Third Eye
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|| CHAPTER 19 | Third Eye ||
"The third eye is the eye that every demon has upon their awakening. One that a sinful heart wields upon a contract finishing at the hands of the devil himself.
"What strength do you think the third eye possess? Hidden powers? Or perhaps something more?
"It's something that only a stained soul would obtain. Through their eternally cursed leader and tainted blood–– they will never find true happiness until they finally repent for their sins."
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He looked at them all in the eye, making them shiver a little before finally answering...
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"She said..."
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–– the male was cut off by a loud, booming voice.
The clans all looked at the source, coming from the maniacal-looking winged demons that had been chasing after Ruka and the other two boys.
The leader who possessed the deep voice from before was in the centre–– in front of them–– leading them in his demonic winged form.
He had a bigger pair of night-glazed wings, with horns on each end of it. They were shaped like bat wings. With layers darker than the blackest skies of Celestia, the KING glowered down upon them, presenting his own presence with a dangerous pinch of death.
Both sclerae of his vision were pitch black as his irises were blood-red. The demon's skin became darker than before–– swarthy and dumpish–– replacing his once tan skin.
The long locks of his once brown hair were blackened as well, however, they were a lot darker than his skin that was slightly grey compared to his wings.
His feet became beast-like as they grew animal claws and furs covered them up to his calves and other parts of it.
The human hands he once owned were also in the same condition as his feet, covering up his form up to his neck.
The sleeves of his robe were ripped off to show his fur-covered arms.
The mark where the lavender-haired boy had once slashed him was still there, opened and drenched in his black-dyed blood.
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The wound, however, was not there as it was before.
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–– they had completely healed, turning back into their once normal state.
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A third eye was also visible under all his night-like hair. The outer part of the third eyeball of this particular one was not black, like the others' eyes.
But rather than pitch black, they were bright gold, just like Eito's own orbs.
The xanthous colour that resembled the sun itself, a sign of the god that gifted their powers from over a millennia ago–– it wasn't a surprise that others would connect the two to each other, considering how similar their eyes looked.
The Head Clans' eyes, including the Head of Ichijou himself, all narrowed at this little detail.
Millions of thoughts and possibilities ran through their heads. Even the once gentle and patient Ichinose Ryoku became quite alerted at this. 'Why were the demon's eyes the same gold as Eito's?' they asked in their heads.
"Hmm? I see that he has the same eye colour as you, huh?" Kizuki confirmed casually while humming, directing the rhetorical question towards the younger male.
"It's that boring, ol' gold–– looking just as bland and apathetic as yours."
"I can see that clearly, Kizuki-san. You don't need to remind me of that fact," Eito retorted back to the salmon-haired male, clearly annoyed about the statement Kizuki made.
However, the way Eito stopped at just that made the older Head Clan think that he wanted nothing to do with the KING or even him to debate with. Taking that in mind, Kizuki crossed his arms and scoffed.
"Also, if you're talking about the disinterest in my eyes, shouldn't I say the same to you? They know no holding back and are filled with bloodlust."
Carrying out their daily lives, one would never think that the ever-so-calm Ichijou Eito would have disputes with the King of Mischief, Ichisaki Kizuki.
Though others who had shared their experiences finishing missions with the pair would know the pain of dealing with their endless banters, accompanied by their deadly glares. Due to their frightening position as Head Clans, others wouldn't dare to step in.
The mockery the two exchanged could never compare to the sparks that went flying all over.
"Now, now. We don't have any time to argue amongst ourselves," Ryoku intervened between the two of them, putting each hand on their shoulders before finally narrowing his pale-yellow eyes to the leader.
Somewhat giving the demons in front of them a crooked smile, the Head of the Ichinose Clan heaved a small sigh and calmed himself.
"I might be wrong... I'm assuming he's the so-called 'KING' of theirs. If not, we're probably in trouble since the true one might be a lot stronger than him."
Kaien and Ryuusei nodded in agreement to the light-grey-haired man's 'little' guess.
They wouldn't really call it 'little' due to the fact that this... 'KING' they're facing was mentioned several times in their records of the history.
A killer without a name.
A mage without a trace.
Continuing to observe him, the KING's third iris was silver in colour, contrasting with the chrome outer part of the third eye. Right behind him, exactly ten more demons, different from the others, lined up perfectly.
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–– there was something about them that felt... wrong.
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Just one look at their appearances and the little ones could tell that they're not someone they should mess with.
Kishi and Kiryuu recognized them as the ones who took their leader away when Kishi managed to slash him. What they didn't get was that the ten of them were still half-human–– in terms of appearances.
The way their mana flow didn't feel like a demon's suffocating aura.
Their mana didn't feel like a human's growing one either.
But that did not change the fact that they're still demons, corrupted ones at that.
'I see you are all still alive. I must admit, you Head Clans were putting up quite a good fight,' the KING's deep voice rang loudly in their head, causing some to hold their own as they ached.
The leader's mouth wasn't even open when he said those words.
'How in the name of Gaia did he said them without opening his mouth?' Kishi thought silently. The others perhaps thinking of the same thing.
'Telepathy, perhaps? No, no, no… No one can use telepathy at this many people at once. Communication Magic? It's possible that he could use any sort of magic, but it still doesn't make sense...'
Kishi was trying to gather all the possibilities on how he said that while Ruka and Kiryuu narrowed their eyes at the two certain individuals behind the demons' leader.
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A familiar maroon-haired butler was feigning unconscious and the other one was the Keeper that they kept trying to free from them.
"Hey..." Ruka called out to no one in particular as he pointed at both familiar figures behind the demon leader.
Recognizing them, he proceeded to continue his sentence, "That's Seimei-dono and... Yuuma-san? The Head Butler... of the Ichijou Family?"
It ended up sounding like a question due to his uncertainty. Eito searched for the young copper-haired male. His glimmering or orbs finally landed on both of the said males.
One of Eito's feet moved a bit. It was as if he attempted to make a run to save both males.
However, with the broken stone ground below him going unmoved, they could tell that Eito dismissed the idea of running towards them.
His facial expressions didn't speak of anything, but Ryoku and Ryuusei could tell perfectly that he's worried for them both. Mizuki and Kishi both raised a knowing eyebrow, chuckling to themselves before going back to what they were doing.
"Don't worry too much. I'm sure it's part of his plan."
"Yeah, Akagi's a tough one to break, even for corrupted demons like them."
Both Ryoku and Ryuusei assured the dark-haired male quietly so that only the three of them could hear. Glancing a little at them, the younger brunet nodded slightly before focusing back on the corrupted demons.
"I believe little Shi-chan is fine right?" Ryoku inquired again, a little concerned for the girl. After all, she was one of his son's childhood friends, and he cared for her like a father as well.
"Yes, she is, Ryoku-san," the brunet answered briefly. Eito didn't even leave one last look at the older man.
Ryuusei sighed at this while closing his shining emerald-green eyes and crossing his arms.
"Always so formal, huh? How ironic. You become quite the monster on the battlefield, Eito," Kizuki stated to rile Eito up as he came from beside him.
"I could say the same for you, Kizuki. You're much calmer and quieter on the battlefield. I admit I have always liked you that way," the gold-eyed Ichijou retaliated with a sarcastic comment. Once again.
Kizuki's eyebrows twitched with utter vexation upon hearing this, resulting in him forcing a smile as a response, but it came out a little crooked than expected.
"You know how to talk back to the elders, huh Eito? Also, why are you just calling me by my name? Where's my formality?" the salmon-haired man asked, more like stated actually. The Ichisaki let out a menacing aura towards the younger man, despite him wearing a smile on his face.
"You're just a year older than me–– a few months actually if you count them by month and not the year. Also, I don't respect you as much as I do with others."
'What blunt remarks... I respect your bravery, Eito,' Ryuusei and Ryoku kept to themselves, contemplating on whether they should calm the two or not.
The menacing auras the pair gave out frightened them to no end.
The younger male kept a straight face while responding to all of Kizuki's statements. Eito didn't even glance at the older man one bit. What was on the Ichijou's mind was not what Kizuki had said to him earlier nor what the others had told him.
He was thinking about the earlier incident where Shizuka's message reached him after they teleport away before the cloaked men became demons.
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A few hours ago...
The rest of the group teleported out of the cave using Kizuki's teleportation magic, a kind of magic that has been inherited by the Ichisaki Clan from generation to generation.
They teleport outside the cave only to find the maroon haired butler fighting off several cloaked men. Along with that, another male kitsune was seen fighting alongside him.
His hair was as white as snow as its locks faded into or–– just like Seimei.
The hair on the side of his face was glazed with magenta. They were separated by a long, thin cyan cloth crisscrossing down. At the end of it was a pair of gold tassels that completed the spirit's oriental looks.
The fox's crimson slanted eyes rivalled the reddest of blood, similar to another certain fox spirit.
He was not wearing any top, but his upper body was covered in white bandages up to his neck, leaving his arms bare for others to see.
The bandages were clean despite his dishevelled hair, scratches and dirt everywhere on his body except the bandaged parts.
On the spirit's waist was a dark-indigo kimono with a broken white inner layer of the said clothing. The top part of the kimono was dangling off his waist, supported by a braided belt made out of three different kinds of leather it seemed.
Akagi Yuuma, the Head Butler of the Ichijou Family, was shouting some orders to the colourful-clothed kitsune while fighting the rest on his own.
"Kaizou...!" he called out to his contracted spirit, "Try not to kill all of them!! We need a couple or more to be questioned later!" Yuuma's orders were spoken firmly while still keeping his hazel orbs on the enemies.
"Affirmative, Master," the fox spirit replied simply.
Kaizou summoned a rod made out of lightning when the sky began to rumble furiously. Flashes of white were showing from behind curtains of grey in the ceiling above.
He then began knocking them out one by one, all the while tying them in thick roots enforced by some rope made with the same lightning he used for his rod.
For once, the stoic-faced spirit looked a tad bit proud at his achievement.
It was probably the first time in a while that Kaizou's grateful for being able to wield more than one element of magic.
After a while, Eito called out for Yuuma, catching the maroon-haired male's attention from the fight. The butler swiftly kicked two of the veiled men, throwing them towards the others in the process.
Other men surrounded him, leaving no space for him to escape.
The young Akagi clicked his tongue silently. "My apologies, Eito-sama, I'll be there soon enough."
A nod was all the younger male received in return as Eito's response. The latter closed his eyes and calmly called out to his children.
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"Ichijou Kazuto, Ichijou Mizuto, and Ichijou Yuzuru."
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The three called males stepped forward upon hearing their names being called.
"Yes?" the three of them replied simultaneously.
This caused Yuzuru and Kazuto to look at each other before bursting into peals of laughter, with Yuzuru covering his mouth and holding his stomach while Kazuto wiped a tear from his sky-blue vision.
Mizuto looked at them like they were crazy, sweat-dropping in the process while wondering what was so funny about the way they replied.
The oldest Ichijou looked at them, exhaling through his nose while closing his eyes. "I hereby order you to assist Kaizou in dealing with the demons. You may use any means necessary as well."
"'Any means?'" Kazuto and Yuzuru sparkled when hearing the two words, closing in on their father to confirm what he said one more time.
"... Yes, any means," the older Ichijou repeated after a small sigh, relieved that both of them are not down in the slightest even though their sister's not here. He glanced at Mizuto and Mitsuru, only to find them frowning.
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'I knew it.'
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|| CHAPTER 19 | Third Eye - To be continued... ||
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