Tetsuno's eyes were cold and calculating. He shifted his foot forward, his movements completely silent now. Then he exploded forward, his flaming sword swinging a wide arc for the shadowy figure, who simply rose his arm to block. To the being's surprise, the blade's trajectory instantly shifted, as if it had vanished and teleported to another place, a new direction. He watch Tetsuno move and saw that the movement had been in his wrist, he'd shifted the blade at an almost impossible speed and instantly changed its path of swing while still keeping its force. The sword of scarlet flames cut cleanly down the figure's middle, splitting the shadows and revealing what hid beneath. Tetsuno's eyes widened when he saw the being beneath the darkness and he backed away, weary now, as he realized just who he was facing.
"You...are.." Tetsuno spoke, a loss for words.
The being laughed. "Yes. My name... is Azazel, and I have selected..." the demon vanished suddenly and then the shadows behind Tetsuno shifted as a cold talon touched Tetsuno's forehead.
"You."
A sharp pain ran through Tetsuno's mind as a cold feeling like shards of ice cutting across his skin ran through his frame. The next moment he collapsed to his knees, unconscious as everything went dark.
•
•
•
"Abeza!" Came a voice, distant, yet close. It was like an echo inside a long, dark cave. "Abeza! Wake up!"
Slowly, groggy and tired, Tetsuno's eyes opened and he was blinded by the light of the sun as it rose into the sky. It was early morning and his clothes were soaked with precipitation. He lifted his head and looked to see the path carved out by... Azazel.. he felt his ribs. A sharp pain ran through his side. It was real. It had really happened. He had actually met the Demon Lord.. what did he mean by selected..? Tetsuno remembered the last thing that happened before he passed out. Azazel spoken about Tetsuno being a "selected" and then touched a talon to his forehead. Did the demon mark him or something?
"There you are. You alright? I was worried." Tetsuno turned to see Kedo kneeling down beside him.
"I.. I'm fine." Tetsuno spoke, trying to lean up, but a stinging pain shot through his body, causing him to drop back to the ground.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Kedo asked.
"My ribs are shattered.. other than that I am just fine." Tetsuno groaned. "As for what happened..." he debated actually telling the boy what had happened, but decided otherwise, as he himself wasn't really certain. "The Golden Sin jumped me and had more strength than I realized. I don't know how but they had the ability to use magic, I imagine it was a blessing from their demon leader." It was a far fetched lie, he'd never heard of demons giving humans power, but it was also not something that could be proven or disproven.
"Really? They had enough power to do THAT?" Kedo looked at the path of destroyed trees in awe.
"Yes.." Tetsuno didn't enjoy lying, but at the moment he felt it was the best thing to do.
A rustling came from the side of them and Kedo turned, Tetsuno following his gaze, as Birgin emerged from behind a tree. "Golden Sin, hmm? I never imagined they had the capability to do this." The old man turned knowing eyes to Tetsuno.
The geezer knew Tetsuno was lying. He was certain of it, but he appreciated that Birgin didn't push he subject.
"The corpses I passed earlier we're your work then?" He asked.
"Yeah." Tetsuno answered. "In realized that if I don't kill them they will just keep coming. I also believe we should kill Zelden and his men as well, after we get any information that we can out of them."
"Kill them huh..." Kedo echoed, glancing at Tetsuno's sword which sat, unsheathed, on the ground a couple feet away. "You really think that's what we should do?"
"To kill an animal needlessly is a sin, to kill an animal for food is survival." Birgin spoke.
"Exactly. If we don't kill them, they will just come back and they will kill you." Tetsuno agreed with Birgin's analogy. "We shall do as we must." He rose to his feet, a slight limp and a grimace of pain. He was about to collapse but Kedo came and held him up.
"Alright. If we must, then we will kill them all." The boy said, a determination in his eyes. The fire that Tetsuno saw in the boy's spirit inspired him that day. He'd almost forgotten what it meant to strive for something, what it meant to have a purpose.