The story so far—
In the MMORPG Cross Reverie, Takuma Sakamoto was overwhelmingly powerful, and was able to role play so well that his performances were more boss-like than the actual bosses of the game. For this reason, he came to be known as the “Demon Lord.”
By defeating the Demon Lord of the Mind, Enkvaros, faster than anyone else, he obtained the super rare item, the ?Demon Lord’s Ring?. It was one of the ultimate pieces of equipment in the game, able to reflect all types of magic.
Then, one day, Takuma found himself summoned to a world that looked exactly like Cross Reverie! Having performed the ritual magic at the same time, the Pantherian, Rem, and the Elf, Shera, fought over which one of them was his summoner.
But thanks to the Demon Lord’s Ring he wore, the magic was reflected, so the ?Enslavement Collar? meant for him had clamped onto the two girls instead!
Faced with Rem and Shera arguing, Takuma was at a loss of what to do. While he may have been a superior player back in the game, he couldn’t talk with other people if his life depended on it. After struggling over what to say, the words that came out of his mouth were from the Demon Lord role play he had used in the game:
“Cease your pointless squabbling. You are in the presence of Diablo.”
Diablo soon after found himself foiling an invasion of one hundred Fallen, led by a Fallen named Edelgard, as well as an attack from within Faltra itself at the hands of the Fallen, Gregore. Diablo then later found himself the recipient of a quest from the governor of Faltra, Galford. Prince Keera of the Elven kingdom of Greenwood had demanded Shera be returned to him, threatening open war with Faltra should compliance fail. The details of Galford’s quest were simply to find a way to avoid the war. The bespectacled, straight-and-narrow Imperial Knight Alicia was assigned to the group as an observer to watch over their actions.
Using the ?Marionette’s Flute?, Keera manipulated Shera and unleashed a forbidden summon called the Force Hydra—yet Diablo still managed to rescue her.
After her rescue, the group set off to resurrect the Demon Lord Krebskulm, trapped inside Rem. But in the process, Krebskulm had lost a portion of her memories as a Demon Lord, being reduced to a biscuit-loving young girl, who was then nicknamed “Klem.”
Peaceful days passed by...
Suddenly, Alicia betrayed the group! Now awakened as a true Demon Lord, Klem went into a destructive frenzy. But thanks to one of Diablo’s ultimate spells and the sound of Rem’s and Shera’s voices, Klem was subdued and reverted to her biscuit-loving form. To ensure Klem would never go berserk again, Diablo bound her with the same enslavement magic afflicted upon Shera and Rem.
Through a string of coincidences, or perhaps God’s own guidance, Diablo found himself rescuing Lumachina, a holy woman, from the Paladin Gewalt. Being a High Priest, Lumachina was the highest ranking member of the church. However, due to her attempts at ridding the church of corruption and avarice, she was nearly assassinated. Still seeking to reform the corrupt church, Lumachina sought the help of the Paladin Captain Batutta, setting out to meet him in Zircon Tower.
Located in the perilous expanse of the former Demon Lord’s Domain, Diablo’s group of adventurers accompanied her as bodyguards. After a long journey, they arrived at their destination and were greeted by Batutta.
While there, Diablo claimed back his own dungeon, gained many pieces of helpful equipment and items, and fought off the new Demon Lord’s army, gaining new allies in the process: the Grasswalker, Horn, and the magimatic maid, Rose.
Shortly after, Horn decided to change classes and study to become a sorcerer, leaving for the magic academy.
But they could not celebrate their victories, however. Having been informed that the Elven king, Shera’s father, had passed away, the four traveled to her homeland where Shera was already engaged to a pig-faced Elf called Drango (for the sake of the country, of course). Diablo attempted to prevent the wedding, giving her a wedding ring and assuming the throne as the new king of Greenwood.
Afterward, to prepare for his upcoming battle with the Demon Overlord Modinaram, Diablo set out to meet the legendary swordmaster and level up as a warrior, only to find (to his great surprise) that the current swordmaster and heir to the previous was none other than a Dwarven girl called Sasara.
The previous swordmaster, revealed to be Sasara’s stepfather, Graham, sought to master the blade with such zeal that he transformed his body into that of an oni. But, despite his efforts, Sasara struck down Graham, proving once and for all her overwhelming prowess.
At the same time, the Demon Overlord Modinaram was marching its armies upon Faltra. The governor, Galford, and other adventurers, including Emile, were severely injured in combat. Diablo rushed to the scene and, with Rose and Sasara serving as vanguards, defeated the Demon Overlord. But Rem was then captured, and upon rescuing her, Diablo gave her a wedding ring.
News of the Demon Overlord’s defeat reached Lyferia’s king, Delouche Xandros, who ordered that Diablo be summoned to his castle.
“Laughable! If he wishes an audience, let the king come to me!”
Being too inept when it came to meeting important people, Diablo hid behind his Demon Lord-ly bravado to run away. Left with no choice, his wives Rem and Shera headed to the capital, Seven Wall, in his stead.
Diablo then learned from Rose that the rings he had given Rem and Shera were actually a pair, which meant he had unintentionally caused Rem and Shera to get married! Resolving to fix the situation before it came to light, he partnered up with the guildmaster Sylvie to visit the Viridian Cathedral.
Diablo reached the capital, and, after some misadventures, visited the sorcerer’s academy in order to resolve a mystery quest. He saved Horn from trouble and defeated the powerful monster that was summoned. But, just as he considered going back to Faltra, the captain of the Palace Knights, Maximum Abrams, forcibly demanded to escort Diablo to the castle. Leaving Sylvie and the others behind, Diablo boarded the black carriage.
“Hmph... Going to such lengths to call for me, I expect quite the banquet.”
Prologue
The howling of animals reverberated through the air. Another sound intersected it, followed by even more howling. Hearing those sounds, the soldiers stationed on the walls cried out,
“An attack! A raid! The spriggan’s coming!”
Something moved under the moonlight—a huge form that quaked the ground. Its hulking, stout shape protruded from out of the earth, its massive arms ending in fists that resembled mallets. There were only holes where its eyes and mouth should have been, and there was no way of telling where it was looking.
—A spriggan.
It was said to be a type of fairy that guarded the land. And, as if to push it forward, the animals’ howling increased in volume, becoming a deafening cacophony.
The soldiers on top of the walls nocked their arrows.
“Fire!”
A volley of flaming arrows was unleashed. Cloths submerged in oil were tied to the arrowheads, made to set fire to their target. It was an effective weapon on the beasts, but the spriggan’s skin deflected them with the sound of dry metal.
The sorcerers called forth their summons. Large Salamanders spat out breaths of flame, and Sylphs flying in the heavens kicked up whirlwinds. But none of them penetrated the spriggan’s thick skin, and they failed in stopping its advance.
The soldiers stirred, and, after taking a frightened step or two back, started running away from the walls.
“Keep attacking!” the commander called out loudly. “Don’t turn your back to them! And you call yourselves soldiers of the kingdom?! Don’t abandon the pride of Lyfer—”
The gigantic spriggan swung up its hand and slammed it down on the walls, crushing them with its hammer-like fists.
Countless screams, and enough howls to drown even those out, filled the night. From within the darkness, the beasts rushed out. Their heads were like those of foxes. They looked like animals, but brandished swords and spears skillfully. Some were even covered in armor. But they didn’t speak in the tongue of the races.
The Therianthropes known as Kobolds—wild beasts that were close to, but not quite part of, the races of man.
Overwhelmed by the Therianthropes, the Lyferian soldiers could only run around in a panic, having lost both their commander and the walls.
On day 29 of the eleventh month of year 164 of the Lyferian calendar, one of the fortresses making up the southern region of Caliture fell in a single night.
The following day, the royal astrologer Vinashin gave the king counsel from his sickbed: catastrophe would befall the country should they step upon the kingdom’s fiefdom.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login