1 Chapter 1: Ace

Song recommendation: I don't want to fall in love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBdwo7uDz54)

A young man stood under the shadow of the western palace gates. Inside was the Demon Lord he had travelled all this way to see. He rallied his courage and took a step forward.

The young man maintained his composure, he could already feel red eyes in the dark were setting upon him. If he showed any sign of weakness now it would mean certain death. The Palace of Swords was as he imagined. It was a desolate and bleak arrangement of high stone walls, weathered and ominous. The dark windows allowed no hint of what lay within.

Continuing over the old draw bridge, the young man found himself in the courtyard. Sinister stone figures were draped over the buttresses. It seemed the perfect place for such a Demon Lord to reside. The young man continued in this thought as he continued across the stark courtyard.

The Demon Lord who inhabited this castle was known to all as the Lord of Swords and ruler of the western territories - Demon Lord Clover. Apparently, this particular Lord had appeared out of nowhere one day and claimed the palace of Swords as their own. At first, everyone was amazed and curious about the mysterious Lord. It had been all the talk in the young man's home to the east.

The young man too had been taken under the spell of this enigmatic new lord. And although now, the same Demon Lord, had become unanimously despised, the young man was still anxious to meet this Lord. Demon Lords are beings of unimaginable power and ferocity. They are chosen by birth or more often by strength alone.

This Lord was unique. Not only were they chosen by birth, but they had a power beyond the likes of any other Demon Lord. It was this same power that led to that Demon Lord's current predicament.

During the long war with the humans, this Demon Lord had sided with the humans, betraying their King. Not only had they allowed the Demon King to be killed, but they had also sealed the door between the demonic dimension and the human world. It was this act most of all that had garnered the hatred and wrath of the whole demon world.

Thousands rallied to challenge the Demon Lord. Most thought it arrogant that the Demon Lord had dared return to the demonic world after such a betrayal. However, those demons quickly learned what it meant to challenge Lord Clover. And though challengers arrived to contest the Lord's seat, none succeeded.

The young man reached the great hall with some trepidation. The path to the throne was lined with swords of all kinds pointed up. There were skulls impaled upon the swords with heads of all manner of beast and it appeared some recent heads of challengers had been placed there too.

Demon Lord Clover was slumped across their throne, legs straddled over the armrest with one hand covering their eyes. As the young man approached, a Demon called out his arrival.

"Another challenger approaches!" Cried the lower demon.

The young man, taken aback, glanced quickly behind, "Wait a moment! I'm not..."

"Come back tomorrow," the Demon Lord's voice brought the young man's attention back to the throne. Beside their chair was a line of empty wine bottles and glasses.

"My lord, I am here..." the young man started.

Lord Clover waved one arm angrily without looking up, "I know why you are here, but you will have to wait in line behind all the others. I'm not taking any more challengers today,"

"So it is true," the young man said in a low voice, "you are the most hated Demon in this realm,"

The Demon Lord let out a stifled laugh, "How lucky I'm only half-demon then, there's less of me to hate. Now, if that is all you have to say, and even if it isn't, get out. I'm sure your anger will last until tomorrow. You can challenge me then,"

"I'm not here to challenge you," the young man replied.

This evoked a reaction from the Demon Lord, they suddenly became very still.

"Then what are you here for then?"

The young man bowed low and gave his response in an earnest and forceful voice, "I hail from East. My name is Ace. Demon Lord, I ask you to please accept me!"

The Demon Lord swung the hand back from their face and came to their feet with a start. The young man remained face down, in a rigid bow. The Lord burst into a fit of laughter upon seeing this. Their voice carried around the hall, light and frivolous. A silence followed as the young man said nothing more. Lord Clover collapsed onto one hand, watching the boy with curiosity.

"Let me see your face," the Demon Lord demanded.

The black-haired youth looked up in surprise coming face to face with the Demon Lord.

The Demon Lord stumbled out of their seat and titled the boy's face to theirs. The young man was lightly tanned and muscular, he had strong black eyes. The lord continued their inspection. The young man felt strange under the glare of the Demon Lord's rose-coloured eyes.

The Demon Lord was not at all as he expected either. Far from the brutal Demon Lord Ace had imagined, Lord Clover had much softer features. In fact, Ace could hardly tell whether Lord Clover was a man or a woman. The rumours never indicated which. It was common in the Demon world to go without such titles. Regardless, the Lord had soft pale skin and delicate features.

"Well you're a little muscular for my tastes," Lord Clover said flatly. They swept a hand through their tousled white hair and looked the boy over once more. Their hair fell back just above their neck.

The young man blinked bewildered for a moment before turning bright red, "No! I mean I'm not...I mean... I am here to ask you to be my master. I want to be your student!"

"Student?" Lord Clover raised an eyebrow, turning swiftly they returned to their throne. Their eyes met the young man once again.

"I have neither the inclination nor the aptitude to be a teacher," Lord Clover replied drily.

"But I know you have taken other students before!" Ace protested.

Lord Clover pinched the bridge of their nose to relieve the pain the boy's loud voice evoked.

"Ah! And what ungrateful brats they all turned out to be!" Lord Clover snapped, "No, I won't take another student again,"

"Please!" Ace returned, "Reconsider, my Lord!"

"Gods! Why is your voice so loud?" Lord Clover let out a groan, "Enough, enough. You heard my answer. Get out."

Ace's entire face went red like a child holding their breath. He marched out of the door petulantly. It shut with a slam behind him. The Demon Lord recoiled from the loud sound and sank back into their throne. With one arm thrown over their eyes again, the Lord shifted trying to get comfortable.

However, they couldn't quite find the same position as before. Thus unable to get comfortable, the Demon Lord sat upright, with a frown, "Student?"

The Lord scoffed, "What nonsense" and began the walk back to their chamber.

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The next morning, it played out the same as it had for the past year. The Demon Lord surveyed the line of challengers apathetically. In actuality, their numbers had dwindled over the past year. This was both a source of relief and disappointment to Lord Clover.

On one hand, they have been a source of amusement, a way to stifle the boredom of the demonic dimension. However, on the other hand, the single-minded hoard of Demon challengers hadn't served as much of a challenge.

Having found little satisfaction in killing challengers, Lord Clover now sufficed with teaching them a lesson. Albeit a painful lesson in most cases. Since the war, the thrill of killing had diminished. Or maybe it had never been fun only necessary. Clover couldn't tell anymore. The challengers that Lord Clover had killed only served as a warning to the others. However, the warning seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

The Demon Lord took another swig of wine and beckoned the guards to let the hoard in. A rabble of Demons entered the great hall. The Demon lord remained glued to their seat with a look of undisguised lethargy.

"You're not fit to be Demon Lord!" cried the leader of the group, "I am here to challenge you for the seat of Swords!"

The Demon Lord let out a sigh and nodded, "Very well, but it won't be much of a challenge with you alone. Why don't all of you attack at once?" They titled their head back in an arrogant grin, "I want to try something out,"

The large and burly Demon stared down at the Demon Lord with contempt. He signalled for his men to begin the attack. Without moving from their seat, the Demon Lord gave a flick of their wrist. All at once, the earth shot up and ensnared the group in a layer of thick clay. For a moment they struggled to move.

Above their heads, a symphony of black spheres appeared, filled with demonic energy. The Demon Lord brought down a black rain on their heads. They roared and screamed as the energy battered them. However, far from satisfied, the lord let out another sigh.

"Well that was anticlimactic," then addressing the guards, Lord Clover called out, "If that's all, throw this lot out. I'm going back to my chambers,"

"My Lord, there is one more challenger," the guard returned.

The Demon Lord gestured to the guards impatiently. The next challenger was brought in. Seeing the challenger, the Lord gave a smile that didn't reach the eyes.

"You must have a death wish, no?" The Demon Lord titled their head back apathetically.

"Please accept me as your student!" Ace replied in his loud, boyish voice. He stood in front of the throne once more, bent over in a stiff bow.

"Look around," the Demon Lord said coldly. The remains of the ramble were scattered all around the great hall.

Ace's eyes remained firmly planted on Lord Clover, unwavering. Suddenly, with a flicker, the Demon Lord disappeared from sight. Ace stood for a moment confused. He looked around the Great hall. The throne was empty. Suddenly he felt a presence from behind. He spun around just in time to take a kick to the gut.

Ace was thrown a few feet away. He cradled his stomach and struggled to his feet. Faster than his eyes could follow, Lord Clover perched over him with malevolent, glowing red eyes. Staring down, the Demon Lord gazed appraisingly at Ace.

"You're awfully weak for a Demon," the Lord observed, "I didn't even use any magic. You have some nerve asking to be my student,"

Ace let out an unsteady breath. He breathed in deeply and came to his feet. He averted his eyes from Lord Clover.

"I'm not finished!"