The Demon Lord And His Hero

Rowan had a map of the known world etched into his memory with perfect clarity. Several red dots existed on the map. These were the kingdoms he had wrestled into his control. On a grand scale, there were a total of more than two hundred places he wished to turn red. Time was running out and he had to hurry.

The blond was back at Elysium to answer to the ruler's urgent missive. He had received a message that demanded he come back without any excuses. The King's royal purple and gold seal had been stamped on the letter, emphasising the gravity that the situation demanded.

Now inside the empty throne room, Rowan waited for the King's arrival. Two minutes had elapsed since his entry inside the throne room. The blond's mouth flickered in a derisive smile as he felt the presence of three powerful people appear behind him.

"Fallen champion," a voice gravely spoke. "Created by Eos to defend the light only to be swallowed by the eternal darkness of a power hungry heart. Rowan Windwalker, are you prepared to meet your end?"

The blond turned around to face his foes. The first person he looked at was Griygori, champion of Luna, a well known celestial goddess. The woman beside him was named Hsury, a shaman that served a heretical deity whose ruthlessness was no less than the demons they killed. And finally, Moira's priestess, Dinah, the only one who appeared disturbed by what they had come to do.

"My end?" Rowan enquired as he glanced at the sacred scythe at Dina's waist. None of them were even remotely a threat to him. It was obvious to him they didn't know who, or rather what they were up against.

The blond wasn't expecting the deities to turn a blind eye while he killed their underlings but he had hoped for a little more time. To think that even the king of Sigil had sold him out. Rowan let out a sigh of relief because he hadn't wanted to betray his King without reason. The three of them had no idea what a massive favour they'd done him by turning Sigil's ruler against him.

"Surrender yourself and give up your powers, Rowan," Dinah advised. She had a heavy frown on her face like she wanted to be anywhere else but here.

"Surrender? I came here to reap his life," Hsury, the female shaman hissed. "This man is an existence that causes blight upon the world. He is a thorn in the eyes of our gods and goddesses!"

Griygori unsheathed his Claymore as the shaman spoke. They were thirsty for his blood, eager to please their powerful overlords. Dinah stared at the fools, wondering where they got the courage to act so brazenly. Did they think it would be a simple matter to just take down Rowan Windwalker? Standing this close to him, she could feel the perfectly controlled storm that lay beneath his benign exterior.

"Put your weapons away," Dina calmly advised her companions. "Violence is not our first solution."

"We have our orders, servant of Moira. Do not interfere if you are too cowardly to-"

Dinah saw a blur from the corner of her eye as Rowan passed between her and the shaman. The next thing she knew, there was blood on her face, ears ringing from the sound of a shrill, dying scream that came from the fallen shaman. A pause of heavy and terrible silence stretched between them as Dinah and Griygori made eye contact. So what if they had the strength to face him? Rowan moved like lightning and killed even faster.

"No!" She screamed but it was too late for the champion of Luna. He raised his weapon against Rowan and met a similar fate to the shaman.

Standing there with the dying bodies of her companions, Dinah's heart raced as she looked into the cerulean eyes of Eos' fallen champion.

"Did Moira send you to eliminate me?" He asked, expression as placid as a quiet lake that was hiding something dark underneath. Rowan had been so blessed in every way so why had he betrayed his own goddess? Why had he turned against the very beings who had breathed life into him?

"No," Dinah answered. She exhaled as she said a short prayer for the dead souls to depart in peace.

"Then why are you here, priestess?"

Rowan's blade dripped blood as he held it loosely in his hand. Drops of scarlet trickled from the blade like tears shed for the lives that had been taken by the man.

Dinah opened her eyes, feeling at peace with death if that was to be her fate. Her thoughts went to Syryn who was asleep, not knowing that Rowan, the light of his life, had turned into the very thing he had vowed to destroy. "I've come to speak some sense into you, champion of Eos. You have gone insane."

The last bit was true, Rowan decided. But insanity was a subjective matter. He could argue that Dinah herself was insane to remain loyal to the goddess who had sent her to be sacrificed to Rowan.

"Speak then, priestess," he told her amicably. "If you cannot convince me that I walk a wrong path then I will cut you down like I did your friends."

Dinah felt a shiver slide down her spine as she realised he meant what he said. Rowan had no mercy to show anyone.

"Why have you done this, Rowan?" She asked him, needing to understand his motivations for betraying everything he had been a symbol of.

"You'll have to be more specific. I've done many-- bad things. So which one are you referring to?"

Rowan canted his head as he patiently waited for her answer.

"You killed Eos, didn't you? Moira and- I want to know why."

"I did not kill Eos."

"You stole her godhood! That is the same as killing her-"

"This is hardly a convincing attempt at making me see sense," he interrupted her. "The soldiers are waiting outside, Dinah. Hurry it up."

"You are despicable, Rowan. Kill me already. I can see how black your soul has become. You will not change!"

Rowan glanced at the door and back at Dinah. "You've been very fortunate in your choice of timing," he said softly, flicking his gaze towards the door that had opened. Sebastian stood there, staring at Rowan in horror and confusion. "And because of that, I am going to extend to you something I almost never give out anymore: a warning."

Dinah held her breath, feeling the blood freeze in her veins as she watched the blond take a step closer to her. In an unnerving cold voice, Rowan told her: "I strongly suggest you don't listen to Moira if she asks you to find me a second time."