Prologue

When the lands of Thersyat were invaded by demons, few had the courage to revolt. These monsters began by subjugating small villages before gradually attacking large cities to make them their homes. The world could have descended into fear and madness. But fortunately, there are humans whose temerity has no equal, strangers who put their lives on the line to defend the population and repel the enemy. Julius Childhearth was one of those individuals who were called "heroes" because they dared to face danger, the demon hunters. This profession was not only intended to prevent the demons from occupying the villages and proliferating; hunters also had a duty to eliminate evil at its root, by destroying enemy castles. Julius had set up a small team of mercenaries with his friends, they had a string of successes; there was Deus the brute with his club, Ellyn the loyal with his halberd, Maia the benevolent with her bow, and Albert the proud with his revolvers. As for Julius, known as "the valiant", he always carried his divine sword: Validus.

"Let's go my friends, this is our last fight!" he said.

The small band had just arrived in front of the castle of Lord Duke Drake Van Del, the most powerful and formidable leader of the demons. The members of the team, led by Chief Childhearth, were already recognized as the greatest heroes of the kingdom of Thersyat, but this latest confrontation will finally make them legendary as the saviours of humanity.

"Don't you think more members should have been recruited." worried the beautiful Maia, tying her golden hair.

"No, no one in the whole kingdom can claim the same title as us." retorted Albert, arrogant as usual.

"And we've been in worse places before." seconded Deus him, who was finishing his warm-up.

"The chef believes in us!" said Ellyn, whose eyes were shining with sincerity.

All, following these words, uttered a warrior cry to give themselves strength and courage.

[a few minutes later]

The monsters cornered the heroes from all sides in the old mansion. They were vampire tigers, higher rank creatures; that even the highest hunters struggled to duel. Their two fangs had the capacity to poison an elephant!

"Some come from above." Ellyn exclaimed at the sight of three vampire tigers at the top of the stairs.

"And I'm out of ammunition, my bow is useless." Maia panicked.

At the same time, a tiger approached her and wanted to bite her. Albert struck him with the small daggers he used to wear in his belt. The monster took a few steps back, displeased. The young man made a face at her.

"Don't worry, honey, I've got you covered." he said, slapping his chest confidently.

"Pass him one of your daggers instead of fooling around." argued Ellyn who knew how to keep serious in all circumstances.

"I rather will use magic; it will be easier." Maia finally said.

The shy young woman began to recite and a halo of light appeared above her head. [Perforans Sagittas] Arrows of light came out of the glowing circle and flew in all directions, which had the effect of injuring several enemies together.

"Divine magic really is the best thing against these monsters." Deus exclaimed. Maia was recognized as the most gifted in magic of the team. She even mastered up to the fifth circle of the arcana, which is extremely rare in the world. They didn't call her "the magic princess" for nothing.

Once rid of the tigers, the small group moved cautiously up the stairs, with Julius in front, of course. The floor seemed empty, the silence absorbing the entire atmosphere. A corridor stretched on either side to infinity; Childhearth pointed to the right and everyone followed him. After a while, they passed sleeping skeleton guards. They are intelligent mid-rank enemies who are strong in sheer numbers; but they are considered the slaves of demons. In the distance, we could already see a door similar to that of a boss.

"Let's put an end to the suffering of these scoundrels without them realizing it and let's enter through the door" whispered Julius.

The skeletons suddenly woke up, as if they had been pretending all along. At this moment, Maia uttered a shrill cry; a huge stain of blood was accumulating on his abdomen. Everyone discovered with shock that a second group of skeletons had taken advantage of the general inattention to attack treacherously behind the girl's back. Julius, Ellyn, and Deus froze in horror; but Albert, mad with rage, jumped directly at the creatures.

"Abominable Hellspawn, I won't let you get away with it!" he screamed in despair.

In front of him the Skeleton Guards laughed out loud, shaking their spears in all directions. On the other side, the monsters had started savagely attacking the other party members, trying to block their movements. [Divini Fulgur Vestis] White lightning covered Ellyn's halberd, which was able to free itself from the monstrous tide. She then went to help Julius.

"Thank you, go join Deus, I'll take care of Albert." he told her without hesitation.

Then the chief ran towards his comrade overwhelmed on all sides. Albert was an arrogant and proud boy; but his love for the sweet Maia had completely made him lose his mind. He wanted to protect best the now lifeless body of his beloved. "I will save you; I will save you" he kept repeating.

"Albert wake up, Maia is already dead." Julius tried to reason with him as he approached, tears in the eyes. "We must save our energy to defeat the lord, let's do this for her!"

"You're right, it's all the fault of the demons, these infernal miscreants." Albert suddenly corrected himself, clutching his revolvers with all his might.

At this moment, a wave of skeletons came at breakneck speed from the end of the corridor, pushing high-pitched cries to make the eardrums bleed. Julius grabbed Albert by the hand and led him towards the large half-open door; closely followed by Deus and Ellyn. But the monsters were faster than them and were getting dangerously close.

"We're running out of time, I'll hold them back, go ahead." Deus said, knowing the risks he was taking.

The others nodded. Julius, Albert and Ellyn passed through the door, which automatically closed behind them with a loud thump. They had arrived in a room with a throne in its centre, raised by a grand staircase; it is on this throne that one could distinguish an imposing silhouette.

"You are no match for me." came the voice on the throne. "It's already a chance that you made it this far."

It was Lord Duke Drake Van Del himself. Demons physically resemble humans; except they have sharp teeth and a lizard-like tail. Drake was the closest thing to a middle-aged man. The demon raised his arm, he held in his hand a cracked stone from which escaped a slight yellow light. "Watch out" Julius shouted to the others as he shielded himself. Drake shattered the stone and a wave of light dazzled the room. Ellyn imitated her leader; but Albert, who had no time to close his eyes, found himself petrified. Only the surprise remained present on his face of statue.

"Freak!" cursed Julius.

Drake instantly appeared right in front of Julius. The latter, in his fury, seized the opportunity and cut off his neck with a blow of his divine sword. [Caelum Perditor Blade]

But it wasn't Drake's head that hit the ground, it was his friend Ellyn's. A spurt of blood stained Julius' flaming armor. The decapitated body collapsed in turn.

"Ha, you're fooled by a simple illusion, what a naive human" scoffed Drake who was finally still seated on the throne.

In shock, Julius fell to his knees. Drake teleported in front of him and grabbed him by the collar, which had the effect of keeping him in the air from the height of his three meters. An evil power seemed to enter Childhearth's body, his veins appeared everywhere and his eyes bled. The world around him gradually grew grey until it was nothing more than a huge fog.

"Farewell fragile human, you will regret not being born a demon with the strength to live." proclaimed the demon.

"Regret ? don't make me laugh" thought Julius before sinking.

Finally, he saw light, peace, serenity. A sweet feeling invaded his heart without fears. Julius told himself that the world could well be destroyed by demons, it was no longer his responsibility; and then his death was only surely due to fate. He will be able to see his friends and comrades again. But at the end of the tunnel, it wasn't what he thought was waiting for him; two huge heads, a man and a woman, smiling blissfully before him. Looking better at their teeth, they were two demons.

"Oscar, my son, you are as beautiful as an angel" said the demon woman.

"What???" Julius shouted inwardly.

"Ba!" he let out of his mouth like a baby.