Standing beneath the Moonlight, a being wearing black full plate armour, trimmed with gold, and a matching great helmet with horns out of the top for intimidation purposes. The only thing visible was their red eyes inside the helmet's sights.
They stood on a large balcony attached to a tower that was twice as tall as the castle it overlooked. They would look up at the Moon, which was called the Goddess's eyes, two moons that circled in perfect orbit, opposite of each other. Whether day or night, the Moon, the Goddess, was always watching.
The Demon Lord would glare at the moon; their might was well known by the world, and even the Goddess herself feared it. Thirty Heroes have already been slain as the Goddess would summon a new hero each day in hopes one could stop the Demon Lord, but knew deep down none could succeed. They didn't know how many Heroes were in the world right now, strengthening themselves in the vain attempt to stop them.
No matter what gifts the Goddess gave the Heroes, they couldn't stop the Demon Lord. In the thirty battles with different Heroes, they have always come out unscathed. Their defensive magic was near impregnable, but even greater than that was their offensive magic. Having mastered every magic possible and even created a new magic that combines every spell effect perfectly into a single strike, nothing could stop it: Immortality, invincibility, regeneration, no matter how strong the gift, it couldn't protect everything. The proof was in the few heroes who were still alive: reduced to a vegetative state, aged to where their own muscles can't support their weight, and paralyzed with pain striking every nerve within their body.
While glaring at the moon, a golden object descended from it, known as the Goddess's tears. Each tear was the arrival of a Hero, but this one seemed different. Wherever the tear landed, the Hero would begin his journey to get stronger, but this one was headed straight for the Demon Lord. Was it a coincidence or planned? Could the Goddess not directly control where Heroes landed, or did she have some plan?
As the golden object approached, the Demon lord lifted their hand in front of them like lifting an invisible object, and the Golden Tear would be wrapped in gravity magic, stopping before the Demon Lord. With a wave of their other hand, the golden magic was brushed away, leaving a blonde-haired boy, wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans, hovering in the air. The Demon Lord didn't look too much at his appearance since this Hero would no longer exist.
With the hand that brushed away the golden magic, they pointed their finger at the Hero and shot a colourful beam of magic, the Demon Lord's magium ops spell. The colours merged in a psychedelic way, blasting towards the Hero. Despite floating, the Hero could still move their arms and legs, but he couldn't do anything except use his arms to brace for the impact.
Before the magic struck, it swirled in a circular motion, avoiding the boy and heading back towards the Demon Lord. They quickly raised the greatest magic shield they could, creating multiple layers instantly, showing his magical prowess, but the spell coming back towards him was his magmim opis and couldn't be overcome. As the spell struck the Demon Lord's shield, one of its many effects took place and engulfed the shield surrounding them. From the ground below to the sky above, everywhere the Demon Lord looked, all he could see was his magic surrounding him. Melting, zapping, corroding, and worst, assimilating everything it came into contact with.
The Magic fed on the target's own energy to grow stronger, so right now the magic was feeding on the shield, absorbing each layer into itself before reaching the Demon Lord. The Hero didn't know what was happening inside that spell as it absorbed everything, including sound.
The Gravity magic had already been released when the Demon Lord focused on defence, so all he could do was watch as the colours slowly started to darken and become black, solidifying, then collapsing into what looked like white dust, similar to salt.
Before the Hero can collect himself, a voice called out, "Your Majesty, we need to discuss something." The Hero tries to get away, but when he turns to run in the opposite direction of the voice, he notices something half his size looking up at him.
They wore a brown cloak covering their eyes, with two green glowing eyes staring up at them. The Hero tries to run around them, but the creature with the brown cloak jumped back and shot something from its mouth, covering the entire area in front of the Hero with webs, and when he stepped on it, it immediately slowed his advance.
This gave time for three others to appear from inside the tower, heading towards the Hero. One was a large Minotaur beast, wearing armour over his arms and shoulders but leaving his chest exposed like a gladiator. The beast was over twice his height but had its black hair perfectly combed from head to toe.
Next to the Minotaur was a female fish, walking on two legs with a mist covering it from the neck down, making the hero unsure if the creature was creating water and swimming through it or if it could walk. Its face seemed almost human except the ears looked more like fins, and the completely black eyes. When it locked eyes with the hero, it bared its fangs, showing razor-sharp teeth like an angler fish.
The final one was a giant humanoid bird, its head was that of an eagle, with large talons, and its arms were folded wings, wrapped perfectly behind itself so its wings looked like a cape of white feathers.
All three looked at the Hero, then, with some chattering that he couldn't understand coming from the creature in the brown cloak, the three glared at the pile of white dust in horror. The Minotaur was the first to take action, rushing forward with its fist raised high to smash the hero into mush, but as he struck down, his fist suddenly curved, punching deep into his gut. Bending over with the wind knocked out, the Minotaur gasped for air as his eyes were wide open.
The Humanoid bird was about to move forward when the fish lady extended the fog to stop him before saying something in a language the Hero couldn't understand. Then, some strange chanting by the fish lady, a bubble created by magic surrounded him. The hero was confused for a few moments; it wasn't filling with water, and the magic wasn't touching him, but soon he realized what was happening. The air was finite, and the magical webs on the ground had been slinking up his body, preventing him from moving.
Clenching his chest as the Hero's eyes dart around, only for him to collapse onto the ground, gasping for air and passing out.
The Hero would slowly awaken, tied up with the magical webs the small creature with the brown cloak made. As he looked around, he noticed a damp, dark stone room like a dungeon, but with enough tools around him that it was a torture room. The four creatures he saw on the balcony were in the room with him.
"Awake," A strange, almost gargled, struggling voice stated. It came from the cloaked creature, its eyes glaring at the hero.
The other three that he saw looked damaged and bruised all over their body. "I thought he would be asleep a little longer." The Fish creature stated in an alluring but exaggerated voice.
"With what we did, I'm surprised he was out as long as he was, Sirena," The Minotaur stated, looking down at the Fish creature.
Something dawns on the hero as he listens to them, "Huh, I can understand you?"
The one called Sirena nods, "Yeah, there is a brain parasite inside you, well, the third one, but it converts the sound you hear and say into something more understandable, like a foreign accent."
"There are three parasites inside my head!?" The Hero yells, panicked.
"There is only one living one, the other two died in our experiments," Sirena lamented. "Attempting to eat your brain caused two of them to die; one was just to kill you, and the other gave you the effect, but tried to inject poison after, but neither worked. As long as the effect is beneficial to you and never becomes harmful, the skill doesn't activate."
"Experiments, huh," the Hero states, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Torogar tried to subject you to any amount of physical pain, while Zeph used magic, all to figure you out." As Sirena explained, the Hero understood why they all looked so injured; everything they did was redirected back at them, much like the Demon Lord's spell.
Zeph, the bird-looking creature, shook his head, "The Goddess really got us with this one. Your ability isn't that bad once you realize how it works, but to throw you at the rare moment the Demon Lord is alone, we underestimated her cunning."
"I doubt that was her plan," The hero sighed.
"Oh, what do you mean by that?" Torogar asked?
"If I tell you, will you promise to be nice, and not to torture or kill me?" The Hero asked hopefully.
"It doesn't hurt your chances," Zeph replied.
The Hero lets out a sigh, "Well, I don't know how you know about heroes, but I'm from another world. I was killed in that world. I never saw who did it, but I felt a knife pierce me from behind."
"Should have at least been wearing armour," Zepher interrupted.
"Umm, people don't wear armour in my world." The Hero quickly replied. "Though it isn't uncommon for people to carry weapons, and we just wore clothes like what I wear."
Zeph remained dumbstruck for a moment, "Someone large like Torogar I could understand, but people with your build, carry weapons and don't wear armour?" It was something Zeph couldn't wrap his head around.
"It's kind of a rule you don't attack people," The Hero made a strained laugh.
"And you apparently died," Sirena quickly pointed out.
"Anyway, I suddenly woke up in a place of pure white, with a silver throne floating above. A woman who was my very definition of beauty sat on the throne."
"She stated that I would be reincarnated in another world, and I would be granted my greatest desire if I killed the demon lord, and to assist, I'd be given one ability from desire. That desire was to never be attacked again. The Goddess misinterpreted that desire as indestructibility and said. 'Another indestructible hero, I don't want the people to waste resources on another failure, I'll make this quick then. Actually, I think I can make use of you, Indestruitability, terminal velocity, yeah, if I'm lucky, you might be able to hurt the Demon Lord if you ram right into him from this height.' With a terrible smile, I was given the desire in my head, the ground opened up beneath me, and I plummeted towards the ground. I fell, was attacked, and here I am." The Hero finished giving his explanation.
Sirena thought for a moment, "But you're not indestructible; your ability redirects physical harm, it seems it was misinterpreted." Sirena became lost in thought again before turning to the cloaked creature, "Zee, can you tell me how the world is reacting to the Demon Lord's death?"
Zee's eyes looked up to Sirena, "No. Reaction."
"It's been a couple of days, and none of the countries are preparing or anything?" Sirena reasked in shock.
"No. Reaction." Zee Repeated.
"So the Goddess really did just drop you. I always thought she could see all with the moons, but I guess it was an exaggeration. Then we have to just make it seem the Demon Lord isn't dead." Sirena decalred.
"Oh, and you're gonna take his place? I ain't obeying something that looks like my lunch," Zeph declared spitefully.
"Then it should be me, only I have the strength!" Torogar bellowed loudly.
"Our Demon Lord was a master of magic and intelligence, not a muscle-bound brute," Sirena pointed out coldly.
Tensions continued to rise between the three of them, and to no surpise Torogar prepared to throw the first punch, with Zeph countering with scicles of wins surrounding him, and Sirena producing iceshards.
The moment before the three of them clashed, however, a web shot out from Zee, grabbed the chair the Hero was on and pulled him between the three of them. His gift activated, redirecting the three attacks back at them.
The Hero crashed onto the ground face-first as Torogar was winded again by his own fist, with the wind and water scratching and drawing blood from Zeph and Sirena. The Hero quickly understood another weakness of his gift, magic that doesn't touch him like the bubble, or unintended damage, as Zee had no intention of hurting the Hero but stopping the others; his bruises were an unplanned occurrence, so the gift couldn't redirect anything.
"Rule. No. Fighting," Zee stated.
"Oh, you think you're gonna lead?" Zeph asked, clenching his wounds.
Zee shook its head and pointed to the Hero, "Demon. Lord."
Torogar lifted the chair back upright as the four of them looked at the Hero and considered Zee's idea. With the right motivation and insurance, it might just work.
"From this moment on, your name is Vex."