The Demon Lords General

Sweat was pouring down the face of the Forgotten as he did his best to keep going, his opposition was low at the moment, thanks to the setting of the sun and rising of the moon the guards had lost pace with him, some having collapsed from exhaustion trying to keep up with him, frankly, it was only due the years of being unable to properly sleep due to the explosive collar in his cell that was allowing him to keep going.

With the aid of the Ratricks, who had stubbornly refused to leave with the others and stayed with him, possibly due to them not understanding what he was asking them to do, he had found a few injured Demons who had crawled away instead of making a run for it while the guards had been distracted trying to corner the Imps, He now had a small camp of a few dozen Just inside the Treeline not too far from the once nice looking Coast town, with the Ratricks keeping any who got to close at bay.

He was now down to one last Ratrick, the smallest one, helping him hunt down the injured Demons still hiding in the city, several had been rounded up and put back in the market, so he was trying to get all of them he could to his hide hole before making one last push, he had covered just about every part of his rampage area, and was now hoping across the rooftops looking for anyone who tried to make their get away with a boat.

Just as Clementine had warned, there was always at least one person who thought they knew better than everyone else, Demonlings, by his count three, had tried to commandeer a boat, but couldn't get it to set sail, having no idea how to use a boat they had only managed to run it aground, the guards where partially through beating one of them, another was cowering and the third one might have already passed away.

With the might of rat at his side The Forgotten jumped down and made sure to land on one of the guards participating in the beating, thankfully they chose to book it upon seeing the Blood Demon and he picked up the injured one before moving to the one cowering, tears rolling down his face.

"It wasn't supposed to go this way," He sobbed out as The Forgotten picked him up and the one he now knew was dead up with his blood arms and began the journey back to his temporary camp.

The only guards he saw on his way were one fleeing from the Ratricks and their seemingly endless supply of kitchenware they could seemingly pull out of thin air. They had upgraded from Frying pans to throwing out butcher knives and heavy-looking cutting boards, The small one only seemed to have run out of things to throw but it still caused some hesitation just seeing him there at least.

Upon arriving inside his little camp he set down the crying one, and set the dead one on a small pile of bodies before taking the beaten one with the other injured ones who had tried to hide and gotten caught by a guard, only barely getting away from the fight.

"Can you hear me?" The Forgotten asked, he didn't get much of a reply but he was still breathing, although he had no way of knowing for how much longer, "Oh this is gonna hurt," His Pain nullification skill on recharge and his energy running low what he was about to do was stupid, but that wasn't gonna stop him.

The Forgotten placed his hands on the injured Demon and began using his Biomass to heal his wounds forcefully, he could feel his skin ripping, bones cracking, and even a few teeth broke apart as he did his best to make the Demon stable, and after a moment his patients breathing became less shallow, less like he was dying and more resting.

"Best I can do," He decided as he got up, stumbling slightly, a few of the Demons attempted to help him steady himself, but they were barely any better off than the one he had just healed and he had them sit back down and rest, "My death is possible, and planned for, but all this will be for not if you can't survive the trip, rest, you're going to need it,"

He turned his attention to an odd sound and saw the Ratricks scrapping knives against a wooden cutting board, as soon as he looked at them they all pointed outward and he jumped up next to them to see what the problem was, earning a few thorns as payment for jumping on the thorn bushes being used as a protective wall.

A very beautiful Demon woman was looking back at him, with long white hair, venous purple eyes, a long flowing black dress, with two horns that looked stunning on her head.

"Are you injured," He called out immediately, the Woman smiled at the concern and shook her head.

"I am an emissary from Demona," She informed him sweetly, "I've come to collect you for an audience with the Demon Lord,"

"Well with all due respect I'm afraid that'll have to wait a day or two," The Forgotten replied without hesitation, despite having been denied, even politely, the woman only smiled at the response.

"I thought you might decline, may I assist you in any way?"

"I have a lot of injured Demons hidden inside this little clearing," Having set up camp inside a small clearing surrounded by massive thornbushes the Demon woman should have had no way to see inside them, but she spoke as though she already had.

"Yes I have brought minor healing potions, they won't heal major wounds, but no one should die, at least none of the ones you have found," The Woman effortlessly floated over the thorns and began handing out the potions, upon reaching the Forgotten however she instead handed him a bottle.

"You are Dehydrated, and I can tell you haven't eaten in a long time, drink, eat, and rest," The Forgotten popped open the bottle, and, if he'd had tears to shed they'd have come pouring out. "What's wrong?" The Woman's voice was oddly calming, as though the Forgotten couldn't lie to her if she asked him something.

"Just feels like I haven't had water in decades," The Forgotten replied before taking a drink, it was such a simple flavor, but it had been so long he had forgotten its taste, after a while he had stopped receiving water, and food in his cell, and he had been forced to use the Biomass of those he killed to keep himself alive.

Despite wanting to desperately chug the bottle and ask for a second one he took only a few drinks before whistling, the Five Ratricks hustled to his side, and when he shook the bottle they all pulled out little tea cups and he topped them off before taking another drink, feeling bad he was about to get up when the Woman from Demona stopped him.

They have had a hard life, but yours has been harder, they are fed and I have more water if they need any, you and your boys there enjoy a hard-earned rest,"

As though, she had placed a spell on them the Forgotten and his Ratricks felt at peace, as though they hadn't spent an entire day fighting none-stop, she passed them a few bars of what seemed to be food bars, and they were the best tasting thing the Forgotten had any memory of eating, having scrounged up a few moldy bits of food during his many fights in the Blood pit where people had shown up to mock the struggles of the forgotten.

He shared a few more drinks with his boys the Ratricks before taking one last sip himself and finally, after what might have been actual decades, slipped into sleep. His dreams were horrible, he could see the ones he had killed to stay alive, the faces of the forgotten, lost to time and kept alive only in his memory of killing them.

Whispering, what they were saying he couldn't make out, but they were getting closer, if they had to be lost to time, then he should be lost too, a faded memory of a man whose life had ended ages ago, and who no one missed, he could hear her voice as the man pinned him to the ground, having saved her from being taken prisoner she called back, saying she'd come back, he just had to tough it out, they'd come back for him, they had to.

They Promised.

The Forgotten jolted away, the night still young, as the Woman held him softly. He was groggy, and couldn't quite wake up, and even now he was already falling back to sleep.

"You'll be fine," The Woman said in a comforting tone, "Go back to sleep,"

"No," He denied sleepily, not fully able to comprehend what the Woman said, "No, no it's fine, they'll come back," He felt sleep taking over again as he slipped back into it, "She promised she would,"

Demon Lord Verona held the man as he slipped back into sleep, she had looked into his ruby eyes, and only seen memories of pain flashing through them, a broken creature who had escaped his bonds, and was now desperately trying to free all else who where bound, trying to fix himself or maybe just wanting to save them from becoming what he was, as a Demon Lord she could look upon any Demon and see their name, their states, everything about them.

But all she had seen when trying to do so with him was simply the word, Forgotten. He had no past, not anymore, she didn't know what had happened to the broken soul before her, but calling back for information had gotten her the simple statement that the Hero had been credited for causing the damage.

"I think you'll like my Tower," She told the Forgotten as he slept in her arms, "The First Floor is pretty barren, But a few Imps and maybe, oh I think Five Ratricks will make it a bit more interesting for new adventures to get their fighting legs, if you can fight a Demon, your can fight a rampaging Magical beast, and I hear you sent some lose during your little raid," She stroked his hair as she slept in her arms, his five Ratricks having burrowed a hole and now fast asleep inside.

As the Demon Lord, Verona, despite what humans liked to say about her being feared by all and easily using power to scare Demons into submission, was the mother of all Demon Lords, the first one, and with that came a skill that had been unique even when there had been other Demon Lords, all Demons who looked into the eyes of Verona would know peace, and feel they where loved, other Demon Lords had called the skill weak, but those fools had all ended up dead by a Hero's hand for their hubris.

Not only was she still alive, but she had tamed tribes of Orks and Lizardfolk, simply by treating them respectfully and taking care not to ask too much or too little, too little and the Demon would feel under-appreciated and probably do something stupid to try and get her attention, but ask too much, and similar to how the Forgotten had nearly killed themself trying to save every last Demon, they would push on until the task was done, or they worked themselves to death.

"You'll be fine," She whispered to the Forgotten, her whispers only barely managing to push into his dreams.

When the Forgotten woke up the second time, he had no memories of waking up in the middle of the night, nor of his dreams, with a yawn he got up and stretched, and the Ratricks all popped out one at a time and began copying his movements.

"You guys are just a treat you know that?" He smiled as they continued stretching, before looking up, and noticing a small change in his camp "Hey, Lizard Dudes, now it's a party,"

"Dam right," The closest Lizard replied with pride, as the Woman approached the Forgotten.

"This is a teleportal Mirror," She informed him, handing him a small compact mirror "Use it to send the last of the Demons you find directly to the Lizardfolk homelands in Demona, temporary housing and medical tents have been set up in advance, I will see to it all the injured you have gathered here make it back to Demona safely,"

"Alright boys I love ya but you best go with the nice lady," The Ratricks showed no signs of understanding his words, "Well I tried," He decided almost immediately. "Come on then, let's scavenge up any of your leftover throwables, get a quick drink, and then make our final push, thank you for the help Pretty Demon Lady, Could you apologize to the Demon Lord on my behalf for standing them up if I die,"

"In the unlikely event you do die you have my word,"

"I like the confidence, I should find some for myself," The Forgotten easily used his powers to boost him over the walls as the Ratricks followed after him, having already learned the different commands for stay or follow.

As the Forgotten picked up one of the many knives stuck into the ground he got a bit of a view of himself in it and looked down, his once ratty set of clothes were barely clothes anymore, and bits of scrap hung around his neck and chest, with his back fully exposed it almost looked like he had a shredded backward cape. His pants could now barely be called shorts, it might have been more appropriate to call it a short skirt at this point.

"Dignified my death will not be," He noted, figuring there was a good chance he might lose what little hiden dignity had had left during a fight with a bunch of armed guards. "Oh well, just gotta remember to die on my feet, in a cool pose, thinking of plaiying the Air guitar but well see how the day ends,"

The Ratricks responded to his voice but not to such an extend as to each word, mostly they just seemed to like the sounds he made, and he could respect that. Everything that could be scavanged was, even the busted up knives that hat slammed point first into rocks and where now beyond repair could still be chucked hard enough to make someone flinch is nothing else.

The Ratricks reloaded and the Forgotten picking up a nice looking stick and naming it Kyle, the squad moved out to begin the final push of the Costal Market.

Within the Markets main building, roughly twent or so escapes had been recaptured, several had passed away from unjuries substained durning the recapting process the guards had claimed, although the more acurate thing to say might have been that the Guards had beatten their frustrations out on any they could get their hands on, a few humans where in the cage as well, despite the clever plan it was fairly obvious most of them where just guards out of their uniform, having refused to disarm they where still harassing the Demons even while playing the part of flase slaves to try and get a cheap fatal blow on the Blood Demon when it eventualy came to raid the market again.

"Maybe we should even you out," One of the men told on of the three armed demons, "Make you look a bit more proper?" The man pulled at his sword, only to imediatly be decked in the face by the very demon he had been threatening, despite being injured, most still had enough fight to swing at any of the armed humans in their cage if they got to close.

Being unable to act their part due in no small part to being to proud or self-important to disarm, The Forgotten was willing to bet even the Ratricks could pick the impostors out of the bunch without must effort.

He wasn't gonna risk taking that bet but he wouldn't have been suprised if he could have won it. Instead he chose to stick to having the Ratricks attack the individuals they had thus far been flawless in recognizing.

"Ready?" The Ratricks prepared their projectiles, "Aim," The Ratricks all locked in on their targets, "Hit the Shiny guys!" As the guards in Market had full platemail armor, it hadn't exactly been hard for the Ratricks to piuck up that their new friends had beef with the shiny people almost exclusivly.

A Frying pan, two knives, and a hefty wooden cutting board flew down on the knights, The Forgotten and the Ratricks having easily gotten in through some open air sections of the roof presumably put in to keep a good air flow in the building, so as to keep foul stenches at bay, or atleast prevent them from growing unberably to quickly.

The Forgotten leaped from the rafters as the Ratricks localized their birrage towards the entrance with the most Guards on it, with lives already being lost, he no longer felt to bad as he envoloped his fingers in razor sharp blood claws, grasping onto the first guard he hit, piercing through his armor and imediatly sucking up his Biomass as he lauched his free hand out at the closet guard he wasn't already drinking and the claws sank deep into their helment, he turned the stump into a bloody lance for some range and began hacking and slashing his way to the Fairy Iron Cage holding the last captives he had a change to save, any others would have to be on their own.

He doubted he had much time before reinforcments from the capital arived, a bunch of greenhorn in armor who mostly picked on slaves were one thing, trained militirzed unites would most likely wipe him out within minutes due to his general lack of real trianing, hacking and slashing at weaker foes was all he had going for him.

After taking down four, or maybe five men if that guy he had hit in the face had died, he jumped over the bars, several of the armed men raised their sword in the way of his falling path, a few slower ones got their legs kicked out and the demons began beating them into the floor.

Several swords piereced the Forgotten as he began falling, the jeers and insults on how easy to kill he had been where cut short as he stabbed one with his blood spear and another had thier face gripped fiercly by his clawed hand, the others stumbled and fell as their swords where pulled form their grasp, The Forgotten using his blood magic to force them to hold steadily in place, three in his sternum, and one that had been well aimed at his neck.

Had they not been met by his han he might have praised the one who had gone for the quick wound over ther ones who had probably been hoping to torment him before dying, in the end they sucedded in littlem ore than disarming themselves as he beat the remaining two with a single swing of his blood spear, their armorless bodies proving no more chalening than the air itself to swing through.

"Ok that was easy," He decided as he re-grew his hand before pulling out the compact mirror "Express ticket to Demona, who wants a ride," The Injurned Demons, one after another where sent on their way, taking care to bring the fallen so they could be given a proper buriel, only when he had just sent the last one on thier way and was getting ready to call his boys down leg swep by the Demons manage to get up enough to speak, his face was bruised but his point was a fine one.

"Go ahead," He spluttered as he tried to get to his feet, "jump through that Mirror, I'm sure the boys in the capital will accept it, just as fine a reward as your head I'd figure," The Forgotten looked to the man, the Mirror, and back again.

"Ah crud," He choaked, the sword still loudged in his neck,"I didn't even think of that!" The Forgotten pulled out his neck sword and smacked the man across the face with it, to little effect past knocking him back down with a nasty cut, before de-swording the rest of him,"Boys time to go,"

The Ratricks responded to his call and, after a laying down some covering fire so they could all move without getting hit with any of the few Arrows being fired back at them, got to a point in the rafters where they could jump into the cage area without touching the Fairy Iron.

He felt bad as he opend the compact Mirror and held it out, each Ratrick being sucked away to Demona before they could hit the ground.

"Sorry Boys," He said as he closed the Mirror with a small snap, "Can't leave this thing behind so I gotta try and get it to Demona myself," The Forgotten was preparing to fighitng his way out when he realized all the Guards had jumped ship, the Marketplace was empty, but yet still so loud, almost as though hundreds of heavily armored feet where stomping around the outside.

"AH," He sighed, "Seems the armies arived just in time to surround me," The Forgotten cracked his fingers before jumping over the bars, "I bet I could take a few of 'em out before they stomp my head in and drag me back to the blood pits," The Forgotten took a deep breath, letting the memories of Sunlight, water, food, sleeping, The praise of his Imp fans, and his new Boys the Ratricks fill his mind, trying to lock the memories into his brain in the hopes that after getting his brain scrambled he could at least keep thouse few intact enough to think back on foundly.

"Alright, good a day as any to get beat and broken," The Forgotten climbed into the rafters and took a step out into the sunlight, the sparkling glints of dozens of Arrows filling the air and flying towards him, "Lets get started,"