Zephyr stepped out of the tower gate, the succubi and his minions at his back, and it seemed that he was expected. A villager was standing there, bug-eyed and pissing himself.
"Help us! He's destroying the town! Come on!"
"Lead the way, peasant." Zephyr followed the scared villager into the same field he found the tower heart, only to then have to fend off an ambush. After quickly killing the sand rat ninjas, Zephyr grabbed up the villager by the scruff, his eyes glowing with rage.
"You have five secants to explain yourself, fucker!"
"I'm sorry, sire! I'm sorry, sire! They threatened to kill my sheep!" Zephyr was lost for words. He genuinely could not understand the logic behind the man he was holding.
"Naughty, naughty! Those are minions sheepies!" One of the minions from the horde yelled. Zephyr then moved the scared man down so he could look him in the eye.
"So let me get this straight... You betrayed me, your lord and master, for livestock? Are you genuinely telling me that you committed treason for animals that you are breeding faster than you can slaughter!? IS THAT WHAT YOUR FUCKING TELLING ME, YOU PICE OF SHIT MOTHERFUCKER!?" Zephyr trembled with rage, scaring his minions and even the succubi. He then punched the villager so hard in the gut that he stabbed him with his fist. Using the flamethrower spell to rost the ass hole alive from the inside, only stopping when he crumbled to ashes.
"Let's see how much damage these treacherous retches have caused." Zephyr lead his happy horde into the village of Spree, seeing everything in chaos. The front gate was wide open. Dead minions lined the walls on spikes as two men stood outside looking into the hell that had become of their town.
"Oh no, there goes Stan! There's no coming back from that!" One of the men said as Zephyr approached.
"You two, explain now."
"Sorry, lord, but our new master is so much bigger than you! Here come his servants!"
"The minion garrison would not have fallen this fast. Did you fucking cunts betray me!?" The peasants did not have a chance to explain themselves as an overseer hovered by, killing one of them.
"Gnarl! What's the E-T-A on my knights and elven reinforcements!?"
"They are being locked out by those raiders! Kill anything that gets in your way and open the gates, that is, if you don't want these raiders wearing new minion leather armor!"
"I could do without the sass, Gnarl!" Zephyr noticed that the overseers were getting up next to the walls before teleporting in more raiders. He used the opportunity to get greens on their backs, killing them. He got the elves in first. Their bows and eagle-eyes made killing overseers easy. Then got the knights in, using the elves to help bring down the overseers, and having the knights help clear out the ground forces, the invasion was repelled quickly. Maxis walked over and kneeled before his lord.
"Sire, we have found the collaborators hiding in the happy mule inn. We have rounded them up and have then ready for judgment."
"Thank fuck; someone around here knows what the fuck they're doing!" He then walked over to where the six men were rounded up and forced onto their knees in a line.
"Oh, Archie... I'm so disappointed in you."
"Well, what the hell was I supposed to do!? Let the whole dame village get slaughtered out of spite!? We could not have held out longe enough for the knights to get here!"
"You let them in ass hole! You didn't even give the minion garrison a chance to defend you before you sold them out to the enemy!" Zephyr screamed as he smacked Archie across the face.
"We didn't mean to betray you, sire, it just sort of... happened." A villager meekly whimpered out, not wanting to get hit.
"We were weak... Forgive us... let us worship you again, sire." Another begged, looking on the verge of tears.
"They have the loyalty of potatoes, sire. Do with them what you will, but make it quick, Kahn is heading for Heavens Peak." Zephyr took a deep breath, then made his decision.
All but two knights, come with me. The two staying behind will keep these traitors from escaping until I know what to do with them." Zephyr took his happy horde through the tower portal to Heavens Peak. When he got to the temple, it was a wreck. It was secured by the knights and whatever was left of the minions. The priests waved their staves, killing swaths of raiders at a time, holding the line.
"Report!"
"The raiders have killed most of the minions, lord! But we have taken care of almost all of their teleportation beasts, and we have been able to hold them off from taking the temple!" Said the high priest; he looked better.
"Reinforcements are here. You are going to join us in taking the fight to these fucks."
"Yes, lord!" The priests, knights, elves, succubi, and the merry band of minions, joined Zephyr in pushing forward. They were a force of total destruction. The raiders were nothing in comparison. And then they found the warrior Kahn, killing innocents in frustration.
"You! I know you! You took her away from me! You make Kahn angry!"
"I will teach you the meaning of rage, brute! Everyone but the minions go clear out the raiders. I'll take care of the berzerker!" Zephyr charged the giant, activating his infernal shield spell as he tackled Kahn. Zephyr landed punch after punch of his Arcainium fists on the warrior's face, the shield spell burning and damaging Kahn as he attacked him. He then grabbed Zephyr up by his shield, tossing him away before retreating.
"You hid her for him! He wants to hurt her!" Kahn said as he smashed his way through some rubble, getting away before Zephyr got up.
"Get back here, you giant fuck! Fight me like a man!" Zephyr ran after the Ruborian giant, slaughtering everything that posed a threat on the way. Seeing a group of overseers outside the city getting destroyed by his priests. Before finally catching up with Kahn, the larger man was punching his chest.
"She is mine! He cannot stop me! You cannot stop me!"
"Your deductive reasoning skills could use some work. Maybe if I cut your head open, I can see what's wrong with you!" Zephyr held nothing back, willing his reds to start pelting him with fireballs, his greens to circle around to his back, and his browns to charge head-on. Even with the anger spell used to empower the horde, the minions could not hold their own against the giant. By the time he killed half the minions sent after him, Kahn had run off again.
"I will crush! Crush you and the old man! I... Will... Find her!"
"You won't find shit once I send you to hell!" Zephyr ran after the warrior, his army converging around him as he closed in on Kahn, cornering him like a giant rat.
"I protect! She needs Kahn!"
"TAKE THAT FAT ASSED FUCKER DOWN!"
"FORE THE OVERLORD!" The army screamed as they charged in. Succubi chains lashing, priest spells blasting, and elven arrows flying, the knights did not even have time to stick the giant with their swards before he fell to his knees.
"Jewel! Jewel!" The enormous man cried out. Zephyr walked over, raising his ax high to strike him down.
"Maybe I'll send her to hell with you after I'm done with her!" Zephyr said before striking down the giant. And an explosion of evil energy erupted from the dead brute as Zephyr walked away. The moment was ruined by Gnarl yet again.
"Your presence is required! Return to the tower!"
"Oh, what the hell is wrong this time!? You lot know how to get home. I dought I'll need my whole army back at the tower." Zephyr yelled as he rushed back to the tower gate. Returning with the succubi, Zephyr found an odd sight awaiting him. His honor guard standing in a line from the gate to the throne, his banner hanging everywhere, and Gnarl babbling about something.
"All hail the return of the overlord! The one true evil!"
"Are you going to do this every time I come back to the tower? Because let me tell you tha-"
"Oh, no, not you, the real overlord. Yes!"
"...What?" Zephyr was genuinely confused, and then he became angry. And Gnarl babbling on did not help.
"I've always been loyal to evil. I don't ask questions. Evil is as evil does. Welcome back, sire." Gnarl said, addressing an older man in blue robes descending from the sky sitting on Zephyr's throne.
"I am home... Even if I had to hitch a ride in this wizened and weary body." It was hearing his voice that Zephyr remembered who it was that appeared before him. He might be wearing the wizard's body, but he knew who he was.
"Erebus... Erebus! Why do I know your name and hate your guts!?" Zephyr went ignored as the previous overlord mused on.
"I believe you've met my daughters... Velvet." Erebus waved a hand to the left side balcony, where Velvet loomed as menacingly as she could.
"I bearly recall him, daddy." She said, her eyes filled with hate as she looked down on him.
"She has been most useful to me. And then there's Rose. Sadly, she has not been so cooperative." The evil fuck then waved to the other balcony, where Rose was looking off to the corner disinterested.
"As if I could side with someone that thinks my sister is useful!" Rose said in disgust. Zephyr was about to demand an explanation from Erebus, but the windbag beat him to it.
"You thought you'd killed me, didn't you? You and your hero friends! But I planed a little trip you see... Really get under good's skin... Literally! That fool wizard thought he'd won, until I purged his very soul and became one with his mortal carcass!" Zephyr tried to say something, but then his head started hurting. He remembered that he killed Erebus, but nothing about any of it.
"Now that, you'll agree, is a cunning plane!" Gnarl said, ruining any menace the dark one set up. Not that it stopped him from monologing.
"One by one, the others fell to my corrupting influence! Those walls of goodness, purity, obedience... One just needs to know where to push! And as for you... You fell, and they left you behind in their desperation to become heroes. I gave you a second chance... A different path. You were of use to me, but now you're just in my way! Minions!" Zephyr was stunned in shock and horror as the minions moved the Erebus's side. He truly was blind-sighted by all of this. But he was distracted by the jester, fawning over Erebus.
"We are your loyal minions, sire. He was nothing compared to you, your supreme evilness."
"EW! What is that thing?"
"I-I'm the Jester! We met twice!"
"Funny, you'd think I'd remember that?"
"Silence! I believe you've been borrowing my spells! No more!" Zephyr then doubled over in pain. All of the magic he had been collecting over his time as overlord ripped from him. But it did not last for long, lashes from the succubi's whips attacking Erebus. He had to drop his extraction to defend himself.
"Sorry, Erbie pie! You may have been the one to invite us into this world, but Zephyr has been a better master!" Impella said, her sisters giving a demonic cackle as the magic returned to Zephyr. He got right back up and held his ax high.
"Hope you had a good monologue, old man. Because I'm going to kill you again and make it stick this time!"
"You think you have a chance on your own? Time to show you your place, my little puppet!" Erebus then sent his minions on the attack. While Zephyr hacked and slashed his way through the minions, he heard a familiar voice in his head.
"Zephyr! While you still have power left, I can speak directly to you. There must be a way to stop him... I've got it, the tower heart!" Rose then made a mad dash to the stairs, but she did not go unnoticed by Erebus.
"Rose! Where are you going? Don't make me kill you!" The old overlord then teleported after Rose, the new one quickly following as well. Tricking him into reestablishing a dark domain was one thing, so was trying to kill him, but if Zephyr found Rose harmed in any way, he would make Erebus pay.