Demon Lord Sarah

Shadows danced across the shrine as one of the candles flickered and died. It was her candle. I frowned. Could this be an omen? The candles were meant to always burn. They were a symbol of remembrance for all that I had lost. With a click of my fingers, a blue flash and the candle burned a bright blue, chasing the shadows away once again. 

I sensed an unwelcome presence entering my Domain shortly after, and unless I relocated it, which was a literal, and figurative pain, I was honour bound to meet this challenge. In fifteen millennia, I had only ever had to do that once, and that was because of Adam’s actions. I was originally near where she had died and I had grown up; it was special to me. I’ll never forgive Adam for taking that from me. 

Activating [Flash Flame] I teleported with a burst of blue fire, reappearing on the border of my domain. I could see my castle in the distance. It had the classic demon lord villain aesthetic, dark stone, sharp and pointy fortifications, blue flame torches, and to complete the look, the occasional lightning flashed across the sky. It was a timeless classic and never got old. 

Where I stood was dark and cold, mostly obsidian-like rock and almost lifeless, except for the few hardy plants and creatures desperately making a life for themselves. A growl sounded out as I spotted the terror beast a short distance away. It was roughly lion shaped, but a monstrous, ugly twisted version with dark grey hairless skin and crescent shaped blade on its tail. 

I pulled out my blade handle and ignited it with a flourish. The icy blue glow of the flaming sword lit the dark clearing just as a crack of lightning flashed across the sky. The boom of the thunder rattled the pebbles by my feet a moment later. 

“You have one chance to leave my territory alive. Don’t test my generosity, beast.” Especially since this was my domain, mine to hold and defend, and here I was considerably stronger. I happened to like it too, dark gothic style castle and all.

All I got for my benevolence was a growl as the large Terror Beast prepared to pounce. I was curious, so in the moments before it tensed its muscles I used [Inspect].

Terror Beast (Champion) 

Power Level: 4776

It is said that Terror Beasts are formed of the blood of fallen Demon Lords. Regardless of whether that’s true or not, it is wise to be cautious around such a powerful foe. 

It was weak, as I had suspected. Delving deeper into the information the system gave, I inspected its skills and their ranks, curious to see if it had anything interesting. It didn’t have anything special. With a disappointed sigh, I closed the window. The Terror Beast was just starting to pounce when I focused back on it.  

“Wrong choice.” I grinned with glee. Maybe my skills would get another rank up, it had been years since they last had, unfortunately. 

I blazed forward, a trail of blue flames in my wake. I swung my sword as I passed the beast, leaving a burning wound in its side as it bellowed in pain and rage. My enemy’s tail with its crescent shaped blade was already heading for my head as I stopped. Activating [Living on a Razor’s Edge] my blue flame sword, so reminiscent of a space wizard’s swords, suddenly became brighter. With a flash of red light and another scream of pain, the beast’s tail fell at my feet, the blade having severed it without effort. 

With a snap of my fingers, the blue flames I had left behind surged forward into the wound along the beast’s flank, burning it from the inside. Moments later, the fire burst out, exploding the beast into small flaming chunks, before it slowly dissolved into blue particles. 

Just as I was about to collect the loot, I felt a tremendous amount of death, as tens of thousands of creatures were snuffed out suddenly. 

[World Notification]

The title of [Demon Lord] is awarded to the fairy known as Azalea.

[World Notification]

From this day forward, any and all class and racial spells and effects can no longer be applied to any Celestial Object.

I froze as the notifications displayed themselves on my UI. What on earth was going on? What had caused the system to grant a Demon Lord title? It had been a number of years since someone had risen to demon lord without usurping a previous title owner. 

It was also a surprise that someone had discovered a loophole that had caused Adam to announce a system update like that… That took out of the box thinking, that wasn’t limited to what people thought could and could not be done. That someone had managed that after several millennia spoke of ingenuity. They would be a very dangerous individual. 

I had a cold feeling in my chest as I thought about all of this. Surely this wasn’t due to Adam’s efforts, right? It was entirely possible, of course. After all, I had dabbled in reincarnating lost souls that I had found in my endless search myself. The search for the only person I had ever loved besides my sister and our parents. I felt a lump in my throat as I thought back to the last time I had seen her. Sickly and weak, but still making me laugh, as if I was the one who needed it more. 

Sighing, I stared at the notifications in my vision. The blue words were tantalising me with possible hints of what Adam was planning. He always denied it, but I knew he was up to something. Adam was always cagey around me. I had always assumed it was because I had the ability to see further into the system than most. 

It was unfortunate that the system automatically sent a world notification. That would bring down a lot of unwanted attention on the guilty party, the good, bad and ugly types. For both the power and the prestige that such a title brings. Well, things would certainly be interesting for a while, now that a whole new generation knew that it was certainly possible to become a demon lord without killing a previous one. 

I was just about to dismiss the notification and contact McKenna – surely Alina would ask the demon lords to assemble – when I read the name again. 

A familiar name, too familiar. Her name. Or the name she had liked to use in some games at least. Surely not? It wasn’t a common name, sure, but it couldn’t be her… 

My breath hitched and my hand trembled as I reached out to touch the name. I had to pause to take a breath, I was having trouble keeping my hand steady enough to place it on the name. 

“Get it together,” I growled at myself. “The chances that it’s her is way too small, especially after so long.” And yet…

Holding my hand over the name, I hesitated. Was it worth it? Getting my hopes up, only for them to be dashed again? My heartbreak was as raw now as it was when she died, it felt like it broke again every time I saw the name and confirmed that it wasn’t her. No, it was worth it, she was worth it. I hadn’t stopped searching for fifteen millennia, I wasn’t about to chicken out now. What was my heart breaking again, over the chances I found her after all this time?

I pressed my palm on the name. 

As I pushed my senses into the notification, I felt out the soul of the demon lord named Azalea. 

Adam’s distinct signature was all over it, reeking of his machinations. But through that, I felt the soul. Felt it react, squirm and quiver as I deciphered the information that poured into my mind. Yanking my hand back in shock, my fingers tingling from an odd feedback. My heart beat wildly as I shook the feeling from my hand. Only one thought raced through my mind. 

I’d seen it before. In his hands.

Her soul. My Azalea.