He had been willed into life eons ago, before heaven and earth were created. It was a simple coincidence. When Veldanava the Creator built seven seraphim out of the great elemental spirit of light, that also gave birth to those associated with the shadows behind them. Those were the Devil Lords, the seven Primal Demons derived from the great elemental spirit of darkness—and he was the first, the king of the underworld, the core realm of darkness.
He was an absolute ruler, darkness personified, from the moment he was born, an arrogant king who forced all other demons to do his bidding. His brothers and sisters, to him, were no different from the many other clans that existed. They fought for supremacy, jostled one another for position; two of the Primals even joined hands to challenge him. But he made them all bend to his will without experiencing a moment of pain.
It was like child's play to him, but through it all, he discovered one thing. The Primal Demons were immortal…but if their heart cores could be crushed, they would be forced to serve the victor when they revived. As spiritual life-forms, they'd be subservient to those they lost to.
Once that truth was discovered, the remaining four independent Primals fell into a stalemate. Not all of them, however. A lone holdout continued to trouble the king, but now that he had been called to the surface, his fate was separate from the others. Was this summoning a mere coincidence, or…? There was no way to tell now—but in fact, that event would change the king's fate enormously.
Called forth, he looked at his surroundings. He had grown lazy in the peace of the underworld, oblivious to the passage of time on the surface.
The world—likely just created—already had civilization developing on it.
Instantly, he understood that he had been summoned. This was magic, the ability to rewrite the laws of the world.
The powers he enjoyed in the underworld were now limited; he could only produce the force of a newborn Arch Demon. That was enough for him, but lacking a body was tremendously inconvenient. He thought over why this had happened and quickly came up with an answer. He was in the demi-material world, not the realm of spiritual life-forms. The space around him wasn't infused with magicules; simply being here consumed his at a ferocious rate.
He had no relationship with the Creator. He didn't understand what changes had happened to the world. It was fascinating, he thought. But he did find the presence wailing about something in front of him displeasing. Back when he was the strongest demon in the underworld, nobody would dare try something so reckless and foolish. So he held out for a bit to see what this was about.
The wizard who called for him gave him a long-winded speech. He was speaking in the First Language, a magical tongue, so he had no trouble comprehending it.
Deigning to hear this wizard out, he found the speech to be quite interesting. The world now had nations, all fighting one another for dominance. A variety of species had been born—the elves, the dwarves, the beastmen, the vampires, the humans—and all of them were fighting for survival. This wizard was known as a High Human.
"You have become my servant," the arrogant man told him. "You will follow the rules of this world and carry out my orders."
The man commanded him to destroy the nations that competed for supremacy with the Supreme Magic Empire, a nation attempting to unify the world under its rule. That, to him, was a simple task. The war had raged for more than a hundred years, but with his arrival, it came to an end.
All he did was carry out a single magic spell—the forbidden nuclear magic Death Streak. The fury of this large-scale magic, destructive enough to even destroy souls, turned the largest of the rival nations and its population of more than one million into a city of death.
It was simply the way things were to him, and it didn't pain him at all. But
there was one fascinating change. Earning the souls of all these humans, he realized he had been awakened. As a result, he successfully used these million corpses to obtain his own physical body.
This vessel felt so comfortable to him. Even drowsiness, experienced by him for the first time, was blissful, and he loved trying to resist it. This was the birth of the first true demon lord in the world.
Earning this power, he now realized he was freed from the magic that once held him down. It was a simple curse, one he easily could've torn down, but merely flying off without doing anything else would just make things boring. It appeared now that gathering ten thousand human souls had kicked off his awakening. The seal on his species was released, and he became a Demon Peer.
This still gave him less than 10 percent of the powers he had on hand in the underworld, but on the surface world, he was unparalleled in strength. Then he wondered. What if he gathered an even larger number of souls?
He knew the perfect person to experiment with. The man who had asked him for all those petty favors earlier. He had the perfect way to pay him back for that.
Returning to the original city, he killed anyone who crossed his path, avoiding any mass-destruction magic so his target wouldn't be caught in it. He could feel the screams, the wailings, of the soon-to-be-dead carving themselves into his soul. "Gi-yaaaaahh!!" they screamed.
Then he thought:
Yes… That may just be perfect for my "name."
The change was dramatic. His name was now Guy, and he evolved even further, becoming a Devil Lord and finally regaining the full power he had enjoyed in the underworld. The souls he obtained gave Guy more power, his greatly expanded vessel filled to the brim, and his magicule count was what it used to be again.
But the transformation ended there. As a result, there was no reason for Guy to continue his work.
He summoned the two demons that served him, giving them his orders. Now
that he had awakened to Devil Lord status and gained a name for himself, he was in a much more generous mood. Enough so that he erased the memory of that piddling wizard from his memory. He wasn't even worth tormenting any longer.
"N-no! How did you ever escape my secret restraint?!"
Guy paid no attention to this fool wailing in his presence. That was, perhaps, a lucky break for the wizard, but he was killed by the demons before recognizing it as such.
On that day, several tens of millennia ago, the largest, most powerful nation in human history was born, putting an end to the divisions among the race for good. It was all so simple.
The two demons Guy summoned had deteriorated to Arch Demons as well. Those were the rules of the world; in the transition from the underworld to the demi-material one, they both lost most of their power. It was a simple matter for spiritual life-forms to travel across worlds, but in this one, simply staying alive cost them so much energy.
They needed physical bodies, for only when they found one and evolved could they become permanent residents of this world. Realizing that, Guy waited for his servants to evolve. But, strangely enough, no matter how many human souls they gathered, the two of them never changed at all. So he gave them two corpses—and with them, the honor of becoming physical. That, more than anything else, proved just how good a mood Guy was in.
These two demons were Vert and Bleu, and the forms they took were both beautiful women. Guy looked at them as they kneeled before him, pondering to himself. If they would grow no stronger than this, he thought, there was no point in giving them physical bodies at all. He could assign menial tasks to them, perhaps, but their power just seemed far too weak to him. So, generous as he was, he granted them names. Recalling how receiving a name caused himself to evolve, he reasoned he could repeat the process with this pair as well.
"I'm going to give names to both of you. My pride refuses to allow those serving me to remain this weak."
Guy made his declaration. For Vert, he would give the name Mizeri, styled
after the misery expressed by the pained wailing of the downtrodden. For Bleu, he would give the name Raine, for the rain that was falling on that day.
Just as Guy hoped, the two of them evolved to Demon Peers. That was the beginning—the first day Guy and his servants left their mark on human history.
The days wore on—fun enough, but still boring.
Guy wandered across the world, enjoying whatever he ran into. There was ample hardship as well, but it didn't bother him at all. Mizeri and Raine were his constant companions, always poking their noses into his business.
"You know you're free to live whatever lives you want, right?" He constantly told them that. But their responses were always the same. "No, our duty is to be of use to you."
"Precisely. You are our king. We are your subjects. That is the eternal, unrelenting truth."
So the trio's journey continued.
At the same time, Mizeri and Raine summoned their own tribes, secretly building up their spheres of influence so they could provide all the riches and entertainment of the world to Guy, its ruler. Unlike life in the underworld, which was devoted entirely to battle and refining the strength of their souls, this world was full of exciting things to do. Nothing remained stagnant; everything was constantly growing. Cuisine, music, theater, dance, art, and so much more—Guy and his servants never grew tired of it.
"Hey, this is pretty fun, too, isn't it?!" Guy shouted out as he was joining in a dance, part of a festival held by a minority clan in a small settlement.
He smiled at Mizeri and Raine, a rare sight for his servants that gave them paroxysms of delight.
"How wonderful. I thought these humans were frail and useless, but they have their value after all, don't they?"
"Everything in the world belongs to Lord Guy…and a tool only has meaning when you put it to full use."
Mizeri and Raine were sure of it all over again. To keep Guy happy with them, they learned a wealth of things in the places they visited. Their experiences lived on in their cooking, cleaning, song, dance, and music—the foundation of their roles as all-purpose maids, enabling them to grow and develop further.
In the underworld, the weak were ruthlessly weeded out. Non-demons were exterminated; only those with utility as slaves were put to work. But in this world, even the weak had value—and once they realized that, it seemed like such a waste to destroy this world.
"Humans are truly the cutest little things," Guy said. "Foolish, yes, but I could never bring myself to hate them."
Some were foolish, indeed, but some were truly wondrous. Their uglier emotions inspired hate among the demons, yet the more beautiful ones were a delicious sight to behold, the greatest meal Guy's band could ever hope to enjoy. The difference from one extreme to the other was so intense, Guy began to think that calling all of them "humans" was a tad slapdash.
Guy was very kind to humans. If a fearsome magic beast threatened the countryside settlements, he'd eradicate it. When evil mysticists (believed to be survivors from the Supreme Magic Empire) reared their ugly heads, he destroyed them. His deeds were celebrated, passed across generations, and over time became the stuff of mythology and legend.
And then he met him.
The creator of the world. Its supreme master and most powerful presence.
Guy was making the most of these calm, peaceful days, but his senses were constantly sharpened. That's why he knew. This figure before him was Veldanava the Star-King Dragon, the Creator.
"If you're a real god, you bastard, then use your power to show it to me!"
Guy boldly laughed at him. He was sure he was the strongest, and so he taunted Veldanava like it was his right. The results weren't even close. Guy couldn't land a single blow against him before being smashed into the ground.
At that moment, the pride he kept as the unbeatable strongman of the world was shattered into a million pieces. So, following the rule that defeat meant
servitude, Guy would now be Veldanava's slave—but shattered though it was, his pride refused to allow that.
"Kill me if you want. I'm satisfied with that. Now I understand—in life, there is always someone better than you out there. There is no limit to this totem pole of strength, for I, too, must exist amid this unbroken rule of law. O great being, I take real pride in losing to thee."
Guy sounded almost triumphant. But Veldanava just laughed back.
"Little man, I love all the things I have created. This world was once boring, but now it's growing more bountiful by the moment. Intelligent beings inhabit it, evolving to where they can communicate with me. And now there are powerful men like you, strong enough to withstand combat against me."
"Ha! You call that withstanding? I landed nothing on you, and then you did this to me with one swipe."
"Heh-heh… But you withstood it, didn't you? Millions of people would never even try to take me on, but you did. That alone makes me more than happy enough."
"Sure. We'll leave it at that."
"If you could, please. Also, I need to ask you a favor."
"A favor?"
A comfortable sort of satisfaction now filled Guy's mind. He found himself willing to listen to Veldanava.
"Yes. If the world keeps growing at this rate of speed, it will likely be destroyed within a few millennia. Humans get so carried away with their mistakes, you see. Sometimes doing the right thing isn't true justice, and doing the evil thing can save the world on occasion. They are imperfect, and that's why they're so lovable. It is not my desire to see them meet their doom."
Veldanava was asking him to help prevent the world's destruction. It made Guy recall the Supreme Magic Empire he'd torn apart, a nation driven by lust for power and authority to war against their own kind.
I see… Yeah, that was pretty awful. If I'd let that nation survive, maybe they
would've destroyed the world long ago.
Guy was sure about it. But one question remained.
"Hmm… Your prediction is much the same as my own. But something doesn't add up."
"What doesn't?"
"Aren't you the Creator? If you're the god who created us, you oughtta be able to guide the world the way you want it. Why do you need to ask someone like me?"
"Ha-ha-ha! Well, because I'm not omnipotent. When I was born, all that existed was my will. It was complete, fully, not a piece missing to it—a flawless existence, where all was one and one was all. I was the only thing in the world. Doesn't that sound boring to you?"
It made sense to Guy. It took someone like Guy to understand. Veldanava had deliberately cast away his own omnipotence.
I'll bet he did. If he could see how everything would turn out, it'd be the most boring thing ever.
Based on his own experiences, he knew that fighting nothing but battles he knew he could win got old after a while. Everyone in the underworld (except one person) feared Guy. It had been ages upon ages since any of the other demons challenged him. All that, and not even he was any challenge to Veldanava. Guy could see why he had thrown out his omnipotence.
"Yeah… I don't hate this world at all, either. I'll help you."
He didn't waver for a moment. Guy liked this world as well. And whether he was now a slave or not, Guy truly wanted to lend a hand.
Veldanava nodded happily at him. "Thank you. You will become an Arbitrator, my representative. I want you to watch the world for me."
"Huh? Your representative? You don't need to order me around?" "Of course not. I told you I hate forcing things on people."
"Oh yeah? So what should I do?"
"Whatever you want. You can keep wandering around the world, or you could build a citadel to rule from. As long as you remind mankind that threats continue to exist so they don't get arrogant, anything works."
Arrogant. Hearing that word made Guy realize just how suited he was for this job.
"Right… Then I will rule over the humans as a fearsome demon lord. If they have an absolute enemy to contend with, they won't have the time to squabble with one another."
"I like that! My apologies for giving you such a tough job, but thanks for picking it up."
"Sure. Not a problem."
It was at that moment when the shape of Guy's mind took on a new embodiment—the unique skill Pride.
"As the demon lord of this world," he proclaimed, "if mankind grows arrogant, I will judge them in your place!"
Having his own pride crushed only served to deepen it. Thus was born a demon lord with powers equivalent to a god.
Veldanava smiled. "Glad to hear it. Let us continue working on this…as friends!"
"Yeah. I'm gonna have a lot of fun."
So Guy and Veldanava acknowledged each other as equals, becoming friends beyond their social positions.
As he promised, Guy lived life as a demon lord.
To allay his boredom, he monitored the larger settlements that appeared across the land. Over time, they became villages, and then the villages grouped together and grew into nations. It was all crude compared to the supercivilizations of the past, but the magic and technology quietly passed down manifested itself again, and things grew at a fairly decent clip.
Watching mankind go about its business was fun. And over time, multiple
nations took shape—and once again, small-scale conflict began to break out.
Should I do something? Guy wondered. But he was always one to prefer taking action over stewing in thought. So he destroyed one nation that had his attention, partly as a warning.
Mankind feared Guy as a demon lord, this visible threat to them. In order to face up to this threat, they fostered a desire to unite.
Perfect. As long as they don't rile me, I'm not gonna destroy anyone. Guy was an Arbitrator, and he enjoyed his work.
As time went on, Mizeri and Raine used their respective underlings to rule over a large domain. They defeated the local gods, monsters, and magic-born in the area, helping their reputation grow.
Mizeri was even using her underlings as spies, having them infiltrate human society. She'd pore over the intelligence they brought back in order to expose those who needed purging. Her mission: give humans just the right amount of terror so they'd stay on their toes.
The demon-lord system was now firmly established, and when it was, Guy didn't have much to do. He wandered around the world, enjoying battle whenever he felt an urge to fight. Once he laid waste to an army of giants that caused trouble even to the Seven Primordials, Veldanava's servants. Veldanava also asked Guy to fight Ivalage, the World-Destroyer Dragon, and that was a pretty fun experience. The dragon had an instinct for battle, something Guy loved to see.
But there were problems as well. This foe was too good an opponent for Guy. He wound up fighting against it for three months, and then he let it flee over to another world. The fallout caused substantial damage to the land, turning it into a waste as far as the eye could see. It was a hard but useful lesson for him. From now on, when he got serious, he'd have to choose his battlefields carefully.
Guy looked down at the land from above. There, he discovered a familiar looking castle. It was the imperial palace of the Supreme Magic Empire, the place from which he had been summoned to this world.
Sensing fate at work, Guy designated it his own domain. Raine quickly put her servants to work, making the place livable again. With the right magic, the castle was rebuilt in a flash.
It was around then when a white dragon challenged Guy—a beautiful one, with blue-diamond eyes. Guy didn't know what her problem was, but she was itching for battle from the moment she opened her mouth. "My brother may accept you," she stormed, "but I won't!"
Based on the previous lessons he'd learned, Guy wanted to select a battlefield befitting his opponent's abilities. But this dragon was blowing sheets of ice and snow at his castle from above. At this rate, he couldn't afford to worry about the damage. Anyone still alive had long since evacuated anyway, and the castle could always be rebuilt. It'd put Raine and her underlings through some hardship, but that didn't matter to Guy. Besides, after letting the World Destroyer Dragon get away, Guy was eager for some action—and the sight of a new challenger made his heart soar.
May as well enjoy this, he thought, and so he brought out his full force against her. But even when both sides fought all out, neither of them could seize victory.
This was Velzard the Ice Dragon, Veldanava's younger sister and the oldest of the female True Dragons. Only Veldanava outclassed her in magicule count, and even Guy couldn't fully defeat her.
But from Velzard's perspective, it was Guy who was the anomaly. Guy, after all, boasted nothing but a single unique skill. Velzard had Gabriel, Lord of Endurance, an angel-type ultimate skill that Veldanava had granted her, and finishing a battle in a draw against Guy was unfathomable.
"Why are you equal to me when you're only at the unique level?" "Ha-ha! Because I'm strong is why."
"Don't give me that! My brother lent me this power, not you. It proves that he sees me as far more useful than you! So why?!"
"Uh-uh. He offered to give me some power, too, but I refused. If we had a master-servant thing going, I would've said yes, but he wants us to remain
equals. So instead…"
Velzard had attacked Guy out of jealousy, so her brother would approve of her. Now, before her eyes, Guy was transforming his power. Seeing Veldanava's force gave him the inspiration—and through his battle with Velzard, Guy came to understand exactly what an ultimate skill was.
"…I figured I'd reach the ultimate level with my own power."
Then, in the next instant, the unique skill Pride evolved into the ultimate skill Lucifer, Lord of Arrogance. It stunned Velzard into silence.
"Oh… No wonder my brother took a liking to you. Then let me see how far you can project yourself…to the bitter end."
Velzard's true goal was apparently to test Guy. Whether he passed the test or not is unknown, but from there on, the two walked hand in hand with each other. That was how Guy and Velzard met.
The battle, which lasted three days and three nights, altered the very axis of the world. But this time, it was all a careful adjustment on Guy's part. The icy, uninhabitable tundra turned into a land of eternal spring—and the land Guy defined as his own became a frozen wasteland instead.
"Well…this oughtta work."
"How wonderful, Lord Guy!" cried Raine. "You've done it again!"
"I doubt it will be a problem," said Mizeri. "There was some damage to humanity, but all the nations in the world are joining hands to deal with this upheaval, so casualties are being kept to a minimum."
To the residents of this world, it was a disaster. To Guy, it was just a funny story. And as long as Guy was happy, so were Raine and Mizeri. The side effects of his recent battle had encased his citadel in ice, which actually made it more beautiful.
"Well, why don't we keep it this way? We'll preserve it as a memorial." "Allow me to do that. I can help with this much."
Velzard's "help" involved plunging the castle's surroundings in frigid temperatures. Ever since, the citadel was off-limits forever to the weak.
Living in this castle would be inconvenient for Velzard in dragon form. When Guy pointed that out, Velzard instantly took human shape instead. In her adult form, she could fully control her aura, but she kept herself just a little younger than that. The slight aura leakage that resulted turned into a chill that perfected the castle's defenses. In this arctic land that no human or monster could ever survive in, nobody would even think about invading Guy's domain.
But:
"How does this look to you?"
"Well, fine…but it's not really my thing, you know?"
"You are so mean sometimes, you know that?"
Velzard was griping at Guy, but deep down, she rather liked him. Deep in her heart, she secretly swore to herself that she'd win his heart someday.
Several hundred years passed. Not much changed from day to day, and this particular day was just the same as every one before it.
Guy, bored beyond belief, had guests—a party of three. They had breezily made their way through this forbidding land and walked right into the castle. Guy watched them intently, his interest piqued.
Then the blond, blue-eyed young man leading the party screamed out.
"I am Ludora! Ludora Nasca, crown prince of the Kingdom of Nasca and Hero bearing the hopes of humanity! Evil demon lord, prepare to taste my blade and the destruction it will bestow upon you! And give me all the treasure you're supposed to be hoarding, too!!"
It wasn't the noblest of declarations. But that pure, refreshing ambition of Ludora's charmed Guy.
"Ludora, my brother! You're sounding every bit the demon lord he is!"
"Yeah, you're useless. It's all greed with you, isn't it? If you wanted money, I can make all the money you want."
"Oh, come on, Gryn! Stop spoiling my brother like that, please. At this rate, we're bound to lose, and then what will happen to us?!"
Guy watched as they talked to one another. They were certainly daring, or at least foolish. But one thing was sure. If they stood before Guy now, it meant they had defeated Mizeri and Raine. This funny trio must've been far more powerful than they looked. And now Guy could see that one out of the three was the same kind of existence as his own friends and partners. He could no longer blame Mizeri and Raine for losing to them. It was the correct way of things—the laws of nature in action.
But right now:
A "Hero," he said? What is that?
It was the first time he had heard that term. It had a sweet ring to it. Something that could keep his days from being so boring from now on.
Excited, he faced up to the man called Ludora.
"Huh, I like it. Let's see what this Hero power of yours is like!" Guy accepted Ludora's challenge.
"Heh! I don't need any help—I'm the strongest there is. Let's fight a one-on one duel, demon lord! Fair and square!"
Ludora was a handsome young man, but something about his smile was a little vulgar. His goals were tilted a bit more toward robbing Guy of his treasure than defeating him, it felt like. But that, too, was so cutely humanlike of him, Guy thought. People didn't take action unless they were driven by desire. They studied hard and worked hard because they wanted a better life. Ludora was absolutely human—a human with the sweet emotions Guy adored.
"Ha-ha! Try to resist me!"
And so the battle began.
Guy observed Ludora as he lunged at him. It was a sharp, quick attack, but there was no gravity behind it. Once Guy realized that, he grew frustrated that Ludora was holding back, not giving his all.
Ludora was protected by an intricately crafted set of full-body magic armor. It looked pretty valuable, so Guy decided to destroy it first. Apparently, this upstart was obsessed with money; he'd hate it if his belongings were all broken up. Guy was toying with him, in other words.
Easily dodging Ludora's sword, Guy segued into a punishing knee—but it was a feint. Instead, he executed a side kick. Ludora was trying to dodge it within a hairbreadth, so he couldn't adapt to the sudden change. The kick hit home, shattering his armor.
"Aaaaaaaahh?! This armor is worth our nation's budget for the entire year!" "Are you all right, my brother?!"
"You are such an idiot, Ludora. If we all fought together from the start, you wouldn't have a broken set of armor right now."
"Shut up! Th-this is a necessary outlay, all right?!"
Ludora was on the brink of tears. The kick must've worked better than Guy thought. Realizing this, he grinned.
Now I'll bend up his sword and make him cry for good.
He observed the trio again. But just then:
"At least let me cast some support magic, my brother… Holy Blade!!"
The girl with the platinum pink hair—the one Guy marked as the least threat of all—invoked an unbelievable magic spell. The sword in Ludora's hand glowed. It was an evil-dispelling light, a dazzling, divine aura that smote the darkness.
That's not good. That light has the power to cut through my barrier, I think.
He should have stopped the spell before it was cast, but Guy was enjoying the battle too much. It'd be boorish of him to impede a good time.
"Heh! I'll allow this—it's just my little sister cheering me on, after all. But don't give me any more help, Lushia!"
Ludora was the type to be more interested in results than personal pride. Having his own sister help him out wasn't about to damage his ego at all.
I'm liking this guy's personality.
He wasn't in any real danger, but things were looking worse for Guy. But, for whatever reason, he was enjoying this.
"That much isn't even a handicap for me. In fact, all three of you can fight me at once!"
"Nonsense! Now I'm getting serious. Prepare to die!!"
It might have been a fairly generic thing to say in battle, but Ludora really was hiding a secret power. His sword sped up in the air, advancing upon Guy. However, Guy was expecting this. He smiled, wanting to keep it fun, then reached for Temma, his own blade.
"Wha—?! A demon lord using a weapon? That's dirty!"
"Huh? I don't care what you think about it. But congratulations on making me unsheathe my sword."
Ludora had a vibrant, dazzling manner with his sword. It could also wound Guy if it hit him, so of course Guy would resort to weaponry. He was a proud demon lord, but he wasn't foolish enough to go too easy on a foe and lose.
"Ha! Like I'd ever want praise from a demon lord!"
"No? Then I take it back."
"…Wait. If you want to praise me, go ahead."
Ludora was actually happy about it.
"Well, I could probably count the number of people who crossed swords with me on one hand. Ludora, was it? I've noted your name now. You should be proud."
Guy, in a jovial mood, fulfilled Ludora's wish. Ludora replied with an earnest smile.
"You're pretty impressive, too, y'know. I didn't think a demon lord could parry an evil-smiting blade like this so easily. I owe you one for recalling my name. Let me hear yours before I destroy you."
"Pretty cocky for a human, eh? But all right—I like you, so I'll tell you. When you reach the underworld, state my name. I am Guy. This man screamed, 'Gi yaaaaah!!' at me before I killed him, and I use an abbreviated version of it as my name."
Ludora gave Guy a funny look. Then he snapped out of it. "…Wait a minute!" he shouted. "That's not a name. It's not a name! Nobody's gonna be impressed at all if I defeat a demon lord with that kind of name. I want a cooler name than that to be written in all my legends!"
"Huh? Why's a name matter so much to you?"
"It matters a lot! All right, then. One second—let's call a time-out. I'll think of a better name for you."
Ludora withdrew his sword. Guy had no reason to agree to this, but he wasn't about to kill this intruder when he was doing such a good job staving off his boredom. He wanted to enjoy this all the way, so he agreed to Ludora's offer. Besides, he was a little curious.
So Ludora's party formed a huddle and began talking to one another. "He's got pretty hair. Bright red and all."
"Wait. They already call me cardinal aura, you know. I don't wanna give that up."
"I know, I know! You get so worked up over the dumbest things. Your hair isn't even red. It's blue."
"You're the one who started calling me that!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
"You're so bad at dealing with women, my brother. I bet Gryn's going to dump you before much longer."
"What? No way!"
"Hee-hee-hee! Don't worry, Ludora. I might do a lot of things, but I'll never abandon you."
"Right? Yeah. Good to hear. So let's give him something else… Crimson! How's that? You won't say no to that, will you?"
"I like that as well, yes."
"I have no complaints, no, but are you sure? A Hero naming a demon lord… If you build too much of a friendship with him, you're gonna make people pretty nervous, aren't you?"
"Oh, it's all right! Nobody's watching us. If we don't tell anyone, nobody will ever know!"
Not that Guy was one to complain, but Ludora felt like a pretty irresponsible guy to him. That much was clear from this exchange. It honestly worried him a bit.
"Have you decided?"
"Yep! Sorry it took so long. From now on, your name is Guy Crimson!" So began the reign of the demon lord Guy Crimson.
Incidentally, Ludora lost consciousness the moment he gave the name. Giving names to monsters was a taboo in the human world, but Ludora had the rather wishful thought that it'd be okay because his enemy was a demon lord. Instead of magicules, he was drained of holy force, walking the line between life and
death. After he woke up, of course, he was practically lectured to death by his sister Lushia and his lover, Velgrynd the Flame Dragon.
Thanks to that, the final duel between him and Guy got postponed…but that, of all things, was how their strange relationship began.
So Guy waited for Ludora to recover, and then they held their promised duel. The results were inconclusive, so they fought again many more times.
Ludora, as befitting his title of Hero, was strong. He was an awakened Hero, and Guy was an awakened demon lord. He had mastered his technique in battle, while Guy fought only with brute strength and talent. They fought evenly with each other, but Guy slowly gained an edge over time, a natural result of his superior stamina.
Three women watched these proceedings—Lushia, Velgrynd, and Velzard the Ice Dragon. Velzard wasn't too interested at first, but as the battle heated up, she grew to enjoy the action.
"My, I see Guy's become stronger again."
"That's right, my sister. But Ludora's no slouch, either."
"It looks that way. I almost wonder if he's human at all."
"No doubt. And of course he's strong. Ludora's become my brother's apprentice, and he's been given some of his 'ultimate' force as well. He's gonna get stronger—trust me."
"Oh? It makes sense, then."
"I'd prefer if nobody got hurt, though…"
The audience got along well with one another.
"I have some tea ready."
"We have enough for Sir Guy and Sir Ludora as well, since it looks like their battle's about to end."
Mizeri and the demons under her were providing the tea service. This had become an almost daily occurrence as time went on. That, or
sometimes the sisters would bicker with each other so much that nobody even wanted to fight. Velzard and Velgrynd got along with each other, but apparently they had their differences about education practices. Veldora the Storm Dragon, their newborn younger brother, was a selfish brat, storming around like a spoiled toddler.
Why was that?
"Because you're way too hard on him, my sister! Why can't you give him a little love for a change?"
"Oh, don't be silly! I love Veldora so much! I play with him all the time! That's why I keep on replacing his heart so he'll have a more serious-minded personality!"
By "replacing his heart," Velzard was talking about physically destroying Veldora and resurrecting him—a rather heavy-handed approach to child-rearing —and Velgrynd wasn't a fan.
"I'm saying that you shouldn't do that. Reach out to him with words, not violence. If you have to get rough, then so be it, but I know he'll understand if you talk with him."
"You're so easy on him, Velgrynd! In that case, next time I won't beat him to death, all right? I'll just beat him most of the way there and put some obedience in his brain!"
"I'm not talking about that. Just…hug him a bit more. Show him the ropes. Bring him to town and let him see how to go around in human form. Or how to defeat enemies. That sort of thing."
"Velgrynd… You just like spoiling children, don't you? Spare the rod and spoil the child, as they say. At this rate, Ludora over there's gonna be ruined, too, you know."
"No he won't! Ludora and I are the best partners ever. If I could educate Veldora, I know he'd grow into a wonderful, respectful little brother. So can you leave this to me, please?"
"Huh? No way. I can train him a lot better. In fact, I'll take care of him for as long as he needs!"
"Oh, who's the one giving him too much attention now? Come on! It's my turn!"
And so they kept laying the blame on each other—Velzard was too harsh, Velgrynd was too easy on him, that sort of thing. To Guy, it was all the same.
You need a balance of both. The problem with these True Dragon sisters is that they don't know how to level it off at all…
He was exasperated with them, although he'd never say it out loud. "Whoa, whoa, we can't fight like this."
"Yeah. Better not bother them when they're trying to claim Veldora for themselves."
Guy and Ludora got as far away as they could from them. The dragons put up a barrier for them during battle, but if they were too busy bickering, Guy and Ludora had to do it instead. Otherwise they'd sink the entire continent.
They were all used to it by that point, but even so, Guy wished the sisters would argue someplace where they wouldn't bother everyone else. One man's fault is another man's lesson, as they say, but Guy and Ludora weren't getting any lessons from them at all.
One day:
"Dammit, you're back again?!"
"Shut up! This battle isn't over until I win!"
Fighting was now the way Guy and Ludora said hello to each other. They started going at it like usual, and they'd keep going until they were exhausted. It'd always end in a draw, and then their usual arguing would start up after that.
"You keep talking about keeping it fair and square, but you fight pretty dirty, don't you?"
Guy was right. Throwing sand into his opponent's eyes was a given. The moment Ludora began fighting, he'd always put up a Holy Barrier to reduce Guy's force. Guy didn't bother checking for traps before the fight began, and Ludora knew that, so he tried to break out every type he could think of.
Even his excuses were just awful.
"Look, if I win, that means I'm right, okay? Or more like if I don't win, then I'll never be on the side of justice! That's why I have to win, no matter what!"
As he proudly declared, a win was a win, no matter how it looked.
"Don't give me that crap! Do whatever you want, but at least stop calling it 'fair and square' all the damn time!"
Guy had a valid point. But Ludora just snorted at him.
"'Don't give me that crap'? Don't give me that crap, man! That move you tried: I used it on you last time, didn't I? How many years did you think I spent mastering that, huh?!"
Changing the subject—Ludora's secret skill. Nudging the conversation off the rails was how he kept Guy from putting him in a corner all the time. Ludora had received a royal education, so he had a knack for verbal gymnastics like this.
"Years? More like three weeks, if I recall."
"Right. Sir Veldanava was very impressed."
The commentary from the audience made Guy roll his eyes. This move that was supposedly Ludora's life's work was nothing very intricate at all. He shot a look at Ludora and sighed.
"Stealing people's moves… You're the dirty one here!"
Ludora was still airing his grievances, but he had his own reasons, too. His arguing resulted from a certain panic in his mind. They were still equal in terms of raw power, but lately, he could feel himself being pushed around a little. Ludora could sense it most of all, and he knew that this couldn't go on.
If I could fight fair and square and win, you know I would, man!
He wanted to scream that out loud. But now, despite the lofty ideals he kept spouting, he was forced to use whatever trick he could to eke out victory.
*
Guy looked pretty exasperated about it all, but he knew exactly what Ludora was thinking. In fact, he actually enjoyed the verbal arguments he shared with him. That's why he allowed Ludora to try whatever he wanted, and he also agreed with Ludora's "victory at all costs" approach.
He had accepted Ludora as an equal long ago. Simply having someone who could fight evenly with him delighted Guy. Besides, just like Ludora said, Guy was growing stronger the more he fought. When you get an ultimate skill, that's not the end of the road—only when you master it does it truly shine. Guy learned that while battling Ludora.
Right now, he was matching Ludora's style, fighting only with a sword, but even then, he was starting to overwhelm his opponent. If he added skills and magic to the mix, Guy was bound to win. But he never did that. Somewhere along the line, he started hoping for a tie instead of an end to their competition. That's why he welcomed Ludora's dirty tricks…but it was still just a matter of time.
So Guy asked the question.
"Hey… The first time you fought me, how come you didn't strike a lethal blow on me? If you seriously tried to kill me instead of naming me and stuff, you had a chance, you know."
That was the one question Guy just couldn't figure out. He was a proud man, and under normal circumstances, he'd admit to no chance of being defeated. A spiritual life-form admitting that was as good as a loss. That's why Guy had avoided thinking about it all this time. He didn't believe he was being shown pity, and he didn't want to believe that. If that was the answer, he was afraid he'd kill Ludora in a rage.
Much like Guy had the skill Lucifer, Ludora had one of his own named Michael. If Ludora had broken that out from the start instead of saving it, there was no telling how the fight would've gone. Guy would certainly have been injured, at least, and maybe—just maybe—he'd have been defeated.
"Oh, that?" Ludora smiled at the serious question. "You're so stupid, aren't
you? If I killed you, it wouldn't mean anything! I need to make you admit to my greatness, renounce your evil ways, and join me."
"Huhhh?"
Guy couldn't comprehend this.
"Heh-heh! Someday, you know, I'm gonna take over the world. That was the promise I made Veldanava the Star-King Dragon, my friend and master."
Ludora was apprenticing with Veldanava; Guy knew that much. The True Dragon himself said so, and he didn't doubt it at all. But Guy never imagined Ludora had aspirations of world conquest.
"So, you know, the job Veldanava asked of me was to prevent idiots like you from trying to conquer the world, okay?"
"I know. That's why Veldanava told me to make you accept me."
Dammit, Veldanava, Guy thought. You pushed him on me because he annoyed you too much, didn't you?!
There was the answer. Guy could hear Veldanava in his mind, asking him to teach Ludora about reality. Ludora bragged about how he'd make Guy answer to him, but he only came here because Veldanava wanted him out of his hair.
But it was already too late. Guy was in the dragon's trap. And since he knew he liked Ludora, he was now forced to see him through to the end. If he didn't like him, he would've killed him from the start, but no point bringing that up again.
Great, Guy thought wistfully. What an idiot he is.
"Like, seriously," Ludora said, "I couldn't fully control Michael at full power when I first approached you. Even now, I can only harness it for about half a minute."
It was a surprising confession. Guy didn't hide his shock.
"Oh? Come on. There's no way that's true."
"No, it is. The ability's something I borrowed from Veldanava, so…" Ludora shrugged as he continued. Guy listened to him speak, and as he did,
he felt two things—one, none of this mattered to him, and two, Ludora truly was a powerful person. An ability from Veldanava had the power to defeat someone like Guy, after all. But as he heard Ludora continue, Guy realized he had the wrong idea about him.
"This is a secret, you know, but I'll tell you and only you about it. The skill I earned by myself is called Uriel. Like, all the companions of mine who swear to me to follow my ideals and conquer the world and so on—all their emotions get pooled together and become this incredible ultimate power."
He said he'd earned it himself, but apparently, Veldanava lent a hand as well. Still, it was impressive. Uriel was the manifestation of Ludora's own heart, and even among angel-type skills, it was on the highest level of potency.
"So I'm kind of trading that one in for Michael, but that one's a big handful as well. Uriel was really straightforward, you know? The 'slay' and 'protect' abilities that come with it couldn't be easier to handle. But Michael has this ability called 'rule' that I just can't wrap my head around."
The ability let him borrow any skill possessed by those he ruled over and take control of that person—truly befitting a leader ruling his people. But right now, when he was ruling nobody, it didn't pose that much of a threat. He couldn't use his ultimate skill on Guy; instead, he had to rely on his own tested strength.
"Wow," Guy said. "That's pretty neat."
The more people he ruled over, the more abilities he'd have access to—and then Ludora would get stronger and stronger.
Eesh. I thought I was gonna grow more and more powerful until I finally beat him for good…but now we can have fun for a long time to come!
The fun times would continue. Realizing that energized Guy. But Ludora continued.
"But look, I'm not really interested in ruling over anyone. I'm a man, you know? And I want to fight people using my own strength. I'm just not really in a position to do that and stuff…"
"You're not?"
"No. I guess you're friends with Veldanava, too, so you got a right to know."
Guy grew nervous. With his long life span, he hadn't given it much thought— but he hadn't seen Veldanava lately, come to think of it.
"Did something happen to him?"
"Well…normally, I'd be celebrating it, but…"
"Mm?"
"He got married to my sister Lushia. Married or…like, Lushia has his child at the moment. They're gonna be a genuine family."
"His child? A True Dragon's child?!"
That was a surprise. But a dragon eccentric enough to throw away its omnipotent perfection out of boredom might just decide to do that, too. It made sense to Guy.
"I guess these things happen, huh?" he said.
"Yeah. And like I said, normally I'd be happy for them. But that's where the problems begin."
The revelation Ludora had for him after that was beyond surprising. It was firmly disquieting news. It made Guy stand up and say, "Really?" staring Ludora in the eye.
It seemed that Veldanava was little different from a human being at this point. He had told Ludora, with a slight chuckle, that he was now bound by a "life span," something he never had before. It was a heavy truth to accept, one hard for Ludora to keep to himself, so that was why he told Guy.
"I guess that's in character for him, yeah, but what's he trying to do…?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm all worked up about this. But I think it's clear that I'm not gonna be able to hang out here and fight with you all day for long."
"Yeah…"
They looked at each other and sighed.
"Stop, stop! I like you, all right? I have no interest in killing you, and I don't
want to fight for real any longer. But I need to continue being a demon lord to keep the world from being destroyed. That was my promise to him."
Guy really did like Ludora. Anyone who was friends with Veldanava was friends with him, too. He could never seriously try to kill him, and there wasn't much he could do about that. But he had to carry out his role as demon lord. That was the role Veldanava had asked him to carry out. As an Arbitrator, he couldn't afford to place his thumb on the scales the world rested on.
So Guy looked him in the eye as he said that. Ludora looked right back at him. "All right. Wanna play a different game, then?"
"A different game?"
Ludora nodded. He wasn't acting all bashful like usual, face deadly serious.
"Yeah. We'll stop directly fighting each other. Instead, we'll just use pawns and fight for control of the world that way."
"Hmm…"
"Honestly, I don't want to use Michael very much, but I don't have any choice. Veldanava gave me this skill to support my dream of conquering the world. I'm going to keep gaining followers, and as I do, I'm gonna keep getting stronger."
"I'll bet."
Guy nodded. He knew that was correct.
"And I don't want to kill you, either. Remember what I said? I wanted to make you accept me. I… You know, I believe that humankind can unite as one. Veldanava is all about diversity, but that doesn't mean we have to keep fighting each other, does it? If two people with differing opinions can respect and interact with each other, then great. And if you can't accept someone else's outlook, just keep your distance from them. War keeps breaking out because these different races, these different nations keep getting weapons they shouldn't have, but if they were all part of the same nation, we could just talk everything out instead, right?"
"You think so? Because as far as I know, humans are way too foolish for that." "Oh, I know. But I became friends with you, didn't I? Demon lords and Heroes
are supposed to be mortal enemies, and even they can get along. If we humans are all part of the same race, it's got to be much easier than that!"
Ludora argued that no Arbitrator was necessary at all. But Guy couldn't agree with that.
"That's pretty wishful thinking. Humans are greedy little creatures—which isn't an 'evil' thing per se. You need greed in order to explore all the grand opportunities before you. But if those desires come into conflict with each other, that naturally leads to infighting. Dumb animals know how to deal with each other a lot better, don't you think?"
If animals who became monsters through magic were kept constantly well fed, they stopped killing other creatures. They weren't all crafty that way. They just lived day by day, seeking as much pleasure as they could. But not humans. They were always thinking one step ahead, getting nervous, trying to build their fortunes so they could hold out in any situation. That's what their instincts told them to do, and that's why the world Ludora wanted was a fairy tale.
Guiding people through words alone was the most difficult thing in the world. Even getting your will across to other people in words without being misunderstood was a gigantic challenge… Guy knew that, and that's why he believed Ludora's dream would never come true.
"Yeah, well, I know that. Veldanava laughed it off as idealistic…but I'm convincing people, and I'm earning their support. Like, 'The chances of it working are all but zero, but go ahead, try doing what you want.' And between you and me, Michael has this ability called Armageddon that summons this army of angels that destroys everything in its path. That's what I can use to rescue humanity. I'll destroy all the world's military might, all its civilization, and I'll suppress everyone's hyped-up desires. And as I do, I'll unify the world. We can do it! We can build an ideal world together!"
Ludora was asking for Guy's help now. He wanted him to stop killing humans all the time and make this feeble possibility grow as much as he could.
"Ha! Massacre isn't my hobby or anything, you know. If I don't like someone, I just rub them out, is all. Whether they're good or bad, it doesn't matter to me. If I like you, you live. If I don't, I kill you. That's all."
"That's what I'm telling you to stop doing!"
"Pfft! I'm not patient enough for all the world's evil people to realize they were wrong from the start. People say, like, 'Hate the crime, not the criminal,' but are you kidding me? Crime needs punishment. And it's up to the criminal to be responsible for that!"
"I know. You're right! I think so, too! But I want to give them a chance to see the light."
"Oh, sure! Don't worry about that, then. I'll send the souls of the damned to the underworld and give them all the torment they need."
"Not like that!"
Ludora fell silent, gathered himself, and bared his soul to Guy once more.
"Look, I don't want to be king so I can act all high and mighty. I want to bring smiles to everyone's faces. If people have safe places to live and friends they can talk with, that'll reduce the number of criminals, won't it? I want to get rid of poverty and inequality. I wanna make a world where everyone can smile as they live. That's what I want! And I know there are some idiots out there you just can't do anything with, but I'll try to keep the casualties as low as I can."
He was revealing his ideals to Guy, never imagining that someday in the far future, one of his enemies would say similar things to him.
Guy responded with a pained shake of his head. "No wonder Veldanava laughs at you. I didn't know you were that much of a kid. But…well, all right. Tell me more about this game you're thinking of."
"So you'll do it?!"
"I was getting bored anyway. That game could be more fun for me."
It wasn't that Guy was persuaded. He wasn't denying Ludora's ideals; he just wanted to see this to its conclusion. With a friend this stubborn, there was no getting through to them with words alone. Guy was exactly that type, and here Ludora was, trying to do just that with him. It was a contradiction from the start, doomed to fail—and then Ludora would open his eyes.
If he actually pulled it off… Well, it'd mean less work for Guy regardless. The
way he saw it, he'd benefit either way. There was no real merit to any of it. But if Ludora would give up on this reckless idea for him, that was enough for Guy.
"So my ambition's just a game to you?" Ludora asked, laughing. Then he carefully went over the rules of the game he proposed. They were pretty simple: The players wouldn't touch each other but instead let their underlings do the fighting. Guy and Ludora wouldn't engage in direct confrontation. If all Guy's friends fell, Ludora won, and Guy had to serve him. But until that happened, Guy could do whatever he wanted, and he was free to keep his promise with Veldanava and serve as Arbitrator as well.
Guy had almost no restrictions, but Ludora still felt he had a decent advantage. The original role of a Hero is to prevent a demon lord, the principal threat and culler of humanity, from going on a rampage. Guy was a calm, careful thinker, but his power was almost too much. One move from him, and the damage would be staggering. Ludora had stuck with him to prevent that, but that alone wouldn't make his dream a reality. If he wanted to begin his quest to take over the world, he needed to keep Guy from acting against him.
But Guy could read this well enough.
"All right. I promise I won't touch you, then. I'll just gather up some demon lords to take my place and have them directly punish humanity for me."
"And I'll stop them from doing that. And then I'll unite the world before you start building a demon lord agency on me!"
"It's gonna be tough, you know. It's kind of an ideal, after all. One even that softhearted Veldanava gave up on."
Veldanava might've been a romantic, but he was also a perfectionist. Ideals were fine and all, but he had a colder side to him that immediately cut away things that had no chance of happening. Thanks to him throwing away omnipotence for the sake of experiencing genuine change, the ideal society he envisioned was no longer possible to implement. But to Veldanava, that was the right decision to make. A world that moved strictly on his own will didn't seem remotely interesting to him.
Ludora understood all too well how the dragon's mind worked. That's why he shouted it out now.
"But even so! I want to put his mind at ease. He's got a limited life span now. He hasn't got any more power than a normal human being. He was so happy about the idea of dying together with Lushia…but he really was worried about where the world is going! And he's so preoccupied about the future his child will see…"
"Mm…"
"So I need to ease his worries, you know? I'll make this a world where anyone can live happily so he won't have any anxieties left when he expires. Then the world he made will mature in the most wonderful way. It'll be an amazing, perfectly harmonious world—that's what I wanna reward him with!"
Ludora had sworn to Veldanava that he would establish a single, unifying nation. He wanted him to make his sister Lushia happy, and to do that, he swore to eliminate all unhappiness from the world.
"We're all part of this human world, too. I want us to decide how it works. You guys with your infinite lives will be the arbitrators who get to see how it all works out until the end."
"Yeah…?"
Guy didn't have any response to Ludora. He had concluded in his mind that it was impossible. But he could understand Ludora's feelings, and it made him hesitate to deny his words.
Why is he such an idiot? You'll just wind up being the one shouldering all of that alone…
Guy hated how his mind was so needlessly sensitive to emotion like that. He was arrogant but kind to those he liked. But now that was keeping him from stopping Ludora's incredibly reckless endeavor. This foolish man, this friend he needed to love—and Guy had no words for him.
I'm sure you're gonna fail at it, man.
His mind coldly calculated the results. The chances of success were too ridiculously low to even express as a probability. But Ludora, this man Guy saw as his best friend, would never give up on it. A Hero needed an unbending heart. And Ludora—carrying all the pain alone, aiming to build an ideal world—
was a true Hero.
Guy couldn't help but think that maybe he could actually do it. Ludora had that something that made you think so, and that was the tiny possibility Guy placed his bead on.
But the result of it was…
Guy and Ludora's game had seen a long cycle of tragedy ever since its beginning.
The first misfortune came soon after the birth of Milim, Veldanava and Lushia's child. A terrorist attack occurred while Ludora was out on a campaign, the world of a rival warring nation, and the dastardly act took the lives of Lushia and Veldanava.
At that moment, Ludora's dream audibly collapsed.
"I…I just wanted to relieve Veldanava's worries. I wanted him to accept us…"
He shut off his mind. All his wailings would no longer reach him. And all that remained were his rudderless ideals.
"You're gonna keep going?"
"Yeah. The only thing I have left is my game with you. And the only goal I have left is to make you accept me."
"…All right. I'll take you on."
So the game continued.
The next misfortune befell Veldanava's child, Milim.
She grew up never knowing her parents' faces or even knowing she was related to Ludora. The only family she had was the pet that guarded her, and it was killed by a rival nation's scheme.
Milim wailed over it in a blind rage. Guy devoted everything he could to soothing her. If he didn't stop her, she could destroy several nations before she was done.
"So do you still want to continue? If I had taken action sooner, none of this
would've happened to Milim."
"It is my fault. But even so, if we stop here, all my sacrifices will have been for nothing. I have a duty as emperor not to throw in the towel."
"I really don't think you do, but all right. I'll keep it going until you're satisfied."
If they stopped here, Ludora seemed ready to crumble to pieces. So Guy put off the conclusion until later. It was all he could do. An unhappy future was guaranteed for them, he thought, but nothing was set in stone yet.
And so the game went on.
The hardships kept transpiring, the ugliness of the human world thrust into their faces. Ludora kept serving as a Saint because of the ideals sought by his heart and the tenacity in his mind. But even that had its limits.
Somewhere along the line, Ludora's mind began to get infected, robbing it of his initial ideals. Perhaps it was the fate of all who lost sight of their goals, but now he was willing to take any measure to defeat Guy.
He was cold and cruel. Beating Guy was all that mattered, and in the end, it cost him more bloodshed than ever before.
It had turned out exactly as Guy thought.
Then, finally, the day arrived. Guy bet on the last possibility available under the rules. The final judgment would be made by Rimuru, the most unpredictable pawn on his side and the one with the most hope to him.
Honestly, he wanted to make the move himself. But Guy stuck to the rules to the very end. And thanks to that:
Not even that bastard Rimuru could do it…?
Guy lamented the fact. Not because he hated him or was frustrated over the result. He just missed the man he called his friend.
"…I told you, didn't I, you dumbass? It was up to us. Demons. People whose emotions would never waver like that…"
As he muttered that to himself, Guy failed to notice the sensation running
down his cheek. He simply sat there, praying for Ludora's final peace.
So the game between Guy and Ludora, played over several thousand years, came to a close.
Guy, flashing his usual bold smile, was adrift in sadness. A pair of blue diamond eyes coldly looked at him, a twisted smile on her face. Even after the game ended, the embers of conflict were still smoldering. And soon they would form the signal for the Temma War, a war involving angels and demons that would dominate the entire world.