Chapter 81: Another character conquered
To help the demons become successful authors, Eric realised that he had to get to know his students on a personal level, so he honestly said, "I am," which stunned Fil.
"Heh, I see, teach wants to know about my past," Fil thought of how to start. But then he resorted to, "I'm just a normal demon."
Eyeroll. Eric wanted to give Fil 1000 eye rolls but ... you really fucking thought I'd believe you?
"So, you were a normal demon before the Demon Lord made you the second prince? Then would you mind telling me of the time you were a normal demon?"
There should be a reason why Fil wanted to become an author and was so... fiery. For Nol, it was because reading was his only escape, thus he wanted to become a writer like his favourite authors. So, Fil...
"It's nothing special."
It was clear that Fil didn't want to talk about his past. Oh no, was it some kind of sob story? Eric must have touched a sore spot. In order to not let Fil reminisce about possible bad memories, Eric patted his shoulder and said coaxingly, ''It's ok. Whatever happened I'm glad you're fine now. Look at you becoming an author."
"Teach..." Fil mumbled. Seeing Eric's bright smile, something within Fil's body stirred.
No, it wasn't his desire but this time it was his heart.
His heart... was being moved by Eric!
Little did Eric know what his words did to Fil and what kind of tragic sob story Fil had that could make all those wannabe isekai MCs pale in comparison. Of course, without fail, Eric was about to get to know. Of course, things went this way. This time the skill was quite prominent and Eric's mind was sucked into Fil's memories.
Bleak. Dark. Nothingness. This was what Fil saw when he first opened his eyes. Surrounded by nothing but darkness.
Terrifying. Fear and despair. This was what Fil instantly felt.
Level 10, this was the hell of darkness. This level was nothing but a completely black night. The demons that roamed around in this level had their sights incapacitated. They were able to move around with other senses.
However it was a blessing for Fil, he who was born akin to a human. A demon with a human appearance. A taboo, a curse and a deep-seated hatred to the demons below level 3.
Below this level, the demons became less and less human-like in appearance and personality.
Once Fil realised he was different from the other level 10 demons, true panic settled in and a desperate search for an exit, out of level 10 began.
Wandering through the endless nightmare, Fil was able to pick up conversations between the demons.
The hatred towards the demons in level 0 was inexplicably intense.
Yet it gave Fil a silver lining who had to constantly be afraid of anyone finding out what he really looked like.
Level 0. He had to get there! No matter what, to escape this hell of blackness and suffocating hiding, not going to do anything, constantly being afraid of being torn apart, ground and eaten by the other demons, wasn't a life Fil was going to endure anymore.
Why? Because Fil witnessed it. More than once. Some helpless demons who looked like humans caught by the other demons. All alone, for many years, Fil endured this terror.
But this slight hope he grasped and clung onto become a full-fledged start of his misery. Hope, anticipation and expectations made one reckless. The cautious Fil became more daring to leave this place.
In the end, he was found out and in the eternity of darkness he ran away until one day, true saving grace came. The Demon Lord acknowledged Fil as the third prince but for Fil's mentality and psyche, it was already too late.
Only a hollow shell of a demon was left, Fil barricaded himself inside his room, lifeless, blank not being able to do anything.
It was then only thanks to Nol and Lav, who tried to get Fil to open cautiously through pushing books into his room, that Fil slowly came out of hiding and life returned to him. The only problem was that the books Nol and Lav gave Fil to read were all hero stories and those that become kings and emperors.
Nol and Lav had different tastes and since they couldn't come to an agreement, they decided to have some heroic stories cheer Fil up. Yet Fil took them in too seriously.
To mend his trauma, no, to completely shut it out, Fil wallowed in wanton ways and decided to become an author when heard a human author say that through stories, through writing stories one could change the world, the past, the present and the future. Stories had true power, the power to move people, to change and to educate.
Thus Fil took it to heart. He'd become his own hero and create a story for himself that would make him happy, have everyone cherish him.
Yes, this was the core of Fil's story and himself. Being fierce and aggressive was all to overshadow his once pathetic and pitiful timid self. He trained his power and realised the strength Del saw in him, and the stronger Fil grew, the more confident he became and the painful past disappeared.
And oh, yeah along the way, with his luscious dreams, Fil also discovered that his sexual appetite was more prominent than the usual sexual drive a demon had.
Experiencing Fil's story and all the emotions Fil went through, Eric teared up. He always thought Fil was a simpleton but to actually... well, let's disregard the last sentence.
Eric looked at Fil who flew at a moderate speed for Eric and choked out, "You've done well, Fil. You've done very well enduring all this time.''
Fil was perplexed why his human teacher was suddenly crying but his words itched Fil's heart again and caressed the small hidden boy who was curled up and hid in darkness.
Fil remained silent and so did Eric. But within this second, what Fil felt for Eric changed completely. It went from pure desire to something else. Why did it feel like Eric could see through him and know what he's been through?
Fil had the urge to push Eric down right now and have him moan out the truth for him but Fil held back and only looked at the tender eyes and red face of Eric's. Humans were really emotional beings but Fil didn't dislike it, having someone cry and care for him like this didn't feel bad.
A while later, they finally arrived at the cultivator's side. It was a stark contrast to the superhero's side. While the superhero's kingdom was modern, the cultivators were more focused on nature and had small villages, well it looked typically like every cultivator novel or film or TV show, so there was nothing special to mention about it, except the fact that there was a king in a huge palace in the middle of the capital. So just like everywhere else in this world, except that the palace was akin to an ancient eastern temple.
Eric only sighed at this sight. What else should he expect from Fil's brain? Eric decided to treat Fil like always. There was no use to treat him differently just because Eric knew of his tragic backstory.
When Fil put Eric to the ground, Eric said with urgency, "Let's instantly go to the king and tell him the superheroes are attacking. It's best to inform them now."
So there was no need to find a hotel and fall prey to the one-room overused trope.
Fil nodded solemnly and announced they would visit the cultivator king. Eric had to say it again but the cultivator king really looked ethereal, if it wasn't for the fact his lips turned down every time he looked at Eric. Eric couldn't help it, he just was hated by the world. This was his fate as this character.
"We are honoured by the great hero's presence," the king and other cultivators knelt down, "Please tell us the reasons for your arrival."
"The superheroes are attacking," a simple sentence yet the words echoed in the silent throne hall bouncing back from the walls before they made a volcano full of anger erupt.
"Those brutes!" the cultivators were raging and their dignified and cultivated bearing quickly disappeared, yet the king had to act like a king after all, "Great hero, are you sure about this?"
"Yes, they'll arrive soon," Fil solemnly said.
"Very well, we will not waste any time. Prepare all measures, we will defend our side with all our lives! Prepare to draw this fight into an open space where no one can get hurt! To the valley!"
The valley was the large grassland between the superheroes' and cultivators' side, under the mountain of the hero. It was as large as a small country. Eric was impressed by the king's rational decision. The cultivators acted quickly while Eric dragged Fil outside as everything became busy.
"Fil, join the war and wait for me there."
"Teach, where you think you're going? You're weak."
"I'll be fine, don't worry, I'll soon join, so go and be at the frontline of the war!"
With that, Eric left Fil behind and went to his spot.
This was the beginning of Eric's end. This character's end and finally this book's end.
"Are you going to the valley? Let me join?" seeing a few cultivators preparing a large flying sword, Eric hopped onto it.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone