The Rising Storm
Chapter 10 – What Makes A Demon
Naruto stood in death row his heart pounding as he faced the unnamed demon he'd encountered earlier, the small boy and women stood at the tip of the shadows surrounding the hidden beast. The small boy was smiling and happily playing a childish game by himself, the women stood glaring at the blond and spiting words at him in a strange language.
"That is enough my dear..." The placid voice spoke and like a dog brought to heel the young women went silent and step back into the shadow and out of Naruto vision.
Meanwhile Sasuke and the Hunters had stopped rolling around screaming form the nightmare that had gripped their minds, they managed to get to their feet in a daze. The huge dark form in the shadows moved form what Naruto could make out it was at least the size of a double decker bus and twice its width at least.
"Hiding in shadows are we, fucking coward." Shouted one of the Hunters he instantly regretted it as he coiled over in pain as the violet eyes glared at him.
"Watch you language human, lest I tare your worthless tongue from your mouth." For the first time Naruto herd emotion in the demons voice.
The it dawned on him why the demon had been enraged by the Hunters swearing, when in the bar they'd been alone with him he'd been unbetrothed by the language. Now with the child present he'd become defensive, not wanting the child to hear the foul words.
"Smart boy aren't we Blondy." Naruto looked up as the demon's voice held some amusement, Naruto wondered if the demon was reading his mind it didn't seem so unlikely.
"What are you?" Said one of the less experienced Hunters, the boy was kneeling next to the loud mouthed man who had yet to recover from the demons attack.
"A foolish question pup, or are you new to the business. Skipped the training day." The demons amusement grew as it joked to itself.
"Your a demon." Sasuke said as he glared at the shadowy figure.
"But your different...More powerful...More Intelligent." The raven went on as the shadowy figure swayed in the darkness.
"I'll take that as a complement shall I. Not all demons are mindless, well to tell the true they are but lets say I'm a little more open minded than my brethren." The demon was slowly glancing from Naruto to Sasuke as if it was trying to decide something.
"Why did you open a portal?" Naruto asked in a willful voice his back bone finally regrowing itself after a long absence.
"Well then straight to business Blondy. Want to impress eh." The demon said in a way that made Naruto feel uncomfortable, how much could this demon read from his mind.
Suddenly the lights in the block flickered into life and the darkness was illuminated the shadows fled the light like a living entreaty it ran from the light. As the last lights turned on the demon was revealed in human form, the man sitting on a throne made of human bones and skin. The hall around him was like a recreation of hell made flesh, corpses hung from the ceiling by barbed wire their skin having been ripped off and their guts and organs hanging out of the gaping holes of their stomachs and what was worse was that the men were still alive. Their mouths screamed in agony but no sound came from them, their hands clawed at the wire around their necks and at their wounds. One man seemed to be holding his guts in and was weeping in silence. The demon was smirking at the Hunters reaction he held a severs human head in his gloved right hand and was busy using it like a hand puppet, the small boy stood next to him giggling at the severed head.
After a moment or to the child sat on the demons knee and leaned back against the demons chest, before closing his eyes and falling into a contented sleep. It was slowly then that the boy seemed to turn into a shadow and seemed to disappear. Once the child was gone the demon threw the severed head away and crossed a leg over the other, settling back into his bloody throne.
"What did you do to the boy?" Naruto shouted at the demon his voice ringing with concern for the child.
The demon didn't answer and then it did.
"Do! Do! What did I do! Nothing and yet everything! Did I beat his senseless every day? No! Did I rape him every night since his third birthday? No! Did I do it and proclaim it was divine rule? No!" The demons voice became furious and seemed to become more than one voice, it became a mas of voice speaking at the same time. Men, women and children all speaking in anger.
"I did nothing to the boy. Humans did." The demons voice was near deafening now.
"Did I come when he cried himself to sleep at night? Yes! Did I come when he most needed help? Yes! Did I keep him safe from his 'carers'? Yes!...Did I revel in their blood and make them suffer like they made him suffer? Oh Yes! Did I bathe in their blood and ripe the very life from their worthless husks? I truly did." The demon seemed to grow calmer as it spoke now its voice returning to a singular voice.
"I have cared for him for longer than you've been alive Blondy." The demon said as it's voice became placid again.
Naruto and the other Hunters had backed off a little when the demon had started to grow angry.
"As for why I opened a portal the answers very simple Blondy." The demon smiled.
"I didn't..." The demon snapped his fingers and the hole into the demon universe became viable in a cell to the right of the Hunters, on the other side Naruto could see the masses of demons clawing to break through. But something was holding them back...
TBC