188 Demons & Dragons

The darkened forest was home to a number of the fearsome creatures known as "demons". "Demons" were embodiments of chaos and evil, disruptive malice given both consciousness and a physical form. A number of demons were slowly making their way towards the newest settlement in the strange dimension known as the "Heart of Darkness".

The demonic horde was slowly flying, walking, slithering, oozing, and otherwise ambling towards the tiny settlement Althos had created just days ago. This horde included monsters familiar to Althos such as succubi and incubi, and also ones unfamiliar to him such as slime-like pollution demons and animalistic demons of envy known as "ladrones". They, under the orders of a mysterious master, moved with purpose.

Their eyes were alight with pride and viciousness. Even the least intelligent of them had a wicked smile on their faces, if their faces allowed such expressions. Their objective was simple: cause enough destruction to lure out the mysterious master of this new settlement. They had no way of knowing that the master of this new community was none other than the god of shadows and lust, Althos.

At precisely the same time that the demonic horde began to close in on the settlement Althos and his followers had created, the god was back in the settlement. It was purely coincidental that the deity had made his way back there in the hours following the creation of his artistic, good-natured cult back on Htrae.

The god had merely tired of pretending to be a good-natured and kind-hearted creature and so he had returned to where he was known for being an evil entity of chaos and darkness, his home in the Heart of Darkness.

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Back in the mysterious and mulit-layered dimension known as the Heart of Darkness, I silently explored the village I had created. I did so in a mighty new form, that of a gigantic dragon.

My current form was that of a mighty, quadripedal beast covered from head-to-tail in mighty, armor-like silver scales. I had the face of a noble dragon, one with radiant handsomeness that exceeded even the nobility of the dragons who worshiped me back on Torus.

I had a sharp face with a prominent nose and a tooth filled mouth. I also had four titantic legs, and one massive torso. I had a pair of regal silverly wings that were currently closed and kept close to my torso. I was far bigger than the tiny houses my followers had built for themselves.

As far weapons went I had a plethora of tools with which I could defend myself. I had claws sharper than masterfully crafted swords, teeth harder than fortresses, wings with which I could generate hurricane force winds, and of course my divine abilities as well as the breath weapons dragons on Torus and elsewhere were famous for.

I absentmindedly wandered throughout the perimeter of the village. The demons didn't bother me, as they knew I was a god even in my dragon form. Even the tallest of my demonic servants were nowhere near as tall as I was, and not even the dimmest witted demons who served me dared to question my draconic countance. They knew that I was a formless entity, capable of taking on any appearance I desired at any time I desired.

I had come here mere minutes after dealing with the newfound cult of the silver sphere, my newest Htraeian cult. It was composed of the artists I had interacted with, who had quickly and quietly begun to worship me after meeting me and seeing my powers on full display. They were humans, overwhelming their minds wasn't truly a challenge to me.

As I wandered through the perimeter of the village, I turned my mind towards a handful of the powers granted to me by one of the more infamous domains I had gained powers over: the draconic domain.

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[Draconic Domain synergistic powers:

Draconization: You can turn mortals into dragons or dragon-like creatures. This power transforms creatures of appropriate sizes into ragons, while converting creatures too small into dragon-like versions of themselves. At this level of influence over the draconic subdomain you don't automatically gain the loyalty of the creatures you converted into dragons, but if they turn into dragonkin they are loyal to you.

Draconic egg creation: By syngerizing the domains of life, souls, and the draconic domain you can create eggs of lesser dragonkin. This means that you can create dragon-turtles, wyverns, drakes, kobolds, and devolved dragonkin.

Dragon blood: By fusing the liquid subdomain and the draconic domain you can create dragon blood. Dragon blood is a powerful mystical and alchemical substance that if imbided in a properly mixed potion levels up the drinker, but is also quite addictive.

Dragon-item creation: By fusing draconic properties into an item you can create dragon-type items. These potent items don't break as they get older and instead grow stronger with age.]

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I idly pawed at the floor before me and conjured a few eggs, specifically kobold and wyvern eggs. They would come in handy at a later date, and I wanted to see if it was true that mortal lifeforms born in the Heart of Darkness came out... altered, compared to mortals born in the dimension of mortalkind.

The dragon eggs pointed into existence right in front of my paws, and were multihued. I looked at them and smiled for a moment, before I detected beings at the very edge of my sensory range, entire kilometers away from here. I sensed them the moment they stepped, slithered, oozed, and flew into my range, due in part to the number of creatures I detected all at once.

Demons were steadily approaching the village I had created. And it was a sizeable number of them, all at once. I sensed their emotions, which were mostly a mixture of bloodlust and impatience. I could also effortlessly tell who they served: a number of demons who resided in a settlement on another layer of this nightmarish world. Evidently they were looking to lure me out and to gather information on me by observing me after destroying my community. In a way they'd be able to gather information on me, just not in the way they had hoped.

I turned my head and examined my surroundings for a moment. All around me demons and the few mortals I had created to serve demons in this community milled about and went about their business. I sighed, and rose a single one of my enormous paws over the clutch of dragon eggs I had created. I quietly teleported the objects away and into the area underneath the home I had ordered the demons to build for the priests in the community. The eggs were now in a place where they wouldn't be disturbed, and with that I looked up and in the direction of the demonic horde.

I smiled and teleported towards where they were. In an instant I left behind my tiny village and I found myself towering over a barely organized demonic horde.

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The demons in the horde had been moving slowly towards the village created by Althos and the Althonians. They had been doing so quite lazily and lackisdiscally. One instant the space in front of the ones who had been at the front of the horde, leading the pack, had been clear, and then the next instant Althos was abruptly there.

The formless-god's abrupt appearance shocked the demons who came to a rapid halt as they looked up at the entity who stood over 30 meters in height. He was a truly enormous dragon, one who towered even over many other dragons. His silvery scales stood out in the lightless forest, and his eyes blazed with a holy rage.

The god's scaled and regal face was still for a moment before his reptilian lips curled upwards in a cruel smile. His eyes blazed with a glow the same color as his scales, as he wordlessly channeled holy and sacred energies within himself, taking advantage of the divine nature of his powers.

The god was normally the sort to converse with his foes, especially ones who didn't pose a threat to him but he treated demons a bit differently. This was due to his knowledge of demons and of creatures infused with the chaotic malice of the dimension known as the "Heart of Darkness". He acquired this knowledge over the course of the past week, due to his existing demonic worshipers and his ability to hear prayers mentally muttered to him by the very same demons he had previously dominated.

Creatures here in this place of evil and capriciousness tended to obey anyone who met two qualifications: the first was possessing sufficient power to command them and the second was possessing the proper disposition needed to rule over demons, a wicked heart and a flexible attitude. This made Althos a perfect fit for commanding demons, as he was more than powerful enough to command demons and he absolutely embodied their preferences in a leader.

The god himself knew this now and in encountering a new demonic horde saw a perfect opportunity. He would forcibly acquire even more demonic worshipers and begin to inch closer and closer to becoming a true demon lord, in the same way as he was an elemental overlord and a god.

The dark god opened his mouth and a sinister light began to gather within it. There was a cruel glimmer in his gaze as he charged up one of his more potent anti-evil attacks. The demons were quick to notice and piece together what he was doing, and began to try and flee from him but they weren't quick enough.

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I possessed a number of potent abilities at my disposal. One of the most powerful of my abilities was the power to manipulate advanced and sosphicated elements. I knew from my last battle that I had the power to infuse holiness into what I could manipulate, and that was what I was doing right now.

My mouth was open and I was preparing a powerful attack that I suspected would defeat my opponents in one holy explosion. It was while I was preparing the attack that I realized something important. Something that required me to converse with the system before I unleashed the attack. I turned inward and badgered the system before I unleashed my attack.

"I'm launching a holy attack right now. If I use it on demons, will it kill them outright?" I asked the system, curiously. I was hoping to keep the demons alive and to prove to them that I was stronger than they could have ever imagined. I was met with silence for a few moments, before the system finally replied to me.

"Well you can make it so that your attacks only kill if you want them too. That would ensure that demons survive this attack, and don't die from any lingering injuries unless you allow them too. This would allow you to safely interact with lesser beings, while showing off your powers and not risking any accidental injuries. This is a consequence of you having influence over the subdomain of pain." The system informed me, sounding perfectly neutral but so perfectly neutral that I could tell that my words had stirred some sort of emotion within it.

I considered how to reply to that for a moment, a smile on my mental face as I took in that new, incredibly handy knowledge.

"That's perfect." I eventually said, the attack having been ready to go but still not unleashed just yet.

"That means that I can go wild here, without risking the loss of even a single demonic servant." I realized, speaking inwardly.

"Go ahead and turn on that... setting, or whatever the proper word would be. WIth that I can have some fun here." I told the system, excited as this meant that I had more leeway to actually enjoy combat. A few seconds later I heard a soft "ding" sound, and the system muttered something to me about me having the ability to unload on these demons.

I glanced at the horde in front of me, and finally unleashed my attack. I chuckled as the light I had gathered in my mouth, light I had created internally, was unleashed on the forest floor in front of me. For the first time, perhaps ever, this umbral forest was abruptly illuminated as holy light exploded out of my maw and spread out across the forest floor, before touching and beginning to burn the dozens-strong horde of nightmarish, inhuman abominations that had come to my home attempting to harm my worshipers.

The holy light illuminated them, and I got to see their terrifying forms in truly exquisite detail. Before my eyes they began to burn, tendrils of smoke wafting off of their unholy bodies, and wails of pain escaping their lips. I studied the various forms they took, seeing all manner of demonic life before me and having a rare opportunity to study the chaotic creatures.

The creatures were trapped in the radiant light, it stabilizing them to prevent them from escaping and also immolating them in such a way that even the most chaotic of them could not resist the beautiful light. They were trapped in my attack, forced to endure it for as long as I saw fit. I chuckled as I studied them, eagerly taking mental notes on their forms.

It was while they were engulfed in the searing, radiant light I had unleashed upon them that I received a fascinating alert. One that brought a truly wild smile to my face.

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[Alert:

By defeating the demonic horde outside of your home you have unlocked the quest to become a minor demon lord. To do so you must gain demonic worshipers, which you have already done. The next step you must do to become a demon lord is to defeat a powerful demon who slowly approaches that status themself: Agustino, the Soluto demon who sought to absorb the world of your birth into the Heart of Darkness.

The final step you must complete to become a minor demon lord is to become the indisputed lord of a layer of the Heart of the Darkness. There are countless layers of this nightmarish and disorderly land, including the one you are in which is named "The Blackened Boscage". How you do that depends on the layer in question.

Upon becoming a demon lord, even a minor one, you gain incredible powers over evil, chaos, and the ability to forcibly transform demons from one form to another. Not the smallest prize you acquired as a demon lord is a personal connection to this very dimension itself.

Inch closer to mastery over chaos and evil. Do what you must to acquire greater powers over chaos, and become powerful enough that even Morehammer himself cannot touch you.]