Chapter 25:
Every Side of the World
As Kizou continued to walk through the road, there was one crucial thing that he ended up remembering.
Wait, I’ve never been outside of the village! Kizou thought to himself as he started looking for any sign that might point him towards the Kingdom.
He stood on a cemented road, so he knew that he was definitely outside of the village of Rakai, but he didn’t see any village or building for miles. As a matter of fact, he started to realize that there was nothing around him. He looked to his left and only saw an open field that seemed to stretch for miles. He looked to his right and saw another open field that seemed to stretch as well. He let out a sigh.
“I hate this!” Kizou yelled as he fell to the floor. After some time, he got back up and started walking straight for almost 30 minutes. He looked towards his left and right, and it was still another empty field. He fell to the ground.
Maybe I should just go back to the village, Kizou thought to himself. He felt a weird bump.
“Ow!” a male voice yelled. A man that was taller than Kizou with short black hair was standing near Kizou. He was definitely older than Kizou, but he might've been around 30-40 years old. He had a build that showed that he definitely worked out, but he didn’t look like he was someone who had too much muscles. He wore a red shirt that was tattered and had black shorts on along with sandals. He wore black glasses that didn’t allow you to see his pupils.
“I’m sorry,” Kizou mumbled as his face was still on the floor.
“Sorry won’t cut it, bucko!” the man said as he looked left and right. “You just injured a blind man!”
“A blind man?” Kizou asked as he instantly got up to check on him. “I’m sorry, I was just laying down here the whole time.”
“Well thank you for the apologies, but my right foot is really hurting me now,” the man said as he sat on the floor and rubbed his foot.
“How can I repay you?” Kizou asked as he knelt down to make sure the man was okay.
“20 gold,” the man answered immediately.
“Huh?” Kizou asked.
“20 gold will heal me,” the man said as he started intensely rubbing his foot now.
“I’ve never even seen 1 gold!” Kizou exclaimed.
“Oh, you’re a waste of time then,” the man said as he stood up.
“Wait, you’re not hurt!” Kizou yelled as he noticed the man seemed to be walking fine.
“And you don’t have any money anymore,” the man said as he was holding Kizou’s wallet.
“Wait, when did he-” Kizou muttered as he looked at his backpack and at the man. "You're not blind either!"
“You really weren’t lying,” the man said angrily as he threw Kizou’s wallet back at him after taking his money. “You only have 2 pieces of silver.”
“Wait, I need that money!” Kizou yelled. “I need to buy an inn at the Kingdom.”
“Well, you’re not even close to nearly having enough,” the man said with a laugh. “So, I’ll be taking this.”
The man quickly darted away from Kizou into the empty field. Kizou stood there frozen for a second before realizing what just happened. He started sprinting towards the man who was faster than Kizou expected.
That brat was poorer than I thought, the man thought to himself. Well, you got to learn to survive out there.
The sound of footsteps could be heard trailing the man, and he looked behind to see what was going on.
“I said I need that money!” Kizou yelled as he started chasing the man.
Whoa, what’s up with this boy? The man thought to himself.
He increased his speed and started to go even faster, but Kizou was still able to keep up with him even if there was a bit of distance between them.
This boy won’t let up, the man said as Kizou never seemed to trail too far behind.
“Give me back my 2 silvers!” Kizou yelled.
“Don’t you feel embarrassed just saying that?” the man asked as he continued to run and laugh.
Let’s try this on for size, the man thought to himself.
As Kizou continued to watch the man run, he noticed that he was getting faster. He squinted to see what changed, and he realized that the man used an ice spell to create a faster road for him.
“That’s cheating!” Kizou yelled.
“Magic is how the world works, buddy!” the man yelled with a laugh.
“Well two can play at that game,” Kizou mumbled to himself. He jumped up, and an ice trail started forming from under him. After some time adjusting, he slowly started gliding through his ice road easily.
Looks like this brat has an ice affinity, the man thought to himself.
“Better watch out when you play in the sun, it might make the ice melt,” the man said as fireballs started raining from the sky.
Who is this guy, and how strong is he?! Kizou thought to himself as he realized the man had two affinities.
Kizou started maneuvering through the fireballs to avoid getting hit by them, but the ice melted slowly everytime the fireballs came near him.
“See you around, kid!” the man yelled as he continued to increase his pace. Suddenly, a shadow cast over him, and he looked up to see fireballs being launched his way as well.
Another affinity?! The man thought to himself.
The man started swerving and dodging, and he managed to avoid all of the fireballs. However, his ice road started melting as well, so he decided to just continue running through the empty field.
“Wait, get back here!” Kizou yelled as he too started running.
“Give it up already!” the man yelled. “I’m tired!”
“Not until you apologize and give me my money back!” Kizou yelled.
As they continued running, they reached a hill that was far from the road at this point. There was a small, dark cave inside that the man ran into. Kizou ran in as well without even thinking or looking around his surroundings, since it was so dark.
Looks like there’s only one way to scare this kid out of here, the man thought to himself as he stopped in his tracks.
“Where did he go?” Kizou mumbled to himself. He pointed his index finger out, and a tiny little flame sprouted out that illuminated the area in front of him. The man was in front of him, but he was just standing still. They were deep inside of the cave at this point.
I have a bad feeling about this, Kizou thought to himself.
“I suggest you get out if you know what’s good for you,” the man said as he still was facing the opposite of Kizou.
“Not until I get my money back,” Kizou answered hesitantly.
“It’s gutsy people like you that never understand when they're faced with trials they can’t overcome,” the man said as he turned around with a horn coming out of his head.
A Demon?! Kizou thought to himself alarmingly.
Kizou pulled out his sword from his waist and held it in front of him, visibly shaking. Unlike the other Demon, Kizou could tell that this man was on a whole different level. Kizou had never been so intimidated before.
The man started walking towards Kizou while Kizou started slowly backing up in fear as his sword stayed pointed towards him.
All the senses in my body are telling me to run as fast as I can, Kizou thought to himself.
Suddenly, a voice could be heard right outside of the cave. It was so peculiar to Kizou, because no one should be here at all.
“Hello, is anyone here?” the sound of a woman could be heard asking.
“Hewwo, iz aneewon heer?” the sound of a small child could be heard mimicking his mother.
Why is there a woman and a kid here? Kizou thought to himself.
“Good job, Kana,” the woman said with a smile as she picked up her daughter.
“Mama taught me a lot,” the small female child said with a smile.
“Run!” Kizou yelled as that was the only thing that he could do to prevent them from dying. He didn’t dare take his eyes off the man for a second as he wanted to be sure that he could save them.
As he blinked, he noticed that the man already started his attack towards them.
How slow am I? Kizou thought to himself as he turned around and managed to see the man getting closer to them.
“I’m not letting any Demon harm any humans again!” Kizou yelled out as he thought about how his village almost died.
Kizou blinked again, and he realized that everyone was frozen. He realized that his eye ended up activating by itself, but there wasn’t any magic being used. Without having time to wonder about the reasons, Kizou sprinted as fast as he could towards the mother and her child. There wasn’t enough time for him to kill the Demon, but there was enough time to save them.
Almost there! Kizou thought to himself as he was about to reach the woman and the child.
However, his eye deactivated once he was able to reach them, and everyone started moving again.
“Whoa, how did you get here?” the woman asked Kizou.
Wait, did he just beat me in terms of speed? The demon thought to himself. Or was it something else?
Without thinking, Kizou turned his back around towards the Demon to protect the woman and child.
At least I can die knowing that I was able to protect someone, Kizou thought to himself as he squeezed his eyes closed hard.
After a few seconds, there wasn’t any attack.
“Huh?” Kizou mumbled to himself with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and saw that the woman and her child were no longer in front of him. He turned around to see the Demon playing with the child.
“Huh?!” Kizou yelled out loud this time.
“Daddy!” the child said towards the Demon.
“Huh?!?” Kizou yelled even louder.
“You’ve brought a weird one home,” the woman said with a chuckle as she kissed him on the cheek.
“Huh?!” Kizou continued to yell.
“I didn’t bring him here, Yui. He followed me,” the Demon said annoyingly to which the woman just chuckled.
“Huh?!” Kizou continued to yell as if those were the words that only knew.
“Don’t you know how to say anything else?” the Demon asked annoyingly as he hit Kizou over the top of his head.
What’s with this friendly environment? Kizou thought to himself.
“Don’t tell me you brainwashed this woman!” Kizou yelled.
“What do you mean? This is my wife!” the Demon yelled.
“Demon and human relationship? That’s crazy!” Kizou yelled as he started spinning in confusion.
“Stop talking like those people in the Kingdoms!” the Demon yelled annoyingly.
“You brainwashed her, that’s my only explanation!” Kizou yelled as he crossed his arms and looked away.
“Wahhhh! That man keeps yelling at Daddy!” the female child yelled.
“Hush, hush,” Yui said as she picked up Kana.
Kizou stopped talking and realized that they really must’ve been a Demon and a human in a relationship. He quieted down and looked around the cave. He realized that there were small beds and blankets along with food scattered around.
He really wasn’t lying, Kizou thought to himself. They must’ve been banished by their Kingdoms.
“I’m sorry,” Kizou said as he put his head down.
“You better be-” the Demon yelled before being stopped by Yui.
“It’s okay, I know that most people would be shocked as well,” Yui said with a smile. “And you? Apologize to him for stealing!”
“What?!” the Demon said as he looked at Yui who was staring at him seriously. “Fine, I’m sorry for taking your money.”
As the awkward silence began to build between Kizou and the Demon, the Demon finally said something to relieve the tension.
“Well, I guess you should be going on your way,” he said eagerly as if to get Kizou out.
“Actually, I don’t know where I’m going,” Kizou replied while nervously chuckling.
“Huh?!” the Demon yelled angrily.
“I don’t know how to get to Lestia Academy from here,” Kizou said.
“Lestia Academy?!” Yui and the Demon both yelled out.
“Yeah?” Kizou asked confusingly.
“Are you some kind of noble?” Yui asked.
“Nope,” Kizou responded.
“Did you bribe the higher ups?” the Demon asked.
“Nope,” Kizou responded.
“So, you’re saying you only have 2 silvers, because you’re actually poor?” the Demon asked nonchalantly.
Don’t reply to that one, Kizou thought to himself annoyingly.
“I’m going to Lestia Academy for being the strongest in my village,” Kizou answered.
This brat probably isn’t even lying, I saw some of that untapped potential up close, the Demon thought to himself.
“Yet, you don’t even know how to get there,” the Demon said as he slowly started laughing to himself.
“Stop that!” Yui urged the man.
“Well, I was found in the village of Rakai around 10 years ago, and I’ve never left since,” Kizou answered.
“What do you mean found?” the Demon asked as he stopped laughing.
“I was told that I was found in the river when I was around 5 years old,” Kizou answered.
This kid seems like an interesting one, the Demon thought to himself.
“The only thing that I have from that day is this,” Kizou said as he pulled out the crest from his pocket.
Instantly, the Demon froze and looked at the crest that Kizou was holding. While the humans from the small village never knew that the crest was, those that were of higher ranking would. However, any Demon in the Demon Kingdom would know what that crest was. A Royal Crest was only given to those from the Royal Family.
“Wh-Where did you get that?” the Demon asked.
“I was found with it in the river,” Kizou answered as he saw how shocked the Demon looked. “I don’t have memories of anything before that.”
“Dear?” Yui asked towards the Demon who seemed to be frozen.
“I have good news for you,” the Demon said with a smile. “I can use my magic to see people’s past.”
“Huh?!” Kizou asked with skepticism.
“Trust me and sit here,” the Demon said.
“You can trust me when I say that he means no harm,” Yui said with a smile to reassure Kizou.
If it wasn’t for you being here, I probably wouldn’t trust this man, Kizou thought to himself.
He sat in front of the Demon and closed his eyes. The Demon hit Kizou in the back of his neck which caused Kizou to pass out. The Demon put his hand over Kizou’s head and started his magic. However, a barrier stopped him from reaching deeper.
Looks like someone locked his memories, the Demon thought to himself. Too bad it’s such an easy barrier to crack.
The Demon broke through the barrier easily, and all of Kizou’s memories started flushing into his head. The Demon started laughing hard at seeing some of Kizou’s memories such as how he kept trying to confess to Mya. He also saw how cocky Kizou could be in a fight just to hide how nervous he actually was. The Demon laughed, cringed, and felt embarrassed most of the time. However, he reached Kizou’s breaking point from his memories.
“You’re worthless.”
“How are you even Royalty when you don’t have a horn?”
“I’ll study magic myself from this book and become the strongest!”
“You’d never join the Hell’s Group.”
“Come on Kizou, come train with me.”
“We’ll always be friends, Kizou, and friends always stick together.”
“You’re a weakling who can’t even save his friends.”
Tears slowly flowed down the Demon’s eyes as he saw Kizou’s memories from 5 years prior. Without thinking, he placed the lock on Kizou’s memories again as he saw how harmful he was being treated.
The Demon Kingdom isn’t any different than the last time I was there, the Demon thought to himself. But looks like they missed out on a gem who has two horns.
After a few minutes, Kizou woke up in a small bed with a blanket on top of him.
“What happened?” Kizou asked.
“Nothing, I failed,” the Demon said.
“You failed?!” Kizou exclaimed. “I knew you were a scam artist, just like how you were supposedly blind!”
“Shut up!” the Demon said as he put his finger over Kizou’s mouth. “Don’t say those types of things.”
“Dear,” Yui said with anger visible in her eyes. “What is this about being blind?”
“Nothing,” the Demon responded immediately.
“Well anyways, thanks for letting me rest up here, but I think it’s time for me to go,” Kizou said as he got up.
“Wait!” the Demon yelled. “Be my apprentice.”
“Appwentice!” Kana yelled out.
“Dear, are you serious?” Yui asked. “You’ve refused everyone who asked.”
Kizou stood still and stared at the Demon who looked serious.
He’s clearly someone strong, and I could probably learn a lot from him, Kizou thought to himself. But I have other priorities.
“Thank you for the offer, but I really got to get to Lestia Academy and register,” Kizou said as he bowed down and showed as much respect as he could.
“You know, it doesn’t start for another year, right?” Yui asked while covering her mouth with her hand.
“Wait, what do you mean?!” Kizou exclaimed.
“Yui is actually the headmaster of Lestia Academy,” the Demon said with a smile as he put his arms around her.
“HUH?!” Kizou yelled out.
“Can you stop that already?!” the Demon said as he hit Kizou over the head.
Those oldheads don’t know anything, Kizou thought to himself as he held his fist out. I could've been in the village for another year.
“So, what do you say?” the Demon asked with his hand out. “Want to accept my offer?”
After some time of thinking, Kizou stood there and looked at the Demon, Yui, and Kana.
Maybe staying a little longer with people such as them would be nice, Kizou thought to himself with a smile.
“Deal,” Kizou said as he shook his hand. “I’m Kizou by the way, what’s your name?”
“Nice to meet you, Kizou,” the Demon said with a smile. “The name’s Cheron.”
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