The Kind of Evil

‎Thalior and all his army met with the Servil army at the rendezvous point and made a camp there. They were going to wipe clean the towns and villages before they invaded the capital city. They had to be cautious because they believed they might encounter demons.

‎"Your Grace, I received the letter," Xena said as soon as Thalior entered the tent. "It's good to have Count Blackheart on our side," she continued and pointed her hand at the chair.

‎"You won't believe the report that came to me last night," Thalior said as he sat down at the table. "It appears that Count Blackheart and his team encountered someone powerful. The Lorde Hills on the north side, it has turned into a massive valley," he stared at Xena with a serious expression.

‎Xena's eyes widened, shocked and curious by the information. She looked down at the map and watched Thalior cross the Lorde Hills from the map. It was a vast area with miles of radius, but everything was destroyed and turned into a big valley.

‎"There's also an abyss there. The scout team said that they couldn't see the bottom of it. They believed it was where the battle ended, and there was something at the bottom, a body of a powerful demon perhaps," Thalior explained and put a small circle on the map, the location of the abyss.

‎Xena was curious about the abyss, and it wasn't just her, Thalior was also curious about it.

‎"And where are they now, Your Grace?" Xena asked, lifting her head to look at Thalior.

‎"They're hiding, apparently... I would do the same if I were them," Thalior looked at his knight, coming into the tent to bring tea for both of them. "As I mentioned in the letter, we need to be extremely cautious. Count Blackheart believed that someone or something stronger would come," he continued, and took a sip of his tea.

‎Xena sighed, tapping on the desk as she stared at the map of the Ederlyn Kingdom on the table. She had failed to protect Astrea, and it was still bothering her as a leader. She was granted the 3rd Swordmaster, and she had to live up to her responsibility.

‎"We have so many soldiers sitting in this place. If what Count Blackheart said came true, that a powerful demon would appear, we wouldn't be able to stop it. We would be their feast..." Xena said with a worried expression, staring at the teacup in her hand.

Thalior's demeanor turned drastically‎ as he glanced at the entrance of the tent, making sure nobody was watching. He then glanced at Xena as he pulled out a small piece of paper from underneath his left glove. He didn't say a word when he pushed the paper toward Xena.

Xena looked down at the paper and Thalior back and forth for a moment before she reached out to pick the paper. She glanced around and didn't feel any presence around the tent, she then read the paper silently. She knew that Thalior didn't want anyone to hear their conversation, believing there might be spies among his men.

Xena's eyes twitched and her heart raced when she read the content of the piece of paper. Her lips and throat became dry, making her lick her lips and swallow hard. She slowly pushed the piece of paper back to Thalior, but her hand trembled uncontrollably. She took a deep breath before she took a sip of her cold tea as she stared at Thalior's cold and serious expression.

Xena exhaled deeply as she tapped the table rapidly, her eyes moving around, thinking about the message. She slowly nodded her head, signaling Thalior that she understood and would play along.

‎(At the same time, in the palace, Ederlyn capital city)

All the revolutionary leaders trembled on their knees, their heads touching the ground with cold sweat all over their bodies. They glanced at each other with their trembling eyes, terrified for their lives. When they saw a black mist on the ground around them, they all whimpered and closed their eyes.

They could hear soft footsteps, the sound of bare feet walking on the soft carpet, walking past them and climbing the small steps toward the throne. They heard the sound of cloth brushing against each other before it became silent. They knew the being was sitting on the throne, staring down at them.

"It has been two days..." A soft and yet distorted voice muttered. "And yet all of you couldn't find anything?" The demon asked.

"My Lord... We... We tried everything..." One of the leaders answered with a shaky and cracking voice.

"Give me one reason that I should keep you alive as humans?" The demon asked, the voice was soft, soothing, and yet disturbing to hear.

"My Lord... we don't even know what we are looking for..." The second leader answered, his face still touching the floor. "How can we find something that we don't even know? You want us to find someone strong, but how do we know if they're strong or not? We can't use all of our forces to find that person when we are about to go to war against the South Neva Union and the Servil faction?" He asked back, knowing that it was such a ridiculous order by that person.

"Humans are useless..." The demon sounded disappointed.

The revolutionary leaders cowered in fear as their hands unconsciously covered their heads while they were bowing. They all begged for forgiveness and begged to be spared under the demon's generosity. Their lives were worth nothing in the eyes of the demon, and they knew that, however, they tried their luck to be spared.

"You want to be spared? You have to earn that life of yours by proving yourself useful," the demon said in a calm voice. "You have failed to prove your life is worth anything," the demon continued.

The leaders couldn't defend themselves anymore, and all they could hope for was mercy given by the demon in front of them.

"However, the emissary wants you to live, to be useful for this moment," the demon said and stood up from the throne. "The enemy is right where we want them to be. All of you will kill them all, without leaving a single soul alive."

The leaders closed their eyes, realizing that they were sent to the battlefield to die with zero chance of living. They knew that the South Neva Union and the Servil faction were the strongest forces in South Neva.

"Don't you worry, humans. The emissary is kind enough to bring his army to aid you," the demon assured as the demon walked down the steps. "And I'll be the one who leads the army."

One of the leaders lifted his head to look at the demon in front of him, he saw the pale feet of the demon with long, sharp nails and its long legs that were covered in tar. He slowly looked at the dark gray, worn-out robe that the demon wore, and then the long arms that almost touched the floor with their sharp claws. His eyes began to tremble, however, he couldn't stop staring as he looked up at the abyss underneath the hood, only red glowing eyes that he could see.

The man began to scream his lungs out, but then his body turned pale instantly, his eyes turned white, and then collapsed. The other leaders looked at the man, they thought that he had fainted, but they realized that the man had just died with his eyes and mouth wide open. Fear was written all over the man's face, and they had never seen anyone die from fear.

"A human dared to stare... humans shouldn't stare at what they shouldn't see..." The demon said as they walked past the two leaders who kept their heads on the floor. "Now he can stare at me as long as he wishes. Only the dead can withstand the torment..." the demon began to chuckle.

The remaining two leaders' eyes were filled with tears, their faces were covered in cold sweat.

"We will be moving as soon as the sun is setting..." The demon said and turned around to glare at the leaders bowing on the floor. "Don't make me wait, human..." The demon warned, and then left the room.

The two leaders had been holding their breath for so long that they had forgotten how to breathe. The moment the demon left the throne room, they raised their heads, but then their vision became blurry and collapsed. They fainted because of fear and high blood pressure.

(At the same time in the abandoned building)

Rasmus, Aris, and Javi were sitting at a table in a dark room, prepping their weapons. Suddenly, they heard someone walk into the building and glance at the person who had entered. It was Videl, with that huge grin on his face as he approached them and took a seat at the table.

"They sent a Prime Lord as we had expected, but he's not alone, he has a whole army of the dead with him. A thousand of them, the finest Corrupted," Videl informed with a smile on his face.

Rasmus, Aris, and Javi stared at each other for a moment before they all nodded.