Haruto watched them escape as he defeated his son with a quick strike. He sighed as he sat down watching the sunshine glow up above him.
"I guess you failed your vow. The demon lives in the dark..." Haruto reminded him as he took him up and took off with ease from his katana's abilities.
He walked across the fields pondering to himself, should he go after them? No, it's too much of a bother... He can do it another day. Today he must return him away to Kamisugawa's Empress.
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"Follow me, everyone! Or do you wish to die!?" Ordered them Akio, panicking as he sprunt across the field grabbing Aldrif and Elliot while Mazoku took Daichi with him, "There's a large chance that he's going to come to follow us soon!"
"You never told me he was this crazy!" Mazoku remarked as he frantically ran. "He was going to kill even the non-demons and he without a doubt took pleasure in murder!"
"I've thought you've already met him?!" Daichi added as she ran with him, "You and he fought before!"
"I have no recollection of me or him ever meeting! I would certainly remember something like that if it happened to me after I regained my body!" He replied.
"No matter! This maniac is going to get us if we do not flee! Where are we going?" Aldrif asked him confused.
"When Haruto was trailing me I had to return to some friends. It's time I do it again for you all..." Akio responded.
"By friends do you mean other demons?" Elliot asked him, very hesitant and with tones of reluctance.
"We have no other choice, Elliot! We are travellers remember? The kingdom and samurai see us as enemies once they find out we've allied with a demon!" Aldrif yelled as she continued running with them.
"Well let's speak over it once we get far and far enough from him," Mazoku howled.
"Once we get to that mountain we can finally perch there where it's close to the Hideout of the Demons!" advised Akio pointing over to it.
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Haruto dragged Rei along with him as he walked through the fields of flowers as he looked over at the Kamisugawa fortress in his distant eyesight. He brushed past the white daisies and strolled across the poppies. He continued to hike across the hill and smiled towards the roads close to him. It was long until he was close to the people of the kingdom and most of the time he stayed living in the outskirts slaughtering demons away.
As he walked past the people, they ran away from him as they looked at his frightening gaze and the dark look of him dragging a bloody boy across the crowd.
"It's bleeding!" Cried a woman as she let out a shrill scream.
"Ah I must've slit his arm accidentally or it may have been some rock I hit against him while I trekked..." He said to himself as he looked down on the long trail of blood behind him until he took a punch to the face.
A dozen of royal guard samurai appeared as the leader punched Haruto down. They looked at him with rage and a cold look towards him.
"That was certainly quite unjustified. I request an apology-!" Haruto remarked getting another punch to the face.
"Unjustified! Traitors like you should be killed on the spot but the Empress was merciful and let you be just exiled!" The guard replied but was cut off by Haruto.
"You mean I was unable to be found by any of you all so the Empress has given up and declared an exile to me as a way to save her skin from humiliation and wear that fake crown high..."
"You dare!?" He angrily proclaimed and attacked him with a katana only to be blocked by Haruto who held up his katana and then bounced them away with his electrical strike.
He created a wave of lightning circling him and widening as it came closer to them and as it was a brush away from their nose, the volts ready to attach and pull them into excruciating pain, he was smitten with a crimson hit of lightning absorbing his strike and diminishing it away.
"They've absorbed it..." He commented as he held a stone that fell from it, "Ah the Empress' lackeys... The wizards."
Above him, he looked at a group burly and muscular men hovering above him, they pulled their capes away showing their royal crests tattooed to their chests.
"Why hello there Haruto. I thought you've been exiled..." The middle one asked.
"Oh well, I must have forgotten. You should have reminded me, Najim." He said seething.
"Maybe I can," He muttered cracking his knuckles and looked at him with determination as his eyes lit red.
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"I am fairly sure we lost trail from him. Do you think that he had gone off somewhere else?" Elliot asked as they got the fire ready while they sat near the mountain.
"Scary thought really," Aldrif remarked, "He's so powerful that he can go off and deal with us in another day..."
"Or maybe he's just seriously lazy?" Mazoku said trying to set a campfire up.
"You know I could easily do that," Elliot advised him as he snapped his fingers and generated a small spark of flames into the wood.
"I was trying to stall for time..." Mazoku hissed at him, "You fool..."
"I heard that," boomed Akio looking down on them with a menacing aura, "I thought you would be a lot more accepting to that idea..."
"Because I'm a demon as well? Well, you need to understand that I'm nat the same as many demons. My struggle doesn't dictate theirs so I'd advise you to keep that thought to yourself," Replied Mazoku to him harshly.
"I thought you may wish for them to help you understand what your new ability might be."
"I tried asking you where I went to before but you only raised more questions for me."
Aldrif and Elliot looked at each other shrugging and looked at Daichi for answers.
"It's a long story." She responded to them.
"Really?" Inquired Elliot at her, "I mean we have some time to-"
"Oh no, it's not a long story. I tried deterring you. It's just very complicated and I'd rather not get into it," interrupted Daichi
"I see well we may have no choice," Akio continued ignoring them.
"We'll see. There are many other choices to make..." retaliated Akari.
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Haruto rose above to strike down his enemies and Najim struck him with a blasting meteoric attack, "My stones shall vanquish your lightning!"
"Insulting really... You try to battle me, Haruto Akari, with stones. You will know death sooner now." He responded as he blocked that hit.
As Haruto's blade began to grow with controlled lightning as they faced one another in midair with hostility to another. They were going to hit one another until they were ordered to stop.
"ENOUGH!" Ordered the Empress. A chilling feeling came up both the fighters' spines and they eerily stopped moving.
"Akari. I see you returned with your son... Well, then I presume he failed to kill the demon Mazoku. A failure to a vow can be very deadly to a person of his calibre..."
"It's my fault that he failed. I needed him back and there was a chance he could've died. He's significant to my plan," lied Haruto.
"I see. Well, you are already on thin ice so I suggest you to immediately to tell me what your plan is. If it attracts my attention then you can live." Requested the Empress.
"Bold of you to think all of your soldiers can kill me-"
"Quiet now. Get to your plan or I will prove how bold I am."
"We start a war. A great war on the demons with the samurai and we wage it over them to eradicate every demon. We can even kill Mazoku finally. No, we will kill Mazoku..."
The Empress walked over towards him as she thought to herself and asked him, "How would we show the declaration of war then?"
"You'll see..." He said as he launched himself to the highest spire which annoyed some of the royal workers next to the Empress but they were stopped by her. She needed to know what was going to happen.
Haruto muttered to seemingly himself, "It's time."
As he held his katana, firmly a spiritual string of lightning began forming around it and he then shouted at the top of his voice, "DEMONS!"
Out of nowhere, a golden dragon made out of electricity appeared echoing his voice to a point where it was loud from everywhere in Kamisugawa.
"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH ON SEEING YOU MISTAKES OF THE EARTH RAVAGE OUR LANDS AND DEMOLISH OUR PEOPLE! SO AT WHERE I STAND I PROCLAIM THAT EVERYONE HAS HAD THEIR LIMIT! NO MORE DO WE ALLOW THIS TO OCCUR! TO ALL THE GOOD-WILLED FIGHT ALONGSIDE I TO ERASE ALL DEMONS! THIS IS A DECLARATION OF WAR ON ALL DEMONS AND THEIR TWISTED ALLIES!"
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Mazoku and the group looked at the lightning from the spire and their faces turned pale from the declaration.
"We have no other choice..." Mazoku remarked when it was over.
They all nodded looking at the mountain where the demons dwelled, ready to go to.