Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or
concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
The Annals of the Heroine Akane, and the Dreaded Demon King. A Tale of the Mirrorverse.
Chapter 26: The divine right of Kings.
Ryouga shared another look with Xian Pu as Ranma continued to brood as he sat against the wall of the cave they had settled down in for the night. He had barely spoken at all since they had left the sisters behind. A fact that neither of them felt like pointing out to the brooding Demon King.
Of course, it wasn't like they didn't each miss a particular human as well.
Ranma growled and struck the wall in frustration, a move that jerked the other two out of their own ruminations. "Why did she have to be the Hero?" He growled out, then sighed and let his head hang down. "Why did I have to become the Demon King…"
Xian Pu and Ryouga shared a look before the massive boar-headed demon spoke up. "Because that is the role that you both were given by the Goddesses so that we could fight their war by proxy."
Ranma growled, then let a defeated sigh slip from his lips. "We need to deal with the things that are in our power to handle. Something needs to be done about the members of the Church that are hunting my head. Hopefully it's only a small group, and not the majority."
Xian Pu and Ryouga shared another look, but neither had the heart to say what they both feared. That this was not some isolated incident, nor the ambitions of a limited number of the Church.
It was quite possible that they believed they were working in Her will, and that would mean that they would not stop. No matter what. Not until Ranma's head had been claimed. Nothing else would convince them to stop.
Not unless they could force them to give up. Force them to bow down and submit to the will of their King.
Either path would be washed in blood, and paved in bone. There would be no easy solution to this, not unless Ranma chose to surrender and accept his death. A choice that Ryouga and Xian Pu would not, could not, allow to come to pass. They would walk alongside their master no matter where it led.
Even if that meant opposing the Queen of the Dark herself. They both would rather be cursed and doomed to an eternity of torment if the alternative meant betraying their one true King.
"We will stand by you, your Majesty. No matter the foe, no matter the trials that you face. We stand with you." Ryouga rumbled out as Xian Pu nodded and crossed her arms under her ample chest.
Ranma laughed darkly and nodded. "I never once doubted it. We need to find out how deep this rot has spread, and also…" Ranma said before he hesitated.
"And also what, Lord Ranma?" Xian Pu asked as she canted her head to the side.
Ranma sighed. "And we also do need to find the Heroine's party, to make sure that we can keep track of them."
Ryouga and Xian Pu exchanged looks again and nodded. "Of course, Lord Ranma. But, how do we find them?" Ryouga rumbled out in his deep voice.
"The same way we always have. We seek the most vital battles, just as I am sure they will do if they are looking for us." Ranma answered as he stood and reached for his pack.
"Then we had best deal with our little problem, so that we won't be distracted." Xian Pu said as she gathered her few belongings as well.
Ranma nodded as Ryouga stood and stretched before the trio left the cave under cover of the night, and began their journey to the nearest temple of the Goddess of the Night. The sooner they could take care of this problem, the sooner they could seek out answers from the sisters, and see where the future would lead.
The trio had crossed back into the Demon King's territories, carried by the great wings of Ranma's Dark Dragon form. The last few days they had traveled by foot to avoid detection, but now they had reached the point where boldness would suit them better than stealth. That had been Ranma's decision, even if Xian Pu had disagreed with that. She had always preferred to come upon her prey stealthily, then apply violence in a sudden and decisive manner.
Ryouga had chosen to keep his opinion to himself, as he often did. He would let the others decide, and make the best of whatever situation he found himself in. He could see the merits in both, but some of the things that Kasumi and he had talked about made Ranma's decision much more solid. The clergy could twist anything, if given the time to think on it. But, if they were caught unawares then the same passion and zeal that drew others into their flock could often lay bare things that they held close to their heart, and not what their head could weave.
For now, he would follow the others and support them, like he always had in the past. But perhaps it was time that he started to take a more proactive role in the world, instead of just always letting himself be pulled along. Ryouga nodded to himself as he matched his stride to the other two and pondered once again how much they had all changed since they became acquainted with the trio of sisters. Xian Pu was still filled with restless energy, a desire for motion but she seemed far more subtle now, less likely to rush headlong into danger and mayhem.
Ranma… He seemed less distant. He had always seemed that when he did not wear the skin of the Bard, Ranko, that he had to keep himself aloof. Distant and unapproachable, like some mountain in the distance. He would not say that Lord Ranma had softened, per se. But he would say that he had allowed himself to act far more as a person, and less an ideal.
He knew how much he had changed, mostly in a profound and fundamental way. Something that had shook him to the very depths of his being.
He had hope. For the first time in his long existence, he had hope.
And her name was Kasumi.
The trio strode into the temple, past the bewildered guards without giving them a chance to react. A forceful look from Ranma proved more than enough to silence the younger guard who had started to open his mouth.
Xian Pu stalked next to Ranma, and looked as feral and dangerous as you would expect from the Demon King's personal executioner. Ryouga had a far different role, one that he had played many times over the years that he had been in Lord Ranma's service.
Ryouga was well aware of how the less beastial emons, and the orcs especially, perceived him. They took him for someone that was big and slow, in more ways than one. His build and the expression on his face when he relaxed tended to make people think he was a stupid brute. They often said and did things in his presence or proximity that they would never have dared be witnessed if they thought that he could understand what had transpired in front of him. It was an image that Ryouga had been careful to maintain and cultivate, even if he knew that Ranma did not approve of it.
Anything to better serve his Master.
Ryouga lagged just a bit behind the other two as they entered the temple itself, and the priest looked up from where he had prepared the nightly sacrifice to greet those that had entered the temple. The words died on his lips as he stared at the imposing sight of Lord Ranma before him.
"Your Majesty… What… What brings you here at this hour?" The priest asked as he glanced around nervously. It was clear to all three of them that he looked for someone higher ranked, to handle the situation that had walked in the door.
Ranma looked at the priest like he was almost beneath notice. "Why would I not pay my respects to Our Mother of the Night when I am near one of Her halls? Is there a reason that I should not?" He said in a forceful, cold tone.
The priest took a step back before he caught himself, and dropped down in supplication. The smell of fear and anxiety rolled off him in waves, easily detected by the strong sense of smell of Ranma's companions. "No! Of course not! I.. I should go and fetch the High Priest of our humble temple. With… With your permission, your Majesty?"
The priest hardly waited for the barest motion of acceptance before he hurried from the main hall, and into the back of the temple to fetch the High Priest. Ranma looked about imperiously as Xian Pu stalked about like a curious cat in a new home. Ryouga hung back as he squinted his eyes to seem even more porcine than normal. Slowly, more and more filled the shadows of the hall as they drew in those who would see what had happened.
The High Priest bustled in, an orc who had grown oddly fat for one of his kind. He fidgeted with the symbol of the Dark Lady that hung about his neck before he dropped low in respect to the Demon King. *Your Majesty! It is an honor to see you! We didn't expect to have such an august personage at our humble temple to She who Dwells in the Night! What do we have to thank for this surprise?"
Ryouga could hear some of the imitates as they spoke in hushed tones, fear and excitement rolling off of them like a tide.
"I thought that he was dead? What is he doing here?" One said quietly to another who looked at him before he replied.
"It doesn't matter, the Templars will be here soon, and then that heretic will be no more. Just as She wishes it to be." The other initiate said quietly before he glanced at Ryouga, and seemed to dismiss him. "The sooner we are rid of those who do not embrace Her, the better."
Ryouga snorted and shifted a little as he seemed to idly twitch his fingers, and in response Xian Pu twitched her tail and flicked an ear. Ranma didn't visibly react as he addressed the High Priest in a calm, even tone of voice.
"We came to return some things that were left behind. Things that are probably best not left for just anyone to happen upon." Ranma said in a cold, almost casual tone of voice before Xian Pu emptied the bag that she had carried onto the floor. The holy symbols of the fallen priests clattered onto the floor, along with the wrapped head of the priest who had led them. The High Priest stared at the spilled contents for a long moment before he took a step back and pointed a thick finger at Ranma.
"How… How dare you! You desecrate the house of our Goddess! You… You foul mockery! You are unworthy of Her blessing! That is why you must be slain! That is why they will name another to the throne! You might have escaped from those that were sent to lay you low and teach you where you belong, but that ends now! We will carry out Her will! We will be the ones to take your foul, blasphemous head!" The priest screeched as the denizens of the Temple rushed to engage Ranma and his companions.
The priests had numbers and their Goddesses' blessings on their side, but they faced the three greatest fighters that the Demon King's realm had ever known. The sounds of combat filled the night air, punctuated with the chants and prayers of the priests, until it went silent. A deathly pall lay over the temple's grounds as the Templars of the Church moved at a brisk pace towards the temple. There were only eight of them, and only two who could claim the Goddess's favor well enough to be considered Champions, but they were the best that this outpost had to offer, the sword defenders of the only major temple in the area. The others had joined with the force that went to eliminate Ranma, who had fallen out of favor with the Mother of Night. Surely, the report from the young priest who had run to their barracks could not have been correct. There was no way that the false King could have escaped the force that hunted him, not when they had the only Shard that had been entrusted to the Temple.
There was no possible way that could have happened, but as the Templars pushed open the doors, they were greeted with the sight of Demon King Ranma seated on a pile of corpses, flanked by two beastial demons that could only be Ryouga and Xian Pu. The two Champions exchanged looks, then with a grim nod they moved to engage the trio, as they offered up their praise of the Dark Goddess. Just as they were sure that they would offer Her their blood that night.
But there was nothing else for them to do but to die in Her name, if they could not carry out Her will.
A short time later, three figures stepped from the once again silent Temple. Ranma strode with a dark purpose to his stride, his face a somber mask that hid the rage that he felt. Xian Pu walked at his right, as she licked the blood from her claws. Ryouga paced along to Ranma's left, a troubled look on his face.
"What do we do now, Master? Do we go and hunt these rats in whatever hole they find themselves in? Are we going to the capitol to remind them why you lead, and they follow?" Xian Pu asked with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Ryouga cast a look at Ranma, and held his tongue for now. He would see what his Master had to say, and then decide if he needed to pass along his own thoughts on the matter. He trusted in His Majesty to know what to do, and to have an idea on how to carry it out. That trust was what had guided him for years, before Kasumi had opened his eyes to the possibility that there could be more waiting for him.
Ranma stopped and looked up at the moon in the sky as it looked down on them, the Goddess's ever watchful eye. "No. We can't rush to the capital and expect it to go as well as these little fights have. There is no chance of victory that way."
Ryouga nodded, before he looked at Ranma. "Then, what are your orders, my Master?"
Ranma rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. "We need to find out who is still loyal to me, and what kind of forces we might have at our disposal. We have to accept that they will send ever larger forces at us, until they return with my head. For whatever reason, the Goddess of the Night has turned her back on me."
"Where do we start, then?" Ryouga asked as Xian Pu kept quiet for once and listened.
"We head to the frontlines, where my most trusted generals lead. We will find out who we can trust, and who we can not." Ranma said with no trace of hesitation in his voice.
"And what of the sisters?" Xian Pu asked while she tried to not sound too excited by the prospect of seeing them again.
"I imagine that our plan from before will still work. My most trusted generals lead the armies that are most heavily engaged, after all. I am sure that we will find them while we are on our journey." Ranma said as he gathered his pack from where they had hidden it, and passed the other two their own packs.
"Where you lead, I will follow. You are my master now and forever." Ryouga said as he bowed deeply to his king.
Ranma nodded as he led the trio towards the front lines once more. Towards what they hoped might be allies, and the sisters.
