Demon King: Awakening

Chapter 15

Kobel strode down the hall, heading toward the square. descending the stairs, leading to the double door exit out to the courtyard. Stepping out into the courtyard. There he was met by thousands of troops, along with servants spilling onto the courtyard's grass. He grinned as he strode to center stage, preparing to speak, “You have all gathered as I have called. I have been informed that morale is low, causing training to be somewhat lacking.” He let his words settle in before continuing. “I will give you a choice.” He narrowed his gaze, sweeping his eyes over the crowd, “We are going to have a little battle. I will be your opponent and you will all attack me as you wish. You can attack in pairs or groups or individually. It is according to what you think will kill me.” His instructions were met with gasps from most everyone in the crowd. The very thought of attempting to murder the king was treason and yet he was here welcoming it. Asking for it.

The demons shifted uncomfortably where they stood. “Your Majesty, that would be treason to even make an attempt on your life. We would inevitably lose our own lives later for such acts and thoughts against you.” Brong, the advisor that had informed him of how the training was going, spoke from the crowd his head above most.

Kobel smirked, “Today, there is no act of treason that can be committed during this event. Instead, I am going to instill the value of fear and death into your hearts. I will do my best not to kill any of you, but I make no promises that it will not happen.” He grinned, his eyes changing to the color of blood-red as he spoke. “The choice is yours, fight or die.” He laughed, thrilled at the thought of releasing his true strength after holding back for so long. A thought of Areana slipped into his mind, causing him to falter for a moment before he could shove it back into the darkness of his mind.

He waited for a moment, giving the troops, servants, and advisors a chance to devise their plan of attack. Finally, when he felt that he had given them enough time, he dropped down, lowing into a stance, ready to attack anyone who attempted to come at him. “I have given you adequate time to think and yet not a soul has accepted the invitation. I believe it is now my turn.” He lunged at the demons standing directly in front of him, knocking them to the ground. Quickly, he lifted a few of those demons and hurtled them toward other demons. This caused the demons to stumble back as they caught their comrades, trying to keep themselves on their feet. They worked hard not to fall like dominos, but it was impossible not to have a few demons stumble and fall back. Kobel was one of the strongest demons, if not the strongest.

Kobel drew in a deep breath, anger boiling inside as he realized his troops weren't going to fight him. They were weak! They were not worthy of the demon name. His tail, ears, and hair started to stand on end the angrier he became. The air around him started to swirl, becoming like needles to those around him, “Fight!” He roared, causing a rush of air to push back the troops. “Attack, or I will kill you all! Those who do not fight be exterminated from my kingdom,” he bellowed. Causing the air to thicken, smashing harder into the surrounding demons, sending them hurtling towards the walls and each other. “Attack or die!” He howled in anger.

Slowly he stepped toward the demons sending them flying with every step taken. Then he sped up and started striking demons left and right until finally they grew angry and started to fight back. They used their skills and even weapons striking at their king with the intent to kill. Kobel grinned as he gracefully dodged all their strikes, flying through the air as he jumped and dodged. Not a single troop could land a blow, which was disappointing, to say the least.

Suddenly, a demon struck, one he couldn't evade, and he took the hit. He flew back a few feet. The demon continued to pound into him, he recognized the demon as one of the advisors, Brong. His strikes from his claws cut away at Kobel's skin, blood spilling down, soaking his clothes. Kobel smiled, thrilled at the attacks and more than ready to up his level. He took a final hit and coughed up some blood, before he straightened up, pulling out his sword, and launching his own attack. He struck blades with Brong, again and again, all the while being attacked by other demons. Kobel needed to focus more on countering Brong's attacks, leaving himself open to the attack of the others. He took on more damage with each passing moment.

“Much better!” Kobel howled with joy. His claws grew out like weapons, and he threw his sword to the ground. Raising his hands as his weapons. Brong lashed out with his sword, but Kobel stopped the blade with his claws. Sparks flew as the sword bounced off his claws. While Brong's sword was hurtling back with Brong attached, Kobel struck at all the demons who stood, watching the fight. He laughed as they were shockingly thrown toward other demons and walls. “Fight!” He called as he plowed through demons, causing immense damage as he had promised.

An hour later and he had knocked almost every demon down. He took a seat at the edge of the wooden stage, a large smile spread across his face. Blood splattered across his face and clothes, some of it his own, while the rest belonged to his army. A few moments later, he had caught his breath and stood up to face all the demons who were trying to sit up or were starting to wake up, “Now, have I made myself clear?” He paused for dramatic effect, “You need to polish your skills through training, or we will fall to the human army, am I understood?” They groaned a yes. “If I receive another report of anyone slacking in their training you will be taken to the dungeons, and I will personally deal with you.” He narrowed his eyes, making sure his point came across.

“Your Majesty, allow me to apologize for myself and my fellow warriors. We meant you no disrespect, your Majesty. We simply lost the will since our opponents since they are mere humans. We are stronger than they are without the need for training. And so, we felt we didn't need to train as hard to prepare for the upcoming battle.” Brong spoke honestly, trying to explain what the troops had been feeling. He bowed quickly to show as much respect as he could.

Kobel frowned, slightly, “That you are, you are all demons and stronger than humans. However, we also need to train our minds, not only our bodies. Even the humans know that we are stronger and more vicious than they. While you are half-heartedly training, they are working hard and strategizing. It is possible for them to devise a plan that could destroy us, while we are here sitting around believing strength is more than enough. Pull yourselves together and begin training properly, now!” He growled his command. As soon as his voice bellowed throughout the courtyard, demons jumped to their feet, grouped together, and began their training regiments.

Vicousord and Endor stood with Brong for a moment in front of Kobel, “Thank you, your Majesty. We will make sure to train the warriors with more vigor from now on.” Endor declared, pounding his right pounded his right hand to his chest.

“I will hold you to your words,” Kobel said coolly to him.

He watched as his leading warriors went back to the training sessions with the others. Kobel smirked as he glanced over the injured demons. They had all but forgotten their aches and pains, getting back to their rigorous training. He bent down, picking up, and sheathing his sword. He then walked back into the castle. He intended to go to his room and change out of his torn and bloodied clothes, but instead, he found himself walking toward Areana's room. Within a few moments, he stood outside her door, clenching his fist as he looked down over his ripped and bloodied clothes. Still, he rose his fist to knock on the door, but something inside stopped him. He couldn't help but feel foolish for going to a human, especially one hailing from the very kingdom they were going to be fighting against.

Just as he lowered his fist from the door, it opened. Chaiun stepped out, almost bumping into Kobel's chest. She looked up at him startled. “Sorry, your Majesty. Did you need something?” she asked as she stepped back from him.

“No, I was just coming to see how she is doing.” He said, taking a step back from the door, to give them both space.

Chaiun looked quizzically at him, but still answered his question, “She is still resting, but her wounds are healing. She should be able to move around by the end of the week or so. It is hard for us to give an exact time for a human's healing, seeing as they heal at a different rate from us.” She explained, fidgeting with her mouse-like hands.

“I see, thank you for the update.” He said before turning around and heading to his own chambers. She will be able to leave soon, but where will she go? What will she choose to do? If she wanted to, she could be a strong enemy. She could possibly tip the scales in the humans' favor, but if she stayed, she would be giving up her life, not just fighting a war and then going home. He sighed. Why do I want her to stay? She's a human. We're supposed to be enemies, not friends. He shook his head as he walked into the washroom to clean up and change his clothes.

Stripping off his clothes, he threw a fireball at the fireplace and then thrust his clothes into the flames. He stood there for a moment, watching as they were incinerated. Slowly, he turned to his bathroom and strode in. He had already had servants fill the bath. Sliding in, his hair spilled over the side and quickly the clear water turned to red. Looking over his body, all the wounds he had received merely thirty minutes prior were already healing. He ran his fingers across one of the cuts, it healed as his fingers glided over it. Could I heal her? The thought amused him as he thought of running his fingers across her skin, but for now he would try to keep his distance. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted. Not now.