516. Lord of Lies
by516. Lord of Lies
“I shall kill him and become the Demon King myself.”
Belzu’s voice echoed around even amidst the rumbling. The earth shook, and the world itself tore apart. But the Lord of Lies didn’t falter.
Was it an insane plan? Perhaps it was. And yet, it was the only viable solution. The ritual could not be stopped. It was too late. It would take too long to dismantle the magic. All Belzu could do was redirect it.
It was simple, really. The only way to make the magic dissipate was by prematurely forcing the summoning to go through. It wouldn’t completely disable the ritual, but once a large chunk of mana was used up, the spell would be delayed long enough for the Humans to clean up the remnants of the grand spell.
The Lord of Lies saw the runes and the glyphs glinting on the trembling ground. He raised a hand, reaching for the spellwork and grabbing the threads of mana. He wove the magic. He altered the ritual. He focused its power on a single target.
Regnorex the Demon King.
Belzu saw the looming figure waiting at the other side of the summoning circle. Regnorex stood tall, hardly reacting to what was being done to the spell. He could see what the Lord of Lies was planning. But the Demon King did not care.
And maybe that was a sign that Belzu should have stopped. But it was either summon an army of Primeval Demons, or summon Regnorex himself. Either way, the odds of victory were impossibly low. However, only one option made sense, since it would put an end to this once and for all.
So Belzu continued to weave the threads of mana together. Even as the world around him tore open, and a castle broke its way into the Mortal Realm. He focused on his target. He focused only on Regnorex.
Until a voice broke him out of his thoughts.
“What are you talking about?”
Glancing back, Belzu looked down at Salvos as she stared at him with wide eyes. The silver-haired girl— the faux Human— stepped forward.
“Belzu— do you realize what you’re trying to do? You’ll kill us all!”
She exclaimed. And the Lord of Lies just harrumphed.
“There is no time to argue. There is no other solution. We will die, or we will kill the Demon King.”
“That’s…”
Salvos backed up. He eyed her callously.
“But how are we going to defeat Regnorex? He killed the Immortal King Alexander— that means he’s at least Level 200!”
She protested as Belzu shook his head. He waved a hand dismissively, replying without care.
“There is an entire army of Humans gathered here, no? They will wear Regnorex down. And when he lowers his guard, that is when I will strike.”
And Salvos paused. She blinked for a moment as she gaped his way.
The Lord of Lies just sighed when he saw her reaction.
Truth be told, her very presence grated on him. The only reason why he even indulged in her questions was the fact that she wasn’t actually a Human despite her appearance. She was a Demon, and so he tolerated her.
But that fact also upsetted him even more when she cared for mortals like she did now.
“But then most of the army will die.”
Salvos spoke through gritted teeth. Belzu nodded.
“And that is a sacrifice we must make if we want to stop this.”
“There has to be another way!”
She tried to argue. And that irked Belzu enough to stop what he was doing. He momentarily lowered his hands, spinning around to face the silver-haired girl even as the earth crumbled around them. He hovered ten feet in the air, buzzing weakly as she stood on the quaking ground.
“You who are a Demon— why do you care for these mere mortals? They are not your kin. They are not your people. They despise you for what you are, so you are forced to hide your true self from them.”
He pointed accusingly at her. But Salvos just shook her head vehemently.
“I am not hiding anything. I am Salvos, and I will always be Salvos, no matter what form I take.”
“That does not answer the question.”
Belzu clicked his mandibles together. Behind him, the domed roof of the Demon King’s castle fully emerged from the ground. He flitted forward, and she stood steadfast.
“Why do you protect these mortals?”
“I am protecting my companions.”
Salvos retorted. The Lord of Lies glared her way.
“And yet, you protect those who are not just your companions. You defend the lives of Humans who would kill you if they discovered your truth. I cannot understand you. You are either a liar, or you are ashamed to be a Demon.”
He loomed over her, but she refused to budge. She held his gaze, speaking without any fear.
“I cannot understand you either. Why are you doing this? Why did you even rebel against the Regnorex?”
Belzu frowned. He opened his mandibles to reply, but Salvos pointed back at him.
“Do you even care about anyone other than yourself?”
And that made him the Lord of Lies pause for a single moment. He was affronted at first. He wanted to laugh at her face.
“Do I care for anyone other than myself?”
But when he considered her words, he stopped. He slowly raised his head as he stared up at the fading crimson sky. And Belzu remembered.
An Infant Demon thrashed in the dark pool of lifeblood. He had a bloated figure, with half a dozen little nubs protruding from his side. He tried to turn over where he lay, but his face was submerged in darkness, and he couldn’t make sense of where he was.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been trapped there. He didn’t even know that there was anything outside of that black world. He just knew that something was wrong. He just knew he didn’t like it. But his lack of spatial awareness meant he would have never escaped.
That was, until, something flipped him over.
He looked up in confusion as an odd creature loomed over him. It— no, she had red skin and blue spots. Wide black eyes that peered into him with curiosity.
She was another Infant Demon, and she saved him.
The newborn Belzu stared at his savior, then watched as she dragged herself away from the dark pool, clambering ashore. She joined a group of other Infant Demons and glanced back at him.
And in a daze, he followed her.
“Have you ever had any companions?”
A voice broke Belzu out of his stupor. Salvos glared up at him defiantly as he returned to reality. He glanced down at her as she gestured all around her.
“Have you ever considered what they might want? Have you ever thought about what they might need?”
And the Lord of Lies hesitated.
The group of newborn Infant Demons stuck close together. They slowly traversed through the vast white landscape as a dark rain poured from above, losing a handful of their numbers who simply wandered off to do their own things. Belzu stuck close with them, mostly drawn by the female Infant Demon who saved him.
She was really an odd creature. Anytime an Infant Demon tried to leave the group, she’d move to dissuade them, even if she wasn’t always successful. And whenever they encountered another group of Infant Demons, she was always the first to invite them over.
Belzu couldn’t understand her behavior. So he followed her. And he continued following her until the group of Infant Demons ran into their first wild Demon.
“You are just utterly selfish, Belzu.”
Salvos strode forward as the world crumbled around her. She raised a hand, creating a scythe made from gray flames. The Lord of Lies narrowed his bulbous eyes and drew back. But she didn’t attack him just yet.
“You’re willing to sacrifice all of the Mortal Realm for the sake of your own goals.”
“Do you really care about these mortals that much?”
Belzu snarled in response. But Salvos just shook her head.
“No— but unlike you, I will never do such a thing. Not to Humans, not to Elves, not to Spirits, and not to Demons.”
It was a [Hellhound].
A wild Lesser Demon. It was weak— injured from a previous fight. But it fortunately stumbled upon the group of Infant Demons. It tore through their numbers. It chased them down one after another. There had been dozens of them at the start.
Now, only Belzu and the female Infant Demon remained. They were both chased into the deepest depths of a cave. She stayed by his side as they both hid in a small alcove right by a cliffside. The cavern led only to a large crevice that plunged into darkness.
The [Hellhound] prowled the corridor leading in and out. Their only exit was blocked by their hunter. There was no way to escape. Belzu was sure of it
But he had also seen the way that wild Demon acted. He had watched how it precisely pounced on each of its targets. Belzu knew that he could lose the [Hellhound] as he somehow tricked it into falling down the crevice. He just needed to bait it out.
And he found his bait huddling next to him.
She was his savior. His sister. She eyed him with those round black eyes. Belzu saw the look on her face. He heard the growling of the approaching [Hellhound].
Was it cruelty? Or was it necessity? Belzu didn’t know. He could hardly even comprehend such concepts, but even back then, he hesitated before making his decision.
It happened so long ago. But even till this day, Belzu remembered the way she stared at him as she fell down the crevice. He recalled the snarling of the [Hellhound], and he recalled turning away right as the wild Demon crashed into her.
He didn’t stay to watch as both his sister and the wild Demon fell to their deaths.
All for his own sake, Belzu sacrificed the Infant Demon who saved him. He killed his own sister to survive. He did everything he could from then on just to live in that terrible hellscape. He learned the magic of trickery. He mastered his illusions so that he could escape even the most precarious of situations.
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Whether it be fleeing from the Demon King’s forces.
The newly-evolved [Imp] hid behind a thin white veil as he saw the marching Greater Demons. They wore strange metallic objects around their necks, and they ushered forward dozens of Infant Demons, with force if necessary.
Or surviving even in the most hostile environments.
The [Baal Imp] flitted quietly over the slumbering creature. The beating of his wings would normally make a loud buzzing sound, but it was muffled thanks to his magic. Even as he crossed the entire length of the Beast itself.
Somehow, he managed to avoid waking it. And after what felt like forever, he reached the other side of the valley to safety…
Belzu had done it all so he could survive. So what was he doing now? Why was he trying so hard to kill the Demon King?
He closed his eyes, and a voice echoed amidst the chaos.
“Do you know what that makes you, Belzu?”
Salvos yelled as she stepped forward. She raised the gray flames, aiming it at Belzu’s head from afar.
“It makes you wild.”
The Lord of Lies hovered there for a single moment. Salvos faced him down. He opened his eyes, and she held his gaze.
“Now that’s enough. We can figure out another way to stop this ritual without dooming us all.”
Belzu stared at Salvos. He saw the determination in her face. He glanced up, watching as black spires rose all around him. The summoning ritual was nearing its completion. Not only that, he cast his gaze into the far distance and saw the army of Humans rushing to stop it.
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