Notes from the Demon King, page 238:

While power only absolutely corrupts, there is something that corrupts absolutely or at least as absolute of a corruption as a sentient being can experience.

That is an absolute lack of power.

It is those who feel their life is controlled down to the last detail by others or by circumstances who can become truly vicious and spiteful when let free, those are the people who when given power become the dictators and ancient evils with no sense of morality. This is not because they are somehow innately evil but because they are afraid, and for good reason. The fear of being controlled is one that all sentients share because choice is what differentiates thinking beings from the mindless beasts of the world, The fear of returning to that life is even greater than the fear of entering it in the first place, and fear is the most corrupting force in the world.

That being said, it is from that same crop of people, those who have had so little power before, that the greatest heroes rise up. It is those who never want to see anyone suffer like they have, who will give up some of the freedom that they have gained to protect the world as a whole. Who will draw their sword to fight the evils who were once their brothers and sisters.

The choice whether to be hero or villain is ultimately up to the individual but one way or another if I am to be killed by the end of the century it will be by one of those people.

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Chapter two

Once both Sandra and Kenn were fully healed the knight that had saved all of them tramped over to the group. He looked at them with some distaste yet somehow without disrespect; like they were all friends, but the group had just walked in wearing the most hideous outfit the man could imagine. Then he spoke. His voice so deep and rich that Sandra was surprised that her undies were dry by the time he stopped.

“What’s a group of no-trials like you doing out fighting a second tier mana-beast, like this? We can’t afford you dying. Do you have any idea what that would cost us, what that would cost the world!?” He spoke as if he knew them and, while Sandra was flattered that he acknowledged her importance, it was obvious he had the wrong group. Before Sandra could point that out, Ali did in a much less civil way.

“Thanks for saving us and all, but you’ve got the wrong party fuck-face”

The entire party stared at her in open horror, this man had just killed what had apparently been a second-tier monster, one that they could barely even scratch, in a single blow, and he had done so to save them! Even if she for some reason had a problem with the guy speaking to him like that was practically asking to die.

The man leveled a hard stare at the caster, who stood her ground as if she weren't an ant eyeing up a lion, and the burst out laughing

"I like you kid. You got spunk, enough for the whole book club you call an adventuring party. You know, this might just work. Fair warning though, if you curse at me again I will slap you, not with my full strength, I don't want you to die, but I can break your jaw, Especially since you have a healer around, got it ma’m.” From anyone else it would have sounded like a childish threat, from this man it seemed an honest warning.

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you...‘Sir.’ You still have the wrong party, I've never seen you before in my life and I have no idea what you're talking about.” The rest of the group nodded or made grunts of agreement.

“Yes uhh... Mr. Stalwart Blade of Glory. I d-don't think we are who you're looking for…” Hailey added, just sort of knowing that was what the man should be called, Sandra knew because she could feel it too. It was like the name was whispered in her mind anytime she looked at him. It was honestly quite unsettling.

“Please, don't use my title like that." He sighed muttering something demeaning about no-trials under his breath "And I you’re exactly who we’re looking for, he selected you. For what reason, I don't know. You’ve been chosen for special opportunity, a mission really. Think of it sort of like a quest you can't refuse” The knight explained, cleaning the blood off of his sword in a single flick, and then placing it into the scabbard.

“Can we refuse?” Kenn asked his face taking on some worry.

"I just said you can't refuse.”

“What's the quest?” Giel asked already looking resigned.

“I'm not supposed to tell you here, we’ll head to the Guild Hall and meet up with the... quest giver there.”

The way he said Quest Giver gave Sandra chills (and not just because of his ASMR perfect voice) but as the man turned to leave she had no choice but to follow, as did the others. They all slowed staring longingly at the pile of hog tusks they had discarded, these shed tusks felt like a metaphor for the change that Sandra was sure was about to come over all of their lives, for better or worse.

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Ali-

Ali had spent the morning like she always did, resenting the fact that she had died only to be reborn into a doomed world.

Her friends seemed to constantly forget the fact that they have lost their lives on Earth only to be placed into a world that only had a decade and some change left of existence. Now, that had been reduced to five years as time continued to tick by.

There was no excuse not to acknowledge it, It wasn't as if this wasn't public knowledge everyone knew about the castle massacre and the demon's announcement.

It was just that no one liked to talk about it or was denying the reality, but you could see that everyone was aware of the countdown. It was visible in the way they moved; the way they spoke; the way they acted. There had aways been a sort of doomed acceptance in the eyes of everyone who was old enough to understand the reality of the situation. The only exceptions were those who pretended that the end of the world wasn't coming.

There was no denying that the Demon King existed, with the long lifespans of mages, 95 years ago might as well have been a week but many chose to believe that the Demon King wouldn’t or couldn't actually end the world, or that he had somehow died quietly without anyone noticing.

Not Ali, she always made it a point to assume the worst, and the worst was that an unstoppable evil was set to erase all life in half a decade.

So, when her and her party were ‘recruited’ for a special mission that they couldn't refuse, she made it a point to assume the worst. This is probably a suicide mission, something the government couldn't waste valuable assets on, why else would you recruit a couple of kids who hadn't even taken their first trial. Who better to force into that kind of thing than someone who is powerless to resist.

They entered the city, the daily lives of the people, who were constantly bustling from place, slowing as they noticed who accompanied the common enough group of adventurers.

Ali knew the man was a knight, and obviously from their kingdom due the Insignia on his chest, most likely a high-ranking member in the royal guard judging by the quality of his weapons and armor.

What was even more obvious to the people they passed was that the man was a mage, and a higher level one at that. He radiated power. Strength the likes of which could never be displayed in a normal mortal.

Men and women scrambled to get out of his way, or tried not to make eye contact, while also not looking like they were dismissing him or any other way they could think of showing him respect.

The treck to the adventurer's guild was mostly silent, the only communication being done through looks between the party members.

Worry and frustration were emotions shared by all five members of the group. None of them could think of any conceivable way to get out of this situation without making it impossibly worse, the best thing they could do was hear the knight out and plan from there.

Ali hated this feeling of powerlessness, She hated that she could be forced to do something that she didn't want to because one had more magic than her said so. She hated everything about the system that governed this world.

As they reached The Guild the knight practically slammed his way in, the door almost taken off its hinges from the pressure his casual push had put on it, and stomped his way in.

The usual boisterous chatter of the building was instantly silenced as the stranger’s aura pressed down on all in the confined space. All watched muttering as he walked over to an empty table and sat, gesturing for Ali and her party to follow.

As soon as they sat down, he spoke, making no attempt at privacy.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Captain Sandril Conmael of the Royal Army of Sanguis, fifth trial mage, third step. Path of the perfect edge.” The man said with a nod of greeting “As stated before your party has been selected for a task, one more important than anything else you may have been doing.”

“Okay…” Giel said unsure “But why us, isn't there someone better you could… recruit for the mysterious and important task?”

“No. For one, this task requires a group that hasn't begun their path of mana cultivation yet” Before any of them could interject the captain held up a finger “one of the main agreements of the deal was that he got to select his students himself, he chose all of you. Again I have no idea why.”

“Did you say students?” Ali found herself intrigued now, if they got free training out of it than this may not be as bad a deal as she assumed.

The knight nodded “We need you to become as powerful as you possibly can in the next five years to complete your goal. We want you to save the world. We need you to kill the Demon King.”

The Guild hall practically burst into a riot at that pronouncement. How could he expect this group of no-trials to fight the Kingslayer! It had taken most of these people years even decades to reach their current rank, and he expected these kids to do more in just five years?! It was preposterous!

Adventures were a noble, if not selfless, bunch by nature, and that part of them balked at the unfairness of the situation the young party was being put in. Ali wasn't insulted. Far from it, she completely agreed! And based on the look of abject despair on her friends faces, excluding Sandra, who’s horror was mixed with excited, they felt the same way about the impossible request that had just been forced upon him.

A few of the higher ranked people got up intending to physically confront the knight, but a single look from him put a stop to that.

Captain Conmael waited for the noise to quite somwhat before going on, "I know it’s more than just a tall order, It's asking the impossible of you, but it's the only hope we have…”

The somber look in his eyes silenced the entire party. Except Ali, she wasn’t stupid.

“Your only hope my as-butt” she said faltering for a second as she remembered not to curse at the Knight, “What are you high on to think that the five of us could ever take on a guy who has decimated multiple entire militaries! If you want us dead all you have to do is hit us once why go through all this effort!?”

“Because anything is possible with the right education, from the right teacher” a new voice said drifting from the door as a figure entered.

If Captain Conmael’s aura had been crushing, this man’s power weighed a thousand tons. Full silence greeted him as his every step as each sent a wave of mana crashing into everyone in the building. He sat down at their table and Ali felt as if he sucked all the air out of the room.

“And who better to teach you how to kill a man than the man himself” The Demon King Asked With a grin.

The man who sat in front of them was almost human. Almost being the keyword. His skin tone was human enough, a brown shade that would suggest African heritage if they were on Earth, but in this world suggested his family was from the Eastern continent. His nose was also nothing special, the only detail making it stand out was a slight point, but that wasn't really abnormal. He wore a clean cut suit and tie, dark gray pants and a black jacket accentuated by a pink dress shirt. Suave, and a bit more formal than most people Ali saw in the Guildhall but for the most part utterly normal. You couldn't say that about the rest of him, the most you could say for the rest of his features was that they were in the right place. After that point Humanity was thrown completely out the window.

His eyes were crimson where the white should be like pools of blood. The iris is a bright yellow that made Shivers run down each of the adventurers spines, they also seemed to completely lack pupils in an affront to any anatomical sense.

As it grinned at them, Ali could see that his mouth was full of serrated fangs.

Her gaze traveled downward, she noticed other inhuman features. Rather than hands it has claws. Talon like appendages with three digits each, pointed and sharp at the tips, they almost seemed metallic as if shaped from some type of red-dyed steel, yes they flexed with anticipation seamlessly like flesh.

A tail, furless and thin, flicked behind him swaying as would a pleased cat's who had just gotten the cream.

Most notably though, and most famously, where the red horns, sprouting from his forehead like gore stained crystal.

What truly cemented his identity though, was the name that rang in Ali’s head every second that she looked at the man,

‘Demon King, The Third calamity’ was whispered in her mind just as Captain Conmael’s title had been.

He spoke and they all sat in shocked disbelief.

"Hello, I'm your new instructor, It’s nice to meet you my new disciples. "

In unison Ali and her party all shared a single thought ‘how did my life come to this?’

The silence of the common room lasted for another five seconds before all hell broke loose, attacks came from every direction all aimed at the demon, adventures hoping that their combined power in such a confined space would be enough to kill the threat to the existence of their world.

Attacks of all kind flew in an instant. Arrows enhanced with mana, throwing knives, a shadow shot, a lightning bolt, flying cuts formed of blade mana, a laser formed of light, bullets from spellarms of all kinds, and more flew forward targeted directly for the Demon King’s head.

Time seemed to slow and in the split second before the projectiles hit Ali saw the Demon King smirk.

He moved to the side in an instant avoiding the nearest arrow, the rest stopping in the air as if grabbed by something and dropping to the ground, a fire bolt came just inches from his head before he ducked, popping back up seemingly off balance but still somehow leaning out of the way of the shadow attack. Next he dodged several bullets while, simultaneously, avoiding bolts of electricity targeting his middle, catching throwing knives out of the air, and… eating them. The laser stopped just a foot from his flesh, sparks flying as if it had hit an impenetrable wall. While mana formed blades were batted away with his bare hands.

Just to try her hand Ali send an Ice bolt out at the Demons side, it was smoothly dodged, he grinned at her "I like your enthusiasm! But wait until we’re outside for any further murder attempts please.”

Many of the melee fighters got up clearly intending to engage the Demon King in Physical combat, but just as soon doubled over as if they have been punched in the gut and were suddenly unconscious.

The Demon King stretched, looking around the room full of exhausted or unconscious adventurers before beginning to make his way to the door,

“Let’s go kids. We’ve got a lotta training to do. Unless, you want to end up like them.”