The Stone of Dremivia - Book 1 - Rise of the Demon King

Chapter 8 - The Great m******e

It had been around two hours or so since Magnus had been arrested and taken down to the dungeon cell.

Two hours since Kaine had been murdered for his efforts in their attempted escape.

His fallen comrade’s body had since been taken away and his pooled blood quickly cleaned up from the floor in an effort for the others to try and forget the senseless death that had just occurred.

Apparently their celebration would continue on regardless of Magnus’ arrest.

The Great Hall was still loudly buzzing with excitement late into the night, though it had now reached the early hours of the following morning and by now many of the soldiers were either completely drunk off their faces or beyond tipsy.

Voices called out over one another in a deafening effort to hear their rambling conversations as the men continued to drink themselves into oblivion.

The King was seated at the royal feasting table, positioned before the two throne chairs and at the top of the small stairway.

He and his radiant Queen were at that moment casually talking and drinking with the other nobles also seated at that table with them.

Leofilliah felt untouchable now that he had finally managed to rid himself of the only remaining threat to power.

It was true that his Captain had grown quite popular amongst his soldiers of late and Leofilliah feared that Magnus would choose to rise up against him, to usurp his throne and steal his crown. But it was merely a rumour, clear evidence of the King’s apparent fear eating away at his already troubled mind.

And that same fear would prove to be his downfall in the end.

Soon everything was about to change due to one man’s unfortunate inability to maintain his pride.

Everything was about to come crashing down around him.

“You are looking rather radiant this evening, my Queen.”

Leofilliah grinned with charm as his hand moved across to caress her upper thigh from beneath the table’s cover.

Queen Krayana giggled like a school girl, slapping at his hand playfully.

“My lord, please... we have company.”

She went to look away from him but the King’s hand came up to grasp her by the chin, forcing her to turn back and meet his hungered eyes.

“You dare look away from your King?” he taunted her with a playful glare as he slowly moved in closer towards her face.

Within moments he had lunged forward closing the gap between them and pressing his lips up against hers.

Being his Queen, she of course invited their kiss to continue as the couple made out in front of their guests with no regard for anyone but themselves in their heated moment of passion.

Just as the King’s tongue slid deep inside of the Queen’s mouth a massive explosion roared to life, separating the two.

‘BOOM!’

The explosion erupted without warning, situated from the main entrance and reverberating off of the walls.

Sharp splinters of wood and rubble shot across the room rapidly in all directions, as did large mounds of stone and dust.

Screams of terror and shock filled the Main Hall as the large fireball that had blasted through the doors emerged into an expanse of heated flames, now surrounding the entrance and blocking off the exit.

Parts of the stone wall had been blown out of place by the explosion and the unfortunate people sitting closest to the entrance had been instantly crushed by large pieces of falling debris.

Some were instead burned alive by the hungry flames as they rapidly spread.

Leofilliah stood quickly; his chair was pushed back by the force of his legs and crashed to the floor behind him.

He watched helplessly as his people cowered in fear, some pulling themselves up after being thrown across the room from the violent force of the explosion.

Others sat staring at where the explosion had come from, cradling wounds and loved ones in fear as a large cloud of thick dust formed in the remaining gigantic hole.

After a moment or so the shadowing dust was beginning to clear from the main entrance revealing several dark armoured figures who came marching into the room and began surrounding the stunned guests, blocking off any attempt to escape.

The intruding soldiers wore black and silver armour and had black helmets over their heads to mask their appearance. Who they were, no one knew. But they certainly meant trouble, that much was obvious.

Within a matter of seconds the intruders had moved to quickly surround the room, taking the people inside hostage with a variety of weapons.

Some held bows with arrows drawn and aimed to fire if given the signal. Others would use nothing but their bare hands to beat those who disobeyed or chose to fight back.

The room was in complete and utter chaos as the intruders moved tactically to take every single person in that room as a hostage.

There must have been over a hundred or so of the darkly-dressed soldiers as they continued to flood in through their newly-created entrance, one after the other.

Sharpened daggers were held at throats, the ends of long swords aimed at seated guests and anyone who dared resist were mercilessly slaughtered then and there on the spot, serving as a warning to others who stood watching in terror.

Leofilliah’s men never stood a chance as they were quickly wiped out one by one, slaughtered at their attempts to fight back and protect their King.

Their actions were brave, yet futile given their pointless situation. They had been ambushed, plain and simple.

In the middle of the room a red-haired man stood up, desperately trying to fend off one of the intruding soldiers from taking him and his friend hostage.

“Hey, what the hell do you-”

His sentence cut short as he was brutally stabbed in the back with a dagger; his scream but one of many filling the room all at once.

Watching as he fell lifelessly to the floor the others around him suddenly came to realise the immediate danger they were now in and began to panic along with everyone else.

“Move over there, all of you!” one of the darkly dressed soldiers shouted angrily with his black gloved finger pointed in the air.

His voice, though slightly muffled by his shielding helmet remained clear nonetheless.

“NOW!”

The King’s Guard were quickly taken out as they fought valiantly one by one in an attempt to protect their King.

However, each fell within a matter of seconds.

King Leofilliah was forced to stand by and watch as his men were slaughtered before his very eyes.

Caught up in such a dangerous and horrific occurrence, he couldn’t help but remain frozen with shock, with his body unable to move.

Queen Krayana who had also stood up by now cowered behind her husband in terror as the darkly dressed soldiers moved in to surround the defenceless King and Queen at their table.

“Don’t move.” one of the soldiers closest to them shouted gruffly through his the mouth plate of his helmet.

He lifted up his sword, aiming it at the King and his Queen as he gave his next command without moving his head away from their new captives.

“Take them.”

Before the rulers had the chance to object, two soldiers suddenly grabbed the King roughly by his shoulders and held on tightly as he struggled pointlessly against their strangely powerful hold.

“Release me at once!” Leofilliah demanded angrily.

At the same time two more soldiers moved in on Queen Krayana, who had backed away screaming in terror.

“No please, don’t...”

She too was quickly seized and both the King and Queen were then forcefully dragged down to the foot of the staircase, where they were halted and held in place by their captors.

But held in place for what?

As the last of the guests were herded like cattle into their places and the dust from the explosion seemed to clear entirely the room suddenly became eerily silent...

That was until the sudden sound of chained boots ‘clumping’ heavily against the stone and rubble covering the ground could be heard, thumping along one step after another.

‘Thump, thump, thump, thump…”

All eyes instantly moved towards the gaping hole in the wall where a tall and terrifyingly armoured figure had suddenly emerged, now casually marching into the room with one long stride after the other.

The sound of his black leather boots hitting the stone floor beneath him continued to echo out into the surrounding silence. Apart from a soft gasp or a fearful whimper from the crowd here or there, it was the only auditable sound made.

His right gloved hand held the handle of an exquisite long sword, which sat nestled inside a black and silver sheath, strapped against his spiked belt around his waist.

Upon his head sat a helmet to conceal his identity, but one unlike any other. It was more fearsome than thought imaginable. The perfect fit for a demon god.

The helmet itself was black and silver and covered almost his entire head, leaving a narrow space for his two glowing crimson eyes to peer out from.

Two blood red horns protruded from either side of the helmet, curving up and around both sides, pointed at the end and sharper than any soldier’s blade.

Of course the purpose of the helmet was to instil fear, to give him the appearance of being exactly what he was now; a ruthless killer more powerful than any other man.

His suited armour matched his helmet in ferocity and a long, thick red cloak was clasped to his back, swaying side to side with each of his powerful steps.

He was the very definition of darkness, of evil.

As the strange-looking figure made his way down the centre isle of the room toward the terrified King and Queen, the crowd parted with fear. That and the soldiers holding them hostage had ordered them to.

“Who is that?” came a terrified voice from among the crowd.

“It’s a demon!” another voice insisted frantically.

Everyone continued to stare at the intimidating figure as he moved swiftly across the room with his demonic eyes fixated on one person and one person alone...

The King.

As King Leofilliah’s eyes met with those of the horned figure approaching him, his legs began to buckle involuntarily as both his eyes and mouth were gaping wide with horror. Forcing his mouth closed he swallowed a sudden lump in his throat.

His Queen began to whimper softly from her position beside him, clearly just as afraid as her husband was of this menacing intruder.

Before he knew what was happening, Leofilliah let out an involuntary gasp as the soldiers holding onto him suddenly began pulling both him and the Queen forward to meet with the horned man in the centre of the room.

As they finally came to stand face to face with the horned intruder, Leofilliah stared up at the much taller figure looming over both him and his wife and froze.

His heart was pounding loudly over and over within his head and he could feel the true depth of his darkest fears finally reveal themselves within this creature’s mere presence.

Leofilliah’s lips began to quiver as he looked deeply into the glowing crimson eyes now staring back at him.

It took everything he had left, but eventually he forced himself to open his mouth and form words.

“I… I demand to know... who you are and what you want.”

Although Leofilliah spoke loudly enough for all to hear, he had clearly failed to hide his obvious fear from the monster-of-a-man towering over him.

The horned figure stood menacingly still and silent, simply doing nothing but glaring down at the pitiful excuse of a human before him. How he wanted nothing more than to silence Leofilliah once and for all. To end his pathetic life right here and now, in front of everyone.

The entire room became deafeningly silent, in wait of a response from their captor. Not a breath was heard, not even a single sound for several moments.

Up until he spoke at last.

“You demand?”

Magnerian’s voice was incredibly deep and smooth though he spoke softer than anyone else had expected from such an intimidating figure.

His eyebrow lifted with disbelief at the sheer arrogance of the King standing before him; his prisoner.

“You are hardly in a position to be making demands from me, Leofilliah.” Magnerian spat, his tone laced with venomous betrayal.

Leofilliah froze upon hearing his name.

The stranger standing before him was someone he apparently knew?

“Who... who are you?” the King asked hesitantly, eyeing him from head to foot.

Magnerian turned to face the people being held hostage in the room around him, his black gloved hands going into the air as he spoke again to emphasise his expression.

“You hear that? Your King demands that I reveal myself...” he turned back to face Leofilliah slowly; menacingly.

Magnerian’s hidden grin returned almost instantaneously from behind the masked helmet as he anticipated how Leofilliah would soon react.

“...and of course I would never disobey the command of a King.”

As the horned figure reached both of his gloved hands up, he grasped at either side of his helmet and slowly pulled it up and over his head.

His dark stubbly beard came into view first, followed by his long wavy dark brown hair as it cascaded out and fell around his neck.

Bringing his helmet down from the front of his face, Magnerian’s blood red eyes met with the King’s once more.

His face and therefore his identity had finally been revealed.

Leofilliah’s eyes widened in disbelief at what he saw.

Gasps filled the air surrounding the entire room; gasps of mirrored disbelief and obvious confusion.

Leofilliah was flabbergasted; his eyes wider than they had ever been before and his mouth hung wide open in shock.

No. It couldn’t be...

“It’s not possible!” he muttered softly.

The people being held hostage around the outskirts of the room continued to stare in disbelief at the man they had only recently seen dragged off to the dungeon hours earlier.

The accused traitor to the crown.

“Magnus...” Leofilliah managed to whisper to himself quietly, fearfully.

Magnerian immediately shook his head in response, slowly from side to side.

At the same time he casually handed his helmet to one of his soldiers standing off to the side, who took it from him and stepped back respectfully.

Magnerian gritted his teeth in anger as he forced himself to say his former name aloud; a name he would erase from this world entirely.

“Magnus... no... your former Captain is dead, old man. You made sure of that, remember?” he corrected sternly.

His narrowed eyes were unblinking and still fixated on the King like a predator would eye its prey as he stared Leofilliah down in an obvious display of dominance.

“The man you once knew is now gone… I have been reborn as a god among men.”

Glancing around the room Leofilliah could clearly see the terror reflecting in the eyes of his people, including his Queen who was being held to his left by two enemy soldiers.

He swallowed nervously once more and then cleared his throat to speak.

“What do you want?”

“What do I want...” Magnerian asked sarcastically, grinning from ear to ear.

In the fraction of a second Magnerian’s expression had changed from a giant and playful grin to that of a sadistic maniac.

His eyes were seething now, his nose crinkled and his lips pursed together tightly as he lunged forwards and grabbed the King roughly by his throat, hoisting him high into the air with ease.

Leofilliah dangled helplessly, struggling to free himself from Magnerian’s powerful grasp. The clearly weaker ruler kicked desperately in the air above the ground as he fought for each sharp breath.

“I want vengeance, old man…”

Magnerian practically snarled his answer as he held the short man in the air above him with what appeared to be no trouble at all.

“Vengeance against those who have wronged me... vengeance against those who would falsely imprison me... and best of all, death to all who dare oppose me.”

Leofilliah’s eyes began to turn red and bloodshot from a lack of oxygen and his face began to turn a shade of purple.

A gurgling sound could be heard from his open mouth as his kicks began to decrease in force with each passing second.

“Please, you’re killing him!” the Queen begged as she attempted to pull free from her captors.

“Please... have mercy. He is your King!”

Magnerian glanced over to where she stood now, his left scarred brow rose as he responded to her, still managing to keep her husband mid-air with one arm.

“My King? No my dear... he is no King of mine. This man is nothing but a pathetic, snivelling weasel that's somehow managed to find himself seated on the throne. He is not worthy of being my King...”

Pulling Leofilliah down lower to meet with him face-to-face now, Magnerian glared into the King’s bloodshot eyes as he added one final part, intended just for Leofilliah to hear his playful words.

“And now I’m bored.”

With those last words the maniac single-handily twisted his fingers around and snapped the King’s neck, killing him instantly!

Leofilliah’s lifeless body hung down from Magnerian’s grasp, with the people screaming and standing in shock of this execution they had just been forced to watch.

Their King had just been murdered!

Cries from the people could be heard breaking the silence and filling the room.

“Aah! He’s killed him. He’s killed the King!”

“By the Gods, help us please!”

Queen Krayana let out a blood curdling scream far shriller than any other as she watched Magnerian throw the King’s lifeless body like a ragdoll, half-way across the room with ease.

Leofilliah’s eyes were wide and bloodshot as his body hit the floor with a meaty thud.

Thin trails of his blood streamed down from the bottoms of his eyelids, oozing slowly onto the stone floor beneath his lifeless corpse.

One of Magnerian’s darkly dressed soldiers suddenly approached him, standing to his side and waiting for permission to speak.

Magnerian turned his head to face the soldier, allowing him permission.

“My Lord, what is your command? What of the others in attendance?”

Magnerian wasted little time pondering this query, answering almost immediately and with no sense of remorse or mercy.

“Kill them all.”

But suddenly he paused holding his index finger in the air, causing the soldier to stop and wait.

Magnerian walked over towards the Queen, who was still sobbing as he spoke with a malevolent smirk.

“Except for this one...”

Krayana turned to look up at him as he stopped before her, shadowing her like a large oak tree. Her expression was one of sheer terror as he stood smirking at her, but it didn’t last long.

Without any warning Magnerian leaned in towards her and hoisted her petite frame up over his shoulder in one swift movement as she screamed loudly, kicking her legs and pounding her fists into his armoured back.

Holding onto her with one arm and turning back to the soldier he had been commanding, he added one final comment with a grin.

“This one’s mine.”

“No, let me down at once!” Krayana screamed, her commands falling upon deaf ears.

With one last playful wink at his soldier, Magnerian began to make his way towards the royal entrance with Queen Krayana still kicking and screaming over his shoulder.

The soldier quickly turned around and signalled to the other soldiers surrounding the room; advising them of their King’s next command.

One that would make this a night to remember for centuries to come... in such a terribly dark and horrifying way.

“Execute them all... leave no survivors.”

Within seconds the Great Hall was filled with the shrill screams and cries of the people as the darkly dressed soldiers began to mercilessly slaughter everyone in attendance there that night, one by one.

Slashing and hacking, blood was sprayed in every possible direction, painting the stone walls with thick crimson waves; spilling down and pooling onto the stone floors below.

The lifeless bodies of men and women fell all around as the horrifying sound of innocent cries and terrified screams filled the air, the screaming only seeming to die down after about a minute or so after the command had first been given.

And then an unsettling silence took its place.

The room was filled with massacred corpses and a river of warm crimson liquid flowed across the floor. The scent of death had already begun to waft, filling the air.

Alabam, who was standing off to the side of the room with his arms folded across his chest could not help but grin with satisfaction at the monstrous masterpiece he had created… and at his latest work.

In his eyes, Magnerian was absolutely perfect.

His newest creation would without a doubt be the one to bring the entire world crumbling to its knees.

And the darkness as it would seem, had come to Dremivia at long last.