Ah. Pride. Or I guess as Placeholder knows that incarnation of my life, “Titus the Tyrant.”

It was certainly an effective form, and it gave way to the longest period that I managed to stay alive up to that point.

There are fewer things in Placeholder that have been as powerful… or that I have been as afraid of.

Excerpt from my journal

-------

March 19th, 180 AA

As I walked away from the tutorial obelisk, I turned my thoughts to the next matter at hand.

“Clearing the tutorial yet again?” I asked. “What a waste of time, but I suppose it can’t be helped.”

I continued my leisurely walk towards the boss room until I encountered enemies.

The ants charged toward me… and I ignored them.

Their mandibles bounced off my clothes and skin as they tried to bite me. Meanwhile, I paid no mind except to the one that got directly in my path. I batted it aside with an [Air Strike] slap and didn’t give it another thought.

Said ant tumbled end-over-end and then perished.

I would have continued my march forward if not for one pesky insect that grabbed me from behind.

System: You are grappled and cannot move

“Such a puny creature should not be able to hold ME,” I raged at the System.

System: Pride - Overriding Grappled Condition

I nodded in satisfaction at the System’s response and then continued as if I didn’t have a giant ant clinging to my leg.

I eventually made it to the elite ants guarding the boss door, but they faired no better against me, and I strode into the boss room.

I walked down the hill under a hail of ranged ant attacks, but they bothered me no more than a light rain would.

“Must I sully my hands with clearing out these vermin?” I asked with a sigh as I looked around the room. I shook my head. “No. That is what magic is for. [Hell Blaze]!” I cast at my own feet.

The spell immolated the enemies surrounding me.

“Now I wait for the cooldown,” I stated as I looked around at the enemies that were fruitlessly attacking me.

“No,” I grumbled. “Why should I have to wait for such a trivial thing! It is my magic, and I will not bow to your arbitrary constraints!” I swung my arm in a different direction. “[Hell Blaze]!”

System: Pride - Overriding cooldown of Hell Blaze

“Perfect,” I said with a grin. It was time to set the whole tutorial ablaze.

-------

It turned out that “overriding” the cooldown meant no cooldown. I was on to the second wave in short order.

Once again, I should have been worried about that. Why would the System ever give me something that powerful? And where was I getting all of the mana to cast those spells? Not only was I in the tutorial where I had never had MP before, but I threw more than enough [Hell Blazes] to completely tap out my mana bar back when I was at level 25.

However, pride didn’t let me take notice of any of that. I simply knew that I was slaughtering the tutorial enemies that were far beneath me, just as I should have.

As for the elite ants, those were a bit trickier. They swapped to be immune to my fire damage in short order, which left punching them as the only option.

That haughty version of myself wasn’t about to run after them like some kind of neanderthal, but pride form was content with [Flash Stepping] after enemies. At least, after overriding that and somehow making it act as if I had [Flash Step] at level 10.

I cleared them out in record time by blinking around the room with a 0-second cooldown, 50-foot ranged skill.

At 10 stamina a use, [Flash Step] should have run me out of stamina but didn’t for some reason.

Almost before I knew it, it was time to face the boss again.

-----

When the boss appeared with its signature screech, I didn’t clutch my ears like my past few feeble lives did.

I sniffed in derision. “It will take more than that to damage me. Come on! Give me your best shot!” I goaded the level 15 monster.

It didn’t hesitate. It charged forward and rammed into me with all its might.

I took no defensive posture. I didn’t brace myself at all. All I did was watch with a bored expression as the ant slammed into me… and acted as if it had run into a brick wall.

I covered a yawn with a single hand.

It recovered quickly and tried to grab me, but it didn’t seem able to find purchase.

Instead, I grabbed onto it with one hand. “Let’s get this farce over with, shall we?” I asked the now-trembling ant.

It tried to struggle out of my grasp to no avail. I beat it down quickly and then closed my eyes as I prepared to be teleported.

I waited about 10 seconds with nothing happening.

“Why am I still here?” I asked. “Status!”

Status

Name

Titus

Level

#ERROR

Class

Demon Lord

Race

Demon Lord

HP

???/???

MP

???/???

SP

???/???

Age

24

“Where are my levels!?” I raged. I yelled several things at the System but didn’t manage to get Pride form to override anything.

Fortunately, the rational part of me was starting to come back slowly.

I didn’t get any levels because I don’t get any experience in Demon Lord form. The calmer part of me realized. Otherwise, I would’ve leveled off the first dragon I killed back when I…

The next part of that thought was thinking about the time I killed Megan, so my internal monologue stopped there, even as the other part of me was outwardly raging.

“You can’t trap me in here forever!” I screamed at the System. “I’ll find my own way out eventually! Just you wait!”

I just have to wait for his temper tantrum to end and then for Pride form to deactivate. I thought. Speaking of… hasn’t it been almost an hour by now? We should be at the expiration here soon.

System: Time Limit Reached. Pride Form Deactivated

Ah. There we go. I thought.

“You think that I’ll let go that easily?” I asked. “No! Perfection is not limited to one measly hour!”

System: Pride - Overriding pride form time limit

Uhoh. Wait… I-

“Not to worry, I’ll succeed where you failed,” Pride form Titus answered my thoughts with a sneer. “I will bring her back, and I won’t let your petty misgivings get in my way.”

After that, I felt like my internal thoughts were put on mute.

I could only watch in horror as the worst, most arrogant, and undoubtedly most powerful version of me prepared to take on the world… without any of the planning of my internal monologue.

System, save us all. I thought as he finally located the obelisk that had appeared in the middle of the room, put a hand on it, and told it to teleport him out.

-----

[Commander] Anders was living the easy life. Sure, being sent to Faroff to “watch for the [Demon Lord]” was supposed to be some sort of punishment, but he didn’t believe the load of bull that everyone kept spouting to him.

It’s been, what? 55 years since the last sighting? He sighed in contentment as he stretched and “patrolled” the area around the obelisk. Assuming that entire generation of old coots can even be believed. I mean, honestly. A mutt that can turn into a giant flaming monster? That sounds exactly like the kind of tale that you tell kids before bedtime to get them to behave. He snorted. Eat your dinner, or the [Demon Lord] will get you! Go to sleep on time, or the [Demon Lord] will steal you away! Be nice to your siblings or-

Unfortunately for [Commander] Anders, that was right when the earth quaked, and he received the message from System.

System: The realm trembles as a new Demon Lord is born! Demon morale has been restored, and darkness begins its nefarious plans to conquer the world

His training kicked in, and he blew his whistle to summon his men. Then, he froze. Not because the [Demon Lord] was more than an old wive’s tale, or even because of the health bar that appeared in his vision that said Demon Lord of Pride. No, he froze because of the man striding towards him with a halo of light above his head.

In many ways, the man before him could be described as beautiful. There wasn’t a blemish on his skin, and his eyes and hair shone like polished gold. However, the [Commander] could tell that something was wrong with him. There was this… atmosphere that surrounded the man that practically demanded worship.

That was enough for him to put the pieces together.

“Halt, [Demon Lord]!” Anders called with a trembling voice as he pulled his spear out of his inventory. “Stay where you are!”

“Or what?” the [Demon Lord] replied with a laugh. “You’ll stab me?” Then his eyes lit up. “Oh, I know. Let’s play a game. I give you one free shot, and if you can damage me, I let you turn me over to your leader.” He grinned maliciously. “And when you can’t, I instead get one free shot on you. Deal?”

Anders’ reinforcements were approaching, but he didn’t have time to wait for them. The [Demon Lord] kept walking closer.

I wish I’d leveled [Spearmanship] more. Anders lamented as he made his decision. “[Power Strike]!” he called out as he plunged the spear into the [Demon Lord’s] gut.

Or at least tried to. The spear bounced off the monster before him as if he had attacked a cliff face.

“Now, my turn,” the demon said. He wrenched the spear out of Anders’ hands impossibly fast and then called out the same skill. “[Power Strike]!”

It was the worst pain the [Commander] had felt in his life, and he was sure he took more than 100 damage from the single blow. He even ended up with a bleeding condition he pressed his hand into.

However, he had a few levels under his belt. That wasn’t enough to do him in.

The [Demon Lord] looked at him in disappointment. “Status.” He paused for a moment and gave the familiar blank stare of someone poring over their System-given information. “Only level 5. I suppose that’s fine since I don’t care to be a spearman anyway.” He carelessly tossed the spear to the ground.

“[Commander]!” the [Cleric] assigned to his squad shouted as he came into view.

The rest of the squad surrounded the [Demon Lord] as Anders called out his orders. “It’s too dangerous! Stay back! Get word to the capital, the [Demon Lord’s] back, and we need reinforcements!”

“Don’t bother,” the monster replied. “I’ll be there shortly.” He paused. “Tell them to expect me today. [Teleport]!”

With the final word, the [Demon Lord] vanished along with his health bar.

Anders looked to his men even as the team’s [Cleric] began [Restoring] his chest wound. “Send the [Message]. The [Demon Lord’s] back, and he could be at the capital any time.” He paused. “System help us all.”

-------

I appeared dozens of miles north of Faroff… which was definitely not the capital city of Gram.

I attempted to cast [Teleport] again but failed.

That’s why you shouldn’t have been so hasty. I thought. I had managed to do 3 overrides in a row. [Spearmanship] to level 5. [Power Strike] to level 5. And then finally, removing the cast time for [Teleport].

However, removing the cast time meant that the cooldown time was still there, which the System seemed keen on keeping.

You could have also overridden your [Spatius] level, but nooo. You had to act like a toddler.

However, whatever the pride form version of me had done seemed effective at locking my internal monologue away. For all intents and purposes, I was stuck as two different beings, one mental and one physical.

The physical one was also kinda impatient.

“Fine then! If [Teleport] won’t work, then I know what will!” I shouted as I [Flash Stepped] forward the maximum distance.

Yay. 50 feet. Good job. That’s definitely going to get you there today. I continued mocking… myself?

However, whatever was currently in charge of my body made me eat my mental words.

50 feet in a single [Flash Step] is not very useful for long-distance travel… Unless you have no cooldown and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of stamina.

It was still no [Teleport], but the ability to chain multiple [Flash Steps] together back to back still was enough to set a land speed record[1].

The Demon Lord of Pride arrived in Gram’s capital later that evening.

------

[King] Aaron Graham sat on his throne. He had heard the reports from the squad stationed in Faroff and had initially dismissed them.

However, he had received follow-up reports from other towns to the south that they had briefly seen the [Demon Lord’s] health bar, and some even mentioned seeing him moving north at great speed.

He had initially debated fleeing, but he knew that would cause panic among his people.

So, he sat on his throne and waited… with five dozen longbows trained on the door and an entire contingent of his [Royal Guard] to watch over him.

The day dragged on, and he was beginning to wonder if the threat had been an empty one when the health bar finally appeared.

It is just as they reported. He thought grimly. We shall have to pray that our attacks find more purchase than those of the dregs that were sent to Faroff.

“Be on your guard,” he stated calmly. “There is a good chance he will be here any minute now.”

They didn’t need to wait long. The castle’s alarm bell was soon ringing, even as they heard screams and shouts of “fire!” coming from various places in the castle.

The cries of the [Demon Lord’s] victims grew closer and closer, and they were sure he would be at the door.

Then, it went quiet.

That was even more unnerving, and the entire room tensed as there was a brief knock.

Does he believe us foolish enough to open it? The [King] asked.

The knock came again, more insistently.

Once again, the [King] and his men didn’t answer.

“If you can’t do something so simple, then I shall do it myself!” came a shout from beyond the door.

A moment later, one of the doors was smashed inward, and a figure was thrown into the room. The poor [Soldier] would have become a pincushion then and there if not for the [Commander] yelling out, “Hold your fire!”

The soldier was shaking, possibly due to fright and possibly due to his wounds as he was clutching at his arm that hung uselessly.

“P-p-presenting… Ummmm,” the [Soldier] looked back out the door.

“Say it as I told you!” came the sneering voice again. “Or do you need to be taught another lesson?”

The man turned white and continued in a shaky but much louder voice. “Presenting his excellency, [Demon Lord] Titus.”

Right after that pronouncement, a figure slammed open the other door and walked into the room.

[King] Graham had received the reports, but the figure still surprised him.

The man before him lacked the usual horns that [Demon Lord] and mutts had. Were it not for the health bar that System was showing to him, he might have mistaken the being in front of him for a member of his own race. And a particularly attractive-looking one at that.

Then, on a dime, the man’s expression changed into a sneer as he examined the room. The [King] himself was even graced with a look that one might direct at a piece of dung they have found on their shoe.

Fortunately, the sheer arrogance emitting from the man was enough to shake the [King’s] warriors from their stupor.

“Open fire!” the [Commander] shouted.

“Oh, please, must we do this again?” the man asked with a yawn as arrow after arrow bounced harmlessly off him.

“Second Volley!”

“Yes, yes, because a second volley will surely work where the first didn’t.” The man gave a brief shake of his head. “I should have expected nothing less from ants after I kicked their nest. [Hell Blaze]. [Hell Blaze]. [Hell Blaze].”

The three areas the [Demon Lord] pointed at burst into black flame, and the [King’s] men screamed as they were lit on fire and couldn’t extinguish themselves.

[King] Graham wasn’t sure what to do, and meanwhile, the [Demon Lord] had started walking in the direction of the throne.

The [Royal Guard] moved to engage him, but that was also a futile gesture. He didn’t even bother dodging their thrusts or stabs and batted them away with a simple slap. When they clumped up, he cast his evil version of [Fireball] once more.

His men were going to be slaughtered, with him next. There was only one way out of this.

“Stop!” the [King] called from his throne. “What are your terms?”

“My terms?” the [Demon Lord] asked as he looked up from where he had lofted one of the [Royal Guard] off their feet with a single hand.

“What are your terms for our surrender?” the [King] clarified.

The [Demon Lord] sighed. “Finally, an ant that has some common sense. Very well. I accept your surrender. My terms should be possible even for ants like you.”

As the [Demon Lord] grinned maliciously, [King] Graham swallowed hard.

System help us, what have I agreed to?

------

It turned out that most of the terms weren’t that bad. I asked for time magic to no longer be banned and for a group of [Magic Researchers] (funded by Gram) to be devoted to unlocking the mysteries of time magic.

Yes, in pride form my thought process was somewhere along the lines of “why do the grunt work of learning time magic when I can just make someone else do that for me?”

The [King] agreed to those terms fairly readily. Though, he informed me that the time magic ban was more under the church's jurisdiction.

At that, I made some reply along the lines of “I suppose that has given me my next destination” and immediately [Flash Stepped] toward the nearest church.

------

“Where is the [Arch Bishop]?” I demanded as I barged into the holy building.

It turned out, while I was fast, the [King] had been even faster with his [Message] spell. I was met by a group of [Clerics] who began casting as soon as I entered the room.

“Power of light, restore health to my ally,” they spoke in unison.

I grinned wide and spread my arms. “What a warm reception!” I said. “By all means, give me your best shot.”

They needed no second prompting.

“[CURE]!” they cast.

That should be a lot of damage coming my way. I thought in concern. It was certainly more than enough to kill my normal form outright.

Meanwhile, the healing magic flowed across the room like a flood, and I… laughed.

“Such trifling spells aren’t enough to harm me,” I mocked as they dissipated against me. “Now, be good little insects and point me to your leader. We have something to discuss.”

“I am [Arch Bishop] Greenfield,” an older man said as he stepped forward. “What business does the [Demon Lord] have with me?”

“I never asked for your name,” I sneered. “Why would I need to know the name of an ant?” I shook my head. “No, no, no. I have a message that the head ant needs to relay to all of the even less significant ants underneath him.”

I [Flash Stepped] forward, picked him up by the throat and effortlessly lofted him in the air with one hand.

“Time magic is no longer banned. Are we clear?” I asked with deadly seriousness.

The choking holy man managed to barely cough out a reply. “Even should you take my life, I will not reverse the ban that has been put in place by System himself.”

I wagged a finger at him and tsked. “Who said anything about taking your life? The lives at stake here are those of your subordinates.” As his eyes widened, I continued. “Allow me to demonstrate. [Hell Blaze]. [Hell Blaze]. [Hell Blaze].”

Most of the church and its occupants were lit on fire with the ensuing black blaze.

“And when I tell you that I could do this all day, that is no exaggeration,” I said as I dropped him back to the ground and loomed over him. “I could burn your little places of worship all day… all week… or even for an entire year if the mood suited me.” I grinned. “And I never did like [Clerics].”

The [Arch Bishop] looked around at the flames and at the other church members frantically trying to put them out and heal the wounded. He bowed his head.

“System forgive me,” he prayed. Then he looked back up at me. “Time magic will no longer be called taboo by the church, but only if you take an oath not to harm any more members of the clergy.”

I laughed uproariously. “Do you seriously believe that you have any room to dictate terms? The only reason I don’t squash your entire little organization of ants is that being an exterminator is beneath me.”

He paled but nodded slowly.

“Good, now that that’s taken care of, I have other business to attend to,” I said. “Gram is under wraps, so perhaps Pumil would be the best to take care of next?”

However, I was approached by a young clergywoman who seemed to be almost in a trance. It was bold enough behavior that it actually stopped me from leaving.

“[Demon Lord],” she spoke confidently, belying her petite frame. “You shall not always be permitted to have your way with the world-“

I raised an eyebrow. “What the devil is she talking about?”

She continued as if I hadn’t said anything. “-for, behold! There shall come a [Hero] who will right your wrongs forever. You shall be defeated, you shall be cast into the pit of eternal corruption, and a new age will dawn.”

Wait. Is this a [Prophecy]? I asked myself. That doesn’t sound good.

However, she wasn’t done. “On that day, there shall be no more [Heroes] and no more [Demon Lords]. The realm will be at peace, and even the wars of the nations shall be no more. The heavens shall look down more closely at man and his ways, and the errors of this world shall be fixed.”

I yawned. “That sounds great. I’m happy for you all.” Then I grinned. “As for me, it is unfortunate that I won’t be around by the time all of that happens. I have time magic to cast.”

I ignored the woman who collapsed after her impromptu soliloquy.

“Now, on to Pumil.”

------

The subjugation of Pumil went about the same as the one for Gram. Threaten a bunch of highly ranked people, throw a bunch of [Hell Blazes] around, and finally convince them to get some people working on time magic for me.

That left only Dryadal, and I made my way there the next day.

The elves capitulated without much of a fight due to advanced warning from their dwarven neighbors.

What about Gert and Besti?

Well, either pride form Titus didn’t remember them, or he simply assumed they wouldn’t be much help. With Gert’s largest export being [Berserkers], and with Besti’s relatively tiny population, he was probably right on the money with that. Neither of those places would be much help with producing time mages.

The hardest part of the plan was now complete, and all that was left was to sit and wait as my new peons figured out time magic for me.

Well, I did have a few things come up in between that.

-----

March 30th, 180 AA

I had been lounging around in the throne room of Dryadal’s capital, mainly because no one could stop me, when I was interrupted by a [Messenger].

It was difficult to get the message out of the poor frightened elf, but when I finally did…

“The [Hero’s] challenged me to a duel?” I asked incredulously.

“Y-y-yes, your highness,” the elven [Messenger] replied.

I laughed. “Why should I waste my time? I believe everyone already knows how this is going to end.”

Meanwhile, the internal part of me that had 0 say and 0 control over everything going on was freaking out.

Rule 1! Don’t get involved with [Heroes]! Don’t get involved with [Heroes]! I mentally screamed.

I went back to lounging on the throne when the elf coughed.

“Umm… I’m just a simple [Messenger], so please do not take it out on me for this, but I was given a follow-up message,” he stated hesitantly.

“Go on, there are no words that could hurt one such as me,” I stated loftily as I stared off into the distance, bored.

“If you didn’t accept the duel, I was to add the phrase…” he trailed off and licked at his lips.

“Out with it,” I demanded.

“Unless he is too much of a coward to face someone who can fight back.”

I slammed my fist into the throne and sheared off the armrest.

“A coward!? Me?” I rose in a huff and strode towards the quaking [Messenger]. “How dare he!? I’ll show him! And I’ll show all of you! I AM NOT TO BE TRIFLED WITH!”

As soon as I received the coordinates, I [Flash Stepped] off.

Meanwhile, my thoughts turned a bit more dour.

Well. Here’s how it ends. I guess it was a decent attempt this life, even if it will end up being the shortest.

-------

March 31st, 180 AA

“I was beginning to think that you weren’t going to show up,” Garrik stated as we looked across the plain at each other. He was mounted on a horse, and I simply stood there.

It had been decades since I had last cared to look at the [Hero], but the years didn’t seem to touch him as much as I expected.

At least, if I had bothered paying any attention to him at all.

I sneered. “Not show up? It was I who was left waiting for you, was it not? Hurry up. Let’s get this over with.”

“Very well,” he replied. “I challenge you to a duel to the death.”

Rule 2! Don’t do it! Don’t put his back up against the wall! I mentally screamed.

“And I accept!” I stated. Then, I threw my arms open wide. “Now, give me your best shot! Let me show you the difference between you and I!”

“Go, Earthquake!” he shouted. His horse galloped in my direction, and he lowered his lance at me.

I looked at it unconcerned.

That’s the Hero’s Lance! I continued my mental tirade. If there’s any weapon that can hurt you, that’s it! MOVE!

The horse and rider closed the gap. 100 feet. 50 feet. 10.

All the while, I mentally screamed to get out of the way.

I did… But only at the last possible second.

I [Flash Stepped] into the air beside the [Hero] and kicked him off his mount with an [Air Strike].

I laughed uproariously.

“Did you seriously believe I would let the [Hero] have a free shot when he’s the one person who is designed to kill even a god like me?” I [Flash Stepped] after him, batted the lance from his hands and lifted him into the air before he recovered. “And now, as promised, here is your death. [Hell Bl-“

My cast was interrupted as the [Hero’s] horse ran into me from behind.

It didn’t do any damage. It didn’t even make me stumble. However, it did make me livid.

“That’s it, equine! You die first!” I shouted as I turned towards it.

“No, wait!” Garrik shouted. “Please, the duel was to my death, not Earthquake’s! Let him go!”

“You’re not in a position to barter here!” I said with a sneer.

For the love of everything, don’t threaten the horse! Rule 2, don’t put the [Hero’s] back against the wall! Remember rule 2, you useless piece of ship!

I could already see it playing out. The horse gets brought to the brink of death or is killed outright. The [Hero] taps into some random new BS power because of the distress or does a full Heroic Sacrifice. Then-

“Do you surrender, then?” I asked with a surprising amount of calm.

“Yes, I surrender. You may do with me what you wish. Just leave Earthquake be,” the [Hero] stated.

I paused in thought for a brief moment and then carelessly dropped Garrik to the ground.

“Very well, here is my verdict,” I stated. “Death is too good for your impertinence, so instead, both you and your stupid horse may live.” I grinned maliciously. “Instead of dying as a martyr, it shall be known to the entire world that you are the [Hero] that failed. Feel free to try again any time you wish, failure. I will defeat you just as handily then too.” I strode away. “Besides, killing you would just mean some other upstart will take your place, and who knows, they might actually be useful. Now, farewell. [Teleport]!”

I left the thoroughly defeated man behind and headed back to the capital city.

------

If anything, I think I had Garrik to thank for cementing my reign.

With Placeholder’s modus operandi for dealing with [Demon Lords] being “lay low and wait for the [Hero] to kill it,” nothing is more demoralizing than having the [Hero] unable to do just that.

And so, I reigned relatively carefree for the next several years. Yes, I did have to put down some revolts that people started because of the time magic research. Yes, I did have to fight Garrik a few more times. However, those were the outlier events.

If there were ever a “reign of terror” in any of my lives, I would say that was it.

However, it wasn’t too bad for the ordinary citizen. I didn’t care to do any actual ruling, so the existing power structures were left to do their job. In fact, if you lived in Gert or Besti during that time, it was safe to say that my reign wouldn’t have impacted you at all.

However, the reverse was not fully true.

-----

July 8th, 184 AA

“Your highness, you have a visitor,” the nervous attendant told me.

“Who thinks they’re important enough to disturb me?” I asked with a sneer.

“The [King] of Besti, his highness Ash Besti. He claims that you know him?”

I sighed and then waved dismissively. “Go ahead and send him in. I suppose it will be entertaining at least.”

A much older Ash entered the room. He gave me a frown but finally bowed.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting with the once-[Prince] of Besti?” I asked. “If you’ve come to tell me to stop looking into time magic, I’m afraid you’ve wasted my valuable time.”

Ash shook his head. “No, I learned there was no reasoning with you from your previous life. I simply had to see if the tales that made it out our way were true.” He paused. “Also, we tried to [Message] you several times since your rebirth, but it seems the spell failed.”

I laughed. “Of course, it would. I am not simply Titus in this form, now am I?” When I finished my laugh, I continued. “Now, is there anything else that you wished to waste my time with?”

“One last thing,” Ash replied. “Besti asks for your assistance per the oath you swore to us.”

“Denied,” I stated flatly. “I am not bound by such trifling things anymore.”

I was expecting the System to throw a fit about that, but if I received any type of compulsion, there was no indication. I guess I do count as a different person when I’m in Demon Lord form. I thought.

Ash sighed. “Very well. Though, surely the matter we were asking for would be just a trifle for one as great as yourself.”

I nodded in satisfaction. “Indeed it would be.”

“And it would be an opportunity to spread the fame of your great name even further, but alas, I can understand that your time is far too important to travel so far.”

“Too far? Ha! There is no such thing! I could be at any corner of Placeholder within a day!”

“Truly? Is such a thing possible? Even for one as great as yourself?” Ash asked.

He had me: hook, line, and sinker.

------

Fortunately for him, Ash found the correct ratio of flattery to doubt. He convinced the Demon Lord of Pride to head to Besti and create another obelisk in their desert.

However, given my boastfulness, it was soon revealed to the other nations that I had the power to create dungeons and hostile zones.

Gram was immediately interested as they had newly unzombified areas that needed new dungeons. With their own sycophants put in place to appease my enormous ego, they were able to convince me to make the dungeons for them.

Well, not for free, but that much should have been obvious.

Given that Gram desperately needed those zones for funds, in some ways, their living conditions actually improved during my reign.

In other words, if you ignore the death threats, my requirement of even [Kings] to bow to me, and the dozens if not hundreds of casualties I caused in my takeover, I had a decent approval rating for a tyrant.

However, not everyone saw it like that.

------

November 9th, 184 AA

“Sonny, what the hail have you been up to while I’ve been gone?” an irate Gertrude asked as she barged into my Dryadal throne room one day.

“Ah, the lady Gertrude, back from the land of the dragons,” I replied. “It's a pity that they weren’t enough of a challenge to finally put you in the ground. I’ve wanted revenge ever since the tutorial.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So it is you. Despite all that hogwash you spouted about not being the same Titus, it’s just been you all along.”

I laughed. “Of course! I can’t believe all you imbeciles ever believed otherwise.”

She glared at me, but I just yawned.

“So, what brings the [Berserk Queen] to my throne room?” I asked. “Here to beg me to make another zone for your people?”

“No, if that [Hero] ain’t up to it, I’m here cuz I’ll do it. I’m gunna put you in the dirt!” She pulled her greataxe out of her inventory and then charged me as she entered [Rage].

I stood up with a sigh, even as she leaped into the air for a [Great Cleave].

I [Flash Stepped] across the room and then cast. “[Hell Blaze].”

The black flames lit her on fire, and she grunted in pain as she charged me again.

“Don’t you understand you’re no match for me?” I asked as I [Flash Stepped] again. “You won’t even be able to lay a finger on me, much less kill me.”

She gave me no response but an incoherent yell as she swung her greataxe again.

The axe cut through the air where I had stood just a moment before, but I [Flash Stepped] out of the way.

“Over here!” I taunted. She tried again. “Too slow!” I called as I dodged again.

“Stand still and fight, ya coward!” she yelled after the third time.

“Oh, my apologies,” I said. “You’re right. This is a fight. Let me put in a token effort. [Hell Blaze]!”

And so it continued, I [Flash Stepped] around the room taunting Gertrude, while I near-continuously lit her on fire with [Hell Blaze].

It was enough to eventually beat out even her [Battlefield Regen].

“All done, are we?” asked the prone Gertrude, who was glaring daggers through me.

“Do yer worst. I ain’t scared of ya,” the [Berserk Queen] said as she spit at me.

I wiped the spit from my face. “You dare?” I asked murderously. “You may not care for your own life, but that bit of disrespect has made me contemplate my stance on the rest of your pitiful northern nation.”

I manifested a lick of flame in my hand through a wordless spell cast. “I have ignored them all this while because they served no purpose for me, but maybe it would be best if I went north and warmed them up a bit,” I stated as I leaned in.

“You wouldn’t,” she said, and I could hear the shock in her voice for the first time in any of my lives.

“Oh, I would,” I said as I leaned in.

“They’re mostly a buncha civvies,” she said as she trembled in anger. “What kinda monster would attack the innocent?”

“Then maybe you should have thought of that before you attacked me. You are their [Queen]. You are the one who makes decisions on behalf of all your people, and they must suffer and live or die because of them.”

Gertrude was dying, but she somehow managed to force herself up to her feet before collapsing back to the floor.

Internally, I screamed in panic at that one. However, she worried more than just my inner monologue when she did that. I took a step back outwardly in fear, too.

Fortunately for me, the game’s rules held true. She had no power left in her. So, she swallowed deeply and then said. “Please, sonny. I beg you. Don’t do this. They didn’t do nothin’ to deserve it. I came here alone, and I attacked you all by myself. Please don’t hurt ‘em for somethin’ they didn’t have a say in!”

“Your majesty,” I corrected her.

She grimaced but then replied. “Please yer majesty.”

“Promise me on oath that you and your people won’t trouble me again.”

“But son- yer majesty, that won’t mean nothin’ once I die here,” she replied.

“Just do it. I need not explain myself to an ant.”

She swore the oath. Then I grinned maliciously. “Very good, now get out of my sight,” I said as I tossed her out of the throne room doors and called for a healer to tend to her.

“Thank you, Lady Gertrude,” I said behind closed doors. “Now, there are truly none left who will dare to oppose me.”

The [Hero’s] will was broken. The [Berserk Queen’s] wrath was muzzled. I had nothing left to do but to wait until my underlings finished the creation of the time magic spell I needed.

“It’s good being [King],” I said as I sat back down on Dryadal’s throne.

I laughed, long and hard.

[1] To give an idea of speed, it’s helpful to know that 50 feet in a second is a little over 30 miles an hour, and olympic sprinters can take more than 4 strides in a second. In other words, this method of travel clocked at a minimum of 120 miles per hour