Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

SHATTER

Colossal rubble crashed inside the city as the orcs' and rynadons' merciless ramming tore its metallic frame from the walls.

"Push, brothers!" Vrashnak roared, his forehead flushed and veins bulging along his arms.

Emboldened by the success and ignoring the arrows raining death amidst their ranks, the orcs thundered in response. Their bodies moved like miniature behemoths, muscles rippling and tusks glinting as they pushed with all their strength.

The gate groaned, metal screeching against stone as thousands of tons of enchanted steel tilted into the city.

BAM

A dusty shockwave blasted the nearby houses into ruins. The scent of stones reduced to powder infused the air as a gray layer of grime covered the city.

Soldiers flew off their feet, terror twisting their lips while others felt their lungs burn and coughed the unbreathable air.

"Don't falter!" One sergeant roared, his nose scrunched into a cruel grimace. "Fulfill your duty as Oikos' citizens. Fight for your wives, parents, children, and the kingdom who gave you everything you own. Oikos' glory will never dim!"

As the soldiers' and conscripted citizens' fists tightened around their blades, Vrashnak's voice pierced a hole of pure dread into their hearts.

"Vengeance for three thousand years of oppression! Obliterate these honorless rats!"

His ghostly pale skin melded with the dust cloud as he led the orcs in a rage-filled assault.

The city's slabs shattered under their feet, and the large rings decorating their cultural axes clinked. Each time the sound echoed, a head fell, and the cloud took a redder shade.

As the orcs and demons turned the southern gate into a slaughterhouse, Luna's green eyes gleamed, demonic energy swirling around her palms.

With an elegant gesture, green flames crackled to life in the form of a bi-headed giant snake as she thundered.

"A mere gate won't protect these sinners!"

BOOM

With her words, the towering jotuns—along with Bart and Shihan—crashed into the gate with unholy strength. Much worse than the southern, it flew off its hinges, raising a trail of dust and blood before it collapsed hundreds of meters away.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

However, Luna didn't focus on the trembling soldiers and raised her fist.

"Disarm and turn the wall's magical cannons against. We force the conscripted soldiers to surrender. Kill the others!"

This simple command made the trembling citizens question everything they believed. Would this demoness spare them if they surrendered?

They observed her green hair flutter and her determined eyes through the flames flickering in front of her.

"Damn this war. I'm just a farmer, not a soldier!"

One of them threw his spear to the ground and, using the chaos, fled through the dust.

The ones nearby watched him leave. What about their duty? What about the kingdom? But it was also the second time the invaders offered them a chance to live... Doubt spread amongst the conscripted before another one left his position.

"I'm not even from the capital. You shoved me into this unfair war, so good luck!"

With a second example, more left their position before the air cracked under the sergeants' whips, and screams of agony echoed.

"Kill the deserters on sight! We won't let demons storm our streets, you hear me?!"

Meanwhile, Luna and the other generals painted the northern walls red with the blood of their enemies.

Humans and soldiers tangled in a chaotic dance of steel in flames—one in which the humans lost ground with each second crawling by.

She observed Gyda and the other jotuns smash soldiers like mere bugs while the djinns washed the walls in an elemental sea.

Bart's broadsword dripped with blood, bisected bodies lining his ferocious advance, while Shihan riddled officers through their enchanted armors with festering arrows.

All the agony, desolation, and the haunting cries made her hesitate for a moment. Though her vengeance against Zepar still fueled, she had also begun to reconcile with her innocent, even naïve, self. And this sight, the stench of blood and charred bodies sticking to her nostrils, the grime painting her green hair gray a little more with each fallen soldier...

"That's not what I want to see," she muttered, her eyes darting east, where the peaceful Harmony bustled with beaming citizens. "Sigh. But human greed won't let them accept a new ruler."

Her eyes firmed, and with a swipe of her hand, she engulfed a division of soldiers in a blazing inferno.

"It's ironic, but war is the first step toward peace. So, let us wash your corruption, greed, and sins in flames to offer you a fresh start."

As the war raged in the streets and on the walls, the air trembled in the sky as Adam's and Melarkos' blades clanged.

Ripples spread through space upon impact, yet the kingdom's general couldn't help but curse under his breath. "What is this monster?"

Each time he parried felt like Adam was tearing his arms off. His wrists sounded like a sack of broken stones, and the unbearable temperature slowly cooked him alive.

CLANG

Even now, his blade trembled, cracks running along its damaged edges, splinter flying before his eyes as he parried the scarlet sword. But he couldn't give up. Find exclusive stories on empire

He'll gladly give his life to make their plan a reality if the king's refusal to help tugged at his heart. But could he blame him? Ikarion was Oikos' ultimate weapon, the one who would eradicate the demons from their realm. If dying in the thousands weakened the enemy, he understood his cruel strategy.

His eyes narrowed as he cancelled the wind spell, helping him float. He landed on the walls, his mana rumbling in his magic circuits as his conviction-filled cry reverberated.

"Even if I die, Oikos will bury your demons, and Ikarion will plant your head on a spike. Slicing typhoon!"

Roaring winds emerged and spun above his palm, the speed so high that the rocks caught in its pressure shattered into pieces, then fine dust.

"RAAAH!"

Putting everything in this strike, he aimed the sharp typhoon toward Adam.

However, Adam only smirked in response.

"Oikos' name will disappear from everyone's memory today. The citizens will label it a failed kingdom, a nightmare no one wants to return to. That's how you built it for three thousand years, and that's the reason it'll collapse under my judgment."

A dark inferno engulfed his left fist. However, a soft layer of purple accompanied its blazing tongues. The air distorted around him, and vapor rose as he hurled it at the approaching typhoon.

A fiery pillar burst from his knuckle, chaos raging inside to bring the temperature to a terrifying degree—just before the atoms began to ionise and plasma formed.

The wind blades sliced through the flames before their moisture vaporised explosively.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

The two spells battled for supremacy, scattering flames projected outwards and melting the walls' enchanted rocks in a cacophony of sizzles.

The world turned a blinding dark purple, the violent firestorm distorting the space.

Humans, demons, and orcs raised their heads, only to see the blinding spectacle and cover their ears against the deafening rumbles.

Yet, the extreme temperature, exceeding ten thousand degrees, showed that mere wind would not stop it. Instead, the typhoon slowed as its core temperature shot through the roof.

Unable to sustain its violent rotation, the typhoon's structure shattered, dissipating into hot air currents.

Meanwhile, the pillar continued its descent toward Melarkos' trembling eyes.

His skin ignited, blazing winds stewed his lungs, and his hair vaporised before it reached him. He would die. No, he was already dead, but he raised his head to look at Adam one last time.

"I'm sorry, my king. I'll watch your victory from Hades' realm."

With a smile, he felt the flames engulf, then vaporise him.

Adam observed the drifting ashes and his strike drill through the liquefying walls with a long sigh.

"Loyal until the end. A shame you followed the wrong man." He shook his head. "I wish you to find comfort in the afterlife, and don't worry. I'll care for the citizens."

To protect his people, he would kill any threat faster than anyone. Yet, the general's bravery deserved his recognition. What if this man had followed a righteous ruler? He couldn't help but ask himself.

'He could have built peace...'

Melarkos was not evil. Most soldiers weren't either. So why did he have to kill them with his own hands to reach Ikarion?

His knuckles whitened, and billowing smoke escaped through his sharp teeth.

'It's just the beginning. Millions will die. Perhaps even billions if I conquer all the realms. So get a grip of yourself and forget about them.'

He reminded himself that everyone fought for different beliefs and goals. And his had to be carried over until the end. Tiamat had to recover her body, and the gods had to die under his blade. Only then would peace follow.

As his eyes narrowed into determined slits, blaring horns reverberated from every direction.

Alarmed, his head snapped behind, only for his eyes to widen and his heart to drum.

"Ikarion outsmarted me?" His voice, an icy whisper, echoed as he glared at the thousands of men strong heavy cavalry blowing war horns.

Oikos' banners fluttered above them, and drums filled the air with a rhythmic war beat before hooves upturned the earth.

He didn't need to see it to know that the same scene happened north. The two cities were more than mere traps.

'This cruel bastard of a king.' He punched the walls, morsels flying around him. 'The man was willing to sacrifice his own people to destroy us. A trap within a trap... I-I will take pleasure in eviscerating you, son of a...'