10,000 years. Was that a period of time that could be grasped by a human? Was that a period of time that any normal existence would be able to look at and understand?
It wasn’t. It wasn’t something he would’ve been able to grasp if he hadn’t experienced it himself.
It had been 10,322 years since his race first arrived in this realm. He knew because he had counted every day of it.
The Primordial Undying Tree. The rumors about the heavenly treasure superseded it. He had heard of it long before its realm opened to the world.
Back then, there were no restrictions like the one he was subjected to now. There was nothing limiting the strength of those who entered.
He remembered that day as if it had happened only yesterday. Their race that once boasted millions was reduced to only ten thousand. Oh that day, every single one of them decided to take the risk.
After all, there were benefits within the realm, and there was only extinction outside of it.
But never in their wildest imagination did they think that their only path was extinction. Was it fate? He asked himself countless times.
No, it wasn’t fate, it was simply the whims of a being far more powerful than they could have fathomed.
Their race, which had been reduced to ten thousand, has been further reduced to only a few thousand. Even of those few thousand, only four remained who had power.
But even the four of them ended up corrupted.
Those who remembered the true purpose and origin of their race had already died. The rest had been brainwashed since birth.
Now, even his own race was nothing more than enemies like the rest. Even the other three who remembered were nothing more than enemies.
In this world; he alone bore the grudge and resentment of ten thousand. He alone had the courage and grit to act upon that grudge.
He had once met a woman similar to him. A woman that questioned the reason why their race was in such a situation, where they were nothing more than glorified slaves.
What interested him most about her, though, was that she was born so long after the original calamity that the circumstances should only be normal for,
Was she blessed to have a brain like hers, or was she cursed? At first, he thought it was the former. He was happy to have met her. The time he spent with her made him realize that his efforts weren’t totally in vain. He even had a child with her after some time passed.
But that woman, perhaps she was fated to live a short life. Or perhaps, the gods above wanted his thirst for vengeance to rear its ugly head again.
They didn’t even try to make her death seem like an accident. They boasted about it, parading her corpse around his castle as if it was some kind of trophy.
And he couldn’t do anything about it no matter how much he wanted to. Such were the effects of the corruption he had been forced to undergo.
The only things he had left in this world were his vengeance and his daughter. But now, even she had disappeared.
“You have to…”
Stay alive.
Please.
Stay alive.
He transmitted his earnest desires into his mana. He knew there were two gods in this realm, and only one of them had the capacity to help him.
He knew that god at least had some amount of conscience. He knew that god was opposing the vile being he resented with all his heart. If it wasn’t for that, then the restriction that prevented his enemies from getting stronger wouldn’t be in place as it was now.
And so he pleaded. He pleaded with everything he had to that god in hopes that it would hear him and grant a miracle.
And time passed. It was only a few tens of minutes, but it felt like eons to him.
[The Primordial Undying Tree has heard your wish.]
Until a notification that he had seen only once before showed itself in front of him again.
***
Furious clouds of thunder and lightning raged through the air. With every strike that lightning bore down, tens and hundreds of abominations were turned to ash.
、 Even the Demon Captains, who saw themselves far above the abominations, we’re met with the same fate,
They looked into the sky at the terrifying being that was causing such a calamity to befall them. Even though they were the demons, they felt that the moniker suited him far better.
Boom!
Another roar of thunder sounded out, and another peel of lightning struck the ground. The remaining Demon Captains were torn asunder as if they were rag dolls.
As for the man who commanded the lightning? He stood in the sky with a broad grin on his face.
“Is this enough? Or would you like some more? Well, don’t get too full on appetizers or you might not be able to handle the main course!”
There were no Demon Captains left to listen to his words, or they might’ve coughed blood and died on the spot. This was an appetizer? What about the pandemonium he was causing looked like an appetizer to him?
But the man’s gaze was focused on the four palanquins that stood proud at the back of the army, at a point where the destruction didn’t reach.
“Man; what’s with you generals and your love of this gaudy setup? Palanquins on elephants, sure it looks noble from the outside, but if there’s only trash inside, doesn’t that ruin the whole image?”
Provoking words continuously left his mouth as lighting wantonly raged around him. Enough time had passed already that the army that used to stand before him had been reduced to dust.
The star on his forehead suddenly shone with a bright purple light.
“Eh? Already? But this is only army number two! By the time I finish the Demon Kings, won’t this thing go past the White and Black stars?”
He really had to wonder. Well, he already knew that this realm wasn’t necessarily designed for someone like him to commit mass slaughter of abominations and Demon Captains. No normal genius would even think about taking on this kind of army by themselves.
“I wonder how those two are doing. Their stars are probably white already, considering how they were already far past me when we first met.”
Well, I guess I’ll have to clean up soon and sweep Darknorth as well. He thought. Such a thought made his grin turn ferocious.
He no longer waited for those Demon Generals to respond to his provocation. His body bent like a bow, using space itself as a foothold to shoot himself forward.
Boom!
The air exploded as he passed by, and in an instant, he had arrived before the four palanquins.
Reddish orange combined with pitch black lightning and coated his arms in a dreary color. Without pausing his steps, he crashed into the first palanquin at full speed, his fist shooting forth to impact the being within.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out as the elephantine beast exploded into chunks of meat due to the force of the collision. A black streak flew from within the explosion, stabilizing itself a few hundred meters away.
The Demon General had a massive scythe in his hand, but its blade seemed to have a small crack on it.
“Keuk…!”
A trail of blood left his lips as he glared at the man standing in the middle of the explosion.
And Damien flashed a bright smile back at him.
“If you get this injured just by my greeting, how will you be able to withstand my farewell?”