“If yer’ gonna join us, we better introduce ourselves proper like.” Griffin said, taking a drink from a large cup of beer. “Not names or nothing’, but who we really all, ya know? A weak bond between travelers is a weakness we can’t have against such a dangerous foe.”

He downed the rest of the drink and wiped the foam from his mouth with the back of his arm, then continued to talk.

“You probably don’t know because of your upbringing, but I’m what you call a beastkin. My bloodline allows me to transform into a powerful form, and it’s this bloodline that caused my people to be slaves to the Demon Lord for so long, so I fight to free my people!”

“My father was an adventurer, but he went to face the Demon Lord and never returned.” Vardon explained his reason for adventuring next. “Because of his death, my mother and I grew up in poverty, so I fight for revenge, simple as that.”

“And I’m not really a fighter, but I can’t let these two hunks get hurt, so I’ll use my magic to keep them healthy!” the little pink fairy, Liza, was the third to speak, her reasoning being much… weaker than theirs.

“I don’t really know why, but I was labeled a cursed child from birth and imprisoned,” I told them, my eyes pointing down to the floor. I stared at the scars on my wrists, my body unable to stop shaking. “And I can’t tell you why, but I know I have to defeat the Demon Lord.”

Somehow, they let me stay with them. We traveled the lands, slaying monsters, protecting the people. As we did, we all grew stronger, and so did our bonds as a party.

In a flash, two years had passed with us together. I spoke with Beelzebub from time to time, working with him to corner the Demon Lord and win the game and my freedom.

“Vi, come here for a second.” Griffin called to me, and I walked over to where he stood by the side of the road. He was looking at a single flower, a deep red rose. “Reminds me of you when we first met.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him, confused by his statement. “There’s nothing similar about me and such a beautiful flower. My skin is pale, my hair lacks any pigment...”

He picked the flower with his fingers, gently snapping the stem off, and placed it in my hair. He nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied.

“Yep, it’s like you, totally alone in the wild, but extremely pretty.” He looked away from me, but I could tell he was blushing after saying those words. “Look, I’m not very good at this romance stuff, but when this is all over what do you plan to do? You don’t have a home to return to, right? So, if you want, you could always… come to my hometown.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and was completely stunned into silence. I just stared at him, my heart racing in my chest.

“No need to answer me right now, I’ll wait for your response.” he said, his voice quivering just a little bit, before he walked off back towards the camp we had set up.

I was about to head back too, when a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind.

“Eh?! Who?!” I exclaimed, looking up to see a familiar set of blue spectacled eyes.

“I never expected that oaf to get ahead of me.” Vardon spoke softly, holding me tightly against his body. “But if he thinks he can have you without a fight, he’s wrong.”

He let go of me suddenly, and walked away in silence. I couldn’t understand what had just happened. Was it really ok for me, a cursed child to… be this happy?

I returned to the campfire, and neither of them showed any sign of having just said any of that to me, almost like it was a dream. But I could feel the rose in my hair, so I knew it wasn’t, that was real.

“Tomorrow, huh?” Griffin looked around at the three of us. “It feels like it’s been forever, but also the blink of an eye.”

“The Demon Lord will fall, and this world will finally be safe.” Vardon nodded, closing his eyes. “Get some sleep, everyone.”

And I slept peacefully that night, my young maiden’s heart filled with hope and love.

-

I fell to my knees, my hands splashing in a warm, sticky puddle of red. I could barely breathe, my body was torn to shreds. Wounded all over, my blue sorcerer’s robes were ruined and ripped to pieces, my hair was matted down with blood and sweat.

But the pool of blood under my hands wasn’t my own.

“Why… why?!” I screamed, my voice shaking as tears poured from my eyes. “What is this, this has to be a nightmare!”

We had defeated every monster on the way to the Demon Lord’s throne with ease. Not a scratch on us, we were invincible. But the monster that awaited us… no one could be prepared for such a thing.

Liza was broken in half within seconds, her lifeless body crashing against the far wall. The only attacks that seemed to work were my flames, and I became his next target. There was no way I could survive a single of his attacks.

The Demon Lord’s curse struck Griffin, blowing off his right arm entirely. He transformed, turning into a wolflike form, and charged the Devil. He slashed at the beast, but his claws never reached. A pitch black spear burst through his chest and out his back, and he was pinned against a marble pillar.

Vardon’s sword impaled the monster, and the Demon Lord screeched in pain, but did not die. The Demon Lord’s fist grabbed him by the head, his massive hand crushing his skull in a horrific burst of gore.

And with all my rage, I fired a spell. The Demon Lord was unable to dodge, and he took -999999 damage from my strongest spell, which drained my own hp. The Demon Lord took a step forward, then fell to one knee. His body began to crumble, and soon, he was nothing but ash.

And I was alone. My tears wouldn’t stop, they couldn’t stop. Why, why had it turned out this way? It was so sudden, there hadn’t even been time to react. They were all dead, my only friends.

“Why, why wasn’t I strong enough to protect them all? Aren’t I supposed to be the hero, Beezlebub?!” I screamed, bashing my fist against the bloody floor.

“And you did a lovely job, didn’t you?” the god responded, appearing on the game board.

“What… are you saying?” I looked at him, my purple eyes twisted in anger.

Beelzebub walked across the bloody battlefield, his fingers running across the black stone throne. He took a seat in the Demon Lord’s position, and laughed.

“Look, we won!” he said, throwing his arms to the side. The castle around us, no, the world itself, began to crumble slowly. “That old God is defeated, and this realm is mine to reshape now! You’ve done very well, Vi!”

“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?” I asked, slowly rising to my feet. “But you don’t care how much my heart is in agony right now, do you?! I’m just a piece on a gameboard, a pawn!”

My face twisted with anger, a level of anger I hadn't even felt towards the men who imprisoned me for the first 14 or so years of my life. My thoughts were a confused swirl of emotion, but at the core I knew one thing for sure, that I hated the man sitting before me at this very moment.

“What does it matter if you’re hurt, in a moment this world will be erased.” he laughed, standing up from the throne. “A mere piece cannot defy a god!”

The ground below me began to vanish, and I felt myself fall. It was an endless void of darkness, there was nothing left.

“Beelzebub!!” my voice, no longer a human scream, but a primal, almost monstrous voice, reached out to the darkness around me. “I’ll kill you! Rip you to shreds, tear off your legs, cut off your arms! There won’t be anything left of you, I swear this!”

Because of my unique Skill, my abilities had long passed normal humans. My level was 999, when a mortal would likely only ever see a level reach 100 at most, and even that was nearly impossible. This body was far more than just a mortal’s now, it entered the realm of the divine.

I don’t know how long I fell through the void for, my sense of time completely vanished, but eventually, I landed lightly. There was nothing in this void, but I found land anyways. Near eternity in darkness, my sanity had long slipped away, I don’t know if I even remembered how to speak anymore.

I stood in front of a mansion, a chaotic, hellish void around the floating piece of land it sat upon. My body was half broken, but I pushed forward. The door gave way to my flames, and I marched into the building.

Various beings, half human, half insect, gave way to my rage and let me pass. Until finally, I reached a closed door. I kicked it open, and before me stood a game board, blank, waiting. Beelzebub sat at the other side of the table, as if he expected my arrival.

“Welcome to my humble game parlor, Vi.” he smiled.

“BEELZEBUB!!”