1 A New Beginning in a New World

"Keep fighting lads! We need these weapons!" A man donning plate armor raised his sword up, and swung at a soldier in front of him. Blood flew in the air and splattered on the ground, the young soldier fell to the ground with a loud thud, his chainmail armor clattered upon meeting the earth with his sword clattering next to him. Around the man his allies, all donning similar armor to him, fought off a dozen or more soldiers, slashing and blocking at the enemy. The moonlit forest area was filled with the sound of metal slamming against metal and the sporadic shouts of warriors on both sides.

On the side, a pair of wagons were stuck, their drivers lay dead, slumped over in their seats with the lead still on their hands.

The man knocked down the last soldier, pointing the tip of his sword at the soldier's throat.

"Please!" He shouted back with his arms on his sides, surrendering.

The man kept looking at the soldier, with a deep hatred in his eyes. After a moment, he drove the sword deep into the young man's throat, causing to gurgle and choke on his own blood before finally closing his eyes.

"Good job Cadius, these weapons and gold will surely benefit our guild greatly. "The soldier, Cadius, walked towards the wagons, throwing off the dead drivers and standing on one of them.

One of the fighters rode on the other while the third sat next to Cadius.

After a few seconds of preparing themselves, they quickly went on the move, leaving the torch lit battleground behind them.

"Say, Cadius-"

"Cadin, my name is Cadin. Do not utter that name again, I will not be known by my empire name." He interrupted.

"Fine, Me and Halten were speaking regarding you."

"Is there a problem?" He turned to the soldier.

"Ever since you joined. Our guild has only grown in size and wealth. More mercenaries have joined our guild, more homes were made in the camp where we could store our wealth or sleep more comfortably. We even had enough money to bribe whatever guard patrol enters our area." The man's voice rose with joy after each accomplishment.

Cadin laughed, "Indeed I have, and we will only continue to flourish!"

"Indeed..."

Before Cadin could react, the man turned to him and began stabbing at unarmored sections of his armor, quickly getting overwhelmed and filled with extreme pain as he was thrown down on the ground. The wagons stopped, and both men walked to Cadin, looking down on him.

"Thanks for the riches, but you're quite useless now. We'll take it from here. The guards will slowly stop ignoring us when they realize an ex-governor of their empire is working with them. You helped us greatly. But unfortunately this is where our partnership ends. Empire runt." The man who had attacked Cadin spat on him in utter disgust. After looking at their teammate. The two looked at Cadin for a few more seconds, rushing back to their wagons and speeding off, leaving him on the side of the gravel road, bleeding out under the moonlight, with little enough light to even see his own wounded body. All Cadin could do was embrace the cold, his body slowly losing strength.

After minutes of enduring the pain, and the thought of his treachery by who he called allies, his eyes slowly closed. Only seeing darkness.

"VLIKOS!" Cadin awoke with a jolt from his slumber, sitting upright, his voice filled with anger, thrusting his hand forward in an open palm, as if trying to stop something.

'Where...Where am I?' He placed his hand on his forehead, trying to recall his memories of the past, what brought him here. His thinking was interrupted by a tall stoic figure in black, looking down at him from a short distance away, the figure's eyes were bloodshot red as a cloud of dark smoke surrounded it, from the head to his clothes his entire body was obscured by the smoke seemingly consumed by it.

"Hello, Cadin." The figure spoke in a low guttural voice.

The awoken Cadin stood on his feet, a field of wheat surrounded him while a sun nearing dawn shone it's light towards his direction, giving an orange tint to the place.

"It seems you have forgotten your memory. Let me offer help with that." Before he could even speak, he gripped his head in pain with both hands, thousands of memories flooded his mind all at once, causing him to kneel down with his head hitting the dirt below as he tried to process it all, a mix of emotions from joy to despair bombarded him while on the ground.

He began as a tactician in his past life, rising the ranks to a higher position, attaining more fortune and gains to benefit the people, until it was all taken from him by his envious allies. In hatred, he turned his back on them, providing aid to a nearby mercenary company to gain what he had lost, growing it larger and larger so he may now keep gains for him alone. Then, all was ripped away after that single night, breaking what little hope or sympathy he had left. The last thought hit him like a brick, confusion dominated his mind, unable to fathom what he had just seen.

"You were betrayed, what you have created was lost, all that you gained is now the treasure of others who don't deserve it." The figure continued speaking.

"Who...Who are you!?" He yelled out, still confused trying to get himself up as the pain in his head slowly died down.

The demon merely snickered at his question, "Apologies for the sudden flurry of emotions you just experienced, I'm a demon lord of carnage and conquest, one under the demon incarnate of bloodshed." He stepped closer towards Cadin on the ground, looking down at him.

"I pity the circumstances that brought you here, you desired fame and glory above all so you may make many prosper, bringing greatness to your own people, helping them indirectly even. And all that, stripped away from you. Thus, you lost what valor you had left and went against them, now seeking gains for yourself, just to lose those riches you have gained once more. All this brought you here, no longer with sympathy in your heart but only the desire to regain what was lost and more." The Demon's voice was slower, showing a hint of remorse while it talked.

"Why, why am I here, and what do you want from me. At least let me have a dignified death! I lost everything and I can't even get an honorable afterlife without misery!?" Cadin slammed his fist into the ground, anger rose inside him the longer he thought, grinding his teeth in bitter hatred while remembering the treachery and lost gains he had endured.

A grin of red formed on the demon's face, "What they have done to you is one of dishonor and disgust, such ones can't exist. You may have lost in that world, but I can offer you something." The man looked at the figure in front of him, awaiting his answer with, slowly opening his balled up fist.

"Souls are normally sent off to another world, one that is lacking in many things, or an afterlife rife with torture of the mind and body. You were meant for the latter, but your skills, adverse knowledge, and hatred for those who have wronged you made you the best candidate." The Demon's tone lightened up as he explained.

"Candidate?" Immediately, the demon took out a basic longsword, slamming it into the ground, hard enough to make it stand by itself.

"Indeed, a candidate, a candidate to be a conqueror. You have aspirations to gain treasures and glory no longer bound to the aspirations of helping others for joy, you even have the endurance to surpass obstacles in your way, be it with violence or with words." The man slowly calmed down, he got up from his knees, looking at the demon standing in front of him.

"The world beyond is one filled with countless islands, islands waiting to be under the servitude of a leader that can lead them. Treasures and many more await you there. With this, if you join with me, you will gain what you have always desired but cannot hold." Cadin's eyes slowly widened at the words of the demon, becoming more interested in what it said.

"It's no use, I will most likely be betrayed once more-" The Demon shushed him before he could finish talking.

"You pushed on despite many downfalls and drawbacks, the only thing that stopped you was your untimely death, well." The figure held up his hand, a circular aura of purple spawned on his hand, flowing like water above it's palm, "You will finally persevere and gain what you desire without the fear of loss. A chance to finally take matters into your own hands without much fear of downfalls and an inevitable end. Your flesh shall regrow and immortality await you if you join me, to serve the high demon lord and conquer." The Demon's words managed to convince the man, it extended out it's hand, one slender and thin with black vapors hovering above it.

He made up his mind, after the countless downfalls he has faced, he can finally gain and conquer without the fear of death and the ability to conquer, possibly far more than what he had attained in his past life.