Chapter 18_Fire and Ice
Chapter Summary: Shouta and the dwarfs escape the mountain, but there's no rest for them as a new threat appears almost immediately.
Shigaraki snarled as the mirror showed the cursed Hizashi tearing another of his monsters apart. "Dammit all! First, he fails to bring me Snow White, and now he's killing all my other monsters?!"
Fires of his rage burned in his eyes. He stomped back and forth like a petulant child, each step dissolving the stone floor, creating a trench beneath him. The spirit of the mirror watched his tantrum in amusement.
"It is impressive, that's for sure," it hummed. "I knew the huntsman would be a powerful demon, but even I'm surprised." If looks could kill, then the glare the King gave it would have cut through the mirror like an executioner's ax.
"Impressive?!" he spat. "This is the third time that huntsman has made a fool of me and my power!" How dare he? How dare that worthless hunter keep getting in his way like this?! How dare he challenge him time and time again? How dare he defy him!
First, the huntsman refused to obey his orders and kill Snow White. Then he had the gall to actually try and trick Shigaraki with the heart of an animal! And then when Shigaraki was "kind" enough to give him another chance to redeem himself in a new form, that stupid bird defied him once more and refused to bring Snow White to him! Now he was destroying the army of demons he made to do what the huntsman refused to do?!
At this point, he didn't even care about getting the prince's heart or his Erasure anymore! He just wanted that traitor dead! "I've had enough! I'll do what I should have done in the first place! I'll kill that wretched bird and carve Snow White's heart out myself!"
Over him, the figure in the mirror held the image that angered the king in the palm of his hands. He watched as the huntsman tore the attacking demon's jaw off before stabbing it in the head with its beak.
"And how will you do that?" The Mirror inquired, bemused by the King and intrigued by the bespelled huntsman. "Distance aside, the huntsman clearly has enough strength to destroy an army of demons. And his will is clearly stronger than yours. I do hate to say it, my King, but you appear to be outmatched."
Shigaraki slammed his palms against the glass of the mirror. "THEN GIVE ME YOUR POWER! All of it! Give me everything you have!"
A dark forebode filled the room. Suddenly, the hot flame of rage inside Shigaraki was doused by an ice-cold chill that crawled through veins and over bones until it settled into his stomach. He became frozen, like an ice sculpture. In his mind, he felt like a man with his head in the stocks of a guillotine.
Shivering, Shigaraki looked up. The Demon of the mirror had no eyes, but it did not need them. The large, malignant grin displayed everything it needed to.
"Your wish is my command."
The blade dropped.
Shigaraki discovered that his hands were stuck to the mirror's surface. He tried to pull away as black webs coursed through his skin but was trapped. He cried out as every part of him began to contort.
"You wanted everything? Then you shall have it. You shall have my power. But you will also have my mind, my will, and my desires. You shall have all that I am—however, with all that, I doubt there will be anything left of you. Goodbye, my King."
Shigaraki's body twisted in ways so unnatural that bones started to break and shatter. As his head thrashed his neck snapped and the crown flew from his head. His mind was drowning, being eaten and swallowed by the demon in the mirror. His fright reflected back over a monstrous grin as Shigaraki fought with desperation and all his will. He desperately tried to hold on to his body, his mind, and his sense of self! But in the end, it was as futile as a tree fighting not to be burned in the center of a wildfire, and soon he was consumed.
He was gone.
His form was released from the diamond and slid to its knees. Then it smiled.
After a hundred years of waiting and waiting, the Demon King stood. He looked over his new form. When it was Shigaraki's, the body was lean, but now it was bulked with muscles, decorated with black and purple veins in patterns of spiderwebs. Humming to himself, he walked to where the crown had rolled after it fell from the King's struggle. The saffron gold turned black when he placed it on his new head. Among the billowing mane of white, the crown's points resembled horns. He turned to the diamond mirror that had been his prison all this time. As he waved his hand, three images appeared simultaneously.
The first was of Snow White and his dwarfs, all cuddled together against the cold. The second was the cursed Hizashi, who had killed the final demon Shigaraki had sent. The third was of a golden valley surrounded by a wall of flame.
The Demon Lord chuckled to himself. "It's funny how things line up, hm? Everything I want all in one, neat line."
With a flick of his wrist, the diamond mirror shattered.
777
Once they all caught their bearings, Shouta tended to each of the dwarfs. Aside from Ochaco, who had a small cut across her neck, none of them seemed to be harmed. Despite that, he wouldn't say that they were alright. The adrenaline wore off, and they looked exhausted and scared. It took some time to pull Izuku, Tenya, Toru, and Ochaco out of their shock, and even then, they were quiet and staring ahead like they had seen a ghost.
"Are you… I…" What should he say? Of course, they weren't alright. He didn't go through half what they did, and HE wasn't alright.
After a moment, one of the dwarfs spoke.
"The runes are all gone…" Momo mumbled suddenly, bringing attention to what was on all their minds. Her body trembled, and tears broke from her eyes. "We've had them all this time, and now they're…" Her voice threatened to break into tears. Denki moved forward to offer comfort and, after a moment, Tenya did as well.
At first, Shouta was surprised that was their main concern. The Troll Queen had almost killed them in a room of blood, then almost buried them alive by literally bringing the whole mountain down on their heads, yet it was losing the rune that devastated them?
He thought about it for a little longer and suddenly it made sense. For years the runes were literally the only thing keeping them protected from a world trying to kill them. So long as they had them, they were safe, and everything was okay. But now they were gone. Not to mention with their mines and cottage being gone, the loss of the gem runes meant that everything they had was gone.
Shouta knew the feeling from his own experiences. Yet despite understanding how they felt, he had no idea what to say to them. He was never good when it came to feelings or words. So he just kept silent, afraid that if he said anything, he would just make things worse. He did reach out to comfort them the best he could.
After a while, he forced everyone to stand.
"I know it's hard, but we can't stay here," he said. "It's not safe."
"Is anywhere safe?" Shouta was thrown off by Toru's question, not just by the words but by the way they were said. Her voice was on the verge of tears while also being edged with a cynicism that was so unlike the usually optimistic and bubbly girl. Shouta wanted to assure her, tell her that things would get better. After everything that happened doing so would have felt like a lie, especially when Shouta wondered the same thing. Still, it broke his heart that he couldn't do so.
"Tsuyu? Are you okay?" Shouta turned his head and saw Izuku hugging Tsuyu, who had curled into herself. The rest of the dwarfs seemed fine despite the cold, but she was shaking violently. The human quickly moved to their side.
"What's wrong?" As he picked the dwarfelle up, she instinctively nuzzled into his chest towards the warmth.
Tenya shook his head, knowing he had to get himself together for the rest of them. He was the oldest, after all, so he had to be strong. No matter what memories clawed at him. He and the others crowded around Shouta and Tsuyu in worry.
"It—It's the cold. Tsuyu's sensitive to it. And all this stuff-" Tenya bent down and scooped up a handful of snow, then dropped it as the ice hurt his fingers. "Is freezing!"
Shouta shifted Tsuyu in his arms, trying to keep her as warm as possible. "That's snow. Is she going to be okay?"
None of this looked good for them. They were lost in the middle-or at the edge-of a frozen wasteland with no idea where to go next, everyone was exhausted, and it was getting colder by the minute. What Shouta did know was that they needed to get out of the open and find somewhere with heat before they froze to death. Fuck, it was just one thing after another, wasn't it?!
"We should try to move," he announced to the rest of them. "Find somewhere we won't freeze and get sick."
"This isn't going to end up like last time, is it?" Ochaco asked.
God, Shouta hoped not. "No. We're just going to find someplace where we can make a fire." A cave would be nice but considering recent events, Shouta decided they would be avoiding them for a while.
Momo looked around. "Uh, which way do we go?" That was a good question. Luckily, Hizashi had told Shouta some basics about how to gather directions without a compass.
"The sun rises in the east, and we need to head south, so we'll go this way," he said. He motioned to the dawning sun with his head as it peeked over the distance. Or at least he assumed it was the sun. The light was green instead of the usual pink, orange, red, etc. that he was used to, but he just assumed that the snowflakes that rode in the air disoriented the color.
No one wanted to start walking, but they wanted to stay in the cold terrain even less. As Shouta and the children walked deeper into the imp lands, the kids huddled closer, even holding hands.
The area was mostly just snow and more snow with an odd light in the distance, though there were barren trees here and there. The trees were black and looked as if they had been burned by a fire. This added to Shouta's worries. If they needed water, they might be able to melt the snow, but what about food? How long could they go without eating anything? Then again, maybe they wouldn't have to worry about that.
Shouta shivered, no, not shivered, but shook. The cold shook him so hard he had to stop and check that there wasn't an earthquake. His body felt nearly numb, and his skin was tinged with blue. It only got colder the further they ventured in. Shouta requested Momo to make blankets for them to help keep them warm. He worried about the dwarfs and how they were coping with the cold, but aside from Tsuyu (who he had to wrap doubly tight), they seemed to be handling it okay. They were shivering but not as bad as he was. His skin felt like a thousand needles were poking at him and his feet, which pushed through twelve inches of snow, were numb.
Shouta distracted himself by focusing on the fact that this was the last obstacle. If they could just make it through here without being seen, then they'd be in the Elfin lands. Then he could find All Might and save Hizashi. It wasn't logical for Shouta to put all his hope on that thought but right now it was all he had.
Even so, Shouta knew they had to find somewhere to get warm soon, or-
CREAK!
The sound of wood seemed to echo through the barren tundra. Shouta whipped his head to look at the crisp tree above.
Up there, peering down with eyes of brimstone—a color shade that was way too familiar for Shouta's liking-a boy sat, hunched. His long, pointed ears twitched as he watched them, but not as much as the long, red tail behind him. It was hard to tell his age, yet if Shouta had to guess, he would say the imp was between ten and twelve.
"Who the hell are all of you?" He stared at them as if he was looking at some disgusting insect crawling on his food. His breath created small clouds of mist, making him resemble a dragon.
Shouta maneuvered to stand protectively in front of the dwarfs.
"Are you an imp?" he asked. The adolescent's face contorted in an ugly way as he sneered at them. "What else would I be?!"
'Shit.' As he met the red glare with his own Shouta remembered Fat Gum's words about how the imps were violent beings who were always looking for a fight. The human hoped the troll had been exaggerating.
Beside him, Izuku blinked curiously.
"An imp? Like the ones All Might defeated-" At the mention of the legendary hero the boy's claws sparked, and the tree he sat in ignited like a giant torch that lit the area in an orange flame.
Shouta and the dwarfs jumped back in shock, some of them screaming as they clung to Shouta's leg.
While the imp seemed pleased at their fear, it did little to cool his annoyance. He sneered down at them. "If you all know what's good for you, you won't mention that name around here." Even though the flames were licking at his skin, the boy didn't flinch. His grin grew. "Not that you'll be around much longer!"
The imp then leaped into the air, the flames trailing him as he did so. He landed and suddenly there was a big BOOM which sent sparks shooting everywhere. The force created a small crater while Shouta and the dwarfs stumbled back with screams, nearly knocked off their feet. The imp gave a gruesome smirk, reminding the group of the troll queen whom they just escaped.
"I haven't had anyone new to fight in a long time; just that half and half brat. So this-" The imp's claws suddenly sparked with fire, making the kids jump. "SHOULD BE JUST WHAT I NEED TO GET BACK TO WINNING!" He charged forward, his hands sparking with flames. Shouta placed Tsuyu down before rushing to intercede the imp. He only just managed to cross his arms in defense as the hit landed. The impact resulted in a blast that sent the man backward with his forearms smoking.
The children cried out in worry as Shouta fell into the icy snow. "Mr. Aizawa!"
The imp boy's face twisted with insane glee as his palms sparked. "When I saw the mountain start to come down, I knew that I had to see for myself. Anyone strong enough to do that must have awesome power!" the imp boasted. "I'll take that power and make it my own!"
Shouta grunted as he pushed himself up. So, all his hopes that Fat Gum had been exaggerating about the imps being blood-thirsty maniacs looking for a fight was dashed.
"That wasn't us-" The imp didn't let him finish. He leaped forward, his hands ignited. In a moment of desperation, Shouta tried to activate his own powers hoping that it would help them. However, when Erasure activated his eyes burned with such an intense pain that he was forced to snap them shut. As he did so, the imp slammed an attack into his face.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Shouta was tossed back once again, but the onslaught didn't stop. It was one fiery swipe after another, and all Shouta could do was hold his arms up to block the attacks.
This action—or inaction-only seemed to infuriate the imp, who snarled so Shouta could see his fang. "Aren't you even going to try to fight back?!"
But Shouta didn't. He couldn't. He had no knowledge how to, and even if he did, the attacks were too strong! He couldn't even keep his eyes open due to strain and the bright light from the flashes. Shouta was hit in the back with a kick that nearly shattered his spine. Once he hit the ground, he was pinned in the snow by afoot.
"Is that all you got? Seriously? And you're supposed to be an adult, right?" The words cut more than they should have. Shouta was getting his ass handed to him by a brat! He always knew he wasn't a fighter, but this was ridiculous! To be fair, he was exhausted as he had just escaped a collapsing mountain after fighting a troll queen with little to no sleep. Oh, and the kid had explosive firepower.
"Stop it! Leave him alone!" the dwarfs cried from the side.
"Stay back!" Shouta called to them. He had to think of something fast or they were going to end up injured, or worse.
"Tch! Maybe you should let them help since you're so pathetic," the boy scoffed. His hands sparked. "What a waste of time! Just die."
Shouta grabbed a handful of snow and managed to throw it in the imp's face. It didn't do anything, but it distracted the boy enough to allow Shouta to flip him off. The moment he had, allowed him to get to his feet. He then pulled out Himiko's knife. He didn't want to use it against a child, even one with the power to create explosions and sizzle his skin, but he hoped it would scare him enough to make the imp back down.
"We're not here to fight. We're not even planning on staying. We're just trying to get through," he explained, hoping that being rational would help.
Instead of being angry or scared at the sight of a knife, the boy seemed to giddy.
"Finally! Now maybe we can have some fun-"
"Bakugou!"
A ear-splitting voice rang out. Shouta and the others whipped their heads around. Through the snowfall, a towering figure approached them. His body was lit with flames that danced around his face and torso while enveloping his wrists like gauntlets. As he advanced, the heat from the fire hit Shouta in the face harder than the imp child had done a minute ago. He was surprised the area hadn't turned into a desert from it. Yet despite the steam from each step, the snow didn't melt at all.
He stopped a few paces away, but even with the space, Shouta was starting to sweat. The man's long, red tail swung about behind him as he glared at the imp child.
"Bakugou. You're supposed to be back at the village."
The child hissed and growled like an angry cat. "Screw off, old man! I was scouting for enemies, which I found, so let ME deal with them!"
The adult imp ignored the boy, however. His eyes, burning with a teal flame, narrowed at Shouta.
"Are you responsible for bringing the mountain down?" he demanded. The human shook his head as the dwarf children crowded closer to him.
"No. The Troll Queen did that herself in a moment of madness."
For a moment, there was no reaction at all, then he smirked. His teeth weren't as sharp as Himiko's or Bakugou's, but there was still a predator look to it. His face twisted with a touch of madness.
"So, that madwoman finally took herself out, huh? Good! One less thing to worry about." He held up his palm, and a ball of fire, the size of three heads, appeared. The flames swirled and dance in anticipation of burning something.
"I am Endeavor, Leader of the Imps of the Ashen Plains—and you are trespassers and shall be dealt with as such." He released the flame towards Shouta and the others. The dwarfs all flinched in fear while Shouta did his best to shield them as he braced for impact.
It never came, for at that moment, a dark shape descended from the sky. It landed between Shouta and the attack, using its four mighty wings to block it. Shouta and the others stared with surprised expressions.
"The bird!" one of the dwarfs gasped at the same time Endeavor growled, "A demon!"
The imp's eyes became narrowed as his fangs clenched. The beast met the stare with a cold gaze. Then with a loud vocal blast, it threw back Endeavor and Bakugou into a snow mount that buried them. The two imps let out angered cries as both flared, however they were stuck. While this went on, the bird looked back at Shouta. When the two pairs of red orbs met, it made a motion to its back.
'Is it…?' No time to question things.
"Quick! Climb on!" He kept his eyes on the imp king and child who were scrambling to their feet.
"I-Is that safe?!" Momo asked.
"No! But do it anyway!" Shouta piled all the dwarfs onto the bird's back before jumping on himself.
Once all eight were on its back, the bird took off into the sky and against the harsh winds.
Not a moment too soon, for just as the bird took flight Endeavor had stood, steaming literally and figuratively.
"They're getting away!" Bakugou growled. "This is your fault! If you had just let me-" His jaw snapped closed. A silent fury surrounded the imp king as he watched the demon flee with the trespassers.
"So. The humans are so desperate to take what's ours they've made contacts and deals with demons have they? As if we didn't have enough problems-No matter." Endeavor's entire body suddenly became surrounded by flames. On his chest, a green gemstone that glittered like stars started to glow. Bakugou jumped back, startled as a mad look crossed his face.
"I don't care who challenges me; I'll take them all down and show them who is the master of this land!"
The flames swirled around him like a vast tornado. With a motion, he shot it after the human and his demon bird.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Shouta turned and his eyes widened. The fire tornado spun towards them. Knowing it could not outrun the inferno, the beast turned and tried to block it with two mighty wings, but the blast threw it back.
The beast let out a loud cry of pain as it reared backwards. Shouta and the dwarfs screamed as they were tossed into the air. Blindly Shouta reached out to grab at them but it was all for naught. Then it all faded to black.
{To be Continued...}
Meta Notes:
*Believe it or not I actually planned for there to be resting points between each chapters to give time to have Shouta and the dwarfs rest (readers as well). But here we are.
**Call me Lemony Snicket I guess.
*If you follow my Tumblr page you may have received one or two hints that Bakugou is not my favorite character. In fact he is a character I dislike more and more with new manga update.
However, the moment I came up with the imps I knew I had to use him. You can't have a race of fire starters without the poster boy of the angry fire starters. Same with Endeavor. Don't worry, Bakugou won't die (he is a kid). But as I stated in the beginning he is an antagonist and therefore will be treated as such.
*I wonder if I crossed a line by having Shouta pull a knife on Bakugou. He wasn't planning on using it and Bakugou was intent on killing them (for reasons explained below), but still.
Imp Notes:
*Imps are beings said to be born from the fires at the very core of the world and are sent to the surface to cleanse it. This may or may not be why some are so violent.
*Maturity comes with age applies especially to the imp children as the younger they are the more likely they are to kill you (not always on purpose, they just tend to get carried away in play). Though it depends on their "fire power."
*The imp planes have special trees that burst into flames at the slightest spark. They don't burn down however.
Demon Notes:
*Demons are rumored to have been born of a spell to banish dark thoughts and emotions. What the spell did though was give the dark feelings a physical form. These feeling became violent and unstable. Demon have an urge to consume or destroy everything.
*These being are not mindless though. Despite the urge they're good at waiting until the right moment.
*It's said that only elfs can destroy demons, but this isn't the case. Elfs are just the only kind that have nurtured their cleansing abilities while others have not.
*Imps and humans are more likely to fall for the demons tricks.
*Working with demons isn't necessarily a condemnation but it's like working fire using gasoline and oil; you HAVE to always know what you're doing and be on guard. One little mistake and everything goes up in smoke.
*They can't forcefully possess a person. They have to be let in or invited. They're very tricky about this however and if you don't have the proper shields even a phrase as simple as "come in" can lead to possession.
**Shigaraki usually had a mental guard up, but he lowered it in his rage.