Despite the sheer disgusting number of troop in his Demonic Army of Damnation, as he often liked to call them, Lord Grendel knew, and would often refer to each by name from time to time. He knew their voices, he knew their temperaments, he knew their families. But more importantly, he not only knew them, but could recall such information with ease. He didn't like to brag, but Grendel knew that he was one of the more brilliant demons to have ever come out of Nazolroth Dr'kar. His closest equal was Svavki- the red-skinned demon made up for Grendel's knowledge with his sheer wisdom, which promptly led to him being placed in the position of Grendel's personal advisor. Svavki was the only one of his troopers that he was truly trusted; the others were obedient, true, but Svavki almost transcended the level of being known as a 'friend' to the demon.

 Margaliese had been a nice city at one time, but after it had fallen some time ago, it looked more like a demonic playground than anything else. The mighty spires that could have been seen by travelers miles away were now crumbled, and the city crawled with the forces of Lord Grendel's primary army. The city had been one of the first to fall when the assaults on Sukata began, and had served as a base operations for the demons during their campaigns. The Sukatans had tried to reclaim the city a few times in the past, but several disgusting massacres later, the natives decided to chalk Margaliese up to 'casualty of war'.

 In what used to be the Great Library of Margaliese, Lord Grendel sat with his usual entourage, discussing the details of the latest raids and whatnot, when a shrill scream came forth from the hallway, accompanied by a bright flash of light. Grendel realized two things at that moment- one, something powerful was approaching the inner chamber, and two, he would have to find a replacement for  Sieg, most likely one of the obnoxious little demon's brothers. Svavki cast a quick glance at his master and cocked a brow, who merely shook his head. At his side, Grendel heard the familiar growl of Rogas, who he immediately silenced with a wave of his hand. Compared to the rest of his comrades, Grendel included, Rogas was nothing short of a monster. Heights within his troops generally ranged from anywhere between three to five-and-a-half feet. Rogas, on the other hand, clocked in at a disturbing six feet in height, and was just about as wide in sheer muscle mass. The only thing that kept Grendel from doing away with him out of sheer, morbid fear was the fact that Rogas was, to be blunt, about as smart as the backside of a donkey, and hence made the perfect bodyguard because he would follow orders without asking questions. Upon seeing his master wave him off, the enormous red-skinned monstrosity backed away.

 Two more screams penetrated the chamber, and Grendel knew that Sieg's brothers' attempt at vengeance had been in vain. The entire circle of demons seated around him were turned towards the chamber's entrance, awaiting the arrival of whoever it was making their way inside. Each could sense a tremendous power approaching, none more so than Grendel, but for whatever reason the Demonlord was still quite calm and collected.

 The ornate twin wooden chamber doors were slowly opened by unseen hands from outside of the room, effectively silencing the murmuring among the demon horde within. The light within the torchlit room flickered briefly as a light wind swept inside, causing the flames to sway and dance ever so briefly. A lone figure stood in the doorway. Most of the demons within were not very good at estimating the age of humans, as this young woman appeared to be, but none would deny the fact that she looked quite young. She wasn't quite a child, but looked as if she had only just reached womanhood. Short midnight dark hair framed the outside of a young face that held a sterness that made several of the demons uneasy. A dark robe of Ophidian design adorned her petite frame, trimmed in gold like the belt around her waist, pulled in just enough to show the slight curve of her hips. Her skin was paler than one would expect of someone from Ophidia, which gave her a ghostly, almost ethereal presence among the demon horde.

 "I wish to speak with Grendel, on Lord Anubis' behalf." Her tone was direct and cold, giving the impression that her request was more of a command. The gazes of the entire council fell upon the figure sitting the furthest away from the doorway, the one she felt was Grendel. While the others seemed to flinch at her presence, the green-skinned one she stared at had remained calm since her arrival. She could feel the unnatural rise in heat and discomfort in the others, forcing her to ignore them all. She did not speak to the group, but to the one sitting the furthest away, the one she knew was Grendel. It was difficult to gauge the height of the robed figure while he was sitting on the ground, but the woman could not imagine him being much more than five feet tall. The dark green skin and the bulging eyes reminded her of the snakemen, but Grendel did not look to be as muscular or lean as the Ophidians. His ears were also much more prominent, pointed like those of the elves on this world. He regarded her for a moment before slowly standing to his feet. A grin found its way among the numerous pointed teeth in his mouth.

 "Mistress Kumassa..." Grendel swept his arm before him and bowed slowly. "I am honored by your presence." Despite the hiss in his voice, there was sincerity behind his words.

 Kumassa nodded her head in acknowledgment. "Lord Anubis sends his regards," she began. "I have come to speak in regards to your theories."

 The green skinned demon paused for a moment at her words, nodding slowly after a moment's interlude. "Yes... let us speak in private. The roof of this building shall suffice." Without another word to the council in the chamber, the demon vanished from their presence in a wave of dark energy. Kumassa paused for a moment and regarded the group, who seemed unfazed at their Master's sudden disappearance, before teleporting away herself.

* * * * * * *

 The library of Margaliese was considered the center of learning for all of Sukata, and because of this, was the largest building in the city. It offered an unequaled view of the surrounding areas of the continent, but in recent times it served as a grim testament at the efficiency and sheer destructive appetite of Grendel's horde. Dusk was creeping upon the land, but it did little to mask the signs of war. Large areas of blackened woods marked where there had been explosions, crumbling remains of nearby villages indicated skirmishes won, and a massive inferno blazed in the east- judging by the thick cloud of black smoke that had blanketed most of the eastern horizon, Kumassa assumed that it must have been burning continuously for several weeks.

 When Grendel had materialized on the rooftop shortly after she had, Kumassa noted that the demon was carrying his staff- formed of winding patterns of dark wood, it held a large round crystal of swirling purple patterns and streams. Within the crystal were four deep indention of uniform size, forming the shape of a diamond. To the left was a glowing red gem, a crystal-clear one its twin on the right. The top and bottom indention were both empty- Grendel anxiously awaited the time when this would not be the case.

 "Your messenger spoke of two swords...?" Kumassa turned her attention away from the horizon to Grendel. The demon's own gaze had been on the distance for the time being, but he also turned away to deal with the matter at hand.

 "Our taking control of the largest library on the realm was no accident. I've learned that many legends have a basis in some sort of fact, so I thought it wise to investigate the history of this place for anything we did not know of." Kumassa nodded. It was not unheard of that a civilization contained Artifacts that few, if any, knew about. She had heard tales of how the Earth assault had been relaxed temporarily recently, due to the ignorance of the populous of what Artifacts may exist on their world. Rather than risk destroying an Artifact by accident, Martosa had sent in several teams to research the realm further before continuing the assault. "There is a legend that I have read of in more than one source," Grendel continued. "According to it, ages ago, a skilled blacksmith forged a magnificent blade from a strange ore that he found in a rock that fell from the heavens. A rival attempted to steal the blade, and a fight ensued. It is said that the blade split in two during the conflict- not broken, but as two separate entities. The blade held by the blacksmith became known as the 'Masamune', the Sword of Light, while his rival can into the possession of the 'Murasama', the Sword of Darkness. The legend states that the two blades have existed throughout the ages, and the sole purpose of each is the destruction of the other. Both have found numerous champions over the years, but there was no record of either being destroyed."

 "And you believe that there is truth behind this legend?"

 The demon nodded slowly. Rather than seem sluggish by his pace, his moves all seemed to be purposeful and calculated. Grendel's form levitated to the edge of the wall surrounding the rooftop. When he had landed, he took a quick look around the horizon before turning back to Kumassa. "I have placed a number of my warriors throughout Sukata to secure the areas that we have conquered," he began. He pointed his staff to the horizon, towards the blackened woods Kumassa had observed prior. "That is what remains of our secondary camp."

 Kumassa said nothing as she fixed her gaze on the blackened mass of trees in the distance. Grendel thought that she might have said something, but after a moment's pause, he decided to continue. "Very few of the troops stationed there survived, but those that did informed me that a small group of locals attacked them, and one of the group wielded a sword of immense power. There was an explosion of pure light visible even from here; I was told that those caught in the blast radius were vaporized upon touching the light, but the locals that caused it did not seem to suffer any ill effects. I am led to believe that this was indeed the power of the Masamune."

 "If it was the Masamune, then there must be a Murasama," Kumassa noted. "I'm sure the Mistress will be most interested in these circumstances."

 "Inform Martosa that I am doing everything in my power to decipher this mystery," Grendel remarked. His focus continued to lie on the horizon, his eyes fixed on the blackened remains of forest in the distance. "The war on this world hinders my resources somewhat, yet I wish for the Mistress to understand that I am under no sort of strain. If possible, I would like to avoid Mocker intervention, as I am quite capable of handling the situation on my own."

 Kumassa nodded curtly. It was no secret that the Mockers and several of Martosa's Generals were not on the best of terms. Despite this fact, Kumassa felt that the demon's words were more out of confidence in his own troops, rather than his pride as a General. "Very well," she responded. "I will relay the message."

 Grendel turned his attention away from the horizon to acknowledge Kumassa. "You have my gratitude," he responded, bowing low as before. "Please give my regards to Martosa, and to your Lord Anubis."

 "So be it," came her voice as she slowly began to fade away. Shortly after her visage had disappeared, Grendel could still feel her presence. "One last question, General," came Kumassa's voice from what seemed like all around the demon. Very few beings were capable of doing much of anything during a realmwalk, much less carry on a conversation with the ease Kumassa was currently doing. Impressed, the demon nodded.

 "Of course."

 "Your messenger mentioned that you believe that the inhabitants to be realmwalking elsewhere...?"

 The demon pondered for a moment. "Not necessarily a theory," he admitted. "It is more of an observation. We have encountered bands of resistance, and are aware that there exist a number of refugee communities, but it does not yield a satisfactory explanation for the unaccounted." The demon gazed towards the heavens with a light shrug; it was a useless gesture, but he nonetheless felt that he was staring directly at Kumassa. "I have theories, but that is all."

 There was a period of silence, and for a moment, Grendel thought that he might have been alone. "Your observations are not yours alone," came her calm voice after a moment. There was another period of silence, and before Grendel felt Kumassa's presence leave, he heard her state simply "I'll be in touch..."

 Dusk slowly became night as Grendel stood atop the roof of the great library, his eyes taking in the surrounding horizon. Even in the darkest of nights, there was the ever present glow of the massive inferno to the east, forever burning, forever consuming. He stared at the inferno for a moment before pointing his staff towards the blaze- without the aide of so much as a word or a drop of water, the inferno that had raged for countless weeks was suddenly extinguished.

 "The night should be absolute," the demon casually remarked to himself. "I am the only god here, and my will, like the night, is to be absolute." Grendel slowly faded away from the rooftop, vanishing from the presence of the absolute night he had created, in order to prepare for the perfect darkness of his vision of what remained of this world.