"The greatest object of fear is what scares one more than the unknown."
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(The Demon Realm, Southern Towns…)
Right at the edge of the Southern cities, where a dense forest, polluted by the pungent air wafting from the hundreds of workplaces of the region, hid the movement of an uncountable number of demons towards the heart of the Southern Towns—Barbatos.
The demons of this group were of many different types. Some strong, some weak; some old, some mere children. But one thing was the same for all—the hate in their eyes.
Almost all of them had someone abducted and thrown into the hell known as Barbatos, forced to work as a slave and dance on the command of their owners.
They moved through the forest with stealth greater than any assassin, their steps making not a single sound on the gravelly path. However, there was no sound, the animals were completely silent, as if sensing the danger of the hatred fueling the fire inside these people.
One of them, though, was different.
Johan Wolff, a human amongst demons, something that not a single soul would believe to be true.
He had volunteered to go with the group to attack Barbatos and free their kin. The reason?—He didn't know.
There was something attracting him towards the place, as if he was destined to be there… destined to save the very creatures he swore to destroy.
Uncannily enough, he… didn't hate demons. Seeing how well they received him… seeing how they treated him like he was their child, in need of support and patience made him feel something deep inside that he couldn't put into words.
"Stop!" The leader of the group, an old man wearing a deep brown coat, signaled to everyone following him.
The whole group stopped within seconds, as if they were sheep following a shepherd, their senses alarmed as their eyes darted around in slight panic.
A lone horse-drawn carriage passed by the gravelly path laid out in the middle of the forest, making its way through the arduous journey to the Central Capital, the place where everything important was located.
Most of the group didn't pay the carriage any mind, allowing it to pass unhindered before continuing their advance, but one person felt something from the carriage that made his eyes go wide in shock.
Johan felt a presence inside the carriage… a presence more than familiar to him.
The ominous feeling he felt gripping his heart more intense than any human or demon he had encountered. The feeling of dread he would face if he decided to antagonize this… creature… everything reminded him of only one person.
Ryomen Sukuna.
Johan was frozen, his eyes following the carriage until it disappeared into the greenery of the forest. It wasn't his legs holding him back, it was his mind.
An interesting fact about the human mind is that if it encounters something unknown, it starts to create scenarios for it until it becomes something worse.
Johan's mind was no different.
Why is Sukuna here? Why is he inside a demon's carriage, such a luxurious one at that? Is he with the demons? What happened to the Human World?
His mind was going to completely different places, his eyes staring at the thicket where the carriage went off to.
Suddenly, he felt a poke on his abdomen, bringing him out of his stupor back to reality. In front of him stood Casca, her eyes glowing in the dim light of the forest. She was holding a large, wooden staff which she used to hit him, and was quite adept at using too.
He finally noticed that the group had already moved forward, their silent footsteps fading out into the void of the forest.
Casca didn't say anything, but her eyes told Johan everything he need to know. 'If you are left behind, we won't come to get you,' they said.
However, there was, undeniably, something else in those eyes. Something softer.
Johan didn't have time to think of these things. With swift movements, he quickly went towards the group, closely followed by Casca.
The long journey felt like seconds to the man as his mind was overtaken by thoughts of Sukuna's presence.
Before he knew, they were already at Barbatos, sneaking around in alleyways and disguising themselves as civilians to get as close as possible.
And to the group's surprise, it wasn't difficult at all to get to the literal front door of the place. Were they just lenient in protection? Or were they so confident that they believed that protection was unnecessary?
In any case, they would find out soon enough.
The leader of the group went ahead to the guards who stood at the door, two lone men guarding a fortress, a weird sight to see.
The guards closed in on him, and at that time, he noticed something… something which led him to bring his hand down and not attack.
Ressie was posted at the front gate temporarily, and the supervisor had something 'special' planned for him, in the latter's own words.
But, his eyes were… dark. So dark that it felt like a void devoid of feelings. In the little time that Ressie spent with the supervisor, he was shown something, or perhaps told something that sucked the literal life out of him.
Ressie glanced at the other guard, who was covering in fear as the number of revolters in front of him increased without end. The guard wouldn't interfere.
Ressie turned around, walking into the small room next to the gates, the Control Room. It had only two buttons in it—One to open the gates, and one to declare emergency.
He, against all logic, pressed the first button, the grand gates opening slowly with grinding sounds louder than a landslide.
The group was both relieved and raging. The former because they didn't have to kill a fellow demon—Ressie—to get into the place, and the latter because their goal was closer than ever.
The group started pouring into Barbatos, their collective stampede causing something akin to an earthquake.
And of course, great chaos followed, the revolters murdering any and every hostile person they encountered. Their main and only goal being—Freeing their own kin.
The amount of demons enslaved in Barbatos was no lesser than the number of humans in the same situation. Hell didn't discriminate.
The leader, however, stayed behind, staring at Ressie, who was, in turn, staring at the button in the Control Room.
"Why?" The leader asked, his voice drowning in the sound of weapons clashing inside.
"It doesn't matter." Ressie's voice was cold, almost as if he was already a corpse.
"Hm?"
"It doesn't matter what you do…" His head turned upwards. His gaze, as deep as the ocean yet as empty as space, met the leader's eyes. "…you'll never achieve your goals."
The leader's eyes narrowed at the words, his hands curling into fists as a flicker of anger flashed through his eyes. "What do you mean?"
A dark, hollow chuckle escaped Ressie's lips, one that sounded as if a ghost was laughing at its own demise. "You'll know…"
The leader, done with the words of this 'madman,' immediately went inside, unsheathing the sword on his waist. His shoes were dirtied by the mud on the ground, though he didn't seem to mind it at all. After all, he had been living in the forest for years, creating the Fall of Satan for his plans.
Barbatos had been invaded for the first time in history, and this was perhaps one of the biggest uprisings in the history of the demon realm, and definitely the most coordinated.
However, one question still remained… will they succeed?
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(Outskirts of the Southern Towns…)
A lone carriage went along the gravelly path traced around in the forest. A path which is too important to bury, yet too meaningless to improve.
The body of the carriage jerked up and down as it was hit by stones coming out of the ground randomly, a sound of clicking hooves repeatedly assaulting the ears of the two people inside.
"Well, Herm, was it?" A deep voice began, attracting the attention of the man sitting in front of him. His black, ominous tattoos seemed to glow in the dim light entering in through the carriage's windows as he continued. "How about you tell me more?"
The supervisor—Herm—leaned back on his seat, a small smirk forming on his lips as he continued to observe the boy sitting in front of him.
This boy was merely a teenager, but his power was enough to make even him feel an innate fear deep inside his heart, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
"The Arena of God." Herm began, his voice growing serious. "The biggest arena in the demon realm… a place without rules frequented by noble sects and sometimes, even princes."
Sukuna was intrigued, leaning in closer.
"A place where hundreds of people go every year, fighting for their lives." He closed his eyes, as if trying to remember something. "Those who climb to the top are immortalized, made richer than any commoner could dream of… and those who die, are forgotten like trampled ants."
Sukuna tapped the seat of the carriage repeatedly with his finger, a habit he had supposedly picked up from Aiden. "What about me?"
Sukuna's implication was clear. He was human. According to him, this might as well be the first time a human had tried to participate in the arena.
"There's a place for humans there," Herm chuckled slightly, his eyes opening back up. "It's not considered the arena, though, more like a slum to a city."
Sukuna mirrored Herm's chuckle, his dark laughter reverberating in the silent carriage. This simple chuckle was enough to show his confidence.
The Arena was going to get a big surprise.
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(Faraway Mountains, Alkaan Islands…)
"What do you mean he doesn't know!?"
A loud thud echoed in the room, while was lit brightly only by candles and mana stones placed all around.
A large, burly man had his hand planted on the table, slightly cracking it in the process. His expression was a mixture of worry and anger, his gaze fixed at the man in front of him, who merely smirked in response.
"Answer me, Aiden! Does he not know!?"
The man leaned in closer, his weight causing the cracked table to slightly bend, his burning gaze boring into Aiden, who leaned back a little, placing the cup of tea in his hand onto the flimsy table.
"I think you should relax, Zorvek." Aiden's ever-calm voice rang out, his smile not fading in the slightest. "And no, he doesn't know."
The old man, Zorvek, sat back down on his seat, leaning back as he rubbed his forehead with his fingers, his actions screaming of his frustration.
"And you said that his will isn't strong enough…" His words were slowly turning into muttering, making Aiden slightly chuckle.
"He's strong, no doubt about it, but the boy—Sukuna—doesn't have a goal. He fights to fight, he grows to grow, and that will be his downfall."
Aiden's words only increased Zorvek's worries, who placed his hand on the table lightly. "Aiden…"
Zorvek's voice was turning hoarse with anger, and irritation too, perhaps. But one thing was clear—he wasn't happy.
"He'll be tainted by the ideals and feelings of the souls he absorbs…" His hand slowly drifted into the air, his hand curling up into a ball. "…do you not understand… what that means!?"
His fist landed on the table with unparalleled force, cracking the table right into half, pieces of broken wood flying around in the room akin to bullets.
"Chill out, Zorvek," Aiden said, his hands tapping the air in a gesture for him to calm down.
"Chill out!?"
"This is exactly what I want." Aiden's words hung in the tense silence of the room, Zorvek's mind slowly regaining its relaxed state at his reassurance.
"To create a monster?" Zorvek's tone somehow turned even more grave, his anger dissolved into seriousness.
Aiden didn't reply. However, Zorvek could swear that he saw his smile get wider.
"Anyways, Zorvy, I have a trade offer."
"Don't call me that," Zorvek's words were laced with annoyance, though he couldn't say that he was uninterested in this 'trade'. He paused for a moment, before continuing. "What trade?"
Aiden's eyes met with his, glowing in an eerie light. "I want your students to participate from the humans' side."
Zorvek's eyes narrowed. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. Then he remembered that he broke the table… so he placed his elbows on his knees. "And in return…"
"I'll give you a person more talented that Eiji."
Zorvek's eyes widened at the sentence. He immediately jumped up from his seat as if a fire was burning under him. "Eiji Ryomen?"
Aiden chuckled slightly at the seemingly immature actions of the old man in front of him. "Yes… a boy much more talented, perhaps more than you."
"You're saying this boy may surpass both my masterpiece and me?" A small chuckle of disbelief escaped his lips, devoid of any humor. But it would be a lie to say that he wasn't intrigued. "And who is this boy?"
Aiden's smile widened as he got up from his seat, at last. He took a step forward, looking up at the old man.
"Just a commoner…" He placed his hands into his pocket, his eyes glinting with amusement. "…his name is Ryogaku."
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Happy New Year :3
Have a great year ahead, go on!
cya next time, and ofc, gimme POWER STONES :>