Chapter 2551.1: Monster and Hero (Part 1)

"A child whose innocence you didn't hesitate to take away. A child that will become an adult in a few weeks after moving to the surface world." Lith clicked his tongue in disgust. "Compared to you, I'm doing Xagra a favor.

"He'll be reunited with his parents and spared a life of sacrifice." The black blade rose in a slow arc while the Hati Queen failed to hold her tears back.

She didn't care for her life or her defeat. What pained her was the fact that she had failed the whole Zelex and soon everybody would die because of her. On top of that, she couldn't forgive herself because what the crowned demon had said was true.

'I'm sorry, Xagra. A parent's duty is to provide for their children an easier life than their own whereas I forced you on the same path that trapped our ancestors. The only silver lining in the demons' return is that at least our people won't have to struggle anymore.

'The circle is broken and in death, we might experience the freedom we so desperately sought in life.' Syrah closed her eyes as War came for her neck.

Her husband's name was the last word that came out of her mouth before a thud marked the impact.

Great was Syrah's surprise when the pain in her shoulder kept tormenting her and proved to her that she was still alive.

"We meet again, fucker! You won't escape this time." A strong, virile voice said.

"Me? Escape? Either the last time we met I beat you so hard that you lost your memory or you are mistaking me for another demon, Tyrant. It was you who barely survived our last encounter."

At the word "Tyrant" the Hati Queen snapped her eyes open, refusing to believe her own ears. Yet either her eyes were deceiving her as well or her prayers had finally been answered.

Right in front of her, there was the majestic figure of a six-eyed Tyrant.

Her savior was an over two meters (6'7") tall humanoid with only two slits on his face in place of his nose and his mouth was full of several rows of shark-like teeth. He had one eye in the middle of the forehead, another on his chest, two on his shoulders, and two more on the backs of his hands.

Yet instead of having smooth snow-white skin like Glemos and all the Tyrants her ancestors had met in the past, his body was covered in multi-colored small scales.

Syrah's eyes went wide when she remembered that, according to their god, that was exactly the next evolutionary step that Tyrants needed in order to reach perfection and be able to mix their seed with the Fomors to gain their powers.

"God Glemos?" She asked, half happy to be alive and half terrified at the idea that he might be back long enough to discover everything she had said about him after his disappearance.

"Who are you and how do you know my Dad's name?" Morok's shoulder eyes lowered to look at her while the other four remained fixed on Lith.

He needed sheer willpower to not puke or twist his face in disgust while calling Glemos like that.

"Glemos is your father?" The Hati Queen said with awe. "Then he really did it. He succeeded in his quest to better the Tyrants and sent you to help us. He didn't forget about us!"

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about." Morok pretended to pull War out of the wound while the black blade was actually leaving on its own. "My name is Morok Eari, demon hunter.

"I've been chasing that bastard for months. I found this place only because I was following him."

According to Lith's script, the hero had to arrive in the most desperate moment, when everything seemed lost. It would bring the monsters hope and instantly gain their trust.

Once the fight was over, however, they would have the time and the presence of mind to question such a lucky break. If Morok knew where they were all along, why had he never come to their aid before?

How was it possible for him to return just in time for the demons' attack?

The moment the monsters put two and two together, the façade would fail and Lith's group would be back to square one. By acting as a sworn enemy of the demons, instead, he would still gain the monsters' trust while also holding plausible deniability.

"What's the point in following me if you end up running away with your tail between your legs like the last time? All you had to do to keep your life was stay away from me." Lith's laughter was devoid of joy and full of mockery.

His simple presence while standing covered Morok in a cold sweat. The Abomination's eyes darted all over the Tyrant's body looking for his weak spots and each gaze was filled with so much killing intent that Morok's flesh burned as if he had been stabbed.

'Dammit, Friya was right when she said that I can't afford to lower my guard once Lith is in character.' Morok thought. 'If I didn't know better, I'd believe that he really wants to kill me.'

"So that you could take your time hunting me down and killing me just like you did with my father?" He actually said with a snarl. "Now I finally understand why my father abandoned me as a child. He wanted to protect me from you!

"My father knew that were you to find me, you would use me as a hostage to get your hands on the Tyrant's legacy."

"You're right about the legacy but wrong about the rest." Lith shrugged. "After absorbing Glemos' power and knowledge, I had no need for you anymore." The form of Glemos surfaced on Lith's chest for a moment, twisting in agony.

"I let you go as an act of mercy. You shouldn't have come back. You are still a weak boy compared to your father."

Only then did Syrah notice that the multi-colored scales weren't the only difference between her savior and her "god".

All the Tyrants that her people had met had always exuded a bright violet aura whereas Morok had a mere bright blue aura that paled in comparison with the dreadful black-violet light exuded by the crowned demon.

"Nothing has changed since our last meeting. Killing you will take a minute. Just the time to take out the trash." Lith said.

"A lot has changed, scum." Morok said as a wide smile appeared on his face. "This time I've got help!"

Following his cue, a huge seven-headed Hydra burst from the opening in the ground and attacked the colossal demon while a woman bearing the seven elemental streaks in her hair brought the wolf demon's charge to a halt.

"Did you bring the Awakened Council with you?" Syrah's eyes sparkled with hope.

Maybe Morok wasn't as strong as Glemos, but thanks to his help, they might be saved from the demons and spared from the alliance with the Undead Courts.

"No, they just accepted to help me put an end to the demons' threat and to further my bloodline's evolution."