A Disappointment

Geet, Ty, and Kizou finally arrived at the Demon Kingdom after successfully completing their mission. As they walked through the gates, the guards gave a brief bow to welcome back Kizou and his squad. When they entered through the main gates, the city was bustling as usual.

“Come in and buy your fresh boar!” announced one of the vendors.

“If you need any help with your equipment, please come this way!” shouted another vendor.

The city was enclosed with walls that seemed to stretch far and wide. The tall brick buildings seemed to tower over most of the Kingdom. However, the vendors had wooden carts as well as wooden stores that provided a bit of a calm ambience. There were also plenty of demons that were shopping for materials or casually checking out what the stores had to offer.

“You know what’s crazy? I just heard from my father that the way our city functions is pretty much similar with how the Human Kingdom functions,” said Geet as he munched on one of the boars that he ended up buying. He started coughing as he ate too fast.

“Shut up Geet, you know how Kizou gets when we talk about the Human Kingdom,” whispered Ty to Geet.

“Hmmm, is that so? It’s not like I was interested in that stuff anyways,” Kizou replied.

“Really? Because your expression says otherwise,” said Ty.

Kizou had his eyes wide open in bewilderment as he was presented with new information regarding the Human Kingdom. His nostrils were flaring at the excitement behind the similarities between the Kingdoms.

“Relax Kizou, you know that demons only enter the Human Kingdom to act as spies,” said Geet as he continued eating. “You’re royalty, so you wouldn’t have an opportunity to spy on them anyways.”

“Who knows? Maybe there’s a possibility that humans and demons can get along,” replied Kizou who sounded unsure of the idea himself.

“Let’s not get too crazy now,” Ty replied with a laugh.

Kizou always kept that thought in the back of his head about visiting the Human Kingdom. He was fully aware that there probably wouldn’t be a situation where he would need to enter the Human Kingdom except if another war were to occur.

As they all continued their walk towards the castle, they entered the Forbidden Territory. The Forbidden Territory was known as the slums that were filled with demons that didn’t have any source of strength or abilities to provide for the kingdom. The slums consisted of torn down tents that looked as if they could be broken at any minute. Even the demons that lived around the area wore torn shirts and pants that clearly showed that they haven’t changed out of them. 

They were demons that were frowned upon for not being able to contribute to society. They were the main targets of bullying and were treated like trash whenever someone else saw them. That was one of the main reasons that they never dared set foot out of the Forbidden Territory, because all that awaited them outside was the scornful eyes of the higher classes. The most peculiar thing about the Forbidden Territory is that you needed to pass this area to reach the Castle which always had Kizou wondering.

While other people might look at the villagers in disgust, Kizou looked at them with pity, since he understood how his privileges presented himself with better opportunities. It might also have been that he understood how they felt from his own experiences. Two demon children were running around and ended up bumping into Kizou.

“Oops, sorry sir!” said the little demon girl as she rubbed her face and smiled up at him.

“It’s okay, I should be the one that’s sorry,” said Kizou as he patted her head with a smile.  She looked at him and gave him a big smile.

They ran back to their area and continued on playing. Kizou was amazed at how these children didn’t mind what was around them as long as they had fun with one another. He always told himself that once he became the new King, he would change the ways of the Kingdom.

Once the trio finally reached the castle, there was a huge statue in the front that showed the current Demon King with his arms crossed. Geet and Ty went towards the infirmary to get another checkup, since Kizou was only capable of wrapping up their wounds. He waved bye to them as he made his way towards the throne to report back on his mission.

He walked through the long hallways that were decorated with portraits of the Royal Family over the years. They were all strong, powerful, and showed that they deserved their position. There were different kings, queens, princes, and princesses. As he walked towards where his family was, he saw a picture of his father, his mother, and his baby brother. He was nowhere to be seen in the picture.

He continued walking towards the throne until he reached his father and mother. He got on one knee and placed his hand over the other knee that was supporting him. 

“Father, I have returned to report the mission,” Kizou said with his head looking towards the ground.

“Did I not tell you to address me as King, child?” said the King visibly detested.

“I’m sorry, my King,” said Kizou as he gritted his teeth. “Three human hostiles have been taken care of, but both Ty and Geet have both suffered damages throughout the battle.”

“So, you’re telling me that you picked out a squad that couldn’t even beat three little humans without coming unscratched? Even you got a cut on your shirt as well from a mere human,” muttered the Queen.

“What else did you expect from the boy? He never did grow horns when he was born,” said the King with a sigh in his voice.

“With all due respect, my King and Queen, they consumed some unknown substance that seemed to provide the ability to enhance their strength,” Kizou said while keeping his head down. “I have also retrieved one of the armbands that their captain had on.” 

“You got an orange armband? Do you even know what ranking orange armbands are?” asked the King who wasn’t impressed in the slightest.

“I do not, my King,” replied Kizou with his head still looking down.

“It’s the lowest guild according to our spies that are in the Human Kingdom. I knew I should’ve kept one of those other graduates and sent you out there instead,” replied the King with disgust.

“The Royal Family shouldn’t be bothered with humans no matter the situation. I’m glad that your little brother was born with a horn as we know who will be taking the throne,” said the Queen.

“You will now embark on another mission in 2 days, and I will be assigning the troops, since you can’t seem to handle it yourself,” said the King.

“But Father, I was planning on hanging out with—” said Kizou while lifting his head up.

“Silence! Did I not just tell you that you can only address me by King?” declared the King as his horn grew out due to anger. He emitted a terrifying pressure that caused Kizou to drop his head back down immediately. 

“You will go on a mission in 2 days. Now get out of my sight," the King commanded.

If only I had a horn, Mother and Father would treat me differently, Kizou thought to himself. 

He walked out the throne and towards his room. As he continued walking, he heard the sound of a little baby’s cry nearby.

“Hush hush,” said a woman’s nurturing voice to the little baby. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Kizou pressed his ear on the door and continued listening to the soothing sound of the woman. As he continued to push his ear against the door, it accidentally opened up, and he fell to the ground. The sound of crying could be heard once again.

“Kizou!” yelled the woman as she continued rocking the baby in one arm and closing the door with the other. “Watch where you’re going, I’m trying to take care of Cryo!” 

She had black hair that reached down to her shoulders, and she had a white complexion that allowed her beauty to radiate. She was wearing a blue nightgown with a blue sleeping cap.

“I’m sorry, Mya, but I just wanted to listen to the voice of the most beautiful demon in all of the world. You’re also looking super beautiful in that nightgown as if you were waiting for me,” said the 5 year old demon child known as Kizou as he got on his knee and grabbed one of her arms.

His nostrils flared with excitement as he let out a laugh of satisfaction as he held her hand.  While rocking Cryo in one arm, she hit Kizou on the head with the other arm. 

“Kizou, I’ve told you plenty of times already. I am 8 years old, and you are 5 years old. In addition, I am your instructor, and you are my student,” said Mya, annoyed.

“I think that’s the best part about the whole thing,” said the 5 year old demon child known as Kizou.

“You really need to be taught some manners. Here, take Cryo, because my hand is hurting,” said Mya as she handed Cryo to Kizou. She went to sit in the chair across from the crib that Cryo was sleeping at.

“Hey there Cryo, how is my baby brother doing?” said Kizou in a baby voice as he held his baby brother. Laughter could be heard from the baby as Kizou continued to make faces. Even though Cryo was in line to take the throne, Kizou loved his brother nonetheless.

“So, how was the mission?” Mya asked as she smiled at the sight of the two brothers.

“Same old, same old. Humans came and started hunting us for their guilds, so we dealt with the issue. Well, Geet and Ty lost some body parts,” said Kizou while continuing to play with Cryo.

“Wait, Geet and Ty lost some body parts?” asked Mya with a surprised look.

“Yeah, the enemy took some sort of weird substance that enhanced their abilities. I’ve never seen anything like it before,” said Kizou as he slowly put Cryo back into his crib.

“What did the King and Queen make of it?” asked Mya.

“You should’ve been stronger, this is why you need a horn, blah blah,” said Kizou as he made funny faces and made impressions of them.

“Kizou, you know you’re not supposed to be mocking the King and Queen, it’s rude,” Mya said.

“Then why do you look like that?” asked Kizou with a smirk.

Mya was holding in her laughter to where her cheeks puffed up. She quickly let out a heavy laugh which ended up being followed by a snort. She ended up punching Kizou on the side, because he made her snort.

“Hold out on your punches, you know they hurt, right,” said Kizou as he continued laughing. “Besides, I like the way you snort when you laugh.”

“Kizou, you really got to stop acting-”

A knock could be heard on the door. 

“Mya, it’s time for your training session. I’ll take care of Young Master,” said the voice on the other side.

“No problem, we’re heading out right now, Trish” said Mya as she went to the bathroom to change into her gear.

Kizou opened the door and let the maid inside. He gave her a smile to which she instantly turned around and glared at him.

“Don’t look at me that way, you filth,” said Trish as she spat towards where Kizou was standing. “If you weren’t royalty, you’d be out on the streets. I don’t know how anyone doesn’t feel sick when they’re around your presence.” 

Ahhh, I forgot, Kizou thought to himself as his smile disappeared. 

He went out of the door and waited for Mya to finish changing. He couldn’t say anything, because he knew everyone was right. He didn’t have a horn, so why should he be royalty in the first place? 

The nine Generals of the Kingdom all have horns, and even the King’s most trusted Hell’s Group have six demons with horns. He forgot that it wasn’t just the King and Queen who didn’t see him as royalty, it was pretty much everyone within the castle. The story of the descendant of the Great Demon King who was born without a horn circulated around by the time he was born, and he was always frowned upon no matter what he did. 

This treatment by Trish wasn’t anything different, it never mattered about whether he was a child or not. It was going to follow him forever while he stayed in this kingdom. He leaned back on the wall by the door and waited for Mya to finish up.

“Hello Young Master, you’re looking well today,” said Trish as she started making faces at Cyro who was in his crib. Cryo just looked at her.

Mya came out into the room with her gear put on. She wore a light brown shirt tucked into her black shorts. She put on a white robe that draped around her body. Her sword was on her waist, and her hair was tied up into a bun. She had a white mask that dangled by her pockets. She wore a thin black armband with the number 4 etched in red on it.

“You look marvelous as usual, Mya,” Trish said with a bright smile.

“Shut up,” Mya said as she looked down to fix her sword on her waist.

“Huh?” Trish’s smile faded, and her face was visibly confused. “Is everything okay, Mya?”

“Did you not just hear me? I said shut up,” Mya looked up at Trish with an expressionless stare.

Trish fell down to her knees at the sheer pressure that Mya exerted from her gaze.

“I’m sorry, please let me go!” Trish said as she ended up falling completely to the floor.

“Take back what you said about Kizou,” said Mya as she started walking over to Trish’s fallen body.

“Sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean what I said!” Trish said as her face was on the floor due to the pressure.

“If I ever hear you bad mouth Kizou again, I’ll kill you,” Mya relaxed, and Trish started gasping for her breath back.

Her voice could be heard outside of the room, and Kizou couldn’t help but smile as he heard the conversation right outside of the door.

“Why did you wait all the way down there, you weirdo? Hurry up, and let’s go,” Mya said as she came out of the door and saw Kizou waiting for her three doors down

Kizou tried to catch his breath as fast as possible to not let Mya know he heard the whole thing and ran across the hallway to not embarrass her. Mya might have not known, but she was one the reasons why he was saved. Even though everyone was against him in this horrid place he had to call home, he knew that Mya would be there for him. It was through her that he got to know Geet and Ty. He ran and eventually caught up to her.

“Do you really have to wear that armband everytime we go out to train ourselves? I know there’s a difference when you’re on official duty, but it’s just going to be us two,” said Kizou with a visibly annoyed look.

“I like to show off the fact that I’m the 4th strongest in the Hell’s Group even though I’m the youngest,” said Mya with a proud smile. “Besides, I feel like it’s a part of my body at this point.”

“You’re right. You look marvelous as usual,” said Kizou in a mocking tone. Even though he wanted to hide the fact that he heard the earlier conversation, he couldn’t help it.

“Shut up!” Mya’s face turned red as she punched Kizou.