The Real Monster 89 The Danger Lurking Withou

In the Demon Realm, the Council Chamber of the Demon Emperor and his Generals.

On the exquisitely designed round table was a map of the whole Demon Realm and its Empire. Surrounding this table were people whose powers were not held back and emitted to the full.

"How fares the Human Empire threat's investigation?" Asked the Demon Emperor who sat at the center while two of the generals sat across each other on each side.

"The Swamplands still poses the greatest threat to any invasion by an army as we speak. With Hydra nesting there, even I cannot simply walk inside and get back out without worrying a bit. Seeing that the Empire has recently been taken over by the hero of Humanity, it should take years to stabilize every kingdom under it. We should take this opportunity to also summon our Hero and make him grow in power to support us." Spoke the round-bodied demon that looked familiar. This one was Agamemkeru, Lord of the Swamps. He was the one who almost killed Clay when he was but a weakling.

"The Impassable Mountain Range still poses the greatest obstacle in any plan of invasion that the humans may crop up. However, just in case, we should also dispatch a good number of garrisoned soldiers there and create a fort to serve as eyes and first line of defense at the slim chance that they do invade using the Impassable Mountain Range." The demon that emitted Sword Aura spoke and suggested as well.

"My territory will continue to watch out for the Dragonkin Empire's movements as well. To block and resist them if they try to enter our Realm." The seductive woman emitting bloody aura reported.

"Castle security remains in tip-top shape and does not need any concern whatsoever. Even if we were invaded and they succeeded in breaching every layer of defense in each territory, they'll never succeed once they reach this Capital. I, Vulf, shall decimate them." Vulf confidently said. This person was a werewolf, the most powerful in this Realm. He oversaw security inside the Imperial Capital of the Demon Realm.

"It's good that you are confident, however, our intelligence reports suggest that it is wise to summon our trump card in case the human's greed and cruelty rear its head again and point their spears to us. We don't want a repeat of history now do we?" Jacquelin, the Demon Emperor spoke. Her cold aura permeated the room and was in fact suppressing the auras the others were emitting.

It goes to show just how powerful this Vampire was, however, even with her strength, she understood that she could not defend the Demon Realm by herself. She needed the help of her people. Her and Vulf were the oldest of the demons in the Demon Realm and they experience history with the humans and other races firsthand. It was not a good experience.

"With the power of the new human emperor who united the human realm with his name alone, not even using or showing his power, shows that a single word of him, saying he wants the world would bring the humans on their feet and move about conquering the world.

"We cannot allow something like this to happen and so, as insurance, I have decided to heed the advice of our oracle to summon the Hero that our god has set for us."

"!!!"

"What?!"

"Let me finish!" Jacquelin did not let them speak their minds and continued while her oppressive aura continued to suppress the rest. "Once the hero is summoned, we will be able to focus solely on bolstering our defenses. We use the hero as a decoy and let him run amok everywhere to draw attention to him instead of us.

"This way, we will get more time to prepare for war. Once the war starts, the hero would come back and help us to defend after leveling up in his rampage. This is the most we can do for now." She finished speaking and shut her mouth. That was signal for everyone else to post their questions or object if they really dared.

"How about we talk to the human emperor instead? Is it not possible that he'd be different? I her he's the hero?" The Bloody Witch, Tasha, suggested, however she felt that after she posted her question, the mood inside the room got worse that it already was. She asked, "What?"

"That would have been possible. However, a certain someone once fought that very hero and killed him, or at least that's what he said, when in fact he survived. Now, he's powerful enough to threaten us and we can't come up to him and apologize for attempting to kill him. If we did that then that's just delivering the messenger to his death.

"If talking to him were possible, I'd also have done so myself. However, the chances are bigger that he'd lash out instead if he hears that we want to talk peace, when we did attempt to kill him long ago." Jacquelin said. Her head hurt just from thinking of this problem that they could not resolve through diplomacy anymore. So, they had to resort to summoning a hero to defend themselves or at least to become a decoy until they were ready to defend themselves.

"Who was it?" Tasha continued to ask as her curiosity got the better of her. Her question gave Agamemkeru a headache as well as making him almost burst veins for continually reminding the Emperor of his errors. Giving up, he said, "It was I, who did it. Long ago, he killed one of my pets and I killed him for it, or at least tried to, I failed and so we are at this predicament."

Tasha wanted to laugh but she could not, after all, this was a serious issue with a serious consequence. She did her best to bottle it in.

With there no other questions and clarifications, Jacquelin decided. "The summoning shall happen two days later. Tasha prepare every means of control magic that you can find, even if its enslavement magic.

"Ken, secure the perimeter of the summoning tower. As well as its entire structure. Put agents to monitor it at all times.

"Vulf, start reinforcing our defenses starting with the outer perimeter and expand it from there.

"I will go with Tasha and Ken to the summoning tower to meet with the hero that will be summoned. Let's pray that what we summon is someone we can control. Go!" Jacquelin finished giving commands and as soon as she did, everyone sprang into action.

Jacquelin stayed and continued to refine her plans for their welfare. If this goes south, they'll be facing not just the Human Realm but also the neighboring powers like the Dragonkin and even the Beastman Tribes. That would be something that's detrimental to the whole Demon race.

"We must succeed, for the survival of the outcasted races." Jacquelin lamented. She recalled the history of the demon realm. In fact, the human realm was supposed to be one with the demon realm. The humans were part of them a time ago, when gods did not interfere with their lives. That's why, old entities like Jacquelin were apprehensive in trusting and relying on the gods' help.

The gods were merely immigrants. This world did not have gods some millennia ago. However, when they entered the fray, the dwarves got locked up in that forsaken continent, the elves distanced themselves from other races, and the dragons, the real dragons, disappeared.

The "demons" were just one race, it was a collection of outcasts from various ancient and even hybrid of races that were not welcome in the traditional communities they came from.

The Vampires were ancient beings of immortality. They were not undead in this world; they were simply undying. However, they can still be killed. Their protectors, the werewolves, were once part of the Beastman tribes, the wolf tribe, however, they were outcasted for their aggressive and violent tendencies. When the vampires adopted them, somehow, they were granted the same undying trait through blood transfusions.

The strange, basically the demon race are the strange and the weird counterpart of each established race in Alleucanth. The Lizardfolk of the demon race were once part of the Dragonkin, who were too weak to be considered dragons and so they were outcasted.

The same goes for humans who gathered too much animosity from their own race that they were outcasted or even worse, killed off and hunted, the witches. Tasha, the Blood Witch general, was one such human.

Ken was a swordsman that wandered around the world, although he was a ghost, a specter. He possessed a sword and wandered the world, in search of meaning. He found his, after he gathered most of the ghost spirits that he could find in Alleucanth and made a tribe with them.

Agamemkeru was a Kappa, a water demon that loves to play pranks and keep pets. However, his power grew too much just as his size did. He met Jacquelin who taught him how to control his power better and thus became one of her subordinates.

These generals were just outcasts in society, and the world called them demons, worse yet, the gods even considered them one. However, despite that, the demons kept to themselves and grew in power instead of waning. Their threat had grown enough that the original races couldn't ignore them and so, they were once again ganged upon and thrown to the cold regions of the north where resources were thought to be scarce. They were given territory, but it was all considered barren.

They did not retaliate nor fight back; they accepted their fate. All they wanted was to live in peace with each other, together with the same outcasts. Jacquelin led them and formed this empire. They conquered the north and cultivated it to their taste and succeeded. Now, they are yet again threatened by the humans gaining more power than they already had. They could not just stand and watch as many of their brethren die off again. Not this time. So, she resolved to summon a helper. Whatever the demon god sends, it should at least help them get through the threat or at least give them a chance to talk to the human hero, in hopes of a parley.

***

Two days later.

Ken and Tasha followed Jacquelin to the top of the tower where the summoning magic array was etched. In the room there was nothing else but the dim light from the magic tool that was installed on the walls separated by a few meters apart.

The floor had the array and the stone floor gives off a mystical feel. There were no windows here, but a constant flow of breeze continues to regulate the room temperature.

"We shall begin. The summoning ritual doesn't take much time, so let's get it over with. Tasha, get ready to cast enslavement and control spells. Ken, you must make sure nothing disturbs the ceremony. Once the hero is summoned you can hide and ready an ambush, in case the hero is out of control.

"I'll start now. Go!"

When Jacquelin finished giving orders, she opened her magic energy pool and recited the spell to summon the hero in the current god's language. This would take almost all her magic energy by the time she finished invoking the spell, the clouds over the tower darkened and converged just above it.

Then, as she said the last word, the magic array completely lit up as if a gate had been opened and something came out of the magic array that was set up in the room. The room's temperature went down almost to freezing point and even Tasha had to defend herself using magic.

"Sigh"

There was but a sigh that Jacquelin and Tasha heard, as Ken already went down before the ritual started and hid himself.

That sigh made Tasha and Jacquelin to feel very oppressed as if this thing in front of them was something that could not be played around with. They put both their guards up at this point.

After the initial sigh, the next time the voice was heard, the Magic array had already dimmed and lost its shine. The being that was summoned was presently in their midst. It spoke, "I wasn't supposed to get out of Hell, nothing could get me out, however, you did. Are you perhaps God?" The voice was calm and relaxed, pleasing to hear even, however, the cold and the evil the two of them could feel from the miasma that came and gathered around the person made them feel nauseous.

"It… It was god's power that brought you to us. We need your help. The humans threaten to invade us with their oppressive power and their cruelty. We demons cannot simply defend by ourselves. Please, help us!" Jacquelin pleaded with the hero they summoned.

"Oh? God was it? That's not even funny. Bu~t… I kinda like it here. The air's a bit more nourishing that in Hell. I should stay here for now, since I don't know if you can help me return.

"Now, about what you just said and requested, hmmm…. I'll protect you when the time comes, but for the meantime, Hehe… I'll enjoy my freedom! I'll spare your lives for the time being! Hahahaha!"

The hero, from Hell, was a demon. A real demon that was summoned from the depths of Hell itself. Its power was being nurtured by the second because of the miasma in the air. It did not even bother with the two who're guarded, it even ignored Ken who had been waiting in hiding, directly flying up and out of the tower, towards the south, enjoying its freedom.

What Jacquelin and Tasha did not know, was that demons from Hell, could not affect the physical world much without incarnating. However, this demon had a physical body already as soon as it was summoned. This only meant that Demons, in this world, could incarnate the moment they are exposed to the world's atmosphere. This was a thought that would have given certain Winchesters a fright.

***

Two years and some few months later.

After traveling the Demon realm and this world on foot for the last two years, the Demon called Azarael happened upon the highest peak that he could observe in front of him. To the right was a grand river, to the left was a mountain range that had difficult-to-travel-in vibes and to the front was the mountain that seemed to be inviting himself.

Beyond the mountain, he could feel the emotion of countless people full of joy… this was irking him and so he decided to crash the party. Anyway, he couldn't feel anyone as strong as him, he could sense four people that could pass as his subordinate demons, but they're probably stuck up on something like human pride, so he did not even consider them. The rest were ordinary humans to him.

"This should be fun!"

Chapter end