“… Now, go. Protect he who will rattle the hearts of men and beasts alike—he who announces his presence to the world with a pillar of light. For I have blessed you to become a great warrior…”

  Ash fell from the sky, blanketing the ground like snow and covering a land that once teemed with life. Now, only death remained.

  Baron walked down the street, his piercing red eyes drawn upward to a sky shrouded in thick black smoke. Today was just like the day before—and the day before that—marked by relentless ashfall from a perpetually darkened sky.

  Despite the constant annoyance of the ash, Baron would be lying if he said he wished it weren't there. Without the ash, there’d be no smoke, and that meant the sun would shine all day. And if the sun came out, he—and no other demon in this great city—could continue on with their lives.

  While the sun didn't kill demons outright, it burned them as if they were set on fire. Baron had felt that searing heat a few times in his life, and each time he vowed it would never happen again.

  With a sigh, he continued toward the massive black castle that loomed against the mountain at the back of the city. Today was supposed to be a great day—filled with the scent of looming war and blood, something he craved.

  But as soon as he stepped through the kingdom’s walls, screams of horror and cries of pain echoed through the streets. That ruined his mood, even though, in most cases, he actually loved those sounds—they were exhilarating to him. Though, whenever he heard the cries of newly captured slaves—those he couldn't kill as he wished—it enraged him.

  He glanced to his left and saw several wagons being emptied into a small courtyard, isolated from the street by a large iron gate. Humans were being forced out, each linked by a long line of iron chains. Many screamed and pleaded for mercy, while others moved like living corpses, devoid of life.

  As he advanced, he continued to watch. The slave traders held back their massive demon hounds—massive compared to the humans—each barking and snarling as they struggled against the chains that restrained them. They zeroed in on the most terrified person passing by.

  It wasn’t long before one of the humans attempted to resist and run, despite being chained to the others. It was natural for some to try, and Baron knew that. But he also knew that fear was what killed most people.

  “I said stay in line!” one of the demon slave traders growled, kicking the human woman half his size forcefully back toward where she’d come from. The blow sent her tumbling past the line of her fellow slaves and straight into the snapping jaws of the hounds that had frightened her.

  Her scream rang out, sharp and panicked, before being swallowed by the frenzy of growls and thrashing. The hounds lunged, dragging her down in a chaotic tangle of bodies. The other slaves shuffled away from the hounds as far as they dared as the struggle ended too quickly, leaving behind only the sounds of gnashing teeth and the coppery scent that thickened the air.

  What little remained of the woman twitched for a few seconds before her lifeless eyes glazed over. The screams of the rest of the slaves were all that could be heard now as they witnessed the horrendous act, forced to keep moving even as strands of the woman’s torn flesh still dangled from the chains between them.

  “Lucky,” Baron muttered to himself, shaking his head at the scene. “The hounds get to have all the fun this early, and what of me…?”

  He looked up at his destination and frowned. Walking's too slow...

  Baron leaned forward, channeling energy into his legs. He pushed off powerfully with the first, then the second, then the third—three strides later, he was sprinting at full speed down the street.

  He was nothing more than a blur to the other demons who he dashed past, his only signals a cape billowing behind him like tearing canvas and the steady thud of his boots hitting the ground, silently demanding everyone to get out of his way.

  He ran until he was about halfway to the castle, then launched himself with a powerful thrust of his legs that sent him careening into the dark sky. His aim was perfect—he reached the peak of his leap before beginning his descent, landing squarely in the center of the expansive terrace overlooking the kingdom below.

  Baron straightened up and looked back over the kingdom. The ashfall draped the horizon in a shroud of gray, though it barely obscured the city within the walls.

  Turning toward the doors leading out to the balcony, he pushed them open and entered a large room dimly lit by enormous urns of fire lining its perimeter. The demon guards stationed just inside the doors stumbled aside in surprise, readying themselves to attack—but they quickly composed themselves once they recognized Baron.

  Paying them no mind, he strode further into the room, leaving the doors open behind him.

  “Baron!” a demon barked as he rose from his chair at the long table in the center of the room. “How many times have you been told to enter this place the proper way?”

  Baron rolled his eyes as he walked over and took his seat along the right side of the table, a few chairs down from his accuser.

  “Why waste my time walking when I can get in that way much faster?” he retorted, glancing past the assembled demons toward the far end of the table. “Would you not agree, my lord?”

  Baron then watched the demon seated at the head of the table—unchanging, obviously bored as he leaned to one side, resting his head on a closed fist.

  “Just because you’re one of us now,” another demon, seated directly across from Baron—five seats on his side and five on Baron’s—with the king of demons presiding at the head, said. “There’s still a hierarchy you must follow. You can’t just waltz in, sit at this table, and speak so casually to the king.”

  Baron sighed dramatically as he leaned back into his chair, assuming a posture reminiscent of the Demon King, which cast a hush over the room. The first demon general, who had argued with him, promptly sat down as well, waiting for their king’s words.

  None of the ten demons around the table dared question why they had been summoned—except the one seated directly to the Demon King’s right. From the corner of his eye, Baron watched as the highest-ranking demon slowly bowed his head, exposing the tops of his horns in a gesture of respect to the king.

  “What news do you bring us, my King?” the demon asked, his voice slow and humble yet deep enough to send chills down Baron’s spine—almost as chilling as the King’s own tone.

  Even compared to Baron’s strength, the five highest-ranking generals clearly possessed power that overshadowed him, each one immensely more powerful than the last. Yet showing humility or weakness was completely against everything in Baron. He sat in silence like everyone else, watching as the Demon King straightened on his throne and surveyed them all.

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  “The humans and their cities are growing into a power I can no longer ignore,” the Demon King began, his voice so deep that Baron could feel it in his chest. “The time for sitting idly by is over.”

  A sinister smile spread across Baron’s face—and he wasn’t alone. Every demon present craved those words, and for a long time, they had waited for them.

  Baron froze as he watched the King rise from his throne, crossing his arms behind him. His immense presence loomed over the ten generals as he looked down on them. His rack of spiral horns, attached to the sides of his skull like those of all demons, soared high—a testament to the power he wielded, despite his physical body showing no sign of age.

  “Our raids on these petty cities are over,” the Demon King continued.

  Rezo, one of the demons seated in the middle of the table opposite Baron, slid from his chair and knelt humbly before the King. “My lord, are you suggesting that we attack the great human cities?”

  “I am,” the Demon King replied, drawing surprised stares from most of the higher-ranking generals around the table.

  The kneeling general bowed even lower. “My Lord, forgive my rudeness, but we have tried attacking those cities many times with no success. What makes you so sure that this time will be different?”

  The Demon King said nothing for a long moment as he stood, surveying the generals. Then he turned to his right and walked to the opposite side of the room, toward two large doors mirroring those at the other end.

  “What makes this time different is that our God has given us gifts...” he explained, stopping halfway between the table and the doors. He signaled to the two demon guards stationed at the base of the doors, who then drew them open.

  The doors heaved open with a heavy groan, revealing a room cursed with darkness. Beyond, nothing could be seen except the light from the fires in the main room, though sound carried clearly through the threshold. Shortly after the doors groaned to a halt, screams erupted from the room—screams that sounded like humans pleading for their lives, begging for help as they passed from one person to another: first male, then female.

  These sounds spurred Baron to stand in excitement and anticipation, but his attention was quickly diverted. He glanced to his left at the clatter of iron hitting the floor and saw a human slave woman collapse beside a platter of food. Her mouth hung agape, her eyes wide with tears, yet she made no sound—only stared blankly toward the door.

  Baron observed the same thing happen to another slave behind her. He focused on the manservant in particular because, unlike the woman, he began crawling toward the door.

  Baron watched as the human man quickly sprang to his feet and ran toward the other room.

  “No! No, God! Please, no!” the man screamed.

  Baron saw him dash past the woman, seemingly snapping her out of her trance. She too quickly gathered herself and ran toward the source of the screams from the other room.

  “Interesting…” Baron mused, curiosity plaguing his mind as the human servants ran right past the Demon King as if he weren’t even there. Very interesting…

  Baron continued to watch, his focus as intense on the room as on the fleeing humans.

  The manservant crossed the threshold separating the large room from the chamber of darkness. The moment he stepped over, an ear-splitting crunch echoed through the chamber as a giant pair of elongated jaws dropped from above, clamping shut around him. What remained of his lower legs collapsed to the ground like thrown bricks, hitting the floor with a wet slap as the rest of him vanished into the beast’s maw.

  His muffled screams quickly turned into wet gurgles as the jaws clenched tighter, crushing his ribs like brittle twigs—leaving the woman to witness the horrifying fate of her companion.

  She stumbled backward as a scream ripped from her throat. Tears blurred her vision as she scrambled away from the door, but her panic made her movements clumsy. She tripped, slamming into the stone floor.

  Desperate, she clawed her way back to her feet and turned toward the Demon King, but the moment she moved, the jaws struck again. They snapped shut around her midsection, her shriek cutting off into a choking wheeze as her spine crunched between the beast’s teeth. Then the beast wrenched its head back and swallowed the woman whole.

  Baron’s eyes grew as wide as his toothy smile. He studied the massive, winged creature as it stepped out of the room. Even compared to the Demon King himself, this beast was enormous—dwarfing everyone around it, its head standing four times taller than the Demon King’s. Yet it showed no aggression, instead lowering its head as it stepped toward the Demon King, deliberately making itself appear smaller.

  Baron was so captivated by the creature that he barely noticed the other generals rising to their feet, their smiles echoing his own in varying shades of awe.

  “This is the gift God has given us,” the Demon King announced, turning back toward his generals. “The tall walls of the human cities will no longer be a problem for us.”

  “My Lord... is that a Sablecrest!?” one general asked, stepping forward in awe. “I thought they were only legends!”

  Baron’s admiration for the creature deepened as he recognized the similarities between it and the ancient texts describing the Sablecrest—a giant beast as dark as the blackest night, bearing two pairs of wings that stretched from horizon to horizon and crowned with red gemstones, earning it the title of king of demon beasts.

  Its scaly armor was as dark as midnight, blending into the shadows of the room. It boasted four wings: the upper pair folded tightly along its back, and the lower pair used to crawl along the floor like forelimbs.

  Notably, the creature had six eyes that glowed a bright red even in the dim light. Its neck stretched high above its back, yet remained proportional to its long, mostly hidden tail trailing behind in the other room.

  Baron didn’t need anyone to confirm his assumptions—this was indeed the Sablecrest, the embodiment of fear itself.

  “They are very much real,” the Demon King confirmed, patting the top of the beast’s head twice, prompting it to lift its head off the floor and stand tall.

  “But how!?” another general exclaimed.

  The Demon King raised his hand and gestured toward the demon general seated second in line opposite Baron. “Kezor found the dungeon that opened in the heartland, and these beasts were pouring out of it.”

  All the generals turned their gaze toward the demon ranked second. He stood with his arms crossed, paying little attention to the others.

  “Demons ruled all the lands in the days when these beasts lived. And now, we will rule again,” the Demon King declared as he began walking back toward the throne at the head of the table. “However, it will take time. These beasts are still wild.”

  “Well, training them to obey us shouldn’t take too long,” Varek—the demon who had first objected to Baron—offered, as he and the other generals resumed their seats. “We could start our attacks as soon as we have a good number of them under control.”

  “Yes...” the Demon King replied as he took his seat. “And with that being said, I have decided that the human city of Veltra will be our first kingdom of conquest.”

  Once again, nervous stares passed among the higher-ranking generals, but the Demon King didn’t give them much time to object.

  “With their presence left undisturbed, my plans will not proceed as I want them. The other kingdoms will be easier to take over in time, but Veltra will only grow stronger,” he explained.

  “With them harboring those beast folk, and the Vegans providing protection, I want Veltra to be the first kingdom we wipe off the map! I don’t want them accumulating any knowledge against us that they can use later on. So, if we destroy them first...” The Demon King continued, grabbing his large cup and hurling its contents across the table all the way to where Baron sat. “The rest of the world will fall behind them... leaving only the damn Vegans and Rameshians to deal with in the end.”

  Baron glanced around as the generals slowly adopted pleased smiles, visibly agreeing with their lord. In reality, the Greater Beast races were the only ones with a real chance against the demons.

  With most of the human race turning against them—harboring nearly as much hatred as they do for demons—they had nearly pushed two of the four Greater Beast races to extinction. The only races still standing strong were the Vegans, who guarded their own island with strict authority while aiding a few human kingdoms that accepted Greater Beast refugees, and the Rameshians, a Greater Beast race dwelling in the arid south.

  The Saiyakins, once inhabitants of the arctic north, had been driven nearly to extinction in their native lands by both humans and demons. They now sought refuge among the few human kingdoms that accepted them—or, failing that, as slaves in human cities. The same fate had befallen the Trojans, who once ruled all the lands now mostly controlled by humans. Veltra was the largest and most powerful kingdom that harbored the Greater Beasts, utilizing them on a tremendous scale. Baron knew that if any human kingdom posed the greatest threat to them, it was Veltra.

  That also made it the most logical target to attack first.

  I love this plan... he thought, baring a wide, toothy grin as he fantasized about the bloodshed to come.

  “A reasonable number of these beasts are already tamed,” the Demon King continued, before turning his gaze down the length of the table toward Baron. “So, I want Generals Baron, Neroz, and Varek to lead the attack on Veltra.”

  The other demons snapped their heads toward the three lowest-ranking generals, then back to their lord.

  “But, my Lord, Veltra is a powerful human city, just as you said... Should you not have one of your higher-ranking generals lead the attack?” asked Drazek, who sat across from Baron.

  “I have more important matters to address later,” the Demon King replied, shifting his focus back to Baron and the two demon generals beside him. “As long as they proceed with strategy, they will be able to catch even the most experienced Vegan soldiers off guard. No one would expect the Sablecrest to attack... Veltra is the one city that could adapt the fastest to such a threat. With that in mind, I’d say three of the most powerful demons in the land are more than adequate to take one city.”

  Baron felt his lord’s gaze narrow, locking onto him directly.

  “I want you to move quickly, for tonight marks the beginning of a new age.”

  Baron, Neroz, and Varek rose to their feet and knelt on one knee before their lord, accepting the roles bestowed upon them and the heavy responsibility that followed.