A Demon's Tale

Past the window of a small house had been a woman with long purple hair, who calmly slept through the night. Though she lived alone, she did not mind such a scenario unfolding for her. After all, she had been happy to see her brother receiving the love he deserved. She was already gifted with a beautiful sister in-law and an adorable niece. What more could she possibly ask for?

In the midst of her sleep, the light of the moon that had brightened the very room she slept in had faded in its entirety. To many, this would be a blessing more than it would be a curse. However, she was quite fond of the natural light such a thing had provided. Thus, the disappearance of such a thing caused her to slowly wake up, only to see–

???: [AAAH! WHO ARE YOU?!]

Staring at the window, she gazed at the figure who continued to float on the other side. A man drenched in blood, with a long, black, spikey mullet. The window had been closed, and as a result, he would not be able to speak with her. However, this man had a special tool at his disposal, one that had been given to both him and this woman since birth.

???: [Mena. It’s me.]

Speaking within her very mind, the familiar voice echoed through her body. It was far colder in tone than she had remembered, and a smidge deeper, but she recognized it to the fullest.

Mena: [B-Brother…Is that you, brother?!...What happened?!...Why do you look like that?!...What’s with all the blood?!...And–]

Looking into her brother’s arms, she saw it. Another familiar face that had not changed, with one exception. Their eyes portrayed no signs of life, as if their soul had already left their body.

Widening her eyes in horror while her tears began to flow, Mena asked her brother an additional question.

Mena: [Yoro….What happened to…]

Nero: [Yoro was killed.]

Mena: [What…What do you me–]

Nero: [There isn’t a moment to explain. I need your assistance at this very moment. Varius is missing, and her safety is at risk.]

Mena: [Wha….This is….This is too much…Why…Why woul–]

Nero: [Listen to me. There is a rather high chance that you will be at risk as well. For now, we must leave here and return to my palace. Before that, there is someone I must speak with. After I am finished, we will begin our search for my daughter. Is that understood?]

Her body trembling in fear and sorrow, Mena hesitated to respond. Far too many things had happened within the span of a few hours.

Mena: [Brother…I need to ask…]

Nero: [Speak, but do so quickly. Our time is finite.]

Mena: [The reason you’re covered in blood…Don’t tell me…Don’t tell me that it happened again…]

Nero did not respond. His small, sharp eyes kept their focus on the sister in front of him.

Mena: [Brother!...Please tell me I’m wrong!...Please!]

Though his face did not change from seconds prior, Nero spoke to her.

Nero: [I will explain in due time. The only piece that should be known is that this world is flawed. Incredibly flawed. We shall fix that with our own hands, and rid the world of the corruption that plagues the land. Are you with me, Mena?]

Mena: [B-Brother…This is far too much…I can’t….I can’t just decide som–]

Nero: [ARE YOU WITH ME, OR ARE YOU NOT, MENA?!]

Mena jumped back at the loud eruption of her brother’s voice. She had heard him yell before, but it was not very common at all. However, this was the first time that his yell was directed towards her.

Nero: [You will not be targeted at any point in time, I can assure you of that. However, if you do not join me now…I will not return for you. Keep that in mind.]

Panic filled her body as Nero's chilling sentence was uttered. There was not a moment to think. All Mena could do was shut her anxious eyes and clench her fists hard enough for blood to leak out. After several seconds of worrying hesitation, she spoke.

Mena: [...I'll…I'll come with you…]

Nero: [Thank you, Mena. Let us hurry, there is someone waiting for me.]

Opening her window, Mena slowly moved out and climbed onto her brother's back. Feeling the wet blood touching her body caused her to feel sick. However, to avoid any additional problems with both herself and her brother, she held back this disgusting feeling for as long as possible.

The two flew off in order to reach their next destination.

△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼

A large grassy field surrounded the dark cave of the land. Such a location was rarely ever visited, however, there was an occurance on two separate occasions in the past.

Once by a little girl who desired to roam free.

And the other…

Mena: [Brother…What is this place…]

Nero: [Stay here, Mena. If anything goes wrong, I will join you momentarily. For now, I must speak with someone inside.]

Mena: [O…Ok…]

Watching as his sister nodded to him, Nero continued to move towards the cave. The spurs of his boots filling the sound in his ears, and the wife in his arms as the only thought on his mind, he continued his dignified march until–

???: [Well now, there's a familiar face…]

Nero: [You should already be aware of why I am here.]

In opposition to the cheerful sound of the unknown voice, Nero responded in a stern, cold tone.

???: [Oh, don't worry, big guy. I know exactly what you want, and how we'll go about this. But I've got some good news to go along with things too. I made special preparations! I've got a whole party waiting for our greatest show! As for our starting course though, let's set a scene they won't forget!]

A final sentence echoed into Nero's brain.

???: [Our grand beginning to the new world will be like no other!]

Mena watched as her brother disappeared into the cave.

The curtains of the end would soon rise upon the world.

△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼

???: [THAT'S A LOAD OF BULLSHIT, HELIG!]

A thunderous roar erupted into the divine palace of the gods.

Due to an emergency call from Helig herself, many of the gods had arrived within this very place to learn and deal with the situation at hand. The unfortunate truth however had been–

Helig: [What I speak is the truth, Kōkatsu.]

Kōkatsu: [BULL FUCKIN' SHIT! THERE'S NOT A DAMN CHANCE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!]

Slamming her fist against a large round table, Kōkatsu continued to yell towards her fellow gods.

Kōkatsu: [I've known ‘im for ten years now. I've spoken to ‘im almost every week. He's a polite dumbass, and not the best at dealin' his problems, but he ain't the type to pull that shit! It has to be a setup!]

Patri: [T-T-The reports w-were very descriptive with the r-r-results–]

Kōkatsu: [I DON'T GIVE A SHIT 'BOUT REPORTS OR RESULTS! THIS AIN'T HIM!]

Silvia: [Kōkatssssu…]

Noticing Kōkatsu's expression, Silvia quietly called her name. She turned to face Silvia, constantly taking large breaths as if preventing herself from breaking down.

Kōkatsu: [Sil…Ya agree with me here…right? This…This ain't the Nero we know…]

Silvia held her head down, displaying where she stood within this argument. Kōkatsu shut her eyes in frustration, clenching her fists as hard as she could but stopping herself from breaking anything. Her teeth created constant sounds of pain as she struggled with her own feelings.

Looking towards Kōkatsu, Helig spoke once again.

Helig: [We need to handle this situation with the utmost care. Kōkatsu, I need you to contact the succubus for me. The safety of the original gods is of the utmost importance at this moment. She shall secure and protect them for the time being while we deal with the threat at hand.]

Kōkatsu's face began to twitch in anger as she looked back up to her.

Kōkatsu: [Ya want me to tell her…?! Do ya have any idea….ANY IDEA…on how devastated she'll be?! For even one moment, did ya consider how this would affect everyone?!]

Helig: [Is that an important matter at the moment?]

Kōkatsu: [...You should really consider yerself lucky that there's more than jus' us in the room. You'd be a damn stain on the wall if there weren't.]

Clicking her tongue, Kōkatsu turned to exit the room while pulling out a phone from her hakama.

Kōkatsu: [Tch. This day went from great to pure shit. What a damn annoyance.]

Stomping against the floor with her geta, Kōkatsu exited the room.

As she clicked on the icon labeled "Shiro" on her phone, she pulled out her kiseru and quickly lit it within her hand.

△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼

In a washroom surrounded by steam, a woman with pure white hair stood in the shower with her hands against the wall. The hot water continued to flow down her back as she smiled.

Shiro: [Aaaaah. Today's been fantastic. Everything on my list was accomplished, I had some nice extra time on top of that, the party was great, and now, what comes next to top it all off!]

Caressing her body, Shiro continued to grow happier and happier as she thought of the day.

Shiro: [I really wanna visit them again. Especially little Varius…Aaaah. I really couldn't get enough of that cute face she gave me.]

Getting lost in her thoughts, Shiro continued to enjoy the space she had been in.

Suddenly, from outside of the shower, Shiro's phone began to ring atop a nearby shelf.

Having her train of thought interrupted, Shiro grew confused as to why she was receiving a phone call at this time in the night.

Shiro: [Odd. Maybe I forgot something at their castle? I can just grab it tomorrow…but if I recall correctly, I got my bag and that's all that was brought. Maybe it's Kō?]

Though she had paused her cleaning to question who had been calling, she continued to scrub her hair as she realized what would happen.

Shiro: [Well, I have the voice-mail set so that it'll read out what's said. I don't have to worry about it too much just yet.]

And thus, after the ringtone had ended, a familiar voice came on.

Kōkatsu: [Shiro… s’me. It might be late I know but I've got somethin' to talk to ya 'bout.]

Shiro: [Ah. So it's Kō, just like I thought.]

Gaining the assurance that it had been her closest friend, Shiro calmly awaited her next words.

Kōkatsu: [Ya might not wanna hear it…but s'bout–]

The following sentences echoed through the steamy room.

The hands that were once roughly scrubbing hair had come to a complete stop.

As the words reached her ears, Shiro's once happy-go-lucky expression had morphed into a far more terrified look.

△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼

Amidst the night sky was a radiant, flying white beauty that lit up the dark. Moving at an incredibly fast pace, they continued to dash through the land. All the while she continued to hold a phone to her ear, anxiously speaking to the aggravated person on the other side.

Shiro: [Kō…You're sure? You're absolutely sure…?]

Kōkatsu: [...I'm sure…No…I….FUCK! I don't even know anymore! This shit is annoyin'!]

Hearing the immediate yell provided, Shiro lowered her voice.

Shiro: [Kō…]

Kōkatsu: [I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I jus'...I don't know what to do anymore…This…This isn't real at all…I'm not awake right now… s’all bull…]

Shiro: [What…What about…the other two…]

Kōkatsu: [I don’t know…and I'm terrified to even find out…He wouldn't lay a finger on them, I know that…But…there's no way this happened without involvin' them somehow.]

Shiro: [Where are you right now…?]

Kōkatsu: [I'm bein' drivin' to the castle. For the sake of layin' low, we're doin' this along with keepin' matōki presences as concealed as possible.]

Shiro: [And I assume when you see him–]

Kōkatsu: [...I'm not gonna agree with shit, and I might even rough him up a bit…but I wanna hear what he has to say…Someone like him would have a reason for this…Damn it…FUCK!...FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!]

Kaoru: [Lady Kōkatsu…]

In the midst of Kōkatsu's swearing, a faint voice of a younger girl could be heard.

Kōkatsu: [I'm sorry, Kaoru. I'm so sorry. I jus'...Why…Why is any of this happenin'...]

Shiro: [We'll handle this together, Kō. Just stay calm for now.]

Kōkatsu: [Right…Sorry…I'm gettin' too worked up…Alright. I'm gonna handle things on my end. Ya good on yers?]

Shiro: [I should be fine. I'm heading there as fast as I can, and once I get in, I'll focus on protecting them.]

Kōkatsu: [Cool. Then we should be good overall…All that's left is him.]

Shiro: [You gonna be alright on your own?]

Kōkatsu: [I'll manage. It'll jus' be a lot to take in. Alright, we're pullin' up to the castle. Gotta go for now, Shiro. I'm at the castle.]

Shiro: [Right. We'll talk once we're both done.]

Kōkatsu: [Yeah. See ya.]

Shiro: [Later, Kō.]

Hanging up the phone, Shiro continued her quick flight through the air. As she grew closer to her destination, she shut her eyes as she reflected on everything that had happened.

Shiro: [Nero…You idiot…What the hell happened…]

Countless minutes passed as Shiro continued to fly. Despite being at top speed, her destination had still been a large distance away from where she had started. As the time passed however, she witnessed the location she was headed to. Several large pillars that were interconnected within the middle. The place in which the previous gods before her and the others had resided.

Descending down to reach the doors, Shiro prepared a key she had been given. A key that only the eight had received shortly after they achieved their roles.

Moving the key towards the lock, an uneasy feeling struck Shiro. She was unsure as to why it had occurred, or why it chose now to do so instead of when she had spoken to Kōkatsu. However, there was no time for her to question such a thing. A far greater priority was more important at this very moment.

Unlocking the doors, she opened them as wide as possible before a horrible smell filled her nose. It was a smell that had blinded many of her senses due to the mere potency of it. This smell…was one she had been both familiar with, and unfamiliar with.

Iron.

Though her mind had been a mess due to this smell, Shiro quickly tensed up as soon as she realized what it was.

Shiro: [No!]

Running down the multiple halls of the building, moving further and further from where she had once been, Shiro set her sights on the exact location she was required to be.

Fear filled her body as even more minutes passed. Door after door, she continued to move towards where she needed to be.

Eventually, the very place she required was only a hall away from her.

Bursting open the door, what laid in front of her…

Shiro: [...Wha….What….]

The eight previous gods.

The gods who had ruled over the world long before Shiro and the others had.

Sprawled out in different positions were those exact gods, now covered in pools of their own blood with an empty hole embedded into each of them.

They were dead before she had even arrived.

She had felt responsible for such an atrocity, as it had taken far too long to even arrive at the building.

However, another thought took a much larger hold of her mind.

There was not a single person who could have entered such a building without alerting every military force in the world.

All…except one.

One who had access to such a location.

One who was given a key among the eight others.

Shiro: [No…No…Why would he…]

WIthout a moment to question what had happened, the television screen within the room had turned on without any input provided.

Turning her attention to the sudden change, Shiro quietly watched as the static presented slowly disappeared.

Shiro: [Th-That’s…]

Her voice began to panic, but it was only natural.

After all, what was presented was something that she could not understand in the slightest.

△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼

Yoro: [Being a mom is tough. I have enough to deal with as is with Varius, but I can’t even begin to imagine how much you have to go through!]

Kōkatsu: [I’m a bit of a master at it for the most part, so it ain’t really fair to compare with somethin’ like that. Plus, ya get used to it after a while, and it helps when they aren’t exactly super young.]

Yoro: [Oh? “For the most part” sounds a little interesting. Are there children that even the mighty Kōkatsu struggles to take care of?]

Kōkatsu: [There’s one in particular. I love ‘em with all of my heart. I’d rather die than lose ‘em, but then again, I view all my children that way. Still, that child is special to me. Anyways, movin’ past my own selfish views, I love ‘em, but they sure as hell drain my energy with how energetic they are.]

Yoro: [Really? They’re that bad?]

Kōkatsu: [Yep. Honestly, if Varius were to meet ‘em, I don’t think they’d get along in the slightest. There’s way too much of a difference between the two.]

Yoro: [I don’t knooooooow. Maybe they could help Varius come out of her shell!]

Kōkatsu: [Heh. Maybe.]

Tugging at her kimono in frustration, Kōkatsu thought back to an old memory in the middle of her task. The place she had currently stood was a small elevated room within an incredibly large prison. Glass panels took the place of walls and a long control pad filled with buttons was laid out in front of her. In the middle of this pad was a single microphone that could be easily adjusted in both height and direction.

It was not the safest location for the current purpose. However, it was the closest that could be provided to hold a powerful target.

From here, with enough time, information, and a safe transfer, a much stronger location would be possible.

As Kōkatsu continued to reflect on the past, she felt a small tug on her arm.

Kaoru: [Lady Kōkatsu…]

Kōkatsu: [Right…Sorry…I’m ready now.]

At the call of her name provided by her first daughter, Kōkatsu prepared herself for what came next.

Kōkatsu: [Kagami. The seals are all good, right?]

Kagami: [They feel rather odd currently…but yes, they’re prepared and in use.]

Kōkatsu: [Odd isn’t exactly what I wanna hear, but as long as s’working, then s’fine.]

Taking a deep breath, her eyes changed from their sorrowful look to a much more determined gaze.

Kōkatsu: [Alright. Time to get started.]

Walking over to the glass, she lightly tapped the button next to the microphone before talking once more.

Kōkatsu: [I need to ask this before anythin’ else. The kid, is she okay?]

Her eyes looked down towards the lowest point of the room in front of her. There stood a single, small circular platform. On it, was a man covered in blood-drenched black clothes who had been both chained from every direction, along with small slips of paper, that being kitsune seals, placed across his body in almost every direction. The user of these seals being one of Kōkatsu’s children, Kagami Zennami.

Lifting his head, the man spoke with a frightening disdain coloring his darkened eyes.

Nero: [That is something that I would like to know as well. In fact, I was in the midst of looking before you had shown up and caused such an unnecessary fight between the two of us.]

Kōkatsu: [It was absolutely necessary. I don’t know what the hell has gotten into ya, but that leads me to my next question.]

Acknowledging the feeling rising with her eyes, Kōkatsu bit her lip as hard as she could to prevent it from showing itself. Pressing the button once again, she spoke to Nero.

Kōkatsu: [.....The hell do ya think yer doin’, ya damn idiot…]

Drowned in a sea of sorrow and confusion, Kōkatsu spoke her question to the man.

The interrogation of his actions would soon follow, with something much more horrifying awaiting on the horizon.

△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼