Beyond the Virge

Chapter 25: Explosive Celebration

"Young Clover," a deep, raspy voice calls.

I was awoken to the smell of mist and soon, the sight of fog. It was foggy all over the place, but one path. A stone path led to a small clump of grass with a cherry blossom tree at the corner. "It's you again," I say.

"It seems that you have been doing well as a competitor for the demon throne. You've changed since the last time I spoke to you."

"Agreed. This power I was given after devouring you in the labyrinth gave me the strength to be who I am today. I really never gave you my thanks."

"None needed Clover. Your journey is almost complete." He suddenly snaps his fingers, causing me to change my vision.

I was looking up at the light blue sky, covered under a tree, but closer to that, there was a ledge. I stood up and noticed that the others were sleeping, cuddling next to each other. I found it adorable to see Rebekka snuggling under Umi. Looking over the ledge was a village. It looked familiar. It was the same village I got out of with Rii back when I started. I had an idea. Rii was stuck as a prisoner for only being a dragon and all of the civilians disliked her, I heard they even touched her and humiliated her.

"Good morning Clover," Rii says, hanging her arm around my shoulders.

"Good morning. I have an idea." I say.

Rii looks down at the village remembering that specific area as well. She shivered and took a breath in and out. "What is it?"

"We're going to destroy this village."

Rii smiled. I could feel a dark aura towards her. She smiled saying, "Let's do it."

The village was pretty big, but all of the buildings were pressed together. Rii and I decided to have magic-activated sticky explosives that will cause enough damage to destroy a few buildings. I decided to sneak in since they'll notice Rii right away.

As I walked into the village, I was greeted kindly. All of the people were minding their own business living their own lives. I started to have a slight sense of sympathy and regret, but that didn't hold me back enough.

Each wall of every building, each pillar of every watchtower, each fence that held the animals together had a bomb attached right next to it. Within the center of the village was the town hall. It was guarded by an external wall, but that didn't stop me. I place bombs on each side as well. Planting all of the bombs took the entire day, but when night hit, it was easier to handle. Sneaking through the guards, I was able to reach towards the inside of the town hall, placing bombs around its pillars and walls.

"The bombs are set, let's wait until day hits," I say reaching the top of the hill.

Rii nods as we drift into slumber.

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Today is the day I converge. Everyone was awake and I was ready. Rii was ready. The other didn't know what was going to happen.

"Good morning everyone. Today is the day."

"What's going on?" Umi asks.

"I've decided to become more than a demon lord. The only way I can bring myself back home is to eliminate all that oppose me." I took a few steps forward towards the ledge. I nod at Rii as she gets her hand in a snapping position. "This the beginning."

Rii snaps her fingers causing a huge explosion of blue to arise from behind me. The explosion was cold, which makes sense for an ice dragon. As the cloud cleared out, only a crater was left behind of what once was a village.

"Good, Clover, but you are one kill away."

I turn around looking at the crater and see one civilian crawling. In a flash, a bullet went through his school.

"Now you are ready."

Throughout my arms where Haywire lies, it started to glow black and shine red. I started to groan in pain. It hurt, but it wasn't enough to kill me luckily.

"Clover!" Yuki calls out to me.

"Yuki, stand back. The area around him is toxic to you." Trarkoz says, holding Yuki back.
"What's going on?" Umi asks.

"He's transforming into a demon lord."

I kept on screaming in pain. I would see Haywire changing its form from a gold color to a dark red and black. The claws of Haywire turned black and the base turned into a dark red color. Spikes that looked like demon horns arose from the glove part of it. The pain slowly stopped and I stood tall. I felt stronger. I looked at my character stats. I was more than the max level. I was higher than level 150! Strength, intelligence, agility, endurance, charisma, and my perception are all maxed out.

"Clover! Are you okay?" Rebekka asks.

"I feel...stronger..."

"He reached max level and all of his stats are maxed too," Kiara adds.

"Wait, the village!" Umi says looking at the crater.

"Wait, that explosion was from that village!?" Rebekka questions.

"Where else?"

"Don't worry about the people nor the village. They're all gone. Let's move, I have some unfinished business to deal with now."