They All Meet

Altuzmal stalked across the cave floor blood dripping from his mouth as a bird scampered behind him timidly, making space away from the menacing claws of the monster.

"You birds have been a delectable treat for me. It's a shame that I cannot feed on all of you but self-control is needed as a leader... If you were all devoured by me then who would be my spies and my informants. This cave system has been quite the haven built by me. Now, Emissary, tell me is this the place?" He proclaimed to the fear-stricken slave.

"It is. Sire it- it... it is the home of t-t-the demon's home. The one w-which the Akari is h-heading to..." It stammered out until it was caught into the paws of the manticore and was dangled by his tail feathers above the savage jaws.

The stench of blood snuck into the beak as the bird froze in fear and then was thrown away by him as the bird laid, looking lifeless. "This is what would happen if you lied... And to your family... I will devour them slowly and with prejudice." Uttered the manticore his eyes fully black until a spark blazed within them. The golden mane ruffled hitting across the hazel fur and then his black wings appeared under the large fur. His tail then retracted out revealing a colossal stinger dripping with venom. "It's time the roof went down."

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Akari walked over to a hut in the forest cutting the trees away with his katana and hiked over the barrage of logs. Elliot got stuck in one of the gaps and was carried by Aldrif instead. "You're absolutely useless... Tripping over a log?" She huffed exasperatedly.

"Really Aldrif? I don't really need your help at all truly and I can just walk on my own." Elliot replied, quite annoyed.

"Enough bickering! What is wrong with you two!?" Shrilled Rei. "We're here." He pointed at a hut where a bandaged man stood in front of. The man looked at them his face full of straw-coloured cloth except for his bright amber eyes.

"Hello Akari... What is it do you seek from me now?" The figure asked moving away his hair and opening the door to the group, running towards him. He walked into his home and laid out a chair for Elliot. "You look like you need a seat, lad." He remarked brushing his long hair away.

"No thanks. I'm just not great at running..." Elliot replied but took the seat anyway shamelessly. "So apparently you can locate a demon for us?"

"I see... It's time then. When sword meets claw and the roar of the beast. The light of the world is coming." He muttered. "Ankoku Mazoku is with Akio. He's over in the forest..."

"Well that's a great coincidence. A little too great..." Aldrif said concerned, "What if you're just sending us to a trap?"

"Not a coincidence. Destiny. This is your destiny to fight against the demon... It will bring peace back. However you won't go there blind and without aid." He said walking away to a room and entered in, locking it.

Aldrif walked out the hut to see through the window but, to her surprise, those were the only windows boarded up with planks fully. The planks had scratch marks on them going over each other. They weren't some beast but were human. She backed off a little as she saw a splash of blood on the corner. "What is this man...?" She whispered to herself.

"Hello. Your friends are waiting for you." Said the figure putting his hand on her shoulder. "You should go to them and give them this." He placed an amulet in her hand and then pointed over to Akari and Elliot looking at them. She nodded not looking at him at all in fear.

"What does it do?" She asked them ignoring Elliot's questions about the man. Her face felt pale. There was a hole in one of the planks.

"Enough Elliot. The Jeweler is a good man yet very peculiar." Akari interjected, "The amulet is meant to help us weaken the demon but he told us to only use it on the purple one. This Akio..."

"Heard of him?"

"No. Not at all..." Akari said walking off. 'You failed again dad...' He thought to himself then turned to declare to them as the sun rose. "By morning the demons fall. Let us wish Mazoku has slept in a nightmare to meet another one as he wakes..."

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"Damn I had a great dream." Mazoku said waking up and walking into the sitting room where Daichi and Akio sat angrily with eyebags.

"Great to know boy. I couldn't greatly sleep with me in a destroyed room and, just as a perfect coincidence, it began to rain greatly." Akio remarked throwing a jug of water at himself to stay awake.

"Well I had to sleep with a thumping noise underneath me. I never knew that you had neighbours, Akio, but tell them to stop punching their home ceiling. It, strangely, can annoy people." Daichi said throwing a jug of water on her face as well.

"Well I guess I used my karma on the both of you. Shouldn't have attacked me blindly?" He chuckled to be splashed with water and replied splashing water away from his face and said, "Why don't you both go to sleep and I'll take care of things?" They tried protesting against it but he put his hand up to silence them. "I can deal with it."

Daichi went over to the room she was going to but Mazoku said, "You're probably still going to hear things over there. Go to mine. It's perfect, just like me."

She laughed a little and said, "You're an idiot Ankoku..."

"Ankoku? Why call me by my first name?" He asked confused lightly.

She flustered a little and said, "Well I guess that's because... Well..."

"Well..."

"Well maybe I don't want to side myself with the people who call you Mazoku in a disgusted way?" She said quickly, thinking on her feet.

He looked back at her thinking and said, "Thank you.", as he left outside. He sat down in the grass and began to meditate to himself. To control himself. To control. Himslef. Control.

Hours passed as he walked through a desert in his mind. He began to sway into a tornado of arms. Demonic arms. His arms. He stood in the eye of the tornado levitating upwards with the arms taking him up as the eye turned to a real eye; the blood-shed eyes then contorted and transformed into a towering jaw swallowing him down but then the demonic body collapsed into itself as he transformed back to his demonic self. "I guess I controlled it for a while..." He said to himself standing up. "Progress is progress-"

"Take this damned brute!" Aldrif cried hitting him in the head as he slammed down to the earth. Akari zoomed to the fallen demon and held his katana electrifed but then a tree root stopped him in his track dividing them as Daichi and Akio jumped in to battle alongside their ally against the enemy. As they stood ready to fight, the same bird as before hesitantly sent out a profuse shreik so high that they didn't hear yet so loud it reached the caves underneath.

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"It will break soon now... I can hear the cry of the bird." Altuzmal said to himself. He smiled as he looked at his slaves of birds. "Legends will be written of the victory of mine. The fall of the hero. They will weep at the coming doom of the blasted kingdom of Kamisugawa." He untethered his wings cackling to himself like a madman. "Akari is here. And so is his doom."