The silence hung in the air. It extended for an uncomfortable stretch of time while Rin was trying to process what Kief had just told him. He killed Rury and Arty's parents?
"What do you mean?" Rin finally asked Kief.
Kief had the decency to look a little embarrassed before he answered.
"It was a long time ago," Kief recalled.
"I met a pair of Spiritualists from west of here. They had two children with them and were cultivating in a remote part of the mountains."
Kief began to look as though he was deep in thought before he continued.
"I had received word from His Majesty that there were strange disturbances occurring in that area and I was to go investigate."
"I monitored the family for a while and discovered the couple would perform sacred ritualist ceremonies that had long been banned by the Heavens…"
Rin was surprised by this. He sat up in his bed and spoke. " You don't mean…"
Kief nodded his head, already knowing exactly what Rin was thinking.
"Yes, Soul Summoning Art."
"Kief…even as a demon I know how treacherous that Art can be. It takes someone with extreme spiritual control and unbreakable concentration to perform it. It's not something fragile humans should attempt, Spiritualist or not."
Kief nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's the very reason why the Art was banned. Only a few can perform it even then, they need permission from King Constantine."
"Why would Spiritualists attempt such a ceremony? What were they up to?" Rin asked. He was quite intrigued by this news.
"Soul Summoning Art…It's an Art that rips souls from Purgatory and even Hell… the ceremony summons them to the Human Plane. It can only be done on this plane. The reason is that human souls that have passed from this plane are quite different. Their souls are richer and purer because they carry more spiritual power not tainted by demons and evil spirits, unlike the humans residing in Demon Plane."
Kief took his hand and rubbed his chin as he continued.
"Anyone attempting to extract those souls is basically ensuring the total destruction of those poor souls. It's an Art that's supposed to be a last resort in fighting off an incredibly powerful foe. And even then, the feedback from using this Art is at a detriment to its user. The user's soul will be permanently damaged…and for a human user their lifespan will be shortened. That's why this Art can only be sanctioned by His Majesty. Yet, this couple I was told to monitor were clearly operating without sanctions."
"So you murdered them both?" Rin asked. He couldn't help the sarcastic tone that came out. Gods were supposed to protect humans but more often than not, Gods would not be merciful in the execution of their duties.
Kief gave Rin a look before he continued.
"Yes, on orders from His Majesty, I confronted and executed them both."
Rin cracked a smile and then broke into a laugh clutching his stomach. As his laughs reverberated around the room, Kief could feel himself growing more and more angry.
"Murdering humans! That's not what I expected on your bingo card, Kief!" Rin said through laughs. The high and mighty Kief was a killer. For some reason this confused Rin but also made him feel smug at having knocked Kief off his moral high horse.
"Rin! You don't understand! The orders to kill the family was a necessity to ensure the Human Plane remained safe. Making a few sacrifices to protect millions was and still is the best decision." Kief was glaring at Rin who was still in fits of laughter.
"I bet you did what you thought was right, Kief," Rin said with a wide smile on his face. And then suddenly a thought came to Rin that made him pause. The smile died on his face and his eyes widened.
"Kief, what do you mean 'orders to kill the family'?" Rin asked.
Kief looked at Rin but said nothing else. That didn't stop Rin from pressing for answers.
"Do you mean to say you spared Ruru and Arty's lives?"
Kief's mouth remained tightly closed. He gave nothing away in his expression, but his silence had the opposite effect. Rin knew in an instant that Kief did in fact spare Rury and Arty from the same fate as their parents.
"The Heavenly King ordered the deaths of not only the Spiritualists who were attempting the Soul Summoning Art, but the deaths of their innocent children as well?"
Again Kief said nothing.
"This is quite interesting Kief. Sounds like Constantine really is a bitch."
Kief looked angry at this statement but didn't offer up an explanation.
"So tell me this at least: Does Constantine know you spared the children and are keeping them hidden here?"
Kief finally sighed and answered Rin. "No, he doesn't know. I use my power to shield their presence from detection. It must work because after I finished by orders, His Majesty said nothing else about the matter."
Just then Kief looked to Rin and said pointedly, "…Which is why I need you to get your shit together and stop stirring up trouble wherever you go. If you want to protect Rury and Arty you need to be more careful. Not just for their sakes but for the sakes of your friends as well. You need to make sure that you get your strength back and protect the people you care about from this threat that's at your back, Rin. You need to also make sure you listen to what I say so we don't also invoke the ire of His Majesty. No matter how you look at it, you're fighting one battle at your rear and one to the front. Tread cautiously, Rin."
After looking at Rin for a moment longer, Kief sighed and got up from his seat to leave the room. After closing the door, Rin laid down and thought about everything Kief had just said. It made him sigh in frustration, but Kief was right about one thing. He had to get stronger.
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Maru was still cutting the human military forces in the West. The human forces were being so overwhelmed by this demon god, they were desperate in their prayers to the gods.
"Where are they?"
"Why is no one coming to save us"
"King Constantine PLEASE!"
Cries of the people rang out across the West, but the gods had not yet descended from the Heavens. The people grew more and more restless, shouting in the streets, fighting one another and looting their neighbors. It was pure chaos.
In the middle of this chaos smoke began to rise from several homes and buildings. One structure in particular was a temple. It belonged to one of the war gods of Heaven Realm.
"Burn it down! We'll get their attention one way or another! Burn every temple down now!" One elder cried throughout the small village town.
Fires spread from one building to another, burning homes and temples alike.
Maru watched from a distance with a sadistic smile on his face. Even he was shocked that the gods of heaven had not shown their faces. He wanted to lure them out somehow but apparently the devastation he had caused was not enough.
Just as Maru started to advance toward the village town, fanfares sounded from above. The trumpets of heaven! Maru looked to the sky with a smile still plastered on his face. Things were about to get very interesting for him.
The people in the town had a different reaction, however. They stopped their desecration of the town and looked to the sky singing praises. Some even fell to their knees and shouted in relief.
"They've finally heard our prayers!"
"The gods are coming to save us finally!"
The clouds parted and descending en masse were the war gods of heaven. Leading two massive companies, were Lyri and Enis. Tasai hung back in heaven with the last company of war gods to gauge the battle lines.
"All of this fuss over one demon god," Maru said on a chuckle. "Then again, I do love surprises."
Maru stood staring at the heavens with his arms crossed, while companies of war gods descended. He seemed very unbothered by the sheer number. After descending Lyri and Enis stood behind their respective companies gaging their enemy.
"Why is he by himself Enis?" Lyri asked. She was confused by the situation and felt uneasy about what Maru could be up to.
"He's overly confident, Lyri. Do not worry," Enis said as he unsheathed his sword at his hip. "One demon against our forces cannot withstand."
Lyri didn't look to confident in this answer but she also unsheathed her prized sword from her Master and steeled herself for battle.
Just then both Lyri and Enis caught Maru dropping his hands. He looked so calm before, but now the look on his face showed ill intent. He took one hand and placed both his thumb and index finger in his mouth. Just then a whistle tore through the quiet air.
The sound rang out loud and rolled across the ground and in the air. The whistle was sharp and piercing. Some soldiers held their ears as the sound continued. After a while, Maru dropped his hand and smiled. He was waiting.
The soldiers dropped their hands from their ears and looked around in anticipation. Murmuring to each other they did not know what the reason was for that piercing whistle, but they knew it meant nothing good.
"Silence!" Enis yelled.
At that exact moment a rumbling could be heard in the distance. It was faint at first but after each second the sound grew louder and louder before the ground started shaking. The rumbling was becoming deafening and it caused all the soldiers to lose their footing. The people in the nearby village were screaming, ducking and hiding trying to find cover under a solid structure.
It felt like an earthquake was happening right before the battle! Maru stood in the middle of the field with his wicked smile on his face as he waited. Behind him, just over the hills was black smoke. The smoke was shapeless as the form fluctuated continuously. As it got closer, there were yellow dots within the smoke. Lyri and Enis stared at his new development and sweat formed on their faces as they finally figured out the glowing yellow dots were eyes.
The eyes of hundreds and hundreds of demons were stampeding toward them. They were mashed and crushed together as they made their way toward the battlefield.
"Heaven save us…" Lyri whispered to herself. She knew this was Hell itself.
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Rin was training with Nessa and Kief now. Now that Kief's secret had been revealed there was no reason in Kief standing on the sidelines monitoring Rin. Kief understood the importance of helping Rin regain his powers. Having two gods attack him as a part of training took its toll on Rin, but he had to move forward.
It had been several days now, and Rin still did not hear anything from either Leah or Zel. This made him feel bad about how they left things, but he couldn't afford to worry about them right now.
Sarra, stood on the side and watched Rin's training. She was impressed by this demon, but even more curious about him. Such a demon was causing a stir in the Human Plane. He caused such a commotion that she couldn't even ignore it in the heavens. But if she had noticed it, and His Majesty knew about it, why did he not descend into Human Plane to investigate further yet. Now that Rin had discovered a new threat from powerful demons here in Human Plane, this would be the perfect time for His Majesty to intervene. His Majesty seemed to be more preoccupied with Demon Plane.
Sarra, was jolted from her thoughts as Rin landed with a loud thud on his back. Nessa dropped her offensive stand with her trademark smile and Kief wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Rin, up! Let's go again!" Kief yelled.
Rin got up and brushed himself off and continued to attack both Nessa and Kief. It was getting late and they had already been training for majority of the day. The sun was setting and even though Rin was getting tossed around, he felt a little bit of his former power come back. It was slight but he felt it, regardless.
A couple of hours went by before they all decided to call it a night. Rin plopped to the ground breathing heavily. After a moment, Sarra was by his side using her power to heal Rin's wounds he had received from Kief and Nessa. With Sarra here, Rin was able to train longer than usual and actually make immense progress.
"There," Sarra said after she finished healing Rin.
"Thanks, Sarra. Really, I mean it," Rin said looking away.
For some reason this made Sarra smile. Rin looked up to catch her smile and frowned.
"What is your problem? Why are you smiling at me?"
"I just find you very unassuming, Rin. Most demons wouldn't care about what happens to humans but here you are…"
"Well sorry to burst your holy bubble. But the rest of this plane can eat shit. I just want to keep this plane intact because I kind of like it here…" Rin couldn't keep Sarra's eye contact while she still smiled at him like that.
"Regardless, thank you Rin." Sarra stood up and held her hand out to Rin.
Rin looked at Sarra's outstretched hand and sighed as he took it. Nessa chuckled while Kief raised an eyebrow at this exchange.
After a while, Nessa said her goodbyes to Rin and the others and watched them as they walked home. Nessa made her way back to her loft, but as she walked, she felt an overwhelming presence watching her. She gave nothing away as she continued to walk. When she felt this presence almost at her back, she whipped around in a defense stand and shouted.
"Who's there?!"
No one answered her. Nothing could be heard except the wind whipping through the air. Nessa continued to survey her surroundings but as quickly as she felt the presence it was gone.
The next day, Rin was up bright and early. As he made his way to the dining room, he could smell the breakfast already being prepared. It put a smile on his face to have some of his normalcy back. As he turned the corner into the dining room, sat at the table was Rury, Arty, Sarra and Kief in his usual spot.
"Good morning, Rin!" Arty said with a smile on his face.
"Morning Arty and everyone," Rin said patting Arty's head as he passed him. Rin took his place at the table across from Sarra and nodded at her in greeting.
Breakfast was served and everyone ate and chatted amongst each other like a normal family would. It was as if the past few days never happened and everyone could breath a sigh of relief for just a moment…
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Lyri and Enis' forces were being overwhelmingly obliterated by Maru and his massive horde of demons. The battlefield no longer was distinguishable. It was littered with masses of bodies. Those belonging to both demons and war gods. The fields soaked in black and red blood from both sides. Maru hung at the rear of his forces surveying the damage with a smile on his face.
Lyri wielding her saber, slashed through her enemies with precision. While Enis was further ahead using his long sword to strike the demons as they jumped toward him. No matter how many demons they struck down, there would be five more that took its place.
"Enis, we need to fall back! This is ridiculous!" Lyri yelled. She was growing tired and couldn't keep up the attacks for much longer.
"I know! We'll have to give the command soon, so we can regroup," Enis shouted. He was also growing tired and needed to gage how many soldiers they had left.
Enis continued to slash through the demons as he retreated back towards Lyri slowly. Just as he was about to make eye contact with Lyri, he caught sight of Maru in the distance. Maru had his back turned and was facing the mountains from which the demons had come from. He stood there unmoving, which immediately made the hairs on the back on Enis neck stand up.
After a beat, Maru turned slightly, making eye contact with Enis. His red glowing eyes foretold nothing good. Before Enis could the retreat command, the ground shook. It shook with such force, this time Enis lost his footing and fell to the cold blood-soaked ground. Enis scrambled to his knees and scanned from Lyri. She was on one knee looking just as shocked as he was.
Lyri looked from Enis to the mountains and all the blood drained from her face. Coming out of the mountains were the Demon Giants of Mount Pys. They were demons of great stature standing around fifteen meters tall. Their bodies were deformed, their skin ranged from a sickly green to brown, some sported horns on their heads, while others skin were covered in scales. They were truly a disgusting sight. Enough to make anyone run in fear, yet they had descended from the mountain to aid the demon king Maru. Behind them were smaller deformed demons in droves.
It was too late to call the retreat now. Enis quickly got to his feet and ran toward Lyri.
"Go! Tell Master Tasai what is happening! Tell him we need reinforcements!"
Enis panted through his orders. Just as Lyri was about to leave, Enis grabbed her arm and spoke once more.
"Tell him all is lost."
Lyri wanted to argue and beg Enis to come with her but knew that she had to inform General Tasai.
Closing her eyes she abruptly turned and left the battlefield, not certain if she'd she see Enis or her comrades again.