Demons, vile creatures, and a plague upon humanity. There have been those who were tasked with their extinction, and three of these warriors are set upon the path of battle with the Demons, both human and hellish in origin of another land.
Chapter 1: Demon Slayer's Ship Wreck
I gripped onto the side of the ship, winds tearing planks from the deck under my feet, "This damn demon, it just had to make it's home at sea." I gritted through my teeth as I looked at the creature in the center of the whirlpool our ship was trapped in. One of my cobalt blades dripped blood from the demon.
"Foolish woman, you should have just stayed out of this." I glared back as the white cloaked demon slayer, his icy blue to white hair matted with salt water, let out a frosted breath. His cold eyes locked with the demon.
"LET ME EAT IT ALREADY!" I looked to the third demon slayer on this mission, he carried no blade, instead his niichirin weapons were clawed and bladed gauntlets. his bare chest covered in war paint in swirling patterns, a wild mess of brown hair and unsettling eyes spoke of the madness. He was struck by a board ripping out of the deck, the nail tearing a gash in his side.
Instead of trying to stop the bleeding he calmly reached into a large leather sack tied over one shoulder and hung on the opposite hip. I looked away fighting the urge to projectile vomit as he ate... something. When my gaze returned to him, the wound was closed.
'Damn it Onizaru, why did that thing have to be sent on this mission.' I didn't know if the demon we had been sent to slay was worse or better then our barbarian team member.
I looked back to the white robed swordsman, Reito-ro Haioku. His icy blue and white sword readied as he steered the ship towards the demon as rain and hail battered us.
"DIE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" The demon screamed out, controlling the waves in a desperate attempt to force our ship under, I could see the slow healing wound on her side from where I had struck her. She was too focused on drowning us over healing her own wounds, I could see the water around her stained red. Her scaled skin was nude, hues of blues and greens splayed on her scales, ebony claws tipped her webbed hands, deep blue hair grew from her scalp and her mouth was filled with shark teeth. "I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT!" She screeched as she swung her hand at us, a wave of condensed water hitting the starboard side of the ship, I heard timbers give way with great snaps as the lower deck flooded. I rushed forward leaping from the ship at the demon, blue blade raised above my head. "Fourth Dance!:"
I never finished the attack.
"BLOOD DEMON ART! TSUNAMI!" The demon woman called out, a wall of water slammed into me carrying me, the ship and my allies away with it. It slammed down on me as the broken mast crashed into my back.
I sputtered as I dragged my self onto the shore. Blood dripped down my face as I coughed up salt water. 'Damn that demon.' I stood up on unsteady legs, my head still swimming as I stumbled along the shore line. "Help..." I called weakly. Each step was agony. My head swam with pain and nausea. I doubled over and dry heaved from the pain. Shattered ribs. I barely stayed standing. I reached the trees and placed one hand out to steady myself. But as leaned against the tree I slumpped to the ground, my teeth chattering from my soaked clothing. 'I didn't drown... but I'm still going to die...' I thought forlornly to myself.
As my eyes closed I looked up at the blue sky. 'I'll see you all soon... I'm sorry I couldn't avenge your deaths...' I let my eyes close.
...
...
...
I felt the heat of the fire before I heard or saw it. Groaning I sat up, my robe having been removed and my chest bound in bandages. A woman with vibrant orange hair sat across a fire pit from me. She said something I couldn't understand, her words not making sense to me.
"Are you.. the one... who saved me?" I said taking pauses to clench my teeth in pain.
She wore a white shirt under a blue jacket with gold trim tucked into a belt around her waist, white pants cut off at her shins and black shoes. Over her shoulders she wore a red cloak with a cape. She scratched her chin and she said something I couldn't understand.
She then pointed to herself. "... Mereoleona Vermillion."
"That must be her name." I said to myself. "I am Kokoro Aoihono. Mereoleona."
She just smiled at me. One large canine tooth stood out to me.
It had been six months since I had met Mereoleona, my wounds had healed. She had taken the time to teach me to speak her language. Once I could stand and fight she taught me about magic. "Kokoro, you have to focus your magic." She would stalk around me. We had stop in towns for clothes and supplies as she traveled north with me. I wore baggy blue pants tied at my waist with a white cloth belt that I slid me sheathed swords through, my top was folded and tucked within the belt as well. I had forgone sleeves as the air in the Clover kingdom was much warmer to the cold mountains I called home.
I was able to generate small spells, it was like using a muscle I never had before. As I trained with her she brought me north to a town called Hage village one day, and one thing caught my eye, in the distance was a massive three eyed skull with giant broken horns sitting atop a pile of massive bones. I stood outside a large tower with her. A large crowd was passing by us. "Head inside, I'll wait for you. You'll receive your grimoire. After that, you are on your own. I'm heading to the strong magic region between here and Spade for some training. In six months head along the main road south, you'll arrive at the royal capital, you should be comfortable enough with your grimoire by then to get a job."
"Thank you Mereoleona. I owe you my life." I bowed to her, one hand on my katana.
With that she left and I went inside the tower. The walls were lined with a near endless book case as people streamed in, men and woman my age crowding the center of the room. "Is that a foreigner? What brought her so far inland?" I flitted my eyes to the side to see two well dressed young men. "I must admit, she is quite the looker." one of the said.
"Don't be stupid, she is still a foreigner. You'll maybe get a single night out of her. Well there is always the chance she is of her home's elite class." His friend replied.
"At least she may be worthy of a grimoire, unlike these peasants, why do we even give them to these mana lacking fools." the first laughed.
"Indeed, I heard that there is a boy who can't even use magic." his friend laughed.
"Really, how sad and pitiful."
I looked up at a aged wizard, his wide brimmed hat and long grey beard denoting his age. only one eye was open. "Welcome to this year's Grimoire awarding ceremony. From this day forward you shall have your own grimoire to fill with spells. Now in years past, not a single person from this region become part of the magic knights, or become the wizard king. SO I'M COUNTING ON YOU LOT! Ahem, sorry. As I was saying, may the awarding begin!"
As I looked above I could see a flurry of tomes flying down towards the ground, each glowing it's own color. Greens, yellows, reds and blues. Covers with clovers and simple or intricate designs. I held out my hand as a blue tome floated down towards me, a silver three leaf clover in the center. The moment it touched my hand I felt mana surge through me. 'Interesting.' I simply let my hand drop to my side. I turned to leave but...
"Um? Is my grimoire running late or something?" I turn back to see a boy with silver hair with a black and red head band and ragged clothes on one knee.
"Uhhh... try again next year?" The wizard suggested.
"WHHAAAAA!?" The boy yelled out.
I shook my head and left. 'How unfair.' I thought to myself as I heard people mock him. 'It isn't your fault, the world just finds unfair ways to keep people down.' I open the door and left the tower. If anything else happened in there, it was none of my concern. I smiled as I looked at the giant skeleton in the distance. 'That seems interesting. Could be a good place to train in.' I thought to myself.
As I started to leave a hand landed on my shoulder. "Hello there, I take that you are relatively new to the Clover kingdom." I looked behind me at a older man, his face heavily scarred, and his frame lanky as greasy hair hung around his face and over his shoulders . "No need to be alarmed, I'm just a former magic knight. I could show you to the local inn." I had heard of the magic knights from Mereoleona. She considered many of them weak.
It was clear he had been inside the grimoire tower. 'No... something is off about him.' I thought to myself. "I'm sorry sir, but I was planning on setting out towards the next town as soon as possible." I replied.
"Then at least allow me to see you to the edge of town." His smile didn't falter.
I sighed. "I don't see the harm in that."
I walked in silence as he guided me to the edge of town. I kept one hand on the handle of my shorter wakizashi sword. Once we past the town limits I turned to my guide. "Thank you for..."
"Chain binding magic: Entangled lock." Chains snapped into appearance around me "It's nothing personal, I just know foreigners can be a annoyance" And he vanished. My short blade snapped out my sheath, batting the chains away as I leapt back out of their grasp. I looked to the ground and easily spotted his tracks heading back towards the town. In a flash I ran following his tracks, one hand on my katana in it's sheath. My light steps barely kicking up dirt nor making a sound.
In just over a few minutes of running I was back at the entrance of the grimoire tower, the man that had tricked me had the two nobles pinned to the walls as wells as a third chained up as he took the boy's grimoire. "I'm sorry but this four leaf grimoire will catch a nice price on the black market."
"Blue Flame Breathing: Fourth Dance: Hellfire Descent!" I leaped up as my cobalt blades ignited with blue flames. The thief turned around a slung his arm at me, chains erupting from the ground. My swords clashed with the magic metal with a clang. I skidded back weapons at the ready. "So you want to steal from others, where I'm from, that could end up with your hands getting cut off."
"Get out of here, this has nothing to do with you!" The chained up, black haired youth called out to me.
"The moment he decided to hurt someone it had everything to do with me. I'm not going to kill him, no. But it doesn't meant it won't hurt." I said coldly.
"Yuno!" From the raised tree line and wall fell another boy, the same one who didn't get a grimoire.
'Damn it, someone else I have to keep out of the fight!' Things got complicated fast.
I noticed a lack of Demon Slayer X Black Clover fics.