CHAPTER 4

​

A large crowd gathered and followed the Demon Lord and his generals, chanting and screaming, as they made their way up to the main temple of their one and only God. The demon city was carved into the side of the greatest volcano in their lands. The God’s temple was located at the very top of the volcano, and the castle right under it.

 

“Bring me the sacrifices,” the Demon Lord told the temple priests, as his generals entered the large structure. They walked right past the various statues and murals of their God and its various conquests and battles, to the other end of the temple, into an open garden, full of trees and flowers, whose petals and leaves were made of multi-colored fire. The Demon Lord walked to the edge of the garden and peered into the volcano below.

​

“Do you see it, my generals?” he asked, as his eyes followed a faint slithering movement within the volcano’s lava.

“Do you see our God stirring?”

 

“Beautiful,” AKUMA said.

​

“There are no words, my Lord,” JIN said.

​

“I agree,” YAMA said, as ASURA nodded, as if in a trance.

​

“My Lord, here they are,” one of the priests said. “Your sacrifices.”

​

The Demon Lord turned around and observed the creatures the priests had brought them. A large silver bull, with eyes and horns that burnt with a bright blue fire, and four golden goats, with multiple fiery bright green horns, and dual colored eyes, the fires of which constantly changed colors.

​

“Let us begin then,” the Demon Lord said, as he grabbed the bull and led it to the edge of the garden.

​

The Demon Lord calmed the frightened creature and stilled it as he moved it into position. The priests began to chant, softly at first. They gently increased the speed and intensity of their chants once the crowd that had gathered joined in. Their chants soon turned into a thunderous song, and the entire floor shook as the Demon Lord pulled out his scythe.

​

“Great AMPHITHERE, the God of all Gods, hear my call,” the Demon Lord bellowed, as he cut the bull’s neck and watched it bleed. “I ride today for your glory. I have found the last fairy, and I swear to you, in front of all my subjects, that I shall return to you with her head. Bless me, my beloved God. Bless me, AMPHITERE. Give me your strength. Give me your rage. Give me everything I need to succeed in my hunt. Bless me, AMPHITERE!”

​

The Demon Lord spread his arms out and screamed joyously as the volcano erupted, and the lava that burst forth covered him from head to foot.

​

“Thank you, AMPHITHERE. I shall not disappoint you,” the Demon Lord said, as he grabbed the bull’s corpse with one hand and threw it into the volcano.

​

The Demon Lord stepped back and basked in the glory of his subjects, who bowed and touched his feet as he walked around, while each of his generals grabbed a sacrificial goat and prayed to the God within the volcano as they conducted their individual rituals. The Demon Lord and his generals sat down in the center of the temple once they were done, and the crowd silently watched as the priests used glowing white embers to tattoo various runic patterns into different parts of their bodies.

​

“We wish you a successful hunt, my Lord, by AMPHITHERE’s grace,” the head priest said, once the tattooing ritual was complete.

​

“This way, my Lord, and my Generals,” another priest said, as he pointed. “The portals are ready.”

​

“No portals, priest,” the Demon Lord said, as he stood up.

​

“But why, my Lord?” the head priest asked.

​

“You wish to ride into battle, do you not, my Lord?” AKUMA asked, with a smile on his face.

​

“Yes, AKUMA. Just like the old days,” the Demon Lord answered, as he brushed the head priest aside.

​

“Run, pests,” JIN barked, looking at the nearest lesser demons. “Tell the mount keepers to make preparations.”

 

“Yes, my General,” the lesser demons said, before scampering away.

​

The crowd gathered outside the temple parted as the Demon Lord and his generals strolled out of its gates.

​

“My Lord,” screamed various voices in the crowd, as the Demon Lord walked through them, “is it true?”

​

“Is what true?” the Demon Lord screamed back.

​

“The Last Fairy…” voices from within the crowd screamed, “do you depart to hunt her?”

​

The Demon Lord walked through the crowd silently, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, as he did his best to suppress the smile on his face.

​

“Tell us, my Lord… Don’t toy with us… Please, my Lord… Answer us…” voices from different directions screamed.

 

The Demon Lord stopped in his tracks and lifted his hands up, motioning for the crowd to quiet down.

 

“Today, is the greatest of days, my subjects,” the Demon Lord screamed, once there was complete silence. “We have fought many wars, and won them all, but one war was never completed. We obliterated our enemies, but we did not kill every last one of them. We have hunted the survivors for a long time now, and all but one remain. We have found this filthy being, and we shall hunt her till she can run no more. We have AMPHITHERE’s blessings, and we shall return with her head. The Last Fairy shall die today!”

​

The crowd erupted when the Demon Lord was done. They circled him and his generals, and jumped and screamed and chanted and sang, with a ferocity like no other. Sometime later, the crowd closed in on the Demon Lord and his generals and picked them all up, and carried them to their mounts, chanting and screaming the entire way.

​

“Shh… Calm down, you majestic beast. Calm down,” the Demon Lord said, as he was handed the reins of his mount - a large white bat, no less than ten times the size of the Demon Lord himself, with long, beautiful, dark red horns, and nostrils and eyes out of which burst a bright red fire.

​

“Is this my mount?” JIN asked, as he inspected the pitch black bat, a few sizes smaller than the great white bat the Demon Lord petted, whose reins he was handed.

 

“They all look the same, JIN,” YAMA said, as he played with the bright blue fire that came out of his mount’s nostrils and eyes.

​

“Very well. If you say so,” JIN muttered, as he mounted the creature.

​

The Demon Lord waved to the roaring crowd one last time, before climbing the great white bat. With a swift motion, he pulled its reigns, and the creature ran forward and fell off the nearest volcano edge. The creature flapped its wings a few feet into the fall and soon took flight.

 

“To the Forest of Light,” AKUMA screamed, as the generals got their creatures into formation and followed.