Destruction

“Sir, this way, quick!” one of the guard captains alerted Alex who was still very confused and trying to grasp the situation. Just a moment ago, he was celebrating the anniversary of his arrival to this world in the banquet hall together with his vassals. As he was trying to catch a fresh air in the balcony, he witnessed this hellish scene.

“Guard, what happened here? Are we having a fire drill or something? But boy, it sure is a realistic one,” asked Alex nonchalantly, still trying to refuse the fact that his kingdom was under attack.

“As you can see, Sir! Out of nowhere, the demon horde suddenly flooded the east gate! Our reports stated that a magical portal was spotted!” replied the guards in a panic state. “To make matters worse, our surveillance guard witnessed the soldiers of Maleo Kingdom marching towards our direction! Judging from their stance, I’m afraid they are hostile!”

Before Alex was about to respond, a young man with golden hair and a slightly hunched man joined them in the balcony.

“There you are, King Alex. I wondered where you were,” said Horat calmly, as if unaffected by the turmoil of the situation. Hector who stood beside him just smiled slyly.

“Good thing you two come at the right time! I need your assistance to organize the troops and evacuate the civilians!” ordered Alex.

“My, what if we refuse?” giggled Hector showing his crooked teeth.

“Oi Hector, this is no time for your bad jokes!” remarked Alex furiously.

“No, Alex. You are the joke!” roared a thunderous voice coming above them. Alex knew that voice too well. That voice was not supposed to be here.

“Samael!? But I already slain you!” Alex couldn’t believe his eyes. The Demon Lord which he vanquished 2 years ago was standing in front of him.

“You had no idea what we were scheming while you were intoxicated by your fake victory,” replied a caped man who seemed just arrived there. “Don’t you find it strange that your party members met their end one by one with not that much interval?”

“King Daendels! But the Maleo troops are still far away from here!” gasped the guard captain. “Unless you joined hands with those accursed demons- “

“And what if he does?” responded Samael while swiping away the life out of the poor guard captain with his black claws. “Thanks to him, I was revived, though not fully yet. But tonight marks the start of my new reign of terror!”

“Hey, give us some credit, will you? It was us who lured the members of party who fought against you and offered their souls. King Daendels was just there to give finishing touch!”

“Worry not about the small details,” calmed Daendels. “Let’s wrap things up with this pesky pest. An outsider like him was never fit from the beginning to be dubbed as this world’s saviour.”

As he finished his sentence, Daendels walked toward Alex and stabbed him. Alex was supposed to be able to evade, but his body felt sluggish.

“Looks like the poison we slipped into his wine works wonders,” cheered Hector. “See, it was always us who did the grunt job, but Daendels always stole the spotlight!”

Daendels was unfazed by that remark. He proceeded to lift Alex’s head and showed him the pandemonium which wreaked havoc Nousant Kingdom.

“See for yourself how fleeting your so-called achievement is! All of those things you built, destroyed in a night like this!” taunted Daendels. “How does it feel to be cornered down by the betrayal of your trustworthy subject?”

Alex was too weak to talk back. He prayed silently at the very least his queen, Remina, and his children, could escape to safety.

“Cat got your tongue? Or perhaps you were looking for your wife? It is okay, she is still alive, just a little bit broken after I had some fun with her. The brats were annoying though, so I had to separate their heads from their bodies,” smirked Daendels.

Anger rushed up to Alex’s head, but alas his body wouldn’t even move an inch. The poison was too effective and his gaping wound didn’t help.

“Since I’m a kind man, I would send you to them so your children won’t be that lonely,” taunted Daendels further. “But I’m afraid the queen will need to wait a little bit longer. I am no communist, but I always share with my people. Especially my used ones.”

“I hope you don’t mind if we enjoy her first,” said Hector while dragging Horat’s arm. “Come on Horat, I know you always had a glance of Remina’s voluptuous body.”

The two of them hurriedly left inside. Alex cursed his powerlessness at this crucial moment. He couldn’t even resist when Daendels lifted the blade toward his neck, about to behead him.

As his consciousness faded away, Alex’s life flashed before him. He still remembered the moment when he was summoned to this world. Out of the blue, the late king ordered him to defeat the Demon Lord who was threatening Nousant Kingdom. Before he knew it, he already set on his journey together with the party members assigned by the king. Through countless battles, Alex successfully fulfilled his mission, amidst the casualties received.

Upon his arrival back to the kingdom, he received a numerous number of rewards. Beside that, the king even arranged Alex’s marriage with the princess. After the king passed away, Alex succeeded him as the new king.

The Nousant Kingdom flourished during his era. Everything went smoothly, too smoothly even. As he was enjoying the moment, he delegated most, if not all, the government matters to Horat and Hector. Little did he know that both of them were against the idea of him ruling over the Nousant Kingdom. It was them who assassinated Alex’s party members one by one, in order to resurrect the Demon Lord. At the same time, they also orchestrated the execution of individuals who sniffed their vile intentions. All for the sake of covering up their master plan to overthrow Alex from the throne.

Suddenly Alex found himself in a luminous room. He was familiar with this place. He quickly called out to the master of this space.

“Goddess Sureya, if I am in this room, it means you are also here!” shouted Alex. “Please help me out! My wife, my children, my people, my kingdom, they need me!”

A golden light swirled in front of him and manifested into a figure of a beautiful goddess with pale skin. As always, she smiled at Alex.

“Alex, my child. At long last, we finally meet again,” welcomed Sureya with a soothing tone. “I reckon your last journey didn’t end very well.”

“Yes, Goddess Sureya. Your blessing helped me a lot to fulfil my mission to slay the Demon Lord. You have my deepest gratitude. But now once again, I need your help to revive me and send me back so I can avenge the people dear to me!” explained Alex.

“Vengeance is not a very pleasant thing to do, Alex,” answered Sureya. “But you know what they say, prevention is better than cure.”

“Of course, Goddess! I am well aware of that, but I am not currently sick at the moment!” interrupted Alex.

“Hot-headed and impatient like always, aren’t you?” chuckled Sureya lightly. “You will see what I mean after a quick rest. Now close your eyes, my dear Alex. You already had too much. Pain and fatigue will leave your body after a night or two."

Sureya casted a spell and a bluish light enveloped Alex’s body. All of a sudden, he felt so sleepy and before he knew it, he already slept like a baby.