Chapter 5.2. The Council (2)

  Lucifer turned to the elders, a faint smile curling on his lips.

  “These humans,” he said, gesturing to the pinned soldiers, “are a gift from me to you. All one hundred of them. But don’t finish them all at once,” he added lightly, his voice carrying a teasing, cruel edge.

  He signaled to Kane, who moved closer to the Gate with the army.

  Before they stepped through, Kane glanced at the humans and asked, “Why aren’t they dying in the atmosphere?”

  Lucifer’s red eyes glimmered.

  “I cast a barrier around them. Consider it a gift as well—so you can enjoy your time with them… and show them the consequences of meddling with demons.”

  He stepped into the Gate first, followed by an army of one hundred thousand demonic creatures.

  As they crossed into the Demon world, a palpable thrill electrified the air. The demons roared and bellowed, their excitement surging at the sight of their homeland after so long away. Smoke and brimstone swirled around them, scenting the air with the raw essence of their realm.

  The army moved as one, a tide of claws, horns, and wings, until they approached the outskirts of a town. The shadows of the buildings stretched long in the crimson light, and a distant howl of terrified villagers echoed faintly across the plains.

  The march had begun.

  Lucifer gave the demons a simple command: run wild. They were free to kill, eat, or destroy anything they wished.

  With a lazy gesture, he unleashed a blast of elemental fire. The attack tore through the town walls, carving open a perfect entrance for the demonic horde.

  His throne materialized behind him, responding as if it understood his intentions. Lucifer sat down, and the throne lifted him into the sky, granting him a clear view of the invasion below. Kane followed closely behind.

  The demons poured into the town in a frenzy. Humans screamed and scattered, but their resistance crumbled almost instantly. The demonic army tore through buildings, dragged people from their homes, and devoured them in the streets.

  A few adventurers attempted to fight back. Their weapons glowed with magic, and their shouts rose above the chaos—but it wasn’t enough. One by one, they fell, their efforts meaningless against the overwhelming force of the demonic army.

  From above, Lucifer watched calmly, his expression unreadable, as the slaughter unfolded beneath him.

  The next town wasn’t far, so the army continued their march. Anything human in their path was devoured without hesitation. By the time they reached the third settlement, three towns had already fallen under the force of a single assault. Lucifer watched the devastation unfold from above, silent and unmoved.

  He glanced at Kane.

  “You may go enjoy yourself if you wish,” Lucifer said. “A conquest like this shouldn’t pass you by.”

  But Kane simply shook his head and remained at his side.

  With a flicker of power, Lucifer teleported down to the town below. Before the demons could claim them, he seized three humans and brought them back into the sky. He handed all three to Kane.

  “Eat,” Lucifer told him. “You may be my adviser—but that doesn’t mean you should deny yourself the pleasures of victory.”

  Kane hesitated only for a moment before accepting the offering. He devoured the humans one by one, then wiped the blood from his mouth.

  They continued on toward the next town.

  The town wall shattered, and monsters, demons, and beasts poured through the breach. The slaughter was immediate. Yet, despite their overwhelming numbers, Lucifer noticed something strange—

  his army was shrinking.

  Demons were falling one after another, cleanly cut down.

  A special human, he thought. He waited, watching from above.

  Moments later, the cause revealed himself. A lone human streaked through the battlefield like a flash of light, his sword blazing with holy magic. Lucifer moved the instant the human swung at another demon. He appeared beside him and caught the holy blade between two fingers.

  The special human froze, eyes widening as he leapt back.

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  Lucifer smiled faintly. “I am the Demon King.”

  Understanding flickered in the human’s eyes. If he could kill the king, the army would collapse. Seeing what he believed to be an opportunity, he charged.

  He struck again and again—slashes, thrusts, holy magic bursting from every movement—but Lucifer deflected every blow with effortless precision. To him, it was no more than a mild inconvenience.

  Bored, Lucifer finally seized the sword mid-swing. The steel screamed as he snapped it in half with a single twist. Before the human could react, Lucifer’s hand closed around his throat. He lifted him off the ground and squeezed until the light faded from the human’s eyes and he collapsed unconscious.

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  He let the army finish the last surviving humans. When the screams finally faded, Lucifer opened a gate of his own—vast enough for the surviving demons to march through. For the first time in centuries, they returned not as beaten refugees but as victors who had inflicted enough destruction to satisfy their opening strike.

  They crossed back into the Demon World.

  Lucifer and Kane headed straight for the Council of Elders, dragging the unconscious special human with them. When they entered the open chamber, Lucifer tossed the human onto the stone floor. The elders recoiled in surprise; they hadn’t expected another human, much less one delivered by the Demon King himself.

  “This one is different,” Lucifer said. “He isn’t from this world. He was summoned from another.”

  The elders exchanged uneasy glances, the chamber suddenly feeling colder. A human summoned from a foreign world was no small matter. They wanted answers immediately.

  Lucifer placed two fingers on the human’s chest. A thin streak of lightning flashed—weak enough not to kill, strong enough to wake. The human convulsed, then gasped back to consciousness. Confusion and fear clouded his eyes, but slowly, as he took in his surroundings, he forced himself to calm down.

  Lucifer appeared right in front of the human, and the last traces of courage drained from the man’s eyes. Lucifer leaned closer, his voice calm but heavy with authority.

  “I know you’re not from this world,” he said. “And I know exactly where you got that holy magic from. So you will answer every question the elders ask. And before you even consider

  breaking free or going on a rampage…” His eyes glowed faintly. “…remember where you are. This is a world ruled by demons. Your holy magic won’t save you here.”

  Lucifer placed a hand on the human’s shoulder. Holy energy flared for a second—then was snuffed out as Lucifer absorbed it completely. The human collapsed to his knees, weak and trembling. With that, Lucifer turned and began walking toward the exit.

  Before he could leave, the Grand Elder’s voice echoed from above the chamber entrance.

  “Lucifer… the first day you arrived, I sensed something within you—an energy opposite to ours. Now that this human stands before us, I finally understand what that energy was. It was holy magic… wasn’t it?”

  Lucifer paused and looked up at him.

  “Yes,” he said. “What you sensed that day was holy magic inside me. And the reason you can feel it so distinctly…” His wings flickered into translucent outline behind him for a brief moment. “…is because I am an Angel.”

  All the elders—and even the special human—stared in stunned silence. The revelation that their Demon King was, in truth, an Angel rippled through the chamber like a cold shock.

  Lucifer’s expression didn’t change.

  “Do not ask how an Angel came to be in Hell,” he said, his voice echoing off the stone walls. “And do not ask why I chose to become your King. My reasons are my own—nothing more needs to be known.”

  The elders exchanged uneasy glances, but none dared to speak. Lucifer turned away, leaving the special human trembling in the center of the chamber. Whatever fate awaited him under the elders’ questioning was no concern of his.

  At the foot of the long staircase, Kane stood waiting with the army that had returned from the mortal realm. As Lucifer approached, every demon dropped to one knee, the sound of armor scraping against obsidian tiles filling the air like a ritualistic chant.

  “Rise,” Lucifer commanded.

  They obeyed instantly. Lucifer and Kane walked through their ranks, the demons parting like shadows around their king. Outside, the sky churned with dark miasma, responding to Lucifer’s presence as if the very atmosphere recognized its master.

  Without a word, he continued toward his castle, and the entire host followed behind him in a vast, disciplined tide of claws, wings, and armor.

  They reached the castle in a wave of footsteps and fluttering wings. Lucifer and Kane entered through the massive obsidian doors while the rest of the army remained outside, forming a disciplined wall of demonic silhouettes against the swirling miasma.

  Inside, the corridors hummed with dormant power. Torches of black flame lit themselves as Lucifer passed, recognizing their king. When they stepped into the throne room, Lucifer’s throne was already waiting—materialized from shadow as though it had sensed his approach.

  He sat, settling into the carved onyx seat, and the room quieted as if holding its breath.

  “Kane,” Lucifer said, resting his arm on one of the throne’s jagged rests, “what do you think of our first assault on the humans?”

  Kane stepped forward and bowed his head slightly.

  “It was far too simple, My Lord,” he said. “But I understand the intention. The goal was to draw out the special humans… and though we only captured one, the objective was still met.”

  He paused, choosing his next words carefully.

  “For the next attack, I believe the Demon Lords should be involved. They must experience the battlefield themselves—otherwise, they will never become useful to you.”

  Lucifer’s eyes glowed faintly at the suggestion, the air tightening around the throne as though the castle itself awaited his decision.

  Lucifer leaned back on his throne, one brow raised.

  “That’s quite an analysis, Kane. But tell me—what makes you think we will attack the humans again? This assault was only so I could get my hands on a special human. Nothing more.”

  Kane met his gaze without hesitation, though the air around the throne pressed down like invisible gravity.

  “My Lord, the answer is simple.”

  He stepped forward, the shadows bending slightly around him.

  “The special human you faced today was nothing more than a fly in your presence. You grew bored of him almost immediately—and ended the fight just as quickly. As powerful as you are, you seek a real challenge.”

  Lucifer’s eyes narrowed—not in anger, but in recognition.

  “And there is something else,” Kane continued. “Something far more important.”

  He bowed his head, but his voice carried clearly through the vast chamber.

  “You are a demon, My Lord. And a demon—no matter how strong—never grows tired of facing powerful enemies. Conflict is in our nature. But in your

  case…” His eyes lifted. “…it is carved into your very being.”

  A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lucifer’s mouth, the throne room humming with dark energy as if amused with him.

  “Hm. Another interesting analysis,” Lucifer said, leaning back slightly, his red eyes glinting in the dim light. “But there’s one thing you’ve misunderstood.”

  He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

  “I am not influenced by my demonic nature. Everything I do is driven by a single goal—and one goal only: to make the demons the rulers of Earth. That goal… is temporary. Once the demons have conquered the human world, my duty as Demon King will be fulfilled. Only then will I be closer to achieving a personal goal I must accomplish.”

  Kane’s voice was cautious, measured. “My Lord… do you plan to leave the demons once we’ve taken the human world?”

  Lucifer’s gaze sharpened. “For now, I haven’t decided. I will first see how the demons fare once they stand on their own. Only then will I make my choice.”

  The chamber was silent for a moment, the tension thick, as if even the shadows waited for what he would do next.