A Demon's Tale

Within a hospital in the Babylon Distract was a woman with red hair, who laid on the provided bed, completely exhausted from the work she had done. Clutching this woman’s hand was her loving husband, who provided a reassuring warmth to her as she continued to wheeze.

Though she was in pain, and felt that she could sleep for the next decade, she continued to hold her strength. After all, a new gift would soon be held in her hands.

Walking towards the woman, a nurse proceeded to pass something covered in towels to her.

Nurse: [It’s a girl! Congratulations!]

Yoro: [Oh…She’s perfect…Nene, look…She’s so adorable…]

Nero: [She has your face. I suppose I’ll now have two faces that continue to make me smile from just their appearance alone.]

The couple looked towards their sleeping daughter. Though there was crying at birth, the baby had been sound asleep moments after.

The two looked at each other as they continued to gleefully smile over their newly gained family member.

Yoro: [So? Are we still all good for Varius?]

Nero: [I think Varius is a perfect name for her.]

Yoro: [Perfect! Oh, just so it’s easier for you to spell, nurse…That’s V-a-r-i-u-s…Varius…Varius Virtuoso.]

Nurse: [And…done! It’ll be printed out shortly and we’ll go from there!]

Yoro: [Great!...]

Nero looked towards his wife, and started to stroke her hair.

Nero: [I suppose I should take off for the time being. You need your rest.]

Yoro: [I’m all good…Don’t worry…]

Nero: [You don’t need to put on an act for me, I can see how exhausted you are from just your face alone.]

Yoro: [I just…I’m enjoying our time like this…Can we at least get a photo or something before you do…I wanna cherish this moment forever…]

Nero: [Very well. I can do that at least.]

Pulling out a phone, Nero prepared the camera and raised it to allow all three of them in the photo.

Nero: [And, cheese!]

Yoro: [Cheeeeeeeeeese!.....So…how does it look?]

Nero: [Fantastic. What do you think?]

Presenting the photo to his wife, an open smile started to form on Yoro’s face.

Yoro: [Aaaaah…It’s so perfect…I wanna frame it immediately…]

Nero: [Tell you what, I’ll head down to a shop before I get back to work. I’ll have it printed out and ready at home before you’re even released.]

Yoro: [Awwwwww…You’re so sweet, Nene!♥…]

The two provided a soft kiss to one another, and Nero started to take his leave.

Nero: [I’ll make sure to visit whenever I can. Farewell for now, my love.]

Yoro: [Bye, Nene!...Say bye to Papa, Vari…]

No response was provided from the sleeping child, but this caused the two to giggle as a result.

Waving to each other as the door closed, Yoro turned her focus back to her daughter.

Yoro: [Vari…Your Mama is just gonna get some rest for now…But even if she’s sleeping, she’ll make sure you’re alright at all times…Ok, sweetie?]

Once again, a response was not provided. Much like before, a giggle soon followed.

Yoro: [Alright…Goodnight, Vari…]

Allowing her body to sleep, Yoro held her daughter close while she drifted off.

The next generation of both the Virtuoso family, and the Kobi family, had now been born.

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Holding his wife close to him, the man looked down in horror and despair at what had played out before him.

The wife he loved with all of his heart.

The wife that had shared that love back with him.

The wife that he would sacrifice anything for.

She was gone.

What now laid in his arms was merely a husk of what was once there.

A corpse of the woman he had put the very soul of his being into

He trembled at the sight of her body.

His teeth clattered together as he gazed at her.

Everything started to become blurry as the tears did not stop their relentless onslaught.

Death.

She was dead.

Yoro Kobi had died.

The man sat there, without a word leaving his lips.

Except for one thing.

Nero: [...Yoro…]

Over and over, he called her name.

Nero: [...Yoro…]

He remembered all the fond memories the two had together.

Nero: [...Yoro…]

They had gone on a long journey with one another.

They had gotten married.

They had a child.

They had lived every day of their lives celebrating the life that they had with each other.

So much had been done between the two.

And yet…it all came crashing down.

Her life was taken.

Nero: [........]

Her life was taken.

Nero: [....................]

Her name was no longer uttered.

The man had come to a realization of his own.

When Mother was killed, it was due to humans.

…

When Moms was killed, it was due to oni.

…

Not a single time had anyone come to help.

Not the gods.

Not any of the heroes of the world.

No one.

They were both killed, without any rescue provided for them.

…

Heroes.

The Bloodfire family, and the Tensetsu family.

Those two are considered heroes.

But the one that is far greater than the other…

…is the Bloodfire family.

That family…That family…

Yoro….Yoro…was taken…because of them…

No! It was myself! I caused this! There was no one else who was responsi–

THEN WHY DID THEY SHOOT HER?

ANSWER THIS, NERO VIRTUOSO. IF THEY LOWERED THEIR GUNS MOMENTS PRIOR TO WHAT YORO HAD SAID, WHY DID THEY SHOOT HER?

…

Assistance.

That’s right. When Mother and Moms were both killed…

There wasn’t an ounce of assistance.

Both of them were killed, and no one had come to help.

They feared who we were. They feared who Moms was. They feared everything, and chose violence as the right course of action.

Yoro…

They shot Yoro..

…and did not call for assistance till it had been mentioned.

They wanted her dead.

They wanted my Yoro dead.

Vari.

After me, they’ll go after her.

No…

No….No…No…

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

…

Not a chance.

There isn’t a damn chance I’ll let them have her.

I was right.

I’m sorry, Shiro, but I was right.

These people…They look up to us gods with fear in their hearts regardless of what we may provide.

The previous gods provided nothing, and thus, they felt that they could choose to live as they pleased.

Everything.

Everything that is done, is a revolt towards the guardians that protect them.

We provide them with the peace they desire, but it’s merely a false peace.

The truth is, they want to create the very violence and terror we had destroyed.

…

Humans.

Oni.

…No.

Not just them.

To think of it as such would be wrong.

Mortals.

That’s it.

Mortals.

As the tears continued to stream down his face, the captain of the Bloodfire force took notice of his state.

Bloodfire Captain: [I’m terribly sorry, sir….It should not have come to this in the slightest…We will take full respon–]

Nero: [....Every…last…]

Bloodfire Captain: [I apologize sir, could you please repeat that? I wasn’t able to hear you.]

Nero: [Every…last…one…]

Moving his head closer with his ear pointed forward, the captain once again asked.

Bloodfire Captain: [Sorry, one more ti–]

His sentence did not finish, nor could it be.

He was immediately interrupted by the look of a terrifying beast.

Veins protruding on his head, smoke being produced by the edges of his mouth, his eyes growing incredibly thin, and most of all..a horrifying, aggressive expression on his face, Nero spoke for the final time.

Nero: [I’LL RID THIS WORLD OF EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU ĐȺᛗꞤ ᛗꝊꞦȾȺŁꞨ!]

A massive pillar of black and white matōki burned into the castle from Nero’s exact position. The soldiers stood there horrified as they watched a series of events play out before them.

Their captain had fallen backwards, the skin of his face being displayed to them with the skin burned off.

The second occurance however…

Nero: [ꞦȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺȺ₲₲₲₲₲₲₲₲₲₲₲ĦĦĦĦĦĦĦĦ]

Holding his wife was Nero who had now been covered from head to toe in this matōki. Tears evaporated from his face as the intense heat continued, and soon after, a terrifying face had shown itself to the soldiers.

A demon clad in black and white matōki with gleaming white eyes and an endless white void of a mouth. It appeared as though it was suffering, and a hellish screech was released into the room.

Following this scream, the matōki increased even further in size. The soldiers cowered in fear, and began to move back more and more to avoid being swallowed up like their captain had been. Some were unlucky, and had attempted to reach out to their comrades as their flesh washed away. A terrible display of their muscle, and bones soon followed.

The creature that had appeared for but a moment.

It was something many had not seen.

And yet, a single thought had risen within all of their minds.

That creature…It can’t be…

There wasn’t a moment for them to truly question it, or even gauge something like that with their fellow soldiers.

A battle for survival had already begun as the pillar continued to grow larger and larger.

Despite what occurred to some of the soldiers, and their mighty captain, the woman within the pillar had remained completely safe. Unharmed, untouched, the lifeless body retained its beautiful look.

Above that body, was a man clad in the vicious matōki, who continued to show his fangs in boiling anger towards those in front of him.

As the pillar grew larger, the pieces of the roof that remained closest to it had begun to collapse onto the floor.

A cloud of smoke was then formed.

Not just from the roof however, but from a small explosion of the matōki behind it.

The soldiers coughed and wheezed as they attempted to get their bearings.

They started to look around, asking if everyone was ok.

Responses were shouted regarding each other of their conditions, and they continued to assist those who had been injured from either the collapse, or a mishap with their own bodies.

As they continued to do so…the cloud of smoke dispersed.

They then noticed it.

Off in the distance, had been Yoro Kobi.

Her body now laid softly on the bed she had once waited for her husband on. Her eyes and mouth that were once still open, were now closed off from the world.

Her husband however, was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, what stood in front of them was someone else entirely.

A man dressed in the same clothes as the one they had seen.

Even the blood across his body was the same.

However, this one’s eyes had been incredibly sharp.

Not just in the shape of his eyes themselves, but the very sockets around them provided a narrow, intimidating look.

His hair was far more wild than the other.

The man they had seen prior was a man with a short, almost bowl-like haircut.

What they had witnessed now was someone with a long, wild mullet that had edges spiking outwards both towards them and behind himself.

Finally, there was one last detail.

The man who spoke before had a voice that felt rather calming in sound.

The man who spoke now however, had a far more chilling voice.

Raising his arm, he pointed towards a soldier near the front.

???: [You.]

Bloodfire Soldier: [Eeeie! Y-Yes?!]

Nero: [You were the one who shot her, correct?]

Bloodfire Soldier: [W-Wha–]

His words were quickly cut off.

Before any of them could see, the man had moved directly in front of him and pierced him through the chest with his arm.

Bloodfire Soldier: [Aaaach—aaaaa—]

Nero: [...You’ll be the first to go.]

Swiftly swiping his arm to the left, a display of guts and blood was splashed on the soldiers as half of their ally’s chest had now disappeared. An empty rectangle that profusely bled out now occupied that very space.

The fear in their hearts only increased at the horrific display.

Bloodfire Soldier: [AAAAAAAA–]

A female soldier attempted to scream, but the heel of the man’s boots was implanted directly into her cranium and caused her now mushed brain to blast through the back and splatter against the walls.

Bloodfire Soldiers: [Damn it all!--PLAC!]

Two soldiers attempted to rush forward towards him to fight, only for their throats to be quickly gouged out. Blood came pouring out of their mouths like a waterfall following the brutal attack.

Nero continued to move forward at a quickened pace, allowing his hands to swiftly deal with those around him. A soldier with a caved in skull, a soldier who had their jaw destroyed, a soldier who had the skin on their face peeled off with Nero’s mere fingernails. A display of blood and gore was shown to the cowering soldiers.

Their thoughts did not resort to the option of retreat, but rather, something else clawed at their minds.

Death.

Death was soon approaching.

Perhaps they could run, but how far would they truly make it?

Bloodfire Soldier: [S-Shit!]

Despite this, one of many soldiers attempted such an action.

They ran and ran, trying to flee the scene as quickly as they could.

Bloodfire Soldier: [I’ve just gotta…I’ve just gotta–AAAAH!]

Their torso made it farther than their legs, as a clean cut was delivered from a distance via a slice-focused blast produced by a single, slow finger.

As some of the soldiers looked back in horror, one had their face stomped into the floor with a single step of Nero’s boot.

Another soldier who had viewed the previous scene in the exact same manner now looked towards their crushed ally, but not for very long.

A blast of matōki was released at incredible speed from Nero’s fingertip, and the highest point of their body had now been their bleeding neck, which no longer had a head to accompany it.

While Nero focused on the two, another soldier took action at that very moment.

Bloodfire Soldier: [DON’T MOVE OR I’LL SHOOT!]

Nero turned around to see a female soldier, pointing her gun at Yoro’s corpse at the end of the hall.

His nose began to wrinkle in anger, and countless strings of matōki were released from his fingers. Each of them held the woman in the air, and tugged at every inch of her body.

Bloodfire Soldier: [NO-NO-NO-I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! PLEASE!]

Whilst brutally torturing the woman, two more soldiers jumped towards him from behind in another attempt to attack.

Bloodfire Soldier: [Now’s our chan–]

Much like the captain before them, their bodies were burnt to a crisp from a wave of matōki released behind Nero.

Bloodfire Soldier: [GCHKK–AAAAAAAAAH]

Continuously pulling on the woman’s body, they all watched as every string of matōki took a piece with it, causing an immediate eruption of blood and organs as the surrounding skin and muscle separated.

Bloodfire Soldier: [Tch! Bastard!--PLEH!...PLEH!...MMPH!….GKH!…]

A pathetic swing of a rifle was thrown towards Nero, who deflected it with his matōki alone. As the soldier stood there, confused over what had happened, his hair was quickly tugged before his face was met with a fist. Then again, and again, and then a final time. A large dent inwards was now formed on his face.

Releasing the soldier and moving his hand outward, Nero used his power alone to call upon his weapon. A disc covered in steel wings came flying towards him, to which he then spun his body around and threw towards three more soldiers after activating it. Their torsos were separated from their bodies as the long scythes that covered the disc cleaved them without struggle.

Sliced.

Gouged.

Peeled.

Crushed.

Obliterated.

Shot down.

Tortured.

Disemboweled.

Caved in.

Torn apart.

Slaughtered.

Broken.

Ceased to exist.

An atrocious list of murder was played out over and over.

Without end.

Until all of the soldiers were reduced to lifeless nothings.

The halls colored in blood, limbs and guts. The man’s outfit now drenched in it.

He stood there, towering over the corpses before him.

He paid them no mind or respect, and after a few seconds, focused on his next goal.

Nero: [They’ve called for assistance only a few moments prior. It would be best to leave now.]

Walking towards his own room, but turning to the hallway on the right, the man shouted towards the door at the end.

Nero: [Varius! We need to leave!]

A response…

…was not provided.

Frustrated, he called her name once more

Nero: [Varius! Do you hear me?!]

Once again…

…not a single response.

Despite not receiving one, the man could sense her presence within the room.

Stomping his way towards it, he aggressively opened the door.

Nero: [VARI–]

What he was met with…was an empty room.

Not an ounce of blood was seen, nor any indication she had been hurt or killed.

But her presence was there.

Nero began to scour the room. Opening closets, looking under beds and drawers, searching behind each of her bears.

The girl couldn’t be found anywhere.

Nero grew anxious over his missing daughter, and noticed something regarding her bed.

The sheets had been moved.

It was an obvious result as soon as the empty room had come into play, but it was something that he had not acknowledged until now.

The only thing that remained there was the bear she held at all times.

Picking up the bear, Nero gazed at it for several seconds, before shoving it into his jacket.

Nero: [...I’ll speak with Mena, and we’ll both return. Doing so in a quick manner is a must. I cannot risk Varius’ safety in the slightest.]

He walked back towards the door, and looked across the hall, focusing on the only lit room within the castle.

Nero: [No. Before that, there is one last person I must speak to.]

Moving to his room and beside the bed, he gently moved Yoro into his bloodstained arms.

Upon grabbing Yoro, something had felt off about the room he had stood in.

However, he had not a moment to focus on such a thing.

Gripping onto her tightly, he gazed towards the ceiling above him and blasted open a hole without the usage of his hands. Following this, he quickly flew away from the palace he had once called home.

With his exit, the castle grew completely silent. Only the sounds of drops could be heard throughout it.

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