435. So He Lives (End of Volume 5 Part 4)

435. So He Lives

A large undulating figure lay waiting in the throne room. The soft glow of the ritual circle illuminated the expansive chamber. It radiated the faint traces of magic— wisps of translucent strands of mana trailed off the sigils decorating the gray marble floor, fogging up the room with a blue aura. The spell itself sang as the ritual continued. A soft humming echoed in the background like the low droning of a distant choir.

Levithus held still, only raising his head when he heard the heavy double doors groan open. Even then, it was a subtle movement. He knew who it was before even seeing the lumbering figure.

“Enter, Ira.”

“Greetings, Lord Levithus.”

A giant [Cambion] stepped forward as his name was called. Ira was tall. A giant by most metrics. Yet, when he came to a halt before Levithus, he looked like a mere Human child standing before an adult Cyclops.

Levithus spun around, his tail turning behind him, coiling around in a long extended motion even as his head didn’t move. He faced Ira as he asked.

“I take it Gula and the others are dead?”

“Yes, Lord Belzu. They perished in Alyras, trying to procure the other treasures of our King.”

Ira bowed low, speaking softly. Levithus sighed.

“Unfortunate.”

The Primeval Demon couldn’t lie and say that the loss of most of the Dukes and Duchesses upsetted him. But he’d already known that this could happen before he summoned them to the Mortal Realm. This was always a sacrifice he was willing to make. No— it was a necessary sacrifice that Regnorex had told him to make.

After all, it was for the greater good. For the sake of all Demonkind.

“Their deaths will be mourned; their sacrifices remembered. Today, the Humans can claim their victory. But while the battle is lost, the war will be won.”

Ira looked up as Levithus turned, casting his gaze to the ritual circle behind him. The Primeval Demon stared at the magic as it pulsed and grew stronger. The gray marble floor shifted, turning into a sickly pale color as his voice boomed.

“The ritual has already begun.”

Levithus watched as the decorated floor of the throne room was replaced with a rocky terrain. A pure white floor. Like the floor of the Netherworld. The ceiling began to crumble as the magic spread out, revealing the sky above and letting in a beam of light down into the darkness.

But the sunlight was overwhelmed by the light from the ritual circle. A pillar of light extended to the sky, touching the blue dome overhead and gradually painting it red. Levithus looked upon his work as a satisfied smile spread across his serpent-like face.

It was a slow transformation. But reality itself was warping— shifting. Changing. Space itself was being displaced. It wouldn’t happen overnight. But this was just the start. Levithus looked on at his works as Ira backed up. The Primeval Demon continued..

“And once it is finished, all of the Human Lands will become hell.”

Helena Warshade cast her gaze over all the gathered parties in the Conference of Alyras. The meeting room was far less crowded on the first day of the meeting just two weeks ago. They weren’t present for a myriad of reasons. Some were dead, others injured. But the main reason for their absence was because they weren’t necessary.

They didn’t need to be here. The Conference of Alyras started out as a more… ceremonial gathering. There had been a lot of politicking involved, as expected whenever multiple countries and factions present at the same table. After all, as groups were, they only cared about their self-interest. It was a simple fact of life— of politics.

As the leader of the Rising Veterans Company, Helena was used to navigating this annoying landscape of appeasement and diplomacy. She’d prepared for weeks of negotiations— for a drawn out meeting with each of the factions opposed to an alliance against the Demons in the Inoria Empire. Now though? After the siege of Alyras? After those seven Archdemons wreaked such havoc and took so many lives?

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It was clear now that it was in everyone’s self-interest to fend off this Demon invasion. This was always evident to the Archmage, but unfortunately it was difficult to parse for others. It always took a disaster— a catastrophe— for action to be taken. Even then, not always.

So Helena Warshade still had to convince the remaining parties that were averse to this coalition by speaking with them efore the meeting began. Or, rather…