Chapter 1: The Dragon lord
The scent of ashes and the haunting-roar of flame filled the cold and barren throne room. Screams and cries echoed from all the corners of the fortress. Outside of that chamber, there was a war going on, a war that had been going on for thousands and thousands of years. The war between humans and monsters, between good and evil, or so they called it. Rivers of blood had been made, countless lives had been lost during that time. And inside that frosty and barren throne room, there was a king, sitting on his majestic golden throne, waiting for his killers to enter. The king, with long silvery hair and horns that curled all the way to the back of his head, sat on his throne, with his piercing amber eyes fixated on the entrance door. Around him were pillars of fire and empty seats. They once belonged to his friends and allies, who he suspected had lost their lives battling outside of the castle.
Bam! Bam!
The entrance gate was being knocked down. The monsters were coming for him. This was his last moment. The entrance doors, engraved with the symbol of a dragon on both sides, were completely destroyed by an explosion.
"Quickly everyone, battle formation !"
The king sighed longly in sorrow. He still remained sitting ever so gracefully on his golden throne. From all the smoke and rubble, five shadows rushed into the room. They all had weapons in their hands and magic ready to be cast at any moment.
"It's over, you monster ! Your castle has fallen, and soon so will your kingdom! "
The young man, no older than 25, shouted. His armor was still shining without a spot of blood on it. But his sword showed otherwise. The bloodsoaked long sword was all that needed to be said.
The five humans were standing in front of the king, the Demon King. The human man in the front spoke with confidence in his voice, and his grip held on firmly to his sword and shield.
Everyone was expecting something from the infamous Demon King, rage, anger, fury, fire,... But there were none. Still remaining in his humanoid form, the king only gave them an ominous silence as a reply. He had an air of wealth, power, and authority, but also confidence and self-assurance such that he did not need to flaunt it. If he was a human, he would be the kind of man that people respected simply because his presence demanded it.
Though his eyes were like the fire from a burning sun shining through the darkness, the five humans only felt a chilling cold sensation when the king's eyes met theirs. It was like a gust of winter's wind passing through their body and crawling up their spine.
Then finally, the Demon King spoke, breaking the ominous silence embarking the throne room and lifting the invisible pressure that the five humans were under.
"War and death are all you humans can understand, aren't they ?" The Demon King spoke with a low and husky voice but with an unexpectedly soft and calm tone which caught everyone else off guard.
"Your kind have had slaughter and rage wars against humans for thousands of years !" The young man in shining plate armor spoke up. "This is karma, this is God's will !"
"God's will, is it !?" The King coldly responded to the human's accusation. "In your history book, it says that it was us that threw the first stone. But in ours, it was you. Who is to say which one is right and which one is wrong? None of us was there when it happened."
"Don't fill our ears with your mischievous lies, Demon !" The female human with a golden bow, standing right behind the young man in full plate armor, shouted. "You have been cursing our land. With your diseases and calamities, with your temptation and corruption, you are poisoning us with every breath you take. You are the embodiment of evil since the birth of time !."
"The birth of time …." The Demon King gave out a hysterically villainous laugh. "My child, I am only 250 years old, and I have only been the king of this magnificent kingdom for 80 years. I am deeply sorry for not being able to live up to such high expectations of yours. "
"80 ... years !?!" the young man on the front muttered in confusion. It was nothing like they had been taught. The Demon King was supposed to be the final boss, the embodiment of evil, the reason for all human sins and sufferings. His heart began to race, and his beliefs started to waver. But in the darkest moment of his life, a hand landed softly on his shoulder and reassured him.
"Don't listen to the Demon's words, Arthur." An elderly human, with a magical staff in hand, walked next to the young man and told him, "He can lie all he wants. But he can't deny all of the murders and crimes his underlings have committed against us. How many innocent lives have been taken by them? How many men have had to lose their lives in order to protect their homes? There is no doubt that he is responsible! !"
"The underlings that you're talking about are my people, my friends, my family!" The Demon King raised his voice gradually. "For hundreds of years, my kingdom had not entered into any kind of invasion or conflict on your land. A king's word is his life, and during my reign, I can promise you all with my life that none of my people have stepped foot on your lands. "
"Your word means nothing, and so does your life !" A young woman, with priestess clothing and God's symbol on her cloak, called out, "Look among you, Demon King, and tell me, can you not see the rivers of blood that your monsters have made from the blood of God's children? You spoke as if we are blind to the fact that there are thousands of species of monsters whose only purpose in life is to hunt and kill humans. Such monsters and yet you tried to make excuses, to even think of comparing the likes of your barbaric and bloodlust beings to us humans, the descendants of God! "
The Demon King's gaze turned to the staff that the elderly human was holding. "Such compelling words, coming from the people that were soaked with the blood of my innocent people on your weapon. And wielding the weapons of my fallen friends." It was once the weapon of one of his allies, Vesper the Elven Queen. "You asked me to look around me, but all around me are empty chairs. So instead, I will ask you to look among yourself."
The Demon King diverted his focus on the young blond priestess.
"You said "us human" like all of you are the same. But from what I can see, among you, there are males and females. While you, naive little girl, have skin that is white as snow. Your fellow female companion with the bow over there has skin that is slightly yellowish. That young male in front of me also has white skin while the one standing at the back, daggers in hand, has bronze skin. But you all consider yourself as human, even though you are different. And only because my kind may vary in looks and forms, we are not the same."
The Demon King finally stood up from his throne. He was tall, with the physique of a mighty warrior in his human form. Unlike the five humans who were armed to the teeth, the Demon King bore no weapon. He only had a black silk robe and a tunic that barely covered his chest. The five humans jumped back a step.
"You call us barbarians. But yet, you are the one that has been waging a war against us, killing our species. You even place my people's races in different rankings, killing us for gold and your so-called honor." The Demon King's voice started off soft and calm but then gradually got louder and louder as he took a step closer to the humans. "You all hunt my people for money and fame, killing us like we are animals, and yet you are the civil ones ?! You said we are heartless, we are barbaric, but still, I am not the one that sent thousands and thousands of my people to fight a meaningless war for thousands of years. At least, I can truly say in my reign, my people died while defending their kingdom, and not perished in a foreign land! "
"Enough with your lies, you monster !" The elder human spoke up. "You can not waver your will with such pathetic lies ! Live in your deception. It does not matter to us. We shall not judge you. Our mission here is to send you to God and let him make the final judgement of your soul. "
The Demon King stood tall in front of them and stared into their eyes. And like an incoming storm, he spoke, "In my lifetime of 250 years, the title of Demon King had been passed down four times. I have taken this position of serving and protecting my people after the former died on the battlefield, who also took it from another Demon King that had died due to the hand of humans. When will this circle of bloodshed and violence end, humans? !"
"It will end, when your head drops to the ground. The world will finally have peace and evil will be erased." The young man in shining full plate armor stepped forward.
"If you strike me down, then another will step up and take my position. The will of my people shall live on. Today, the Kingdom may lose its king, but it shall never fall !"
"Then can we take your words that you will offer us your life without resisting ?" the elder human asked.
"No, I can't offer you my life. I'm still the king of this nation." the Demon King replied in a cold and firm voice.
"Ha, just like what I said. Your empty words are filled with lies ! " the priestess shouted.
"I shall not stand here and let you take my life without a fight. That would be dishonoring my people, my soldiers, my friends who have lost their lives fighting for me !" The Demon King took another step forward. "I will fight for their honor and for mine. I shall give you an epic fight, even though I am not the powerful Demon King that I should be. I'm only a young dragon, after all."
And with that, the Demon King took his true form. Gone with the body of a weak human, he only stayed in it to talk to the humans. A ring of emerald flame spread out and created ancient symbols from where he was standing. The five humans immediately took a few steps back as they all witnessed the Demon King's true glorious form.
Rising from the depths of the flame, a 50-foot tall dragon emerged. Its scales were as dark as the night sky. Its long backward-curved horns, chest, and claws were all covered with a shining dark golden armor. The only thing that still remained was the dragon's eyes. They were still those bright amber eyes, like fire from the sun, piercing through those human's mortal souls. And when the giant dragon opened its mouth, a blue flame came rushing through it.
"My name is Azar Polaris, the proud king of this beautiful kingdom, and I shall defend my nation to my last breath !"
The Demon King spread his wings and faced his enemies with grace and honor. Azar, the dragon king, understood that even though he might be stronger than any one of these humans individually, he was no match for all five of them together. But as a king, Azar could not show fear. He could never surrender.
Conjuring the strength from within, Azar took a breath and unleashed his fire. A blinding stream of blue flame flew straight at the young male human standing in the front. However, Azar's fire had been blocked by a shield barrier created by the joint forces of the human mage and priestess. Meanwhile, the human assassin tried to pull a quick one on Azar, using the blue flame itself to hide his presence and sneaking up on him. But the senses of a dragon were far superior to those of humans.
"Child play!" Azar clapped his mighty wings, and a twister emerged right inside the throne room. The assassin was swept away like a dead leaf on a winter day. The elder human started to chant his spell from the backline, and Azar quickly charged toward the threat. With a swift whip of the tail, Azar attacked the mage. His overwhelming physical strength as a dragon would mean a direct attack on someone as physically weak as that mage meant instant death. However, once again, his attack was blocked. With the help of the priestess, Arthur had managed to stop his attack with his enchanted shield. Without a doubt, another relic from Azar's fallen comrades.
Suddenly, a storm of arrows rained from above. Hundreds of arrows were cutting through the air and down his body. But with just another clap of his wings, all those arrows missed their mark. Enraged, Azar turned to the female archer and unleashed his dragon's fire at her. The mage was too busy chanting his spell, so there was only the priestess to block the attack, and the fire itself was too fast for any mere human to outrun.
"NO!" the humans shouted. The shield barrier broke, and the azure flame swallowed the female archer whole. The dragon fire was so damaging that not even her ashes remained.
Instantly getting ready for another fire breath attack, Azar aimed toward the human mage. But before he could fire, a shadow flashed toward his eyes. The human assassin had successfully sneaked up on Azar on his second try. Well, almost successful, the assassin managed to get into striking distance, but he underestimated the incredible reflex of a dragon. Flying through the air, the human tried to attack Azar's eyes .
"Basic !" Azar smirked.
Before the human could stab his rapier at him, Azar closed his eyes, quickly turned his head, and headbutted the human. The poor assassin was caught completely off guard, his chest receiving a crushing blow against Azar's thick skull and armor. He dropped to the ground like a bird that just got its wings clipped. His ribcage was broken, and the pain rushing through his body was unbearable with every breath he took. It was foolish of him to charge at the Demon King like that. But what could he do? Azar was going to unleash his hellfire on the only hope the humans had of killing him. And besides, Azar had just killed his wife, Aurora, the team's archer. The assassin human was too enraged by the loss of his wife to have a clear mind.
"I'll be right behind you … my love…" the assassin whispered out loud. And his suffering did not last for long. Azar quickly picked him up with his hand and swung him violently against the ground over and over again. Azar only stopped until the dark skin assassin's whole body had been smashed into a puddle of blood.
The assassin's sacrifice gave the humans just enough time to prepare themselves. Azar stirred up the air with his incredible fire once more. However, the young warrior and priestess were ready this time.
"Angel Shield !" with the power of both the priestess and the warrior, and the enchanted power of the shield itself, the young human stopped the blinding azure flame midway.
"The Irontail Shield …" Azar finally recognized the weapon. It was a legendary unbreakable shield made from the scales of one of the most powerful dragons that ever lived. The shield was once kept by Azar and his allies, but like many others, it had been taken by the humans during the wars.
"I got it !" shouted the elder mage. He had finished his spell.
From underneath the earth, pitch-back iron hooks and chains covered with raging sable fire, sprung toward Azar. They pierced his armor and dragon's scales like a sharp knife cutting through butter. Then warped around his body, running through his flesh and trapping him on the ground. Azar, the proud Demon King, the great dragon, was shackled to the ground. His crimson-red blood was gushing out from all his wounds. Azar's once majestic wings were now crippled. The more he moved, the tighter the chain was, the deeper the hooks dug into his flesh, the more powerful the sable fire melted his skin. Azar had lost.
"It's over, Demon King! !" The young man wielding the Irontail Shield stepped up next to him.
"This battle is over … but the war will still go on …."
"Don't waste another second, Arthur ! Smite the dragon and claim our victory ! Release us from the claws of the wicked! " The priestess called out.
Azar shared one last gaze at the young human warrior. In the human's eyes, A;zar could only see a blind rage, a burning desire to slay his enemy.
Before the human could take a swing, Azar asked with his dying breath.
"Humans, one last request from a young dragon, … Can I have the name of the one that killed me …"
With rage and disgust in his eyes, the warrior told him
"You can just call us HEROES !" A swift and powerful slash of a sword later, and Azar's head dropped to the ground.
*******************
Azar snapped open his eyes and found himself standing in a cold and endless void of darkness. He could have sworn just seconds ago, he was still in his throne room.
"So this is where dragons go after we die … How dull... " Azar said out loud. He walked and walked, but he could not find an exit. As a matter of fact, he could not see or hear anything except himself. And then, out of nowhere, he found a white staircase leading him to the above. He followed the staircase and soon, lances of lights broke through the eternal darkness of the abyss. Then came the whispering winds flowing through his body, carrying a faint smell of freshly bloomed flowers. And just in a blink of an eye, Azar found himself walking among the puffy white cloud.
"Where am I ?" he asked out loud. Then, unexpectedly, a voice answered him.
"My home, dear child."
A man, no more like a creature, flew over his head. It was glowing with this indescribable radiant power. That thing was very bizarre-looking, even for someone like Azar, who had lived for 250 years. It had wings on its back. But on the right side, it was a halo - white feather wing, like that of a bird, and to the left side, it was a scaly midnight-black wing, just like that of his, a dragon's wing. The eyes were also different. One was a kind, warm, and piercing blue eye on the right. While on the left, its eyes were bright red and insidious.
"Who are you ?!" Azar took a step back and stirred up some fire in his stomach.
"Be not afraid, my child. I mean you no harm... " It spoke in a soft and comforting voice. So much so that it managed to make even a tough and on-edge dragon, like Azar, calm his mind.
"I'm God. And I'm the one that brought you here, " the being smiled kindly.
"God !!!?" Azar could not believe his ears.
"There are many questions lingering in your head, I see. Don't worry, we have all the time in the world." The being turned his back against Azar and started walking
"Come with me, Azar. There is much for us to discuss."