Contrary to common belief, the Demon realm was not the drab, dreary, land popularly depicted in human literature. This was merely a misconception born from those who had been unable to cross the Dead Zone, the stretch of land between the Demon and human realms. 

  in fact, no human had crossed the Zone before. 

But if one did, what lay beyond would be prosperous fields of green. Great, towering mountains like daggers pointed at the sky and glimmering waterfalls that shone like gems in the bright sun overhead. It was, in short, an idyllic paradise hiding a great many dangers both mystical and horrifying. 

It was deep within this land that stood a magnificent palace, built upon a high mountain surrounded by cloud. Within this palace? They called her by many titles. 

Mother of Lost Children. Berserker of Nine Hells. Lord of the Weeping Towers.

But most called her "Queen."  It was she whose anger caused the sky to darken and the lakes to tremble. Such was her power. 

"I gave you lot an army ten thousand strong." Her soft, seductive voice expressed a calm rage. "And you come to me with your tails between your legs. Defeated. Humiliated." She smiled. 

And just like that, the Demon King of Heavenly Twilight breathed his last. A great force intruded upon his broken body and tore him apart piece by piece. He was powerless to resist as his eyeballs were torn from his skull and every muscle was ripped from his flesh. 

It was a bloody mess, sending terror among the other Demon Lords down to their very souls. 

None dared speak out against her actions. Not only did they lack the power, but also the will. She had never held back against humanity in the past, always sending the elites among the elites to keep them in line. Now the appearance of the Hero, a being capable of housing a God's strength, had made her even more cautious. 

She sent not two or three Demong Kings, as she had done in the past...but all of them. 

Every King was given a thousand soldiers to march upon their lands. But as soon as they left the Dead Zone, they were met with an army of humanity's own. This was common. The humans had always resisted and defended themselves with everything they had. It didn't matter, much, as the humans had always been too weak to ever pose a threat. They were simply not allowed to conquer them freely. 

There were heavenly laws in place that prevented as much. 

However, while they expected another easy win... the reality is different. They met him. The Hero. 

And he possessed strength beyond comprehension. The Hero's companions? Negligible. But that man, nearly on his own, dealt them crushing blow after crushing blow. He ignored his dying soldiers, his companions wounded in battle, and simply killed.

He laid waste to their Demon elites, and by the time the Kings noticed what was going on the man had already decimated half their forces. They all charged at him in a rage, but the result left them in utter horror. 

They fought against him with all they could give, and yet still he would not go down. His body was as if made of diamond. His speed like the wind. His strength akin to that of heavenly lightning. 

Looking around the audience hall now, not a single one of the Demon Kings was without injury. 

Meanwhile, the Hero lost merely an arm...and that had been won more through luck than anything, which frightened them even more. 

But Shuten had not experienced his might. To an existence like her their defeat like this, despite being sent out in full force, was an utter embarrassment. Even if he is a man capable of using divine might, this should not have happened. That was her conclusion, because she had not been witness to that man's horror. 

The Demon King of Silent Screams forced herself to stillness as she gazed upon her master. Shuten-douji was a great beauty with hair like falling snow and magnificent ebony horns that curved out from her skull like a bull's. Her eyes were a deep gold with slit pupils and black sclera that gave off an otherworldly aura. 

She was as voluptuous as any succubus, clothed in red robes that hung lazily off her shoulders, her every movement filled with a seductive charm that drove one crazy with desire. And yet there was a mysterious force about her, a sense of danger that pressed against the back of your head like a knife. 

It warned you away. For she was a rose, with thorns sharp enough to cut even the gentlest of touches. 

This was their ruler. The Demon Empress, Shuten-douji. Daughter of the Dragon and protector of the land. The Demon King of Lasting Despair opened his mouth. "My Lord...If we have earned your ire--"

The Demon King felt his throat being crushed. Shuten had made him mute forevermore.

"The Demon tribes enjoy the splendor we do because we have remained the strongest throughout all of history. " Shuten began slowly. "But it is a position won through tooth and nail. The humans only need to win against us once, and we are done." Her fan snapped shut, a formless energy rippling across the room as her emotions grew. "It was not that long ago that they sat in their little mud homes and played with sticks. Now a thousand years later they have done what we have accomplished in ten. Not only are they intelligent, but they breed like rabbits. The humans are in heat all year round and can birth multitudes of children over the course of months. Meanwhile the stronger our kind, the less fertile we become."

Her eyes shone with a malevolent light.

She raised her voice passionately. "For every one of us who dies, we have to kill a thousand of them! We must be that strong, otherwise, we would be overrun!" She shouted harshly. "And I gave this...incompetent fool a force of ten thousand, powerful enough to cull the entire herd in ages past with ease! Yet he returns, defeated, with nearly every one of our brave soldiers dead. And you dare question if you earned my ire?" The woman laughed. She stilled. And her entire being seemed to go quiet. The hall itself seemed to be absorbed into her darkness, spreading everywhere, devouring everything. 

"Of course. But more so than that, little ones, what you have earned is my disappointment." She spoke barely above a whisper, and it chilled them all to the bone. There were ten Demon King present in the hall, and each one carried a power enough to overturn the sun and moon. But against her, they were like helpless babes. 

"And I suggest you find a way to redeem yourselves."