1 AKUMA~no~TATAKAI : CHAPTER 1

Story by The Ink Ninjas

ARC ONE : Genesis Prologue :

Every great story has a beginning and every legend; its origins. For thousands of years, man has fascinated themselves with these stories ; Epics of great men and warriors alike, the noblest of knights who slayed dragons of iron scale and ery breath, Junkan who revived the forgotten and ancient arts, and banished

the vilest of villainous monstrosities till they arose again, Tales of legendary men and women forever encrusted in great halls bearing their images and names on everlasting stone, their whole, being and words of good deed trapped in a never ending song, songs of good triumphing over evil, and of the victories over beasts and destruction of places whence dark things sleep .

Mytaleisnotone Of These.Is Not a ballad nor an epic ; nor a tale telling of fallen heroes who rose again or the justice of good over evil. My tale is not

hollow ... it is one of the good in evil and the evil in good . Chaos and order tread the same path and good and evil are but two sides of the same coin. This tale is of people unknown to many . To those who know it, they say it is not true. They spit at my face and say it is false. Surely it is true; for I saw it with my very eyes. May the stars bear witness and judge for my tale is not hollow and surely it is true...even if it never happened..

And so it begins...In the beginning ...Once upon a time...And so it was.

Since time of yore, man has walked the plains, desert, jungle,swamp,valleys and highlands of the world. They have journeyed far beyond the comprehension of beings lesser than they. They are the most populous race and have stretched their legs to the ends of the world; All afraid of no one and no thing ...well...except the beasts. Beasts were like their name; beasts ...vile creatures; bastard beings of animal natire...savages they were; terrorizing humans. They say it is not blood that runs through their veins, but pure evil.

In a fortnight beasts would for groups of their own kind known as hordes. They attacked human settlements sparing no lives. A massacre ! Men, women and children killed alike. A grotesque scene with human remains and parts littered everywhere, whole villages burned to the ground and blood everywhere. The roars of the beasts haunting those in hiding; soon to suer the same fate. Over time, humans changed...evolved...to fight back the beasts. They created and learned ancient arts; they forged paths; cardinal, special, Auxiliary, most powerful, forgotten, forbidden, and arcane . The

Junkan suru hito of the Junkan path learnt the arcane art of circulating life energy around their bloodstream . Through ki they were able to augment their body's and reach superhuman heights and unlock similar abilities. Whilst, the wizards learnt ancient spells and runic tongues ; they spoke to the elements; air, re, metal, wood, earth, water ... they spoke life into the inanimate and life of still nature . They conjured up beings from other worlds and made the elements do their bidding. The knights and samurai trained in the martial arts; tempering their bodies,

weapon mastery and above all will...as the blacksmiths forged legendary weapons that slayed dragons, chased the clouds and challenged gods. It was the dawn of an era. The era of magic and junkan...still human and beast were locked in a never ending struggle for dominance .

It was a cold and windy night in kinoshi; though it was no surprise as the winds from the southern sea became cooler around this time of the year. The white draft was fast approaching; winter was near, barely at arm's length and so the activities of beasts should be lowered.

There was a light drizzle that night . Plip plop were the sounds it made as it hit against the surface of the wall . The after droplets splashed and ran down the

Chapter one: Rampage

hegemon structure; the great wall of kinoshi standing thousands of meters tall. This structure stretched around all over the modern city of kinoshi. It looked surreal as it wrapped around the island like a snake around a tree branch. It was a magnificent structure so tall it could be seen by passing ships and boats. It was built centuries ago by the strongest wizards and junkan of the time to defend kinoshi from beast rampages. Similar walls to the kinoshi wall were built all around the world but none as grandiose and still standing like the kinoshi wall; it was a medieval

Once in a fortnight or rarer, hordes of beasts would attack human settlements. The walls kept them out. Though; the walls had become obsolete at this time as other forms of city defense were created. The kinoshi wall was one of the few walls still standing. The kinoshi wall though, wasn't just a wall; but contained towers, fortresses and guard posts. The wall was made of Old bricks joined together by rice plaster. At the very highest point on the wall; which was a

monument and tourist attraction; a Wonder of the ancient world.

a light tower was used like many others on the wall to survey the outskirts for suspicious activities; there were ve nights in a room having an intense discussion. They were knights of the Order ...the kinoshi order that is. They wore splendid silver armour and a red padded skeleton .

Huff Huff !

The sound of heavy breathing could be heard as well as heavy footsteps leading to the room whence the ve knights were in discussion . Into the room comes in a

heavily padded knight, though one can immediately see the difference between his amour and that of the others. The other ve knights were of higher authority. The knight had a tired expression on his face, obvious from his heavy breathing, but he immediately fell down in a kowtow . His head touching the bare stoned oor of the chamber.

" My liege ..." he mutters breathlessly " All towers are clear " Respect evident in his tone and mannerisms.

The knight he seems to be talking to is facing the window. It had no shutters.

" You see !!! I told you the witch's prediction was wrong ! " A female knight spits out. Her words were intended for the one facing the window.

" She can't be wrong. You have to trust me. I've been feeling it. Like a needle pricking me at the name of my neck or a shiver running through my back. Has the night not seemed too quiet ? Too peaceful ? " The Knight facing the window speaks .

" Oh cut the bullshit ! Every fucking night on the wall is peaceful. We haven't seen a major rampage in years !!! " The female knight spits back . " Following your orders will be a waste of time and resources. The Archknight should be competent and not as foolish as you " the venom in her tone was loud and clear.

" Lydia ! " A bulky knight exclaims " withhold your tongue "

" I am the leader here, and I alone dictates what happens on the wall ! Triple security across all towers , Call in

ve more battalions and infantry . Call in more legions and light up every single search light ! I want every area of the border of the grey grounds covered "

" Preposterous ! You hire the services of one so vile as a witch, and as if that is not vile enough you follow her instructions like a puppet ??!! " Lydia bangs her hand against the wall causing loose stones to fall . There's a visible hole we're she punched it.

" My liege " The lesser knight still in the kowtow position muttered. He didn't

seem to oend any of the veterans and so wanted to gain confirmation.

" Go through with what I have said '' The Archknight and the knight goes away to follow through.

In anger; Lydia draws her sword about to attack him.

The three other knights in the chamber collectively gasp.

" Lydia, what is wrong with you ? It's but a small matter, yet you react like this'' The bulky knight states. "Iwillseeitamutiny!If Refuse To go by my orders, that is..." The Archknight spits bitterly at Lydia whose expression was that of fury.

Bang !!!

Lydia falls to the ground. One of the knights had hit her at the back of the head.

" I think she's possessed " A lean knight with long black hair and several tattoos on his face mutters.

" I thought I was the only one suspicious of that " The bulky knight says surprised.

" Gaius, I think we were all suspicious at one point " The only knight who hadn't spoken had said. She had such a coarse

" Ugh, " She groans. Another hit and she's down unconscious.

voice it would be hard to decipher her gender by that only.

" A bug perhaps ? " Archknight asks "I Can't Tell"

"hmmmm.Tieherupandtakeherto the family . Gaius . The rest of you should quickly get to your posts and prepare for the rampage.

" Do you really thinks it's going to happen " The lean knight asks

"yes...yesIdo"

The knights looked at their leader more closely. They didn't know why, but they believed it would happen too.

" My liege " The all kowtowed and left.

Suddenly the view outside lit up. All towers along the wall stretching over miles of land had been lit up for the rst time in years.

The Archknight then looked out the window ...his silhouette was broody and

melancholic . His back view looked ever so solitary...very much like a lone hero. Gazing at the stars; the emotions in his eyes...indiscernible.

The Kinoshi wall stood tall.

It was a hegemon dwarfing the tallest of oaks and ancient trees.

The Kinoshi wall is so high up.

A testament to human strife, ambition and spirit indeed.

The Kinoshi wall ; a mountain

to the mightiest of dragons; do you doubt it?

A tall great and mighty wall

No beast may pass at all

For ages come and ages go it will never fall A grandiose structure indeed, protecting all it defends

Blessed by junkan and wizards alike, it was announced by the saints.

With many stretching towers of stone

It stood a giant ! All alone

But tonight the kinoshi wall would fall

So saith the witch of the deathly gull .

Suddenly a tremendous explosion was heard and a great ball of re descended from the sky and hit the wall. It was the rst sign. That entire portion wall shook

but it was unharmed . Though the protection runes wouldn't last long.

"It has begun "

The subtle sound of unorganized marching could be heard. Like thousands of footsteps hitting the ground making a tremendous noise but little could be heard of it since it was Faraway. It was a horde. A big one.

" Rampage ! Rampage !! " A group of hunters, numbered three, could be seen running frantically. They had been

running away from the incoming horde for days now . Yes ! And the horde kept getting larger and larger ! The beasts were in their thousands and of different kinds. They had never seen anything like that. All the beasts were working together. Creatures of light, beasts that roamed the ground and vile creatures of the dark coves of the grey grounds. They formed hordes of over tens of thousands.

The hunters ran frantically, wheezing past trees, jumping over logs and boulders. Though they saw nothing behind them, they scarcely believed they

had outrun the beasts. The incessant thumping on their feet on the ground shook the ground so much so it was like the ground was being played like a drum. A drum beating songs of war, violence, chaos and vengeance.

Woosh!!

They broke through the borders of the grey grounds. As they came across the clearing nearing the kinoshi wall. They felt relief like a wave washes over them. Yes! Salvation was near.

Whizz !!

A dark gure shot out of nowhere and tackled a man in the hunters group; pinning him to the muddy ground. Bye bye designers hoodie and joggers.

The thing was a puma beast. Its fur was Raven black and its eyes were a dark and cunning hazel. It smelled of pure death. It's breath was worse. Sticky and deathly.

Grrrrrrr !!!

" Hia ! " The only woman in the group shot an arrow at the beast .

Boom !!! Boomm !! Boomm !!

The sound of the approaching horde became louder and it was more apparent that tonight would be a bloody one.

The lesser knight from before barges into the room . His armour is bloodied.

" What ??!!! What happened " The beasts hadn't neared yet . The Archknight was perplexed.

" Ly...ly..Lydia "

Black ....

3 months ago ....

Bang !!!

" Aaaaahh !!!! " a girl's scream could be heard in the darkness .

Genichi reluctantly opens his eyes to see a silver haired boy on the oor. No

surprise there . He probably fell on his bunk bed.

"Gen!Ihadacooldream.You shoulda been there !! I was some lightning god ..and .. "

" ugh ..not this again " Another voice could be heard in the room

" Yuddai if you fucking scream like a girl again I'm gonna kill you "

END OF CHAPTER 1

EPILOGUE

Hello readers, as you can see the story has just begun and it's gonna be one hell of a ride for our characters. We can't wait to reveal what's next. Please stick around and give the story a like(it would be very much appreciated) as this motivates us to do more stuff like this.

Yours truly,

The Ink Ninjas 🥷

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