Chapter Text
The demon world had been taken over by a Demon Lord named Mundus. He’d successfully grown a Qliphoth and used its power to wrest control of the underworld to claim the title of Demon King for himself. He’d been content to simply bide his time and gain power. That was before his mate and child had been killed. That pushed the Demon Lord to take matters into his own hands and used his own heart to fuel the cultivation of the Qliphoth.
With this power, Mundus was able to kill the former ruler of the underworld to become the new Demon King; among several other titles. The first thing he did was eradicate those who remained loyal to the Evil God. With those demons gone, he was free to turn to the source of his rage, the humans that had been so willing to take that which he treasured most from him. However, since the newly crowned Mundus had removed his heart, the reason for the rage and hatred against humanity was not longer fueled by an emotional rage. It became something akin to survival. Humans were little more than food. Cattle to be controlled and corralled.
Numerous demons stepped up to try to overthrow Mundus. They were defeated with little difficulty. Most of these rebellions were stopped by the newest Demon Lord, an insectoid demon by the name of Sparda. He fought for his emperor with a skill with a sword that was unmatched by any.
This wasn’t the last or greatest of Sparda’s achievements. He was elevated to the rank of Demon Lord shortly before the rising of the civil war. Well more like a ‘not so civil’ war. Tactics expected of two powerful demons were employed and it resulted in the demon world being torn apart.
Argosax, the demon god that decided to attack Mundus, had gone about things in a much different way than the new emperor had. Instead of overwhelming Mundus with sheer power, a feat that none had been able to accomplish before or since him, Argosax decided to raise a rebellion. To do so, he waited and gathered support from other demons.
It came down to Argosax facing off against Sparda. He was the last warning before the Prince of Darkness himself got involved. “You’ve lost insect. Tell Mundus to hand over control of the demon world to me!”
Sparda held his sword out, eyes narrowed. The corners of his mouth curved upwards in a smirk. “You honestly think that you can succeed? I will cut you down!”
“Enough!” A deep, echoing voice sounded. Three red glowing lights in a triangular formation appeared in the sky. Sparda knelt down on one knee. He knew that this was one of the avatars of Mundus. “I’m giving up nothing.” Argosax just laughed before spreading his wings and flying up to take on Mundus. He was stopped by Sparda who’d been quick to follow the challenger.
The devil swordsman was quick to cut the supposed demon god down with relative ease. It was clear that Argosax exerted his power and flexed it in order to gain followers. This wasn’t a match for Sparda’s skills. Mundus laughed at the attack and commanded Sparda to stand down. “Be thankful you’ve been able to carve out a meager portion of this vast realm for yourself. Rule it as you wish but do not dare to come back to my vast kingdom. I will destroy you.”
This seemed like a mercy from Mundus. It was out of character for the Demon Emperor. He had a plan though. Something like this was a minor disruption. Argosax was permitted to return to his corner of the demon world. The truce between them was set. At any time Mundus could descend and wipe out the pitiful attempt of a god.
Instead the ruler turned his gaze to the way to gain ultimate power; conquering the human world. The world that had no idea what they were about to deal with. Mundus would feast on their blood and gain strength. Punishment for the entire race after what only a few had done. Those few that had killed his mate and nestling had long since died. No, this was now an all out conquest on the human race.
For the purpose of corralling the ‘livestock’, Mundus chose to send his right hand, the Demon Lord Sparda. Unlike the ruler before him, Mundus wasn’t going to be satisfied with only taking a few villages here and there. To hell with the balance that his predecessor had fought to maintain. The angels didn’t give a damn to protect the humans anymore and it was something that he was more than willing to capitalize on.
What the Prince of Darkness didn’t realize was that his child hadn’t died that day. She was also one of the angels who broke from the others to keep humanity safe. Namely the bloodline of the orphan girl who’s sister had killed herself after what Lumael had done.
Malaina had helped the girl get adopted. It turned out that she was taken in by a witch, one of the few who had turned away from demons in order to help their fellow humans. It had been a sore spot for the girl until Malaina had insisted that it was alright. She personally vowed to watch over the girl and her bloodline. It was a personal goal to teach the family how to defeat demons. Not just in combat but also by using herbs and potions that, when mixed with magic, were often just as lethal as holy water, if not more so.
She was hands-on at first then withdrew with each passing generation. The heiress continued her vigil but didn’t get directly involved unless it was necessary. She wanted to keep them protected but also allow them to grow. To advance and flourish the way humans had an uncanny knack of doing.
The angel was envious of that type of freedom. They had rules imposed on them from various land owners and conquerors who named themselves king or whatever royal title they wished. Still they changed and adapted. Tactics changed when demons attacked and left a town devastated. They could follow so many paths. Choose to follow good or evil, pick their battles. “One day I’ll be free of the overworld’s strings. I’ll be free to call my own shots.”
What Malaina didn’t know was how soon that would be. Nor did she ever think about what the cost of doing such a thing would entail. Her life was about to be turned upside down as a price for this freedom that she craved.