Ekterina Foruthflame is one of Arsnoria's most trusted generals, a demon who was in service to the Demon King even before her ascension to Demon Lord. She leads an army of one million demons, all of whom fear her strength and admire her beauty.
During the preparations for the war during the first Demon Human War, she alone opened a portal into the human world and wreaked havoc, killing all who didn't swear allegiance to the Demon King. After she was done, half of Diacree was a wasteland.
But fortunately for the humans, Promethius was waiting on the other side so she couldn't charge in blindly. As such, she lived among humans, disguising herself as them and speaking their language to deceive them.
She thought to herself that if Promethius was separated from his sword, he would be severely weakened and she would have a better chance at beating him even if he has Golden Aura. This wait proved worth it, as he did actually leave the sword in someone else's hands during events like festivals or banquets in the palace.
However, the woman he entrusted with his sword was someone beyond even his level—a walking calamity that felt like a towering titan next to him, a smaller titan.
Leaving the Holy Sword in her hands made it just more obvious how crucial it is to completing the Hero. And yet, this one woman was stronger than the actual wielder of that sword. Granted, the gap widens significantly when the Hero has the sword but Ekterina had never met any human that strong before.
Not even the Archmage Peulik at the time was such a threat.
Ekterina froze in that woman's presence, for even a glance could make her go stiff.
She learned from sources that Promethius had forced this woman to become his wife decades prior to his appearance on the battlefield. Surely, he had been stronger than her to do something like that?
But how did she manage to surpass him in less than a century?
No, the most important question is why she did not break free?
If Ekterina actually took the opportunity to attack Promethius, that woman would've cut her down.
She considered that woman—the former High Valkyrie—on the Demon King's level.
That is why… the two must never meet.
…
"!"
As if she was relieving the same nightmare that shook her very being to the core, Ekterina stared up at the large black silhouette frozen, its red eyes holding her in place.
This is a human?
No human she had ever met could explain what her mind saw: a mass that refused to take shape, writhing and collapsing in on itself, as if time and space bent around it. The longer she looked, the less she could tell if it had form at all. It was a being that should not exist, yet it had forced itself into her sight, into her thoughts.
It was as if the void itself had borrowed the pretense of a human body, only to mock the idea of humanity or stay confined in a human mind until it is given the opportunity to take control.
And then it smiled—though it had no mouth. Its amusement pressed into her skull like a hand squeezing her brain. A clawed shadow extended from its shape, cupping her chin with a tenderness so wrong it curdled her blood.
--I've never thought of fighting a Demon Lord before. I wonder how you scale compared to Guinevere.
Guinevere, the name of the Hero's Consort and the woman who must never meet the Demon King.
This "thing" knows her?
While not on the Demon King's level nor anywhere near Guinevere's, Ekterina felt that this individual could also wreak havoc on their forces—
And potentially kill one of the Demon Lords.
A question now remains… Must she prioritize her instincts and call her forces to retreat into the city walls… Or must she fulfil her duties as commander regardless of the threat?
--Oh? I can feel your killing intent even through the portal.
What? This thing is from the human world?! How is there something this strong lurking on the other side!?
While Ekterina was stiff, the silhouette bent down and whispered in her ear.
--Your bravado is cute but you should know your place.
"—Ekie!"
The black dimension surrounding her vanished and Ekterina fell on her knees.
"What's wrong? What did you see?"
Does she have the courage to confess she stood petrified before something her mind told her was human but another part refused to believe? That unknowing, that fracture between perception and reason, would reduce even the strongest predator to trembling prey.
"Lilith."
"?"
"I alone will go to the human world."
She will just have to see with her own eyes if the thing she saw was actually human.
◊◊
After the two arrived at Lilith's palace, they hurried down to the basement floors. Melissa was still behind Lilith.
'What the hell was that back there? What did these two see?'
There's no doubt that Ekterina is one of the Demon King's Lords.
And yet something managed to frighten her? Well, she doesn't seem any different so maybe she was just worried about their forces?
Maybe she saw Freya? That would mean Freya discovered one of these ritual sites they made and is actively pursuing them, which is a good thing. But given Lilith's explanation, it's also possible she was able to peek inside Melissa's lab and saw Freya there—which is the worst-case scenario for Melissa.
Regardless of which explanation holds true, the situation itself is bad. If this demon goes to the other side and kills Freya, Melissa's dreams will be crushed.
Forget losing the chance to become the Archmage's righthand, all her preparations and hard work will be crushed. She had thought that she would be prepared for a fight against the demons but many believed that demons wouldn't be able to invade for at least another hundred years.
The World Tree's diminishing glow made the Elves speculate that within the next century, the concentration of mana and divine energy would be so low that demon portals will be able to form once again.
"—Ekie, this is crazy! You can't go alone! We need to send the scouts first! And we haven't even heard back from the shamans yet!"
"The shamans have proved themselves unworthy of their roles." Ekterina replied without looking back, "They trained under the Watcher and managed to commit small mass murders to make it possible for our lifeforce to accumulate and yet they still failed to open one portal."
"That's… true…"
"Incompetency will be rewarded with death. If Lord Watcher won't do anything, I will execute them myself. This will motivate others to work harder."
"W-We can't just blame the shamans, you know! The other side has High Elves connecting themselves to the World Tree to keep a steady flow of divine energy in the atmosphere. Do you think mere shamans can fight against that?"
She stopped and turned to Lilith, "Lord Watcher is the one who came up with the plan to use a mass grave of humans injected with our lifeforce to create suitable conditions for us to send the Perdition Core through, which will then allow us to create more portals as if the other side is no different from our world. This is believed to naturally combat the High Elves' magic prowess. Tell me, do you doubt your own master's plan?"
"Lord Watcher can be wrong too! He never doubted himself for a second back when he tried to manipulate Peulik, thinking the human mind is feeble. But in the end Peulik was able to break free and give Freya instructions to take over maintaining the Intermid Border! Were it not for his cockiness, Freya never wouldn't have been able to reconstruct the barrier and keep the monsters on the edge out."
"Tch. Don't ever mention that in front of him, unless you want to be turned into one of his mana cores."
"Eek…"
The two entered a large open space that looked like a lab of some sort. There was equipment unfamiliar to Melissa all around them. The only thing she could recognize was a few containers. Other than that, it looked like any ordinary lab in the human world.
In the center was a circular machine connected to a terminal. You would think some intelligent ancient civilization crafted this but it was built by demon hands.
Ekterina began to strip. Well, she only wore bikini armor and limb guards so there wasn't much to take off.
Her hand then went through some invisible space and she pulled out a… school uniform? Melissa couldn't recognize the design but it looked like one of those old designs for academy uniforms but none in particular that she knew of. That said, despite being an old design, it looked almost brand new.
"You're seriously going to live as a human again!? That's dangerous! Remember, there are some individuals with ocular powers on the other side who will be able to see right through your disguise!"
"That doesn't matter. I'll kill them all." Ekterina suddenly grew shorter and her breasts and butt grew smaller. Upon looking down at herself, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Ekie…"
"Killing the Hero before he is able to escape the infancy stage of his growth will ensure Her Majesty will rule the entire world." She put on the skirt then the sailor top.
Noticing Lilith biting her lip, she approached the succubus, "You know this already but I probably won't return. Be sure to tell everyone to cease any operation to open more portals and retreat back to the city. I'll give a signal if I succeeded by opening one myself. And tell Her Majesty that I gave my life for her."
Lilith nodded while looking down. Ekterina chanted a spell and held two fingers to her temple.
"It's me. Give me the coordinates for any portal that opened. Oh, really? No, I can wait. If the humans aren't enough, I will use my own lifeforce to open one even if it takes a toll on me. No, I'm going in alone so call off all teams."
Ekterina tied up her hair after ending the transmission, "Looks like one of them succeeded but the portal is as small as an apple and even 10 000 humans weren't enough to open it completely. It's also very unstable. They stuck a branch through it, which skewered the branch apart upon pulling it out. Forget dying upon stepping through it, hopefully I don't die from fueling it myself."
"What are your plans… if you manage to kill the Hero? Is it the same as before?"
"Mostly. Once that barrier goes down—and I will ensure it does—our benefactor's brothers and sisters will charge and flatten the humans. Without the Hero, they won't have any chance of success. After that, we will reunite once again. Okay?"
She placed her hand on Lilith's cheek.
"Mm... Be careful, Sis."
Ekterina nodded then turned around, "Turn on the transporter. I will need to go to the exact coordinates they opened the port—"
A magic circle suddenly formed next to the two, cutting Ekterina off.
A demon with a hunched back, long nose and a wooden staff filled with hanging jewels appeared.
"Here you are, Madam Ekterina! We found a large portal in the Red Woods east of this castle!"
"What? Why didn't they relay anything to me? Lilith, you didn't see anything, did you?"
"No… But remember how we saw that creepy figure through the orb? I couldn't see the world clearly so that person must've blocked our sight somehow. I wasn't able to tell if that window opened in one of our sites."
"We're dealing with a powerful magician, huh? Good, I have the highest magic defense in the entire realm so they won't be a match for me." With a smirk, Ekterina boasted.
'Dammit, I need to leave now to close the portal!' This will break her connection with the Imp but ensuring these demons don't go through is the most important thing to do right now.
'They could even see through my illusion that hid the portal… I… I have to warn everyone at the academy.'
While simple, the illusion magic she uses is nearly undetectable unless the object or person moves, which in the latter case is impossible since it stays in one place. You would need to break that magic spell or use an anti-magic item in its radius, the latter which she suspects the demons used to break the illusion.
In any case, she's curious who is able to block off Lilith's clairvoyance. Magic items that allow clairvoyance can typically only be disrupted with stronger magic or counter magic items that can fight against spying magic items. While this convenient item exists, they are typically only given to royalty, officials in the government, high-status nobles, etc… Commoners and others not working in government positions have no need for this sort of item, which is why even if you have the money to buy it, you will still not be allowed to buy these.
Rosalyn might be the one who was blocking off the clairvoyance but this magic is quite high level so Melissa wasn't entirely sure if her friend knows how to counter the magic.
If it's someone else… Well, her ambitions will have to be cut short.
"Who opened this portal? We ought to reward them."
"None of us did, Madam! It just appeared and is more stable than anything we have ever created!"
Both demon ladies frowned.
"What's weirder is that the person who opened it, used some kind of low-level illusion magic."
'Low level!? That was a Third Rank magic spell, ugly hag!'
Her remark alludes to the fact that demons have greater magic than even humans. Of course, both sides have two ungodly powerful magicians—Freya York and the Watcher Demon. But the demons in front of Melissa are what you call "foot soldiers", and yet they can use magic beyond even Third Rank magic?
Demons are not only progressing faster than humans can, they are able to use spells beyond what the majority of humans are capable of.
Ekterina's remark of killing the shamans must mean that they're replaceable—therefore, there are more shamans and magicians with this insane magic potential.
Melissa learned many frightening things today.
"Were you able to use my clairvoyance pearls to see where the portal leads?" Lilith asked.
"We tried but… we couldn't look through."
"You had more of those?" asked Ekterina.
"The whole orb is a magic item so I broke some off and had them grinded into balls that everyone else can use. I can communicate with them if needed as well."
"I see." Ekterina looked at the hag, "Give me yours. I'll use the crystal ball to communicate with Lilith."
"Yes!" the hag quickly took out a white pearl the size of her hand and handed it to Ekterina.
"How does it work?"
"You just infuse your lifeforce into it." Lilith replied.
"Ah, so no different from its clairvoyancy."
"Yes, but there are limitations that you should be aware of. A constant supply of lifeforce is needed so only use it in emergencies, Ekie!"
"I got it." She put the crystal ball in the same empty space as the one she took her uniform out of.
"Judging by the situation, it would appear that there is a powerful mage on the other side. While we know you have the highest defense out of our entire race, that doesn't mean you're invincible in a fight against magicians, Ekie. Please don't make a ruckus and take care of them quickly and quietly."
"Yeah." Ekterina punched her fists together but it looked oddly cute since she looked exactly like a first-year student at Ardark, "The mage must've been the one who opened the portal."
"Since it had the illusion spell concealing it, they must've tried to come here temporarily." The Hag suggested.
"Maybe, or they sent someone through and are keeping it open until that person returns."
Melissa got chills even though none of them looked at her. In fact, no one would suspect a mindless Imp of such a thing.
"Whether gathering intel or trying to learn about how we live—We don't know why they would come here but unless it's to pledge allegiance, I will just kill them. Take me there, Hag Witch."
"Yes, Madam!"
Melissa hurriedly broke off the spell and her vision darkened.
She has to turn off the portal… now.
**
"This is it then…"
The Hag brought Ekterina to the demon portal that led to the other side. Upon arriving, she noticed that there were other demons, most from the other teams tasked with opening the portals, there as well.
"Your Grace!" all of them, thirty or so in total, bowed. Of course, their "teammates" didn't know the concept of respecting your superiors so the pale white creatures just stood there, drooling endlessly.
Ekterina could sense their fear once they laid eyes on her. Despite being mindless creatures, they knew she was stronger than all of them combined.
She had been in bed with many ugly demons in her lifetime but these creatures exceeded the concept of "ugly". She found it strange how even Lilith hasn't considered bedding one of them even though they have intact genitals.
She recalls her dear sworn sister saying something along the lines of "they're creepy, Ekie."
"Where is your representative? Radius, was his name." thinking he would be able to explain what was going on, she sought him out.
"That's the thing…" The Hag scratched her cheek, "Radius' signature vanished right here. I assumed he was in danger so I came here as fast as I could."
"He should have relayed the portal sighting back to HQ. He won't go unpunished for this." But that doesn't matter right now, "He must be on the other side then."
The thing is, how did he manage to fit through there?
The portal was even smaller than the average Imp. Wait a minute, Imps don't have a lot of bones in their bodies and are known to be quite flexible. Could someone have opened this portal specifically to put Imps through there so that they can wreak havoc on the other side?
They may be weak and small to demon standards but the average Imp was stronger than the average human strongman. That said, there are more powerhouses capable of handling these Imps, known as "adventurers" so sending Imps through is just a waste of time and effort.
Ekterina held her hand above the portal. A black ash-like energy began to pour into the portal, then making it bigger.
She could literally feel the life being drained out of her.
"It's growing in size!? I thought we needed dead humans injected with our lifeforce!"
Ekterina, eyes blurry, spoke, "I was tasked with finding a way to ensure armies of our kin could cross into the human world, while I lived amongst them hundreds of years ago. Through countless research and observation, I found out that when a certain number of corpses are gathered in a single point—whether demons or humans injected with our lifeforce—a portal forms."
"I see! So that is why you were put in charge, Your Grace! I was only following orders and never thought to ask…"
"Use that knowledge wisely in the event my journey to the other side fails."
She was essentially telling them to consider killing themselves to fuel a portal. Humans would probably flinch at this, but demons—even the fodder—will do whatever is required of them if it means killing the Hero or making sure their King can go through to the other side.
"Understood!"
The energy vanished and before them stood a portal that was about two meters tall, enough to fit many types of demons. But this portal was only for her—
For she had pledged to ensure her king can rule the human world.
Their goal thus far had been to only open a portal no matter how small. Volunteers lined up to offer their lives to be used in human sacrifice rituals to ensure the portals could remain open.
But the lifeforce of a demon lord was like the lifeforce of 100 000 demons or even more.
"Don't follow. Anyone who crosses over will be cut down."
The demons went stiff upon receiving her glare.
"I can't risk fodder getting in the way or distracting me. Go inform Her Majesty that I shall tackle this alone once again!"
"Y-Yes, Madam Ekterina!" The hag vanished.
Similarly, the other magicians teleported the rest away.
Ekterina was left on her own as she faced the portal.
For some reason… she was petrified herself.
But what was this feeling?
Why did this portal give off so much dread? Of course, it's a demon portal but it should only give off dread in the perspective of humans. To demons, it's like regular portals.
Whoever the magician on the other side was—
They wanted to meet face to face…
With a Demon Lord.