Surprise! There was actually two prompts today! I just couldn't get them both out earlier. And this is the second time already I've been prompted by "Demons" -and again Gray's the focus no less- so I got a little more creative!
(And holy cow I'm not ready for tomorrow's prompts...! *sobs*)
Even the Devil Was Once an Angel
~Prompt 2, Part 2: Demons~
.:The Things Chosen to Keep Inside:.
"Asking around here about demons be a dangerous thing, boy…" said the old man at the local bar of a far off –and quite deserted- town, eyeing Gray contemptuously as he shined a shot glass. "While it be true that this town has its fair share of demon lore…it'd be best to keep yer mind clear of such evil."
Gray just sat there, staring into the mug of beer that had been generously slung down the counter and into his possession. Unfortunately he didn't plan on drinking.
"I need you to tell me what you know about E.N.D. I've heard that tales of its first appearance have been kept in your family for centuries. Even if it's nothing more than mere speculation, I'll take anything I can get my hands on," Gray returned cautiously and getting straight to the point, but that only made the old man throw him an even deeper scowl. "Please. It's imperative that I get this information."
The glass slammed to the counter along with the bartender's fist, the sordid old man scrutinizing him like Gray was some detestable vermin that had dared to waltz in and take a seat at the counter.
"Yes, my family be the keepers of such yore…but we don't go passing it around to outsiders like yerself." There was a loud squench as the man returned to polishing the glass, making sure every inch of it was squeaky clean. "The last thing we need are shady-types like you looking around to stir up trouble with them things…"
Gray furrowed his brow; clearly this man was going to take a bit of prying, but there was no need to be hasty. If there was anything he got out of his time in that vile Avatar guild, it was that sometimes information had to be drawn out with an…indirect approach.
"…perhaps, a story for a story, then?" Gray suggested calmly, reaching for the mug of beer and coolly frosting its rim with the tip of his finger. This only earned a curious look from the man before him, but his words were more of a statement than a question. "You imply I have no room for butting my business in with demons…but sir, demons have plagued my whole existence. I'm well aware of the danger Zeref's little monsters possess, and the threat they leave in the world as a whole…I can tell you first hand there is something bigger than all of us at play here."
The bartender relaxed the slightest bit, silently intrigued. The tiniest of smirks caused the ends of Gray's lips to curl up, but he maintained his levelheaded demeanor.
"I've lived a very, very vengeful life," Gray began, his finger still tracing his mug. A wry smile twisted onto his face, accentuated by the glare in his red eye. "I hardly remember a happy time in my childhood; those memories were robbed away when Deliora decided to show up, kill my parents, and destroy the only place I'd ever known. A young boy's image of life completely shattered after having everything he once loved ripped away from him…an internal wound that's not easily healed."
The temperature seemed to drop with every frigid word that poured out of Gray's mouth, effectively freezing the bartender to the spot as he listened a little more intently than he wanted to.
"…I may have found a temporary solace within my master and her other student, but the darkness within me could only be staved off so for long." Gray held up his blacked hand and made the mark spread farther across his body, causing the bartender to stagger backwards against the wall. "It festered without me even knowing…and one day it exploded when Deliora reared its face again- surely you know that he too was a creation of Zeref…"
"Of course," murmured the bartender, and Gray nodded.
"My master gave her life to seal that demon- to prevent myself from getting killed, and to give me a reason to move on with my life; to move past the darkness that corrupted my frozen heart." His hand clenched against the mug. "But I couldn't stand losing anyone else in my life. You can only lose so much before the pain becomes unbearable, so…I sealed myself off from people as much as I could. If I ever got too attached again, I…I…"
Gray glanced away and shrugged slightly.
"…eh, I try not to think about it. But there's a little irony for ya- the most emotionally closed person is the most sensitive of all. I suppose that's just a demon living within myself…" He waved it off and dismissed it like it was nothing. "And because I had closed off my emotions to all in my guild, I was able to keep my inner darkness at bay- my master had never truly sealed it away. Her departure only aggravated it, along with the sacrifice of her own daughter…mmm, mother and daughter, giving up so much of themselves for a waste of space like me…"
It was then that Gray glanced around the tavern- aside from him, there were only a few men sprinkled about that looked like they were on really long benders right about then, and they weren't paying the least bit of attention to Gray. Pursing his lips, he slipped a cigarette into his hand, lit it up, and took a puff. The bartender was somewhat repulsed, but he didn't make a comment against it.
"…but there was one more trial of suffering I had to go through; one more ordeal I had to pass through before I could finally call myself strong…" Gray's eyes were sharp as his cigarette twitched about between his lips. "…and that was to lose my father a second time, brought back by demons nonetheless, but at least that time I had a chance to say goodbye…"
"…you do have my condolences; I can't imagine goin' through what you have," murmured the bartender. "That's truly something I wouldn't wish upon anyone…"
"But it finally doesn't hurt anymore," Gray chuckled, shaking his head and shrugging aloofly. "It finally doesn't hurt…! Thanks to my father, at long last, I can fight with the best of them and be an actual force to be reckoned with! I'm not the one being doubted for my ability, I'm not the one always having to retreat, I'm not one shamefully being brought to my knees…I have the power to slay demons; I have the power to rid the world of Zeref's strongest creation…!"
There was a slight madness in Gray's tone, and even the elderly ears of the bartender could pick up on it. The look in his eyes were somewhat unhinged as well, but there was a sort of logic to his words nonetheless. A dark chuckle escaped the Devil Slayer as he leaned forward, taking the mug of beer and sliding it well out of his own reach.
"So many things in my life would be much better if it wasn't plagued by demons…I'd still have my parents, my master never would have died, I would've have had to give up everything I loved just to increase my chances for victory, and I certainly wouldn't have to be here right now, begging for such integral information from a mere bartender…"
"Y-you don't…I can't…I shouldn't-"
"Surely you don't want that demon being revived…I want to prevent people on a large scale from suffering the way I have…and that's precisely why I need to know everything I can." Gray rose dramatically from his chair and leered at the bartender, who was now shuddering against his will under the imposing icy aura that was radiating off of Gray. "And now that I've rid myself of everything that can hurt me, I won't let anything hold me back from completing what I alone vowed to do. I will bring that vile creature to its knees before it has a chance to hurt anyone."
The bartender was paralyzed with an unseen fear; all humor from Gray was gone and only a hardened look remained.
"…so tell me everything you know about E.N.D."
. . .
When Gray left the little tavern in the middle of nowhere later that night, one would think nothing of the fact that he stumbled out the door like the average drunk, but it wasn't alcohol that left him in such an unstable state. The weight of the unanticipated knowledge he so desperately craved had left him unbalanced, and to stay standing was a demanding feat.
Yet what was the tale that turned the fearsome demon-hunting Devil Slayer's legs to jelly, made his stomach churn with nausea, and made him grab his head while demanding that what he'd heard had to be an utter lie…?
Four hundred years ago, on an small isle known as the Devil's Cradle, Zeref had created E.N.D. as a final measure to accomplish a suicide…but the repercussions of that action were that E.N.D. has an insatiable appetite for destruction. Everything and anything would fall under the demon's might, for there was no force in the world that could match it. Even without trying, destruction would follow the demon wherever it went, as it lacked the ability to hold back…and with strength like that, it was only a matter of time before it would wipe out quite literally everything.
A certain fire dragon knew this, and dared to challenge the beast, as he had the best chance to stand against E.N.D.'s flaming abilities. The dragon could eat anything the demon wanted to throw at him…but when it came down to it, he was unable to fully destroy E.N.D. In that fiery clash, the great dragon only managed to separate the demon from its Etherious form. The demon's true power was sealed away in its wretched book written fastidiously by Zeref's hand…
…while the body had taken centuries to show up again, and now it walks among the people…
"Even I find it hard to believe…and I'm almost certain this last part is just an old wives' tale…but the dragon that challenged E.N.D. found the body in a human form hundreds of years later…" the bartender droned, speaking in a hushed yet troubled tone. "I've heard some zany fairy tales in my lifetime, but the one that stands out the most would be…that the dragon wiped the memory of the demon…"
"It can't be…it can't be…!"
"...raised it from scratch as his own, and hoped to integrate it into society…"
Gray was on the ground now, struggling to breathe and even dry heaving at one point.
"…so yes, what I know about E.N.D…"
"Shit…SHIT!"
"…is that it walks amongst us, boy."
In a blind rage, ice had flown everywhere, stabbing straight through the trunks of trees and thankfully not injuring anyone. Gray was so shaky that he could hardly even crawl along the ground…but he had to move…! But it was so crazy…!
But now it all made sense.
"There's…no one else it can be…!"
In Gray's life, there were demons everywhere; sealed in books, rampaging across the lands, hidden deep within his very own soul…
"E.N.D. is a fire demon…"
And even hiding in plain sight…in the form of his best friend.
(Okay, realistically, I highly doubt that Gray's going to find out who E.N.D. is from a shady bartender, but that's not the point of the prompt here. xD)