The Demon Earl

Kleo, six days before the tavern incident.

Kleo, an average town that had long been a cesspool of scum and villainy, had a reputation that drew outlaws seeking refuge and bounty hunters pursuing profit. In this chaotic environment, the town's sheriff, Dean, embodied the archetype of a corrupt lawman—a figure often expected within the Ladcrester Kingdom, a realm predominantly ruled by humans.

The Ladcrester Kingdom, a domain primarily consisting of merchants and craftsmen, was seldom free of corruption. Dean was no exception; his corruption mainly revolved around taxes and occasional embezzlement. Despite his vices, he was by no means evil, he understood when not to delve to deep into the cookie jar. Maybe a weak justification for his corruption, he had fought during the Fifth Great War, a conflict that pitted Ladcrester against the Korian Kingdom. Perhaps seeing his friends and comrades laying dead around him awakened a hidden hunger, one that thought he deserved more.

But unlike his hunger for wealth, he was satisfied with his role as the Sheriff of a small town, he dreamed of a day when he would be retired and spend the rest of his days in the country side with his grand kids.

Yet fate had a funny way to tell him to wake up.

Upon returning from clearing a bandit outpost, Dean was met with a sight that would haunt him till the end of his days. His home lay in ruins, the lifeless, bloodied bodies of his family strewn amid the wreckage. Written in the blood of his wife, the words "Shouldn't have Done that Fatty" were crudely smeared on a standing wall.  Unknown to the perpetrator of the atrocity, Dean found a bloodstained letter embed in the spine of his wife.

With the decapitated heads of his wife and daughter staring at him, and seeing that his wife's blood had been used to scrawl a crude message on a wall, taunting him, something snapped inside of him.

It was revealed that the very bandits he had recently raided were funded and controlled by a small baron family situated along the Korian coast. A traitor among Dean's men had tipped off the baron family about the raid, leading to the preemptive strike on the sheriff's home as soon as he left town.

The bounty hunters of Kleo, although plentiful, chose not to intervene. Humans, as a race, were often driven by greed, and amidst a world filled with brutality, noble souls were a rarity. He ruthlessly executed every lawman who remained in Kleo, sparing only those who had accompanied him.

When a demon approached Dean, offering the resurrection of his wife, daughter, and her children, he did not hesitate to accept. In this world, resurrection was not beyond the realm of possibility, often accomplished through taboo rituals—frequently in the domain of demons. Demons were often seen as tricksters, and deals with them came with a sinister reputation. However, once a demon's contract was sealed, it was ABSOLUTE. Dean's desperation to see his family again rendered him blind to the circumstances surrounding his families death. If it meant he could see his daughter and her kids one more time, he wouldn't mind sacrificing the whole world, him included.

It didn't help that what was required of him was simple, he was only required to turn a blind eye, to the missing people that hunted the manticore. Why should he care about people who let his family be slaughtered?

In reality unbeknownst to Dean he was helping the very soul that killed his family.

Complicating matters was the interference of the Duke of Horgath, Dean's liege, who had ordered him to receive the Duke of Madness, Van Draconia. The presence of a demon within the Duke's domain raised alarms, the noble Duke of Horgath harbored an unrelenting hatred for demons. As an old friend of the god of hunting, he hired Van Draconia to eliminate the demon. Yet suspicious of the Sheriff, the Duke withheld valuable information about Mercer.

Dean prepared for the Duke's arrival by discreetly bribing his men to act naturally and not question his sudden change in behavior. When the Duke finally reached Kleo, Dean adopted an inept facade, distracting and misleading the noble, preventing him from discovering the Demon's intentions.

The only question, what did the blood stained letter have to do with his families death? Dean withheld the information from all parties. Hoping to finally find an answer he set himself to researching the mysterious letter. Firmly concluding that the Demon had no knowledge of the letter, his only hope rested on Mercer's shoulder.

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Blonde-haired and violet-eyed, a devilishly handsome young man, seemingly twenty years old, exuded an air of arrogance that was difficult to ignore. He wore a bright purple vest over a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up casually. His shirt was adorned with a brighter red tie. Completing his outfit was a leather belt with a dark metal buckle, black leather shoes, and purple dress pants.

Leon Jaegar the third heir of the House of Gluttony, the Jaegar's, were descendants of the Demon God of Gluttony Beezlebub. The Lord of Flies. They were one of the seven great families of hell, each descendants of a different Demon God of Sin.

Leon, was special he had the blood of two Demon Gods, Lucifer the sin of pride, and Beelzebub the sin of Gluttony.

As an Immortal Species Demons had complicated Successions, that were brutal and unforgiving, and as the third heir he had no Hope of succeeding as the head of the family. But how could a descendant of Pride itself be satisfied with mediocrity? No Leon had greater ambitions, he wanted to stand toe to toe with his ancestors, he wanted to become a Demon God, more specifically a Demon God of Hellfire. He wanted the Divine seat and title, of one of the supreme flames in the universe.

The contract he had just sealed was a significant step towards realizing this aspiration. Demons were no strangers to power, and he was used to ruling over legions of them, each capable of slaying a thousand humans. His confidence not only stemmed from his blood, but his brilliance.

His plan had been in the making for years, Infiltrating a small noble house in Korian, he had founded a bandit group that he nurtured and expanded over time, allowing them to carry out increasingly malevolent acts. As one of the few races blessed with near-immortality, patience came easy to some demons.

He had spent a decade cultivating his forces and planting spies within Dean's town. These agents provided information about the notorious bandit group, suggesting their defenses were weakened. He made certain that Dean's scouts believed they had been incapacitated, and the bandit group had seemingly let their guard down, all a part of his grand design.

He even made sure to account for the fact of the bounty hunters, he knew that they wouldn't stand still, if even one of their hearts were moved his plan would fall into ruin, so he charmed the bounty hunters, to sleep, and wiped their memories of the event. The sheriff would never lower himself to ask them why they didn't help him. He also charmed the remaining lawmen, and implanted fake memories in them to make sure that they wouldn't step in, he made each and everyone of them hate the Sheriff.

To ensure that the bounty hunters in the town didn't intervene, he used his charms to put them to sleep and erase their memories of the day. He knew that they would have interfered if he didn't plan against them, after all if only one moved, his plan would have been ruined.

in reality Leon was quite lucky, if this had been any other continent where Mages, and Knights were active, his plan would have failed. After all, he hadn't even caught a glimpse of Divinity.

His next move involved manipulating the remaining lawmen, and implanting fake memories that turned their loyalties against Dean. This ensured that no one came to his aid when the bandits attacked his home.

Leon expertly hid and attacked when the Sheriff was at his lowest, he lulled him into a false sense of security and whispered in his ears tempting him. Leon succeeded in signing the contract that would at-least propel him into the realm of a Demon Duke, the first step to acquire Demonic Godhood.

He only had to wait and soon the ritual would consume this town and many others, he didn't even have to worry about the patron gods of this Kingdom. They seldom descended from their Divine Kingdom's, in reality most patron gods of the western continent hated their mortal kingdoms that they sponsored. Unless one of their descendants or they themselves ruled, they would hardly offer support.

And even if he cared, Leon was on the fast track to Godhood, he would simply apologize to the inept gods of this kingdom. And if they didn't accept his apology, he would simply slay them, sip their blood and claim their divinities for himself.

The corners of Leon's lips curled as he thought of it. He already considered himself the god of Hellfire.

Yet things weren't always as simple as they seemed. Leon frowned, as he remembered the Demon Hunter. Of course as the genius he was Leon planned for this, it wasn't a variable and he was hardly worried. Although he heard that said hunter was a Duke, a mortal Duke was nothing like a Demon Duke. And the gods that ruled on the mortal plane, did not like this continent.

But what was a Variable, was the strange human girl. The frown on Leon's face intensified, as he held his chin. He accounted for almost everything, but the silver eyed hunter. Leon was sure the color silver wasn't a common eye color among the western lands.

'No matter' The Demon smiled, this world was his to play with. He was born to rule, and nothing would get in his way, there was no need to change anything for this insignificant worm.

"Kelk," the demon beckoned to one of his two bodyguards, a formidable figure with gray skin and impressive muscular stature, dressed in a classic black suit with a black tie.

"Yes, my liege," Kelk responded with a bow, the anticipation of his master's fickle nature evident.

"That girl we sent—the human one," the demon continued, an air of discomfort evident on his face, his nose wrinkling in response to a noxious scent. "Her scent—was it familiar to you?"

"indeed my liege, it was truly an unpleasant smell." In truth, the Familiar's sense of smell was long ruined by Leon's cruel torture.

"But for the life of me I cannot remember that smell," He panicked at not being able to answer

Kelk tensed, as he remembered his master prodding his eye out for not knowing the answer to a riddle.

"Forgive me my liege." He bowed

"For your life you say" a wicked grin appeared on Leon's face.

"Relax, Kelk," Leon laughed, patting his loyal servant on the shoulder. "I jest."

This slight reprieve did little to ease Kelk's anxiety, for the demon was renowned for his malevolence.

"Belk," the demon turned to his other bodyguard, an identical twin to Kelk, both dressed similarly in black attire.

Belk bowed just as Kelk had, offering a negative response. "No, my liege, but she appeared to be quite weak, with a life force unmatched by any other mortal. Perhaps, we don't even need to stay in this realm any longer."

"Perhaps she may even be your key to a straight ascension" Belk flattered him

Leon nodded and smiled as he looked at the sun. He knew that it was impossible to go from an Earl to a god in one shot, but something told him, if he harvested her negative emotions before sacrificing her it could be possible.

Leon, scoffed 'Just as I thought this world was made for me' He laughed, looking at the setting sun.