Mr Okabe: "Alright class. As most of you will no doubt be aware, there was another attack last night. "
"Yes, yes"
He motions for silence.
"Yet again, the authorities have reason to believe the Faithful were responsible for this. "
Mr Okabe: "And while it is relatively benign incident this time, it should go without saying that sympathizing with their cause is a slippery slope indeed. "
"Truth be told, I would rather not give them the attention they seek. "
"But I also acknowledge that the only way to deter ignorance is through enlightenment and knowledge. "
"As such I would like to discuss the history of this group in order to debunk their propaganda. "
Mr Okabe: "So can anybody tell me who the Faithful are and what they are aiming to achieve? "
When nobody utters a word, I raise my hand tentatively.
"Yes Xion? "
Xion: "The Faithful are a bunch of lesser demons who want to revive the Demon King so that he can rule all over the world. "
The teacher nods affirmatively.
"Correct."
"Although it should be noted that the group isn't entirely made up of lesser demons.
"Many humans have also been turned by their fatalistic doctrine over the years. "
"Do not be fooled though. The rewards rhey promise to those who would serve them are nothing but lies. "
"Their Greater Demon masters are a bloodthirsty race who would enslave us all. "
"Fortunately they are unable to transverse the portal that joins our world to their realm. "
"Moreover the Demon King was overthrown centuries ago. "
Mr Okabe: "Now who can tell me what the demon realm was called? "
Random Student: "Naraklok"
"Correct. "
After reviewing some atrocities the Faithful are believed to have orchestrated he regales us with the wider history of demon kind.
All of Naraklok was plunged into war in the conflict between the Lesser demons and their Greater demon peers.
When the vastly stronger Greater Demons (Malteri) finally emerged victorious, the mikrosi (Lesser Demons) were forced to endure centuries of brutal subjugation.
After all attempts to overthrow the Demon King failed, they finally resolved to flee.
Working in secret the mikrosi used arcane magic to breach the veil separating the realms.
The one that waited for them on the other side just so happened to be us humans.
'I was born after those very first mikrosi refugees threw the world into panic. '
'Vignette would have only been a baby back then too. '
'Still the events sound eerily similar to those dreams that have been plaguing me. '
After spending so much time of the day trying not to doze off, the bells brings me a wave of relief.
'Talk about eternal boredom. '
I surrender to a long yawn as I amble on toward home.
'Man I must have slept even worse than I thought. '
'These nightmares sucks. '
Realizing there was no one else around me in sight, that unsettling feeling returns once again.
A quick scan of the area reveals nothing out of the ordinary though.
'It is normal to be on edge after one of these attacks these days though'
The feeble attempt to reason with myself brings little comfort.
Soon my imagination starts to take a much darker turn.
'Looking around it's almost like there is no one left here at all.
'As if some terrible force has swept them all away, leaving me as the sole survivor. '
When shaking the thought away fails, I try to outrun it instead.
'I sure wouldn't mind having Vignette with me here right now. '
'If only she wasn't busy with—
'Come to think of it just what does she do after school? '
'I am not sure she's ever given me a straight answer. '
I rack my brain for a while only to shrug and continue on..
'Must be something too boring to remember.
'She is never far away anyhow. '
'By the time I get home —'
Unknown Assailant: "Hyah! "
— To be continued —
Author Note: Creation is hard, please give me some of your precious time and support me.