Chapter 1: The Demon King and The Hero

Several millennia ago, there was a great shift in the balance of the world. The gates of Hell were swung open, and Earth was flooded with hordes of Demons.

They swept across the world like a tidal wave, slowly crumbling humanity. Catastrophe fell upon civilization as the Demons attacked indiscriminately, doing as they pleased. Law and order, any semblance of unity; these were all meaningless to them.

They had strange powers—“Magic” was the name given to them. With those powers, it didn’t matter how many armies rallied against them. A single Demon could wipe out hundreds in an instant.

As humanity was on the verge of extinction, they finally found their salvation.

A certain number of individuals, about the size of a small nation, were illuminated by a bright light that shone down from the Heavens above. The light coated their bodies, reinvigorating them—healing their wounds.

Soon after the strange radiance from above, one man discovered he could fly through the skies like a bird. Another discovered she could manipulate water, and charm aquatic creatures.

The people exchanged ideas and information and saw that some of these strange abilities could be learned by someone else—some easier than others, and some seemingly impossible.

With this new found strength, humanity began to revolt against the Demons, driving them back to the depths of Hell from which they came crawling out.

It was a bloodbath for both sides, but humanity’s tenacity was proving too much to handle. The forces of hell were being sent back, and it was as though the war would continue even if they retreated—

The gates of hell…

CLOSED.

At the same time, the Demons inexplicably adopted mortal bodies, and resembled the very humans they fought against. It was nothing but confusion that spread among their ranks.

Internally they felt exactly like they did in their previous bodies, retaining their magical powers. They decided to keep fighting against the humans.

Humanity was still overpowering the Demons because, though their numbers were fewer, the quality and strength of the types of magic the humans possessed at the time was far greater.

The Demons only had a few members who could match it. They were now the ones facing complete eradication.

But, like a darkness creeping into the light, a lone warrior appeared. That person came to be known as…

The Demon King.

This individual turned the tides of battle, shoving humanity back, disrupting the war like a pebble dropped into still water. Their magic was leagues above humanity’s, and with it, they gave the Demons the chance to flourish for a while, raising their own magic to higher levels.

Their victory was within reach until another sudden shift in battle appeared…

The Hero.

● ● ●

Over the course of time, this war persisted through many eras. From as far back as the Heian period, all the way down to the present day; both sides battled under the guise provided by the regular humans’ conflicts.

Collectively, the people from the Demon side were known as the Demonic Clan, and those from the Hero’s as the Heroic Clan.

Many historical events that made mankind who they were today were greatly influenced by the continuing battle from the two clans. This was because they had spread themselves far and wide across the face of the Earth.

They permeated every culture, every race, making their numbers and reach grow wider and deeper with time. They had integrated pretty comfortably into human society.

Now, these strange powers they fought with, generally called “Magic”, had some certain reoccurring principles behind it. For example, there existed a shared phenomenon called Stages.

These ranged from Stages I to V, and manifested like a sort of tattoo on a random part on a person’s body. The values changed alongside the individual’s growth in the amount of magic they possessed.

But the true nature of magic was still…quite vague, even to the most well versed users.

Some people’s magic enabled them freely manipulate the elements around them. Some had the ability to modify their bodies. There were even those whose magic manifested as weapons that could sometimes use characteristics from both of the aforementioned qualities.

There were a select few magic types that couldn’t even be classified under any of the known existing categories.

The higher the Stage, the greater the power—that was a direct measure of one’s strength. One that indicated the level of force their magic possessed. Simple enough.

Stage V—a level of power that only the Demon King and The Hero could ever reach, with the other members of their respective clans capping at Stage IV.

All this knowledge was consistent, and that was the predominantly accepted order of things, though there were some rumors and legends that suggested otherwise…

And with these powers, the leaders of both clans would clash—sometimes killing each other in a draw, or one side prevailing against the other.

When it was the latter, the losing side would retreat to await for a new savior to appear among their ranks. A new Demon King or The Hero would show up at random, shortly after their predecessor’s death.

The paramount goal in this war was the complete annihilation of the opposing side. This was why merely killing their strongest wasn’t enough, but it sufficed in bringing down morale and creating an opening to tip the scales in their favor.

● ● ●

The beady eyed young man kept running, and running, and running. Whenever it crossed his mind to stop, the young woman chasing him—while dragging along an oversized great sword—quickly convinced him otherwise.

Please don’t make me do that! he begged inwardly with each step. “Could you at least hear me out?!”

Ignoring his yelled plea, she responded with a defiant shout, “Never!!!”

As she did so, she swung that large sword of hers at him—

SHING!

It would have nicked his back if he didn’t up his speed before the blade could reach him. Instead, the blade cleaved a large dumpster diagonally in two with an effortless, clean cut.

Does she not care about property damage? he thought, finally realizing… She’s serious.

He had no choice but to defend himself, while making sure not to go too far.

They continued dashing through innumerable alleyways as everything around them stood still. The sword she dragged would create sparks whenever it scraped the ground or a wall within the confined spaces.

Then she noticed something…

The Demon she was chasing had stretched his right hand out in front of him—a chilly feeling following.

An almost smoke-like darkness gravitated toward his hand, solidifying into an object.

It appeared to be a kind of weapon. It had a blade that the word pitch-black wouldn’t do justice to describe, as it didn’t even reflect the light, and she doubted it could.

The blade was long, maybe even longer than the Demon holding it. And it had a slight, eerily elegant, curve that gave it a unique edge.

Its sheer size and length would make one assume it was considerably heavy.

Everywhere and everything began to tremble. Noticeable tremors could be felt through the air. An unearthly presence was definitely present.

The young man suddenly stopped, twisting his body to the right to face her with his hands tightened in a double-grip on his weapon—an Odachi—darker than darkness itself, like an empty void in space.

The weapon’s edge first scraped a nearby wall—it made neither sound nor created sparks while doing so.

Then it cut through the concrete ground in a similar fashion as it continued in an upward diagonal swing toward her.

It was as if it was splitting the very air itself without as much as a whisper. It menacingly continued its soundless advance toward her.

Where did all this power come from?! she thought, panicked, as she saw a strange aura of pure darkness coat his body, and the blade. I thought he was a Stage I!!!

She brought her sword up to defend against the strike.

Please! he screamed in his mind, his blade inching closer. Don’t!...

For a short moment, like a passing breath, his plain looking face flickered. It was as though it glitched, allowing her to catch a little glimpse of a different face.

Majestic…That was all she could think to describe it.

The other face immediately contorted into a grim expression as the owner worded silently…

…Die…

Both blades kissed. As they crossed, the usual clang did not ring out.

No.

It was completely silent, as though the sound had been muted, or swallowed up.

BWOOOOSH…

Manholes from all over the city began erupting as water gushed out from them. A takoyaki stand stationed atop one was blown sky high, causing the high-school student standing in front of it to stumble onto his rear, and the owner quietly watching it ascend to the clouds above.

Seismic tremors began spreading from where the two sword wielders clashed silently. The tremors reverberated from their spot outward throughout the city.

Then—

The Odachi continued with its momentum unchanged, like it wasn’t even blocked. It was swung with full force in an upward arc.

An impact she likened to having the weight of the entire world—no, the weight of the entire dang universe behind it—rocked the bones in her hands—

She was now heading straight for orbit, surpassing escape velocity speeds.

With a relieved sigh, the young man let go of his sword and it vanished like smoke into thin air.

He let out an awkward crooked smile as he placed his right hand over the left side of his chest, where the mark V was located. “She’ll survive right…? She was The Hero…right…?!”

He nervously scratched his head.

Meanwhile in the Sahara Desert…

BOOOM!

The young woman had crash-landed in a tall dune, scattering sand everywhere. As she gazed at the sky with a dazed look in her eyes, a nomad and his camel approached her.

Chewing its cud, the camel leaned its head over her and grunted.

And at that…her propped up head dropped back to the sand. She, had fainted.