Traveling back home, after inspecting what they came to. They paused, confusion rising between the group, as they observed the rapid appearance of dark clouds.
Miic narrowed his gaze. They could all feel that something didn't seem quite right. Unop's grip tightened around her staff, as her anxiety built.
"Eyes on the ground," Miic alerted the group, spotting the approaching threat.
"Y—" Taz blinked. "Gray Persudos?" Taz murmured in disbelief.
The wolves stood ideally, snarling at the group. Unop swiftly got into position, puzzled by the hostility from the Persudos.
In a marvelous spectacle, from snout onwards, a large wolf materialized itself. The creature's fur glowed a majestic white. Before they could even process what just happened, they're struck by lightning.
Anchored up inside his home, Imuru sat on a stool, awaiting the thunderstorm, whilst he killed time looking over his sword.
A knock at the door drew his attention. He sheathed his blade, and hooked it back up behind him, as he waltzed over to the door, already having an idea who it might be.
He's taken aback by who he saw behind the door. "Mm.. That's considerate," He thought, surprised that Arken could be so polite.
"We have unfinished business, Demon Lord," Arken growled, pointing his blade up at him.
Unbothered, Imuru calmly closed the door. The Dark Deviders around Arken gasped in disbelief, and all directed their gaze at him.
Arken glared at them nervously, cleared his throat and knocked once again. He composed himself, "As I said before we have unfinished business, Demon Lor—" Arken paused, his attention captured by a vibrant light.
He glanced back at the door. "This one can wait," Arken thought.
He hardened his gaze and gesture to the Dark Deviders to follow him to the front of the village.
Imuru stepped out, first curious to see were the Dark Deviders marching off to, until he noticed the glow himself and decided to nonchalantly trail behind the Deviders.
They halted, and looked to their leader for orders. Arken narrowed his eyes, "As suspected… This one wheels greater power than that, Demon Lord."
"A wolf?" A young Devider responded muttered. Imuru caught wind of this and made his past the Dark Devider's, each giving a look of bewilderment.
The beast stood at a magnificent 8 feet high, boasting vibrant blue sharp eyes and soft angelic fur that glowed with grace. A white flowing flame stretched from over his back to his gray front legs.
"So this is the thing?... We fight, sure… But we despise outside forces…" The wolf thought through a growl. "Still, they'll be an unnecessary annoyance."
After having a moment in its thoughts the wolf spoke. "Dark Devider," the wolf began, its voice roaring over the thunder. "You attacked a mother Persudo a few days ago, correct?"
"Eh!!!" Imuru stumbled back into a Devider, stunned, from the wolf's voice and the fact that it can talk.
Arken crossed his arms across his chest. "Lucky for you I wasn't trying," Arken shouted out to him, a smug grin across his face.
The wolf looked on, pleased from this response. He eyed all the Dark Devider's with smug intent.
Imuru got more anxious every word Arken spoke. He moved back in front of the Dark Deviders. "Arken… Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Arken laughed at Imuru's worry. He raised his weapon up at the wolf ready to engage. Imuru shrugged, and glanced back at the others and sighed.
The wolf observed Arken, nonchalance playing all over his face. Subconsciously, he found the Dark Devider quite amusing.
"I'm Forcent! Dark Devider." He put one leg forward, a smirk now playing on his face. "I'm sure you'll remember."
Without a second word, lightning crackled from the sides of Forcent and raged towards the Dark Deviders, who were all left motionless, incapable of reacting, before it struck in one destructive blast.
Forcent stared up at the massive cloud of dust, his expression unchanged. Cracks slowly form, and through the thickness of the thunder clouds the golden rays of the sun shone through. Forcent, turned away and walked back into the forest.
A couple seconds later the dust abruptly begins to rotate. It is swiftly dispatched by the swirling vibrant purple-ish blue flames of Belzora devouring it.
Imuru rested his hand back at his side, and spun around to give a frozen, stunned Arken a playful slap on his chest.
"Well, there I saved ya… Barely," Imuru remarked nonchalantly. He walked past Arken to attend to the others. "So, if you'd excuse me and don't mind me asking, how many are you at the moment?"
A young Devider stepped forward. "Thirty sir," He said, through a shaky voice.
"Well hello!!!" Imuru smiled. "Allow me to introduce myself to you all. I'm Imuru, The Great Demon Lord." He focused his attention on the young Devider, "And you are?"
The Dark Deviders gasped and rightfully stepped back. They all soon directed their gaze at Roll.
Swiftly he spoke. "I—I'm Roll s— Great Demon lord," He stammered, trying to get a grip of himself, as his hands shook, and voice cracked.
Roll is a lean male, 5'9 feet in height. Like all Dark Deviders his skin is almost charcoal black. He has small sharp eyes, two protruding horns that are barely noticeable and his hairstyle a low ponytail.
A blade was abruptly rested on Imuru's shoulder. It indeed held some weight to it, but all it did was to perplex him. He speared it not a glance and gave it a light shove to get it off his shoulder.
Arken scoffed at Imuru's pretentious dismissive behavior. "We're still not done here. Deviders! this one first then that wolf."
The Dark Deviders carefully observed their leader and then Imuru. They stepped back and huddled like sheep, their steps filled with fear and uncertainty, and whispered amongst themselves.
Arken frowned. "What are you doing? Help me strike him down now!" He ordered, his patience running thin.
Curiously, Imuru approached the group. "Excuse me." He bent down, resting his hands on his cheeks. "Apologies. I'm still a bit curious about you guys. Are you travelers of sorts?"
The Dark Deviders made sure to give Imuru their unadulterated attention. Roll was the one to speak again, since it seemed like he unintentionally took the role of communicator the moment he first spoke to the Great Demon Lord.
"Yes, you could call us that. We were a group of One Hundred Three Deviders, sent out on an…" Roll paused briefly, his gaze drifting from Imuru's. "Expedition sir." He murmured, feeling ashamed.
Imuru took a second to process this. "One Hundred Three, now Thirty?" He mused, reaction-less to the information. Imuru gave Arken a simple glance. "Yeah, figures."
Arken caught a glimpse of Imuru's judgmental glance. He had enough, and since his allies won't do anything, raised his weapon to take the initiative.
Roll looked up at Arken worried. This raised Imuru's attention, so he glanced back at Arken once again. "The sheer tenacity." Imuru stood up and faced Arken.
He straightened himself, giving his hair a bit more attention. Imuru approached Arken with gentle grace. He planted his hands on his hips and pouts. "So this is how you treat me, after I saved you and your friends… Well, that's just mean."
A few minutes to contemplate his next move, and a few glances at his people, Arken subsided, and inevitably lowered his weapon.
"Well, thank you." Imuru smiled gleefully. "Now it's my time," He muttered. "So, you guys have lost a lot during your expedition, and haven't gained anything, correct?" He addressed Arken.
"Yes," Arken began reluctantly. "Our decline in numbers made it more difficult for us to find anything suitable. In order to lower the casualties I walk ahead to scout the area."
Imuru's expression shifted to an almost sinister smirk. "If you like, you can stay here, all of you. I mean, you guys do deserve a break. Think about it, you won't have to worry about any outside force… After all I am The Great Demon Lord." Imuru shrugged, a sly smug, playing on his face. "I'm just saying. Up to you."
"I—" Arken was cut off before he could reply. Roll again was more than happy to speak out of turn for the Dark Deviders collective interest.
"Apologies, Great Demon Lord sir, but you'd truly allow us to stay here?" Roll inquired.
Imuru in return gave him a reassuring nod. The Dark Deviders faces lit up. To show their appreciation they got down on their knees. This show of respect was swiftly shut down.
"Thank you, thank you. No need for that," Imuru hurriedly exclaimed.
"Imuru!" Arken called out. "T…" He cleared his throat. "Your help is much appreciated."
This sentiment came as a surprise to Imuru. He didn't expect the mighty Dark Devider Arken to have a changed attitude, considering how he's been this entire time. Imuru showed his appreciation for the sentiment with a gentle pat on Arken's back.
Sometime deep into the evening, where the orange rays of the sun are promptly stretched across the lands. A light breeze brushed across Unop, awakening her with a throbbing headache.
She blinked and backed up on the ground. She scanned the field quickly in search of her staff that was laid beside her, but through her daze she almost overlooked it. Unop looked up at Forcent on a protruding boulder, his expression smug.
"You can go. You didn't belong here," Forcent said, his gaze filled with what seemed to be boredom as he observed Unop.
Unop got on her feet, and pointed her staff at Forcent. "Where are my friends?" She inquired, her resolve already hardened.
"Mm." Forcent jumped down from his position and approached Unop. Up close, he lowered his head down to her. "They should be dragged out of my forest soon, unless they're that persistent. I had other things to do."
"If they die…" Unop stared dead in Forcent's eyes, or so it seemed. Her gaze wasn't steady.
"You're unsteady, unfocused. You're somewhere else…" Forcent paused for a moment and just walked away. "Of course," He muttered.
Unop spun around back to the forest and took off without hesitation. Her heart raced, as she activated her tracking spell in order to pull herself to her teammates aid.