Chapter 13- The Evils Within
"Demons..." She started.
"They are one of the five major races. Their powers originate from the darkness that covers this world and hides in the souls of living things. They are beings associated with corruption, impurity, wickedness. Evil."
The image of grotesque looking beings appeared in his head, ranging from different forms. Tall and lanky with stone grey skin and a strange frill like structure around his head, others disproportionately obese with horns and a clown like face, to more human like figures that possessed unnerving eyes.
"Am I a demon?" The question that has been plaguing his mind for a month. "Am I going to be compelled to do terrible things?" He needs to know.
"Do you wish to? Has your goal of being a hero changed?" She asked in turn taking him by surprise at the unexpected reply.
"No..."
"Then to answer your first question, you are." She admitted.
There was a moment of silence between the two as one tried to digest the reality of the situation and the other calmly waiting for an audible response.
"You turned me into a demon." He said quietly, an unidentifiable emotion behind those words. His face was mixture of disbelief and anxiety. His teacher turned him from a quirkless human child to a powerful demon, what was he suppose to think about it. He had thought about it once, just once and he immediately denied that idea. But now that it was real, he didn't know how to react.
"Make no mistake my pupil. Demons are not all bad. They, just like humans, are a race and within a race, there are unique and diverse individuals. You can't simply say that an entire race is objectively evil."
"Please explain everything to me, I have to know."
"Very well."
"This power that I have... it belongs to a demon and I just happen to possess it all those years ago, that's why you had to do surgery on me. To make me compatible with this power, right?"
"That is correct."
"Then do you know how I came into possession of this? If I had to become a demon to possess this power then that means I was born human... and quirkless." He whispered the last part pathetically. How could he not? He thought that this great power belonged to him, his own equivalent of a quirk. It doesn't feel right that it wasn't his yet he's the one using it.
"You were chosen." She replied flatly.
"Chosen? By who?" He asked. 'Who on Earth would give such power to a kid?'
"The most powerful demon to ever exist, the second Demon King, the old King of Liones, and... the founder and captain of The Seven Deadly Sins..."
"Meliodas." He finished her sentence after hearing the last part.
He looked at her with pure disbelief. "Demon king... I was chosen by the Demon king." He repeated slowly his voice already filled with anxiety and worry. "Why? Why did he choose me to possess his power?"
"It's your power Izuku. And I can't answer that question because I don't know his reasons as well."
"What do you mean it's my power? You just confirmed that I received it from someone who chose me to have it."
"Yes I did but who suffered through hell just to be mentally capable of handling it? Who is training day in and out to have ample control? Who is dedicating his life towards using such power for a noble cause?" She pushed question after question.
"But how do—" She cut him off.
"You may be a demon anatomically, but you are still Izuku Midoriya, a kindhearted boy who dreams of becoming a hero." She said with full confidence.
"You put too much faith in me Merlin-san, how are you so certain?"
"I am not. That's is why we are doing our best to help you because you are one of us now, a sinner. I know it may sound negative because it is, but sins are something that all of us have in common. Demons, Goddesses, Fairies, Giants, Humans, they are all capable of committing a sin, an imperfection among us all. The Seven Deadly Sins are proof of that idea." Her eyes were soft and her smile was small as she spoke her wisdom.
"I hope you can see that, even if you're a demon, your soul will be that of a human's, so long as you keep your heart in the right place." She finished her smile slowly growing. He looked down and placed a finger under his bottom lip, his usual thinking pose.
'Keep my heart in the right place huh?' Was he doing that? Saving others as a hero is something everyone can agree on as a good thing but what else does he need to do to "keep his heart in the right place?"
Attitude?
Approach?
Ideology?
"I do have a hunch as to why our old captain did what he did. Would you like to know what I think?" That snapped him out of his internal ramblings.
"You know him more than I do, so your answer will probably be closer to the truth than any I can think of."
"He chose you because you are a good child with very good intentions. Selfless, caring, determined, and brave. Unfortunately you lacked the strength to grasp the goal you sought out for. Seeing you go through the past four months only confirms my guess. You two are similar in a way."
"How so?" Izuku blushed at the compliments he received.
"You both hide your pains behind a fake smile no matter what. You are both brave and hard willed. And you both went through the same agony."
"He lost someone too?"
"Everyone loses someone, others just lose them more times than you would believe, yet he kept living with the pain til he could finally end it for him and his love. The sin of Wrath is the sin directed to no one else but the sinner himself. That's how you felt back then, am I correct?
Izuku gave a wordless nod. She didn't need to confirm it because of course she knows, she just wanted to see if he fully accepts it.
"But what's his plan that he needed to give me his power?"
"What you are doing now, aiming to be a hero. For you to be able to do good for this world, to make your dream into a reality. He asked me to train you but that was more of a necessity rather than some request."
"He did that for me? Giving me the power to reach my dream of being a hero. I don't know what to say." He blinked, a small feeling of pride growing in his chest. "Can I meet him? I want to know for myself."
"In time, you will. Reaching where he is will be difficult and very time-limited."
"Can't you teleport us there?"
"It's not as simple as that. Do you have anymore questions?"
"Yes... what exactly is the demon clan? What can they do? You mentioned how each of the races have their own signature magical abilities. Why do we believe them to be such evil things if you say that they really aren't?"
A memory flashed in his mind, a black tendril latching one to him, wrapping him tightly, choking him. "Was my friend and my mother's murderer a demon as well?"
"I want to know... everything. I want to see the clearer picture, please." He finished with a whisper, a tinge of sadness in his voice and a pleading look in his eyes.
"Take a seat and grab a new notebook, you might want to note a few things down."
Izuku was back in the danger room to continue his training.
After a day or two of an overly detailed explanation on demonology, Izuku felt uncertain as to how to feel of his circumstance. Firstly, he was a demon and apparently a high-ranking one as well. Secondly, demons are indeed to have been the monstrous incarnations of evil or the closest to them at least. Merlin told him of all the terrible things and atrocities the demon clan had committed to the other races under the leadership of their creator. She said that it wasn't their fault. If anyone were to blame, it was the first demon king who's dream of conquest and domination forced the demons to engage in a senseless war against the other clan. The same thing goes for the goddess clan.
It was only when the first demon king was defeated that the demons were freed from their cruel and sorrowful fate of death in the battlefield. They were tragic beings born only for the selfish use of their creators and then served no purpose afterwards like children being born only to work til they die of exhaustion. (Izuku sensed severe disdain his teacher held as she explained that.)
Many were made to be unintelligent and beast like, only following orders from the higher ranks who also gave little regard for them. Indeed many demons were cruel and evil but there were those who were also compassionate and empathetic even in times of war or learned how to be anyway.
King Meliodas was one of them as well as his brother, King Zeldris. He's not sure of their authenticity and all he could do was trust his teacher's words. The two brothers were the flesh and blood of the demon king, his sons and the clan's fiercest warriors. They were nearly unbeatable in the war especially Meliodas who was recognized as the one true heir of the throne but as time passed and the Holy war raged on, they grew tired of the fighting but had no other choice lest they disobey their father.
At some points, they found a reason they had been looking for to want to end the war. It was to unite with the person they held dear. For one it was a vampire, and unfortunately for the other, it was a goddess, the sworn enemy of the demon clan. Eventually the brothers parted ways and became enemies until 3000 years later they were able to defeat their father and end his rule and be with the ones they love.
It was a sad story Izuku thought. To fall in love with someone of different flesh, knowing that it cannot be. It made his heart pound at the similarity of their story and the story he and his friend read all those years ago.
Moving on from the depressing thoughts, he focused his attention to the training he will be having soon. Merlin will be the one instructing him on today's lesson and for good reason too. It was finally the day to use his magic. He'd been constantly suppressing his curiosity and eagerness for almost a month already and he can't wait to get started.
The prospect of not only having superhuman strength, speed, and durability but also extremely powerful darkness based attacks and defenses was too much for him to fully comprehend. With that kind of power in this society, he'd easily be one of the strongest heroes. The only limit he has was how much of the power he could control. Though that also left him with a bit of unease. The reason? If he were to be truly that powerful for being just a novice, then that meant that the power of real demons must already surpass him and transitively surpass the Earth's greatest heroes as well not including the seven sins.
It was then that Merlin appeared out of thin air and landed gracefully on the ground. His teacher greeted him with a smile which he returned in kind.
"Apologies for the short wait, I had to find something for your training today."
"It's fine Merlin-sensei." He called her "sensei" whenever she was teaching simply because it sounded more appropriate.
She handed him something long wrapped in a bundle of cloth. He looked at it and began unwrapping the cloth curious to see what she was talking about. He caught the glimpse of it and he immediately new what it was based on the shape and length of it.
A sword. It looked to be of traditional design, definitely Japanese. He wasn't an expert when it came to swords but it wasn't a katana, he was sure of that. It's blade lacked the curve of one and it was shorter than it should be. In fact, it was too straight to be any modern blades made nowadays.
"U-um, did you buy this for me Merlin-sensei?" He asked meekly. He didn't need to be a swords expert to know that high quality swords not to mention, antique ones were really expensive. He didn't like the idea of them spending their own money for him; being the grateful soul he is, that will only make him feel bad.
"No. If I remember correctly, it was a small gift from a sword smith I met back in the 20th century around the Taisho period." The image of the sword smith pooped into her mind. He didn't really have any distinguishing features other than a silly Japanese clown mask he and apparently his whole village wore. He in particular was annoyingly loud and quite violent when it comes to swords.
'That far back?! That was centuries ago!' Izuku screamed in his head.
"I had gotten word of strange occurrences and supernatural activities here in Japan and decided to investigate. All I found however was a group of murderous and cannibalistic cultists that had inhuman healing abilities." Izuku listened intently to her story processing her words.
'Does that mean quirks already existed back then and were just super rare?
"Anyway, I handled a few of them and the sword smith insisted that I accept the sword as a gift and a sign of his gratitude. I had no use for a sword but the smith was more... stubborn than I thought. I only took it because it was made out of a very unique alloy that I've never heard of."
"What's it called?" He felt a weight off of his chest after hearing her story. She was just giving him a sword she had acquired long ago for the price of saving people which gives him more incentive to use it for good.
"Nichirin."
'That sounded cool.' He thought to himself. He unwrapped the sword from the cloth and took a moment to admire it in all of its glory. The sheath was a plain black while the guard and grip were an emerald green. With both hands, he slowly drew the blade out of the sheath and held it upwards taking in the quality it had. The cutting edge of the blade was a verdant green that spanned from the base to the tip while the rest was a dark black. On the base of the blade that stopped just at the intersection of the guard and the blade itself was an engraving.
"死" (Death)
'That's pretty intense.'
"Woah..." Izuku breathed in the blade's beauty one last time before turning to his teacher.
"Are you sure I can have this?"
"But of course! You'd put it to more good use than I will."
"Thank you but there's only one problem though... I don't know how to use a sword."
"And that's why I am here!"
He shrieked."Gah! Gowther-sensei wha- when did you get here?"
"Just now. But more importantly, I will be the one teaching you how to properly use a sword with your current strength and all the neat tricks you can use it for."
"Hey um, now that I think about it. Why do I even need to use a weapon much less a sword. I mean if my fists are already strong enough, what's the point of using a sword? I could even severely injure someone. It's just a bit too risky in my opinion."
"That is indeed true, but you won't be using it against humans now would you? Like Merlin mentioned when we first met, there are threats beyond humanity. Having a weapon will improve your overall performance in battle. It will also allow you to further focus your strength and perform some of the magic abilities dormant inside of you such as Full Counter."
'I suppose my assumption that a medium is required to perform Full Counter was correct. Is that a limitation or something?'
"A weapon allows you to draw out your true strength and to endure the stress that your body normally wouldn't be able to."
"Well, can't argue with that logic." 'And besides I can always choose when to use a sword in the first place. I was worried for nothing.' Izuku thought to himself agreeing to the pink haired doll's words.
"But before that, you'll be having you first magic lesson with me."
"Yes!"
"I know I've been telling you to put this aside for a long time now for safety reasons and I also know you have been dying to know what it's all about, so let's begin already. Try and summon the magic that flows within you. Draw it out and manifest it."
"How do I do that?"
"Focus and feel the power flowing within you."
Izuku closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath trying his best to find his focus.
"To better illustrate it, imagine yourself in front a lake full of crystal clear water. Then imagine yourself taking as much water with your hands."
He imagined it and immediately felt something course through his veins. Demon darkness emanated like steam from his body growing like flames. Merlin and Gowther watched in awe at Izuku's quick grasp of his ability.
He opened his emerald eyes and saw the darkness seeping out of parts of his body. "This is amazing..." he whispered eyes sparkling with curiosity and astonishment. He felt slightly different, like he was lighter, like he can do anything!
"How do you feel?"
"Incredible! Like I'm as light as a feather."
"That's good. Now try drawing out more."
He did as he was told and dipped his hands even deeper in the metaphorical lake gather even more metaphorical water. The feeling of strength that coursed through his body intensified even more. He could feel himself growing ever stronger as the seconds passed. It was an incredible feeling! The deeper he sunk into his reservoir of power, he felt like he can do anything! He can do everything!
He felt unbeatable, invincible. Like no one can even come close to matching him. No one can stop him from doing what he wants! If they even try, they'll die...
His eyes shot open, a fierce ominous crimson. Black and red lighting danced across his body as streaks of demon darkness lined his arms and parts of his torso. Above his right eye, there was a small spiral like marking that had a streak that crossed his right eye.
"Izuku-kun, how do you feel now?" Gowther asked. He kept a straight face but deep down was a strong sense of unease washing over him.
The boy turned his attention to the doll and smirked with a confidence alien to his being. He answered in a tone much deeper (and much more menacing) than his real voice.
"I feel so much better. I feel... unbeatable."
"Uh-huh"
You're just a Deku.
"I feel like I can do anything now; I can be the one who saves everyone no matter what."
I will defeat you
"I'll beat all the villains out there, I'll defeat them all. I won't spare a single one."
His smirk shifted into a crazed maniacal smile the longer he spoke. Gowther shifted into a stance in case the worst were to happen.
Can someone like me be a great hero like you?
"I'll be the number one hero of this world, the one on top. The symbol of—"
He was cut off suddenly when he suddenly felt a foreign weight pull him down. The necklace glowed a bright blue and his body felt heavier and heavier bringing him to support himself on his hands and knees but he tried to fight it.
"Alright I've seen enough."
"Huh?"
*Absolute Cancel.*
The darkness immediately vanished and retreated back under Izuku's skin and the demon-in-training fell to his hands and knees gasping for air and breathing heavily from the shock and mini headache that followed shortly.
"Wha-what was I saying...?"
"I suspected this would be the case but I hoped it'd be a little better considering your personality." Merlin tapped a finger to her cheek as she commented.
"Huh?"
"As you just experienced, your demonic powers influence your state of mind. It gradually changes your personality to be colder, more aggressive, brutal. Had you not have any mental reinforcement beforehand, you would've surely gone hellbent on doing exactly as you said without any restraint. Luckily you did have enough mental fortitude to not act so brashly." Merlin explained.
"For short, it's a trade off. Using it will significantly increase all of your natural abilities in exchange for your mental stability."
"Don't be discouraged. It is the second best outcome we can hope for. All we need to do is to help you work pass that little personality change with some therapy and soon you'll be in full control of all of your power." Gowther wiped finished fixing his glasses.
Izuku barely managed to hear what they were saying, too busy contemplating on what just happened, on the things he just said. Things that expressed what he really wanted to do deep down but... in a more twisted and... diabolical way. It unnerved him to the core of his being.
The number one hero? The one on top? Was that really what he wanted? No it can't be. He just wants to be a hero who can help people, he doesn't need to be the number one hero to do that.
He doesn't need to but deep down... did he still want to?
"Izuku are you alright? You've been staring at the floor for a while now."
He looked up with a hint of embarrassment but the heavy thoughts that weighed him down quickly came back and he sat down instead.
"Y-yeah I'm fine. I really just wasn't... expecting that."
"Would you like to share how you feel about it? We know it's a lot to take in. This is still your first time after all."
"At first, it was like dipping my hands in the lake, but then it was like I was being dragged into it; I was sinking. The deeper I got, the cloudier everything became. I couldn't see, I couldn't think straight. It's like I wasn't even in control."
"Like a passenger in your own body."
"Y-yeah like that. It's scary now that I think about it."
"Don't be afraid of yourself or your new power. That's what all the past few months was for remember?"
"I know. It's just another surprise I guess. Just when I thought I finally had better control over my power, I suddenly reach another level even higher than before and as much as I like the feeling of being stronger, I'm starting to get worried that my enemies are still far far stronger than I am, than I ever will be."
"You're already thinking that far ahead are you? I suppose your reasoning does make sense. Some of the things we sinners take care of can be quite overwhelming, however judging from the pace you're going and from personal experience, you'll be more than ready in just a few more months." Merlin said with a hint of... pride?
"You really think so?"
"Yes. You're more talented than you think."
He couldn't help but smile at the compliment sending this wonderful feeling to his chest. A feeling that he had been missing for the past few years, one that only his mother and his best friend could give him.
"Thank you."
He felt like he could never say it enough.
Somewhere northwest of Mt. Fuji...
Death.
This forest reeked of it.
Humans have tainted it with their presence, or rather, their remains.
Bodies scattered everywhere. Some dangling on strings, some on the ground rotting away. Blood stains covered the trees and watered the soil.
Blood spilt with their own hands.
It was a terrible sight he thought.
To despair.
To be weak.
To be human.
To willingly end your life in hopes that the next one will be better.
He stood in front of one of the dangling remains of what was once a man. A man who must have suffered, who must have been betrayed.
He knew all too well.
All these deaths, all these lost and suffering souls...
He will free them all...
Whether they liked it or not...
He will kill them all...
He shuddered a familiar feeling crawling up his spine as he felt it, as he felt him. There was no mistaking his killer.
"It seems waiting on revenge has paid off."
In their forest with only the moon to illuminate the darkness, no one could see the haunting smile he wore. The mask slid back on his head reflecting the moonlight as he stalked in the haunted woods for the next fortunate soul to receive salvation.
The sound of metal resonated in the air as he walked towards the sound of distant crying.
Despair.
Hatred.
Agony.
His favorite meal.
"Lend me your strength and we will free everyone else in this world. From their cages, from their problems, from their...
humanity."
In this forest, no one will hear you scream. No one will see your end. Only your remains.
In this forest, no one will know how you felt in your last moments. No one will know why.
Except him.
The crying ceased only to be replaced with gasps of fear only to be silenced immediately
"Who are you?" The young hopeless boy asked trembling within his grasp.
"Your salvation. Let me bear the sin you were about to commit."
"Let me free you from this cruel unjust world."
He listened to those words. Enticing. Understanding. The boy relaxed. He didn't need to struggle anymore. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore. He will be freed but this time, not by his own hands, but by the hands of this merciful being who understood his pain.
'Mom, dad, brother, I'm going to see you again... I never wanted you all to leave me behind.'
He closed his eyes for the last time and this time, they'll be closed forever.
"Thank you..."
~End of chapter~
A/N: I deeply apologize for the wait. I had some personal issues and that along with the pandemic and all making things more difficult but here you go!
Things certainly went dark there at the end but i hope you guys still enjoyed this chapter. Also I hope you liked the small Demon Slayer reference I put.
