"The greatest battles are not fought with weapons, but with the forces that shape the world.

Year 19 Before Ascension

The island stood alone in the middle of a vast sea. At its center was a tall mountain, rising high into the clouds. Dense forest surrounded it on all sides, quiet and untouched.

Up above, floating in the air, was a girl.

Her golden hair swayed in the wind, and she wore a white, embroidered dress that fluttered like silk. In front of her, a terrifying creature hovered- The Demon Lord. It didn’t make a sound, but its presence was loud enough.

Wind rushed past her ears. Still, her thoughts were clear.

“For him—for the people I love, for the people I care about...”

She bent forward with a soft hiss, ready to move.
The grotesque creature raised his hands slowly, as if clutching the very air around her. His fingers curled inward, forming a tight grip in the space between them. He said nothing—but the twisted smile on his face made it clear.

He was enjoying this.

And then—they vanished.

The demon shrieked, claws slicing through the air. But the girl was already gone, moving too fast to hit. She dodged every strike, calm and focused but clearly hesitant.

Her body was steady, but her mind was full of thoughts.

People had high hopes for her. They called her The Wanderer. But right now, none of that mattered. None were able to see through the name! Not even her.

All she could think about was her little brother. He had only just started at the magic academy. Still young. Still innocent.

She couldn’t let this monster win. Not now.

The demon lord lunged at her with a blade with astounding force creating shock waves across the atmosphere, smiling.

“You are weak,” he spat.

She caught his sword in both hands, barely holding it back from thrusting her body.

“I don’t know if I’m strong,” she said, “but I know I can’t let you win.”

With that, she pulled the demon forward accumulated all of her mana on her shin and kicked the monster striking with every ounce of strength she had.

The demon’s head snapped back, and before he could recover, she dragged him into a free fall, both of them plummeting through the sky. Her mana was almost gone. Her arms felt numb. But she didn’t let go. She held on tight, using every last bit of strength.

Then—
Crash!

Her head hit a sharp piece of rubble jutting from the mountain’s side. Rocks flew everywhere. More slammed into her back and shoulders. The pain was blinding.

They tore through the forest. Branches whipped against her face and body. Some broke. Others scraped her skin. The demon started flying wildly, dragging her with him.

Blood ran down from her head. Her vision blurred.

Her grip started to loosen.

Then—
THWACK!

She hit the ground hard.

Her body rolled once, then stopped. Blood poured from her mouth. Her shoulder was twisted out of place. Her back was soaked in red.

She lay still in the forest.

Broken. Bruised.

Her face was red and swollen dripping blood, fractured shin and her eyes tainted by her own blood. She was in the verge of losing consciousness but before that she muttered,” Please, God I want-”

Everything was fading.

The forest below was shattered. The ground had been torn apart by the battle, craters and fallen trees scattered across the land like broken bones. And above it all, the last thing she saw before darkness took her was the massive shadow of the beast vanishing into the trees.

I failed.

Blood trailed behind her in the wind. Her fingers twitched, reaching for a sword she no longer held. Her vision clear but everything was darker and colder.

Until… light.

Not warm, but sharp. Not peaceful, but blinding.

She floated now—not in the sky, but in something stranger. A space between life and death, wrapped in glowing threads of golden light.

Then a voice. A woman’s voice. Beautiful, gentle... but wrong, it was too perfect.

“You gave it your all, little hero. But you are broken now. Shall I take over?”

Lia tried to speak, but no words came out. She couldn’t move. Only float.

“You want to kill it, don’t you?” the voice whispered again. “You want revenge. You want to finish what you started. I can help.”

The light around her tightened, wrapping her in a cocoon. Her wounds stopped bleeding. Her heart began to beat again, slow… steady… different.

“But first,” the voice said, “you should know the truth of this world. The truth no one tells you.”

A smile echoed in her tone.

“Magic... was never a gift. It was never meant to save anyone.”

The space shifted. Showing Lia a strange vision—like a memory not her own.

A mountain cracked open. A giant purple crystal erupted on the earth, glowing with something ancient and sickly. A dark mist spread from it, covering forests and cities. People screamed, their bodies changing, twisting. Some burned alive, some started decaying on the spot. Others stood, trembling, losing consciousness but not dying- being reborn again.

“Magic was born from the pain of the earth. It infected all life. It turned beasts into monsters. It turned men into killers.”

Lia saw flames. Lightning. Blood. Kingdoms collapsing under the weight of power no one could control.

“And the first to rise from this madness... was the Demon Lord.”

The light faded for a moment. Only her breath remained, slow and unsure. Then the voice returned, quieter now, as if leaning close to her ear.

“But don’t worry. I’ll give you the power to end him. All I ask... is your body.”

Lia wanted to scream, to refuse. But her soul, her will was slipping.

The light wrapped around her completely. Her skin glowed like glass. Her thoughts shattered. She was disappearing. But just before she was completely gone...

The voice whispered again.

“It’s all a lie.”

Lia’s eyes snapped open—wide, filled with tears.

And then—

CRACK!

The void shattered and slowly glimmered, shiny glass shards falling on the world back there, leaves rustling an afar in the crater… stood a figure with golden light beaming from her wounds like her blood.

But then, something shifted.

Her aura pulsed, radiating divine energy that poured into her, burning through her veins like fire and ice.

The pain was excruciating, but the power — oh, the power was beyond anything she had ever felt. Her body reshaping under the Goddess's influence, every cell stretching to accommodate the divine energy. She could feel her skin burning and her very soul shivering under its weight. But all the pain halted at once.

The figure looked up, someone other than what she was before. A wide grin spread on her face- calm but frightening.

From afar, people and mages in official guild uniforms—bearing the emblem of the very guild Lia once belonged to—struggled to control their fear. Some vomited, others stood frozen, paralyzed by the overwhelming aura that felt like pure bloodlust.

The Demon Lord felt the pulse of that power, pressing down like a crushing weight. His eyes narrowed while flying, and without hesitation, he flew back toward the heart of the destruction.

The lone figure—not Lia, but someone entirely different—slowly turned her head toward the approaching Demon Lord. And then—she vanished.

As the Demon Lord soared through the sky, her face suddenly appeared right in front of his, so close he could see the glow in her eyes. He couldn't sense her presence like before.

Before he could react—
BOOM!

A powerful kick slammed into his head, sending him flying toward the mountain.

In the blink of an eye, time seemed to slow, but she moved faster than ever. She appeared above him again, spinning mid-air, and delivered a crushing high kick.

CRACK!

The remnants of his exoskeleton shattered, and for the first time in his life—
the Demon Lord bled.

But this wasn’t over yet.

He steadied himself in the air, and let out a sharp, earsplitting shriek. The sky darkened around him. A thick mist began spreading across the forest, and from that mist… monsters crawled out— grotesque things born of fear.

The battle began.

The Wanderer—now barely human—unleashed her fury. Her sword raced with light, cutting down the beasts in seconds. Trees below snapped in half, some crushed under the sheer waves of power, others sliced down the middle. The forest, once green and alive, had become a broken battlefield with debris flying around and craters wherever eyes could see.

Then she clashed with the Demon Lord again—steel against steel.

Their swords struck with a thunderous clang, sending sparks across the sky. The mountain trembled beneath their fight like it would split open at any moment. And it did.

With one clean motion, her glowing blade cut the mountain into three jagged pieces, then swiftly slashed it as the demon lord flew near it trying to desperately dodge the fury. It was way worse than what it anticipated.

Chunks of stone flew everywhere. Rocks the size of houses fell through the sky like meteors.

She kicked them one after another, using them like cannonballs to force the Demon Lord back—but it wasn’t enough. He tanked through them, snarling.

Below, the same guild members had managed to bury themselves partially underground for cover. Desperate, scared while witnessing the destruction and the 2 sheer forces of earth colliding with each other.

One mage wasn’t fast enough. A massive piece of debris crushed him, and his blood splattered onto the face of the woman beside him.

Her knees gave up seeing this and, she screamed. But they didn’t stop watching. They couldn’t. The other guy grabbed her hand and shoulder running with her

Up above, Lia’s body trembled as the Demon Lord’s attacks crashed through the air. She had been dodging with ease, almost effortlessly—until a blunt, blade-shaped weapon struck her waist. Her body bent from the sudden impact, the force catching her off guard. Her expression didn’t change, but her pupils widened—shocked.

She flew like a lifeless rag doll and crashed hard on a pile of debris, blood sprayed out of her mouth upon impact. She lied down there, blood dripping from her mouth turned into golden ashes and flew around, she smiled and in due time stood up like a ghost.

Mana pulsed violently around her, like her body was trying to absorb more than it could take. It wasn’t just energy—it was fire, burning her from the inside out. Small cracks formed across her skin, glowing faintly, but no blood came out. Her heart pounded, each beat echoing louder than the last. She took a long, steady breath. The air around her shimmered in golden light—beautiful, but not comforting. It didn’t feel divine. It felt ominous

Then—her left eye burst.

Golden particles poured from the empty socket.

She didn’t scream, just a devious grin- as if she was enjoying this.

Raising her hand toward the sky, she began forming a circle of pure light.

The air hissed as it took shape. The energy was so bright, even the shadows shined.

Then—gracefully, like lowering a curtain—she brought her arm down.

A scorching beam of light fired from the circle.

The Demon Lord reacted just in time, barely managing to deflect it. The beam split the sky in two, disappearing into the heavens.

“Not enough,” she whispered. Her voice was calm, but her body was breaking.

Determined, she raised her arm again. This time, her palm began to tatter. Muscles snapped, skin peeled.

The second beam was stronger, brighter, hotter.

When she fired it, her entire arm shredded away—leaving nothing but bone.

The Demon lord barely keeping his pace on air, tried to deflect the beam but ts sword started to burn in schorching fire… its skin hissed while burning and a bright explosion took after

BOOM!

Meanwhile, Lia levitated there with her shredded arm like nothing happened. And then—golden threads, like silk, floated around her. They coiled and wove together, wrapping around the ruined limb.

A new hand formed.
Not flesh. Not human.
A glowing, fake hand made of light.

She stood still, breathing heavily, her busted left eye socket glowing like fire.

And from behind the rocks and shadows, the guildmaster finally stepped forward.

“LIA,… ST - STOP!”

His voice rang out, loud and desperate.

She didn’t respond at first.

Then—her head slowly turned toward him.

Her form was terrifying. Tattered blood stained clothes whipped in the wind. Her legs were shattered, one arm a glowing imitation of what it once was.

Where her eye used to be, gold particles leaked like tears.

She said nothing.

She simply looked.

“It wasn’t… supposed to be this way.”

Chapter End

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End-of-Chapter Note

Thanks for giving The Legend of Nine Heavens a shot!

This story is already a few chapters ahead on Royal Road. I’ll be updating here twice a week until we catch up—then shifting to a regular schedule.

It starts slow, with a focus on worldbuilding and character growth—but trust me, it won’t stay quiet for long.

Appreciate you being here. See you in the next one! 
– AizuKin123, Ryudo