Rupture: Rise of the Demon King

by Milo Woods

  For a moment, Seeko exchanged glances with the others, then turned toward Hatsuko. But when he looked back in Hatsuko’s direction, he was gone.

  “Above!” Keith shouted. He fired pressurized air above them. No response.

  Then, all of the sudden, a high-pitched whistling invaded the airspace. Red flares of flaming rock rained from the heavens. Seeko and Kazuma shielded the majority of the assault and Keith blew away what they couldn’t protect themselves from. A loud snap from behind was the only warning the company got, as Hatsuko ambushed them, swinging his blades madly into the company. Lorissa narrowly dodged the attack while Keith dashed at the demon to counter him. Seeko and Mori moved to support Keith, holding back Hatsuko’s multi-bladed barrage. Then Lorissa summoned a bright light from behind the trio, blinding Hatsuko. Keith took advantage of this, cutting off Hatsuko’s extra left arm with a wind-augmented swing.

  The mountain responded with a tremor. Hatsuko fell back, screaming, then disappeared. More tremors rocked the battlefield, and soon sharp spires of stone shot from the ground. A spire smashed into Keith’s right side, sending him to the ground and nearly breaking his arm.

  “Keith!” Mori shouted. She was at his side, looking at the damage.

  Hatsuko used the distraction to teleport back in front of Seeko, swinging his blades like windmills. Seeko fell back hastily, sending green flame into the deadly blade-storm. The blades dissipated the flame, so Seeko launched a black beam of darkness at the demon. The beam blasted through the blades, connecting with Hatsuko for a moment. But then he teleported again, appearing behind Kazuma. Kazuma ignited the ground underneath Hatsuko, protecting himself and Lorissa from the monster. Hatsuko flipped to the side, swinging his blades at Lorissa …

  … but right then, Keith appeared, blocking the otherwise fatal blow. Keith blasted back the demon and Kazuma followed up with a wave of crimson fire, connecting with Hatsuko squarely on the jaw. Hatsuko disappeared once more.

  Again the mountain rumbled, this time so violently that the volcano erupted. A wicked plume of red lava flew high into the sky, followed by more rumbling.

  “Seeko! We have to leave!” Mori cried over the noise of the rebellious earth.

  “No! Not until we get the necklace!” Seeko shouted back.

  “Take it from me, hero!” Hatsuko burst from the ground, grabbing Mori as he did so. He used his momentum to throw the girl, casting her to the ashen ground and knocking her out.

  “Mori!” Seeko shouted.

  He pulled on all the magic he could from the necklace and launched the dark energy at Hatsuko. His energy dipped as a hundred sharp claws reached for the three-armed demon, but the claws only managed to scrape and scratch. Hatsuko spun around madly, becoming a mess of ash, dust, and rock. He hovered above the whirlwind he created, sending it into the company, who scattered. Rocks and ash went everywhere, forcing Seeko into a coughing spasm. The world became a gray haze as ash scattered into the air.

  Seeko summoned orange fire into his left hand and in his other hand lit his blade an emerald green. The world rocked again. Then Seeko heard the shout of a man in pain.

  “Kazuma!” he shouted. Worried, Seeko ran in the direction of the shout.

  He found Keith and Kazuma protecting Lorissa and Mori. Kazuma had a gash on his head, and Mori was still unconscious, but they were all still alive.

  “Where is he?” Seeko shouted, flame still in hand.

  “He’s watching us from somewhere,” Kazuma said. “I clipped him in the leg, but he returned the favor.” Kazuma pointed at the wound on his head.

  Keith nodded. “Seeko, Lorissa is our best bet,” he said quietly. “She has light magic, which she says is very effective against demons.”

  “Okay,” Seeko said, “so we distract him and you hit him with everything you got.”

  They nodded and stood to defend Lorissa.

  “Keith, can you get rid of this ash?”

  Keith swept his hand across the air. The ash cleared, revealing Hatsuko charging from only several feet away. Seeko was not fast enough and took a cut across the arm. He lost the magic he held in his hands. In a flash, Keith was there, slashing his blade everywhere, and Kazuma was close behind. They gave Seeko enough time to recall the magic, and soon green and orange flew toward Hatsuko. But Hatsuko plunged through the fire, swinging his blades like propellers and knocking away Kazuma. Hatsuko lunged in for the kill, but was blasted back by Keith’s air magic.

  Seeko once more called on the dark hands and a few managed to grab Hatsuko. The demon struggled and sliced at them, but as he did so, Keith jumped at him, cutting off his other left arm. An enraged Hatsuko roared, using his gushing blood as water. He sprayed it at each of the combatants at an incredible speed. The blood pelted Seeko and Kazuma and began to boil. At the same time, Hatsuko lunged forward and the ground responded. A slab of earth echoed in all directions, knocking Seeko and Kazuma back.

  The volcano reciprocated with another eruption.

  Seeko frantically scrubbed the scalding blood from his body, but as he did so, Hatsuko materialized before him and cut at him. The blade was an inch from his face when Seeko remembered something. Turn into fire! Hatsuko’s blade cut through Seeko, but he converted the parts of him connecting with the blade into fire, and then back into flesh. It looked like he was cut through without being hurt, which baffled Hatsuko.

  Lorissa took advantage of Hatsuko’s confusion, firing a brilliant beam of light at him. The white light burned the demon, but he teleported out of the way of it, assaulting Keith.

  “I’m not strong enough!” Lorissa thought with an edge of fear to Seeko.

  “Is there any way you can use my spark to power your magic?” Seeko thought.

  “Maybe. You have to give me permission!”

  “You have it! Kill him before he kills us!” As Seeko said this, he watched Kazuma take another hit across the face.

  “I’ll try, but you have to keep him from teleporting!” Lorissa moved to him and Seeko to her. They grabbed hands right as Keith went down from a nasty blow to the leg.

  Hatsuko raised his blades to remove Keith’s head, but at that instant, another beam of light knocked Hatsuko to the ground. He teleported to Lorissa, but Seeko was ready. As he materialized, dark hands rose from the ground, holding him in place. Again he struggled, but he knew it was in vain.

  Lorissa raised a luminescent palm to Hatsuko. “Sorry,” was all she said, and a beam of light fired into Hatsuko’s skull. He fell, face-first, lifeless. For a moment, Lorissa stood frozen and wide eyed. Then she shakily retrieved the garnet necklace from Hatsuko’s corpse and handed it to Seeko.

  “Let us go, hero,” She said.

  Kazuma tried to nod, but staggered and clutched his head instead. “I’ve had about all I can take from this volcano.”

  Paltri Peak roared as if to end Kazuma’s statement.

  “Are you okay?” Keith asked a trembling Lorissa.

  Lorissa headed down the mountain, shrugging off Keith’s offer for help. “You coming?” she called back to them.

  Seeko scooped up Mori in his arms, and the five escaped the slopes of Paltri Peak.

  / / / / /

  After they left the mountain, Lorissa healed the most grievous wounds with her light and water magic. She woke Mori back up first and together the five of them outran the eruption behind them. Once they were suitably out of range, Lorissa and Mori healed the rest of the company.

  Seeko watched as lava flowed off the volcano and connected with the town on the north side and the forest on the south. The woods ignited as the lava made contact, sending even more smoke into the already ashen air.

  The company spent the rest of the day on the road leading east from Paltri, heading to Linea. The plan, according to Kazuma, was for them to find a boat in Linea and take it down the Linea River to the Vorryl Gulf and from there to Port Merina and the next portal.

  They made camp off the road halfway to Linea. The wide Linea River flowed by, star
kly contrasting the violent volcano behind the company. As they prepared their camp, they watched straggling refuges make their way to Linea.

  Mori took first watch as the rest of the company prepared to sleep. “If the fire catches up to us,” she joked, “I’ll extinguish it with this massive river right here!”

  Satisfied, the rest drifted to sleep, with the exception of Seeko. He moved to her.

  “Mori, I was really worried when he grabbed you—”

  She shushed him and gave him a kiss.

  “I’m not leaving that easily, Seeko,” she said. She held his hand. “Don’t worry about me. Nothing will separate me from you.”

  “Nothing will separate me from you either, Seeko,” Kerodesis joked. “What a load of—”

  “Shut up!” Seeko shouted.

  “What?” Mori moved back, clearly hurt.

  Ah crap. “No, it’s not you, it’s Kerodesis.”

  “Who’s Kerodesis?”

  Ah crap. “He’s—He’s the demon inside me.” Seeko looked away and took a deep breath.

  Mori looked at Seeko with concern but moved no closer. “The demon is still alive?”

  “I can ignore him for the most part.”

  “How is he still alive?” Mori seemed equally disturbed and interested.

  Begrudgingly, Seeko told her everything about the two sparks of himself and Kerodesis. He told her how Kerodesis was the stronger of the two and had controlled the body until the Mother sealed him away. He told her of the voices within and how he could use them to communicate with the Mother. It felt good to let it all out.

  Mori just took it all in, like desert sands absorbing water. She sat quietly when he finished and just stared at him. Slowly, her gaze dropped and she hugged her knees to her chest. “I’m so sorry, Seeko. While we were taking you to the temple, you were fighting yourself in your head.” She took a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m still the same as before, Mori.”

  She drew in the dirt with a finger. “Are you? First your eyes, then the dark magic, and now I know that you hear voices? Do I even know you anymore?”

  Seeko frowned and looked away. “I’m still the same.”

  The pair sat in the awkward silence, watching the river flow. When Mori said no more, Seeko moved to his bed. He lay down and tried to sleep, but his restless mind kept him awake for a long while.

  He was still the same, wasn’t he? He tried to convince himself that he was, but the voices and the orange spark reminded him that he wasn’t.

  / / / / /

  The company awoke early the next morning. The smoke of the volcano and the fire had caught up with them in the night, and so they had continued to move down the road, hoping to pass it. They were a few miles from Linea when the smoke finally cleared, bathing the group in the midmorning sunlight. Even though the atmosphere cleared up, the company’s mood did not, and they walked through the morning in relative silence.

  They were less than a mile from Linea when Seeko fell to his knees, holding his head. The Kikoeru began roaring more frantically than normal. Kerodesis linked to Seeko upon hearing this, going into an insane rant. The orange spark bellowed in anger, crying, “Yoshino approaches! I will destroy him! I will break his neck with my teeth!”

  “Yoshino is coming!” Seeko shouted to the company.

  At that moment, a snap came from behind the group, alerting them of Yoshino’s presence. They faced him.

  “Seeko!” Yoshino began. “You survived! Excellent! And you are stronger than ever. This is wonderful news!” Yoshino walked closer to the group. “Did you defeat Kerodesis?”

  Seeko struggled to hold back Kerodesis and the Voice. “No! He’s still inside!”

  Yoshino frowned. “What a shame. It’s also a shame that Hatsuko had to die, but I can work with it.”

  Mori and Keith moved in front of Yoshino, shielding Seeko from him. Lorissa moved behind him while Kazuma stayed where he was.

  “Stay away from us! Haven’t you done enough already?” Mori cried, fear entering her voice.

  Kazuma’s eyes lit up with recognition. “You’re the one who made Seeko do what he did! You killed Grama Company, not him! You’re not a human, you’re a monster!” Kazuma’s sword rose and he took a step forward.

  Yoshino frowned. “I so hate the word ‘monster.’ It brings back memories … No, I am not a monster, and I expect the same amount of respect I give you!”

  He actually shouted, Seeko thought through the haze of the Voice. Had Kazuma actually angered Yoshino?

  Yoshino ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. “Seeko,” he said, pointing to him. “Can you see the vision I have? Can you see it through the Kikoeru? Can you see my plan?”

  Mori looked back to him. “Don’t talk to him, Seeko! He’s using you!”

  Yoshino ignored her. “Can you see it?”

  Seeko shook his head, attempting to clear away Kerodesis and the angry voice. “I can’t hear or see anything but the violence of the voices in my head! There is no reason to it!”

  Saddened, Yoshino turned away from the company. “You will see it with time. I figured out who that Yoshino in your past really was. It is me! Or rather, it will be me. You see, I haven’t gone to Earth yet. How do I travel through time to do such a thing?”

  Seeko knew that Yoshino was trying to goad them into attacking him. He looked to Mori, who stood still, but Kazuma took the bait. With a roar, he launched himself at the demon, igniting his sword as he did so. But when Kazuma’s sword was an inch from his back, Yoshino shifted. He appeared behind Kazuma, sighing as his sword appeared in his hand.

  “I was wondering which one of you would attack me,” Yoshino said as he pierced Kazuma’s back. Yoshino pulled out his sword as Kazuma fell to the ground before him. The demon turned to face them. “Does anyone else want to get between me and my vision?” He shrugged at the stunned company. “You will understand, Seeko, once you see it. Once you understand, all will be made clear.” He moved away from Kazuma.

  “I don’t want to see your vision! Just stay away from me!” Seeko shouted.

  Yoshino allowed Mori and Keith to rush to Kazuma but all it did was confirm what Seeko already knew. “He’s gone, Seeko,” Mori said. She was on the verge of tears. Keith looked from the body to the demon who did it, anger and fear in his eyes. He pulled his claymore off his back.

  “No need to throw away any other lives,” Yoshino said when he saw Keith clutching his weapon. “It was to prove a point.”

  Keith moved between Mori and Yoshino and stood ready. “What point?”

  “I can’t have anyone, not even the Irenic hero, get in my way. My dream is too big, too necessary, for any of you to get in my way. So please do not, or you will end up like him.” Yoshino gestured to the body. “Now, if you’ll excuse me …” With that, Yoshino teleported away.

  / / / / /

  They buried Kazuma in Linea’s graveyard. Kazuma slept on a white sheet, dressed in a pure white robe. Lorissa held his head, crying. Mori and Seeko hovered above him, holding hands. Even the usually stoic Keith was frowning.

  Seeko fell to his knees, tears forming in his eyes. “Why did he have to die? It’s my fault! He trusted me!” He threw his hands into the air and yelled at the top of his lungs, pounding his fists into the dirt. “Yoshino, what did I ever do to deserve this? You took everything I am, and you kill those closest to me. Quit toying with me and kill me already!” He screamed again and cried into the dirt.

  “Seeko,” Lorissa said to him. “Kazuma meant a lot to us, but I don’t think he would want you to act like this.”

  Seeko wasn’t listening. “First he takes me from my home, then he takes my humanity, and now he’s taking my friends.” Horror struck in his heart and he looked to Mori. She was also in tears. “What if he takes her? What would happen to me?”

  “Don’t think like that!” Lorissa shouted inside his head.

  After a moment, Keith spoke. “I didn’t know this man very
well, but I felt like if the rest of the Irenic Empire were like him, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He was a good comrade.” He saluted. “Good-bye, Kazuma.”

  Mori wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled. “After seeing his loyalty to both his country and to Seeko, I know he deserves to be honored as a hero. Even after losing everything, he stood strong. He was a good soldier and a good friend. I will make sure he didn’t die in vain.”

  Lorissa reached for the faint ring high above. “The goddess Nyeri has him and will protect him for eternity. He’s with his family now.” Her hands returned to her chest and she muttered a prayer. Then she bent down, kissed his forehead, and wept.

  Seeko closed his eyes as a tear rolled down them. “He was the first person I ever met here, and now he’s …” Another tear. Seeko tried to regain his composure and Mori squeezed his hand. “He taught me how to fight with a sword … and I took everything from him. I took from him his job, his friends, his fight. I’m sorry.”

  He shifted away from the body, ashamed to look at it any longer. Mori pulled him close.

  The four then wrapped Kazuma in his sheet and moved him to the hole in the ground. Keith gently lowered him in using his wind magic and they began the burying process.

  It was late in the afternoon when they finished. “I don’t understand,” Seeko said after the grim task was over. “What have I done to deserve your trust? I’m just some kid that doesn’t know anything. I turned into a demon and got Kazuma killed. I don’t deserve anything.” He faced Mori and the others. “Even if I am the hero, you shouldn’t follow me. I’ll just get you killed.”

  Keith glanced toward him. “I’ve never heard anyone whine as much as you.”

  “Kazuma is dead!” he yelled back. “And it’s my fault.”

  “It’s Yoshino’s fault,” Mori said. “Don’t blame yourself for Kazuma’s death. We all willingly follow you. We understand the dangers. It’s not just because you’re the hero. It’s because you give us hope.”

  “Getting people killed doesn’t seem very hopeful.”

  She waved her hands at him, trying to get her point across. “You closed two demon portals already. Of course, we helped, but you brought us together.”