Demon

After taking us to the castle, King Heilder leaves us with these words, "Rest up. Your wounds are more severe than you think they are."

"What does he mean 'worse?'" asks Rai.

"Can't you heal yourself with your healing magic?"

"I tried using my healing magic, but it doesn't work."

"Doesn't work? Your Healing Magic is more powerful than anything I've seen."

"I think this is Behemoth's magic."

"His magic?" asks Elsie.

"Magic that obstructs another caster's magic, Anti-Magic."

"Anti-Magic? I never heard of it."

"Of course, you haven't. This magic is not customary. There have only been two casters known to use Anti-Magic. Behemoth would be the third user. It's a power that contradicts the very existence of magic."

"So, can you defeat him?" asks Elsie.

"His body is as hard as a dragon's. And his strength doesn't fall far from my own. Honestly, if I fought him, I would win."

"How are you so sure? He dominated the fight against you."

"True, he utterly destroyed me in our first fight. But do you know what is the most powerful weapon ever?"

They look at each other. "Power and influence?" says Rai, uncertain.

"Yes, those are desirous qualities of success, but it is not the most powerful weapon. The most powerful weapon is information. The more you know about your opponent, the easier it is to plan against them. Behemoth knows about me, but I don't know anything about him. He destroyed me because he knew my limitations and weaknesses. If I can get information on Behemoth, I can win against him."

"But where will you get that information?"

"There is someone here who knows quite a lot about Behemoth."

"King Heilder!?" shouts Rai.

I nod, "Yes, King Heilder knows more than we do. About Behemoth. And about me. If we can pry that information from him, I will have a fighting chance against Behemoth."

"But will he just give us the information?" asks Erika. "He seemed adamant about maintaining secrets about you, Haruki."

"It won't hurt to try, right?"

After resting for a day, King Heilder came to me personally.

He looks at me and says, "I already know what you want to ask. And the answer is no."

"Why not?"

"Behemoth's information is not mine to share."

"Even when he refuses to follow Fate?"

"Fate, you say? What do you know about Fate?"

"Indeed. I know nothing. But that's only because I am always sent back and forth with even more questions than answers."

"As I said before. Your fated meeting with him will soon come."

"You question me about Fate, but here you are repeating what you've already told me."

"Haruki Ryu, you will eventually..."

"SHUT UP!!!" His eyes widen in surprise. "Fate? Eventually? I want to know now!!" My voice echoes like I am in an empty cave. My aura spikes up, and my hair becomes white. "I am tired of those words. Heilder, I am not asking this time. I am demanding answers. Not just about Behemoth, but about me. And if you do not, I will repeat my actions at Trist."

His calm aura rises. His eyes become icy daggers, and the room's temperature drops below absolute zero. In a calm but threatening voice, he says, "Exactly what will you repeat?"

I walk towards him until we are face-to-face. "I think you heard me."

We stare each other down. An aide bursts into the room and screams, "Please stop!! The both of you are suffocating everyone with your auras!!"

We both calm our auras. I look around, and the castle made from ice is frozen solid. I look back at King Heilder, who leaves the room.

"Where are you going?" I ask him. He ignores me and continues forward. I follow along. "Hey, I asked you where you were going." I pull him by the shoulder, and he glares at me. My arm freezes - literally. I thaw the ice with fire magic and run after him.

He finally stops. He enters a room, and I follow after him. I look around the room. One, two, three... twenty children in total. All of them have a blue sigil on their skin. Their limbs are thin and frail. They have pale skin. And all of them have hair as white as mine when I am in Fólkvangr mode.

"What is this?" I ask King Heilder.

They run to him, tugging on his legs. "King Heilder!! We're scared!!" screams one of them while crying.

"Did you stop the monsters that were fighting?" asks another.

King Heilder pats the one crying the most on his head and smiles, "Don't worry. You are all safe now."

What is this? I have never seen someone with an aura this calming before. It's completely different from his threateningly powerful magic from before. And his smile. Since arriving, I have never seen him smile. I look to my side, and the aide that followed us also smiles.

"King Heilder," she says, "has a soft spot for children. He loves them more than anything."

I look back at King Heilder. Or at least the true King Heilder. I turn around and walk out of the room.

"Where are you going!?" asks the aide.

I continue walking away, ignoring her. I can't believe I was threatening to repeat my greatest regret. My mind flashes back to the children's innocent smiles. My heart starts throbbing, and the female voice returns.

"Do it, Haruki. Fulfil my wish. Destroy this town. Destroy this realm. Destroy all seven realms, Haruki Ryu!!"

"I will not listen to you. Now, get out of my head!!" I bang my head against the castle wall, and it starts bleeding. As the blood taps from my head, the voice remains silent. I continue walking until I exit the castle. The guards at the gate look at me, and, surprised, they try to stop me. I glare at them, and then they freeze. I walk until I leave the city premises. My walk only halts when I reach the forest's centre outside the castle premises. I release all my pent-up rage into a large-scale spell, fired up to the sky. The pressure blasts the surrounding trees and snow away, leaving me standing in a crater.

"What am I doing?" I ask myself.

"Indeed. What are you doing, Haruki Ryu?"

I turn around quickly, but there is no one.

"If you want to find me, you should get much more powerful than you currently are." The voice whispers in my ear behind me. I turn around, and still, no one is there.

"No, no," says the voice, once more appearing behind me. "You can be much faster than that."

I spin around and get irritated. "WHO ARE YOU!!"

"My, my. No need to be so feisty. How about I give you a free pass today?" 

"A free pass? What are you...?"

In front of me, a red door appears out of thin air. The round, golden knob slowly turns. The door opens without a sound. Within the frame of the door, a black vortex-like rift pulsates. From this rift, a hand stretches out. The skin of this hand is red and prune-like. Its fingers are long, and its nails are claws. Another hand stretches from the rift. Slowly more of this mysterious person's body comes from the other side of the rift until a monster appears.

"What do you think, Haruki Ryu?"

"Who are you?"

"I am someone you will soon be well acquainted with."

"That does not answer my question."

"Hmm, you're right. It doesn't. Then, how is this for an answer: I am a demon."

A demon? This is my first time seeing one in person. But... "How can you enter Leagard? The demon realm should have been sealed. Without the keys...?"

"Now, now. You don't need to be so hasty for answers. But since I like you, I will tell you a story."

"A story?"

"Yes. A story about the Ancient Magic War."