Hello there! Chapter 3 is finally here! I don't want to say that I got really busy the past few months however that was the case with it being interview season for graduate school. Having said that I hope you enjoy and please comment and review!
I Iz No one
Eyes that felt like it was piercing every cell in his body, looking for something within him; his soul maybe? Eyes that no matter where you run, no matter how dark it is, even at the depths of the murkiest ocean... it will find you and pull you to its call.
As for what happened next completely shattered Maou's already feeble attempt to regain his composure.
The supposed lifeless body was now moving in an exorcism fashion. It was being pulled upwards like a string attached to the belly being tugged. The arms were resting on the floor being held in place due to gravity. The head was tilted backwards hiding any facial expression from Maou.
Maou's legs buckled and he fell on his rear and used his arms to keep him facing forward. He couldn't muster any words or even make a sound. This day was too much for him, he just wished everything would go away. For the first time he wished he was born human, a human on earth and not on Ente Isla.
His subconscious felt like it was being stripped of almost all of its energy.
Was it being siphoned away? Maybe it was a real demon of this world like in that scary movie with the girl. Hope it doesn't vomit on the floor…
After a while he was able to move his lips and only uttered "Ashiya and Lucifer go outside and make sure Emi and Suzuno don't come in here. At all costs they can not enter this room until we figured this out."
His command was met with silence not even with Lucifer groaning at the thought of doing work.
"Ashiya… are you there?" cried out Maou making sure he doesn't break eye contact with the 'exorcism'.
Having once again no response to his command Maou was starting to get extremely worried. All sense of fear was replaced with distress. Not wanting to let the anxiety get to his head and make him do anything irrational, he decided it was best to try and talk to the vessel.
"Hello?"
Waiting for around twenty seconds he thought it would be wise to call out for Ashiya once again.
"ASHIYA! LUCIFER! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS!" bellowed Maou
Once again no response, honestly at this point he pretty much expected the same.
Maybe they went outside to make sure the other party won't come inside.
Even as he tried justifying their lack of presence he couldn't shake the thought that he was alone in an alternate dimension. His heart was pounding so hard he was afraid it will jump right out of this chest onto the floor and run as far away from the scene as possible.
Interestingly, the body was still arched in that position and wasn't making a single noise. It was as if it were waiting for something to occur, of course this was unknown to Maou. Unsure of what demonic sorcerer was in front of him he decided to try conversing in demonic tongue.
"I am Demon King Satan. I command you to reveal yourself completely and expose your plan. Have you been sent by Demon Minister Camio?"
With no response he decided to try every Ente Isla language he could remember. His efforts yield no results. The vessel remained motionless.
Maou, having being overcome with apprehension turned around to scan the room. Oh how he wished he thought before he acted, then again nothing could have prepared him for what was in front of him. He was met with his apartment slowly getting devoured with darkness. He turned around so fast that that he heard his neck crack, but the vessel was motionless like before.
His mental cap that was stopping his anxiety to rise any higher blew out; like a pressure cooker reaching its limit, all of his emotions flooding his brain, the adrenaline pumping in his system. He was screaming and running, hitting on the walls which haven't been taken over by darkness but without any results. Wearing out all of his strength through his useless fists he slumped onto the ground staring hopelessly at the vessel.
'The vessel' he thought as rage was building inside of him. 'The damn thing is the reason I'm in this situation. I don't care what I have to do to it to make it talk'
He shot straight up and ran full speed to the vessel; at least he tried to run… he found his legs refusing to move.
Desperately trying to force his limbs to move Maou didn't even notice that his environment changed. Specifically, his unconscious scene partner was now standing upright. Silent as before; but conscious nonetheless.
'Damn it why won't they move! It doesn't feel like someone has put a binding spell on me. I don't have any magic left in me to cast any spells.' thought Maou yanked on his thigh,
While preparing himself for another push Maou immediately stopped and froze in place his hands firmly clutching his calf. His spine tingled violently as he felt a pair of eyes rest upon him once again. The same eyes he felt earlier but this time much more pronounced as if they were right in front of him.
It chilled him to the bone; unable to move, not like he could even if he tried. However, something about this feeling was familiar, not because this is the second time he felt like this in one day but because somehow it reminded him of his past. Not when ruled over the demon nation and enslaved more than half of Ente Isla, but rather when he was a child. When he was a lowly goblin child, son of two humble demons whose occupation lied within agriculture. Back then everyone was afraid of being slaughtered by the Knights of the Holy Church, and that was the same for his village.
Unfortunately doomsday reached his village, it was a bloodstained twilight. No one was allowed to survive, they were executed on the spot. Maou still remembers every detail of his father engaged in a fierce battle against 5 soldiers in an attempt to let his mother escape with him in her arms. He never knew how he died but he knew it wasn't merciful but brutal. He did know how his mother died, at the hands of the same knights who tore down his father, but there were four, the fifth was probably wounded by his father. Three spears impaled her torso as she dropped her only child onto the floor. Her last words were an attempt to draw the knights attentions towards her in order to protect her only offspring, 'RUN' she yelled as loud as she could.
The fourth spear impaled her in the mouth as she yelled, followed by all four soldiers cackling at the "job well done".
He ran and he hid like any child would. He hid for days never leaving his hiding spot for any reason, even when he needed to release himself. After a week of hiding from anyone, the effects of dehydration, hunger and fatigue was finally taking its toll. The demon child started to hallucinate and began drifting in and out of consciousness. As more days passed he found himself unable to move, not that he wanted to, he had to make sure no one could neither see nor hear him in case the knights were still raiding his village.
Lack of feeling in his limbs was not the only thing that worried the child. He felt something completely different as if someone was watching him, but from where? Whenever he felt his eyelids begin to feel heavy the presence of those eyes only got more prominent, but never has those eyes done anything but watch.
Looking back at that time Maou finally realized two things. The first was that the sensation he felt back then was identical to what he is feeling right now, and the second is that he could finally pinpoint what those eyes belonged to.
Maou bent his head upwards and looked directly into the face of the being that wore those eyes.
"The eyes of death" muttered Maou incredulously.
The man just stood there looking at Maou. You couldn't even hear him breathing nor could you see him blink.
Beginning to doubt whether the conclusion he arrived at was wrong he began to look around awkwardly hoping for something to justify his claim.
"You are death aren't you" he asked again.
"Yes. I am what you attribute to the bringer of death." returned the man with no hint of any accent.
Maou nodded in response and opened his mouth to ask something before being cut off by Death.
"This is not my true form. I was commanded to meet you like this." said Death who peculiarly decided to blink his eyes.
Maou who shut his mouth out of awe and embarrassment thought it would be proper to kneel or sit down rather than stand alongside with the divine spirit. 'Oh wait. I can't move, oh well atleast I thought about being respectful.'
"So... um ... where exactly are we?" inquired Maou who started to feel belittled.
"I was told to create a time barrier. In simpler words, time has stopped for everyone including you. However, I let you and only you remain aware of your surroundings, for the time being." responded Death who smirked while delivering his pun.
Maou, who clearly had no sense of humor at this time *no pun intended* began looking around trying to visualize what Death was explaining. After realizing Death wasn't going to attack or restrain him he decided to try and get some questions answered.
"Where you the one who attacked me when I was walking home." hoping he was neither blunt nor abrupt he looked patiently at death.
Death's smirk disappeared from his face and looked directly at Maou's eyes and responded "Yes I attacked you after you awoke from your slumber. I was told to attack you like a mortal being and ensure the outcome would be a loss on my side so that we may talk face to face. However, I didn't realize the murderous intent when you struck me with your fist."
Satisfied with the answer Maou pressed harder hoping not to push his luck "Who do you work under, and which demon faction do you represent. I know you are a demon because your barrier was made from demonic energy."
This time Death sat down and motioned for Maou to sit next to him. It seemed like he was being invited to listen to a story. He tried moving his limbs and to his surprise he could move them! He quickly sat down hoping for some more answers.
"Do you believe in angels?"
Caught off guard with the question Maou didn't know how to respond. He did meet Gabriel, he was a jock douche combo pack…. Then there was Sariel, he was an open pervert ...I can't forget about Lucifer, damn he is useless, Emilia is a half angel so I guess that counts, brutish pretty much sums her in one word.
"I did meet a couple, although none of them really symbolized the textual definition of angels. You must know Gabriel, did he send you?" replied Maou
"The Gabriel you know is not the same Gabriel I know. The Gabriel I know is a lot more modest and gentle with man and most importantly properly follows orders and never fails." replied Death
"What do you mean they aren't the same? You're saying the Gabriel from Ente Isla isn't an angel at all? Wait are you from Ente Isla."
"One question at a time mortal. Do you think I am an angel?"
"No since you can use demonic magic."
After his response Death stood up and walked some distance from Maou before turning around. He extended his arms outwards and rose them above his head as if trying to look like the letter "Y". Then he summoned a red circle with ancient writing inscribed in the center. The circle disappeared and a dark cloud was now present on his palm.
Maou who knew what he was doing felt reassured as he was talking to his own kind. Death was creating demonic magic and was able to contain it within his hand. Sensing Maou was relaxing his muscles, Death shot forward at Maou and jammed his hand into Maou's chest. The familiar sensation of energy surging through his veins and flowing to every cell in his body rekindled his thirst for power and only made him want more. He had enough to morph his body back into its original form, not that he wanted to anyways.
Death finally withdrew and once again walked away from Maou and turned around just like before. He raised his arms again but this time he summoned something different, he summoned a light green circle with ancient writing inscribed in the center. Fear crept its way back into Maou's head as he was able to once again understand what Death was summoning. His fight or flight response triggered, it was flight that his body chose but he found his limbs were frozen in place once again.
The green circle disappeared and was replaced with a cloud of white light. Maou braced for impact which followed suite and he was struck with celestial force. The poisoning was also familiar; it wasn't the first time he was hit by it. All the power he gained got drained and he was left curled on the floor in the fetal position. Death withdrew and began once again walking back away from Maou.
For the final time he raised his arms and in each palm there were two miniature clouds of demonic and celestial energy circling each other. When they collided, sparks flew out and then they began circling each other again. Death was able to wield both of them at the same time.
It made sense. Death said earlier that he had to lose their scuffle earlier so of course the barrier would be made of demonic energy; it was the only way Maou could fight back.
"I didn't mean to harm you just now, sometimes actions speak louder and clearer than words." spoke Death in an apologetic tone and seated himself next to Maou. He also poured some demonic energy back into Maou to help him sit up, which served its purpose; the severely weakened Demon king was now on his knees and panting violently.
After calming his breathing rate Maou finally spoke "So you're not like Gabriel and his goons. You're the real deal a real angel but then what about Gabriel? What is he?"
"It is of little importance to comprehend his existence, but since you seem so keen on Gabriel, I was told that I could shed some light on the issue"
"Who told you? Is there anyone else watching us? And why do you keep saying I was told to or I was commanded?" inquired Maou who recalled Death saying only he was able to remain conscious during the time stop.
"The one who sent me, the one who is watching, and the one who commands me is all the same. It's God." replied Death nonchalantly
"Alright you have been sent by God but what does Gabriel have to do with this." Maou felt irked about the subject of God after all he was the Demon King and inadvertently pressed on rudely.
"Angels are created to only obey God and nothing else, for that is our sole reason for existence. An angel that doesn't obey God is not an angel, and an angel that has free will is not an angel. Regarding Gabriel, he isn't a true angel; he believes he is because he wields powerful celestial force. The heaven he talks about is an abode created by God to appease his kind for they are not unjust beings. He came here searching for the yesod fragment because without it the heaven they live in will shatter."
"So Gabriel has free will because he was searching for the yesod fragment on his own accord, Sariel had free will because he is able to stay in Japan and swoo Ms. Kisaki" interjected Maou as the pieces in his head all aligned into a single coherent picture.
"But that leaves one thing, why are you here?" inquired Maou hitting the most important issue "It doesn't look like you are here to make me deliver my soul to you."
"I will get to that in a moment but first let me ask you something else, Maou do you believe in the Devil?"
Deja vu. This entire conversation has been a series of Deja vu from the sensation of being watched, to being dumbfounded by random theological questions.
"I… I mean… I am the Demon king" stuttered Maou without and confidence. If he truly was the devil he would have surely given a more boisterous response, but with the pondering he had been doing ever since he came to Japan, and how he has been contributing to society as a meaningful individual kept making him doubt whether he truly was the devil everyone feared.
"You doubt yourself child." questioned Death with a solemn expression. "I am not here to take your life Maou. I came to discuss" Death shifted his position as he thought carefully for the right words to use.
"I came to discuss the matter with you, but before we continue we must clear whatever is plaguing your subconscious and leave your mind in a pristine condition."
"So you came to enter my mind, summon your scythe, cut some wires, cast a spell here and there, and clear the inner plumbing of my mind? Retorted Maou who smirked during the entire response.
"No. I'm here to help you find yourself in the world; you must find your goals and how to achieve them." replied Death coldly giving no time for playful behavior. "We will get straight to the point, tell me Maou do you believe you are the Demon King".
"Yes I am the Demon King and I rule the demon race and promise to lead them to a better tomorrow." answered Maou confidently and curtly.
"How will you do that? Your kind isn't the only one inhabiting your world. In fact the other party believe you are the devil himself and your people are creatures that come from hell." replied Death bluntly
The same question that has been plaguing Maou's mind for the past few weeks has once again decided to knock on his brain. He couldn't find a simple solution, one where the demons and humans could live happily ever after. Every plan he worked out ended up resulting in which creature will control the other, or which creature will need to submit for peace. That wouldn't be peace, it would be forced subjugation which would turn to slavery faster than one could imagine. Not even that would last long before the lesser species would revolt against their "masters" and create a new war.
Maou was snapped back to reality as Death cleared his throat obnoxiously and started drumming his bony fingers on the black floor of what Maou still assumes to be his apartment. It seems he was waiting for Maou to reply with either a foolhardy plan or simple "I don't know", neither of which happened instead Maou took a gamble and posed a question to Death.
"What do you think I should do?" inquired Maou "I mean you said it yourself I'm the devil and to humans we are hells spawn" it surprised him how calmly and clearly he said that as if he believed what he just said.
"Oh but you don't believe that do you Maou!" replied Death his eyes wide with astonishment
"Do you think your kind is responsible for the sins that humans commit, that because of you humans are tempted to do evil? Is it written in your legends that the first Demon King persuaded Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden apple? All of this is FALSE!" yelled Death who was livid with rage.
"No you aren't devils! You go by the term demons because that is what the church refers to you as. And being the sheep you are you followed them! Tell me Maou aren't you supposed to fight them in every way? Instead you are adopting their terminology and allowing that to cloud your judgement. I am told of what goes on in your head, all of the plans you tried to concoct and how they all end up leading you to nowhere." Death was hysterical at this point he seemed to hate the church as much as Maou did and wanted to see its downfall.
"I will tell you what to do. Return to Ente Isla and take down the corrupt. Rid the notion of your kind being demons and show them the real evil lies in the church. UNITE MANKIND AND YOUR KIND AGAINST YOUR COMMON ENEMY THE CHURCH." Roared Death as if he was giving the final commands to an army before they went to war. But he did, he made Maou's mind clear as the ruler of demonkind he realized he must return to his people and fight again.
But for now, he needs to find a way out of this black box. Maybe a free meal at MgRonald's will help Death calm down,
There you have it a chapter with heavy dialogue and hopefully a good ending (it sounded pretty good to me). I promise I will bring other characters into the story and maybe speed up the pace but I do have a lot planned out for this story. Please comment and review.
Until next time
-I Iz No one