Death's Door 55 Volume 3: Chapter 21: Herald of Ligh

Holy city attracted many people because it offered a safe haven and steady jobs for people who wanted to have a future, safe from demon kind. Here, demons were slain, subjugated, and enslaved.

It was not unusual sight to see the demons being forced to do risky construction jobs with collars of obedience attached to them. They also were a regular sight at gladiator coliseum where they were killed for people's entertainment, at least hundreds lost their lives daily, forced to slay each other for people's entertainment.

Demons were not welcome in Holy City, that much was certain. Barrier prevented demons from outside entering and aiding their kind, so the only demons they had to deal with were the demons left on the inside. This was a steady plan for eventual extinction of demon kind.

In a couple of decades, demon kind can be completely killed off. Kingdom of Kizilalem produced many of the strongest knights, many of whom had received blessing from the gods themselves.

The greatest of the knights was the Knight of Light, a man blessed by the king of gods, Solaris, the highest ranking god, himself. Knight of Light was the one responsible for leading humanity for salvation from demon kind, he had slain countless demons, and tales of his deeds only keep stacking up higher as time went on.

His most recent deed was defeating several Demon Lords and capturing one alive. Then the said Demon Lord was sent to be imprisoned inside Holy City, awaiting an execution with royal family proclaiming the power of humanity.

It was rumored that for his countless acts of Heroism, the First Princess asked of him to become her groom, thus unifying the bloodlines of Knight of Light with the blood of kings. But sadly, instead of taking the opportunity of the lifetime, Knight of Light refused, saying.

"My duty is first and foremost, the protection humanity, it is my god's wish for me to do so. I apologize, but my god's orders are priority." He politely declined her offer.

The captured Demon Lord's execution was going to take place very soon. They wanted to make a huge show to show that every demon, even the stronger ones shall fall at the hands of righteous knights.

However, just a few days before the execution, the captured Demon Lord had escaped. The ones who imprisoned her had taken many means of weakening her. Her mana was bound by mana binding chains, her joints were pierced with silver stakes, and she was force-fed holy water to weaken her. The prison itself was made in such a way that any demon's powers were weakened inside of it. And with countless knights guarding the place, people were assured that Demon Lord would surely meet her end.

But just three days before Demon Lord's scheduled execution, knights received an emergency mental message from the injured Knight of Mind.

Clutching his groin in pain, he told them that a disaster has occurred and the Demon Lord had escaped.

When looking inside the prison, it was obvious that a massacre had occurred. Almost every single knight has been killed. Only one knight other then Knight of Mind survived, albeit with critical injuries and paralyzed left arm.

Was it the doing of demon kind? How? Did they invade with a large army…in that case just how many demons managed to infiltrate the city?

When the surviving guard and Knight of Mind were questioned how many enemies were there, both of their replied boggled even the sanest of minds.

One.

One person who looked like a human, armed with a crystal dagger.

"He had no horns…so, he was not a demon, but his killing intent was that of a devil."

"He called himself the Dark Lord. That laughing devil…His mind…" Knight of Mind barely held back from throwing up. "It was the foulest mind I have ever encountered. I have never seen anyone else's mind be so gruesome…" he was shuddering without end.

Knight of Mind possessed a unique ability to enter into his opponent's mind and read their thoughts, memories, and personality. However, it also allowed him to see the true colors of anyone he uses his ability on. While he did encounter messed up minds before, this was the first time he felt such dread from seeing a mind like that.

Mind becomes torn and repaired every time someone comes close to death; he has witnessed it many times from the traumatized knights who had survived but suffered traumas afterwards. Each one had a mind that was shattered and forcibly put together.

But the mind of the one called the Dark Lord seemed to have been fractured and stitched together countless times. It was far more severe than the mind of the traumatized knights.

Just how many times has he encountered death? For his mind to be so completely torn and shredded, to the point it resembles more of a patchwork…a hundred times? No, that's inconceivable…

Knight of Mind did not know just how right he was.

There was only one confirmed intruder involved with Demon Lord's escape, and that was extremely worrying.

However, that was not the only events that have transpired.

Mage by the name of Martolomew Moran has been found dead, his head and hand severed, his body dumped into trash disposal area.

He was a prominent mage, one of the influential mages that held a high rank in Magician's guild and was recognized as a genius mage. However, he preferred acting in secrecy, most of the time travelling with a cloak of concealment in order to prevent people tracking him down.

Martolomew Moran came from a noble family, so his achievements in creating new spells and powerful artifacts gave Moran noble family prestige and fame. Now that the family lost its most prominent member, their worth in the eyes of other families was declining. If they are lucky, they will only lose their noble status, if they are not lucky; they will lose everything and be sold to slavery.

This was due to their excessive spending. With a mage in their families they have gotten used to being able to afford finer luxuries in life, their spending at times exceeding the amount that Mage Martolomew had sent. He himself was a dutiful man that supported his family even if they were literally wringing him dry.

Now with his passing, the Moran noble family had many excessive debts they had no ways of repaying. No other noble family would back them up. They were in dire straits.

Within a few days, they abandoned their holdings in order to pay off their debts, but even that was not enough…

As for Lockser noble family, the Count was furious. His son had been murdered.

His eldest son, heir of Lockser noble family, Lyland Lockser, the one who was supposed to succeed him had been found dead, his head removed as well.

Count Lockser anger knew no bounds, he even petitioned the king to summon back the Five Holy Maidens in order to enforce barrier once again because it was obvious that the barrier on this section of the city had been weakened.

They suspected that many powerful demons at the level of Demon Lord or higher managed to sneak in; one killed the mage, the other count's son, while the third one freed the imprisoned Demon Lord.

The safety of the city has been compromised.

Where the Knight of Light is when he is needed the most?

He went towards the city of Oran a month ago along with the Knight of Night, and he has not come back since. To think that in his absence so many horrifying events had come to pass.

With so many powerful demons on the loose, who knows where they will strike next.

* * *

"We pray for you, O Herald of Light, protector of humanity, to heed our call…" there were many temples, each one worshipping a different god, this particular one worshipped Serena, Herald of Solaris, and the goddess of Humanity.

While there are big five gods, the one who stands above them all was Solaris, god of Light. His loyal sword was Michael, an eight winged god who brought destruction to all evil.

His herald was Serena.

Disasters in this city have been caused by demons, we beseech you, please, please, protect us!

Demons must be exterminated, give us the courage to stand up against them…

Destroy all evil, purge all evil…

Countless prayers were heard, each one asking the goddess to intervene.

Suddenly, particles of light entered the temple through the chapel and from within that light, a form of a breathtakingly beautiful form appeared.

The form had four wings, dressed in a clothing of gold and white, her eyes were purple; her white hair was illuminated by the light. Her body seemed petite, floating above people in a majestic sight. Her entire form was illuminated by a light that seemed to comfort anyone who looked at her.

It was obvious to those who pray here who she was.

This was Serena.

Their goddess had chosen to speak to them.

"Fear not, my little ones, those who have caused the atrocities you speak of will be punished, those who threaten the humanity shall be dealt with. Demon kind shall not strive, I will make sure of that."

Her words transmitted themselves into the hearts of anyone who heard her; it was as if the light had entered into their souls.

"Humanity shall prevail and rise, while demons and non-humans shall fall, that is the will of the gods, and thus it shall be done."

With a spark of light, the form of the goddess now disappeared into thin air.

People were now smiling as they witnessed the true god appear before them, they couldn't have asked for a better assurance.

Chapter end