Chapter 8: Make the Demon Lord Pay!

 

 

 

Chapter 8: Make the Demon Lord Pay!

 

ALICE’S party proceeded onward.

“Not a single monster in sight,” Alice noted.

“Bet they just didn’t expect us ‘mere’ humans to ever get past the dragon! Arrogant lot,” Hatta remarked.

Onion Boy wasn’t even shivering for once, and that was saying something.

“I sure hope so. Also, this place is huge, isn’t it?”

The number of forks in the road made them a little concerned wondering if they were actually going the right way.

“Stand back, my lady,” Seb said. “It appears we’ve been going the right way.”

They peered around the hallway corner, gazing upon a band of monsters huddled around what was presumably the throne room door.

“What now, Alice?” Hatta asked.

“Let’s find someplace to plant bombs like we planned,” she responded coolly.

“We lure them away then just waltz in, all sneaky-like. Gotcha.”

They went back the way they came in search of the perfect place to plant bombs. They had to choose wisely. Failure to do so might leave them with no time to retreat.

“Lookie there,” Hatta said, pointing to a row of identical doors that led up to a passage which, upon further inspection, seemed to branch back into the main path.

“Any one of these rooms should do the trick. We’ll set off the bombs, grab their attention, then circle back to the throne room.”

“What’re we waiting for, then?”

They entered the first door.

“Would you look at all those precious books, Alice?!” Haigha exclaimed, a glimmer in her eyes. “Simply breathtaking!”

“Is it?” Alice pulled out a book from a nearby shelf titled What Is Love? “I don’t see what’s so breathtaking about this,” she said, flipping to a bookmarked page. “Love is the most elusive creature of all,” she read out an underlined quote. “Looks like we’ve got a love-struck monster on our hands.”

Little did Alice know that this love-struck monster was the Demon Lord himself.

“Can we go plant the bombs somewhere else, please, Alice?” Haigha pleaded.

“Funnily enough, I just had an inexplicably strong urge to burn the whole place down to the ground, but, if you insist…”

They moved on to the next room, chock-full of historical artifacts and other valuable knick-knacks.

“Alice, we simply can’t plant the bombs here,” Hatta exclaimed, a glimmer in his eye. “This place is a straight-up gold mine! Everything you see here goes for a fortune!”

They stumbled upon the treasury, which likely wasn’t locked as no one would be foolish enough to steal from the Demon Lord.

“Everything?” Alice repeated, staring at a filthy wreath behind a glass case, protected by layers upon layers of strict security measures as though it was some kind of national treasure. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of this thing.”

That was because it was something her brother Jean had made for the Demon Lord, not a historical artifact.

“It makes me deeply uncomfortable for some reason,” Alice continued, “almost like it’s cursed or something. But I suppose we should go through all the rooms first before making any hasty decisions.”

They moved on to the next room, their eyes instantly glued to a comically large portrait of the Demon Lord hanging from the wall. He looked hot, Alice thought, but his facial expression in this particular piece was just the most insufferable thing ever. Hatta stuck a bomb to the portrait’s face without any second thoughts.

“Couldn’t have done it better myself,” Alice praised.

“I knew you’d do the right thing, Hatta,” cheered Haigha.

“Fine work,” remarked Seb.

They all felt the exact same way.

“Tell me something about this bomb of yours,” Alice said.

“It’s a prototype I’ve been working on for the past few days. The impact is minimal, but you’d think we just blew a hole through an entire room with how loud the explosion is,” Hatta said proudly. “I’ve made four in total, each with their own separate timer set for thirty minutes by default.”

“Why thirty?”

“You can change it if you’d like.”

“How would I go about doing that?”

“Just hit the circle buttons underneath the numbers to set your preferred time, then push the square button to confirm.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Alice set the timer to three seconds.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Hatta clasped his hands over his ears, leaping away.

Seb moved Alice out of the way as an ear-piercing explosion reverberated throughout the room.

“That was…certainly something,” Alice said with indifference.

“What’s the matter with you, Alice?!” Hatta cried.

“Don’t blame me! Blame the person who came up with this lousy idea.”

“I’m staring at her!”

“Who? Me? Lies.”

Seb ran out of the room, ignoring the pair’s heated exchange.

“They’re coming. We must leave at once, my lady.”

They circled back to the main path and made a beeline for the throne room.

“We made it, and it’s all thanks to you, Hatta,” Alice said happily.

“Don’t mention it…”

The monsters went straight for the source of the explosion down the main path, just as expected. Despite this ideal outcome, however, Hatta was understandably a little peeved.

“In we g— Huh?” Alice noticed something off about the door. “There’s no keyhole. What’s going on here, Seb?”

“We might’ve just picked the wrong door.”

“Haigha, can you feel anything?”

“I can feel…a powerful magical aura. One that could only belong to the Demon Lord, I think.”

“So…what do we do now?”

“Could I see those keys for just a moment, my lady?” Seb examined each individual key one by one and noticed that they gave off a faint glow. “Oh, I see.” He gave the door a light nudge with the keys firmly in his grip as it creaked open.

“What happened here?”

“The keyhole isn’t missing, my lady; it just isn’t needed. Notice that faint glow coming off them? That’s the magic needed to get the door open.”

“I see. In we go, then.”

They set foot inside the throne room, bracing themselves for the final battle, only to be greeted by an empty space.

“The perfect size for a Boundary Stone,” Alice declared. “Now, if only there was a Demon Lord to use it on. Haigha, can you trace his presence?”

“He’s deeper inside.”

They advanced all the way to the throne, and yet, no Demon Lord in sight.

“Might as well.” Alice sat down on the throne, crossed her legs, and grinned evilly. For a moment, Hatta thought he had just seen the birth of a new Demon Lord, a shiver running down his spine. “Not bad…but this is not what I came here for. Seb, any idea as to the Demon Lord’s whereabouts?”

“There’s a door right behind you, my lady.”

“A door?”

Alice stood up and noticed an indiscreet door tucked away behind the throne and a familiar voice coming from inside.

“HELP!”

Hatta’s and Haigha’s faces tensed up as Jean’s incessant shrieking pierced their ears.

Alice opened the door, slowly and carefully. A half-naked Demon Lord atop Jean in a disheveled dress came into view. Alice quickly closed the door.

“Nobody’s home! Let’s head back.”

The three quietly nodded in agreement, turning around.

“H-Hold up!” Jean burst through the door, clinging to Alice’s feet. “I knew you’d come to save me, Alice! Tell him I’m a guy! He refuses to believe a word I—”

“Silence, you mutt!” Alice sneered, dragging her heels across Jean’s face. “I came here to teach the Demon Lord a lesson, not listen to you slobber.”

“Th-That’s just your way of saying you’re happy to see me, right? RIGHT?!”

He tried to delude himself as Alice kept dragging her heels across his face over and over. The sight was so sad, Hatta and Haigha had to avert their eyes.

“Stop this madness!” The Demon Lord burst out of the room, taking Jean inside his loving arms, away from Alice’s wrath. He even took the time to get dressed. How thoughtful of him, Alice thought. “Are you all right?”

“I-I’m fine.”

They looked each other in the eyes like lovers out of a tragic romance novel.

“How…how dare you do this to my beloved Jean!” the Demon Lord snarled, a black aura enveloping him. “Let’s see how you like it when I’m done turning you to ash!” He went straight for Alice, only to be intercepted by Seb.

“You’ll have to get through me first, I’m afraid.”

“You’re that guy I saw back in the castle. Who are you to intercept my attack?”

“I’m just a humble, devoted butler.”

They sized each other up in the middle of the throne room.

“Hatta, keep him safe.” Haigha handed Hatta Onion Boy as he and Alice retreated to the corner of the room.

Haigha hid behind Seb, Boundary Stone and Holy Water in hand.

“First,” she declared, “I add a single drop of Holy Water. Then I direct my magical energy to where the light refracts brightest. Once it starts glowing, I lift the stone overhead and charge it with a burst of magical energy!”

A dome of light clocking in at a diameter of twenty meters surrounded the Demon Lord, Seb, Jean, and Haigha, trapping them inside.

“A Boundary Stone; how cute,” snarked the Demon Lord. “You just dug your own graves without even realizing it. The bubble completely separates us from the castle, allowing me to use my full power without reservation. But enough talk…have at you!” he said, lunging at Seb.

Seb warded off the Demon Lord’s attack and responded with one of his own, the sheer fluidity of his movements taking away Jean’s and Haigha’s breath.

“Impressive! But I must ask—where is your weapon?” the Demon Lord inquired.

“I appreciate the concern. But carrying a weapon around is just too much hard work, so I’ll take you on with my bare hands instead.”

“Why, you—”

“No need to hold back. Martial arts are my specialty.”

“Is that so? We’ll see about that!” The Demon Lord unleashed a flurry of punches too quick for the untrained eye to register. Seb dodged each and every blow within grazing distance and landed a clean, heavy punch of his own.

“Wh-What kind of inhuman beast are you?!”

It turned out Seb wasn’t kidding when he said the Demon Lord didn’t stand a chance against him in close-quarter combat. The Demon Lord, recognizing this, kept his distance.

“Hahaha! Your physical prowess might be superior, but I can’t sense any magical energy from you. This could mean one of two things: you’re either an inexperienced magic user or you aren’t one at all. Either way, you lose!” the Demon Lord declared.

“I fall into the former category, I’m afraid,” Seb replied, smiling.

“Then why do you smile?”

“Because I have this,” Seb said, busting out his spellbook.

“Is that a P-Poem of Jabberwocky?!”

Sweat started pouring down the Demon Lord’s brow. And who could blame him, given how Poems of Jabberwocky could get quite overpowered.

Haigha’s spellbook letting her dispel illusions was already overpowered enough. But the White Queen’s spellbook allowed her to dispel anything, which was just comically broken.

Even the Demon Lord himself employed a Poem of Jabberwocky to curse the entirety of the Nameless Forest. Thus, he knew full well what they were capable of.

What he didn’t know, however, was that the one in Seb’s possession was a different type of overpowered.

“Make your next move. I’m waiting.”

Seb had no business being this intimidating while waving around an egg differentiation spellbook.

“Wh-Who do you think you are! My lightning magic is sure to make quick work of both you and your spellbook!” the Demon Lord muttered, unleashing an indiscriminate rain of dark thunderbolts.

“W-Watch it!”

The fact that Jean was inside the bubble with them had completely slipped the Demon Lord’s mind at some point in time. His attention was on Seb and Seb alone.

“Eep!” Haigha instinctively put up a protection spell. But the impact sent her flying regardless.

“If that’s the best you’ve got, I’m not sure I’ll even need this,” Seb said, effortlessly dodging the endless barrage of thunderbolts like it was nothing. Jean and Haigha, meanwhile, just scrambled for dear life.

“Q-Quit it! You’re going to hit—” A bolt of lightning struck Jean as he spoke. And yet, the Demon Lord was still none the wiser.

Haigha was also at her wit’s end.

Hatta and Alice, meanwhile, couldn’t take their eyes off those two. Although the “epic” battle paled in comparison to their hilarious antics.

“Why, you little…” The Demon Lord spread his arms, setting off a bubble-wide explosion. “Eat this!”

Seb scooted over to a point in the bubble where he’d take the least damage and shielded the rest with wind magic.

Jean and Haigha, of course, just got turned into charcoal.

“Hatta, help! I’m going to die in here!” Haigha screamed, furiously banging on the bubble’s walls. “I can’t do anything while the Boundary Stone is up even if I wanted to!”

“You got this, Haigha,” Hatta said. “Remember the ward I gave you?”

“You mean the ‘Good Fortune’ one?! Please, just help me already!”

He would if he could. Not Alice, though; she was too busy laughing at Jean.

“So be it. I’ll blow everything to the ground If I have to!” the Demon Lord roared, accumulating magical energy for one final explosion.

“Remember, you made me do this.” Seb took Jean in his arms, positioning themselves in front of the Demon Lord.

“I knew you’d come to save me… Seb…?” Jean’s voice slowly trailed off as he realized he had a knife against his throat.

“I’d cease this foolishness at once if I were you,” declared the butler coldly. “Unless you’d like me to slit Jean’s throat. Right here, right now.”

“D-Demon Lord! Help! H-He’s not fooling around!”

“Jean?! What happened? Who did this to you?”

If only we knew, Hatta thought sarcastically

“Do as you will! Just…leave Jean out of this. He’s innocent,” said the supposed villain of this story, surrendering to his fate.

Seb took the opportunity to deliver a roundhouse kick, knocking the Demon Lord clean off his feet as the bubble retracted.

“Demon Lord!” Jean held his hand, tears collecting in his eyes.

“Jean? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me, Demon Lord.”

“Thank you, Jean…for everything. It’s been a pleasure.”

“D-Demon Lord? Demon Lord!”

The Demon Lord went out, smiling…or so they thought.

“You’re not going anywhere ’til I say so,” Alice said, dragging her heels across his face.

“Y-You’re that prince—” The heel-dragging intensified.

“Long time, no see. I’m Wonderland’s princess known for my charming looks. And that there’s my older brother, Jean.”

“Jean’s a… No, that can’t be right.”

“If that’s how you want to play it, fine by me!” A dark aura, even thicker than the Demon Lord’s, enveloped Alice.

Alice picked the Demon Lord right up off the ground and smacked him so hard, it sent him careening into a wall. She then closed the distance before he was even able to process what had happened and proceeded to double-slap the life out of him.

“H-Have mercy…”

“Who am I?”

“Th-The pretty princess of Wonderland.”

“And Jean?”

“Y-Your brother?”

“Which one of us do you find prettier?”

“Wh-Why you, of course.”

“Excellent.”

Alice delivered a heavy blow to his stomach. He fell unconscious, coughing up blood.

“Now I can put my mind at ease. Oh wait, I almost forgot.” Alice rearranged the Demon Lord’s body into a groveling pose with a satisfied smile.

Alice returned to her party, drenched in blood, smiling.

“Alice?! Wh-What’s with that creepy smile?!”

“Get away from us!”

Hatta and Haigha shook in each other’s arms as Jean’s soul left his body.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you two, but pack your stuff; we’re leaving. Seb, fetch Jean. I’ll make a man out of him yet.”

“As you wish.”

Alice exited the throne room with a light spring in her step, as though a heavy weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. The Demon Lord’s minions politely cleared the way, even the dragon. He was so scared, he curled up into a ball.

❤❤❤

AND so, thanks to Alice acting on her petty grievances, peace had been restored to the land. All’s well that ends well, as they say.

They returned to the coach and were back on their way home.

You’d think they’d be on the top of the world, having defeated the Demon Lord himself. But not exactly.

Hatta and Haigha wouldn’t stop shaking, Jean was still unconscious, and Seb just wanted to go home and rest.

The only one who felt anything remotely positive was Alice as she placed the freshly captured carrot monster next to the potato monster, smiling all the while.

On their way back home, they stopped by the Land of Cards to get Jean something to wear that wasn’t a disheveled dress. Alice and Haigha picked out his clothes and returned the Red Queen’s Poem of Jabberwocky while they were at it.

“If it wasn’t for you, we never would’ve made it,” Alice said.

“I’m glad I could be of assistance,” declared the Red Queen.

“Now, I’m going to need you to work in conjunction with the Beast King to stifle rumors of me infiltrating the Demon Lord’s castle. Think of it as a favor.”

“So, the rumors were true after all, although it’s not too surprising given that it’s, well, you. I’ll clear the air…but you owe me.”

“Much appreciated.”

While the Unicorn Knight Order kept their mouths shut, the Lion Knight Order spread all sorts of myths and legends about her uncle and, by extension, Alice herself. So, following Seb’s advice, she decided to employ help from the most powerful individual within Wonderland’s borders in an attempt to hide the fact that she ever snuck out of the castle.

“Also, did you see the White Rabbit? Little rascal escaped from the dungeon.”

“I think he’s in a better place by now.”

He wasn’t, but he’d come close—many times, in fact.

“Well, if you happen to find him, let me know.”

“Will do. And with that, I bid you adieu.”

And so, they set off for home. It was a short yet eventful journey. So eventful, in fact, that they all even felt a little homesick.

“Seb, how long ’til the castle?”

“A couple of hours or so, seeing as the monster attacks have all but ceased.”

The griffin-drawn coach made quick work of the remaining distance. Once the city came into view, they let Jean off and instructed him to pretend like he escaped from the Demon Lord’s clutches all on his own.

“We’ll be heading back to the item shop now. See ya around, Alice.”

“Be sure to invite us to your upcoming tea party, Alice.”

“Thank you, Hatta, Haigha.”

Hatta and Haigha left with a smile on their faces. The two were very much “all’s well that ends well” types, which is why they managed to stay friends with Alice despite everything.

“Oh no.”

“Is something the matter, my lady?” Seb asked.

“She took Onion Boy with her.”

“I’m sure you’ll get the chance to meet up soon enough. You live in the same place, after all.”

“I guess you’re right. We’ll be heading back now, Griffy. You’ve been a great help. Now go! Be free,” Alice said as she removed the reins, parting ways with Griffy.

They then disposed of the coach and snuck back inside the castle through a secret entrance. Alice managed to switch places with her decoy without anyone noticing, as they were all too excited over Jean’s return.

That very night, the King threw a welcome back party unlike any before, and everyone loved it. The days to come were marked by peace and prosperity for all. Well, all but Jean, who had no idea what Alice had in store for him next.