The Quest of Death

"T-There must be some kind of mistake! I cannot fight an infant demon, much less the King of Calamities!"

"I'm afraid that you do not have a choice."

My appeals to Charles fall on deaf ears. Even as I pull against his plated armour, he emotionlessly rolls together my death warrant.

"This is an order from His Majesty himself. You have no right to refuse."

"He asks the impossible! What use is a lowly peasant against a fiend capable of wiping out humanity!? Involving me is meaningless!"

Tears have begun to well up in my eyes once more. What I had desired was a quiet death, one with no more pain than the loss in my heart. I've seen what a lowly marauding demon is capable of and there is no world where I fare any better than the young knight.

"It is there that you are wrong, Rado."

Charles doesn't try to shake me off, instead motioning me to sit back down on the stone bed. I have no choice but to comply. However, that does not mean that his words don't have me curious.

He pulls up a chair and sits directly in front of me, hands locked together on his lap.

"Do you know the tale of the Heroes who saved all life on this continent?"

"I know pieces…just that a demon nearly conquered everything before a group of heroes slayed it."

Very few stories ever passed through our village, but this one was certain to be heard by every child born after the event. I was still young when the tale was first told to me by my mother's friend. It was one of the most exciting things that I had ever heard.

Charles nods at my brief recollection.

"Indeed. The Demon Lord was killed within his castle of stone and the war ended in our victory. This was 200 years ago."

"Two hundred years ago…wait?"

Something immediately doesn't add up.

"How am I to kill a Demon that is already dead?"

"That is the issue."

He looks around, first listening for any footsteps down the hallway I have yet to see. Then he checks the soldiers rightly standing guard with their backs to us. Once he is satisfied, Charles leans in close.

"There are rumours that the Demon Lord still yet lives."

"I-It's still alive!?"

"Silence!"

A heavy hand grabs my shoulder and pulls me forwards. We are well within distance to whisper anything without a soul hearing our words.

"This is still just a rumour, gossips amongst the lords. Perhaps it survived the battle, or perhaps it was revived by whatever followers remain. Regardless, we have reason to believe that these rumours hold some truth."

Evidence of a potential Demon Lord roaming through the lands, this kind of information would cause chaos immediately. There may be none around who still remember those days. The death and destruction may have been forgotten, but the fantasy is its own prophecy in the minds of the people.

"Our forces have fought these wandering demons many times, but we are no closer to finding the fiend. This one is clever, it hides amongst its own and only shows its true power when there are none left alive to witness it."

"This is…"

Each and every word fills me with dread. With no escape, death waits for me at both ends.

"This is impossible…what am I to do against a threat that I cannot even see!?"

"But you can, Rado."

That look in his eyes, I'm taken aback when I see it. Nobody in their right mind would look at a simple farmer with eyes of such faith. Yet here is such a man in front of me.

"You can see things, things that nobody else can!"

"Yes, I can see the anticipation of upcoming rain and the joy of a potted plant, but that is it! These floating thoughts are nothing of use!"

Charles holds out his hand, allowing energy to form at his palm. It's a similar grey that I had seen before, and my gaze is quickly drawn to the strange movements in the air. This motion seems to only confirm the certainty Charles holds.

"What you are seeing isn't thought, it's magic!"

The absurdity almost makes me burst into laughter.

"Do not be so foolish, Commander! Magic is used to make stones float and fires spit from your mouth."

I've always been surrounded by these things that my senses are able to pick up, so it simply couldn't be something as exotic as magic. That is what I want to believe, but Charles's seriousness puts a crack in my confidence.

"Magic is everywhere, in people, plants, and even the land itself. You can not only see this flow, but also identify the nature of it!"

I think back to the guard and the redness forming in his hands. There is also the slithering hand of grey that Charles sent towards me. Was this all just magic?

"This is your gift!"

He brings himself forward with the look of a pilgrim having finally found salvation. The hand still resting on my shoulder grows tighter.

"No matter how it hides, you can recognise the magic of the Demon Lord and use its tricks against it! This is why you are needed! This is why His Majesty put his faith in you!"

"But, I cannot fight! I'm no knight, an encounter with a demon would be the end of me!"

"Then do not fight!"

Charles rises to his feet and begins making his way towards the cell gate. My constant state of shock is interrupted when he turns his head back.

"Come! We must get you prepared."

"W-Wait!"

He does not wait for me to follow, but I'm certain that I have no other options. My body creaks its damaged bones, or it should have been. I feel surprisingly light, as if the wounds from yesterday were all my imagination. By some magic, or perhaps exactly because of it, my body is in good shape.

I stumble into the hallway that I had only seen glimpses of until now.

"Where are we going!?"

"To gather with the heroes you shall soon accompany."