Prologue [2]
I was wrong, horribly wrong. Beyond being exposed to the torture that Guff provided with me, I was also forced to learn the correct way to present myself in front of nobles and how to properly deal with them. The etiquette lessons were useful, but when you do those lessons immediately after training when your body is screaming in pain, the teachers tend to find a lot of faults and that resulted in me receiving their own punishments which ranged from menial to large tasks. Even through the consistent torment, I managed to push through with the words of the King ringing through my head and the encouragement of the princess ringing through my heart.
In my free time, I tended to head to the Royal Library which held a plethora of books that ranged from autobiographical to the peak of fantasy. Indulging myself in such books, I found another fact about Caitlin, she also liked to read. So, using my meager will when it came to girls, I managed to start conversations about books when the two of us were alone or when neither of us were reading in the library.
The process of training and learning continued for the entirety of the year. Since I was actively trying to reach the goal, I suppose that the world will decide that it didn't need to push me.
By the end of the year, my teachers were singing praises and Guff was boisterously laughing at my stable growth. The weapon that originally started as a short sword had aptly transformed to a longsword when my body was ready. I could now also go even with Guff in terms of one-on-one fighting and from the words of Caitlin, that meant that I could easily take care of Low-Level Demons and even handle Mid-Level Demons all by myself. My self-esteem was at an all time high by the end of the year, and Guff had determined that it had long since been time since I should head out into the open world.
"A hatchling cannot truly fly until it's free to make its own adventures and have its own freedom. So, go baby bird, you are now pushed from the nest and out of the tree."
Making my way back to the throne room, two butlers came unexpectedly from the shadows and opened the door for me.
"The King has been waiting for you."
Saying such in uneasy unison, I step back into the ornate room where I had been first transported. In the throne sat the wizened old man littered with liver spots who looked nothing like the King that had strength and power.
"Oh, how wonderful it is to be graced with the great hero once more. I hope… everything has gone well, yes?"
Nodding my head in agreeance, the stomach-churning laughter echoed out and the King snapped his fingers, causing hidden doors to the throne room to fly open and maids and butlers to flood in. Having expected this, I took a closer look at the items presented before me and categorized the ones that I would be taking on my journey.
"My resources are free to you… o' great hero. I hope you shall go far with these amenities that I provide to thee."
As I prepare to gather the required materials, the throne doors open once again and reveal the ever so beautiful figure of Caitlin who looked slightly out of breath.
Regaining her posture, Caitlin spoke, "You weren't planning on doing this without me, were you?"
Shaking my head quickly, we give each other a friendly smile. Going into the nitty gritty that was item choice, Caitlin and I left the kingdom walls for the first time in one year. Immediately engraving the scenery into my memory, Caitlin and I went down that extended down all the way to the first town.
Halfway through our trek, the two of us halt in our tracks and turn right. Looking at a forest filled with a disgusting number of birch trees, the aura dark and dreary. Sighing that my wonderful experiences were about to end, I place my left foot off the path. Promptly following, the blaring crows voiced themselves and a low grumbling sound made its way to my ears. Gulping, I take my right foot of the path and head into the birch forest. Following behind me in rather proximity, Caitlin analyzed the surrounding, trying to find anything that seemed out of place and then relay such to me.
Keeping my hand at the hilt of my blade, I remembered the description of the demons that all my teachers and Guff were ever so detailed to explain.
Demons have the appearance of normal looking beasts such as boars and wolves, with only higher-ranking demons being an exception. The demons come in multiple sizes, ranging from the size of a house to as small as a centipede. If the demon was the exact same size as a normal animal, it was "impersonating", it's a low-level demon which can only be aptly identified by its glowing red eyes and over apparent muscles. Mid-Level Demons on the other hand were the ones that appeared to be the alpha animals. They will be much larger, stronger, faster, and overall, more feral than the Low-Level Demons. But other than that, they didn't have much danger. High-Level Demons, something I currently can't handle, are categorized as having whatever size they wish for, but they also have an attribute added to them. This ranges from having a barbed tail, poisonous claws, or a hide that's near impenetrable. Anything past a High-Level Demon is so small with information, that it's useless, but the one fact that shone through was that they would take the appearance of a human.
Shaking my head of such thoughts, I make my way deeper into the forest, with only my feet planting against the fallen leaves left by the birch trees, making me cringe each time one of the crackled.
Feeling my heart near burst out of my chest at a sudden sound in front of me, I try to bypass the cluster of trees that blocked my vision. Seeing as something grey in color suddenly shifts from the trees, I hurriedly inform Caitlin about it silently. Keeping track of the moving grey, its head suddenly comes into view, and I find myself staring a wolf with drool dripping from its mouth and its eyes glowing a dangerous red. Sniffing the air in front of it, the demonic wolf then turns its head towards our position and shows a fanged smile.
Quickly dashing past the torrent of trees that lay between us, the wolf jumped high into the air and opened its jaw, giving me a clear view of its clawed teeth and the abyss, which led to its stomach.
Rolling out of the way of the wolf, it jaws clench the open air, resulting in it hitting the ground and then sprinting away. Circling back around, the wolf instead focuses on Caitlin who it deems to be the weaker opponent.
Quickly unsheathing my blade, I dash in front of Caitlin and am immediately exposed back to the terrifying sight that is the demon's mouth trying to reach for my throat and rip it out. Not having killed a living thing in my entire time of training, I make a quick decision and sidestep the wolf's lunge before bringing my blade down upon its neck.
Landing a clean hit, I am immediately hit by the feeling of the blade passing through the flesh of the wolf and hearing each of the different sounds that came from slicing through something in the wolf's neck. As my eyes watch my blade, blood juts out from its neck and immediately coats me. After an eternity of watching my blade, the head of the wolf finally comes free of its body and tumbles to the ground, leaving a trail of blood wherever it rolls.
Feeling as my breathing becomes unstable and nausea come over me, my stomach clenches into a ball and I keel over and pour my insides onto the leaf covered ground. Keeping myself standing with the support of a birch tree, the memories of what I'd just done pass through my mind and I once again vomit.
Wiping my mouth clean of the dribble that remained, I felt as a comforting hand came onto my shoulder. Casting my gaze over, I see Caitlin looking at me worriedly. Giving the signal that I was alright, I make sure to ignore the wolf's body that lay cold and proceed our journey through the forest.
"Are you alright Earnest? Can you go on?"
"… I can go on." I reply after a time.
"If it's too much for you, we can always head back."
Looking at Caitlin's worried expression, I show her a reassuring.
"No…, this is something that I need to do. If I choose to back out now, then I know nothing I'll hide myself away."
"Just… don't push yourself too hard."
Nodding my head, we continue through the forest.
-
Having wandered through the entire forest until dawn overcame us, we had only encountered a small number of three more wolf demons. I was grateful that I didn't have to kill so many, but with each one that I killed, the numbing feeling of my blade passing through their flesh overwhelmed me.
Leaving the forest, I stumbled into the nearest town with Caitlin worriedly looking at me, prepared to help me if I were to fall. Finding an inn which we could stay at, I make my way in and am instantly bombarded by the heavy smell of alcohol and sweat, but past this smell there lay a pleasant smell of fresh bread.
Arriving at the head table, the apparent inn owner greeted us.
"Welcomes to the Bobby's Hat, what can I do for you dear travelers?"
"If you could provide the two of us with food and a room to stay in for the day."
Instead of me answering, Caitlin hurriedly gave the request. In return to her quest, the man's gaze swapped to Caitlin and, with a smug smile, gave a nod.
Paying for the meal, as well as for a room to stay in, I slowly ate the freshly baked bread, digesting what I could eat while having the rest of it fall from my mouth or lay uneaten on the plate. Staring at me worriedly, Caitlin apologized to the inn owner for my actions and urged me up to our room. Placing me on one of the two beds, Caitlin sat down on the other and interrogated me.
"Are you sure that you're okay? If this is too much for you, then stop trying to play hero and let's go back to the castle."
"I… I'm fine, I just need a little rest that's all. And…, I can't stop, if I do then the world will simply bring me back."
"But you don't know that those are just the words of my father. This is too much for you, just continue training until you're ready, please."
Even under her continuous pleading, I held fast to my decision.
"I wish to head back home and the only way to do that is to continue." I mumble.
"But… but…" Caitlin tries to retort but can't get any words out. Letting her head droop down, she finally complies. "Fine, but just don't push yourself too hard."
-
Even under Caitlin's constant pressure to stop our journey, I pushed through, and I continued my path towards the Demon King who lay at the very edge of the continent, stationed against a river that flowed South.
Fighting to reach the Demon King's Castle for a little under six years, I had fought against every kind of Demon, ranging from an entire chilopoda of Demon Centipedes to a General of the Demon King who had been committed to a skirmish between herself and a human town.
I had grown exponentially in strength over the years, yet the gut-wrenching feeling of killing a living thing remained, and each time I would have Caitlin try and halt our journey. But with memories of my previous life and what I could become with my family cheering me on, I progressed.
I had also progressed with my relationship with Caitlin and the two of us had fallen in love. We had even promised one another, even when under the influence of alcohol, to marry one another once the Demon King was killed. And that time was soon coming as I stood upon an imaginary path. Staring onwards, I find myself staring at the Demon King's Castle and my journeys end finally coming into view.
The murderous, dementing aura that exude from the Castle, but instead of inflicting me, it only gave me a feeling of relief. Taking a step forward, I feel my arm tugged backwards. Raising my eyebrow questionable, Caitlin locks eyes with me.
"Proceeding without resting first would be rather unwise, wouldn't you think?"
Stroking Caitlin's cheek at how caring she was being, I decided to listen to her and the two of use set up our camp. Stroking a fire to life, the two of us sat under the starry sky. Locking hands with Caitlin, we sit in comfortable silence until Caitlin hands me a cup of liquid. Drinking it without much thought, our ambience returns until I feel a slight feeling of my stomach burning.
As I begin to try and remove such an uncomfortable feeling, it continues to grow in strength, causing me to grip my stomach. Instead of gripping my shoulder comfortably like she normally would have done, Caitlin sat off to the side, staring at me emotionlessly.
Falling to my knees on the campground, I begin to cough violently until a clot of blood comes flying from my mouth. Trembling as my vision begins to spin, I find a weight come crashing down onto the back of my head, pushing my face into my own blood.
Through my deliria, I hear Caitlin sigh, "It's rather upsetting, it really is. It took me seven years building a relationship with you only to have it end with me killing you. I'm disappointed."
"Why?" I cough out somehow.
"It's simple really," Caitlin begins. "I'd made a deal with the devil, and this is me upholding my end of the bargain. You have no idea how much of a drab it was to continue such a laborious act just to have it end with your death, but beggars can't be choosers."
"Don't you… feel anything?"
"Yeah, like I said, disappointment and a little bit of satisfaction. Rather than having you die at the hands of the Demon King, I guess it does feel nice to kill you with my own hands."
Staring at her with a betrayed expression, Caitlin returns such a look with a sadistic smile.
"What, did you actually think that I liked you? Ew, no. Rather, I thought of you as a precious lapdog who I could run ragged and have do anything for me. So, since you're such a loyal dog to me, why don't you just up and die now?"
Doing everything in my power to stay alive, silver begins to enter my vision.
"This is taking too long." Caitlin whines. "I guess I'll do it myself then."
After saying such, a searing pain appears in my back and the blood immediately gushes from my mouth before leading to a small stream of blood. Even after supposedly taking a knife in the back, straight through my ribs and into my heart, I had just enough strength to say one thing.
"I'll get revenge."
Receiving the laughter that I once found so beautiful to listen to, Caitlin states, "How would you get revenge? After all, no dead man walks or talks. You'll never get your revenge… no matter how much you beg the god which decided that you'd be the one sent here."
Having her laughter echo through my ears, my vision fades and a supposed eternal blackness welcomes me.