not connect with his sword, it felt as though he’d been wounded in the heart.

"As I said, meager! You don’t fight for thrill; you fight for ideals!" he spoke with a lamentable grimace on his face. “Even if you defeat me here and now, a new power will rise to take my place. And when that happens, you may not be there to stop it. Ideals are fleeting, Edward. For a short-lifespan species, surely you know that?!”

“I do! And I expect the future generations to rise to the challenge. And for that future generation, you must be defeated!”

“What’s the point in staking your fleeting life on something so temporary? Why do you insist on fighting if you’re not enjoying yourself?!”

“Because that’s the spirit of humanity! Don’t underestimate me, Demon Lord!!!”

“Hahaha!” The Demon Lord laughed as they clashed swords repeatedly. “Magnificent! Though your goals are laughable, you truly are humanity's peak!”

Their fierce battle raged on, neither party giving in to the other’s strikes. For every attack of demonic power, there was an equal amount of holy energy to counteract. Not only that; every form and element of magic was utilized in their bout. Floods, hurricanes of searing flames, earthquakes. The land molded to their every blow.

The two were evenly matched in almost every parameter. While the Demon Lord had the very slight edge in magic, Edward was able to keep up thanks to his preparation for the fight. He was far better equipped than the Demon Lord, and thus was able to fight on equal footing. Their battle shook the very foundation of the planet, the entirety of the Demon continent acting as an arena for their struggle. Despite having near-limitless pools of mana, the over-exertion meant that they were both soon out of power.

“It would seem that we’re… at a stalemate,” the Demon Lord huffed, out of breath and power.

“No… We’re… Not…” Edward took an ogive-shaped pellet from his breast pocket and loaded it into the strange object he brought with him. “I may be out of mana… but… I still have this…”

He pointed it at the head of his opponent, and with that, the Demon Lord knew he’d been defeated. Somehow, he recognized the object, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was the very same device that had seared off the skin of his nose.

“Heh, you got me… So that was your plan all along…”

Knowing he couldn’t beat the Demon Lord in terms of power alone, Edward sought a long, drawn-out battle. He made the Demon Lord believe that he planned on ending the fight quickly, which ultimately led to his downfall. Now that neither of them had any mana to expend, Edward had all but won.

The Hero frowned as he faced his opponent's grinning mug. Even in front of imminent death, the bastard didn’t stop smiling.

“One last question, Demon Lord. Just what is life worth to you?” He asked, his finger readied on the trigger of the white device in his hand.

“What a strange question to ask, Hero. I may not look like it, but the thought of my life coming to an end has me quite rattled,” he said in a joking tone, though Edward knew he was dead serious.

“And what about the life of another? Are those lives inconsequential to you?”

“Life of another? What the hell are you going on about?” The Demon Lord answered, his expression changing to a perplexed one. He wasn’t mocking Edward, nor was he feigning ignorance. He was genuinely confused.

“Do you not see that others have lives just as much as you do?!” He reiterated, raising his voice out of anger and pity.

“Yes, I have lost the lives of many underlings. I’m not daft. What’s your point?”

“You…” Edward’s grip on the object tightened. “What a sad, lamentable creature you are.”

The Demon Lord’s slight smirk vanished. “Save it, Gellner. The fight is over. You and I are fundamentally different creatures. If I begged for my life right now, would you spare me?”

“I offer mercy to all my enemies. Everyone deserves a second chance,” the Hero began. “However, you’re the exception. Even if I afford you a second chance, you would not change. You’re rotten to the core.”

“In that case, end me. If I recover my strength while we talk, I will not hesitate to kill you.”

“By Helianis… I pray hell teaches you a lesson,” with a grimace, Edward’s finger inched closer and closer to the trigger.

“Hell? Ha. Hell or heaven, if this goddess of yours even exists, I’m going to enjoy watching all of your efforts go to wa—” With his last breath, the Demon Lord’s final words were abruptly ended by a deafening noise emerging from the strange object, blowing his face off his neck.

A pitch-black view dominated his surroundings, as if he’d been plunged into the depths of a bottomless hole. He had his thoughts with him, though he felt no sensation in his body. The infinite void around him reminded him of the sinkhole he created in the Central continent a while back. If that was the case, he would’ve sensed his guard dog at the bottom. But he felt nothing.

Hm? Am I… alive? He pondered, though he felt no signs of life.

He felt no retraction in his lungs, no air entering through his nose, no feeling in his limbs, and no magical power.

But after what felt like an instant, all of that changed. A bright light flashed his eyes as the pitch-black surroundings were washed out by a white radiance. He felt blood coursing through his body, filling him with life. He started feeling minuscule amounts of magical energy flowing through him, though it wasn’t mana he was familiar with. He breathed what felt like the freshest air he’d ever inhaled.

And when his eyes came into focus, he saw the reddened face of a red-haired woman, panting heavily as she held him in her arms.

What’s this? He thought to himself. Am I being cradled by a human woman?

He tried moving his neck to look around but felt no power to do so. He had to settle for what little he could scan with just his eyes.

“That’s weird… Mother, he is not crying,” The voice of a young boy sounded from outside his peripheral view.

“But isn’t he so cute? Look, his eyes are so big!” The voice of a little girl emerged similarly.

Crying? Cute? He thought.

“What are you going to name him, mother?” A deeper, more mature girl’s voice asked.

“I already told you, Bella! She’s gonna name him Leopold II,” the charismatic voice of a teenage boy added.

“Be quiet, Leopold. Why would you even put that idea into the world?” Another infant girl’s cold voice retorted, adding to the rowdiness of the room.

Soon, the entire space would be filled with chatter and bickering, beating against his ears. The noise made his head hurt.

Why’s it so loud in here? Just how many humans are around me? Was I always this susceptible to loud noises?! He thought to himself in a slight panic.

“Shhh, you’re startling him…” The red-haired lady spoke after regaining her breath. Everyone silenced themselves to listen. “Let’s wait for your father to get back… He said he wanted to see him before we gave him a name…”

And as if she’d summoned him, the sound of a door swinging open invaded the room, followed by the familiar heavy panting of a man.

Who is it now? As he darted his pupils to where the sound came from, his eyes widened in jaw-dropping shock as the man came into view. If he could’ve gasped at all, he would’ve.

“Oh, Edward… He’s here. Your tenth child,” she said as she handed him off to the man who just entered.

The beaten-up man, out of breath, took him from her arms. Suddenly, the baby broke out in a loud cry.

…

A few days later…

Well, looks like I was reborn as the Hero’s son, he monologued to himself as he lay in the crib located in a spacious bedroom.

My name’s Lock Gellner. Edward named me when he returned from our fight. My mother’s name is Elspeth, and she’s one of three of Edward’s wives. Also—

His thought was interrupted by a sudden impact that shook his crib, knocking the pacifier out of his mouth.

“Hey!! Give that back!” The irritated voice of the child who bumped into the cradle cried out.

“Nu-uh! Celeste told ME to give Lock the baby bottle!” Another retorted, and the argument quickly devolved into a catfight between the two arguing children.

It seems as though I have nine siblings. The two arguing at my cribside right now are my youngest elders, Ophelia and Octavia. They’re twins, and they’re two years old. Our mothers are different, theirs being Edward’s first wife, Verda, Lock inwardly explained to nobody in particular as he inconspicuously picked up the pacifier that dropped from his mouth.

“Girls! Stop fighting! You’ll spill the bottle!” The voice of an older, but still young lass interrupted the cries of the infants, confiscating the baby bottle that was being fought over. “Now, now, Lock. Did they scare you?” The girl picked him up from the crib and set him on her lap, removing the slimy pacifier from his mouth and replacing it with a warm bottle of milk.

She rocked him slowly as he drank from the bottle, making it easier for his infant body to ingest the lactose liquid.

This is Celeste, Edward’s fourth child, and ten years of age. She’s the second child of his second wife, Lyra, and from what I could tell, she seems like one of the more dependable siblings. Even though my senses have dulled considerably, I can tell just from her demeanor that her potential is enormous. Under the correct circumstances, I can see her reaching about half of Edward’s strength.

Lock continued sucking the bottle of milk, strangely finding it satisfying and delicious.

Still, this is the family that Edward fought so hard to protect, huh? Lock examined the three siblings around him, the two infants gazing at him intently and the girl rocking him on her lap.

They seem quite fond of me, though I have done nothing to earn their affection. Why?

He continued pondering, and though he was a decently intelligent being, he could not find the reasoning behind such a puzzle. He suddenly felt a slimy sensation from his behind, a foul stench emanating from his diapers.

Ah, I pooped myself.