Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”Got you!” the black-robed man sneered. As his palm clenched shut, the giant hand he’d summoned locked Ron tightly in its grasp, dragging him helplessly forward.

”Ron! Damn it!” Delaford cried out in alarm. Seizing a brief moment of clarity, an arrow left his bowstring like a flash of lightning, speeding straight toward the black-robed man’s heart.

THWACK! The descendant of Farama had no time to dodge the Ranger’s sudden shot. The Lightning Arrow pierced through the shroud of black mist, sending an electric shock coursing through his entire body.

’A hit!’ Ron felt the giant hand and the Immovable Magic binding him loosen simultaneously. He vanished from its palm, reappearing behind the black-robed man. Shadows coalesced in his hand as he struck his palm against the man’s back, right over his heart.

”Go down!”

Ron had learned one thing from the siege against Henry: just as a killer can be killed, even a Necromancer had almost no resistance to Necromancy. Feeling the life force being siphoned from his opponent’s body, Ron was certain this cast of Vampire’s Touch had been effective.

The dissipating giant hand and the vanishing prisons that had held Mazarino and the golden dragon confirmed it.

However, to everyone’s surprise, the black-robed man only stumbled forward a couple of steps from Ron’s push before shakily steadying himself. He twisted his head around and let out a grim laugh. ”Naive boy, did you really think that could hurt me?”

”Lord Ron! Delaford! Get behind me!” The moment it was freed, the golden dragon revealed its true form. A torrent of fiery breath from an adult golden dragon—fueled by its fury at having been trapped and its loathing for Evil Creatures—was unleashed unreservedly upon the black-robed man.

Yet even amidst the baptism of fire, Ron could still hear the man’s arrogant, wild laughter. ”That doesn’t even tickle! Is this all a so-called Giant Dragon is capable of?!”

”You’re a long way from killing me with just this!”

”Then how about adding these old bones to the mix?” A slender green ray shot from Mazarino’s fingertip. ”Dissociation Magic!”

”Pathetic tricks! Why don’t I show you my trump card!” Even under the assault of an adult golden dragon and a Traveling Mage, this descendant of Farama could still laugh. ”Come! Witness my patron—the great Lord Ocas!”

Beneath the dragon’s continuous torrent of breath, the stench of pestilence surged. A humanoid creature with the lower body of a goat, a putrid and swollen gut for a torso, and a face like a rotting ram’s head tore open space and strode out from behind the black-robed man.

A pair of massive bat wings unfurled from his back, tearing asunder the golden dragon’s mighty breath—a breath which had once destroyed a powerful Ghost Witch. As He made a grasping motion with one hand, Mazarino choked as if throttled, his body rising uncontrollably into the air before being slammed violently against the wall.

”The Undying Demon Monarch!” The golden dragon stared at the terrifying being that had suddenly appeared, facing him as a mortal enemy. ”You dare show yourself here! The Gods of the Sevenfold Heaven will never let you go!”

But unexpectedly, faced with the hostility of an adult golden dragon, the infamous Demon Lord couldn’t even be bothered to spare it a glance. He lowered his rotting head and looked with malice at the black-robed man who had summoned him. ”You truly disappoint me. Did you summon my projection here just to deal with a few kittens?”

In one of his hands, He held the legendary Magic Wand known across all planes, the Staff of Ocas. At this very moment, profane power was gathering at the staff’s tip. If the black-robed man’s answer showed the slightest error, this Demon Lord would absolutely obliterate his own follower on the spot.

As the Bloody Lord who sowed death across countless planes, Ocas was hardly short on pawns. If he hadn’t previously invested some Energy in Delusional Land, he wouldn’t have even shown his face.

”My Lord, they are no kittens! I swear it to you!” the black-robed man explained hurriedly, pointing a finger at Ron. ”Do you remember saying that the kingdom once mined Abyssal Silver here to fight against Hell? This mortal! He dared to destroy the arrangements you left behind, restart mining the ore, and sell it to devils!”

”Your humble servant implores you to descend and mete out the most terrifying punishment upon this ant who has committed such an appalling crime!”

”Oh?” Ocas’s voice rumbled like distant thunder. His towering form stood before Ron, and even under the protection of a True Dragon, Ron felt no sense of security whatsoever. ”Mortal, do you have anything to say in your defense against these accusations?”

”It is, of course, my decision who the minerals in my territory are sold to,” Ron’s voice trembled. Before this almost god-like being, he felt an overwhelming urge to kneel and bow. But just as the defenses of his soul were about to crumble, a familiar bell chimed once more in his heart, forcibly steadying his mind on the verge of collapse. ”The faction you once backed has long since turned to dust, so you should act according to the rules. Don’t…”

”Is there something wrong with my ears, or have you lost your mind, you little thing?” the Undying Demon Monarch interrupted Ron. ”I am one of the most powerful beings in the Abyss, and in all the cosmos! And you presume to speak to me about ’rules’?!”

”It’s a pity that Red Copper Dragon here is dead, or I’d really let you witness my methods! But no matter. When I turn you into a Ghoul, I will carve these words onto your very bones: ’The Most Rule-Abiding Lord of Delusional Land in History’! HAHAHAHA—”

The Demon Lord’s projection laughed, reaching out to grab Ron. He couldn’t be bothered with any more elaborate movements, but even so, the golden dragon could only watch helplessly as the fiend’s hand drew closer and closer to Ron, unable to do a thing.

In fact, Ron was the only one present who could still barely move. He slowly reached into his quiver and grasped an arrow. He was completely unaware that a wisp of gray mist was swirling around his last weapon, adding an eerie aura to the fletched arrow that was already packed with numerous mechanisms.

But in the end, Ron never drew the fletched arrow that might have actually harmed the Demon Lord. Just as he was about to make his move, a Flame Magic Sword—forged from the spine of some creature and wreathed in crimson flames—tore through space as well, appearing from nowhere to audaciously strike Ocas’s palm, which was as hard as refined gold!

A figure more slender and graceful than a Desire Demon appeared before Ron, bringing an intoxicating fragrance with her. Although her form was practically insignificant compared to the Undying Demon Monarch, when she swung the sword, the energies of the Abyss and Hell collided with a deafening explosion. A stream of foul-smelling blood spurted from the palm of Ocas’s projection!

”You dare touch my business partner, Ocas? Are you itching for a beating?” The Desire Demon Queen wore only a bathrobe, and droplets smelling of wine dripped from her soft, long hair. ”Since he’s not worthy to discuss the rules, how about I discuss them with you instead?”

”Gracia!” Ocas’s projection shrieked in astonishment, clutching its wounded palm. ”Damn it, you don’t have a contract with this ant! All of Delusional Land is still ’unclaimed,’ so what right do you have to protect him?!”

”It’s true that Delusional Land is ’unclaimed,’ but who said he and I don’t have a contract?” Gracia’s soul-captivating eyes held a hint of mockery. Her words were as much an explanation for Ocas as they were a warning to Ron. ”Article Twenty-Seven: When one party to a transaction is attacked by a hostile force (for example, the Abyss), preventing the transaction from proceeding normally, the other party shall provide assistance to the best of their ability to ensure said transaction can proceed. The party that receives assistance is obliged to provide compensation commensurate with the aid received, for example, by adjusting, removing, or adding to the originally stipulated payment.”

”Ocas, do you know what you don’t know? You find it strange that my projection appeared here, but doesn’t it strike that rotten brain of yours as strange to wonder where my real body is?”

Gracia’s sudden question nearly made Ocas short-circuit, but his true body quickly understood the Duke of Hell’s meaning. In an instant, the projection and his true body simultaneously let out a horrifying shriek:

”Gracia! You madwoman! You deserve to be confined by Asmodis!”