Torien sat atop a hill, watching the human camp through his looking glass.
He then turned toward his troops, who were further up the hill, placing large gemstones along the rocks.
"You guys place them all!?" he called up to them.
Some of them turned, and one of them responded with a shout, "Just a few left, Captain!"
Torien thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It's okay, you can leave the rest. This should be enough!"
The devils watched him for a while, then shrugged as they made their way down from the rocks.
"Alright," Torien muttered.
He then looked to the devil standing beside him.
"Kon, could you hand me the bolt?" he asked, extending his hand.
The devil named Kon nodded and pulled a small vial from his pack, inside of which was a deep red liquid.
Torien took it, then flicked open the cap.
"Captain are you sure you don't want one of us to do it?"
Torien turned to the voice on his left. It was Kilt, a worried expression crossing his face.
Torien smiled and shook his head.
"No, you guys placed all the gems. This is the least I can do."
"But, Captain—"
Before Kilt could say anything more, Torien brought the vial to his lips and downed the bolt in one sip.
Immediately, it kicked in. Upon drinking the liquid, Torien felt an awful burning in his stomach, as if he'd eaten a hot coal or swallowed boiling water. He wanted to scream and cry. But he could afford to do neither—not in front of his troops.
So, he endured. And eventually, after a while, the painful sensation faded, replaced by power.
Torien grinned. He loved this feeling.
Raising his hand, he directed it toward one of the gemstones resting on the rocks.
"Everyone, get out of the way," he said.
They did so, and once Torien was sure everyone was at a safe distance, a ball of fire emerged in his palm.
A small vial of bolt could sustain about two fireballs, but Torien only needed one...
The ball of flame swelled, then Torien fired. The blast soared through the air—not too fast but not slow either. It curved and landed directly on top of one of the gemstones.
Reacting to the flames, the gemstone began to glow. Then, within the same second—
"BOOOOOOM!"
The gemstone exploded, creating a chain reaction, setting off the others.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
One by one, each gemstone exploded, kicking up flame, smoke, rocks, and dirt.
Hearing the noise, men in the camp below scrambled to their feet, searching for their weapons and trying to get in position—but it was already too late.
Once the smoke from the explosions cleared, the rocks began to lurch. Then, like a dam breaking, they all began to fall, creating a rockslide.
The rocks tumbled down onto the campsite below, crushing everything in sight...
Torien smiled at the chaos. The sounds of screams, cries, and bones snapping... the sight of men getting crushed into mush, the stones getting covered in guts and blood.
Once all the stones had fallen, Torien turned to his troops, a smirk still on his face.
"Now then," said Torien, "let's play a game. Head down—and whoever kills the most stragglers wins!"
His troops grinned and pumped their fists, letting out a shout in agreement.
Each devil eagerly headed down as Torien stayed above, looking down on them.
One of the men who had survived was screaming in agony, his legs and torso smashed under a boulder.
Kilt watched the human for a moment, then brought his blade down through their neck. The human gurgled and blood spilled from his mouth. Shortly after, he stopped moving…
Kilt looked around as the rest of the troops gleefully ran around, stabbing their blades into whoever remained.
Then he turned to see Kon standing behind him, watching. Finally, Kilt looked up toward their captain, still standing on the hill, a calm expression on his face.
His sharp features, pale skin, and bright red hair were illuminated by the moon behind him.
"Y'know, Kon…" Kilt said.
Kon looked up at Kilt, hearing his name.
"Yes?" Kon replied.
"Despite being a human… sometimes that guy seems more like a devil than we do."
Kon stayed silent.
Torien, noticing Kilt's gaze, turned toward him and shot him a smile.
For whatever reason, that smile gave Kilt an awful sense of unease…
In response he quickly shied away and went off to hunt down more stragglers.
A year earlier…
Torien walked quickly through the halls of the castle. The warm sun filtered through the windows, and it felt nice on his face.
He then heard footsteps coming from behind him, and before he got the chance to turn, an arm slumped over his shoulder. He already knew who it was.
"Hey, lil' bro, let's spar!"
Torien finally glanced to his left. Sure enough, his sister Milenna stood there, a wide smile on her face. Her light red skin practically glowed under the sunlight.
"Sorry, but I can't right now," Torien said, removing her arm from his shoulder.
He readjusted his collar and took a step forward.
"Father called me in."
Hearing this, a surprised look crossed Milenna's face.
"Really? After you weren't at the last meeting, I figured…" Her voice trailed off.
Torien turned his head back to her and smiled.
"So did I… but who knows, it could be nothing. Regardless of what it is though I'm just happy to serve Father in any way I can."
Milenna let out a laugh. "You're too good of a son, you know that?"
"Hardly," Torien replied, taking a step forward. He continued walking without turning back.
Milenna watched him go, then shrugged. "Guess I'll go find Tis."
****
After a bit more walking, Torien arrived at the large black doors leading into his father's office—the Devil King's office.
He gave the door a knock and waited a moment until he heard a low voice from the other side.
"Come in…" the voice said.
Torien took a gulp, then pushed open the huge doors…
To be continued...