The 1st Demon Lord

Amity and enmity can never be beaten if they are deeply rooted inside the hearts. Despite how much antagonistic they are, but hold same traits, like they've been given birth by the same mother. Amity inspires one to give love and care, while enmity encourages one to take them away. Both give rebust faith that can heal, empower, bring success or even can destroy. They flow in the bloodstream, thinning or thickening it with their influence. They both carry the same hunger of being admired and esteemed by the spectators, and thirst of being executed till the end. But, sometimes, both can destroy the world, or sometimes, they can destroy each other. Indeed, they could be an affliction to whom who carry them, strongly.

In a huge dark room, a young man probably 20 to 25 years in age, was sitting on the throne alone. With a slight grin pressed to his lips, he was gazing at the court's door, with his mesmerizing black eyes. His forehead was covered with bangs slightly turned towards the left, while the rest of them were carefully tied in a ponytail. His face had a tattoo of Scorpion's tail stretched from beneath his left eye, trailing down his neck towards his chest. Holding the sharp tip of knife with his thin fingers, he flicked it up in air and caught it back from its tip. He performed the move several times, keeping his gaze still on the door. Abruptly, the sounds of footsteps approaching towards the room filled the air. His smile widened. The door opened, two guards claned with iron armors entered, dragging the man, who left streams of blood along the hallway. The man's hands were chained. The guards stopped before the throne and shoved the man at the feet of the first guy. The young man on the throne got up and left the knife over it and vagued the guards to leave. He slowly started circling around the man lying on the ground, who seemed completely unconscious. He walked closer to his face, lifted his foot up and put it over his face. "How does it taste—defeat?" , he questioned by pressing his foot on the mouth. "Oh, I beg your pardon— you can't speak, right? " He grinned as he digged his foot more forcefully on his face. He stopped and stepped over the body lying down, grabbed the knife from its tip and stared at it with the same smile. As he removed the finger from the tip of the knife, it started levitating in the air. He laughed and kept on laughing lunatically. Suddenly, his laughter ceased and his face turned stren and gradually his expressions became furious. He screamed loudly and the knife, shattering the space, went straight into the man's chest with a thud, leaving the blood-socked ground, underneath him completely crushed. The knife came back at its place where it was floating. The young man scratched his hand in his pocket and lifted out a napkin. He grabbed the knife and cleaned it. "Nice job, Flash". He went away leaving the body crushed as if someone is trampled by an elephant's feet, pathetically.

He was, without a doubt, Lord Izume, a descendant of the Scorpion family, and now the new king of the people of the land of Ekai. The entire world was now in his possession. Despite the laws of the legends, he had taken control over all seven clans—or perhaps six, as one had completely vanished from the land of Ikai. Now, he had become the strongest being in the land of Ekai, having eliminated all competitors, even those from his own clan with remarkable strength and knowledge of magic. With the exception of only two clans, the use of strong magic was declared illegal for anyone who breathed the air of Ekai. Wizardry schools, scriptures, teachers—all were starved into extinction, including those who resisted the system. Now, there was no one in the land of Ekai who could challenge Izume's laws. What he decreed was etched in stone. The people of Ekai were happy now—or rather, one should say that only the Scorpions and Jormungandrs were happy . As the two clans that stood by Lord Izume, they had now gained control over the land of Ekai and were the only ones permitted to use and teach magic, though within limits. They were happy; they could do anything they desired, as long as it didn't displease their leader. They were happy now. And if they were happy, no one cared about the other clans, as they were not seen as living beings, but merely statues of flesh and blood, capable only of breathing and fearing. To them, every breath felt like a step closer to death.

**II**

Today was the last day of the month, a day designated for performing the "Ritual of Saints," which had been performed monthly since the Great War ended. This day was named "The Day of Purity." A simple ritual for the Scorpions and Jormungandrs, but for those on whom it was performed, it was devastating. Every infant born magicless, or without one of the seven marks carved on the Sacred Stone of Luminara, was brought to the amphitheater to be slaughtered in front of everyone.

Their families were imprisoned until the ritual was completed. Behind the rods of cages, they struggled to breathe and swallow the pain they felt but couldn't. They were looking more like animals caged in circus. "Why won't you kill me?" a man named Roger, shouted impulsively. He was trembling and gasping, his eyes full of tears. He was one of the unfortunate fathers whose children were being slaughtered, powerless to do anything except cry and bang their heads against the wall, lamenting their fate.

Lord Izume, the new king , was heading towards the amphitheater. He was guarded by four powerful and horrendous Nozes, demonic monsters of devastation made of rocks, each with a long tail ending in a club. Lord Izume walked with an enigmatic style, his dark blue irises perfectly surrounded by the whites of his eyes. He wore an ironic smile as he ascended to the main throne of the amphitheater. "What a pleasant day it is, huh?" he said with a smirk. All the nobles, especially those belonging to the Scorpions and Jormungandrs, were in the amphitheater to enjoy the ceremony. He gave the signal to start the ritual, and once again, innocent babies were slaughtered in front of everyone.

Strange enough , it had never happened to any type of the Scorpions or Jormungandrs families, to give birth to a markless child, but it was quite common among the other three types.