guide to ruling a fantasy world

Demon king Yama

I pierced the man's chest with my sword, twisted it and slashed outwards. The man slumped to the floor, a woman's scream of terror pierced the silence. This was the best way to defeat a tamer. After all, a tamer can only rely on his tamed beasts in battle and this one, while being powerful, lacked the battle experience, enabling me to strike while his tamed beasts were away. I sighed. And here I thought that this man actually posed a threat, but, in the end, he's just another one of those fools that take their high mana reserves as the only indication of strength.

I looked at the man's followers. One of the beast men - an older girl with red hair - was slumped on the ground, the other one - smaller - was trying to console her. The remaining three were acting completely normal. I guess the man wasn't really liked. I turned around, sheathed my sword and began walking towards the throne, my steps echoing on the stone platform.

"Where do you think you're going?" A chilling voice stopped me in my tracks. I turned around to see the man that I've slain, the man, whose heart I had pierced, rising from the ground. His movements weren't those of a human standing up, he stood up unnaturally - his bones and muscles cracking, twisting and coming back together. "Did you think that the battle was already over?" The man asked. "As for you, Liz…" He turned to the beast girl. "You really thought that that much would be enough to take me out? Have some fate, will ya."

"Impossible! I pierced your heart, I'm sure of it!" I shouted. "How are you still alive?"

"O please, I am not so fragile as to die because of a minor wound such as that." The man answered. "Let's see if you're the same…" He charged at me with blinding speed, aiming his sword straight at my heart. I was able to shift my weight to the side and sidestep the pierce, his sword cutting my shirt.

After the stab, the man immediately slashed at my chest, I dodged by bending backwards, into a handstand, into a flip, gaining some distance. How? How can a tamer be this fast? And what's up with that insane healing ability of his? If I intend to win this, I have to go slowly and probe for his weaknesses… I drew my sword and took a defensive stance. We exchanged blows.

I was able to block or dodge most of his attacks. While they were incredibly fast and overwhelmingly powerful - powerful enough to send shock waves all over my body on impact, they were easy to read. The hits that I took were merely light grazes. The man, on the other hand, didn't seem intent on blocking or dodging at all, focusing on offence only. The hits that I landed on him drew blood, but weren't deep enough to cause real damage and would heal in a second or two.

After clashing for a while, we both jumped back. "Well, this is annoying." The man with a white mask said looking at his chipped short sword. "No matter what I do, I can't land a solid hit, even though you're so much weaker than me…"

"Just because my class is lower than yours, doesn't mean…" I tried to deny it, but was interrupted.

"It must be this shitty sword of mine. Too lite, way too lite…" He threw the sword into the air, the sword spun around a few times, the man caught it and launched it at me. I deflected the flying sword just to notice the man appear right in front of me welding a massive halberd. "I think this one might be a bit better." He mused and swung diagonally aiming to cut off my sword arm.

This wasn't a weapon that I could block with a sword, nor could I dodge in time, so I performed a sliding parry - intersecting the halberd and letting it slide off of my blade. The halberd hit the ground - shattering the stone platform.

The man, with his heavy weapon stuck in the ground, was open for a counter attack. With the same fluid motion, I sliced at his exposed side. He didn't have the time to shift his weight and dodge, nor did he want to - once again, the wound that he received wasn't deep.

"That move that you used to deflect the halberd's strike…" The man addressed me. "It wasn't a simple block, was it?"

"What's it to you?"

"Call it simple curiosity, I never had anyone block so many of my strikes, so I got a bit curious."

"It's called a parry." I answered. "When faced with a really heavy weapon, you risk immense damage to your weapon or even your body by simply blocking. A parry deflects and redirects the enemy attack instead of taking it all head on. Also, it's a great way of preparing a counter attack. Were you never taught that? It's the most basic of basics in swordplay."

"Well, I'm no swordsman." He let go of his halberd and merged with the darkness around us. "I am an assassin…"

What? Just how many tricks does he have up his sleeve? I looked around frantically, searching the whole room with my eyes, but he was not to be seen. Relax, focus your senses… I closed my eyes. He can't be seen and his mana signature is gone as well, but he can still be felt. Every movement causes the air around to move as well, I have to feel the air moving around me and… A dagger flew straight at my neck, I deflected it. I have to feel where he is.

"Amazing…" A voice from the shadows commended. "How did you do that with your eyes closed?"

I smiled. "Just feel the air."

"Seems too simple."

"It's simple, but not easy, if that's what you're thinking. Why don't you come out now, so that we could fight like men? Oh wait, are you too scared?" I taunted.

"Let me have my fun." Daggers began flying at me from all directions, I blocked all of them. I felt a gust of wind behind me and quickly ducked, a dagger slashed right above my head, taking a few strands of my raven black hair. "That's no fun, I thought that I'd get you with that one…"

"Why don't you cry about it then?" I kept taunting.

The shadows in front of me coalesced and took form, my adversary stepped out. "So, my swordsmanship is no match for yours, I can't break through your guard with heavy weapons because you can parry them and counter attack, making my overwhelming strength advantage useless. My assassination skills are useless as well, since you can feel the wind, what ever the fuck that means. In that case, let's try this…"

The man lowered his stance, placing his off hand on the ground, took out a massive konda sword - a sword with an anchor-like tip - in his sword hand and arched his sword arm behind him - pointing the tip of the sword behind him. This wasn't any technique that I'd ever seen, it seemed that he was ready to lunge forward and deliver a sweeping horizontal strike - something easy to block or evade, but for some reason, I was feeling on edge.

My adversary just kept crouching in that position and I got curious as to why. I focused my senses on him to see that he was gathering enormous amounts of mana in his legs and his sword arm. I couldn't understand how he was able to collect and channel so much - the amount was enough to rip even the strongest demon to shreds ten times over. I knew that this was trouble - the man was ready to destroy half his body just to take me down.

"Are you ready?" The man asked. "Because this one is going to hurt."

I took a stance to guard my left side by stabbing my sword into the ground and taking a knee so that the sword would guard my whole body. "Bring it on!" As soon as I said that, the ground below the adversary shattered and he disappeared from view only to reappear in front of me no more than a moment later. The Konda sword clashed with my adamantium sword, shattering it in an instant.

This was it. My mind raced, I saw everything in slow motion, the sword was coming straight at my side intending to cleave me in half, but then it rotated and hit me with it's side. The blow was powerful enough to send me flying out of the arena into the wall.

There I sat, bruised and broken, with my consciousness slipping away in a pile of rubble that was once a magnificent column, wondering how I'd gotten to this point in life. It was obvious, I lost, that meant that I'd die soon. If only… If only I had a higher mana capacity, If only I was stronger… I closed my eyes.

I opened my eyes in an unfamiliar place, tried to move, but couldn't. A great amount of pain was racking my entire body. Why am I alive? Why didn't he end me? I thought. I looked around and saw that one of the room walls was made of bars. I was in the underground prison.

A familiar form appeared on the other side, it was Belial. "Belial, my friend, have you come to rescue me? I knew that you…"

"Silence!" My friend shouted. "The demon king wishes to see you." He opened the door.

"What are you talking about?" With great difficulty, I got up from the bed. "Come on, I'm still alive, let's use this chance to escape, regroup and take back the throne."

"I said silence!" Belial shouted and slapped me to the face so hard that I flew into the wall. "I will not disobey the great demon king, now get up and walk."

"Belial, you… I thought that we were friends, why?"

"Walk!"

I begrudgingly stood up, was shackled and began following my former friend. This must be a trick, a trick to deceive everyone else… He'll release me on the way and act like I ran away, right? I kept thinking that until we approached the doors of the throne room. My best friend, my only friend, actually betrayed me…

Inside the throne room powerful demons of high status were gathered, I looked at my throne just to see it occupied by the man from before. He was wearing a set of kingly black robes and a new golden demon mask, but there was no doubt in my mind that he was the same person from before.

I was forced to kneel in the center of the room in front of the throne. "Why am I here?" I asked. "Are you going to make a spectacle of executing me?"

The man on the throne addressed me. "I'll give you a choice - work for me or die."

Kneeling, all broken and aching, but with a defiant look in my eyes, I said. "I'd rather die."

"Do you think that you'll be the only one to die if you refuse my offer?"

"What do you mean? The duel was between the two of us, don't drag my subordinates into it!" I shouted.

"You mean my subordinates, right? Don't worry, those that swore their allegiance will get to live, but, as for your precious mother…" He left the thought unfinished.

"Don't you dare! Don't you touch her!"

"Then choose."

"Do you have any honor as a man?!" I shouted.

"Only fools think of honor, now choose."

I gritted my teeth, there was nothing I could do. I resigned to the life of slavery. "Very well. I'll work for you… But you have to promise that you won't touch her."

"Fine." He turned to everyone else. "You all can leave now." Everyone bowed and trickled out of the room. I was taken to the cell as well.

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Adam

After everyone left, I, still sitting on the throne, was approached by a raven black haired woman that looked to be in her late 20s sprouting black wings from her waists. "I got to say, threatening your own son with your life is a bit much, don't you think, lady Carnal?" I asked.

"That was the only way to keep the boy alive." She answered. "I wish to thank you again for sparing him."

"I'm going to need a competent pawn, if I'm to run this kingdom, right? Oh, and thanks for the clothing and the mask. The shitty elven oracle managed to only prepare some tea, so this is already a good improvement on your image as an oracle."

The woman smiled and bowed. "Your words flatter me, demon king."

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