1 Prelude

Dextros gripped the Vampire Lord by the throat as he stared into his eyes with a cold expression that sent a chill down vampire's spine. The rage and the grief Dextros felt in his chest was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, and he enjoyed what it took to get to this point. Tens of thousands of vampires were felled by Dextros in mere moments, and most of them didn't even know what happened until it was too late.

"You took everything from me." Dextros growled, and the vampire actually had the audacity to smirk at him.

Lessening his grip, Dextros asked him.

"You find this amusing?"

The vampire strained to laugh, but he managed.

"The fearsome Demon Lord Dextros, a slave to his own emotions. I hope it hurt." The vampire mocked him, giving him a fang filled smile.

"WHY?" Dextros screamed.

"For my father. You remember him don't you? I'm sure your family does... in the after life." He replied, laughing maniacally.

Dextros roared in anger as he incinerated the vampire lord to a crisp, only ash left in his wake.

Overcome with grief, he dropped to his knees, and he wept. His whole body shook as the memories played over in his head again and again.

"Mira, Lyra, Lilliana..." He croaked as tears kept pouring from his eyes.

Dextros Shadowheart was raised to be a warrior, born of the strongest demon blood. Many of his kind believed him to be quite possibly the strongest being in all of Garanor, the continent they all resided on. His mother and father always had high hopes for him. His mother was more caring and taught him the value of kindness as well as helping those in need, while his father trained him to be ruthless to their enemies, helping him to use his powers and abilities to their maximum.

An attack on his family's home one unfortunate day saw his parents, as well as his brothers and sisters killed, and when the rage consumed him that day, he burned everything in the area to a crisp as more of his power came to the surface. A vampire lord who his father slighted in the past used a complex ritual that saw his entire family's life force drained, and he watched them all turn into withered husks before his very eyes.

That vampire suffered a grisly end,but the damage had already been done. Mad at the world at large, he set out to become stronger. Stronger than anyone or anything, so that he could always protect that which he cherished.

He single handedly destroyed all those who stood in his way, showing no mercy to those that tried to impede his path. He was not well liked by the other demon lords that knew of him, as they felt he didn't deserve to have the power that he had.

Then, one day, he heard word of a vampire lord that was abducting people of all kinds and bringing them to his lair, and no one was powerful enough to stop him. His hatred for vampires spurred him into action, and he followed all of the leads he could until he finally came across an underground fortress hidden deep under the surface.

He burnt every single vampire to ash. Once they got a taste for certain types of blood, they were addicted to it like a drug, stopping at nothing to get what they wanted. The only good vampire was a dead vampire as far as he was concerned. Demon blood and human blood seemed to be their favorite, and while he was indifferent on humans, he would not allow these parasites to feed on his own people, especially after what he had gone through.

When freeing the captives that still lived from the vampire lord's dungeon, he met three of the most beautiful women he had ever come across. Many people were saved that day. Men, women, and even some children, with many of the aforementioned people not being as fortunate as the living, but none of them caught his eye like the three women huddled together for protection.

Mira, a beautiful demoness, with a heart that was too good for him. Lyra, a wolfkin, whose claws could shred even the toughest of hides, and then there was Lilliana, who was just a mere human being, but she saw past what he was, and grew to love him as did the others.

He grew content and settled down with these three, fully intending to spend the rest of his days doing something he thought he could never have. Not just the love of one woman, but three, and they all cared deeply for him, as he did for them. Unfortunately, it was too good to be true.

Driven mad by the death of his father by Dextros's hands, Andar vowed to have his revenge. He grew his strength in secret, studying the magic of his late father. He knew he could perfect it, and once he did, he could have his vengeance.

Dextros screamed as the grief overwhelmed him, and the memory of what transpired earlier that day replayed itself again.

Dextros sat with Lilliana and Lyra curled up next to him in the living room, both of them giving him soft kisses on his neck. Mira had been acting a little off all day, going to the bathroom constantly. Dextros was becoming a little worried when Mira stepped back into the living room, a bright smile on her face.

"What's got you so happy?" Dextros asked, and Mira came and sat down on his lap, earning groans of protest from the other two.

"Don't hog out husband." Lyra growled, and Dextros just scratched her fluffy ears, causing her tail to wag happily.

"I think I might know." Lilliana said, giggling, while Dextros just looked confused.

Lyra perked up, realizing what Lilliana was implying and began to sniff Mira. Lyra grinned and nodded, which made Dextros even more confused.

"Girls... what are you not telling me?" Dextros asked.

Mira fidgeted for a long while, before she leaned in and kissed him softly.

"I... wasn't sure, but I think I am now. Dex... I missed my period, but I didn't know, so I just kept waiting and well... I missed it again, and my stomach has been a mess... but." She said, smiling at Dextros.

Dextros hugged her tightly as understanding hit him like a sack of bricks.

"I'M GONNA BE A DAD!" Dextros exclaimed, jumping up and spinning Mira around as she laughed and giggled.

"Sweetie, be careful with her." Lilliana said, but she couldn't hide the happiness from her tone.

"Once I smelled you, I knew. I think it's a boy." Lyra said, and Dextros raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't even wanna think about how you know that." Dextros said, before turning back to Mira and he froze.

She looked like she was in immense pain all of a sudden, and then together, all three of his wives screamed in agony.

"GIRLS, WHAT'S WRONG??" Dextros bellowed, and as he looked at all of them, tears streamed down their faces as their bodies began to wither and decay before his very eyes.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" Dextros screamed, trying to shield them with mana, but it did little to help them.

"Dex... it hurts... I." Lilliana said, before her whole body crumbled before him.

Tears streamed down his face as he reached out to her, and when he touched her withered body, she turned to dust.

Lyra had her claws out, slashing wildly at the air, but it did little good, and soon, she stopped, and looked over at Dextros.

"Dex... what's... happening?" She asked, before she too crumbled before his very eyes.

He held Mira close, sobbing as he tried and failed to push energy into her. His healing abilities weren't working. It was just like that day, and just like he couldn't do anything then, he was unable to do anything about it now. Tears in her eyes, Mira still gave him a smile as she reached up and put her hand on his cheek.

"Dex... my darling husband... this isn't your fault... I'm so happy I got to spend the time I had with you... I love..." She said, then just as suddenly, she crumbled to dust as well, and he sat there, grabbing at the air as tears continued to pour down his face.

Screaming towards the heavens, Dextros unleased something hidden deep within him, and it was something even he had not known he could do. Suddenly, he was aware of everything around him, and most importantly, the energy signature of a being hovering right above his manor, and behind that being, thousands of other lesser energy signatures were there. A veritable army, and Dextros's rage intensified.

Horns emerged from his head and black flames covered his head in a crown of fire. Giant black wings grew out of his back, as did a tail on his lower back, and it swished back and forth as the rage continued to consume him. His muscles buldged as they became more dense, and without warning, he shot upwards, smashing through the foundations of his house like it was paper.

The vampire lord only had a split second to look surprised that Dextros wasn't dead before Dextros slammed into him with the force of a comet. As he flew through the air, Dextros sped after him, ending up behind the bastard in mere seconds before slamming his fist into him, sending him crashing to the ground.

Turning around, he saw thousands upon thousands of vampires staring in stunned disbelief, and without any words, Dextros stretched out his hand.

"BURN!' He bellowed, and just with those words, he incinerated all of them in an instant, ashes falling to the ground below.

He landed on the ground in front of the vampire lord with a loud crash that shook the ground, cratering it below his feet. He reached down, grabbing the barely living vampire lord by the throat.

Fast forward to now, and Dextros just knelt on the ground as he continued to cry. His entire world had just been shattered again, and he wasn't sure how long he had been in that position, but it must have been days, as the sun rose and fell numerous times.

Finally, Dextros stood, having no more tears left to shed, and lumbered towards his manor like a zombie. He entered the home, and went towards the living room. He stared at the piles of ash that used to be his wives, and saw the wedding rings he gave all 3 of them in the middle of each pile.

He retrieved them all, his face growing moist again, then he just stood there, staring at the ground.

"I'm sorry... I failed you all... I" He choked, as his legs felt weak again.

He took slow and deep breaths before he made up his mind. With one last loom towards the ashes of the women he loved, he shot back up into the air, and as more tears streamed down his face, he extended his hand.

"Rest in peace, my loves." He said, choking on his words and within moments, his entire house was aflame.

Looking towards the distance, he flew off, unsure of where he was going. Just like with his family's home, he couldn't bear to be there any longer, so off he flew. He continued to weep as he flew off into the distance.

Blinking away the tears, he whispered one final goodbye to his loved ones and muttered,

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."