VOLUME 15: CHAPTER 12

VOLUME 15: CHAPTER 12

At first glance, the fire imps of the Volcanic Region looked like creatures summoned from the depths of an inferno.

Standing barely a meter tall, their lean, sinewy bodies were wreathed in flickering flames that danced across crimson skin.

Like miniature devils, two curled horns jutted from their brows, glowing faintly like smoldering coals. Razor-sharp teeth peeked from their mouths, and a long tail, tipped with a fiery barb, swayed with restless energy.

They were the very definition of devils from the horror books of children.

Fierce.

Playful.

And cunning.

At least, that’s what they should have been based on their appearance.

Surprisingly, unlike their menacing looks, the fire imps were gentle, misunderstood souls that had been driven away to this region by the other demon tribes.

These creatures were fond of laughter, stories, and the crackling comfort of a shared fire. Despite their looks, they harbored no cruelty in their hearts.

They were cowardly, that’s true, but they were also the most loyal companions one could ever find.

Long ago, before they came under the wing of the Fire Elemental Lord, these little creatures served as the slaves of other, stronger demons.

“I said stop! Don’t come any closer! This place is forbidden to outsiders!”

“That’s right! If you take another step, we’ll attack!”

“We know what you came here for!”

“And we’ll do anything—even if we have to sacrifice our lives—to stop that!”

Elrenar, the Lord of the Red Tower, smirked as he watched this sight.
To err on the side of caution, he stood at the rear of the army together with Chief Researcher Muuka.

Although the Fire Elemental Lord was on the brink of death, they didn’t dare to underestimate it. Just to be safe, they decided to probe things first. If it turned out that the Fire Elemental Lord still had enough strength to annihilate their army, they would retreat without hesitation.

“What are those fools saying?” said Elrenar.

Due to the distance, he couldn’t hear what the imps were saying. But it was apparent that they were trying to hinder the Red Tower’s army from moving deeper into their territory.

Chief Researcher Muuka connected to one of the two chimeras at the vanguard of the army. Using the two monsters, he listened to the words uttered by the fire imps.

Muuka relayed what he heard to his master. “They’re asking us not to cross over this mountain.”

“Hah!” snorted Elrenar. “And?”

“If we don’t comply with their demands, they said they will not hesitate to attack us.”

The threat sounded so absurd that Elrenar couldn’t help but laugh in amusement.

Attack them?

Those lowly former slaves, weaker than even lesser demons?

It was no different from a group of slum children stopping the procession of a knight order, threatening the group to turn around if they didn’t want to be stabbed with a dagger.

“Hahaha!” laughed Elrenar. “Well, at least this is entertaining. Hehehe… if those cowards are this desperate to block our path, this confirms our suspicions.”

Muuka nodded in agreement.

“Yes, Master. It’s apparent that the Fire Elemental Lord Candela is in no condition to fight.”

“How fascinating. I never expected to set foot in this place like this.”

The entire Demon Realm had been avoiding the Volcanic Region not because they were afraid of the imps or its sweltering terrain. The demons simply didn’t want to antagonize Candela, who’d chosen it as its resting place.

But now that Candela was on its last breath, things had become different.

What’s there to fear?

Even if these lowly imps combined their forces, they wouldn’t be able to deal noticeable damage to the Red Tower’s army.

Even just the two chimeras at the vanguard and the three chimeras at the center of the formation would be enough to annihilate the pesky tribe.

“Master, just give me the command,” said Muuka. “And I’ll order the army to annihilate the imps blocking our path.”

Elrenar pondered.

“Annihilate them, huh…”

Since they currently had the upper hand, there was no reason to take unnecessary risks now. He believed that there was a more efficient way of handling this.

The eyes of the Lord of the Red Tower lit up.

He’d thought of an idea.

“No, Muuka.”

“Master?”

Elrenar chuckled. “There’s a more efficient way. Can’t you see? We have thousands of hostages.”

“Ah.”

The old tormentor’s eyes widened. He immediately understood what his master was trying to say. Indeed, it would be a waste not to utilize the imps to their fullest.

Candela had stormed the demon capital and fought against the Demon Lord Barkuvara for the sake of these weaklings. The Fire Elemental Lord must have thought of them as its children—beings it needed to protect no matter the circumstances.

They could use this fact to their advantage.

“Master is truly wise,” said Muuka. “I’ve been shortsighted. Indeed, we can use those imps to prevent Candela from retaliating against us.”

“Hahaha! Order the army! Do not kill the imps! Capture them alive! They shall become our bargaining chip against Candela!”

“As you command!”

Immediately, the Lord of the Red Tower’s orders were relayed to the soldiers. The demon army moved and surrounded the imps, preventing them from fleeing.

“W-What’s… what’s going on?!”

“What are you doing!”

“Stop! This is our territory!”

“Ack! Aaahh!”

Of course, since the orders were merely to capture them, the demons didn’t hesitate to use force to subdue the hostages. Horns were pulled out, tails were cut, and limbs were mangled, leaving the imps barely alive.

The fire imps, unaccustomed to battle after living in peace for centuries under Candela’s reign, easily lost the battle.

None of them backed down and all fought until the last man, but courage alone couldn’t bridge the gap in strength and numbers.

Now that he’d secured the hostages, Elrenar personally went to the front lines. His most trusted vassal, Muuka, closely followed behind.

“Is that their leader?” asked Elrenar.

One of the tormentors replied, “Yes, Lord.”

Elrenar put his hands behind his back, all three of his heads gazing at a muscular imp crucified upside down.

The Arzomos head had become somewhat responsive to him after he absorbed some of Candela’s flesh. Although Elrenar still couldn’t use its powers, he could now use it to see his surroundings. To some extent, he could even use it to speak.

“You’re the leader?” said Elrenar to the imp.

One of the imp’s eyes had been gouged out during interrogation, and its swollen cheeks covered the remaining eye, making it barely visible.

“Elrenar… the Lord… of the Red Tower.”

The fire imp muttered those words in a strained, croaking voice filled with hatred.

“You… piece of shit… I… will not… answer any… of your… questions.”

The eye of the fire imp glowed. Mustering the last bit of its strength, it spat a mixture of blood and saliva at Elrenar’s face.

Unfortunately, one of the tormentors nearby immediately raised their arms and blocked the ‘attack.’

The smile on Elrenar’s face froze. The corners of his mouth twitched, and killing intent started oozing out of him.

“You dare…?”

He didn’t mind prostrating before the Demon Lord Barkuvara like a cockroach back then.

But being spat on the face by a lowly imp?

That was different.

“Haah… fucking insect,” growled Elrenar. “I’ve been thinking of interrogating you first, but I’ve changed my mind. Muuka.”

“Master.”

“I remember one of our chimeras is a voracious eater. Throw this fool to that guy.”

“Understood.”

“Ah, and if you find any of its family members, make sure to throw them first into the chimera’s mouth.”

Muuka lowered his head, wordlessly saying he’d follow his master’s orders. Compared to the experiments they’d conducted in the Red Tower before, this kind of death was already lenient.

Of course, the leader of the imps didn’t have a way of knowing that.

The moment the tormentors managed to find the imp leader’s child, the imp leader started thrashing about, roaring and threatening to bite off Elrenar’s neck.

“Let me go!”

“S-Stop! Don’t touch my child!”

“Aaaah! F-Father!”

Crunch!

Witnessing its child devoured by a chimera before its very eyes, the mind of the imp leader shattered, and it fell limp like a stringless puppet.

The tormentors dragged the imp leader across the ground and threw it into the chimera’s mouth. The imp leader no longer struggled, and the chimera slowly enjoyed its meal by devouring the imp’s limbs one at a time.

Elrenar gleefully watched as the chimera crunched the bones and chewed the flesh. After patting its front leg affectionately, he uttered his next commands to the Red Tower’s army.

“Now, go! My army!”

The millions of demons moved as one, carrying with them thousands of half-dead fire imps as hostages.

Judging by Candela’s personality, the Fire Elemental Lord wouldn’t be able to attack them.

Like the fire imps, despite its fearsome appearance and unparalleled strength, the Fire Elemental Lord truly cherished its friends.

***

[The Crater where the Fire Elemental Lord lived]

Although Candela had been severely weakened in battle, it was still an existence that instilled fear throughout the entire Demon Realm.

Naturally, it could feel the numerous presences heading its way.

Demons.

Millions of them at that.

Groaning, Candela stood up. The wounds it had sustained during its fight against the Demon Lord Barkuvara reopened.

Due to the nature of Barkuvara’s attacks, even someone like Candela found it hard to regenerate the wounds. The rift attacks of the Immortal Demon shattered space itself, and it would take more than natural regeneration to fully recover from that battle.

By estimate, it would take at least a decade before Candela could perform proper spells again.

Unfortunately, the Fire Elemental Lord knew that time wasn’t on its side right now.

“The. Fire. Imps.”

Using its few remaining mana, Candela expanded its senses further until they reached the location of the Red Tower’s army.

From here, it felt the presences of thousands of imps—half-dead—serving as hostages.

“They. Dare!”

Candela was infuriated upon realizing what the Red Tower had done to the imps.

It realized that the imps must have tried to stop the army from crossing the border. Despite their cowardly nature, the imps had taken up arms and fearlessly blocked an army several times their number.

“Ugh!”

Candela groaned in pain. Its legs wobbled, and it nearly fell to the ground. The wound on its torso, which had almost split its body in half, continued to reopen further.

“Haa… Haah…”

It should have been hibernating right now, but the current predicament had forced it to wake up from its slumber.

Candela focused its senses on the approaching army again.

Should it cast the Primordial Fire and annihilate all of them before they could approach this place?

Although Candela was on the brink of death, if it used its two legs as sacrifices and converted them into power, it should be possible to cast a powerful enough Primordial Fire to obliterate that army.

“No. The. Imps.”

But it couldn’t do that.

If it cast the Primordial Fire, even the imps would be swept up in the destruction. As weak as they were, there was no way those little creatures could survive the attack.

After spending hundreds of years with the imps, the Fire Elemental Lord Candela had come to cherish them not as subordinates, but as its very own children.

“So. This. Is. My. Fate.”

It didn’t take long for Candela to realize what would happen to it the moment that army reached this place.

The rational choice that would enable it to live was right in front of it, but Candela didn’t take it.

If living meant forsaking the children, then it would rather die a thousand deaths.

Several days passed.

Soon, the demon army reached the crater where Candela resided.

Elrenar, who fearlessly stood at the vanguard after securing thousands of hostages, whistled upon seeing Candela.

“Hahaha! What a sight!”

Elrenar shuddered in glee upon seeing Candela’s body. Mana continuously oozed from the Fire Elemental Lord’s wounds, its left shoulder hung limply, and the cut on its abdomen had nearly severed its body. Chunks of flesh were missing from its face, legs, and chest.

The Fire Elemental Lord was so gravely injured that it was a miracle it was still alive even now.

Although the Lord of the Red Tower had seen its state using the vision crystal, seeing it in person was still a novel sight.

“As expected,” said Elrenar. “Even if it’s Candela, there’s no way it would have come out unscathed after fighting the Demon Lord Barkuvara.”

Looking at it from a different angle, one could say that the Demon Lord Barkuvara was the true winner of that battle.

While the Fire Elemental Lord Candela struggled to regenerate its wounds, the Immortal Demon had already recovered a significant portion of his strength long ago.

While Elrenar was thinking this, a murderous growl reverberated.

“You! What. Did. You. Do. To. The. Imps!”

The Fire Elemental Lord Candela’s voice, laced with murderous rage and mana, made all of the demons in the army shudder in fright.

Only the chimeras remained unaffected. Elrenar and Chief Researcher Muuka, on the other hand, instinctively took several steps back.

“If. You. Don’t. Release. The. Imps!—”

“—Then what?”

It didn’t take long for Elrenar to recover his composure.

Although the Fire Elemental Lord was an absolute existence in this realm, it was currently at its weakest. If Elrenar’s hunch was correct, just a couple of attacks could end its life here.

Why should he be afraid of a creature on the brink of death?

Elrenar grinned. “Listen. I’m not afraid of your threats, Candela.”

Although he said that, Elrenar wouldn’t hesitate to abandon the army and flee somewhere far away the moment Candela started casting the Primordial Fire.

Of course, he would never admit that.

“Look, you damn fire spirit,” spat Elrenar. “If you dare raise your voice against me one more time, I will start executing the imps.”

Hearing that threat, Candela glared at Elrenar but didn’t utter another word.

The number of hostages was so numerous that it would have been very easy for Elrenar to follow through with his threats.

“Loooord Caaandeeela!”

“Looooorrrddd!”

“Don’t worry about us!”

“Just kill these bastards!”

Realizing that the demons intended to use them as a bargaining chip, the imps shouted at the top of their lungs, pleading for Candela not to mind them and just kill the demons from the Red Tower.

But Candela didn’t have the slightest intention of doing that.

“Silence!” said Elrenar. “So, Candela, what will you do?”

Candela’s gaze moved from Elrenar, to the imps, then back.

“What. Do. You. Want.”

Elrenar didn’t hesitate in his reply. “Your life.”

“My. Life?”

There was no fear within Candela’s voice, only weariness and worry.

“Don’t do it, Lord!”

“Loooord Candeeelaaa! Don’t listen to him!”

“Forget about us, Lord!”

Elrenar clicked his tongue. He’d been itching to crush the heads of those noisy imps right then.

Candela observed Elrenar for a long time. Eventually, it asked, “Why?”

Elrenar crossed his arms. “Does the reason matter?”

As a recluse, Candela had never met the Lord of the Red Tower before. Unless necessary, Candela didn’t leave the Volcanic Region, after all.

“I. Need. At least. An. Answer.”

“Hmm…”

Elrenar fell into thought. After some deliberation, he decided to answer the Fire Elemental Lord’s question.

“Your body. We found out that it’s an elixir.”

“An. Elixir.”

“After you die, we’ll use your body to strengthen our army.”

Hearing this, the imps angrily attacked the demons near them. But due to their injuries and shackles, they were easily suppressed.

“Don’t die, Loooord!”

“Just forget about us!”

“Please, Looord Candeeeela!”

Seeing the imps plead for the sake of its life, something finally shattered inside Candela. Its chest tightened as it looked at their battered bodies and their snot-filled faces. Each wound they bore felt like a failure etched into its own flesh.

Had it not decided to reside in this place, then maybe the imps wouldn’t have suffered like this.

The Fire Elemental Lord felt responsible.

Resolve quickly formed in its heart.

Now that things had come to this, it would be better if the imps survived.

“I. See. Then…”

Candela sat on the ground, signifying its surrender.

“I. Will. Give. You. What. You. Want.”

“Noooo! Loooord Candeeeela!”

“Loooord Candeeelaaaa!”

The Fire Elemental Lord ignored the crying imps. It looked straight into Elrenar’s eyes.

“But. In. Exchange. Let. The. Imps. Go.”

Those were probably the sweetest words Elrenar had heard in his entire life.

Ah, how wonderful!

The strongest existence in the Demon Realm was willingly offering its life to him just like that!

As expected, exploiting the Fire Elemental Lord’s weakness was the key to achieving what he wanted!

Elrenar was so overwhelmed with bliss that he couldn’t help but shudder. Like a maniac, he laughed.

“Ha… Hahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!”

Who would have known that Candela was a fool who would sacrifice its own life just to save the lives of mere imps?

It was laughable no matter how Elrenar thought of it.

Things proceeded smoothly after that.

As requested by Candela, the Lord of the Red Tower recited a binding oath that would force him to keep his promise to the Fire Elemental Lord.

With this oath in effect, Elrenar had no choice but to let the imps go once Candela was dead. He was also forbidden from returning to the Volcanic Region to harm the imps in the future.

Although the lowly imps ended up surviving because of this oath, Elrenar didn’t mind.

After all, he’d managed to achieve his goal.

That day, the Fire Elemental Lord Candela willingly offered its life so the imps under its protection could survive.

Its limbs were torn by the demons while it was still breathing, and its core was extracted from its body slowly.

Like livestock being slaughtered, the Fire Elemental Lord Candela succumbed to the Red Tower.