Netherim Fortress.

  An ancient stronghold perched on the edge of the abyss, at the northernmost reaches of the Demon Realm’s capital, Pandemonium.

  This land was once a battlefield where frontier demons had risen against Queen Lilisia in a fierce rebellion.

  During the war, Lilisia had cleaved the enemy fortress—and the very earth beneath it—in two with a colossal bolt of lightning magic. Thus was the Netherim Gorge born.

  The gorge stretched for dozens of kilometers and plunged to a depth said to exceed one kilometer.

  As a result, Netherim Fortress was torn in half, each piece stranded on opposite sides of the chasm. Today, the two sundered halves are connected by a massive stone bridge.

  The current fortress had been rebuilt using modern techniques atop the old foundations. The blend of ancient stone pillars and new defensive walls was now considered a striking example of heritage meeting innovation.

  On a night of the full moon—the very evening Mina and her companions departed from Pandemonium Castle—

  A fallen angel with black wings appeared suddenly from the sky. He was tall and lean, with long white hair. His face was pale and narrow, his eyes sharp and slender, his lips thin above a refined nose. His cold, expressionless visage made him seem devoid of all emotion.

  “There! An intruder!”

  A fortress lookout cried the alarm. The black-winged angel loosed a single arrow of ice that pierced the watchman through.

  Then, hovering above the center of Netherim Gorge, he raised his right hand and began gathering an immense concentration of magical energy in his palm. The power was extraordinary.

  “Iceberg Fall!”

  From his hand, six enormous icebergs materialized, forged from sheer magical force. As he swept his arm downward, they plummeted toward the great stone bridge spanning the gorge.

  The crushing mass of ice snapped the bridge apart.

  Rubble cascaded into the bottomless abyss with a thunderous roar. Soldiers seized their weapons and rushed to the fortress walls.

  Tension rippled through the garrison.

  “We’re under attack! To your positions!”

  Snipers along the walls took aim at the black-winged angel with their magical rifles, but he conjured a shield of ice that deflected every shot.

  “Hmph—is that all?”

  He raised his arm and concentrated magical energy into the air above. Moisture from the surroundings was drawn inward, instantly forming dozens of ice lances. When he brought his arm down, the lances impaled the snipers along the fortress walls.

  “GYAAAH!”

  The soldiers scrambled to flee, but wave after wave of ice lances struck them down. The entire rifle corps was skewered in moments.

  “The sharpshooters are down!”

  As panic spread through the fortress, a squad of ten pegasus riders launched into the sky. At their head rode a bull of a man astride an unusually large pegasus, lance in hand. He had a bristling thicket of a beard, thick lips, a broad nose, and bulging eyes that glared at the black-winged angel. This was Garm, captain of the garrison.

  “Fallen angel Verglies! So you’ve finally thrown in with the rebels and come to bring chaos to Pandemonium!”

  Garm peered into the distance. An endless horde of demons was surging toward them.

  “It’s been a long time, Garm! We too have strived to support the Queen and develop this realm. But her politics have always favored Pandemonium alone, while we frontier folk are left to suffer. The land at the borders is drained of magic, and our people grow more destitute by the day. I had no choice but to rise on behalf of their grievances!”

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  “That’s absurd! Her Majesty has implemented countless policies for the frontier! Financial aid and magical supply shipments have been sent without reserve!”

  Verglies scoffed.

  “I sought dialogue time and again, but it never materialized. If words cannot resolve this, then fists must speak! Garm—shall we cross lances once more on this storied ground?!”

  “Tch! Words won’t stop you, it seems. But know this, Verglies—I’m not the man I was before!”

  “How amusing. Then show me! I’ll measure your growth with this lance!”

  “Enough talk! I won’t let anyone who raises arms against the Queen go unpunished!”

  Garm and Verglies—two warriors who had once fought to a standstill on this very battlefield.

  Now they faced each other beneath the full moon.

  “HRAAAGH! VERGLIES!”

  “RAAAAGH!”

  Two lancers became streaks of light, charging at blinding speed. The two beams collided under the moonlight with devastating force. The light flared brilliant and burst apart. A colossal explosion rocked the sky.

  “Lord Garm!”

  His men waited for the light to fade, praying for their captain’s safety.

  But the figure that emerged from the brilliance was not Garm. It was Verglies.

  Despair washed over the garrison.

  Seeing their faces, Verglies bared his white teeth in a grin.

  “Ha ha ha—such power surging through me! So this is Lord Auerios’s gift! Nothing can stop me now!”

  Verglies turned his palm toward the gorge and began gathering magical energy.

  “Eternal Frost!”

  A blast of concentrated magic erupted from his arm. The instant it struck the bottom of the gorge, ice began spreading at an impossible rate.

  “The gorge—!”

  Shock rippled through the garrison. The ice swelled and multiplied until it had filled the entire chasm to the brim.

  A ferocious cold assaulted the fortress. The pegasi panicked and bolted, ignoring their riders’ commands. Seeing this, the fortress soldiers threw down their weapons and ran.

  “It’s over! Run!”

  The trees surrounding the gorge froze one by one. The advancing cold was faster than any fleeing soldier. Every living thing in the fortress’s vicinity—soldiers, pegasi, all of them—was flash-frozen into ice sculptures.

  The fortress ceased to function entirely.

  Verglies surveyed the scene and nodded with satisfaction.

  “It’s done.”

  And so Netherim Fortress—once called impregnable—was conquered by Verglies in a single, devastating stroke.

  “Forward, all of you! Cross the gorge!”

  At Verglies’s command, demons materialized from every direction.

  The Netherim Gorge no longer barred their path. A massive army of demons poured across the ice-filled chasm and into the fortress. The frontier insurgents had begun their invasion of the capital, Pandemonium.

  Verglies entered the fortress and settled into the commander’s chair.

  “Zaragan! Balrog! Come forward!”

  Two hulking, muscular men stepped out and dropped to one knee before him.

  “My lord… we are here.”

  Verglies eyed the two demons standing at attention and nodded.

  “Good. We will establish our base here for the time being. A shrine to Lord Auerios must be constructed. In the meantime, I have a special mission for you two.”

  “A special mission, my lord?”

  “You will proceed to the ancient city of Carnage.”

  “Carnage, sir? What business could there be in a dead ruin?”

  Verglies nodded.

  “I’ve received word from a subordinate who infiltrated Pandemonium Castle. It seems Queen Lilisia’s granddaughter is headed for Lucariel’s ruins. She’ll have to pass through Carnage along the way. You will set an ambush there and capture the Queen’s granddaughter.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Verglies nodded.

  “With her granddaughter as a hostage, even the Queen will have no choice but to surrender.”

  “Understood.”

  “One more thing—once you’ve captured the girl, take the key to the treasure.”

  “The key, my lord? What does it look like?”

  “Apparently it’s a set of cards. The girl keeps them on her person at all times.”

  “It shall be done.”

  “And one final warning. The girl is wearing the Regalia.”

  “What?! The Queen’s sacred artifacts?!”

  Verglies nodded.

  “Which means lightning magic is completely useless against her. That’s precisely why I called on the two of you.”

  Zaragan and Balrog exchanged grins.

  “I see…”

  Verglies smirked.

  “Balrog, who commands flame, and Zaragan, who commands water. Even with the Regalia, she won’t have the advantage.”

  “As you say, my lord.”

  “Seize the girl—and take the Regalia while you’re at it.”

  “Understood.”

  “Listen well. I consider this mission of the utmost importance. Take a full complement of subordinates and magical beasts. Spare no resources. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, my lord!”

  “Then I shall bestow upon you a portion of Lord Auerios’s power.”

  Zaragan and Balrog could barely contain their excitement.

  “Is that truly possible, my lord?”

  “Of course it is. However, receiving this power will involve… considerable pain. Can you endure it?”

  “Without hesitation, my lord. For the sake of such power, we would endure anything. Isn’t that right, Balrog?”

  “Absolutely, Lord Verglies.”

  Verglies nodded with satisfaction. He spread his arms and placed a palm on each of their chests.

  “Very well. I will now inscribe the crest upon you. If it takes hold, you will become stronger than you ever imagined.”

  Verglies’s eyes snapped wide open, and he began pouring magical energy into them.

  Two demons’ screams echoed across the moonlit night.

  It was the moment new monsters were born.