The Defiled Expanse

As Grant stood over the body of the recently deceased 'Demon Lord', he neither celebrated nor reveled in his accomplishment.

If anything, he was raging internally.

Today marked 9 years and 289 days since Grant had been transported to Revonance.

Grant had planned on dying in battle with the Demon Lord and finally ending the farce that he had suddenly found himself in all those years ago.

Why was he planning on dying?

Well it all started when him and his classmates had been transported to Revonance by the lesser God's and Goddesses of this world.

The 'Demon Lord' who was an offspring of one of the gods had somehow broken free of the shackles of his realm and began to run rampant on Revonance.

The human population was on the verge of destruction and summoning "heroes" had been a last ditch effort at stopping the 'Demon Lords' advance.

The gods and goddesses had promised that if they could rid Revonance of the 'Demon Lord' then they would be granted the right to return home.

To the young and naïve Grant, it felt like all his dreams had suddenly come true.

He would finally get to live out his fantasy of being the hero to save the world!

Their had been some issues at the start with some of his classmates refusing to partake for fear of pain, injury, or death, but the rest of the kids and the leaders of their current host city had convinced them to work together to "save humanity".

Grant had always been a relatively well liked member of his class so he was the most vocal voice in the group when it came to convincing the other kids to partake.

Eventually the whole class would begin training to improve themselves so that they could be ready for the upcoming battles.

They spent nearly 180 days with their trainers; first in an open field practicing the basics and later inside the dungeons training against monsters and other enemies.

When the class finally felt like they had gained enough experience and were prepared to venture out into the world to begin their fight for freedom, they had received startling news.

The 'Demon Lords' army had arrived at the outskirts of the city they were currently residing in and would be attacking shortly.

Scared but motivated, the class had geared up and prepared for battle.

Along with Grant and his 31 other classmates, the lord assigned a large conscripted army to fight the 'Demon Lords' army.

On the eve of battle, Grant had butterflies inside his stomach.

It wasn't fear that caused those butterflies.

It was excitement.

Excitement at the idea that today would mark the launching point of his journey to Hero.

Grant and a few of his fellow classmates had been assigned to a group while the rest had been broken up into small groups and scattered to different parts of the cities ramparts to help bolster the defenses.

As the army of the 'Demon Lord' charged towards the city, the excitement Grant felt only increased.

Moments later, the battle began and Grant immediately dove head long into battle.

That was the last time Grant had felt excitement or any emotion other than anger or grief.

At least as far as he could remember.

The battle itself had started relatively slowly but soon dissolved into a chaotic mess of a wanton death and destruction.

By the time the battle was over, more than half of the conscripted army was dead, another fourth was injured and worst of all, only 5 of his original 32 classmates remained alive.

Of the 5 remaining students, 2 of them were girls who had received healing abilities, 2 were boys who had done nothing but hide throughout the fight, and Grant.

When Grant had received the news, something inside of him had broken that day.

"We were supposed to be the chosen heroes! What the fuck happened?!"

Grant hadn't been yelling at anyone in particular, but he had never felt grief such as that before.

He also felt responsible for the deaths of the 27 kids.

It had been his voice that convinced them to fight.

It had been his words that led them to their deaths.

It had been his fault.

Overcome by grief and anger while not thinking rationally, Grant had waited until the middle of the night and left the city.

He left behind a note for his remaining classmates that he would do everything in his power to defeat the 'Demon Lord' and return them home safely.

It was no longer them against the world.

It was him, and him alone, who would take on that burden.

Since the 'Demon Lords' army had briefly retreated so as to recuperate their losses and prepare for their next fight, Grant was able to slip away quickly into the night.

Over the next few years, Grant would live a solitary and lonely life.

At first he would hunt down secluded members of the 'Demon Lords' army and kill them to gain experience.

But as his strength grew, so did his plans.

Eventually he began to target larger and larger groups, gradually creating more and more problems for the 'Demon Lords' army.

Grant had no idea if what he was doing was even having an impact on the war at large, but he convinced himself that throwing himself into battle and putting his life on the line each and every time was his only way to atone for the deaths of his classmates.

A wise decision?

Certainly not.

And Grant knew that, but regardless, he continued onward.

It wasn't until midway through his fourth year on Revonance that Grant returned back to the original city where his classmates and him had been transported.

It was there that the last shred of humanity that Grant had would be erased.

His four remaining classmates?

The two boys had been killed shortly after Grant's disappearance because they had "abandoned their posts" while the two girls had been sold to some lecherous nobles as playthings.

In a fit of rage, Grant had slain the leader of the city and all the nobles.

Whether they were guilty of anything or not, it didn't matter to him.

Death was the only way they could even begin to atone for their sins.

During his rampage, Grant had searched desperately for the two girls, but in the end, he found nothing but a couple mounds of dirt to remember them by.

The noble fuckers had killed the girls once they had "served their purpose".

Or so one of them had admitted after Grant had removed all of his limbs with a dull knife he carried with him for dinner.

For weeks Grant was hunted by the members of the guards but due to his relentless training, he easily destroyed his pursuers.

Sending them to their deaths.

When the last of the nobles were dead, Grant moved on too the priests that worshiped the gods and goddesses that were responsible for him and his classmates being there.

Were they guilty of any crimes against Grant?

No.

But that didn't matter to Grant.

The people he had just spent the last 3 years fighting and bleeding for had betrayed him.

They deserved death.

That was all that mattered.

After Grant killed the priests, his rampage finally ceased.

Momentarily at least.

After wallowing in anger and despair for weeks, the 'Demon Lords' army attacked the city once again.

This time however, with no leadership and no one to force the citizens into defending the place, the 'Demon Lords' army quickly overran the "last bastion of humanity."

That was, until they came upon the small hut that Grant had been using.

Having lost the outlets for his rage, the 'Demon Lords' army became his new target.

If for no other reason than to fight to the death.

But no matter how many enemies surrounded him or how close he came to death.

Grant always survived.

A blessing?

Some might think so.

Or a curse?

That is what Grant believed.

Regardless, he fought.

When he was near death?

He slept.

When he was hungry?

He ate.

The rest of the time?

He fought, he killed, and he searched for his way out.

Throughout his journey, Grant found pockets of humanity that were surviving one way or another.

Some tried to help.

None were able too.

But regardless of their ability to help, the desire to help had managed to pull Grant out of his pit of insanity, if only a little.

As the saying goes, "Light shines brightest in the deepest dark."

Over the next few years, Grant met a few individuals who managed to chip away at his darkness even more.

But even so, he never allowed himself to get comfortable or remain in one spot too long.

His desire for revenge and the idea of returning home to see his family were the only things that kept him going.

And so, he fought.

For the next five years, Grant slaughtered countless enemies of the 'Demon Lords' army.

To the last remaining humans?

He was a hero.

To the 'Demon Lords' army?

The Harbinger of Death.

Inevitably, Grant's path led him to the doorstep of the 'Demon Lords' castle.

In his wake was a literal trail of dead bodies.

When Grant met the 'Demon Lord', he couldn't help but scoff in derision.

Even the name sounded so cliche and ridiculous to him at this point that he simply referred to the 'Demon Lord' as "Stupid Fucker" throughout their fight.

The 'Demon Lord' had tried to give his name and a grand speech but Grant had simply cut him down before he could even get so much as a few words out.

It turned out the 'Demon Lord' been nothing if not a slightly stronger member of the Demon Race.

Which brings us back to Grant's current rage.

It was rage at the fact that something so weak and managed to cause so much destruction and bring so much devastation and loss to his life.

While Grant stood there fuming, a light suddenly materialized next to him.

The light continued to brighten until it suddenly coalesced into a small shining ball.

And then it spoke.

"Congratulations Hero. You have slain the Demon Lord."

Although it had nearly been a full decade, Grant recognized the voice.

It was one of the Gods that had brought him here.

"Congratulations? What is their to congratulate me on? I watched thousands of humans die, I lost all of my friends and classmates, and I have killed so many enemies I have lost count."

"Regardless of your experiences or how you feel about them, you have managed to slay the Demon Lord. Which means..... you get to go home! Would you like to commence the process immediately?"

Grant glared at the floating orb of light.

The cheerfulness in the Gods voice made his blood boil but he knew that nothing he did would accomplish anything so he simply answered, "Yes."

And with that, the orb shone brightly for a moment before a magic circle appeared beneath Grant's feet.

Just as Grant was becoming ethereal and was on the verge of disappearing, he heard the Gods voice once more.

"Thanks for taking part in our little test game! It was fun to watch! Good luck in the next part! Hehe."

And then, Grant disappeared.

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Alright stick with me here ladies and gents.

I've always written stories where the MC is your typical hero, good boy. Well, I wanted to try something different with this one so I hope you enjoy!

This is chapter is a prologue and the real story begins in the next chapter.

I just wanted to lay a foundation for why Grant is the way he is.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to leave them in the comment section!

And as for every story, a review/powerstones would go a long way in promoting the story!