Struggling as a Villain

Everyone, who was previously gathered in the conference hall, came out of the building under Richard's guidance.

He didn't tell them what was happening, but they knew it was related to the Beast King, Thalvorn.

Jasmine was quite nervous about this since she was a follower of General Thalvorn, but she hadn't seen him until now.

They all were standing in the landing zone, with Richard standing ahead of them with his hands crossed over his chest and his head tilted up.

"Ah!"

"Is that..."

"Woah, woah..."

"A demon general."

Soon, he appeared.

Thalvorn, the demon general, floated in the air with a powerful presence. His body was broad and covered in deep purple skin with black streaks running across it. Two long, sharp horns curved from his head, adding to his fearsome look. A long tail swayed behind him, moving like a serpent. His glowing eyes burned with dark energy, and the air around him trembled with his power.

His presence made the air heavy. It was akin to being in a gravity chamber where taking every breath seemed like a struggle.

Richard, on the other hand, seemed casual about it. He was expecting the only Demon General who was still loyal to Zulcriz to contact him sooner or later.

"If you are done intimidating us, get down to talk," Richard spoke, his voice not loud but it was enough to reach the entity it was spoken to.

Thalvorn's eyes narrowed, as a booming voice descended,

[You…have assimilated the essence of the one I serve. As such, I don't find it necessary to listen to Vornyx's advice.]

Richard narrowed his eyes as he saw the General lowering himself, as the redhead asked, "He must have advised you to fight with me to know if I am worthy to be your comrade, I guess?"

[You seem to know him very well, it seems.]

Richard shook his head, "Don't even talk about it. The day I met him is still one of the most annoying days of my life."

Richard still remembers that battle with that General. The struggle to revive his mother and sister. Someone who says something and does something else. A very complicated person to the core.

If possible, Richard didn't want to face that guy again…however, knowing his usefulness in the war, he knew he would be working with Vornyx in the near future.

[My apostles have been serving you recently, I can see.]

As Thalvorn said, his head moved toward the raven-haired woman, as Jasmine lowered her head, "It's as you commanded. Believe in the Darkness."

Thalvorn nodded,

[You did the right thing.] Turning toward Richard, the demon general added, [Your trouble with the main strike force. I can lend you the command of my army to help you face their first wave.]

Bellarine flinched at those words. And many others showed positive reactions to that proposal.

It was the demonic army of a General, so naturally, having them on their side would surely be beneficial.

Lena and many others thought that their biggest trouble in this war, other than Ethan was already sorted.

However,

"Bringing that vast amount of beast to the other world would require a huge dimensional rift, which could tear the fabric of reality. And you know that when it comes to such a level of crisis, the Deities would surely intervene."

The deities are restricted. That's why they rely on their apostles to put down the God of Death. However, the moment Richard or anyone breaks certain boundaries, they would get a chance to interfere.

And neither Richard nor Zulcriz was prepared to battle against the deities. So they need to be very careful.

[Allowing you my primary army was never my intention. I would lend you enough to deal with the enemy forces. And that would not tear the dimensional walls.]

Richard nodded, "I will leave that to you."

A brief moment of silence passed before Thalvorn voiced,

[You realize the risk in this war yet you show such a bold front. Does your confidence come from the loyalty toward the Supreme One?]

Richard smiled...that was quite a strange question.

He very well knows the risks involved in this war. However, there were several reasons he wasn't scared. And one of the biggest reasons is,

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"I have many things to lose if I lose the war, and that possibility terrifies me more than anything."

Thalvorn remained silent for a moment. It seemed he was just looking at Richard, but in reality, the Demon General was seeing something past those words.

[You remind me of him.]

Richard raised his brows, "Zulcriz? Does he also show such a confident side in front of y'all?"

The Demon General shook his head,

[He is as emotional as you. I can see the similarity between you two.]

That gained a chuckle from Richard. Well, now he could tell why Thalvorn called Zulcriz emotional.

[I will take my leave now.]

Saying so, the wings of the Demon General flapped, and in a streak of light, he disappeared.

Richard heaved a sigh, as he turned to look at the others and said, "That solves our problem, I guess?"

Bellarine nodded, "At least his army would allow us to assess the battlefield properly before sending our forces."

"And we can keep the Nightshade team in the back for backup now." Lilia voiced.

The growing stress about the army of beast apostles gathering was solved by the appearance of the Demon General. And now, everything seemed to have returned to its original track.

With his hands crossed behind his back, the redhead announced, "Okay then, it's time to do the final checkups and prepare the units. Lace them with weapons, shields, and everything they require."

With his eyes turning serious, Richard announced, "We are about to face the biggest battle of our lives."

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Aaaaaaaand, the preparation is done. We are headed to the last arc of the story, which is the war. I will briefly detail every main character's individual battle. Drop a comment if you are excited.