Chapter 1 - Hero & Demon King

A scene of total carnage and destruction. That would describe the current scenery.

Buildings levelled and blown to smithereens. Plumes of smoke and fire visible as far as the eye could see. Dead bodies impaled, dismembered and strewn around all across the battlefield. The sickly smell of blood and decaying flesh permeating the entire area.

Yes, this was a battlefield, but this battle was far from over. In the distance, the sounds of spells and weapons clashing could be heard.

-BOOM!

A male figure crashed into an already demolished building, smashing whatever was left of it to bits. The man, who seemed unbothered by the collision, stood up from the rubble, his cold icy blue gaze staring at the being floating in the air.

The humanoid figure with a horn on both sides of his head levitating in the air gazed down at the white-haired man below him and in a deep raspy voice, spoke.

"Is this all our many years of battle will amount to, Amael?"

"Shut it Beelzebub, this battle is far from over. This will only end when either one of us dies".

"I'd never expected that I, the ruler of demons would be pushed back by a mere human. What you've achieved, it's beyond tremendous, it's a phenomenal feat, but yes, you're right. It's about time we ended this".

Suddenly, an enormous amount of nether energy began to pulse out of the humanoid being. A dark thick hue with shades of red could be seen surrounding Beelzebub as he readied for his final attack. He'd sustained grave injuries in his many years of battling with Amael. A particularly deep diagonal gash was present across his chest which wouldn't heal no matter how much he tried.

'Tch! This bastard! He laced it with holy magic' muttered Beelzebub.

Amael stared at the demon king as he prepared his spell. He knew what was coming. This was their final exchange. This would determine the fate of their world for the next few millenniums. He closed his eyes, and then he began to channel all of the aether he had left. A white hue with streaks of green could be seen enshrouding him. Slowly opening his eyes, he said: "Let's get this over with Beelzebub".

The two energies could be seen violently colliding with each other, causing pressurized air to push back everything within their vicinity. Both individuals gave each other one final glare and then dashed towards each other at a tremendous speed before releasing their most destructive spells.

"[Destructive Series: Black Hole]"

"[Creative Series: Supernova]"

The two miniature spells which shot out from the hands of both the demon king and the hero exploded at a tremendous speed almost invisible to the naked eye and instantly collided with one another.

-BOOOOOOOM!!!!!

The aftermath of such destructive spells left total decimation its wake, destroying and obliterating everything in its path for miles on end and consequently creating a deep gigantic circular crater on the face of the earth.

***

-Kah! Cough! Cough!

At the lowest point of the deep dark crater was a violent coughing sound. A rough coughing sound could be heard as it began to reverberate and echo throughout the uneven walls of the crater.

Amael coughed and spat out voluminous amounts of blood in pain and discomfort, an indication that he sustained grave internal injuries.

Each fit of cough shook his body to the core but gradually, after what seemed like an eternity, the coughing began to subside and eventually reached a halt, leaving behind only his raspy and ragged breathing.

"Are you done with your fit?" asked Beelzebub as he stared at Amael.

Amael widened his eyes in terror and raised his gaze forward slowly but what he saw immediately subsided whatever fears he had.

There he was, the demon king, ruler of all demons, on the verge of death. Half of his head had been blown off with the innards of his brain drooping out and so was the same for his upper torso and one of his legs, both revealing the innards of his body. Black blood was leaking out of each part like a running tap but he seemed undisturbed by the gory sight.

"Hehehehe… – Hahaha… – HAHAHA!"

What originally started as a low-pitched wicked laugh eventually transformed into high-pitched maniacal and psychotic laughter laced with malice. Amael just stared at the sight before him, maintaining his cold expression as he watched Beelzebub go into a mad fit of laughter.

"YOU WON AMAEL!!! Even if you were lauded as a hero, for a human to singlehandedly defeat me, it's beyond phenomenal! But that's it. You're only human after all. You won't live forever. You might have a long lifespan of several years and you might've secured peace for the next few millenniums, but it's only temporary. You won't always be around to protect humanity and when that time comes, we will completely annihilate your race and dominate this entire world. REMEMBER THESE WORDS, AMAEL!"

With a final chilling laugh, the demon king began to fade away, leaving the white-haired man in the darkness to ponder over his final words. Amael, seeing that the demon lord had completely disintegrated into nothingness, finally relaxed his expression.

"It's finally over. I succeeded this time. This should keep them at bay for the next few thousand years"

Amael slowly dragged himself while clutching his sword and using it as a makeshift walking stick till he could rest his back on the uneven surfaces of the walls of the crater. He then gazed up at the sky and saw the moon, luminescent and ethereal in all its glory. After what seemed like a few hours, Amael made a decision and finally spoke.

"Yes. If this is what I must do, then so be it. I will sacrifice whatever's left of my lifespan to perform this spell".

As soon as he uttered those words, a massive circle with complicated patterns appeared beneath his feet and started to emit a soft glow. After some time, the circular pattern changed into five layers and finally, Amael's body began to fade and disintegrate like dust along with the circles.

"I hope I'm making the right decision…" whispered Amael as his body faded and disintegrated into nothingness.

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*** TO BE CONTINUED! THANK YOU FOR PLAYING MY GAME! ***

I stared at the credits screen in front of me, contemplating and thinking about Amael's final words.

I know it's just a game but hey, I'm definitely the type of gamer who would reload a save just because I missed a single sentence in a cut scene. I was that meticulous.

Then I heard a sigh behind me and looked at Liam as he got off his bed and said

"You're playing that game for the umpteenth time Ken!"

"And you Liam, carry that novel around like it's some sort of holy scripture!"

Liam grimaced at my retort. I chuckled at the expression he made. I knew I'd hit the bullseye with that one. Score for me!

"I wonder how you never get bored of replaying the same game over and over again Ken. You're beyond obsessed at this point. Not like I'm any better though..."

"Yeah. You've been reading that novel for years on end. Gotta admire your dedication bro. If only you could put this much dedication towards your school books. You'd mop the floor with everyone in your department"

"Sure sure" Liam replied sarcastically before continuing.

"Academic prowess aside though, I'm not sure what it is about this novel but it feels incomplete. Aiden goes through hell and back and still doesn't get a satisfying ending. Also, why would a videogame developer continue his story as a novel. It makes absolutely no sense"

"It is quite weird. Well, I'm glad my favorite videogame has a sequel in the form of that novel, even if it is incomplete…"

"Man I envy that good memory and assimilation of yours! You only read it a few times and you can remember every detail, meanwhile I had to consistently read it for years on end to completely remember everything. Oh well, I'm glad my little brother's a genius" Liam said as he ruffled my hair.

"Will you quit that! I'm 16 man. Just one year younger and you keep treating me like a child" I retorted.

"That's how older brothers are supposed to be. We only have ourselves ever since Mum and Dad died"

"Yeah…"

After a brief silence, Liam spoke again.

"So, what would you like to eat? I'm heading to the convenience store"

"I'd like to go too. I need a bit of fresh air"

"Really! It's been a while. Let me get the wheelchair"

"Thanks Liam"

As Liam fumbled with pulling out the folding wheelchair, I glanced around our small apartment.

Two beds placed on the floor on either side of the room, a corner containing all our plates, utensils and some foodstuff, my brother's college books peeking out of his bag hung by the wall, a small table in the middle of the room and my very very old laptop atop it, a relic of the past and also a keepsake from our dad. On it was displayed the credits of the very game I just completed.

Snapping me out of my thoughts was the bright light spilling through the door Liam just opened. Then he pushed the wheelchair towards me with a smile and spoke.

"Hop on Ken"

I smiled at his actions and just thought to myself.

'I sure am blessed with a reliable older brother, aren't I?'