A return from a supposed pilgrimage.

The first prince, who had long since been forgotten, was standing on the peak of a hill, beside him were standing many Demons, each possessing a hulking figure or being blessed in magics.

Cassius, at the head of his own army, decided to take matters into his own hands. He would handle the Demons.

And handle them, he did.

Cassius, at a ripe age, though near infinitely youthful due to his various blessings, used many of the magics within his arsenal, Divine and otherwise, to handle the enemies.

He made quick work of the underlings, and after an hour of his efforts, he was face to face with the Demon leaders.

In Cassius’s life in this world, he’d never truly known the first prince. They’d only met when he had been chosen as the successor, before the prince left on his ‘pilgrimage’.

And now, he was standing among the leaders of the enemies of humanity.

And Cassius was angry, leading him to cast a mighty Holy spell, killing nearly half of the Demon commanders, and rushing into battle.

But as he was locked in his combat, he missed the unscrupulous actions of the prince and a female Demon mage.

As Cassius was engaged with nine Demons, he was quickly blood-soaked as his body was sliced, smashed, and burned from their attacks, and despite the fact that he, in turn, had slain three of his adversaries, he was losing blood to a detrimental degree.

Cassius ran for one of the Demons, decapitating it with a single strike, before trying to attack another, but he was intercepted by two of his attackers, successfully holding him from moving from his spot, leaving the remaining three Demons to attempt to strike him.

As Cassius was struggling in the grasps of the evil beings, watching his attackers come closer, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the prince and mage nearly finished casting their spell.

As he was watching them finish, he ripped himself from the hands of his holders and, without hesitation, broke one of their necks with a quick grasp. He was then stabbed in the abdomen, before quickly grabbing the stabber by their arm, and slamming them to the ground, before stomping their skull into mush.

The three attacking Demons faltered for a moment, before rushing to attack, one staying back to cast a spell.

A massive hammer was traveling through the air, an inch before Cassius’s head, before he gripped the handle, and snapped it above where the Demon was holding it.

Gripping the hammer with the broken hilt, Cassius leapt back, to then slam the hammer into the skull of its previous owner, leaving them slumped with mushy brains.

The one Demon's spell was finished and flew through the air, and to Cassius’s unapparent dismay, his hand was blown from his arm, leaving a bloody stump slightly above the wrist.

He then rushed at the caster, before smashing the hammer into them, and again, and again, and again.

When Cassius was striking the caster, the only remaining Demon slowly approached from behind to strike, before Cassius’s remaining hand flew to the Demon's throat, dropping the hammer to the ground.

As he held it there, he attempted to bring his other hand to complete the action, but was met with the visceral sight of his missing hand. Before snapping the Demon’s neck, and discarding the body to the side.

Cassius began to look towards the prince, **** for a peaceful conclusion, despite his suffering, but was met with a dismal view.

The ground beneath the pair formed a sigil and abruptly opened, with the female mage falling in, with screams of pain ensuing, as the flames consumed her, leaving the prince stumbling from the fiery pit.

The figure that appeared before the sniveling prince was imposing and destructive, a flaming whip in one hand and an electric sword in the other, stood before the prince.

“I, Badrazan, the Arch-Lord Balor of the Demon King Azaelan's army, accept your sacrifice.”

For a brief moment the prince had a hopeful expression.

But no, the Balor grabbed him, and began to eat him. Tearing an arm from the body and eating it whole. He ate half of the prince’s form before tossing it to the side, glaring at Cassius, the numerous dead Demons around him expectedly apparent.

“Badrazan accepts this challenge.” He said this, before rushing Cassius at immeasurable speeds, firmly gripping his skull, and slamming it into the ground.

He then jumped into the air, a hundred feet up, and floated there, still holding him in his hand, completely at ease, despite Cassius’s herculean efforts to stop him.

“Badrazan feels your love for this place, but not equally. No, I feel your appreciation for every place in this city, care for every being, but…” He stopped, taking a moment to count in his head, and on his fingers, before a sinister glare was on his face, and he continued, “There's four people in particular, I feel it for the most. But don’t worry, they won’t suffer. I won’t let them. I wouldn’t do that to you. You gave me freedom, so I’ll do you this one favor."