First Time Alone

With the rays of the sun beaming into his room, Ko instinctively covered his head. His eyes swiftly opened, and he took immediate notice of the empty space on the bed.

Getting up. Imuru thought little of it, his mind still foggy for him to focus or form a coherent thought.

He got on with his morning, in each phase of bathing, getting dressed and eating, he found himself subconsciously looking out for Koshi.

Finding himself not quite hungry, Ko sets his sights on going for a walk. He grabbed his sword and headed on outside, briefly blinded by the sunlight the moment he opened the door.

Ko took a stroll through the kingdom, seeing a few more than the ordinary of adventurers that raised his interest. There haven't been many since the fall of the Demon King.

"Maybe, I'll be one myself… Just maybe…" Ko thought his eyes riveted on the adventurers. "Would Koshi join me?" He asked himself, as his gaze drifted to the sky.

Gazing on the Adventurers, his curiosity got the best of him, as he found himself approaching one of them, having a few questions he'd like to ask..

The adventurer broke apart from his group, to speak with Ko.

He kneeled. "Now, how may I help?" The adventurer asked, expressing a calming smiling.

"Just caught my attention, there's a lot more of you than usual," Ko said, looking over at the adventurers party.

The adventurer nodded his head, "We're hired adventurers and mercenaries there. Nothing stopping me from telling you, so yeah, there's some trouble that'll be arriving here. Are so I'm told."

"Uh…" Ko was taken back for a second. His head lowers, "I shouldn't be surprised," Ko thought.

The adventurer pats him on the shoulder, letting him know not to fret, before rejoining his group.

Kinda feeling lost, not really knowing what to do, without the only person he personally knows he could talk to comfortably. Imuru just tailed behind the adventurer he spoke to from some distance, there whispers letting him know they'll be heading to the tavern.

The front of the tavern was packed. Imuru broke his attention from the adventurer. Heading inside, he's greeted by immediate loud chatter from many different groups filled the air, each seemingly careful not to let themselves go to waste.

Ko quit his staring, and found himself a seat in the corner to just observe.

A few minutes later a waitress walked over to him. He practically stared through her, until she gave him a playfully slap on the head bringing him back to reality.

Ko shot up in his seat, finally taking notice of who's standing in front of him. The friendly blonde waitress that always seemed to have it out for him, but he's been with Koshi almost twenty-four seven everyday so never got to really know what she wanted.

The waitress took a brief look over at the counter for the Innkeeper. Seeing no one, she took a seat bringing it right beside him.

She rested a hand onto Ko's, giving a pleasing smile. "Strange to see you here by yourself. What happened to Koshi?" She whispered.

"I… I'm not sure," Ko replied nervously, avoiding looking into her eyes.

She removed her hand with a smirk, "That's great. You know if you ever feel lonely," She leans in closer to him, "I just want to let you know I'm here," She whispered in his ear.

"Umm…" Ko, completely flustered, turns his face away from the waitress. "T-Thank you," He blurted out, appeasing the waitress with his response.

"Well don't thank me yet… Until you give me a go," The waitresses teased. Feeling satisfied she gets, heading back to work before she's seen by her boss.

Out of the blue someone burst through the door, completely out of breath. Warning the others that the enemy is close by.

The adventurers put their gear together, heading out to get ready for a confrontation.

Ko rushes behind them, locking eyes with the waitresses for a split second, noting her frightened expression.

Someone shouts out, pointing to the sky, at the forming portal.

Slowly from the thickness of the goo-like portal, emerges a Mist Hollow Knight. Ones that typically fight during the night, so seeing one in broad daylight is a spectacle.

With this many adventurers and mercenaries, they all have the same thoughts of how easy this should be.

The people swiftly evacuate from the area, noting the danger of the situation.

The Mist Hollow Knight descends, its grip tightening around the spear it holds.

Once its feet touched the ground, a small quake shook the surrounding area. Giving off a heavy pressure unusual for a Hollow Knight.

Everyone froze for a moment, complete silence almost filling the air, if it weren't for the screeching sound of metal as the Hollow Knight's head turned from left to right, observing all of them.

A mercenary forms a crystal shard in his hand behind his back, taking one big step forward, shooting it towards the Hollow Knight, piercing through layers of armor that forms its structure.

The Hollow Knight stood firm. Its attention, drawn to the mercenary that attacked him, initiating it to raise its spear. This triggers everyone to attack with intent on stopping any possible attack.

The Hollow Knight struve's its spear into the ground forming a barrier to black the assault from all angles, the damage it sustained immediately repaired itself.

The barrier dropped after, surprising the adventurers and mercenaries. With one mere swing of its spear, it's able to cause critical damage to many adventurers and mercenaries.

Ko froze, shocked by the carnage. He took a few seconds to shake himself back to reality. He unsheathe his blade jumping directly into a confrontation with the Hollow Knight to assist.

Ko struck down from above with his blade, missing the Mist Hollow Knight by a few inches.

The Hollow Knight in its attempt to dodge Ko, falls into a trap. The ground transformed itself into a swamp-like state, slowing down and sinking the Hollow Knight.

From a mage, she unleashed a strike of lightning that brought The Hollow Knight down on his feet, rendering it incapable of performing any further action, causing it to fully sink.

Once the last of the swamp closes, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Anyone capable of healing got to work quickly in assisting their fellow companies.

The mercenaries gather their people, choosing to leave with their injured, rather than staying and helping.

Ko sighed with relief, "That's down…" Ko glances around, "I don't have anything to offer in the healer department… But, I got to see where I can help," Ko thought with determination, heading straight to assist in any way he could.

Peering through a window of a dark office an, Koshi watched the onslaught that took place, feeling disappointed in herself she didn't help.

"Please, take a seat," A mysterious voice said from the darkness, not a hint of concern for what just transpired in his tone.

Koshi turned, staring for a brief moment before nodding, and reluctantly sitting back down on the canapé.

The individual deep crimson eyes cut through the darkness like butter. The glow of sunlight that reaches him, revealing a highly dressed individual.

"No need to fret, it's all taken care of so relax," He said sitting up in his seat. "But as I explained our former lord was quite arrogant, so trouble will probably never stop reaching us."

"You've stood out among the crowd more than anyone else…" He paused, seeing the raised hand of Koshi. "Ah, yes?"

"Yes. This thought crossed my mind. Why not you or the Administrator?…" Koshi said, wary.

"It's Morato. And indeed that's a good question, and would solve the simplest of our problems, but it wouldn't solve the major issues. We are very much associated with the previous king, so this would already limit our allies by a wide margin. it'll just be more trouble than it's worth if one of us takes over," Morato explained.

"I understand…" Koshi eyes flicker with a hint of worry. "Shouldn't I be made aware of what must be done? Is it necessary to be kept a secret?"

Morato snickered lightly. "Being a Demon king requires a lot out of you. Becoming one is another issue of itself, sometimes requiring you to make tough decisions in a split second. So until then, you will not be made aware of what must be done, Koshi," Morato replied, giving her everything she'll need to know.

Koshi felt wary of Morato's words. "Well, that makes me wonder if I can just back out,' Koshi thought, now spooked.

Whilst Niao after quite some silence decides to speak up about the situation. "Another attack. Administrator, why must we not engage the many threats that are causing the very foundation of what the previous king built to collapse."

"I grow wary. Everyday we lose more territory," Niao said, her eyes filled with worry.

The Administrator stopped writing. "Because, we'll build something new," He stood up, the paper he was working on in hand. 

The Administrator sighed. "Our previous king was foolish, overconfident, arrogant. You see Niao, everything he built is poison…" He began, "We need someone new and powerful. Someone that can quickly awaken. With that down, I'll then from there work in the shadows, my face far too well known to ever be suited to be by another's King's side."

"And you think that's… Koshi?" Niao asked.

"We'll see…" The administrator replied.