Daku's frustration boiled within him as he strained, yet the Demon Lord's sword remained resolutely stuck in its stone pedestal. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, mingling with the dirt and grime from his efforts. The blade, humming with latent power, refused to yield to his determination.
In a fit of overwhelming disappointment and anger, Daku let out a guttural roar, echoing through the quiet mountainside. Without a word, he turned and fled from the pedestal, leaving the sword behind. Tana, startled and deeply concerned, reacted swiftly, chasing after him with urgency in her voice.
"Daku, wait! Where are you going?" Tana's voice pierced through the mounting frustration as she pursued him down the rugged mountainside. Each step she took reverberated in the desolate terrain, a stark contrast to the silent weight of Daku's despair.
Daku's feet pounded the rocky ground, carrying him further away from the pedestal and his unmet destiny. His heart was heavy with the burden of his failure, and he couldn't find words to explain his anguish.
Finally, they reached a secluded spot on the mountainside. Daku, head hung low, couldn't contain his despair any longer. He turned his gaze toward the ground and addressed Denchi, the spirit bound to him.
"I-I wasn't able to remove... the sword!" Daku's voice wavered with a mix of frustration and self-doubt. He clenched his fists, biting his lip in anguish.
Denchi's response was calm and measured, "You are the chosen one, Daku. No human has been able to awaken me after five thousand years. You must try again."
"But what if I fail?" Daku's voice was stoic, his eyes reflecting the depths of his fear and uncertainty.
Denchi paused for a moment, considering his words carefully before delivering a stark truth, "Then I guess I was wrong about you, Daku Ito. Maybe you were never meant to be the strongest Demon Lord."
Daku felt a chill run down his spine at Denchi's words. The consequences of his failure weighed heavily on him, and he couldn't escape the destiny he had unwittingly embraced.
"But beware," Denchi continued, his voice taking on an ominous tone, "our blood is bound together, and until you fulfill your end of the deal, you and Tanaka shall remain in the Demon realm for all eternity."
As Denchi's somber words hung in the air, Just then, the distant sound of Tana's voice pierced through the heavy silence.
"Daku! Where are you?" Tana's voice echoed, her worry palpable as she searched for him. Daku snapped back to the present, his inner turmoil momentarily pushed aside. Without a word, he turned and hurried back towards the inn, leaving Tana anxiously searching for him.
---
Some time later, Tana made her way back to the inn. She approached the innkeeper and inquired about Daku's whereabouts, a sense of relief washing over her as she learned that he had already returned.
Still carrying the weight of their shared disappointment, Tana couldn't shake the sense of foreboding that had lingered since their arrival at the mountain.
"I had a bad feeling about this from the beginning," Tana whispered to herself as she navigated the inn's corridors, eventually reaching Daku's room.
Upon entering, Tana scanned the room, but Daku was nowhere to be found. Her gaze shifted to the balcony, where she noticed the door was ajar. With a mix of trepidation and determination, she approached the balcony.
As Tana peered through the open door, she spotted Daku seated on the wooden floor, his gaze fixed on the moon hanging in the night sky. Seeing him there, she bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before finally deciding to join him.
With a few steps, she closed the distance between them and settled down on the balcony, a few meters away from Daku. The atmosphere was thick with tension, and the silence enveloped them, broken only by the rhythmic beating of their hearts.
In that quiet moment, Daku finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry for getting you into this, Now Because of me we might never be able to go back home."
"Ah! Don't worry, think of this as a vacation.. we are in a whole new World with different people that aren't people, crazy right?"
Tana asked as she laughed trying to lift up the mood a little and make Daku smile a little but it only irritated him even more.
Standing up, Daku clenched his fist as he said to her with a little raised tone, "Don't try to make jokes right now, because of me you might never be able to go back home to your Family."
"I don't have a family!" Tana said her eyes are now darker than usual and hearing that, Daku was cut short of words.
"What?"
Tana forced a bright smile in response to Daku's surprise, her demeanor shifting from bitterness to playful. "Yup! I'm an orphan, didn't you know?" She tilted her head in a cute, teasing manner.
Daku stammered, still coming to terms with this revelation. "N-no, I didn't know. Y-you never acted like someone without a family. You were always so happy and joyful."
Tana laughed, her laughter carrying genuine warmth. "Of course, I am. Wait, you don't expect me to be dull and always frowning just because I don't have a family, do you? Haha, Daku, even though I'm without a family to love me, I have friends, a cat, and a woman who calls herself my foster mom. They love me, whether I'm an orphan or not. Sometimes there's more to life and happiness than meets the eye."
She stood up, dusting her hands off, and looked at Daku with determination in her eyes. "Even though we're stuck here now, as your friend, I'll support you, and we'll find a way to remove that damn sword. I promise."
Daku, still processing the concept of having a friend, hesitated for a moment before replying, "Friend? I don't have a friend."
Tana pouted playfully and punched him in the chest. "Then that would make me your first friend, weirdo!" She said with a teasing grin before turning and leaving with a smile.
Watching her go, Daku was left with a mix of emotions. "Friend," he whispered to himself, touching the spot on his chest where she had lightly punched him. It was a word he had never associated with himself before, and the realization left him feeling strangely warm.
"I envy you so much, Tana," Daku murmured to the moon above, "Even without a family, you still find it so easy to fit in, make friends, and smile. Something I could never be able to do."
***
"Ahhhhhhhh Daku Help me!!!"