"Sire, I have a question about the Heroes?"

Deicide tilted his head, not moving an inch off of his throne.

Blood dripped from it, burning, the blood of the god of fire.

"Well, you see, ... shouldn't you go kill them yourself?"

Deicide raised an eyebrow. The lesser demon jumped back in fear, but calmed down noticing no disturbance of the area.

"Are you saying my army is insufficient?"

The demon gulped.

"I'm just saying you are very powerful, much more powerful than the Heroes, and sending champions of our army that are slightly stronger than the Heroes doesn't seem to end up working, ya know. They, er, y'know, have a habit, of doing that annoying thing, where, heh, they work together, get stronger, and beat the enemy. At this rate, even thought they could never get as strong as you sire, perhaps, they could be stronger than the rest of your army."

The demon's frantic hand gestures were only one out of many symptoms of his fear.

"I would sure hope they could get as strong as me. That is the point, after all."

The lesser demon blinked in confusion.

"Sire?"

"The gods were selfish. Stagnant. Remaining in their old ways, treating us mortals like ants. The Heroes... They've changed. They grow stronger by the day. And not just in body, but also in soul. My body has grown much stronger too, but my soul... My soul is very weak you see."

The Demon King gave a mechanoly look.

"A better man would not have murdered seven gods just to prove a point. A better man would have tried to reform them. A better man would not try to create peace through fear."

The look faded, and Deicide appeared to smile.

"And so, if those lovely selfless Heroes managed to grow as strong as this weak soul, and beat me, wouldn't that be a good thing? A peace brought about by justice, rather than by vengeance? A world with no need for a Demon King. A world with no need for gods."

Deicide stood up.

"A world where mortals can choose their own destinies, and defend them. A world where mortals can work together to create peace. Don't you think that would be a wonderful world, Smist?"

Smist jolted up, hearing his actual name.

"I don't really get what you're on about sire... but it does sound nice."

"Well, leave the philosophy to this old fool. You go send Champion of the Dark Realm Wrathge to fight those Heroes. He's about a Level above them."

And so, the Demon King stood back on his bloody throne. Waiting for the day his reign of deicide would be ended, and the day mortal kind would prosper.