Katahane no Riku

[The demon lord throws his own children off the cliff.]

There was a proverb in the demon society.

The many generations of demon lords would drop their children down the cliff, and would only make their successors the ones that survived. This custom wasn´t only done by the demon lords, but it was also popular among the more influential demons.

Leivein Adlar was someone that had once gone through this test.

Even now he remembers about that day. When he was young, his father brought him to a cliff along with his brothers. He remembered the feeling of the bottom of his stomach getting cold the moment he looked down the cliff. The vast sea spread out to the distance under the cliff. While the waves were calm, because the cliff gave the impression like he was standing at the top of a pine tree, he could feel the alt.i.tude in his body. He felt he would definitely die if he was to fall down from there.

“Weaklings that would die only to this much aren´t needed by the Adlar family.”

Saying only that, their father kicked him down the cliff.

Immediately after that, he heard the screams of his brothers following behind him. He didn´t have the leisure to be looking back at them, nor did he have the leisure to be worrying about their safety. After facing an impact that felt as if it would break down his body, he gave a breath while moving his arms and legs in order to oppose the waves. Rather than breathing, saying he was gasping would be a better way to describe it. Sometimes he would end up drinking up some of the sea water, which would then linger at his throat.

It was painful, agonising, and exhausting. By the time he realised, when he couldn´t move his arms and legs to the point it felt as if they had become made of lead, he had already hit the sh.o.r.e. He remembered how his wings at his back were weighing him down, heavy as if they were a lump of metal.

With his cheek onto the white beach, he glanced over to the distance. There was somebody that collapsed. Leivein remembered seeing those clothes that person was wearing. The wind blew at his clothes and hair, making it flutter left and right.

He tried to shout for the name of his brothers, but because his throat was dry, only air would come out when he opened his mouth. Because he couldn´t raise his voice, and because he felt dull to move, his eyelids started to become heavy. Even though he was only a child, he intuitively felt the fact that his [death] was nearing.

His brothers were dead. He was probably also going to die.

Facing such reality, his heart started to tremble.

His body started creaking left and right. A pain that felt as if it ran through inside his bones started to spread throughout his body. Because of the sea water, his body became cold and he couldn´t stop his trembling. How much would of a relief would it be if he was to die and finally be released from all this agony? Having such mesmerizing thoughts, he started to feel he should let the sleepiness wrapping around his body take over his consciousness. But at the same time… he also wished he wouldn´t die.

He didn´t want to die at a place like this. He still wanted to live.

Leivein wanted to go back to his home, even if he was only to be away from the sea a little. Putting all his heart, he was able to move a finger. Even though he made all the effort, all he was able to do was to scratch the sand. He couldn´t make any progress at all. But even so, he mustered strength deep from his heart and moved forward…

It was at that time that it happened.

“What is the matter, boy?”

He saw a foot.

When he raised his face, he saw a young girl that was looking at him curiously. She had magnificent horns, a refreshing golden hair wok, beautiful round eyes filled with curiosity and a smooth white skin.

“You still want to live, don´t you?”

The young girl took out a water canteen from her pouch and brought it to his mouth.

“You may drink if you want to live. If you don´t, do not drink. I like demons that have a strong willpower. The Demon Lord army must stand strong after all.”

Seeing Leivein putting his mouth on the canteen, the girl showed a smile.

That smile was like a flower that sprouted in the desert. His eyes were being sucked by that lovely smile.

That demon was Charlotte Demonz.

She was the girl that would take the position of Demon Lord representative after the sealing of the Demon Lord.

—————–

That was darkness.

Being a.s.saulted by the feeling of hurry, Rook Barusak continued his path while dragging his hand over the wall.

At first, light would still reach the cave. However, after going on for just ten meters, his field of view became completely shut by darkness. Even at the times he was at dark places or when he was moving at the night his eyes would still get used to the darkness. However, this time it was completely dark. In this world that lacked any light, his eyes didn´t become used to the darkness. Even if he was to focus his eyes with all he had, it was still only darkness and nothing else.

Even though only a few minutes should have pa.s.sed by now, he felt as if it had already been more than ten minutes.

Because of that, when he was finally able to see a bit of light, he let out a sigh of relief.

The true ident.i.ty of that light was the light green moss. The moss gave off a faint light and dimly illuminated the path. Making use of the light of the moss growing at the stone walls, he carefully proceeded step by step.

“…!”

A brighter light was coming from the corner just a bit ahead of him.

Nine out of ten that was the location of the seal…. In other words, it was the place of his last fight. Rook leaned his body at the wall right next to the corner. With one of his hands, he checked the amount of arrow he had remaining, and with his other one he grabbed his sword.

Just a bit more.

If he was to turn that corner, everything would be over.

As if to bring out his fighting spirit, Rook slowly breathed in and out. And then, he carefully peeked at the corner. Perhaps because he had been walking at such a dark place all this time, just by seeing a bit of brightness, his eyes started to feel dazzled. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to check the situation of the place even if for only a bit.

At that place was a stone hut.

At that open room, the smell of dampness wafted around. He distinctly felt a lonely presence. There was a stone coffin enshrined inside the stone hut. There were torches at the walls paralel to one another illuminating the coffin and giving it a ghastly feeling. Over the stone coffin was someone. When the fire of the torches revealed that person´s face, Rook gave out a sigh of relief.

“…Princess.”

Rook gulped down and compared the situation with his game knowledge.

For the stone coffin to open, it was necessary to sacrifice the blood of the royalty and of a spiritualist of one of the four spiritualist families. If Rook was to let it happen, the Demon Lord would be resurrected and the world would fall in chaos. Looking from his view, it was still impossible to know for sure if the princess was still alive. He could see that n.o.body other than the princess had been brought there; n.o.body of the blood of one of the four spiritualist families other than Rook, such as Raku and Riku, who were also from the same blood. Due to that, the Demon Lord still hasn´t resurrected.

Yes, the Demon Lord still hasn´t resurrected.

Rook didn´t spot anybody else other than the princess. Perhaps they had gone to look for someone else other than Rook for the sacrifice. Though he couldn´t lower his guard just because of that… it was still very convenient for him.

“Princess!”

With all his strength, Rook stepped forward.

It was his perfect chance right now that n.o.body was around. He must not let this chance slip by. His hurried footsteps echoed at the room.

“I came to save you, princess. Quickly, we need to…!?”

However, when he came closer, he finally noticed.

The princess was completely still. Her small nose, well-formed lips, bountiful b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and thin fingers weren´t moving by even a centimeter. Yes, it was as if she was a doll.

“Could it be this is a doll?”

Was this a trap made to lure Rook? As he was pondering over the possibility, he touched her cheek with his trembling fingers. Once he did that, a strand of blood flowed out of her blueish lips. At that instant, he felt his before rising blood pressure suddenly drop down all at once.

He was too late.

He didn´t make it in time.

Speechless, and without even being able to move one step, he could only continue to look at her dead body. Now that he became aware that the princess has died, he realized he needed to bring her body along and escape in order to prevent the seal to be broken. Even though he knew what he had to do in his head, he wasn´t able to move. Repeating his quick breathing, he was able to calm down his quickly beating heart.

And then, when he gave out a long breath, a strong beat of wings broke down the silence.

“…!?”

Rook immediately raised his head.

Having just looketd up, he saw a black figure suddenly approaching him from the of the roof. Recognizing the sharp gleaming blade in the black silhouette was a sharp gleaming blade, Rook was able to recover from his shock. The black figure a.s.saulted Rook with his sword in order to ward Rook away from the princess. The metallic sound and sparks coming from their blades drove the darkness away.

“I shall acknowledge your bravery for coming all the way here by yourself to save this woman, Rook Barusak.”

Frowning, Rook glared at the black figure… Leivein Adlar.

The weight of a boulder was pressed onto Rook´s body. Facing this overwhelming strength that made his arms numb, he clenched his teeth. He knew from the start that demons weren´t easy opponents to the point that one would be able to suppress them with only one hand. Immediately bringing his other hand to support his sword, he shifted from defense to offense. While in reality he wanted to keep defending and wait for his opponent to show an opening, it was clear to him that he would be outmatched if he was to focus only on defending all the time.

“You may regret coming here now.”

“As if I am going to regret doing so!”

Aiming for the gap in Leivein´s armor, he carefully and swiftly swung his sword.

If he is able to blind his opponent´s by using his demon banning power, the silver light, he will be able to go on with the battle more smoothly. However, even though Leivein was about to be blinded by the light, he had already seen through Rook´s technique. After all, he possessed big wings that could even block the arrows infused with demon banning power. Without doubts, he.

Rook wasn´t confident that he could beat Leivein head-on.

However, there was no way he could lose now.

Whether it was for the sake of the game, or for the sake of the world, such things didn´t matter.

“I, for my own sake, will defeat you”

“Try, Rook Barusak.”

Leivein´s great sword that was as long as his own height was swept at Rook´s thin long sword. Even though Rook was a spiritualist, in the end he was nothing more than a human. There was no way Rook could defend against that sword whose attack carried along with it a gust of wind. Being sent flying by the sudden gust, Rook collided against the wall.

“Kuhah!”

A strong feeling of numbness ran through his back.

He knew it was the taste of blood that was spreading in his mouth. Licking his lips that were cut by the wind pressure, he tried to stand up as fast as possible. Carrying his sword vertically, Rook kicked the rough floor and jumped back in. Leivein also went over to attack Rook without wasting any time. The strength and speed of that attack was above the normal. On the other hand, Rook didn´t just recklessly jump at Leivein either.

“…Go!!”

The instant the figure of both swords overlapped over each other, Rook changed the direction of his sword. He magnificently parried Leivein´s attack and sent out a sharp horizontal attack. However, this attack aimed at Leivein´s neck was a half-step away. At his neck was only a shallow reddish scratch. Rook clicked his tongue in his mind and proceeded by bringing out his next hand.

“Silver light!!”

Rook quickly gathered his demon banning power on his sword before Leivein could get in the offense.

As to be expected, even Leivein had to close his eyes against a flash shot at point-blank range. Of course, he was still someone that had climbed up to become one of the generals of the Demon Lord army. At least he could presume that his opponent was aiming for his life now. Reflexively closing himself into his wings, he protected his body.

However….

“Rook, keep pressing onto him! I will cover you!!”

“…!!”

Encouraging words resounded from the entrance.

Even though it had been only an instant that his attention was diverted and that he lost grasp of the surroundings due to having to shut his eyes, it became a fatal mistake for Leivein Adlar.

Rook himself also had his eyes blinded. However, using his intuition and memory, and leaving himself to the the precision in his sword techniques he had been training, he aimed for Leivein´s neck. Being encouraged by Raku´s voice who came after him, he aimed for the neck without hesitations. However, he had made a slight miscalculation. Due to his eyes also being dazzled, he ended up diagonally slashing at Leivein´s left shoulder, cutting it off his whole shoulder along with his arm.

When the demon banning power and the light that filled the whole place settled down, he could see Leivein Adlar breathing roughly. There couldn´t even be seen traces of his magnificent wing remaining. From the cut, a large amount of blood was flowing like a river.

“Hah… Hah… You´ve lost your chance… To bring me down..”

“No, I think my little brother has done very well.”

Before one´s notice, Raku was standing at the side with a proud face.

The white coat she was wearing didn´t suit the battlefield. However, the whole coat was stained in blood.

“Raku-ane…. Your coat…”

“What, I can just change it later.   …You´ve done well, Rook. Now leave the rest to me.”

While saying that, Raku took out a hand grenade.

The power of Raku´s explosives was guaranteed. With just one of them, it was possible to blow Leivein up into pieces. Fortunately, he had lost his left wing, and so couldn´t escape to the sky. He also wouldn´t be able to protect his body. It should also be impossible for him to evade the explosive thrown at him with his body in pain and his consciousness fading away.

Outside, Gortoberuk was now nothing but a corpse.

Inside, Leivein was also half inept for combat.

Once the spiritualists defeated those two, the remaining demons wouldn´t be a problem.

They would be able to stop the unsealing of the Demon Lord. And then, the land of the seal would once again fall into slumber.

With that, they would have finally been able to stop the world from being destroyed.

“””It ends here!!””

The voice of the Barusak siblings overlapped. The hand-grenade was thrown from Raku´s hand.

But it happened at that instant…

“I won´t let you.”

A red haired girl jumped in between them.

With a speed that would make one´s eyes wide-open, the girl jumped in front of Leivein. Not stopping there, she immediately swung her halberd. The halberd flinged the hand-grenade back, blowing up right in front of the nose of its own manufacturer. (TL note: Raku nooo… ;-;)

“Ra-raku-ane!?”

Rook tried to rush over to Raku. However, he wasn´t able to go forward against the brighteness and the shockwave of the explosion. Once the light and the explosion cleared up, there was n.o.body standing there anymore. Lying there was only a coat burnt black that didn´t retain any traces of its original form. Under it was a lump that gave off a foul smell.

“…Such an anticlimactic way to die. But don´t be sad, Rook Barusak.”

The embers of the explosion shined upon the charming smile of the girl that flinged back the hand-grenade… Riku Barusak.

Without being able to follow the situation that had so suddenly turned around, Rook could only look with surprise at the daring smile of his blood-related sister.