I asked slowly,
"Lyra… you're surely joking… right?"
She shook her head and said,
"It's true, my lord."
I screamed,
"Why???"
Lyra said,
"I don't know. Maybe it's your power they mean, and not your personality… mostly."
I froze.
Mostly?
What does she mean by mostly?
I asked again,
"What do you mean, mostly?"
She said,
"Well… people don't really know you very well. Which leaves room for imagination and rumours."
I sat in my seat, defeated, and asked mostly to myself,
"What do I do?"
Lyra said,
"If you hadn't shut yourself off, you would have noticed sooner, and it wouldn't have spread this far."
I said angrily,
"So now you blame me??"
She quickly shook her head and spoke fast,
"I dare not!"
Huh…
I sighed, defeated.
"It's alright. Just go."
There is no point crying over spilled milk.
It would be better to ignore it. In the first place who dares call me that in my face.
People often use nicknames to refer to Powerhouses.
For example: Karna,his nickname is The Second Sun.
Now sun is warm and brings life. But also unforgiving to enemies.
So people can use it in his face.
Whereas
My nickname is not that glorious,maybe in a negative way but it's not something I can say to others on their face.
As for my enemies..use whatever you like I will get satisfaction once I kill them anyway.
---
A Month Later
Rumours had spread throughout the world.
From Soldiers:
> "I've seen the battlefield, but nothing prepared me for him… when he moves, the earth itself trembles. The Monster Lord… may the gods forgive us."
> "We weren't even attacked — he just passed through. And yet half our regiment lies buried beneath a crater. I… I don't know if I should call it war or a storm."
> "They said he's human. They lied. Nothing human can make the ground scream like that."
From Nobles:
> "Invite him not. Don't even glance at him. They say the Monster Lord doesn't answer to reason — only consequence."
> "Our coffers and armies mean nothing to him. He walks like a god of ruin — indifferent, merciless."
From Priests and Monks:
> "The earth shivers in his presence… I pray he spares us, though prayer may be a fool's game."
> "The Monster Lord is neither demon nor god; he is a force of judgment itself."
From Commoners and Peasants:
> "He came once, and the river changed its course. I saw it with my own eyes. He's no man… he's the Monster Lord."
> "When he laughs, the mountains shake. When he sighs, crops wither. They call him a lord — I call him the end of the world."
> "Keep your doors locked, your animals hidden… the Monster Lord passes, and nothing survives his path."
...
Well it was too exaggerated but rumours after all spread like this.
---
In the Centre of the Demon King's Territory
A towering castle stood so tall that even the sun dared not shine too brightly upon it.
Beside a throne — not luxurious, but sinister — stood a demon. Another demon sat upon that throne.
The standing demon radiated immense power, greater even than the Thirteenth Demon General.
Yet his might still paled before the one seated before him.
A trembling demon entered slowly and fell to his knees.
The Demon King on the throne spoke,
"Fifth General, what happened?"
The kneeling demon — the Fifth Demon General, the seventh-strongest demon in the world — answered,
"Demon King… the army sent to the Coalition of Twelve Lords… it's been wiped out."
The Demon King sighed.
"Only four days, huh. The new Twelfth Lord must be strong to defeat him so quickly."
The demon trembled even more and said,
"Not four…"
The Demon King looked sharply at him.
"What do you mean?"
The demon stammered,
"The Twelfth Lord of the Coalition defeated the Thirteenth Demon General and his whole army… in one strike."
The Demon King raised his eyebrows.
"A single strike? … Impressive."
He leaned back and said,
"For now, retreat from the western continent. Summon all the Generals. I must meet them all."
The trembling demon rose and left.
The Demon King fell silent, his thoughts unreadable.
---
A Few Days Later
A pillar of white light rose from the direction of the Empire.
Two days later, I received an invitation.
It was from the Empire — the Emperor was inviting the entire world to meet the Hero.
Suddenly, my ring buzzed, and on its surface appeared the words: "30 minutes."
Actually, this ring does much more than just signify that I am a lord.
I moved toward a certain room. Soon, I stood before it, and then entered.
The room was identical to the one where the Lords' meetings were held in the Fifth Lord's castle.
In truth, every Lord had such a room in their own castle.
I sat on the seat marked Twelve and inserted my ring after thirty minutes.
Soon, holograms of eleven figures appeared. The images weren't very clear — identifying them was difficult, though their differing sizes helped.
This table was, in fact, a more advanced communication device.
Undine's voice came through first:
"I heard about the war, Twelfth Lord. Congratulations."
I nodded.
The other Lords soon offered their congratulations as well.
Then the First Lord spoke,
"I assume everyone has already received the invitation."
Everyone nodded.
The First Lord continued,
"And also that none of you are interested."
Undine said lazily,
"Though I am interested, I'm far too lazy to go."
I said,
"I'll go."
Everyone turned to look at me.
"I can meet many other powerhouses there, after all."
They nodded.
The First Lord declared,
"Then the Twelfth Lord will represent the Coalition of Twelve Lords."
The meeting ended soon after.
---
I went back and informed Lyra,
"I'm going to the Empire. Take care of things here, and if anything happens, inform me."
Lyra nodded.
I immediately left for the Empire.
The Empire wasn't far, so leaving this early didn't make much sense — but I planned to go somewhere else first.
That place was The Ebonleaf Forest.
When the original Lords expanded their territories, they invaded the lands surrounding the Ebonleaf Forest.
The Coalition of Twelve Lords is actually made up of twelve territories encircling that forest.
The forest itself is divided into twelve parts — one for each Lord.
Why was I going there?
Because a powerhouse lived there — The Witch of Nightmares.
She was once part of a witch tribe.
Witches are basically magicians, but their craft is unique. They gather ingredients and create powerful spells by channeling mana through them.
The Witch of Nightmares once lived in the eastern continent with her tribe, but tragedy struck.
Some people attacked them, seeking their rare spell ingredients.
She survived — barely — and fled to the Ebonleaf Forest, where she has lived for the past eight years.
Right now, she may not be a true powerhouse, but in two or three years, she will be.
And I intend to meet her now.
Well, she doesn't have the title "Witch of Nightmares" yet.
How do I plan to find her?
Good question. I already have a brilliant plan.
I'll use Omniscient to sweep through the world's second-largest forest — one larger than many kingdoms.
Don't call me dumb.
I can't really do anything else.
She's a witch, so she constantly searches for materials. It's not that her spells are weak without them — they're just about ten percent stronger when she uses crafted ingredients.
Since the forest is massive, she can always find plenty.
So, I'll just keep scanning… at full speed.
---
Somewhere in the Ebonleaf Forest
From a communication device came a voice:
"Have you found her?"
A response echoed from deep within the forest,
"No. But we've found her traces."
The voice from the communication device said,
"Do it fast. The Demon Army is retreating from the western continent."
The man inside the forest frowned.
"Why?"
The voice crackled again through the device.
"Well, you've been in the forest, so you probably don't know. The new Twelfth Lord defeated the Thirteenth Demon General and his entire army in a single strike."
The man's expression hardened.
"Impossible."
"I don't care about your thoughts," the voice replied coldly. "But find her quickly. With the Demon Army gone, many kingdoms will have access to plenty of free resources. They might discover our leads."
The man in the forest sighed and said,
"Very well. Give me a week."
---
Four days later...
A woman was walking through the forest when she noticed a flower blooming near the roots of an old tree. It was a rare flower — one that acted as a catalyst for one of her alchemical recipes. She started walking toward it, her steps light and deliberate.
But then she stopped.
A shoe had crushed the flower.
Her eyes lifted slowly, tracing up from the worn leather boot to the man who stood before her — someone probably in his forties. Though the flower was important, it wasn't rare enough for her to accuse him. After all, the forest didn't belong to her.
Yet the way the man looked at her made her frown. His eyes carried intent — too focused, too knowing.
She hesitated, thoughts running quickly through her mind.
Was this a misunderstanding... or should she attack.