The title of the Demon King echoed in Ketal’s chest and set it thrumming, not with fear or dread but with a bright and utterly human excitement.0

The Demon King was the sovereign of Hell, master of every demonic thing, and the adversary of the gods. In fairy tales back on Earth, the title Demon King was always the final villain, the shadow that only appeared once every other candle had been snuffed. The tales of this world agreed. During the Divine–Demonic War, when the gods had finally gained the upper hand, the Demon King had stepped onto the field and shattered that advantage in a single appearance. Only after devastating losses and the deaths of many gods had he been sealed. The Demon King was a creature of a different order.1

Now the demons were preparing for his descent. Yet, something about that did not sit cleanly.0

“Can they really manage that in their current state?” Ketal asked Kalosia.1

Hell had already paid dearly. They had sacrificed heavily to bring Necrobix down, and the ritual cost more than names and noise. Then Necrobix had died. It was hard to believe Hell still had margin to burn on the Demon King.0

Kalosia answered from Shadranes’s throat, each word clear as a struck bell. “With sufficient offerings,...0