“Unfortunately due to our stupidity and weakness, we were only able to create a vessel for your true form to enter our mortal plane. We are still certain that we have managed to create the best vessel that is in no way worse than anything else possible!” said the tall male cultist leader.
The cultist members that had survived the ritual were now kneeling and bowing their heads to the Masked Ualtar.
[Ualtar] just stood there silently as his aura which was far different from before radiated out of his body washing over the cultists like a strong wind.
They were all extremely euphoric and pleased with themselves as they had done something that many generations before them had been unable to complete… They had summoned the demon lord! The only purpose for their existence is you were to listen to the hardcore members rant.
“YOU HAVE DONE WELL,” said [Ualtar] in a booming voice that was nothing like his previous voice. Each word spoken from his mouth pierced not only their ears but their minds causing the cultist to feel great pain with a few falling to the ground, blood dripping from their noses.
Seeing this, the masked [Ualtar] reigned in his aura and coughed as he familiarized himself with the Vessel that he was now in full control of.
On his second attempt at speaking a different voice escaped his mouth and it was far more pleasant and soothing to the core than his first attempt.
“This body is… adequate. I feel an unusual power inside this vessel you prepared for me. This is nothing like any of the other mortal vessels I have taken over in the past.”
“That is because the vessel we chose for you is known as a demigod. The demigods may die but a day later they always come back to life. They may be a little bit weaker than the day before but they are unable to truly die. With all the special skills that they are born with and those they can learn it makes it so that they are not only deadly but also hard to kill.”
“We made sure to choose the best vessel out of the ones we managed to lure away from their schemes,” said a childish voice from a shorter dark-robed cultist.
“We have made sure to prepare everything for your return demon lord! With your successful descent into the mortal world you have fixed the last problem, all you need to do is take control!” said a fiery female voice coming from one of the dark-robed leaders.
“I have waited so long… I can wait no longer! It is time to start the first phase of the plan!” shouted the masked [Ualtar].
***
Overnight a new viral plague silently swept through each Kingdom of Halrverold. Large portions of the farmer’s crops wilted and rotted. Many farm animals grew sick while others lost all of their energy causing them to fall into a deep sleep that they could not wake from.
The farmers in charge of the crops and animals all pulled their hair out in frustration and worry as they tried to save what crops they could and find a cure for their sick animals. With such a devastating blow to both major farming industries, they were all fearing what would be waiting for them this winter.
A great famine would soon rear its ugly head. I would be unlike any that the human kingdoms had seen in generations. Many peasants and common folk would be the first to feel the effects of a lack of supply. They would be the first to starve to death but those in the cities were not going to be saved this time. Their stockpiles could only last them a few months at most!
News and rumors were always quick to travel from mouth to mouth especially if it was bad.
In each human kingdom, the government officials all gathered to discuss the issue as soon as they found out about the catastrophe that had laid waste to the farms and the oncoming famine that was rushing towards them.
“It has to have been the demigods that caused all of this!”
“They have plagued our villages and cities, ruined our economies… and now they have used their devilish skills to bring a plague on our people!”
Much was talked about the issue but there was little to nothing that they could do about the demigods so they could only focus on lessening the coming famines that each of their kingdoms would be experiencing in the coming months.
As the days passed both the leaders and the common folk of the human kingdoms noticed several people were falling ill.
The best doctors in each kingdom studied and tried to treat those who had contracted the new mysterious illness. All of their efforts were in vain, the patient’s bodies were all healthy yet they slowly lost their energy to the point that they were bedridden and were unable to muster up enough strength to stand or even talk after enough time passed.
Those infected by the new mysterious illness seemed to be random as one or two people in a village might fall ill but the rest of their family and friends and others they interacted with were all fine.
The only common thing that could link those infected was more often than not they were people with leadership positions in the local area!
As the days passed many of those infected had already withered to husks of their former selves and finally passed away when their bodies could no longer support them.
The grim-faced leaders and nobles of each kingdom continued to meet as they tried to figure out the cause of all their misfortune. Sadly their numbers had dwindled as many of their fellow nobles and leaders were the unlucky few to fall ill and die.
“This has to be the fault of the demigods!”
“Although I know none of you want to say it, but I will! This has all been a plot by the demigods to wipe us out and take over our kingdoms! It has not escaped my notice that the majority of infected have been important people who help keep the country running!”
“Are you saying they were assassinated?”
“Exactly! We must oust all of the demigods from our cities and towns to rid us of the infection and destruction that they have caused us!”
“Now that you mention it, the only ones not affected by this plague have been the demigods!”
“We must hurry our plans and figure out how to deal with these demigods. As much as I want to kick them out we do not have the power to do that!”
***
“Ugh… for some reason I just don’t feel like hunting and fulfilling the requests of the villagers today. That wound is still bothering me,” said Sluwboi as he laid his head on his desk.
“Come on Sluw we still have a huge debt to pay off! The guild house we bought was not cheap and all the weapons and armor we needed to upgrade so we could properly hunt has set us back over several tens of thousands of gold! If it was not for my brother vouching for us we would never have been accepted as a branch guild and given such a huge loan,” said Fustboi the co-leader of the [Sluw&Fust] guild.
Because many guilds had exploded in power and had gathered large stockpiles of gold, almost all the free houses in the major towns and cities had been bought by the medium and large guilds.
Demand for guild houses was so great that the price for the most basic small house had skyrocketed.
This was the reason the [Sluw&Fust] guild had only managed to buy a small cottage in this remote village and they still had to go deep in debt to get it.
Their new guild house was not even anything special as it only had two rooms. One bedroom that had been turned into the guild’s office and a large common room where their loot was stored. They also used the common room as a place for the guild members to hang out when they were not busy hunting and doing missions for the local villagers.
“Just thinking about the amount of gold we owe is making me even more unwilling to go out and gather gold,” said a lazy Sluwboi.
“It will be even harder now. This damn plague and random illness that has affected the crops, animals, and villagers has caused many of our quick money-making missions to disappear overnight!”
Sluwboi yawned and spoke in a far quieter voice than before, “Just have the guild members hunt the monsters in the forest. We can sell the furs and other items they drop to the villagers and the wandering merchant caravans.”
“That’s part of the problem I was telling you about! The village shops are no longer buying our items! It’s also been weeks since I last saw a wandering merchant. The common room will soon run out of space to store everything.”
“That’s nice…zzz,” said Sluwboi as he dozed off.
“Hey Slew this is serious! Stop sleeping!” said Fustboi as he shook Sluwboi’s shoulder trying to wake him.
“Stop playing around!”
No matter what Fustboi did, Sluwboi would not wake up, causing him to grow worried.
“Did you get poisoned by one of the monsters we hunted earlier?”
He took out a red potion and tilted Sluwboi’s head back before pouring a fourth of it into his open mouth.
Still…nothing changed after waiting several minutes.
Seeing this Fustboi rushed out of the office and ran to drag back several of the guild members who had skills related to healing and buffing.
No matter what potion or skill they used, Sluwboi continued to sleep day after day. To their horror with each day passing his breathing and pulse slowed down!
On the 6th day, the worst possible outcome had happened!
Sluwboi’s body slowly dissolved into dust-like light fragments. It started from his feet and made its way all the way up to his head before that last strand of hair silently dissolved and disappeared.
This was not normal!
They had all experienced many deaths by now and were far too familiar with what happened to their bodies when they died. Normally with how much energy their bodies contained they exploded outwards into large light fragments, but now no bright light was bursting out, just a slow trickle.
What was even worse was when the next day arrived Sluwboi did not appear in the village!
The guild members spent several days searching the village, the forest, and other nearby towns but were unable to find their guild leader!
It was as if he no longer existed!
