Chapter 7: The War Begins

  The goblin’s tiny chest puffed up with pride. “Who wouldn’t know the Demon who chose to watch over an empty castle, after being given the chance to serve a Demon Lord? The smartest adviser of all… choosing to remain in a fortress long abandoned, save for three of Hell’s most powerful beings,” it said, glancing at the massive three-headed dragon behind Kane. “I presume this

  one brought you here.”

  Kane nodded. “I see. That explains how you know of me. And to answer your precious question—I no longer need to protect the Demon King’s castle. The castle has an owner now.”

  The goblin’s eyes flicked toward Lucifer. “I see… and, by the way, who is this fellow standing next to you?”

  Kane’s gaze sharpened. The comment had startled him—briefly. The goblin had spoken of the Demon King as if casually noting him, but Lucifer remained motionless. Kane chose silence.

  “Well then,” Kane said carefully, “goblin, allow me to introduce you to the ruler of Hell: The Demon King… Lucifer.”

  The goblin’s eyes widened so far they nearly popped from their sockets. I just insulted the Demon King… to his face… The thought repeated over and over in its mind.

  The tiny creature froze, its body trembling violently. Its gaze darted to Lucifer, then back to the ground.

  And before it could think twice, it dropped to the floor, bowing low in complete submission.

  Kowtowing, shaking, muttering a silent plea for forgiveness, the goblin had never felt fear like this before.

  Lucifer’s red eyes studied the trembling figure silently, patient and unblinking..

  Lucifer regarded the trembling goblin with a faint tilt of his head. Of course it can’t possibly grasp the extent of my power, he thought.

  “Mr. Goblin,” Lucifer said, his voice smooth but carrying a subtle edge, “I’m actually hurt that you don’t remember me.”

  The goblin froze mid-kowtow, remaining on its knees, eyes wide. It stared at Lucifer, trying—and failing—to recall anyone resembling him.

  Lucifer pointed toward the crater. “Do you remember the one who arrived over there?”

  The goblin’s eyes followed the gesture immediately. “Of course I do! How could I forget a moment like that?” it exclaimed, voice trembling slightly with excitement and fear. “I was just relaxing here in the field when… gigantic chains shot out of the ground and pierced straight into the sky! Moments later, a casket appeared, wrapped in burning red chains, flames of Hell licking its sides!”

  The goblin shuddered at the memory. “And inside… there was a young boy, looking human, completely devoid of magic. The most arrogant child I’ve ever seen. Even after I warned him, he still went into the Forest of Slaughter… I’m certain he’s nothing but a corpse by now.”

  Lucifer’s eyes narrowed for just a fraction of a second at the word arrogant, though he let it slide. He folded his arms and fixed the goblin with a piercing gaze.

  “Well,” he said, a trace of annoyance in his voice, “I’m glad you remember my arrival so vividly, Mr. Goblin. And thank you… for the encouraging words about me being a corpse by now.”

  The goblin whimpered, shivering under Lucifer’s gaze, unsure whether to apologize, flee, or collapse entirely.

  The goblin suddenly realized it had insulted the Demon King—again—and immediately began kowtowing repeatedly, its tiny body shaking with panic.

  Lucifer sighed, leaning back and facepalming in mild exasperation. “Stop,” he said firmly, though without malice.

  Slowly, he lowered himself to sit next to the goblin, his gaze drifting upward to the dark, swirling sky above. The goblin hesitated for a moment, then cautiously joined him on the ground, keeping a careful distance.

  Kane, observing silently, decided it was best to give them space. He stepped back and settled near the black dragon, watching but staying out of earshot.

  For a long while, Lucifer and the goblin spoke quietly. The goblin listened intently as Lucifer recounted his journey through Hell, the battles he had fought, and the struggles he had endured. Its eyes widened with fascination, each new detail igniting a mixture of awe and disbelief.

  Yet one question lingered in the goblin’s mind, unasked but pressing: Why did the Demon King even come to see me? It wasn’t as if they were friends, or even acquaintances…

  And yet, here he was.

  “My Lord… there is something I do not understand.”

  The goblin hesitated, then gathered the courage to look up. “Why did you come to see me?”

  Lucifer lowered his eyes to the ground for a moment, silent. Then he lifted his head again, his expression calm but unreadable.

  “Hmmm… I came to repay you,” he said. “When I first arrived in this world, you helped me. I know it was your duty to guide new souls that fall into Hell—but still. So here is my proposal: come and join me in my war against the human race.”

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  The goblin blinked, stunned.

  “Thank you for the offer,” it said slowly, “but I cannot leave this section of Hell. I’ve been bound here for many years.”

  Lucifer nodded as if he had expected that answer.

  “I understand,” he said. Then he turned away and began walking.

  The goblin watched him go. From behind, it could see a faint layer of black aura drifting just above Lucifer’s skin—thin, controlled, but impossibly dense. The sight made the goblin smirk.

  Kid… the power you’ve awakened could single?handedly wipe out the entire human race, the goblin thought as its form began to fade.

  And yet you choose to play King. What is it you’re really chasing?

  Then the goblin vanished into thin air.

  Lucifer and Kane mounted the dragon once more, the black beast carrying them swiftly toward the Gates of Hell.

  As they arrived, Lucifer’s expression hardened, his focus sharp. The dragon landed, and they leapt to the ground. In an instant, the dragon dissolved into a swirling black mist, vanishing into Lucifer’s body as if it had never existed.

  He surveyed the scene. On one side stood the Seven Sins, each commanding a massive army of demonic creatures—the forces he had once expected to use personally. On the other, the Demon Lords had assembled with their own legions. The potential for a multi-pronged strike across the kingdom was clear.

  Lucifer opened a gate and stepped through. Minutes later, he returned, the gate vanishing behind him. One by one, he transmitted to each Demon Lord, placing a blood-red crystal in their hands. Then he turned to the Seven Sins, and to Pride—their leader—he gifted a crystal as well.

  Finally, he transmitted to the center of the battlefield, appearing for all to see. His gaze swept across the assembled forces. When it landed on Ammit, she blushed and looked down. He moved his eyes across the Sins, letting his presence sink in, then inhaled deeply, savoring the charged silence before the storm.

  “For countless years,” Lucifer began, his voice echoing across the battlefield, “you demons have been trapped in this forsaken world—banished, hunted, and hated. And for what?”

  He stepped forward, eyes glowing with a cold fury.

  “The humans attacked us without reason. They called us fiends. They painted us as the enemy of every living soul on Earth. They made us into monsters.”

  His voice sharpened.

  “So today, we show them exactly what those monsters can do. Today, we tear down everything they’ve ever built. We slaughter the people they cherish. And from their ashes—”

  His wings of aura flared behind him, the ground trembling.

  “—we create a new world. A world for demons!”

  A deafening roar erupted from the armies. The earth quaked from the weight of their bloodlust.

  Lucifer raised a hand, and silence fell like a blade.

  “Demon Lords… Sins… you’re all wondering about the crystals I gave you.”

  He held one blood-red crystal between his fingers, the surface pulsing with a sinister glow.

  “These crystals contain concentrated miasma from this realm. When you crush them, the miasma will spill into the air and follow your armies as you advance.”

  The gathered commanders listened with sharpened interest.

  “Holy magic is the only power that can partially endure inside the miasma,” Lucifer continued. “And even then, only barely. I sincerely doubt there exists an otherworlder strong enough to survive inside it indefinitely.”

  A chilling grin slid across his face.

  “Let the humans pray for a miracle. It won’t save them.”

  “Another thing,” Lucifer continued, his voice steady and commanding, “our numbers are far greater than I anticipated. Because of that, each Demon Lord will attack from a different direction around the human kingdom. The Sins and I will strike from the main Gate of Hell.”

  Murmurs rippled through the ranks as the Demon Lords exchanged glances. Their armies were prepared, but reaching distant parts of the human kingdom without delay was another matter entirely.

  Then—every creature present felt it.

  A sudden surge, like the atmosphere itself buckling under an ocean of magic.

  Lucifer raised his hand.

  With a single snap of his fingers—

  BOOM.

  Three massive gates burst into existence, each one nearly identical to the true Gates of Hell. The air distorted around them from the sheer pressure of their formation.

  Shock froze the armies.

  Even the Demon Lords—ancient, battle-hardened monsters—stared wide-eyed. Opening one gate demanded terrifying amounts of magical power.

  Lucifer had opened three simultaneously… effortlessly.

  In that moment, every demon, every sin, every monstrous creature present felt their belief in their king deepen. Not out of fear—

  but out of certainty.

  They were following the one being who could truly lead them into a new era.

  Lucifer was just about to open the Gate of Hell when a familiar pressure brushed against his senses. He paused and lifted his gaze.

  High above, standing atop the massive stone doors themselves, were the Elders.

  All of them.

  Their robes drifted in the rising demonic winds, their expressions solemn as they looked down over the gathered armies. Then, in perfect unison, they bowed toward Lucifer.

  The armies fell silent. Even the ground seemed to still.

  Their bow said everything—they had approved of the Demon King’s plan.

  Lucifer faced the gate once more. Dark energy surged from his hands, the stone doors groaning as ancient mechanisms awakened. With a slow, thunderous rumble, the Gate of Hell opened before them.

  The invasion was ready to begin.

  Across Demacia, four black portals tore open in the sky, each one appearing in a different region of the kingdom. Humans nearby stopped in their tracks, drawn by fear and curiosity as the swirling darkness warped the air around them.

  For a moment, the world held its breath.

  Then the portals cracked open.

  A deafening roar burst out as hordes of demons surged forth, flooding into the human lands like a tidal wave of claws and shadow. Screams erupted. The ground was painted red in moments, the areas around each portal turning into a massacre before anyone could even react.

  War had begun.

  The stone doors surrounding the main portal in the human world groaned and began to open on their own. The guards flinched back, startled, weapons rising instinctively as the massive doors split apart.

  When they finally stood fully open, the portal inside remained still—no shimmer, no surge of power, nothing. Just a black, motionless surface.

  The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.

  One of them stepped forward. Slowly. Cautiously. He edged closer and closer to the silent portal, until he stood close enough to reach out and touch it.

  The portal cracked.

  A jagged line tore through the black surface, then another. Before the soldier could react, a hand shot out, wrapped around his throat, and lifted him off the ground with effortless strength.

  A figure emerged from the darkness.

  Dressed in pure black, eyes calm and cold, The Demon King stepped into the human world with the dangling soldier gripped in his hand. He didn’t spare the struggling man a glance—his gaze was fixed straight ahead, as if surveying a land that already belonged to him.

  “Electrocution,” Lucifer said calmly.