Year 2: The Heroes Descend - Chapter 9

David Athelward opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling.

It was one that he had seen hundreds of times since he’d arrived in Aangapea, ever since he took Castle Kelsey and Aangapea learnt of the Demon Emperor’s name.

It was one that had been reforged by his loyal subjects to become a bedroom chamber befitting that of a king - no, of a tyrant.

His was the only room in the entire Dread Keep that was this large, this glamorous, and only he and his guests were entitled to the greatest view from the keep’s tall towers.

Lying in his bed beside him were two beautiful women; one with bright blonde hair and a peaceful smile on her lips, and the other had silky ebony hair with a seductive smile lingering on her lips.

They were his wife, Lilith, and one of his generals, Mania.

When David retired to his bedroom late last night, he found both women wearing underwear awaiting him, with the scent of roses, candles and a touch of wine lingering in the air. Both women had flushed cheeks and gleefully beckoned him over.

“To celebrate the first year of your long, glorious reign, Mania and I decided to prepare this little surprise for you, dear,” Lilith had sweetly whispered. “It’s a special occasion and you have my blessing to lay with other women, Allaric - tonight, though, I want you to spend it with me and Mania.”

When his wife had told him that many months ago after their marriage was set in stone, David was disgusted with the idea.

It was something that David would never have been conceivable in his old world; however, after arriving in Aangapea and becoming the Demon Emperor, David had done far worse to far more people.

He had killed, he had oppressed, he had tortured, and he had been intimate with many women despite being married, even with Lilith’s blessing.

At first, David wanted to turn down their offer.

Then, he remembered her - the woman whose life he had destroyed with his own two hands, again and again.

Kella.

He had killed her family, her friends, deceived her, slept with her repeatedly and then told her everything he’d done - then, after pretending to run away like she wanted, David instead continued with his plans and massacred a city before her eyes.

He laughed bitterly at himself before passionately stealing Lilith’s lips.

Honestly…it’s not like I can sink any lower.

And so, he indulged - in part to make his wife happy, in part to make himself forget.

Now, the morning had come and he no longer remembered the pain he’d held in his chest that night.

Gently, David stroked his wife’s head, causing her to purr a little in her sleep.

How can one person be so cute? With a smile, he kissed her forehead, then silently climbed out of bed, taking care not to disturb the two women.

He put on one of his dressing gowns and stepped out onto his balcony, greeting the morning sun as it slowly rose in the distance.

There was a slight breeze bringing cool air up to him, which David sighed peacefully to. He shut his eyes and smiled a little - before sighing heavily.

“What do you want, Eris?”

“What a cold reaction, David Athelward.”

When he reopened his eyes, the world was a still grey, as it always was whenever the Goddess of Chaos and Strife descended.

Time had frozen, colour had drained from the world and she was floating before him, her usual, cruel, sadistic smile plastered on her face.

“Sorry, but I was in a good mood this morning.”

“Then, you should be in a better mood for seeing three beautiful women before the day has truly begun.” She giggled and slowly glided down towards him. “How was it? Your wife’s anniversary present?”

“…None of your business.”

“Ah? Are you embarrassed?” She laughed and held his chin up with one hand. “It looks like it was quite the ‘escape’ yet again.” David clicked his tongue and averted his gaze, which only made Eris giggle once again. “I wonder how your beloved wife would feel if she knew that’s what you truly thought of her as.”

“That’s not how I-”

“You can lie to them; you can lie to yourself.” She gripped David’s head by the sides tightly like a vice. “But you can’t ever lie to me.”

“…You’re wrong.”

She purred and brought her face closer to his, so that they were almost touching noses. “David - you truly turned out better than I could have ever hoped. Though.” She leant in close to his ear and whispered, “I’m excited to see what you’ll do next.”

She released him and then leisurely landed beside him, placing her hands behind her back and then letting her wings expand to their full length. “I take it you know why I’m here.”

“Of course - it’s been a whole year since I arrived in Aangapea, and that means today’s the day your Summoned Heroes arrive.”

“Strictly speaking, they’ll be Themis and Harmonia’s Summoned Heroes, but no one but us will ever know the truth.”

“I haven’t forgotten, Eris. In fact, as I’m sure you’ll have seen, I ordered the Voice and the Hand to deliver your heroes a special welcome present.”

Eris giggled with glee. “I bet you wish you could see the look on their frightened faces yourself - alas, you’ll simply have to do with the reports Mímir and the others give you. What a shame.”

David grunted and shrugged. “Who ever said I wanted to see-?”

“You sounded rather happy when Themis was sacked.” Eris leant her back against the railing and smirked. “‘The Laugh Heard Around the World’ - such a nice way of describing how happy you were.”

“…Mímir mentioned it in passing, but I thought only my inner circle called it that.”

“That shows how ignorant you truly are of the west, David Athelward.”

“That is being rectified as we speak. Jorōgumo’s spiders and Mímir’s Ravens will soon be set up all across the Free People’s territory. They’ll accompany the Voice’s convoy all the way to the city of Rhodes, establishing a vast intelligence network as they move, and then it’ll only be a matter of time before we know everything about the west.” He smiled a little defiantly at the Goddess. “This won’t go the way you want it to, Eris.”

“Oh? Really? Then, what do you intend to do?”

“…I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“Is that right?”

Not much of a reaction

“Disappointed with my indifference?”

“…A little.”

“Good - you’re being more honest.” Eris laughed and happily skipped around David, twirling as she did. “I’m impressed that you’re still trying to defy me after all this time, but I’m disappointed that you think this is enough to annoy me. And.” She stopped in front of him and lent back so that her head rested above his heart. “I promise you - this will go exactly as I want it to, as it always has.”

She gave him a blissful smile and then stepped away, before floating back up above him once more.

“Now then, with all of the small talk out of the way, let me get to the main reason why I’ve come here today - it’s to establish some new ground rules for the next year of your reign.”

“Let me guess - I have to do something impossible again like burn the west to the ground, or convert-”

Suddenly, the Goddess was before his eyes again, with a vicious scowl on her face. “I thought you’d have learnt from last time not to interrupt me whilst I’m explaining the rules of the game.”

David immediately shut his mouth, desperately trying not to show the crippling fear he felt on his face, but he couldn’t hide his cold sweat or the weak twitches of his body.

Satisfied, Eris smiled gently and continued. “Now, it wouldn’t be any fun if you, being the overpowered ‘final boss’ just went and slaughtered the Summoned Heroes before they could even tie their shoes, so this year I’ll be putting some restrictions on you.

“First - you cannot intentionally go after the lives of the Summoned Heroes yourself, nor can you order anyone to do it. It’s fine if they die in battle with your forces or by some random happenstance, but no assassination of any kind. In fact - this is the only rule that will not disappear once three-hundred and sixty-five days have passed.

“Second - you are not allowed to send your generals to fight any of the Summoned Heroes. However, Hilda, the Dread Knights and anyone else that you didn’t specifically summon from me are fine, but not for the first six months. After all, I know just how strong your little pet project has gotten and I wouldn’t want them ruining my game.

“Third - you may launch an attack on the west once a month. You can send as many or as few soldiers as you like but, as per the other rules, you cannot take part, nor can any of your inner circle, and each attack can only last for up to a week. Any longer than that is not allowed.

“Do you understand and accept these new rules?”

“…I do.”

“Good, then-”

“If I ever have any questions relating to them or if I want to ask if I can do something, can I contact you about it?”

“Hmm…interesting.” Eris purred and grinned. “Very well. Oh, and, of course, don’t forget - I’m always watching you.”

“…Thank you for your generosity.”

Eris cackled with laughter before collecting herself and smiling gently. “You know, David, I’m really looking forward to this year more than last year.”

“…Why?”

She licked her lips and titled her head slightly. “That’s something you’ll have to find out for yourself, my dear Demon Emperor.”

Eris vanished in a cloud of feathers, like always, finally releasing some of the pressure David felt upon him. With a heavy sigh, he rubbed his brow and frowned.

I didn’t think it’d be this easy, but I’d hoped that it wouldn’t be this restrictive either, he thought. Admittedly, until the rebels in the Green Mountains are put down, I don’t really want to focus too much time or attention on the Free People’s Alliance. As it is, there are still a handful of rebel cells in my empire, though there are only at most two or three left in Themis.

Once they’re stomped out, the fires of hope will be extinguished for good in the south. The north, however. He bit his lip. That will take more time to completely pacify, so these rules help me in that sense. But how the hell am I meant to make any sort of real progress if I can’t attack more than once a month, and for less than a week at a time?

…I do have a few ideas, but nothing concrete at the moment.

Still, it’s not like I’ve wasted any time since the end of the One Hundred Days Plan - and I prepared a few contingencies in case Eris did something like this, but.

He smiled weakly and leant against the railing, resting his chin in his hand. “It’s about to get rather busy around here.”