I was fast, running through the forest without caring to be stealthy like I had been when traveling with Cedric. It took only a few minutes before I reached the Elven encampment, but what I saw made my eyes widen in shock.

  The entire fortress was on fire, Elves screaming as they ran from the burning homes within. Some mounted their horses, yelling for others to join them as they rode back to their kingdom. I watched an Elf dressed in silver armor, likely another Captain like Iseldrynn, engaged in a deadly battle with Signeir and Joshua. He was no match for the pair. Signeir dashed straight through the Elf with his fiery blade outstretched.

  The Elven Captain’s head fell to the ground, eyes wide, and completely lifeless.

  The time limit for Joshua and Signeir’s skill came up, and I watched as the two frightening beings faded away simultaneously.

  What have you done?!

  [You said yourself you wanted revenge.] Joshua answered coldly.

  We needed to wait till we were stronger! Now they’re gonna know it was us and send reinforcements!

  [That's just more people for me and our new friend to kill.] The parasite replied dismissively.

  “Goddamnit,” I muttered in frustration, turning my back and heading towards Mount Boom, mind racing with what to do next.

  “Are you serious?!” Viressa shrieked in dismay. My fellow companions seemed similarly distraught as they mulled over my recounting of the previous day’s events.

  Cedric and Azazel stared at me with wide eyes, whereas Kril, Zorrack, and Fang all seemed rather angry.

  “That’s what they deserve anyways!” The large demon shouted. Viressa silenced him with a look.

  “We need to be cautious,” Ossara began. “The Elves will be vicious in their revenge.”

  “I’m sorry, Ossara. This is my fault; I never should’ve used that skill in the first place. Or gotten caught for that matter…”

  She raised a hand, easing my guilt. “The fault lies with the Elves. They struck first, after all.”

  I nodded grimly, but I still wasn’t entirely convinced.

  Lioren spoke up next. “Based on what I’ve seen from your companions, Lucivar, I believe that we have enough strength to handle a few on her level,” He nodded towards Iseldrynn, the captured Elf captain who was tied up to a tree. Kril hovered beside her, acting as a guard. “However, based on what the forest ruler has told me about the Elven royalty…”

  He didn’t need to say anything else, the rest of us falling into silent contemplation.

  After a moment, I stood, walking over to the Elven girl and freeing her mouth.

  “You creatures will pay! Lirien will come save me soon enough, and you will all die!” She spat in a frenzied rage.

  “Now, now, calm it down, I have a few questions for you.”

  “As if I would answer to you, demon!”

  Kril’s eyes flashed red, staring menacingly at the girl. She matched his gaze with a determined conviction.

  [Let’s torture her.] Joshua said gleefully.

  You need to shut up. You got us in this mess in the first place.

  [Suit yourself. When you give up playing good cop, give me a call.]

  I raised a hand, stopping Kril in his tracks. Torture seemed like a bit much, and I didn’t have the stomach for it. I had to think of another way to get some information out of her.

  “Kril, when you were scouting the human settlement, did you happen to see Eldros or any of his party members?”

  “Yeah, they were hanging out at some building.”

  “Were there more adventurers around there?” I asked, the wheels in my head turning.

  “I think so, at least, a bunch of humans with weapons and armour.”

  There must be some kind of adventurer guild or something. Maybe I can get Eldros to use his truth spell on the Elf?

  [Or we could just make her feel unimaginable pain.]

  I ignored the parasite, surveying my companions one by one. Due to our demonic status, I doubted the humans would be welcome to any of me, Kril, Zorrack, Viressa, or Cedric waltzing into their home. Fang would probably get hunted for Exp, and Lioren might experience the same fate.

  “Azazel,” I said, the dragon perking his head up from around my neck. “I need you to go to the human settlement to the north and find Eldros, tell him I have a favor to ask. Preferably, use your human-like form.”

  The dragon hopped to the ground, transforming as he did. He smiled, his white hair blowing in the wind. “You got it, brother!” He turned, setting off towards the human settlement.

  He’s the most likely to pass off as a human, and even if they recognized him as a dragon, they probably would be more scared than angry.

  “So now what?” Fang asked, looking up at me. “Should we attack them first?”

  “I don’t think that would be wise,” Viressa replied, crossing her arms. Her staff was leaning against a nearby tree. “They probably have reinforcements at their other settlements now, and they’ll be ready for any attacks. Plus, it’s not like we have much of an army.” She gestured around at the current residents of Mount Boom, and I knew she was correct. Furthermore, it would feel wrong to try and rope in the Dryads and Treants into an assault on the Elves, considering how many of their own they had lost recently.

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  Cedric shuffled next to me, standing on his tippy toes to whisper into my ear. “Should we really let her,” He pointed at Iseldrynn, still tied to the tree beside me. “Listen to all this?”

  “You’re right,” I responded under my breath, signaling Kril to fly towards me. “Kril, could you take our… prisoner, to a more secluded place?”

  The Imp saluted, flitting back towards the Elf and untying her, still keeping a bundle of rope around her wrists. She didn’t bother to struggle, considering the last time she did, Kril had spared no mercy in showing the difference between their strengths.

  “We can’t leave Mount Boom for the time being either,” I added. “We should be ready in case they find us and mount another assault.”

  “So what, we just stand around and wait till that bastard Elf comes to kill us?!” Zorrack demanded.

  “Calm down,” I said soothingly, and the large demon withdrew somewhat, although still simmering in anger. “I’m not saying we do nothing. There are more ways to get stronger than killing things and gaining Exp.”

  “What do you mean?” Cedric asked quietly from beside me.

  I looked down at the boy with a smile, then turned to face the rest of my companions. “It’s time for a little sparring session.”

  “You won’t get away this time!” Zorrack shouted, brandishing Stormcaller, the greatsword I had given him. The blade crackled with energy, every few strikes unleashing lightning onto the grassy field. The burnt scent of greenery assaulted my nose as I witnessed the pair of demons clashing weapons.

  “As if you could hit me!” Cedric taunted, darting in and out of the larger demon’s range. He brandished his dagger, slicing into Zorrack’s thigh. The demon roared, slamming his blade into the ground and singeing the grass with electricity, but Cedric was already gone.

  “He’s pretty strong,” Lioren commented from beside me, watching the pair of demons as they sparred. “I thought the large demon was adept, considering how easily he dispatched of the swamp creatures the other day, although the small one may be even stronger.”

  I nodded, turning my attention to the second battle taking place. Fang charged, ripping his teeth into a skeleton's arm, but a second one's blade crashed into his side, drawing a stream of blood.

  “You’ll have to do better than that!” Viressa yelled, wiping sweat from her forehead. She had a larger mana pool than any of us, but her fighting style also relied more on using mana than the rest of us as well.

  Fang howled, then suddenly began to glow.

  It was similar to when I had transformed into a Greater Demon in Ragnar’s dungeon, and I instantly knew that the same was happening with Fang.

  He grew in size, now large enough that even Zorrack could ride him. His coat of gray hair seemed to grow longer, and I could see the muscles in his tight forelimbs coiling with power.

  [Your follower, Fang, the Plains Warg, has evolved into an Alpha Plains Warg!]

  Just like his dad.

  Then, the Warg used a new skill of his.

  [Summon Pack]

  Ten Plains Wargs shimmered into existence around him, each one snarling with intensity. They tore through the three skeletons with ease, then stared menacingly at the mage-type demon in front of them.

  “An evolution? You think that’s enough to beat me?!” Viressa shouted confidently.

  [Greater Fireball]

  A plume of flames shot outwards, slamming into one of the Wargs and killing it almost instantly. Fang and his pack charged, engaging in a deadly melee with Viressa, who danced around the battlefield, casting fire and wind magic at the crowd.

  “Keep it up, you guys!” I shouted encouragingly. Cedric and Zorrack’s duel had finished up, and I could see Ossara casting her healing magic to help them in their recovery. Despite her spell not being as effective on demons, it still made the whole sparring process more efficient, as we didn’t have to wait for our natural regeneration to get back to full health.

  “Lioren,” I said suddenly, turning my back. The lion-like creature followed behind me. “I need you for a sec.”

  “What for? Do you plan to spar with me?”

  “No, not quite. I need you to watch in case things get… out of hand,” I answered. We continued to walk, still within Mount Boom but not so far as to leave the territory altogether. I could still see flashes of fire magic on the horizon.

  “What exactly do you mean, Lucivar?” Lioren asked curiously.

  “I’m gonna vent some anger,” I replied.

  [Oh really? Are you sure about that?]

  Yeah, I’m sure.

  I opened a panel, remembering the quest reward I had received from Joshua and Signeir’s rampage.

  [Congratulations! You have completed the Ruler’s Set!]

  I equipped the item, and a small golden headpiece circled my forehead. It created an arrow-shaped point along the front of my face, reaching down just above my eye level. I immediately felt myself surge with power, considering I had all of my allies currently around me.

  Enough Exp to level up as well, how about I use it on this?

  [Blood Chain has evolved into Twin Blood Chains]

  “I should be fine after all,” I commented, looking back at Lioren. “Don’t step in unless the situation looks bad,” I added before stepping forward to distance myself from the Ashmane.

  Let’s have some fun, Joshua.

  [I’ve been waiting for this.]

  [Parasitic Nemesis]

  [Summon Lesser Named Fire Spirit]

  The two beings shimmered into being, Signeir with his fiery sword sheathed, and Joshua with claws already outstretched.

  “Demon, have you decided it's finally time to prove your worth as my master?” The fire spirit taunted.

  “Don’t blame us if you die,” Joshua spat cruelly.

  I stared directly into the parasite’s eyes, then did the same with Signeir.

  “I don’t plan on it.”

  The Demon King’s Fate is at around rank #20 on the Comedy Genre Rising stars list, which is absolutely amazing! However, getting to the main list is still a bit away (probably around 10k views/150 followers) as such, it is incredibly helpful for readers to leave any sort of interaction with the story, such as comments, follows, reviews, (advanced reviews are “worth” more) favorites etc. If you have been enjoying the story, an honest rating, even if its not necessarily favorable does wonders for rising the ranks, and as a newbie author hoping to make something out of this, it means the world. Furthermore, reviews are how you can let other prospective readers know that this story is worth checking out (or not).

  [Who the fuck is reading all that asshole?]

  [You want people to read? How about this, interact with the story or I kill Kril, again.]