The Legend of the Demon Gods

Calum entered the training room, Tilaya and Erik at his side. Kia was already inside, leaning against the wall. “Oh, there you are Kia. We were looking for you.”

She pushed herself away from the wall and joined the group. “I was just exploring, since I had nothing better to do while you all trained.”

Erik closed the door behind him. “I was sparring, not training.”

“Same thing.”

The high priest swept his gaze across the four of them. “Wonderful! You’re all here. Now I can get into what I called you for.” With their attention now on Raliz, he began his speech. “You are all on a quest to defeat the Demon Lord. As I’m sure you already know, this is no simple task. Since you’ll be fighting a large number of demons, I should warn you.”

The party exchanged glances, curious and nervous about what he had to say.

“When demons suffer a lethal blow, instead of dying they enter into a state called Bloodsurge. The effects vary from demon to demon, but it is a last resort of sorts. If you do not kill the demon before Bloodsurge ends, it will reenter that state the next time you try to kill it.”

Calum thought about his earlier encounter and scratched his head. “But when we fought the borum, it didn’t do anything after I killed it.”

“The one exception to this ability is when the demon is slain by divine magic.”

“So in theory, we should be fine.”

“Not necessarily. Divine magic consumes a great deal of mana, so Tilaya can only use it a few times. You on the other hand use Divine Power, correct?”

“That’s right. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you knew that, should I?”

Raliz put his hands behind his back. “As a high priest, I know a good deal of information about the Goddess’s chosen hero. Divine Power works in a similar way to mana, but it only allows you to use divine magic, albeit stronger than normal. If you use too many spells, your Divine Power will run out. You are aware of what happens when you run completely dry, aren’t you?”

Calum nodded. “I’ll die.”

“Fortunately, it is very difficult to fully deplete it. If you use Judgment, however… that will use all of it.”

Kia stepped forward. “If Judgment ensures his death, why would you offer to teach it to him?”

He closed his eyes. “In case he ever needs it as a last resort. You never know what will happen when you face the Demon Lord.”

“I hope I never have to use it, but it’s always good to be safe,” Calum said.

Raliz’s eyes opened and scanned the four people in front of him. “There is a legend…”

Tilaya glanced at Erik before returning her attention to Raliz. “What legend?”

“You already know that demons are divided into classes. What if I told you there were class SS demons?”

Tilaya paled. Her companions also appeared uneasy. “That would be ridiculous! How could anything that powerful exist?”

“As far as we know, it only exists in legend. But it is possible that the legend is true, and I believe it might have something to do with the Demon Lord.”

“Calum gulped. “What does the legend say?”

“A long time ago, there were four beings called the Demon Gods, born from the contention and malice the gods had toward one another.”

“Hold on,” Calum interrupted, “you mean there were multiple gods?”

“Yes. They fought constantly, giving rise to the Demon Gods. Each of them had the power to destroy the world, and that is what their mission was. The gods had to come together and fight the Demon Gods for the safety of the world. Our Goddess was the only god who survived.”

Kia shifted, staring at the floor.

Tilaya noticed Kia’s discomfort. “What happened to the Demon Gods?”

“They were sealed away, never to be seen again. But I believe a Demon God’s seal has weakened.”

Calum thought for a moment. “What does this have to do with the Demon Lord?”

“Excellent question. I believe the Demon Lord is either an avatar of a Demon God, or he plans on breaking its seal.” He paused to let them process the information, then turned to Kia. “On another note, I believe I do have something you can train against.”

Kia stared at the high priest. “You do? I thought you said you didn’t.”

“I do not have another assassin to train you is what I said. But you can train against an opponent.” He turned and pointed to the gate. “There is something you can fight on the other side of the gate. I can open the gate for you. Would you like to try?”

Kia glanced at the gate and back. “I’ll give it a go.”

“Good, then stand in front of the gate. I’ll open it when you’re in position.”

As she passed Calum, she whispered to him. “I don’t trust this.”

Calum watched Kia move to the middle of the room and stand in front of the gate. She pulled her daggers out of her belt and bent her knees, ready to fight.

Raliz held his hands in front of him and clapped. The booming sound echoed through the room like thunder.

The gate in front of Kia creaked and opened, splitting from the middle. Waiting on the other side was a golden statue of a knight donned with a horned helmet, holding a sword in his hand. The statue stood at least twice Kia’s height. Once the gate was fully open, the statue stepped forward.

“This is a holy statue. As you can see, it is animated. It will be your opponent today. Holy statues are skilled fighters, and resistant to regular weapons.” Raliz rested his hands behind his back and watched. “It’s time to see just how powerful she is…”

Kia studied her opponent, looking for any potential weaknesses. There were no cracks she could pierce, nor any points that appeared to be less armored. The statue was made of pure gold. She looked back at the others for a moment, then returned her attention to the large opponent. “Guess I’ll figure it out as I go.” She twirled her daggers and charged at the statue.