Bashington DC
It's a beautiful morning in the Black House. Since the Divine Barrier's gone, most of the thunderclouds that always stuck on Murica's sky are gone, and sunshine starts to embrace the Demon Territory. Many demon citizens complained about it, it's giving them sunburn and forcing them to buy sunglasses and hats. The only ones who welcome these changes are the fashion industry and Solo.
As a "human," Solo actually misses the warm sun. He enjoys it while jogging around the Black House courtyard. Garnering awe from the staff and secret services, thinking that their leader is one hell of a demon who enjoys torturing himself.
After finishing his run, Solo heads back to the master bedroom for a shower. He's no longer the chubby orc he used to be. Even with the goddess's curse preventing him from leveling up, he can still lose fat and build muscle, and he's been hitting the gym religiously. Mostly because he doesn't want to look "fat and delicious" to other demons anymore. He already had a rough time back then when he first landed in the Demon Kingdom.
Now, Solo sports an athletic build—six-pack included. At one point, People Magazine: Orc Edition even nominated him as one of the sexiest orcs alive. But it doesn't really make Solo happy, as his human side considers having a relationship with a female orc as an act of bestiality, and he has no intention to reenact one of the Black Mirror episodes.
Soft footsteps approach. Suddenly the shower curtain whips open, and a female demonfolk lunges in and wraps her arms around him.
"Whoah! Baby! You scared me!"
"Teehe~hi sexy, I missed you."
They kiss under the shower. The demonfolk is Lilith-Solo's wife and his chief of staff. Even though Solo has no taste for female orcs, it's different with the female demonfolk. Lilith is a human-level hot babe… if you just ignore the pair of horns and the spiky tail.
"How was the trip?" Solo asks.
"Oh, nothing serious. Some senators were whining that humans will come here and steal demon jobs. But I shut them down after I told them, "When that happens, we already steal their resources, so stop bitching."
"That's my girl."
"I'm going to change. Hurry up and finish your shower, we're expected at the Pentagon."
Lilith was about to leave when Solo pulled her back into the shower.
"We got time for a quickie?"
"You horny orc," Lilith laughs.
---
Hundreds of years ago, the only "interracial relationship" the Demon Kingdom knew was where one race ended up in the other race's tummy. But when Solo and Lilith publicly married 80 years ago, they quickly became the face of interracial marriage and promptly encouraged others to do the same (except in the southern counties, where many still prefer to marry their cousins).
This greatly helps reduce the racial tension in Demon Territory. But never in Solo's mind, he married Lilith for political reasons. Let's be real, which normal man chooses to stay single just because he lives in a fantasy world, let alone stay a virgin? Although Solo is late to realize that by marrying the one who earned the title Demon Queen, he practically killed his own harem route.
---
A motorcade rolls through the traffic. At the center is a limo with the number plate "666," affectionately known as "The Beast." Lilith reviews documents while giving Solo a silent treatment while Solo is rubbing a slap mark on his cheek.
"… baby, it hurts," he mutters.
"You deserve it. I've told you a thousand times—stop trying to use my tail as a fucking dildo," said Lilith angrily.
"Yes, ma'am…" He sighs. "Anyway, how was the public handling post-barrier situations?"
"It's improving. Most demons can walk under direct sunlight without protection now. Although the FAA is having chaos within the pilots community"
"What happened?"
"After the barriers are gone, many pilots try to fly above 40,000 feet and more; most of them end up stalling."
"Well… Somehow I can't blame them for having an out-of-cage experience."
"With full passengers onboard"
"Ah…"
"Other than that, everything's already gone back to normal."
"Good to hear. Any news from the border?"
"We finished the railway connecting our FOB and the DMZ to the nearby city. This should help with delivering the goods from outside."
"DMZ?"
"Demon-Mankind Zone. It's a neutral 2.5-square-mile strip between us and Ravendawn. Levi's idea."
"Ahh." Solo immediately thinks of the Earth version.
"Now that people know we aren't planning to eat them, caravans and settlers are showing up looking for opportunities."
"Settlers or spies?"
"Both. We predict it will become a town in the near future."
"Interesting," Solo says, remembering a certain Japanese anime with a similar setup.
PENTAGON
A pentagram-shaped building where the Ministry of Defense is based. It should've been a pentagon, but 80 years ago Solo was distracted by wedding planning and forgot to clarify the difference. The architect built a giant magic star instead. The demons love it.
Solo, Lilith, Levi, Stan, and Mo watch aerial maps projected on the screen.
"So, gentlemen, what do we know about our neighbors?"
In the past, the Demon Kingdom never bothered to learn about their surroundings. They don't know anything about their neighbors except for their taste.
"With the help of our spy planes, we just finished mapping around 7,000 miles surrounding us," says an air force lieutenant. "So, we live on the southernmost continent, called Malvorath. Surrounded by ocean except on the north, where Ravendawn and Vandoria occupy about 198,000 square miles."
The lieutenant continues, laser pointer in hand. "There's another continent north called Meridinia, with a land bridge here."
Solo squints. The landmass shape looks suspiciously like Mexico and Panama flipped upside-down.
Levi chimes in: "From what our diplomats gathered, the Ravendawn used to be the only human kingdom here. That's until the Vandorians who live across the ocean annexed the land, leaving only the parts that they don't want, which is next to us, and making them submit as a vassal state."
"So basically they're being used as a cushion. When did they lose the war with the Vandorians?"
"No, no war happened. Ravendawn lost their territory 20 years ago because of shrewd politics. The Vandorians blackmail them with past debts and other excuses."
"That's boring," Stan comments.
"No, that's beautiful," Levi counters.
Solo nods. "Good, so they've got bad blood."
"And a fresh one," Mo grins.
The lieutenant adds, "Unfortunately our plane can't go further than Vandoria, since there's no airfield to refuel beyond our border."
"Then I guess we have no choice but to wait for Bub's satellite. Mo, have you started planting the assets?"
"Yes sir, so far we have planted 8 assets on Ravendawn and 2 on Vandoria."
"Why are there so few in Vandoria?"
"Well… the only way we can do insertion in a short time without being noticed by their air patrols is by doing a HALO jump, and to be honest, not many succubi or vampires in my bureau are capable of doing that."
"But one has wings, and the other can change into a freaking bat. They fly!"
"With all due respect, sir, falling from 30,000 feet sure is different than sneaking into a second-story window because they forgot their keys."
"…fair enough."
Dawn Province, Dawn Castle
Dawn Castle is a beautiful castle on the hill that overlooks the coastal city of Dawn below. Originally belonging to the Ravendawn Kingdom until the Vandorians came and took over. Inside the war room, Duke Pierre meets with Vandoria's top brass:
· Archbishop Antonio of the Celes Church
· Admiral Lorenzo of the Vandoria Royal Navy
· Archmage Durac of the Vandoria Royal Mage
On top of the meeting tables, there are many hand-drawn pictures and sketches of Murican soldiers, vehicles, and weapons.
"Are you sure about this, your grace?" Admiral Lorenzo asks.
"Yes," Antontio says. "Holy records describe demons as eight-foot titans with terrifying magic. But these new demon soldiers aren't bigger than us."
"That's right, and all of them are wielding a black staff as their weapon," Pierre notes. "It strongly resembles the dwarven muskets."
Durac takes a sketch of Murican rifles. "Muskets are weak and easy to block with magic shields. Why would demons abandon magic?"
"The church's working theory is the Goddess prevented the Demon Invasion 130 years ago by taking a great portion of the demons' mana," Antonio says. "Resulting in the current demon generation being smaller and weaker"
"That's why they can't fight or fly without using tools; it makes sense. What about the Demon Elephants and Hell Dragonflies?" Admiral Lorenzo asks.
"Those are just transportation vehicles. No mana signatures."
"…Should we ask for help from the Hero or major kingdoms?" Ask Admiral Lorenzo.
"Why should we? Before, we already prepared for the Demon Invasion; our military already calculated that we can hold off the Demon Invasion even though it's going to be a bloody battle. Our coffers are more than enough to employ mercenaries and adventurers from half of Meridinia." He points to the land bridge on the map. "And if things went south, our Royal Mages are advanced enough to cut the landbridge connecting Markevath and Meridinia and put a stop to the Demon Army march."
Duke Pierre takes a deep breath before continuing his speech.
"Gentlemen, we are way more advanced than who we were millennia ago, and I believe the major kingdoms also feel the same way; that's why they are pretty calm with the Demon Invasion threat."
Durac adds, "And also, we are blessed with an enemy that is weaker than what we predicted it to be."
"That's right, so why do we have to call any other kingdoms for help and share all the spoils?"
"What spoils? Do we know what kind of resources they have in the Demon Territory?" Lorenzo asks.
"No, we don't know that. But the Demons have shown us the most lucrative goods they have. The demons themselves"
The room falls silent.
"Think about it," Pierre continues. "The craftsmanship of their machines. Their efficiency. If we enslave their artisans, Vandoria will leap ahead by decades." He lets out his grin. "And their female demonfolks will fetch quite a price; their female diplomats are beauties that rival the beautiful elf slaves in our capital."
Archmage Durac chuckles. "Ah, Duke Pierre, sometimes I forget that you were a merchant before you were a general."
"So let's be real, despite how frightening they were in the past, there's a continent full of slaves in front of us. We're lucky that we are the first kingdom to know that they are being weaker; if we don't act now, any other kingdom will come and grab the opportunity for themselves. I believe even our archbishop here agrees with me."
"The Goddess always favors the bold." Archbishop Antonio nodded.
"And what about the Demon Dukes? We don't know if they are also being weaker or not."
"Even if the Demon Dukes are still as strong as they were before, there's only seven of them; they can't be everywhere. As for their strongest, the Demon King, it's common knowledge that he never leaves his castle."
"The holy church has a complete record about each of the Demon Dukes' strengths and weaknesses based on the previous Hero journal. I will ask them to lend the copy."
"Much appreciated, your grace. After we get the riches from enslaving the demons, we will be a new major kingdom, and I'm sure even after that we will still have enough gold to support your path on being a cardinal."
"Ohoho, I'm just a lowly servant of the Goddess tasked to help the righteous to eradicate evil. But who am I to refuse a follower's goodwill?"
"And for the Demon Duke who guards the Great Demon Gate, Leviathan. Well, there's a reason why we still keep the Ravendawn around. I think it's time to tell them to do their job." Duke Pierre smiled.
Murica, CDC Green Quarantine Zone
Solo and Lilith are watching the CDC staff inspecting livestock.
"Our test results show that there are no harmful agents from the livestock nor the plants that we bring from Ravendawn; we can give them the clearance," reports a CDC officer.
"Oh, perfect! Wonderful!"
The CDC officer cannot understand what makes his prime minister so excited."
"Sir, if I may ask, we're not having any food shortages or whatever. Why do we need to import this much?"
"Oh, later you will understand that farm animals are way different than their demonic beast counterparts. The tenderness… the juiciness… oohh, after you eat the real pork bacon, you won't go back to eating a war pig."
"Stop your cannibal talks. Where is Lich? Isn't he supposed to be the one explaining this?" Ask Lilith.
"I'm sorry, but the director is in the red zone. Well, you know how he is… this kind of thing doesn't excite him."
CDC Red Quarantine Zone
In a sci-fi-looking lab, a big angry demon is being chained and locked behind a reinforced window. On the opposite window, a skeleton wearing a white lab coat is busy making notes, accompanied by his assistants.
"Ah, Solo! Look at this! Isn't this remarkable?"
"Is this… a raging demon? You researching a live one?"
"Yes! Exactly!"
When the Barrier disintegrates, random Muricans across the nation transform into a big bad demon. Their body is twice bigger than before, hyper-magical, but they are also becoming a mindless creature who can't hear reason, creating chaos everywhere. Luckily the law enforcement in Murica, famously known for being trigger-happy, quickly eliminates the rampaging demons in every city and town.
The captured raging demon keeps punching and sometimes shoots fireballs at the same side of the wall, leaving marks all over, but somehow the other side of the walls stays clean.
"Is it trying to go somewhere?"
"Splendid observation. Solo, this guy here, and all other rage cases are reportedly trying to go in the same direction. North!"
"Great Demon Gate?"
"Definitely, and here, look at this." Lich switches screens. A virus appears with a crown-like feature surrounding its cells.
"Is that the Goddess Virus?" said Lilith
Forty years ago, when neuroscience and virology advanced enough, Lich found a virus that can be found in almost every demon. It lay dormant until its host reached 19 years of age, then slowly but surely started attacking the brain nerve cells that somehow made the demon more stupid than they originally were. Thus, Solo named the virus Covid-19 and enforced national vaccination.
"Yes, the Goddess virus is everywhere in this guy, but the amazing thing is this."
Lich pulls up an X-ray showing a crystal in the chest.
"All the viruses are travelling to their host's mid-torso and forming a crystal."
"Why?"
"I don't know yet, but it is surely responsible for making this guy's magic way-way more powerful. Before, the report showed that this guy could only use fire magic to light a cigarette, but now look at him firing so many scary fireballs all day."
"So that's what triggered past Demon Invasions…"
"Yes, it is! Hahahaha."
"Why do you seem so happy? Asked Lilith
"Of course I'm happy, there's never been a medical record about this 'outbreak.' And now I'm going to be the first to put it in the medical journal. MUAHAHAHAHA, EAT SHIT YOU DAMNED MEDICAL COMMITTEE!" Lich let out his villainous laughter.
Solo and Lilith quietly ignore Lich, who is still laughing in the background.
"But what makes these people become raging demons randomly? Did we find any connections between the victims?" Solo asks Lilith.
"Yes, our investigations found one common thing between all the victims. They were all… umm… Anti-Vaxxers"
"Ah… So that's why they were always so angry."
The Black House
In the nighttime, Solo was in his bed browsing Earth internet with his special ability. He was browsing stuff like smartphones and drones. Lilith comes to bed next to him, watching Solo slide his finger through empty air, only Solo can see his own ability.
"Please tell me you're not watching porn while pretending to work again."
"Baby!"
Lilith slides closer to Solo and rests her head on Solo's arm.
"Teehe, I'm joking… So what are you looking for?"
"I need to give Bub some new tech that can utilize our new satellites."
Lilith kisses his cheek. "…baby, you are already working hard today. The Goddess can wait."
"I'll go to sleep soon, just a little more."
The phone rings. Lilith groans and answers.
"This is the chief of staff… Yes… I see. Thank you."
She hangs up and grins.
"Guess what."
"What?"
"Mo's agents in Vandoria sent the message: 'THEY FOUND THEIR PROFITS.'"
Solo's lips curl into a wide, villainous grin.
Lilith climbs on top of him. "Pre-celebration?"
"Oh, baby, you know me."
The Secret Service guard outside hears Lilith's moans and politely walks away-until a loud SLAP echoes from inside.
"OUCH!" Solo yelps.