So It Begins...

I was talking to Adam and Rin about their Demon Magic before a delicious smelling breakfast was brought out and laid on the table, which now looked like it had an all you can eat feast on it. As I was enjoying a hearty breakfast with everyone, curtesy of Lyra and Senaris, we were rudely interrupted by Magna. I looked behind me and cocked a brow at the eccentric Demon, prompting him to talk. "My, such a warm welcome by my dear Yuu! I'm glad to see you up and about, but I come with news." Magna's brows furrowed as his foot started to lightly tap the floor. "We have less than two days before the Demon Army sets foot on Ralithon..."

We were all quite stunned. We thought we had at least a few months to prepare, but it looks like the Demons weren't kidding when they said we were to be exterminated without delay. A smile crept up to my lips, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "What is so funny my dear Yuu?" Magna asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Ahaha, I get to test my strength...my blood boils when I think about the possibility of fighting against a super strong guy...I'm almost tempted to set up camp where they'll land." I said, clenching and unclenching my fist in anticipation.

"Actually...you're most likely going to become very happy after what I say..." Magna stopped and looked at everyone else before looking back to me "There are going to be three Lieutenants and a General in the upcoming skirmish on the shore of Lagdriosa, each of the Lieutenants are strong in their own rights, but the General will most likely take all ten of you to defeat, and even then you might not win..." Magna said with a more than a little hesitation.

"Will I be able to set up camp there!?" I asked with a sparkle in my eyes. I was practically begging.

"Pfft, Yuuki looks like a kid who was just told that his favorite candy was in the pantry..." Adam said while stifling a laugh. I began to chuckle, the mood lightening in the process.

"Well I won't say you can't, but you are going to have to be discreet about it." Magna leaned in closer and whispered "You can't let the headmaster know!"

I stood up from my chair and stretched before saying "Well guys, I'm off! Keep the place warm will ya?" as I grabbed my black coat from a hanger near the door.

"W-Wait you dumbass, you can't go alone!" Adam almost tripped as he scrambled to his feet to try and stop me.

"Well, you heard Magna. Are you guys ready for the possibility to die?" I asked seriously.

The room went quiet, uncertainty flashing through everyone's eyes for a split second before they nodded their heads. I shook my head with a smile as I walked up the stairs to my room. I wore a black coat, unbuttoned of course, the silver necklace, loose fitting black pants, and black boots that extended a a few inches above my ankle. As I was looking at myself in the mirror, I thought I looked pretty badass. I grabbed the pack that the academy had given me out from under my bed and walked back downstairs so I could stuff it full of items like food and water.

"Well look at you getting all prepared. I thought you would've gone straight for Lagdriosa, not pack essentials..." Kabuto said with a smirk as he stood next to me and started to pack his bag full of the various foods and drinks that we had stocked.

"I'm not dumb y'know. I just like a good fight...or two..." I muttered

"Yeah I'll admit that you're pretty damn smart, but when you get wind of a possible fight all of that rationality goes down the drain." Kabuto said as he buttoned his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder as he walked toward the door, motioning for me to follow. We walked out the door and were greeted by the beautiful sight of the sun rising over the distant mountains.

"Shall we?" I asked as I looked toward the ragtag group of people that I've grown to call a family. We began to run as fast as we could to the south, the port city of Lagdriosa.

We had to pass through a specific part of the mountains known as 'Death Wind Peak', a place where many S-class mana beast lurk. However, these were cannon fodder for my group, not even a worthy warm-up if you ask me. We set up camp inside of a cave on the side of the mountain after clearing out its inhabitants.

"Why does the floor have to be so uncomfortable?" Adam grumbled after banging his head against the floor when trying to adjust himself in his sleeping bag.

"Because we are in a cave?" Verm replied, confusion written all over his face.

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. I was not only surrounded by the whole lot of females, but everyone here were so used to beds that they couldn't even be thankful that we at least had shelter. "What're you laughing at pretty boy? You're not cold and uncomfortable with your garden surrounding you..." Adam muttered as he rolled around.

"W-What are you talking about? There's just no room and I'd rather be next to people I know instead of you perverts!" Saya stuttered while inching closer to Rin and Lyra. I was the only one not laying down because someone had the grand idea that I should take first watch...cunts, it's cold without a sleeping bag...

I cycled the lightning energy through my body to keep the biting cold at bay before leaning against the cave wall, listening to the echoes of water dropping to the floor. Thankfully, Rin was able to use her Illusion Magic to lull everyone to sleep, leaving us as the only people awake. "S-So, do you, uhm, do you think that we'll make it out of this...?" Of course she had to drop a question like that.

"Yeah, no doubt about it. I'll personally make sure that we will all come back alive. No matter what, Rin..." I looked over my shoulder and smiled. "I truly believe that we can all make it out of this, together." Rin's eyes misted over as she nodded her head with an 'Nn' before laying down. What if we didn't all make it back? No, we will. We have too, for each others sake. I'll personally rip off the head of that damned Demon General to make sure that no one has to leave me...

I made up my mind and began to cycle even more of my lightning energy through my body before leaping out in the direction of the cave entrance, except I never reached the entrance. I was stuck in midair with Verm standing in front of me, a sad smile on his face. "So, you think we cannot help you? I'm afraid to say that you are wrong, Yuuki. We came because we wanted to help you and help carry your burdens, even if it meant that we would sacrifice our lives..."

Damn, I should've known this would have happened. "What if you all die? Who's gonna help carry my burdens then?" I asked, a tinge of remorse lacing my voice.

Verm just kept his smile on his face as he said with confidence "That will not happen, you can count on me, Yuuki..." before releasing his spell and climbing back into his sleeping bag. I was left standing there, confused and torn between wanting to end everything by myself, and wanting to walk alongside my family...

I released a heavy sigh and leaned back against the wall, focusing on a strategy for the upcoming battle. The sun had crested over the mountain ranges before I had even realized it. I grabbed my bag, woke everyone up, and let them pack up their possessions before we continued our journey.

"You didn't get any sleep last night...are you sure that you'll be ok?" Lyra asked with a concerned look on her face. I didn't answer verbally, but I gave a nod before signaling for the group to stop. There was a foul stench lingering nearby, and I don't mean dead animal foul, I mean evil aura foul.

I slowly crouched through the bushes and came across a desecrated village, still burning with blood splattered all over the ground with the bodies of the villagers piled up into one large stack. I heard someone retch behind me as I walked around and searched for clues. I heard a slight rustle in the tree line. I whipped around and formed a bow from the insignia's energy and loosed an arrow into the trees, a sharp wail following shortly after.

I walked through the bushes and came across a clearing with a singular body covered from head to toe in a large, hooded robe. I carefully kneeled down next to the figure and peeled the hood off of its head, revealing a man with ashen-grey skin, a singular small obsidian horn in the middle of its forehead, with his eyes rolled back likely due to 'shock'...see what I did there...? Ahem, more importantly, it was a Demon.

This was bad news. Were the Demons already on Ralithon and creating chaos? Or was this a singular, rogue Demon? I clicked my tongue and motioned for everyone to continue on their way to Lagdriosa, this time at double the speed. We needed answers, fast.

We continued to run in the direction of the port city, the smell of smoke and burning bodies getting heavier with each step. We came across many villages that varied in sizes, each of them burned to the ground with no sign of their attackers.

"Do you think that they're already here...?" I heard Saya ask in a low tone. We had stopped for a short break but the smell of smoke covering the landscape made it hard for us to catch a breather. "Tsk, damnit! I don't know..." I muttered as I paced back and forth, furiously biting my fingernails.

About five minutes passed with us sitting in silence, thinking of the worst outcome before I motioned for everyone to continue running. After another hour of traveling the trees began to spread out more and more, the smell of burning corpses becoming overwhelming. I stepped out from the tree line and saw a sight that had burned itself into my mind even to this day.

Lagdriosa was in flames and a fleet of ships dot the horizon, leaving no room for the blue sea. A single ship stood out from the rest. It was completely black in design with a flag that had a man with a crown of horns sitting under the moonlight. I saw a burly man with obsidian black skin, three horns that jut out from the top of his head, and two massive swords strapped to his back.

I was just about to turn around and issue for everyone to fall back and set up an ambush, but I came face to face with the man I had just saw on the ship. He shot me a toothy grin and said in a smooth, almost hypnotic, voice "My, you must be Magna's little pet...you sure don't look like much to me but I'll entertain that old fool for a bit..." He turned his head and began to analyze everyone else, his gaze lingering on Senaris, before landing his gaze back on me and saying "Now, I want you to hit me with everything you got. You get three free hits before I start attacking...so please, go easy on me will you? I had quite the case of seasickness I'll let you know."

Damn, this guy is really starting to piss me off, especially when he adopted a smug grin as he held his arms out wide, exposing his absolutely ripped chest. I kept eye contact as I began to cycle lightning energy through my body, building it up until it was about to explode before slamming my fist into the cocky bastards stomach. A massive shockwave erupted from my strike, causing a cloud of dirt to obscure my vision of the Demon. A sudden blast of raw mana knocked the dirt away, revealing the Demon to be still standing with his smug grin and arms out wide. "Aw come on, that one barely tickled..."