The Hero's Demonic Return

The Hero

Blistering flames covered the ground where the humans stood. What was ten-thousand strong an hour ago, has now been reduced to a mere hundred. All heavily wounded. All bleeding to their imminent death. Yet, all still moving forward – marching towards their one goal.

Vanquish the Demon Lord.

Numerous versions of this story has been passed down for generations. But the most famous one is the birth of the ten heroes. Within the hellfire brought by the wretched demon lord where corpses of humankind have both pilled and burned to this unbearable heat, there are ten who withstood it all. As if they’ve gone through a baptism through fire.

Led by the peerless knight named Arthur, the group slew one demon general after the other. Their numbers dwindled as they progressed but, the strength of the ten knights also increased all the same.

The trials continued on for what seemed to be an eternity. The wails of the dying and, the regrets of the vanishing are all carried by the heroes. Reaching the throne room of the one that stands above all. The creature that defied the heavens. The creature feared by the depths of hell’s bowels. None other than the Demon Lord himself.

It is said that the fight lasted for a whole month. The skies screeched and the earth trembled incessantly within this period. Both the heroes and the demon lord gave it their all. Neither relenting. Neither showing any sign of surrender and so, after the whole of the month finally came to pass, the victor is declared by the rays of dawn.

From the rubble and the ashes rose the ten heroes. Vanquishing the lord of evil and darkness, they let out one last battle cry. Breathing life back to the land as the seeds of prosperity are finally planted in the land – budding and sprouting to life, just like the rest of humanity that began to be restored.

Years passed and the whole of the Continent is divided into twelve kingdoms. Ten ruled over by the heroes while the other two are given to those deemed worthy for the throne and thus it came to pass.

This is how the continent of Teuflisch was born.

“That’s it? That’s the whole story?” A man wearing a black robe asked in a sharp yet soft tone.

“P-Please, spare me. I told you the same story that they tell everyone in my village.” Another man croaked. The man’s face paled, making the blood on his cheeks stand out even in the dimness of the night’s illumination.

“S-Sir…”

“Your story has a lot of inconsistencies about it.” The cloaked figure suddenly blurted, as if not hearing what Augustus just said or, rather, probably cutting the hunter off before he can even finish what he’s saying.

“You see, there aren’t just ten heroes. There are eleven.” The man added as he began walking towards the fallen Augustus.

“The eleven heroes fought side by side. They started off at the same strength, in fact, some of the ten that you mentioned are more powerful compared to the eleventh. But as they progressed that also began to change.” The man stopped right in front of Augustus.

The hunter can hear every word and, can understand them as well. But he doesn’t care about this story. How can he when his very life is on the brink of vanishing at that moment? His eyes wandered off, noticing that there are eyes staring back at him still. The eyes of the goblins that the cloaked man has kept at bay. The same eyes that are eager to feast on him as soon as the cloaked figure goes away.

“The eleventh member began to outgrow them with each passing combat. The latent potential of that knight slowly rose to the surface and, towered over the other ten. Leaving them beneath the shadow of his greatness. Despite all of that, the eleventh hero remained humble. Only wanting to claim what is his and nothing more than that.”

As the man continued to speak, the eyes in the darkness began to draw closer. The sound of footsteps and movements on the ground could be heard and, the animosity that Augustus felt beforehand only intensified further. Reaching a point where he cannot overlook it anymore as cold sweat ran down his forehead – his heart beating so strongly that this is the only thing he can hear. Unable to understand the words of the figure in front of him as his vision also dimmed.

“Everything would’ve worked fine. The eleventh knight didn’t want any fame. After the fight against the demon lord, he wanted nothing more than a peaceful subtle life. All on his own and far from everything that can harm him.” The cloaked man finally stopped moving.

“But that is not what his fellow knights had in mind. They fought the demon lord side by side and, when the group began to lose to the might of the demon lord, the others began backing off. Leaving the eleventh knight to fight all by himself.”

“Even then the eleventh knight pressed on. He thought of nothing more than the peace that will sprout from this and the hope that will be fulfilled. He thought of the light that this would bring and all the darkness that would be wiped away. That is all that he thought off as he continued fighting all by himself.”

“For seven days and seven knights, the fight between the eleventh knight and the demon lord continued. There is no sign of the other knights coming to his aide but he didn’t care. He continued with this idiotic valiance of his until, the sun rose on the eight day. And right as it did, the first rays of dawn reflected on the blade of the hero – one that’s stabbed through the heart of the demon lord.”

Augustus continued feeling heavier by the second. His whole body is petrified at that point and, all the fear in his mind has turned everything even more frightening than they actually are. Turning this whole situation into something that can only be described as more than what he asked for.

“Victory came for the hero. The only one who can be called as such among the eleven knights. But as soon as victory is claimed, the rush of adrenaline began to die off, making him feel every bit of pain and exhaustion on his mortal body that’s about to break and, that is the moment when he was betrayed.”

All of the feeling in Augustus body began to come back. He felt a strong surge and rush of it coming from the center of his body. And as he looked, he saw a sword…digging through his flesh and right through his body.

The poor hunter can’t even scream. Even with all this pain, he is still in the same paralyzed state caused by his fear. But now, that same fear has a face because as the cloaked figure delivered the blow, this man also came up close and personal. Forcing the cloak to be removed as his bare face finally came out.

Blood red eyes that pierce through the darkness gazed unto the depths of Augustus’s soul. The human felt terror, pain, fear, all these mixed alongside the sensation of death that slowly crept unto him.

“They killed me. The ten knights whom you humans worship and think of as your saviors – those same bastards killed me.”

These are the last words that Augustus heard. His body felt colder by the second and his consciousness drifted away. He doesn’t even feel fear anymore for he is now beyond the comprehension of that. The darkness that he’s seen within the entirety of this night seemingly crawled towards him. Embracing him as if he’s always belonged to it.

“Don’t worry.” The demon said, looking at the corpse of the fallen warrior. “You won’t be lonely wherever it is that I've sent you. I promise to send the rest of humanity alongside you soon enough. Just wait a little while.”

The demon turned and started walking away from the corpse. As soon as he did, the goblins came out from the darkness. Moving towards the body of Augustus which they’d feast on. This night is a bountiful harvest of human bodies and souls and, the one behind all of it is this man who will make himself known soon enough.

The one who stands above all.

The hero that took down the Great Demon Lord.

The vanquisher of darkness.

The bringer of light.

The hero that’s betrayed.

Mordred Pendragon is coming to take back everything that is his.