A Demon's Tale

The night sky slowly began to fade as the sun approached from over the horizon. Within the darkened light of the clouds were several long airships that continued to glide past the vast land below. Within these slow aircrafts sat a man with jet black hair, that was slicked back from his forehead and cascaded down to his lower back.

He watched the light from beyond the mountains moving towards the sky above. All the while, he continued to sharpen the massive cleaver-like sword in his hands. He did not pay it any mind, yet his focus remained absolute, without a single error in his work being made.

Behind him were the sounds of boots echoing through the hallway in which he sat. As they drew closer, a voice rang out to him.

???: [Oi! Bro! What’re you sitting out here for?! You bored or something?]

Turning his attention to the girl who stood nearby, he witnessed a familiar face that provided a smug grin back to him. Someone who had jet black hair, just like his own. Unlike the man, however, her hair was much more smooth in appearance as it moved down her back. Additionally, she had kept the bangs of her hair in front of her forehead, rather than slicking them back. She wore the same black and white outfit that the man had worn, yet it was presented in a loose fashion. The button on her pants was undone, several buttons of her jacket and shirt were also not in place, presenting her stomach and upper chest for all to see. In one of her gloved hands sat a katana, which she gripped onto tightly.

Seeing the display the girl had presented, a deep annoyed sigh was let out into the hall.

???: [Fix your uniform, Ryuka. We aren’t here to play.]

Ryuka: [Haaah?! Hey, it’s not my fault it’s too damn hot in here! Seriously, they could at least turn on the AC or something.]

Picking at the front of her jacket as she attempted to air it out, the girl responded in her own irritated fashion.

Once she finished expressing her complaints over the temperature of the ship, Ryuka lifted the sheathed katana in her hand and used it as a tool to stretch her back.

Ryuka: [Riiiight, as I was saying, you bored or something? I’m getting all cramped up in this place since there’s nothing to do, so I figure we could go a few rounds, you know? Slug it out a bit before we get to the real deal.]

Though he listened to her words, his attention remained on the world outside.

???: [Not right now, Ryuka. If you really need to train, ask someone else on the ship.]

Furious stomps from a single boot were unleashed upon the metal below them.

Ryuka: [Awwww, come on! You know these weaklings aren’t shit compared to us! We’re the strongest here! There’s no fun in fighting someone at a lower level!]

Once again, his attention did not change.

???: [Training for a battle should not be considered fun in any regard. Your focus should be to prepare for what comes next.]

Gazing towards the seated man, Ryuka released a dissatisfied noise from her lips as she moved towards the opposite side of the room, where she now slouched her back against the wall.

Ryuka: [Pffft…Boring. I’m here to have a nice thrill! What’s the point in having a battle if you can’t have some fun with it?]

Looking around the room, she attempted to find ways to distract herself.

…However, the lingering question within her mind did not disappear.

Avoiding the possibility of making eye contact, she gazed off into a separate section of the hall. For the first time, the loud energy of her voice faded into a much more somber tone.

Ryuka: [...Are you still thinking about Ryuji?]

The man ceased his sharpening, but continued to look out of the window beside him.

A dead silence filled the air between the two.

The answer was crystal clear from that alone.

As she received her unspoken answer, Ryuka energetically turned to the man seated before her.

Ryuka: [She’ll be fine! She’s strong, just like us! She might be young, but–]

???: [You should have stayed home with her.]

Ryuka: [Wh-What…?]

His simple words stung her heart, and caused a great fury to reveal itself from within.

Grabbing onto the collar of the man’s jacket, she yelled out to him.

Ryuka: [Oi! Ryuusei! Repeat that shit again, I dare you!]

For the first time, the man’s expression matched her very own.

Anger rested in his eyes as he spoke.

Ryuusei: [What I’ve said is the truth! Ryuji is far too young to be by herself! She might be able to take care of her needs, but what if she’s attacked?!]

Yet again, her heart was stung.

She slowly let go of the man’s collar as her anger faded, now being replaced by the same somber appearance as before.

Ryuka: [B-....But…]

Ryuusei: [This should have been a matter that only I would take care of. It would have been better for her if you just stayed home. Besides, she has nothing to do there. Mom and Dad have already passed, and we’re out here. If we don’t make it back home, there won’t be anyone left for her.]

Ryuka: [This battle involves all of us! That’s why I came!]

Ryuusei: [You joined so you could become a “legend” in history! Your entire reason for being here is to have fun in battle! There’s nothing correct in any of your reasons! You came to make a fool of yourself, Ryuka!]

Explosion after explosion, the two let their anger loose against each other.

A fang now appeared at the bottom of Ryuka’s mouth, which continued to dig into the top of her lip as she drew blood from it.

Casting his eyes down, Ryuusei spoke to her.

Ryuusei: [This isn’t a game, Ryuka. You need to learn when to grow up and move past your own foolishness.]

Her anger only increased as the words latched onto her ears.

Clicking her tongue in frustration, she turned her back towards the man and stomped down the hallway in front of the two.

Raising his eyes in concern, Ryuusei questioned her as she left.

Ryuusei: [Where are you going, Ryuka?!]

Ryuka: [SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU AREN’T!]

The opening of an iron door could be heard, soon followed by a loud slam that vibrated into his eardrums.

Closing his eyes and turning to face the window again, Ryuusei spoke to an unknown girl.

Ryuusei: [Ryuji…Stay strong for us.]

Sending his words into the wind, he looked towards his elongated sword and continued to sharpen it like he had done before.

The explosive conversation by the two who shared similar appearances had ended.

The way in which it had ended…was rather common for the older brother, Ryuusei, and younger sister, Ryuka.

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Fear started to rise without a moment’s hesitation within one of many large airships. It was only natural, however, as many received terrifying glares from an angered girl wielding a katana. Many believed that her current look in uniform was possibly due to an onboard fight, which she had most likely won. This only created more intimidation for them as they saw her.

Moving past several rooms within the ship, she quietly lashed out with her words.

Ryuka: [Damn it!...Fuck!...Stupid fucking Ryuusei, not understanding a single damn thing! Why doesn’t he get it?! The whole point of going to battle like this is to go down in history! You’ve gotta do something big to be with the all timers! That’s what I’m gonna do here! That’s what I’ll accomplish! I’ll be a warrior that people remember, no matter how much time passes!]

Thrusting her arms in the air as her feet did not rest, she ferociously roared out into the empty hall.

However, the hall had not been entirely empty, as right behind her, resting by a set of stairs were–

???: [Really? That’s it? You’re just gonna go into battle and die? You really are boring.]

The Ryuka who was temporarily filled with enthusiasm morphed in form to show her intimidating self once more.

Turning her body around, she walked over to the stairs behind her to see a girl staring back up at her with pinkish-red eyes, along with hair of the same color that was being covered by a patched multicolor robe, laying atop the stairs. Beside her sat a woman with dark purple eyes and hair of the same, braided into a ponytail, who rested her head against her hands as she looked at the blank iron wall. Similar to the girl who had worn a robe beside her, the woman’s uniform was much different than that of Ryuka’s. A white button down was presented, which looked as though it was ready to burst due to the size of her chest. A purple skirt rested by her hips, with sheer leggings beneath it and purple fur boots at the end of her figure.

Moving her attention to the girl in the robe, Ryuka spoke with her teeth harshly clashing.

Ryuka: [The hell did you say, brat?]

???: [I said it’s boring. I mean, if we’re being honest here, it really is. Right, Sena?]

Sena: [Hm? Oh, sorry, I was distracted. What did you ask, Tari? Oh! Hello, Miss Ryuka!]

Tari: [See? She’s so bored over what you said that she didn’t even acknowledge your existence.]

Though Sena had not paid attention for her own odd reasons, she took notice of the conversation at hand once Tari called out to her. This, however, was merely a tool for Tari to use against the enraged Ryuka.

Growing annoyed at the comments, Ryuka provided a question of her own.

Ryuka: [Alright then. Since you wanna act so high and mighty, let me ask you this, what’s your goal here?]

Tari: [That’s simple. Surviving.]

Ryuka: [Oh? Your goal is to survive?]

Tari: [We aren’t exactly welcome here, are we? Especially after that whole scene, it doesn’t exactly paint a good picture for us. So yeah, our goal is to just survive. Once everything is said and done, we’ll probably just live out our lives as normal.]

Ryuka: [Pffft…]

Tari: [Hm?]

Ryuka: [HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MAN, WHAT A JOKE! SURVIVING?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]

Irritated over the sounds of Ryuka’s laughing, Tari began to sit up as two sai fell out from her robe and into her hands, which she quickly grabbed onto.

Tari: [You wanna go, Ryuka? You should know that I won’t exactly hold back against you for laughing at that.]

Ryuka: [Pffft–Oh, please! As if a weakling like you could even afford to hold back! No, I don’t think I’ll take you up on that. The strong need to head for the strongest, after all! What’s the point in fighting someone lower in position when all it’s gonna do is make your skills rusty? Aiming high is where it’s at! That’s where a warrior gets stronger!]

Pulling out her katana, she pointed it directly to Tari, mere inches away from gouging an eye. As the roar of steel filled the room, the sounds of guns cocking could be heard twice close by. Turning her eyes that were coupled with a smug grin, she met Sena’s own which now paid full attention to Ryuka. She could not see the weapons, but she had already been aware of where their master was. Moving her gaze back to Tari’s own, Ryuka opened her lips.

Ryuka: [Now, listen. I’ll fill the two of you nitwits in. Battles like this aren’t about surviving, or dying, or anything of the sort. People go into these things for glory! The glory of your name! The glory of your history! Absolute glory! There isn’t a single thing to war other than fighting for yourself! Who cares about the rest, it’s all about what you get out of it! That’s how it works, and that’s how it’s always worked! There’s been some interesting people in the past. People who haven’t exactly been the kindest to those around. With this battle, I’m gonna show those people just how easily I could kick their asses, and why they don’t mean jack shit in the world! All the while, I’m gonna go down in history as Ryuka the Great! The unstoppable Ryuka! The Beast, Ryuka! That’s who I’ll be! So if you don’t want your heads rolling on the dirt in battle, I recommend you start eating from it when you’re in my presence!]

Sheathing her katana, Ryuka confidently strutted away into a different room altogether.

Watching as she left, Tari spoke to the woman beside her.

Tari: [Talk about a narcissistic idiot. Do we really have to work with her?]

Sena: [Well, I don’t believe we have much of a choice, Tari…Though I wish we did, she kinda scares me…]

Tari: [She annoys me, personally. To think that she’s older than me.]

Sena: [I am also older than you!]

Tari: [You sure are, Sena. You sure are.]

As a joyful reply was given by Sena, Tari moved her body back down onto the stairs to once again rest.

Though many were still unfamiliar with each other, tensions were already starting to rise within the ship.

Soon, the battle that many of them had awaited would arrive.

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