^^ Lord Ira ^^

— Hallox —

My skin had never been a color other than black before. Not that I remembered. I was born darker than other Orcs, because both my parents were Death-Orcs, so I was predestined to be the same, my Evolution Path was literally ordained.

But now I awoke to a feeling of intense self-disappointment, and charcoal black/grey skin. The grey skin didn't even faze me as I held my axe in my hands, staring at my reflection in the blade.

'I was useless in that fight... the Mage fought better than me. THE MAGE!!! I won't be that worthless again. Supporting is an honorable position; holding the line is a position for the strongest, while the fastest are vanguard, and the weakest are archers or Mages. But if every single one of them is stronger than me, am I even necessary?' I asked myself.

"Do you want power?" A deep voice asked from behind me, and I turned, finding a being in silver plate mail and a ridiculously horned helmet leaning against the tree next to where I slept. (I didn't like sleeping underground in the places the Sage made for us, so I slept in the grove.)

"Who doesn't?" I responded, standing and searching his body for weaknesses.

<Hello! I am the Voice of the World! I- oh, you need his stats, now.
Name: Lord Ira, (Seven Sin's Clan, Wrath.)
Race: Rage Demon, Machai, (Legendary Path, 9th.)
Demonic Aura: 10th Form
-
Combat Level: 400 (550).
-
Strength: 100% (500%)
Speed: 120% (600%)
Stamina: 50% (250%)
Defense: 10% (50%)
Intelligence: 95% (5%)
Weapon's Skill: 50%
Unarmed Skill: 5%.>

"You'd be surprised. People want power for the oddest of reasons, and when it's given, they question the price. Now-"

"Yeah no, I don't need anything from you. I'm good." I shrugged, and settled my axe on my shoulder.

He twitched, and a bastard sword appeared in his hands, the point embedded in the ground. It was the same height as him, and matched to his armor, with such a heavy, wedge-like blade that it would actually benefit from my Axe Mastery as well as Swordsmanship, it seemed. "You would refuse so easily a Demon Lord's offer of Power? You do realize how strong I could make you?"

"Considering our stats and levels are about equal, it seems to me you're much older, so you've progressed much slower than me. So, yes, I refuse. Why would I become the minion of someone who took several hundred Suns to get where I got in just four seasons?" I snorted, and shook my head. "Now leave, please; this shrine is very private, and you were not given permission to enter, I imagine. The Sage of the Mountain is very particular about who may enter."

His grip on his bastard sword tightened slowly, and I stared at the eye-slits in his helmet calmly, stretching my muscles within my body, without any movement, like I'd been taught. "I will allow you a night to reconsider... you should thank me for my patience."

"You should go suck an egg." I smirked, baring my tusks at him, and tightened my stance as he darted forward, punching at my face. He left his sword behind, so I slipped around him and grabbed it, lifting it and my axe in either hand. "A nice sword... thanks, I'll take it as the Toll for trespassing." I let the axe eat the sword, and heard his small gasp, then a savage snarl.

I dodged his blade made of Aura by a hair, and grabbed his wrist and shoulder, bowling him over my hip and onto the ground. "Rage is a tool, not a state of mind. Allowing it to take over dulls your reflexes, your reactions to danger. You might think it's worth it, to be stronger and faster and not feel pain, but it's nothing but weakness." I clicked my tongue at him saucily, and stepped back as he stood.

My own spirit Axe appeared, merging with my wooden axe, and I breathed deeply, raising it to meet his bull rush. I grunted at the force behind his charge, setting my feet into the ground as the dirt moved around my heels from my backwards movement, and then filled my body with my Aura, creating my armor and increasing my speed.

<Update!
Strength: 80% (400%)
Speed: 50% (250%)
Stamina: 10% (50%)
Defense: 5% (25%).>

I grinned and forced him back a step, before slamming my foot into his chest, sending him rolling back onto his ass and then face, but it didn't seem to faze him, as he stood up, and his Aura began to grow a sickly green. "Huh... changing colors? That's new." I commented, and blocked his charge, before being thrown off my feet entirely.

<Update!
Status: Rage!
Stats increased x5!
Intelligence: 5%.>

I nodded and popped back up to my feet, putting away the axe and spreading the weapon over my body, merging it with my armor. The next attack was a boot to my chest, going for vengeance, it seemed, but I smirked as spikes grew there, and savagely impaled his foot, nearly tearing it apart.

I was still kicked and sent tumbling into the river, but I damaged him, so that was nice.

<Would you like to Rage?>

'Is that like what he did? I don't want to lose my intelligence, I'm already pretty stupid.'

<Sorry, True; however, 'Wrath of Titans' is what you have, and it makes your attacks do triple damage, while halving your Stamina.>

'And I don't lose intelligence or focus?'

<Not if you try to retain them hard enough?>

"COME GET SOME!!!" I roared a viciously loud Orc WarCry, and allowed the status to settle over me. I grunted in surprise when I grew to the same size as my father, a fully grown orc, (only an increase of about half a meter,) and my vision dulled a little, hazing, before I recovered, and roared again, even louder, making him step back.

<Status: Fear temporarily cancels Status: Rage.
Strength: 60% (300%)
Speed: 50% (250%)
Stamina: 20% (100%)
Defense: 2% (10%).>

I grinned and rushed forward, slamming a Fist into his face and sending him reeling, before grabbing his helmet and ripping it off as the sharpened horns poked into my fingers from my grip, but didn't break the skin. He snarled at me as his face was revealed. He was a Machai, it seemed, a race of Demons that were the personification of War.

When he made to swing his sword, I buried one of the horns of his own helmet into his neck, and ripped it out, spreading his blood all over me. "Weaklings do not make of the Strong their minions. Think on that, in your next life." I spoke, and then stomped on his skull, killing him.

<Update!
Hallox Mars' Level Increased!
Hallox Mars' Ur Increased! (7th Form)
Hallox Mars gains Title: Seven Sins Clan, Demon Lord of Wrath!
Hallox Mars' Class (1): Maxed!
Hallox Mars Evolves (1) into: Orc Paragon (Legendary Path, 6th), now!>
<Update!
Companions Level Up!>

I grunted as my muscles burned and stretched and snapped under my skin. I'd never been awake for an evolution, and I didn't much care for it. After a few minutes, it halted, and my muscles literally steamed in the air, as I stood mostly naked in the morning dew, covered in the blood of my enemy while standing over his likewise steaming corpse.

I summoned his sword, and let it eat his corpse and armor, looking for that thing he'd done to summon his sword.

<Item: Sage's Tree has Leveled Up!
Hidden Pocket Analyzed and Distributed!
-
Gained abilities: Extra-dimensional Storage, Item Appraisal, Item Creation, Instantaneous Equipment Sharing, Extra-Dimensional summoning!>

The sword in my hand disappeared, and I saw a little floating sword in the edges of my view, before it faded away. I reached for it, and smiled as it returned as if it had always been there, though with an extra silver filigree on it, which I noticed as I Analyzed it.

<Item: The Silver Titan's Wrath
Rarity: Legendary (Demon Lord's Weapon)
Current Soul(s) Contained: 5,072+1 (532%)
Current Demon Subjects: 1,272
Rage Bringer: Involuntary Rage on Strike. (Both)
Soul Eater: Upon Death, Souls of Enemies are trapped inside the Blade, Stat Multi per Soul.
Boss Hunter: Boss-Level Souls are instant 25% Multi, and attacks against them are Doubled.
War Maker: Wrath attack Buff spreads to Allies
Titan Born: Wrath attacks x5, Stamina Drain x5, (total Attack x15, Drain x5)
Demon Lord: Loyalty of Defeated Demons is transferred to you; they are loyal until you are defeated.
Drums of War: 1/day, All Attack Damage x100.>

A loud 'CRACK' was heard to my left, and a demon appeared from a glowing crack in the air, kneeling beside me. "Lord Hallox Mars... I am Ferid, your Corps' Commander. We are few, compared to the Demon Kings' massive Armies, but we are all mighty; none of us are below 200 in combat level."

I frowned, and waited for my body to shrink, but it seemed permanent, to my surprise. "Wait, Demon Kings? There's two demon kings?" I asked.

"Yes, just as there are two each Hero's, Saints, and Sages, My Lord. A rare occurance, very much so, but not unheard of. We currently are under the Banner of Choice, meaning we have not decided. The war won't start for another few decades, as they amass power and influence, so for now, you should gain more followers, so as to be of use to whichever side my master chooses." He nodded seriously.

I hummed, and scratched my head. "Okay... so, I killed him and now I'm your Lord? Isn't that... weird?" I asked.

He laughed softly. "No, not at all. For demons, it's rather normal. That's exactly how our society works; the strong Rule."

I nodded slowly. "Alright... well, I'm on the side of Monsters, not the Demon Kings or those stupid little Templars. Humans aren't my priority, either, though I don't have any special enmity with them. As far as I'm concerned, I am impartial to this conflict, until either side attacks me. So I'd like you to send someone to tell all the people in charge that I am here to protect my people's, not join some war I didn't start. My side is the Monster's Side, that's all; I want the Slave Monsters freed and returned home, I want the demons to stop attacking our caravans, and I want the Templar's to stop hunting us down like dogs. That's all."

He blinked slowly, and nodded. "We will fly the Banner of Warning, then; we are not aggressing, but we will not falter when trespassed upon."

"Perfect. I may end up hunting down the Demon Kings, I'm not sure, but we'll stick with that for now." I nodded.

He bowed and stepped back through the crack, sealing it behind him. When he did, a thick dome of energy appeared above me, slowly fading away and admitting the Sage, who stared at the blood on the ground for a moment, then looked at me. "I take it you did well? Didn't release your Seal?" He asked calmly.

I grinned. "Aye, Master!"

"Good... Good. Get some rest. If you're going to hunt down Demon Kings, you're going to need to be stronger." He nodded and turned on his heel, walking away.

—

I was looking at my status, as I 'meditated', (I still wasn't good at fully emptying my mind, that sounded like sleep to me,) when I came across something odd. 'Hey? Does this 'Greater Curse' work on only me, or my party members to? Can I use it to remove or counteract another curse?' I asked the Little know-it-all screen.

<Only on people that you've wounded. It's an innate Machai Ability you took from Ira. You can take the resistances and basic skills of everyone inside your sword or army, and through the Sage's Tree those are shared with your companions and also the village, in a limited fashion, just like the abilities of Jerrod's Army of Skeletons.>

I nodded and stood up, walking over to where Lord Waylon sat, also meditating, beside the Sage. "You should be meditating." Waylon hummed softly.

"Sit still for a moment, I wanna try something." I shrugged, and stabbed his left knee with my new Silver Titan Greatsword, activating the Skill.

He yelled as an ethereal, sickly oil-black flame appeared around the wound and then his leg, and then was slowly eaten by my Aura. Once it was finished, I handed him an Elixir, sheathing the Weapon. "That will help the Pain, Lord Waylon." I nodded.

He grunted, eyes and jaws still closed tightly against the screams of pain, and ripped the cork out with his teeth, drinking the potion without hesitation.

I removed his armor around his leg swiftly, knowing that he would grow a new leg almost immediately, and grinned when I was proven right, and a perfectly healthy leg grew from the piece of his knee that had been all that was left.

He laid back, the white in his beard receding, and I raised an eyebrow at his stats, instantly going up as if all the accrued XP he'd been refused by the Curse had hit, all at once. He evolved four times, instantly, and then all his Classes leveled up to 75, followed by his Aura becoming like the Sage's had originally been, a 13th Form.

<Individual: Lord Wyatt Waylon
Race: Human (Ultra-Rare, 9th)
Holy Affinity: 13th Form, (Spirit Class)
-
Combat Level: 500
-
Class: Dragoon (8)
Level: Max
-
Class: Grand Dragoon
Level: 75/100
Class: Genius Lancer
Level: 75/100
Class: Masterful Sword Arts
Level: 75/100
Class: Grand Grigori Knight
Level: 75/100
-
Charger, Lancer, Dragon Slayer, Demon Slayer, Bandit Slayer, Boss Killer, Wyvern Cavalry, Fallen Grand Templar, Grigori, Grand Dragoon.>

I grinned slowly. "How you feel, Old Man?"

He kicked my face saucily, sending me onto my ass, and then laughed, flexing the new foot. "Wow!!! How in the hell did you do that?"

"Turns out as a Demon Lord I have Perks. Like Inflicting Curses it I stab someone. My curse ate his curse, and you're fine!" I grinned.

He blinked slowly. "What... you're a Demon Lord now? When did that happen?"

"Mm, 'bout last night." I shrugged.

"Alright, then... And what curse did you give me to replace it?" He asked suspiciously.

I grinned evilly. "Have fun ever trying to eat cheese for the rest of your life!"

He facepalmed slowly, rubbing his temples. "You... are one of the most ridiculously stupid people I have ever met."

I snorted. "Rich, coming from someone who trained Templar's."

The Sage chuckled, as Waylon smiled at the solid return. "You know, we're supposed to be training, you little brats! Take playtime somewhere over there!" He waved vaguely at the sparring arena, the only sand pit on the entire mountain, and I grinned.

"Don't mind if I do..." I nodded to Waylon's leg. "Wanna test that new leg out and get your ass handed to you?"

"Sure, kid, I'll bruise that big-ass ego for you, no worries." He snorted softly, and slung an arm over my shoulder as best he could, (being only two meters tall around all of us who were around two and a half to four meters tall must've been terrible, but at least I wasn't an Ogre,) leading the way.

The sand pit was unevenly sloped, with various terrains and piles for soft landings when you got thrown around, (usually by Mika and the Sage,) and also to simulate an unlevel fighting field, which meant you had to consider tactics, not just how and when to throw a punch, even in a straight Fist-fight.

I tossed aside my new sword, and he nodded, bamfing into existence a massive lance-spear that looked like it was built to kill dragons, then stabbing it into the sand, out of the way. I realized then that that was exactly its purpose, as befitting his title of Grand Dragoon, and I felt quite stupid for a moment.

"Alright, let's start off light; I haven't actually fought anyone in around 70 years." He sighed, stretching carefully and removing his armor with a wave of his hand.

I sent away my armor as well, and grinned at his dumbstruck look. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you until you get back in the game, Old Man!" I teased, laughing.

He snorted and stood, cracking his knuckles. "Yeah yeah, you shut up, youngster!" He laughed, and settled into a basic Karate stance, one that the Sage has taught us in an off handed way.

I took a different stance, (one which was more correct for my build,) a Muay Boran defensive stance where my thighs were turned slightly inward and tightened, and my gut was clenched, while my fists and forearms covered my vitals in a forward guard. This protected most of my vitals, and gave me room to retaliate if he attacked any of the so-called 'openings'.

<Individual: Lord Wyatt Waylon
Strength: 100%
Speed: 95%
Stamina: 20%
Defense: 60%
Intelligence: 120%
Weapon's Skill: 120%
Unarmed Skill: 75%.>

<Notice!
You do not receive full benefits from a weapon you are not holding!!!>

He nodded in silent appreciation, and then darted forward, punching squarely with a straight Fist towards my stomach. He was too confident, though, as he was already preparing his next attack before that one connected.

I slapped his Fist away, stomping on his new foot, and rammed my off knee into his sternum, while blocking his surprised jab at my throat. My hand turned and caught his wrist, pulling him forward into a knee-strike to his ribs, then my foot straightened, catching the side of his skull solidly and flinging him to the ground a few meters away.

He rubbed his jaw, sitting up, and nodded slowly. "I was too hasty... again?" He asked, standing up.

"As many times as you want, Old Man." I grinned happily, and he laughed, springing to his feet. He fell many times, and each time he leapt back up with a shout of glee at the swift recovery speed of his young body. A war of attrition followed, one I inevitably won. He was higher level, so he did manage to beat me quite often, but I didn't lose any strength or stamina at all, it seemed. I simply had too much Stamina to lose a fight such as this one.

That is, until Mika decided to assist the ex-Templar, and the tables turned entirely.