I sat on my throne of darkness, feeling the power coursing through my veins. Zereth and Rena knelt before me with bowed heads, awaiting praise or perhaps punishment for their mission just completed.
"You have satisfied me enough," I said, my voice flat but with a hint of satisfaction.
"Thank you, My Lord," Zereth and Rena said in unison, their voices echoing in the vast throne room.
"I have received the artifact you sent," I said to Zereth, reaching for something from beside the throne.
I pulled out a golden ring with intricate carvings that emitted a faint light. The blue gemstone in the center glinted like a living eye, radiating a powerful magical aura.
"I have tested this artifact. It only increases regeneration. Not as fast as I had hoped, but quite useful for the elven race," I said, twirling the ring on my index finger.
"I found it in a church, My Lord. It likely belonged to one of the paladins who died in battle long ago," Zereth said respectfully.
I looked at the artifact once more and placed it on the middle finger of my left hand. A warm sensation immediately spread throughout my body, accelerating the healing of minor wounds I hadn't even noticed.
"We will attack Guildfort village to lure the paladins out of their lair," I said, rising from the throne with graceful yet intimidating movements.
"I also want to see the results of your training firsthand. Don't waste this opportunity to prove yourself," I said with a piercing gaze.
"Yes, My Lord!" Zereth and Rena said with controlled enthusiasm.
I walked out of the throne room with echoing footsteps. Outside, my demon army was lined up in order, awaiting orders. Their red eyes glowed in the darkness, their fangs and claws ready to tear their enemies.
"You better not disappoint me tonight," I said to the demons in a cold but authoritative voice.
"YES, MY KING!" they said in unison, their voices booming like thunder.
The border village of Guildfort straddled the fine line between the fertile lands of the kingdom and the dangerous wilderness. The villagers were used to facing attacks by bandits and forest monsters, but that night, their peaceful lives were torn apart in a way they could never have imagined in their worst nightmares.
The once-starry sky suddenly turned as thick as ink. Dark clouds gathered rapidly, obscuring the full moon. Black shadows descended from the wilderness, massive demonic wings flapping ominously against the eerie night mist.
"Demons… demons are coming!!" The first scream from the tower guard set the village bells ringing frantically, waking everyone from their slumber.
The village men quickly scrambled to raise their blunt spears and makeshift arrows. The women screamed hysterically, clutching their children. But before they could form a proper defense, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble in a strange and terrifying manner.
I stepped out of the forest darkness with a terrifying aura. His blood-red mask glowed faintly in the remaining moonlight, casting a terrifying shadow across the villagers' terrified faces.
"Riversholt Village was just a warm-up. Now, let's try something more… interesting," I said in a voice that echoed like a voice from the abyss.
My hand slowly rose into the air. Dark red runes rose from the ground, encircling the entire village in a perfect circle. The complex ancient symbols began to glow with increasing intensity, then slowly sank into the ground as if absorbed by the earth itself.
[GRAVITY FIELD - MAXIMUM PRESSURE]
BOOOMM!!!
As if the world itself were pressing down on their bodies with a giant, invisible hand, the gravity throughout the entire village suddenly increased tenfold. The fleeing village warriors immediately fell to the ground with a crash, their bodies glued to the ground as if glued by a supernatural force.
Weapons slipped from their trembling hands, and newly fired arrows fell to the ground before even reaching a height of two meters. Bones began to creak under the immense pressure.
Screams of pain and terror filled the entire village. "I… I can't move!!" "My legs… feel like a mountain has fallen on them!!" "Help… I can't breathe!!"
I stared at them coldly, the eyes behind my mask gleaming with sadistic satisfaction. "Now I understand why a demon's body becomes so strong, not just because of age and training. By manipulating the natural laws of this world, we can create truly absolute power."
Zereth stepped forward confidently, the greatsword in his hand gleaming ominously. He moved fluidly and easily, as if the deadly gravity runes had no effect on him at all. "What are your orders, My Lord?"
I nodded in satisfaction. "Slaughter everyone here and spare only one. We need a witness who can escape so that word of our new power spreads further and faster."
Rena raised her two dark swords, radiating a terrifying aura. Her body moved like a shadow, dancing among the helplessly struggling villagers. With elegant yet deadly movements, one head after another was cleanly severed. Fresh blood flowed freely onto the ground, which cracked under the immense pressure of gravity.
An old woman desperately tried to drag her toddler grandson away, but the pressure of the gravity runes pressed down on her until her spine snapped with a terrible thud. Her body crumpled under the crushing, invisible weight.
The child's cries echoed heartbreakingly throughout the village, before Rena's sword ended the child's suffering with one swift, cold slash.
A strong blacksmith tried to rise with his forged weapon, but gravity pressed down on him, bending the iron in his hands and vomiting blood before his neck was severed by Zereth's claws.
I stood tall amidst the utter devastation, the gravity runes still burning brightly around me. Human bodies clung to the ground like wet paper, some completely crushed, others gasping for breath from the compression of their lungs.
However, one young elf man, who looked about twenty years old, had been deliberately kept alive.
His body was trembling violently, his eyes filled with tears and mucus. "P... p-please... don't kill me... I have a wife... a child..."
I approached at a leisurely pace, bent down, and patted the man's face with my blood-soaked glove. "Live and remember what you saw tonight. Tell the church... tell everyone in the world... that a masked demon with the power to suppress even the earth has come to claim this world."
I raised my hand and released the gravity runes. The man immediately coughed violently, then stumbled to his feet and ran out of the village at top speed, carrying terror and trauma with him.
"Zereth, Rena," I called, gazing at the destruction around me. "Burn everything that remains. Leave nothing usable."
A blazing red flame burned the entire village of Guildfort to the ground. From a distance, the red light reflected dramatically off the surface of my blood-stained mask.
"This gravity rune is just the beginning of a much larger experiment," I murmured in a low, ambitious voice. "I will bring this entire world to its knees before me, one by one, village by village, until nothing remains but ashes and memories."