Year 506 could only be described as spectacular. Such a grand year to live in. What a joy. This was truly a magnificent year to be alive and well. Every aspect of reality seemed to merge in this single word. Grand.

The fire that burned the horizon was grand. The number of people gathering to watch this spectacle of Majin Lord entrance was grand. The number of humans gathered could only be compared to the number of warriors that stood against them in their previous battles... but it was unwise to speak of the dead in such a manner.

And so Emerald retracted his foolish sentence, digging it a grave of its own, never to remember the fools they left behind ever again. He smiled and returned to the grand show unfolding in front of him.

The entrance parades were always a special sight and a joy he couldn't possibly miss. Especially given his current position. Giant contraptions pulled by equally giant beings called by the north man Espeqi worked their way forward through the city gates.

Their thick skin and giant legs gave them a massive appearance. They looked and were giant, but sadly they didn't possess dignity equivalent of their size. If he were the one to choose, he would have never picked a monster lesser than a King's Griffon. Sadly, no one asked him for such opinions.

Still being Grand was not a bad thing to show off. Especially to the citizenship of the last important city on their conquest road-map. The war was over. It was, but a spectacle left to unveil itself.

Everything was grand. Everything was huge. Emerald was unsure of his own vocabulary. It was splendid. Majestic. it was... Well. He could call the spectacle great, but he knew that this word was kept in his mind for a very special being.

He chuckled and looked at the Great Majin Lord sitting next to him on the throne made in its entirety of gold. The skeleton of his lord despite his title was everything but great. Just some bones covered in a simple dark robe. Emerald loved this striking difference.

For someone who conquered many dungeons and interacted with undead kind regularly, such a sight must have been a shock. The more powerful the undead the more precious their surroundings, yet it wasn't the case for the lord and his humble attire.

Was he bored by his wealth or was he just a fool surrounded by it? Was it cynicism? Or was it a cold calculation? Some movement caught his attention.

Emerald casually stepped left and unsheathe his short sword. Blocking arrows flung towards his master was a must. Not because mere arrows could damage his king. It was about his lord's image he wouldn't dare to stain. He blocked three projectiles with his buckler and slapped the fourth with his blade. Childs play.

Looking back, he saw that his lord caught the arrow shot at him from the other side of the crowd. He wanted to apologize in an instant, but the Majin Lord acted in an instant. Before anyone caught up to the quick attack a single scream of an archer assassin engulfed in a fiery blaze of hellfire could be heard.

His lord didn't bat an eye on the human he just killed. Giant Espeqi continued to move the platforms forward letting Emerald watch whatever was left of the fool who attacked his majesty.

"Shall I pursue the rest?"

"There is no such need,"

Emerald stepped closer to the Lord. His majesty was examining the arrow he caught. Some unknown black substance was dripping from the tip.

"Black tar my majesty?"

Skeleton slowly moved his head so that his empty eye sockets roughly met the gaze of Emerald's enclosed helmet.

"Coated with holy water..."

Skeleton lord moved his bony jaw further and shook his skull. It was the closest thing to laughing he was capable. It was grotesque and terrifying. Splendid sight for someone as Emerald to enjoy. The moment he started to laugh the crowd panicked. Many creatures of their army were placed among the crowds to keep them in check. The shouts turned back into cheers in mere moments.

Majin Lord looked to the charred corpse of the assassin he killed and spoke in his empty, distant voice.

"Notify the Herold,"

"It is time to gather one last time,"

Year 506. The last human empire surrenders to the Great Majin Lord and joins his cause. As the continent in its entirety is submitted to the absolute rule of an undead stories arise of inhuman creatures that led his majesty's armies to terrifying success.

While the demon lord grasps the whole world in his hand, generals and comrades eleven of his most loyal and trusted serve as an extension of his will and power. Common world knows these beings only by their position names.

Fingers.