1492 A Vision

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!! The demons have breached the Aharxc city. The iron fortress of the kingdom has fallen!"

With a face that's just short of crying, an intelligence officer in commoner clothes knelt in front of the King and said in a heartbreaking voice.

"Don't panic, don't panic." The king grabbed his shaking right hand with his left and said to himself with an ugly smile. Alas, he couldn't stop his feet from shivering.

Princess Elizabeth looked at her father with a hint of disappointment before turning to the messenger with a stern gaze. "What about the other kingdoms?"

The humans ruled five large kingdoms. In comparison, the demon world was only half as large as humans, but was under a single rule.

Despite this, they were under the threat of extinction. So, if their kingdom falls, the others would likely follow.

"P-Princess…the best defense cities of all kingdoms are breached at the same time."

The hot tears flowing down the man's cheeks splashed on the white marble floor and reflected his disheveled appearance.

"All of the kingdoms are breached at once." The Princess clutched her forehead and beads of sweat slid down her neck.

The breeze that felt gentle until now seemed chilly and the tough walls of the palace appeared too weak.

"I will ask the goddess for guidance. It's the only option we have left. I am sure she will not let us be killed by those barbaric and vile demons."

Patting her chest to instill confidence in her own words, the Princess clenched the fabric of her long skirt and ran out of the throne hall.

The soldiers who stood on guard listened to the whole conversation with an expresionless face.

But on the inside, they were already thinking of sending their family to the far off lands, in hopes for survival.

While this happened, the Demon King was happy.

A banquet was thrown. Wine, food and sex were abundant, the scent of the three filling the entire castle.

The main guest of the party—the honorary demon—Varian had refused the invitation and stayed back in his room, citing that he didn't want to make other demons feel uncomfortable.

That's bullshit, of course.

He's too busy studying the power of order restricting his rank.

And he had vaguely expected that he wasn't invited to the banquet out of goodwill.

"Hey, where's that bastard?" Elephant lord grabbed a large jug of wine with his trunk and threw it into his mouth.

"Hoo-Hooman?" The Tiger lord raised her head from the huge plate of meat and licked her fingers.

"We were planning a special gift." Draxson, the goat lord, said with a nasty smile.

"Didn't you trust him though?"

"I trust his information and the deal. But humans are humans." He pressed the tip of his finger against his horns and blood spilled out. Licking it with his purple tongue, he giggled with an intoxicated face. "I can't ever see him as my equal."

The conversations continued across multiple groups, each expressing their plans for the outsider and the regret they now faced.

Only the Demon King, a tall skeleton in a full body metal armor, sat at the edge of the long table in silence.

The five sits next to him on the right and left were all empty.

A succubus maid moved her purple lips but no sound came out of her mouth. Yet, the Demon King was able to hear her words.

"My Lord, should I sneak into his room and take his life?"

The Demon King rested his chin on his large, bony hands. The fire in his eye sockets jumped violently, turning from red to purple and purple to black.

"I am unable to ascertain if he rejected this banquet out of goodwill or caution. If it's the former, you might succeed. If it's the latter, it will waste our one chance."

The succubus maid blinked, her large eyelashes fluttering as she looked at her master in confusion.

"My Lord, I do not understand. I have seen that human, there is nothing special about him. He cannot escape."

The Demon King shook his head lightly, a soft chuckle leaving his lips, surprising his maid.

"My Lord?"

"A man who can stay in the castle of the demon lord, eat the food you send and sleep tight for eight hours a day, that man is anything but normal."

"…He's just a fool."

"Perhaps. But my instinct tells me he wants us to think that way. Even now, I'm winning against the humans, breaking the most important fortresses of the five kingdoms.

In a few days, my armies will burn down the cities in their paths and march to the human capitals.

I have no doubts about this.

And yet…"

The fire flickering in the eyesocket's vanished for a moment and the shoulders of the giant skeleton drooped.

"I cannot feel the joy of winning. There is only growing anxiety in my heart. That despite winning everything, I will have nothing."

The Demon King's words might've been confusing to others but the succubus maid knew that her master had a vague prophetic ability. And that's why, his words caused her to shudder and look at him in panic.

"I've killed many great beings, slayed legendary creatures and razed entire kingdoms. I fought to the brink of death many times before I became the strongest. I've felt fear many times before. But what I feel now is not fear."

While the Demon King voiced his feelings to his maid, the Princess bowing in front of a giant female statue furrowed her brows as a vision unfolded in front of her eyes.

Simultaneously, the Demon King continued narrating.

The Princess saw herself in a huge church before the vision zoomed out, revealing the capital city, the kingdom, the human domain and then included the demon world.

"I can face fear. Be it the fear of death or disease or a stronger opponent."

The landmass of humans and demons was further zoomed out, revealing a huge continent.

The vision changed further, revealing a planet with three continents, one being that of humans and demons, another being the legendary world of elves and the third

being that of the mythical dragons.

"But the emotion I'm feeling now…"

The Princess could feel it–the strongest beings of these continents were as strong as the Demon King himself, if not stronger.

But they, including everyone in the human-demon land, looked at the sky with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"It's despair."

A giant hand enveloped the world and crushed it to pieces.