"So then." Inari said as she stood before Akuro. "What now? Are you going to kill us? End the world?"
Akuro laughed. "I'm not going to kill you, so long as you stay an ally. If that story should change, well, I can't say I won't. And as for ending the world, that is not my plan. My plan is to destroy the gods."
"You do realize there will be more casualties than just the gods, right?" Inari asked, "An all out war between demons and gods would obliterate the earth, no to mention changing the human race forever."
"I'm not an idiot, Inari, I realize that." Akuro growled, "But I think it's time for change. The human race is stagnant, stuck in an endless loop of sin and greed. It's about time they woke up and realized there is more."
Onoma glared at Akuro, frowning, "You're beginning to sound like Adeline."
Akuro scowled at Onoma, "Don't associate me with that weak bitch. I don't plan on eliminating or purifying the human race, because in the end sin is a part of their existence."
"'Their'?" Inari asked.
"Yes, their, we are no longer human, don't you get that?" Akuro said, "We are changed, forever, we are not human. At times I wonder if I ever was."
Inari was taken back by Akuro's words then. What did he mean by that? The words played back in her head, 'At times I wonder if I ever was.' What was he referring to? What happened to him?
"You have changed, Akuro." Onoma said. "I don't know you well, but I can tell that you are not what you used to be. I remember how you had no real intent to fight, no real drive, but now you are determined. But at the same time… you seem… corrupt."
Akuro's eyes locked with Onoma's. They glared at one another for a time, as if sizing one another up, then Akuro sighed. "Nothing of what I used to be matters anymore." He looked down at his hands, the metal embedded in his skin, the pain he'd been through. "To bring about change, at times, you yourself must change who you are. You can't expect to change something without making an adjustment to yourself, if you think you can, then that's just naïveté." Akuro raised his eyes to Inari's. "To change is to grow, and to grow is to change."
"What about the person you really are?" Inari asked, she was running on a short fuse now, frustrated with Akuro. "What about stupid anime, video games, living without people bothering you, what about that?"
"Look around you, girl!" Akuro roared, "Look at me, do you really think living in peace is a fucking option?" Akuro reached up to his shoulder, placing his hand on the metal spike. "This world will never let me be free. And so, I will kill the old me, and grasp this world in my hand, only then can I be free of the curse of hatred…"
"Is that what this is?" Inari asked, "Revenge?"
Akuro closed his eyes. "No." He said. "This is retribution."
"It's the same thing, and it never ends well."
Akuro's eyes opened at her words, dead and spiteful. "Since when was there ever a happy ending for me?"
Inari was silent then. She had no answer for him, after all, what did she know about him? In the end, she knew nothing, yet she was acting as if she did. She was just being stubborn, trying to control someone and change someone she knew nothing about. She looked around her, the chamber she stood in, the place she was in, the world above. And she looked at Akuro, his heartless eyes, his pale skin, the metal that bit into his flesh. She realized that he was right, peace was not an option. Deep down she knew that, but she just wanted to bring back the Akuro she'd seen before. Seen before? She realized then how stupid she was, she was trying to bring back someone she didn't even know.
Just then the door opened behind Inari and Onoma, Gozzu walking into the chamber.
"Well," Akuro asked, "where are they?"
"They do nots accepts you as kings.. theys wish to meets yous in, arenas, to tests your strengths." Gozzu said.
Akuro sat silently for a moment, then suddenly broke into laughter. "They want to test my strength? Fine. I'll play their game. How many of them are there?"
"There used to be nines, nows there only sevens, not includings mes, Liliths or Lucifers ."
Akuro stood from his throne. "Fine then. I will fight them, all of them, at the same time."
"I wouldn't do that…" Lilith spoke.
"And why is that, scum?" Akuro asked, putting a foot on her back, pushing her lower to the ground.
"Because.. one of them… you could take on the others, but not him with them…"
"Him? Who?"
"Zealous…"
"Zealous?"
"Yes, he's considered the true king of hell, he is the brother of Azazel.." Lilith spoke.
"Brother? And you say he's considered the true king..?" Akuro asked.
"Yes.."
A smile crossed Akuro's lips. "So, if I challenge him directly, and win, then I'd be considered the strongest, right?"
"Well… yeah."
Akuro turned to Gozzu. "Take me to them."
•
•
•
Two figures sat at the edge of a bridge, staring up at the stars above the pit that was once a famous city. The first figure sat at the edge, her feet dangling, while the other leaned up against a pillar, his arms crossed. Both had hoods pulled over their heads, but from underneath the faint glow of their eyes could be seen, a dim emerald green.
"Well, I can't say I was expecting anything good, but this is worse than I would've expected." The boy said, he was maybe sixteen or seventeen.
"The gods love their games, but it would seem this time it'll bite back at them." The girl spoke.
"You think that kid's the one?"
The girl bowed her head, strands of hazel brown hair whipping in the wind. "I honestly believe he is. I know what he's like, and when push comes to shove, he'll bring around the change this world needs." The girl looked up the sky. "This time he's our hope."
"How can you be so sure?" The boy asked, "what if he decides he just want to kill everything? For good."
"Well, he certainly has the power to end the world, and if it comes to that ending… well I can't say that wouldn't be my fault." She answered. "After everything he's been through, I wouldn't blame him for ending this world permanently. In a way that's the goal though, is it not?"
"You never did tell me how you know him. What's the relationship between you two?"
"A bridge much like this." The girl answered.
"Is that supposed to clear things up?" The boy asked, confused.
"It does, more than you think."
•
•
•
"Alright." Akuro said, approaching a group of gathered demons. "Which one of you is Zealous?"
The Archdemons were a strange assortment of beings. First was Tetsuno, the Incarnation of War. He was a tall, thin demon with a plain red mask over his face. He was lanky and his arms hung below his waist, he wore ragged, torn robes that were held to his body by rusty chains. On his back was a massive weapon twice his size wrapped in cloth. He was twitchy and his head hung to the side, as if he was half asleep.
Second was Xell, known as the Fate Weaver. As Gozzu had informed Akuro on the way, he had the ability to change fate, by tying his cursed thread to his arrows, his is able to manipulate the aura of anyone his arrow strikes, not just that but he can control their actions as well. Xell was shorter than Tetsuno but he was more fit and less janky. He had a lazy posture and four arms, one of which held a black pipe to his mouth. He wore a black cloak and thin plates of armor. His face seemed to look human but his teeth were sharp and two small horns protruded from his head. Chains were wrapped around his back arms, hanging down from them almost like a cape.
Then there were Sallius and Razzaiel, the sisters of Bitter Scorn. They were identical twins, both wearing kimonos and both with long hair but up in a bun. They had dark skin and the held one another's hands and seemed close. The only difference between them was that Sallius wore a white and blue kimono and had stark white hair. She also had a horn on the left side of her head that looked like an ice spike more than it did an actual horn, and her eyes were a cold blue as well as her sharp nails.
On the other hand, Razzaiel wore a black and red Kimono and had a black horn that looked like magma rock with small cracks emitting orange-red light, and her hair was jet black, while her eyes and nails were red. Both sisters had a set of chains wrapped about their shoulders and waits, going over their assets and down their arms, the chains meeting together. Both sisters wore the same chain, holding them together.
Kessana was the only other girl out of the Archdemons. She was tall and had an elegant figure with lush skin. He face was that of a model, pure beauty, and her black eyes sparkled like a night sky. Two elegant black horns curled from the back of her head and point up. She had elf like ears and long, silky black hair. She wore a black dress with frills and elegant silk scarves, silver specks threaded into the fabric like twinkling stars. As thin set of chains was wrapped around her waist.
And Mettrag, known as the glutton or the Plague Brute, he was large and obese. He wore no armor, only and large black cloth around his waist, while the rest of his body was wrapped in thick, rusted chains. Pores grew across the demon's body and and grotesque rashes and growths covered his skin. His head was large and he had a huge underbite, no horns but he had large ears and metal was embedded into his head like scales.
Akuro took not of the fact that every one of the Archdemons seemed to have chains about their bodies, when he thought of it, Gallatine and Edo did too. He wandered why that was.
And then there was the last Archdemon, Zealous, known as the Harbinger of the End. Akuro's eyes fell on the figure he guessed was Zealous as they approached him.
Zealous was tall, standing at about seven feet, and he was heavily built. He wore a set of black armor plates that were held together by silver chains while he wore a black cloak underneath the armor. His arms were crossed as he approached Akuro. His presence was much like Akuro's, so in a way it was familiar, but also intimidating.
He looked startlingly human, his face was handsome and he had a sharp jawline. He had two small fangs and sharp, narrow eyebrows while his eyes were dark and thin, his irises a blood red while his pupil was white. He had short gray hair and four large horns, two curling from the side of his head pointing forward while the other two protruded from his forehead and were much smaller. A collar covered his neck, reminding Akuro of dracula or a cheesy vampire movie.
"So you are Zealous, right?" Akuro asked as the Archdemon approached.
Zealous stopped an inch away from Akuro, looking down on him, his eyes locked with Akuro's. "I am."
"Well, I don't give a damn if you are the true heir to the throne or some shit like that." Akuro said. "I'm king now, and if I need to show show you my strength, then I will, but I can't say you'll get out alive."
"You are no king, you are not even a demon. You will die for your insolence, boy." Zealous growled.
"Ugh, come on, just kill the brat already, Zealous." Kessana said, waving her hand dramatically.
"Yes! Kill him! Bloody, bloody, make it bloody!" The two sisters cheered in unison.
Suddenly the arena became cold, and everyone in the expansive dirt field froze, their eyes on Akuro and Zealous, who were ina stare down, the ground at their feet cracking, pebbles and small rocks slowly rising into the air around them. They both became blurry, as their pressures emitted with such force that is obscured them from anyone else's vision. Inari found it hard to breathe then as she felt like she was being crushed at the bottom of the ocean.
And then the entire coliseum shattered.