The Return of the King

[DEMIURGE]

~THE STONE DRAGON’S DANCE~

On the outskirts of a village so geographically insignificant that it was given no name, a conflict was about to break forth. A being of great divinity presided over a force of over 10,000 as they marched towards this settlement. All that stood between them and the pillaging of the land was a garrison of soldiers, numbering not more than 1,000. However, the soldiers lined up in formation on an open plain to intercept the larger army before they could reach the village, in the hopes of buying the civilians enough time for an escape.

This was not an unusual occurrence, the one man who was acknowledged and feared by the whole world had disappeared without any warning over a decade prior. The Demon King, Demiurge had left his armies to fend for themselves without a clear leader; many nations felt the sting caused by this, as rebel armies rallied by lesser gods popped up everywhere. This particular army was on its way to attack the base of the Demon King’s own faction, and the village just happened to be in their trajectory. To them, it was nothing more than a place to pillage and obtain additional resources.

The larger army stopped a ways away after catching sight of the small resistance that was meant to discourage them. The kitsune-masked god that the army was serving under levitated into the air, allowing all to view her divine magnificence. As she rose, the outline of her body blocked out the very sun itself, casting her shadow over the entire plain. This shadow was replaced when she opened her arms outwards and a dazzling light emerged from the centre of her chest.

“My children...look upon the strength of the Demon King! Look at how miniscule his forces are! His age is over, and the majesty of your goddess Inari shall replace him! Go now, my Senshi, and show them the power of true faith! For your goddess is here and visible! These heretics shall die without ever knowing the face of their beloved Maou-Sama-...what? What is this?”

Interrupting her speech was the introduction of a spear through the source of light inside of her body, creating an area around it which gained the texture of crumbling stone. She stared down at the foreign object through her chest in disbelief. The armies below her were possibly just as shocked, some even dropping their weapons in awe of the sight before them. What they saw next only served to leave them even more awe-struck.

High in the sky was a burning projectile hurdling down towards the goddess at an alarming rate. Everyone stood and could do nothing more than just stare, as the object came ever-closer towards the divine being; they all seemed to forget the reason they were standing in the field to start with. As the object collided with the divine entity, it seemed to drive her down to the ground between the two soldiers. The impact of god and ground caused a shockwave to be sent throughout the vicinity, and a large crater to be formed at the epicentre.

After the cloud of dust that was created from the crater’s formation had subsided, a very tall man in a white hood could be seen emerging from it. This particular man was headed in the direction of the goddess’ forces, and dragged the divine being herself along the ground behind him by her hair. The spear that was within her chest moments prior seemed to have disappeared, but the hole it left in it remained and the stone surrounding it seemed to spread even further along her body.

The man himself was dressed very modestly, overall. His upper body had a white, sleeveless garment with a hood and four rectangular tails of cloth which stretched down to his ankles. As for his lower body, he wore a pair of black, baggy pants; below them were nothing more than a pair of pale, bare feet. His body itself was of medium build, though the most visibly noticeable features were his arms. They were stone-like in texture, and a dark black as the primary colour with lines of runes which shone a bright gold.

With the hand that was not currently occupied, he reached up and removed the hood which covered his face. It was clear now to make out its most distinguishing features. His eyes, specifically, matched the colour of the runes, like two golden orbs piercing the sky; and around those slanted eyes were linings of dark yellow. His hair was a deep black, with highlights of gold at the tips of the strands; it rested on his face at the front, and towards the back, it was tied into a ponytail which flowed down to the back of his knee. His sole accessory in his meek clothing set was a dangling earring on his left ear, with the most visible part of this accessory being the golden crystal that it held.

He released the divine lady’s hair from his grasp, dropping her onto the ground. Once he did this, he sat with folded legs on her abdomen which was now entirely covered in stone. She screamed from behind her fox-faced mask and thrashed around the parts of her body that weren’t entirely petrified. The man who now used her as a seat smiled and spoke with a rather amused tone.

“I’m sorry, Inara-Chan. I know we haven’t seen each other for many ages now after I scared you off by killing the gods that actually mattered, but I can’t afford you a proper reunion. My dear subjects are watching, so I have to show off a bit. Aren’t you a bit young to want to die? Why did you think you could provoke the King of Demons just because he was on sabbatical?”

By this point, the petrification had spread all over her body, stopping at the top of her neck. The soldiers seemed to be too terrified to make a move and help their restrained goddesses who had tears running from behind her mask. While the disgraced celestial cried out pleas for mercy as well as apologies for her offence, her soldiers voiced exclamations such as ‘Akuma’, or ‘Oni’. However, the other side no longer remained in the same shocked state as they once were. They realised how the situation had drastically changed for them, and released joyous cries of ‘Maou-Sama!’, with tears in their eyes.

“Well, Inara-Chan. I really enjoyed seeing you again, but I came back to this world to accomplish an objective, and I simply do not have the time to spare for you.” As he got up, the woman begged for him to reconsider, stating that she would never offend him again. However, the man would not listen, and the petrification spread to the remainder of her head and engulfed her whole. When this happened, the man looked down and spoke softly to her rock body, “Goodbye, Inara-Chan. Thank you for the rice.”

Once he spoke his words, the once-glowing divine body crumbled to dust and scattered in the wind. All that remained to show the existence of the goddess was her Kitsune mask, which the Demon King bent down to pick up, and tossed to the most authoritative-looking man of the former god’s forces. “You have ten seconds to take that and run. Any one of you left in my sight will soon learn what it means to suffer the judgement of the rock!”

After the display he gave them, they were in such a state of shock that they could not move. However, when he started counting, their self-preservation finally came into play and they rushed off the way they came before he had even hit three. Those on horseback were gone in an instant, while those on foot stumbled around, but eventually managed to leave on their own. Once this was done, he turned back to the other army with a smile.

“Yo! Hisashiburi, da na? (It has been a long time, hasn’t it?)” He addressed the lot of them with a wave, but most of the soldiers still had streaking tears coming down their faces. Going from facing a suicide mission to seeing their beloved king once again was quite a change, but one that made them overjoyed. After allowing them a moment’s composure, he gave them their first set of orders in over a decade, “Go back to our base, and tell everyone you see that the Demon King has returned.” Out of honour, each member of the lineup stood at attention and bowed at their hips, giving a resounding response of “Ryoukai! Demiurge, Maou-Sama!” before venturing to complete his instructions.

Once they were gone, the Demon King went ahead and walked back down into the crater he created. Once in its centre, he released a loud roar, not unlike a dragon’s. From his body was a beacon of golden light that shot into the air, almost as if he wanted the whole world to know he was back. However, this beacon was meant specifically for a certain group of people: his Hyakki Yagyo. The beacon was meant to show this group of his hand-picked subordinates his location. He knew that since the home base was not far, it would not be too long before they arrived. The Demon King also figured that the soldiers would have requested reinforcements for the village, so some would already have been headed that way. He had a special directive to give them, and eagerly awaited their arrival.

[Merurin]

A horned girl arrived at the edge of a benign village with beads of sweat running down her face.  Upon receiving tell of a large force encroaching towards the base, the kijo Kafū was given a vague yet urgent briefing of the situation before being sent off.

She had sprinted to the village on foot—all while doubts clouded her mind.  A demon is undoubtedly a demon, but Kafū was certain that she, alone, could not make up for a 9,000 soldier deficit.  Was she expected to hold off the abundance of enemies led by a god?  Is the village a lost cause?  Should she instead focus on scouting the enemy forces rather than engaging them?

Her line of thought is pushed aside as she took a moment to lift a leather pouch from below her waist to her mouth.  She took nary a sip from the pouch as a foreign light enveloped the sky.  The source of the light descended.  Kafū watched in partial stupor just as the light collided with the horizon on the other side of the village and a tremor followed suit.

Even in her shock, she continued her motion of drinking from the pouch.  The light was familiar; Kafū felt as if a memory was being forcefully emerged.

She comes back to her senses as another light soared upwards; it came from the same spot that the prior anomaly had landed in.  Before realizing it, the name "Maou-sama" is muttered.  Despite not being one to entertain rumors, Kafū breaks into a dash towards the golden light.  She is met with an orderly fleet of soldiers, heading in the direction that she had come from.  She continues without faltering and is soon brought to the remnants of what was supposed to be a battle.  The kijo slows herself as she approaches the crater.  Her hopes had reached a peak and were now being replaced by a combination of sobriety and intrigue.

[𝙈𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙢𝙞]

Megumi stood up on a hill top where he would be glancing out at the full moon that glistened upon his body during the windy climate in the area. The male's long hair brushing throughout the sky, while he had his arms folded and was in deep thought about the disappearance of the Demon Lord. An instant flash occurred in Megumi's mind as his thought was interrupted by the approaching threat behind him. He turned having his eyes glow a bright red as an indication that he prepared himself for the incoming threat. A flash of lightning surged the sky with a being standing before Megumi after the lightning past. The two stared at each other with the intent of hostility towards each other. "One of the Hyakki Yagyo?... You're leader is no more, he is dead." The mysterious white haired male said to Megumi. "And? So what if he's gone? What business do you have with me?" Megumi responded. "Well a certain god wants you dead as you could pose a possible threat to her, Megumi Kazuya," The Mysterious white haired male said to Megumi now having a grin upon his face. "Well take your best shot and make sure it counts because if I get back up. I'm going to make you cry for mercy at my feet." Megumi said with a serious tone. The white haired man bit his lip feeling offended by what Megumi said. *Tsk.* "I'll kill you." The white haired male said with a annoyed tone. 

The battle begin with the Mysterious male sending his left fist into Megumi's stomach, this send Megumi flying off the hill and tumbling into the trees that surrounded the hill. The mysterious male glancing down at the row of destroyed trees with debris surrounding the area, laughed. "Is that it? Because it clearly looks like it." The man said laughing hysterically feeling as if one punch settled the match. Eventually, within an instant the white haired male was looking at his missing left arm, the white haired male shouted in pain as his entire left arm was cut clean off. "You clearly don't listen to instructions? I told you to take your best shot and make it count. And look where that got you." Megumi said with a calm and joking tone, standing a couple of meters away from the white haired male. The mysterious male turned with a shocked and fearful expression. "What's wrong did you see a ghost? You look afraid, I can sense that fear." Megumi said with an ominous intent in his tone."Wha- What the hell are you?!" The white haired male screamed at Megumi while blood spilled from his left arm. "I am Megumi Kazuya, The Harbinger of Armageddon! "Megumi shouted with excitement before the male's head was severed from his body and hitting the ground and looking up at Megumi who stood over his head. "Did you know that the Human head can still live for a couple of minutes after being severed from the body?" Megumi said with a grin on his face while picking up the white haired head and looking at him. "You were an idiot throwing away your life like this but I'm a nice man so I'll allow your last moments to be about your life while I leave you here to rot. I hope in your next life you make better decisions." Megumi place down the mysterious male's head. After placing down the male's head, he stood only to be met with a rumble from a loud roar, and a golden light that pierced the skies. "It seems he's back. And you said he wouldn't return." Megumi turned towards the headless male who glanced at him with no emotional response but only eyeing him before taking his final breathe and closing his eyes to the sight of Megumi who begin walking towards the beacon sent for him. 

[arcanewonderland]

Arcane sat in a grassy field, her silk cloth draping over her soft, earthy skin. Her long, dark, and curly hair remained free, the wind swaying it every which way. Before her lay a deck of cards with five single cards spread out beside it. To the unknowing, these cards were nothing but pictures, but to her, they were much more. Her sanguine eyes were rather dull, not properly characterizing the excitement she felt within; this often led to her being hard to read. In a way, she felt she could relate and further connect to these cards. It was no wonder they had a special place in her heart.

“I see. Oh my, how this excites me!”

Closing her eyes, the young lady took in a deep breath and embodied the feelings of the cards. With that, she heard images and flashes of images. Slowly, yet at a rapid pace, she was piecing together the story and filling in the blanks with each of her senses. She felt fear, excitement, triumph and much more. Connecting with these cards always seemed to get her heart racing. It was a drug that she never planned to give up.
Her brows then furrowed as she saw the different faces, and soon, she felt herself amidst a battlefield. She could hear the voices, though they would quiet then rise once again. As she strained to understand everything all at once, her body tensed, and she felt herself gradually disconnect with the energy source. She knew she had to remain calm to get the full experience, but when her senses were overloaded in such a manner, with so much going on, she had much more trouble remaining stable. The images began blurring, turning into chaos as did the voices and noises she heard. A sigh soon escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered open.

“Perhaps I need more practice. But at least I got farther this time…,” She whispered to herself, picking up a single card this time. The card was quite literal in its meaning, showing a man riding a chariot. It was a card of victory and Triumph. “Alas, he is back. And his face is known.”

A gentle smile crept upon her ruby red lips.

[Haku]

Time, was enjoyable for this individual as, they remained underneath the shaded area of the tree while, resting on a tree branch that supported their body weight which wasn’t too heavy by their standards but, nonetheless; slept peacefully outside of the village without a sense of danger or need of urgencies. The area was quiet and isolated from the village where noises couldn’t be carried over unless, there were major distress occurring from within the village. They continuously relaxed with the kicking of their leg from the tree branch with every motion controlled with the sudden jolt from his joint raising that leg if theirs up every other second for minutes on end before, allowing that limb to freely sway of its own accord. These peaceful times were greatly appreciated by some with dwelling rumors of return and a few about some something about a festival to be had; it sucks being out of the loop for most events but, there are always butts to be had around right? Pointless, rambles of thought of no use.

Just knowing that the days were quiet and peaceful to be had a smoothing breeze grace their body that felt each second of the lingering breeze that made them so, relaxed out in these grassy plains where they have lain their head with bits of translucent droplets that damped the surrounding area where they rested instead of the typical greenery that usually others would imagine. The of fall of water slowly drenching the top of the tree and the area around as the rain drops unique in a million different ways were falling onto this tree. This was furthering the relaxation with breezes complementary function in cycle of nature for them but, that would soon be altered with the change in atmosphere. The eerie sounds of panic that rose from the nearby they hung out nearby were in some sort of uproar for whatever reason and caused them, Haku to take notice to this situation within their nonchalant manner that opened their mouth behind the mask that hid their face with it’s oval-shape and blue color with slits to look through in the form of a squiggly line on both sides. Nothing too remarkable about this item of jewelry.

The weather hasn’t reached the village being a bit farther out from everyone else but, the clouds weren’t in no sort of haste to cross into the territory of this village anytime soon. They were enjoying the days that they brought by the second, bit-by-bit with every droplet of rain connecting them to the soil of the planet. But, with the screams of panic steadily increasing as their ears twitched; picking up the distant frequencies from afar and sighed deeply with a ruined immersion of nature. Now, thinking about picking up the thought of learning to do Haikus.. like the olden days before, losing interest and wondered about the recent thought. The clouds now reaching over the lands with a downpour of rain that began drenching the outermost-skirts of the village before; the storm that was cleared in the coming seconds with a surge of power echoing throughout the entire country of ‘his’ domain and a life form signature dropping off from the face of the planet with a little sadistic chuckle behind their mask with the sun shining brightly woth the cloudy skies now, cleared from his return ushering a new sunny delight that beamed upon the village.

“And, our glorious dragon statue returns.”

[DEMIURGE]

The Demon King, Demiurge had decided to get settled while he waited. He stared up into the sky with a smile on his face that was quite similar to a fantasizing daydreamer. “This world I created has been without me for so long...I am excited to see what they have accomplished in my absence,” he spoke in a soft and gentle tone, wondering about all the things he would be able to see of the mortal races and their achievements. However, this entranced state did not last long, as he was very quickly interrupted.

“Are you sure you chose the right time to come back? You do remember why you left, do you not?” Demiurge looked down at his feet and remained smiling, though the type of smile shifted slightly, no longer as big. He let out a short scoff and shook his head a little. The voice that just decided to make an attempt at disillusioning him had no body, and in fact was only heard within his own mind; though it was more like it resonated in his soul. “Why do you choose to speak to me now, Herald of Ruination?”

The soul of this voice took shape in the form of a black mist that rose from the cracks of the cratered earth. Once the black mist dispersed, a man stood with his back against Demiurge’s own. This man wore an attire that was clearly not of the local world. He bore a black cloak which enveloped his body from his neck down to his feet, showing nothing of what was present underneath. On his head was a wide-brimmed black hat, and under it a hair of ghostly white, with a skin complexion so pale he looked as though he was a cold corpse. Between his lips was a lit cigarette that gave off the same black mist that manifested itself moments prior.

“Is that what you call me? The Herald of Ruination...sounds like a folk tale. You and I are much too close for such titles.” The man spoke with a neutral expression on his face and a bored tone in his voice. “What is the meaning of your visit?” The Demon King lost his casual nature in that moment and snapped for that one instant, wishing only to end their meeting. “Well, Mr. King of Demons, I only wished to remind you of where you stand.” “I have wiped gods from this world! I have become a beacon of unity for the mortals! I know where I stand!” His patience diminishing, he turned around and yelled his heart out at the man who had decided to intrude upon him.

“I’m aware...the Dragon of Rock. The first one to be touched by the Void; but also the one who is most reluctant to use the powers it granted to him. Was it not you who said that even mountains will crumble with time? You, like me, have spent much more time than anyone else in any realm.” The Demon King had no response to this, all he could do was stare at the man before him...the only one who could truly upset him was this man. “Well, Mr. ‘Maou-Sama’...you have a visitor, so I shall leave you.”

With the wind, the cloaked man disappeared like the very same mist he came with. However, the Maou was left in the crater he had made, only just now noting the presence of one of his own demons. He put on his kind smile and looked up at the small female. It took him a minute to realise who it was, but he had gotten it. The young appearance, white hair and her hungry eyes. It was Kafu, the Demon of Starvation. Demiurge walked up to greet her with a pat on the head. Once he did so, he looked down and spoke in a gentle and soothing voice, “Gomen-ne (I am sorry), Kafu-chan. You probably came ready to fight an army and a goddess, but you only ended up seeing a senile old man talking to himself. Let’s keep this a secret between us, okay?”

With his composure regained, he bent down at his knees and whispered into the young-looking Kijo’s ear, “We will catch up later. I have a very important mission for you, so you’ll have to come speak with me soon. For now, I have a surprise for you! It will be here very shortly.” Without waiting for a response, the tall, humbly dressed king walked a short ways away before preparing to take off. “Oh! And if you run into too much trouble, just yell out for Megumi-kun! He is on his way here as well and should be here shortly. Try not to take out your surprise too quickly, I want him to have some fun too!”

He bent at his knees, before pushing off into a high leap that sent a shock of sound throughout the woods. His direction: a lazy young man who decided to spend his time dozing off by a tree. He had noticed his presence quite a bit before, but was busy at the time. However, this did not exempt him from his duties, and he wanted to let him know that. Since Demiurge intended to land on poor Haku with the full force of the Stone Dragon, he was going to have to move or face the Wrath of the Rock.

As for the surprise, it was a given that the big scene that the Demon King made by shining his light for the world to see was not going to go unnoticed. As a result of this, a holy knight was on his way to the location of the crater, which was now where the small one known as Kafu had just met with her king. Demiurge felt bad about stealing her opportunity at battle, so he decided to leave that knight for her. He did regret leaving without properly chatting as well, but he was in a bit of a rush so it could not have been helped.

Once the knight had arrived, it was plain to see he was quite a mid-tier warrior. He wore a full set of red Karuta armour, with a long Nodachi slung over his shoulders. He was a tall man, though slightly shorter than the Demon King was. On his face was a mask of pure white, meant solely to cover his face. However, this man was sent with the intention of battling the Demon King himself, so he must have possessed some form of skill. When he arrived to only see the Kafu standing next to a crater, he was a bit disappointed. However, he still acknowledged that a demon stood before him. He said not a word as he extended out his long sword in her direction, as if inviting her to a duel.

[Merurin]

As astonished as she was to see the Demon King Demiurge, his parting words bothered her.


The kijo sounds, "A surprise,' he says."  She frowns as past surprises come to mind.  Kafū turns to the direction that the Demon King had went off towards; the burst of sound still rung in her ears.  "Maou-sama said that Megumi should be here soon... I could leave the 'surprise' for him.  I'm sure he wouldn't mind having all the fun to himself," mutters the kijo.  The last sentence drags out unnaturally.  Becoming aware of her own hunger, she lets out an exasperated sigh.

One hand rubs her temples as the other blindly pats at her attire.  A growl emits from the back of her throat as her other hand turns up empty.  Visual signs of annoyance set into her face.  In her rush to the village, Kafū had forgotten to prepare any form of rations.  Returning to the Hyakki Yagyo base of operations became more and more tempting by the second.  The Demon of Starvation begins to swerve back, but she comes to a stop as a knight, donned in red with an unsheathed sword, enters her line of sight.

"You're the surprise, I presume," asks Kafū rhetorically.  A silence follows.  At the very least, the demon could assume that this knight had been drawn by the same beacon of gold light that she had seen not too long ago, and if this assumption is true, then the knight had likely intended to challenge the Demon King.  If not for her current state, Kafū might have pitied the challenger⁠—a monkey frantically reaching for the moon reflected in the water.

Instead, impatience overwhelmed any possible emotion.  She would simply defeat the knight before her, return to her post, and indulge in an immeasurable amount of snacks and ale.


She gives a single downward glance to the challenger before rubbing at her temples with both hands.  As the demon drags her hands down her face, the tips of her fingers begin to extend.  She locks eyes onto the challenger's nodachi.  Her surroundings become a blur as she dashes straight towards the knight.  Her upper body leans forward slightly and her hands form into open claws.  The right hand positions itself near her head and the left hand is to the side of her hip.

[𝙈𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙢𝙞]

The sound of wind left the forest, with the wind pushing through the branches and sending leaves flying off the branches. For a moment, Megumi was high in the sky only below the clouds where he saw the knight wearing red Karuta armor, and Kafu who appeared to be preparing herself to fight the Knight; Gravity took its part on Megumi's body bringing him to the ground but at a fast rate where Megumi landed in a kneeling position on the ground. Upon his fall a small gaping hole formed as well with surrounding debris that the young male pushed out of his way. Megumi watched the spar from afar so that he wouldn't interrupt the fight but it was visible that he was there. 


Placing both his hands into a folding position he looked up at Kafu who was charging at the knight with her claws. " A battle? This sounds interesting but there's no Demi, he must've ran off when Kafu showed up." Megumi thought to himself in that moment of Kafu and The Knight beginning their battle. 

"What bothers me is why did this Knight appear and what could he's or her purpose be?" Megumi thought to himself after.

[Haku]

‘... Guess that’s how things are gonna kick off?’ Taking a meditative breath cycling the oxygen around into their body to ready themselves for the next turn of events if they were to come with remnants of engaging foes against certain forces. Slowly, everyone gathers one way another with the one at the center of attention parting ways with one and another rushing over to just barely cop a feel of the big boss man demon.

Meanwhile, Haku all cozy-like snuggled themselves upon a branch of oak wood or something. Just humming along as the shift of the breeze occurs with some incoming being from above that alerted his sixth sense and peered up and around the surrounding area to pinpoint the object or creature that is coming in hot and overall decide to abandoned the tree with a swift tilt to their side just falling from the tree and immediately after would bounce off the ground upon contact with little difficulties pouncing off towards a safe, possibly unseen position if the individual isn’t observant enough.

But, Haku had forgotten quickly who just has returned and decided to sneak attack them and stopped peering through the eye sockets of the mask and yawned with the tacking of their bare feet against the soul, toes lifted only the ball of their feet smudging into the grassy ground spicing the land with a bit of love from them personally before, speaking and staring at the dust of debris from the with all of his might. And, cracks parting underneath the ground beneath them and the collapsing of the ground that felt like a sinkhole being revealed that dropped Haku down into a crater with ‘Demigure’ in the center as, a silhouette outlined by his immense presence and just physical body being just there. Like, look at him!

“Aa... why me Sama?” Pained to voice to how much time they’ve spent relaxing has been ruined after such a time being away. But, clearly stood unevenly within the rumbles of their sleeping post. Presenting themselves finally as, a wondering body. That has donned nothing but, rags of cloth just for the occasional life as a feeble classed ‘mortal.’ Having donned obviously the mask of “Slime.” That kept their face hidden with the material of the mask being rarely durable. Just a poncho draped over their shoulders with nothing underneath but, their bare bronzed skin complexion to be shown. And, short trousers all the color of black at their whim of fashion. Just some simple to relax in or wear occasionally. “Couldn’t you have bothered some other soul?” Unsure of what’s to come personally and stood there, relaxed but guarded with their hands rested opposite of each other.

[DEMIURGE]

The knight was not quite ready for the assault that was sent out towards him. A warrior who used her claws as weapons was not something that he typically prepared for. His reaction made that quite apparent. The speed she charged at him with was almost too much for him to handle; he hastily leaned back at his hips, narrowly avoiding the attack and basically losing his balance. He wobbled a bit, but managed to keep himself from falling.

As soon as he was composed enough, he decided that he needed some distance to be placed between the two. He placed his back on the ground and curled up to quickly roll backwards, gripping his sword tightly to ensure it did not fall during the manoeuvre. Once he was able to stand up he did so, assuming a horse riding stance. His blade now held in both hands above his head in the direction of the female demon. What happened next would show the reason he was confident enough to think he could pick a fight with the King of Demons in the first place.

His blade glowed brightly in an almost impossibly blinding white light. This light extended towards the heavens, almost tall enough to cleave the sky in half. The blade was then slowly, and with great effort, swung downwards. Anything that came into contact with this blade of light blazed with a white flame before being cut by its edge. It was a powerful ability, but this knight delivered it with a slug’s pace towards the young-looking, female demon.

Right before this had happened, the Demon King had landed next to his intended target: the lazy Haku. He stood upright with his usual playful smile plastered across his face. “Why you? Well...that’s simple. You’re not doing anything right now...or ever, for that matter. So I have a job for you!” He strode towards the direction the smaller being was and placed his hand atop the youngin’s head; almost like a parent giving affirmative contact to their child. However, this was not the purpose of the interaction.

With this instance of physical contact, Demiurge had connected the two beings’ souls temporarily with an invisible tether. With this, he could transfer information back and forth with the young man telepathically. He gave to him a location and directions to it in his mind: a cave that was a far ways away to the east, turned into a hideaway for a splinter group serving a lesser god. Once he gave the information to him, he removed his hand from the young one’s head. “These people have stolen something important from me...you get it back for me and you will have me indebted to you. I need it if we intend to restore peace to our domain. It is not something I ask lightly, but I know you will be able to do it.”

Once he finished his exchange with Haku, he felt a strange surge of holy power. He looked back in the direction he had just come from to see the blade of light extending to the clouds. He chuckled slightly, but his eyes betrayed the fact that seeing the technique in action managed to worry him just a bit; not for himself, but for who he left behind. “Seiken...an ability that once let a god come very close to ending my life...and a mortal is using it? Interesting. I wonder if I gave Kafu too much to handle…” after an additional moment, he sighed with relief, “This technique must still be too much for its current wielder. Slow and sloppy...the Seiken cries out at this mistreatment. I can feel it. Kafu should be fine.”

[Merurin]

Her claws enclose as the distance between her and the challenger diminishes.  The demon's fingers swipe through air as she dives forward on her last step.  She was now arcing towards the ground.  With her arms folded from her missed attack, Kafū resorts to angling her shoulder to the front; the ground scratches at her as she lands on her side.  The momentum of her dive sends her a foot ahead of the point of impact.

Registering the vulnerability of her current position, Kafū quickly rolls onto her back and draws her palms and heels close to her body.  In a fluid motion, her legs and hips lift off the ground before her feet slam downwards to propel the rest of her body into a standing position.  Her head whips towards the knight.  Her eyes widen at the beam of light that extends from the knight's long sword.  Another figure in the distance catches her eye, but with the brightness of the knight's sword, it was difficult to make out any colors—no less features—that could be used to identify this third party.

Kafū's eyes dart back to her opponent as the beam begins to tilt in her direction.  The second thing about this technique that Kafū took note of: it was slow.  Even that was an understatement, though, the attack was fatally slow.  A remark about the futility of such an extravagant gesture crossed her mind, but she let the opportunity pass as the words in her mouth are replaced with the blade of the tanto from her waist.  Her enhanced jaws and fangs clasp and lock the weapon in place.  She dashes towards the knight once more.  Her pace is slowed, but her pathing is erratic.

Rather than diving towards the knight in this second attempt, Kafū runs behind her opponent (closer to his left shoulder blade) and swings her arms and right leg up; the motion brings her two feet into the air.  As the momentum of her swing begins turning her to the left, she momentarily tucks her arms against her chest to prolong the mid-air spin.  She spirals for one full revolution before stretching her arms to her left and right in an attempt to graze the man's back.

[𝙈𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙢𝙞]

Megumi noticed Kafu's fingers swiped through the air seeing how the Knight dodged the female's attack by leaning back and dodging her attack. The Knight from what Megumi saw was unbalanced a bit after dodging her attack. Furthermore, he noticed the Knight roll backwards getting distance from Kafu, as he watched the Knight take a horse riding stance, Megumi's right eyebrow raised in confusion to what the Knight was doing until he noticed the bright light coming from the Knight's sword, his eyes widened only to be amazed by what he saw. "Is this... Divinity?" Megumi thought to himself. "Who is this?" Megumi questioned himself mentally. After this light pierced the skies, Megumi noticed Kafu getting behind the knight and attempting to graze the man's back. 

[Haku]

‘A mission...?’ Behind the mask of Haku was nothing but an idle expression that ran across with the spewing Maou-kun speaking of this journey to be carried out. Whatever, it’ll be a leisure to take time from the land that has been keeping this birdie caged up. A traveler should always be exploring or doing whatever they pleases even if it meant sleeping in trees for the majority of it.

Just having his palms pressing down upon their head shifted the body posture they possessed and slightly grunted but, brushed off the discomfort from the pat given. With information smoothing through their mind eye that gave Haku tunnel vision of a path to be taken and the destination of the designated place that would lead them to whatever the Statue wanted from within.

Of course, the request was accepted. It wasn’t much of a problem since, the exercise would be needed to finally stretch out the body after years if basically hibernating far away in distant lands from previous years. “Okay.” Was all that is said. “I’ll be on my way now.” Haku begun to walk off while the dialogue started and was in the nearly out of the carter by the end of it and some collected change.

Thus, Hsku begun a journey from the ‘Demigure.’

[arcanewonderland]

Some time had passed and Chiamaka could be seen walking through the village. Her silk garments danced around her, making her appear as if she were floating. She had garnered some attention, though it was normal with this number of people – someone was bound to look at you and pick you apart with their mind. It was only natural.
And not to mention, she was not from this place or anywhere nearby it.

“This place shouldn’t be too far off,” she mumbled to herself as her hands rummaged through a pocket in her robe. Within seconds, she obtained a black card that had the same dimensions of the cards she used for tarot. Though, this one was obviously different. The card remained a glossy black at first before random lights appeared on its surface, reminiscent of stars in the sky.

One of the lights on the card blinked, representing her and her location on the trail. At the end of the main trail was a cluster of blinking lights which served to represent her destination. Lifting her gaze, she looked to her right to see a building that didn’t look like anything special. It was an inn. The inn was a rusty red colour with many windows. At the very top was a gothic looking window that arched and stuck out like a sore thumb on the building. Shoving the card back into her pocket, Chia walked through the entrance of the wooden double doors and into the main hall which had a marbled desk with two people standing behind it.

[DEMIURGE]

As the young and ambiguous-looking Haku had departed on his journey, Demiurge breathed a sigh of relief. He had only just returned, but he had so much piling up on him at that time; his assignment to Haku meant that he had one less thing to personally oversee and, thus, worry about. This did not mean that he had time to sit and dawdle, though. However, the fight that was currently going down was something that could prove to be an allowable momentary distraction for a moment. He closed his eyes, allowing his spirit to venture away from his body, though remaining tethered to it. With this, his spirit levitated upwards, giving him an eagle-eye view of what was happening.

The demon of hunger, Kafu, had managed to land some of her assaults on the knight who had wielded holy energy, scraping through his armour and tearing the skin on his back as if neither was any more than paper. Surprisingly, he managed to endure this pain, but the Seiken ability he wielded seemed to falter in its grand light, to the point that it even dissipated entirely. However, the knight did not appear disheartened by this as he proceeded to continue his swing downwards.

The spirit of the Demon King watched, quite intrigued. The mortal races have picked up some interesting tactics in my absence, he thought to himself while playing at being a spectator, I wonder what this knight is playing at. Before completing the swing entirely, the knight collapsed, his sword falling next to him as he was faced downwards in the ground. This piqued the Demon King’s interest even further as he was well aware that the scratches he suffered were not enough to bring down a man with the endurance to wield the divine energy of the gods.

Though it was no longer being wielded, a light once again appeared on the blade of the weapon, though this time it was one of a blood-red light. It was then that Demiurge immediately understood what had happened, and his soul rushed down to quickly rejoin his body as he knew he had to take action. It was very unlikely that he would make it in time to deal with the circumstances properly, so he knew exactly what he had to do to remedy the situation.

The palms of his hands became areas of high cursed energy concentration. Once he felt as though he had built up enough, he clasped them together violently, causing a great burst of sound. The wave that was created by this interaction between his two hands caused the trees of the plain to be violently shaken, and some to even be stripped of their leaves. On top of the great physical force, the wave of sound was also laden with his magic which is what he used to deal with the issue that presented itself.

It was with this action that the red light flickered and disappeared. Once he did this, he proceeded to create a mental link with the two that he had left behind, allowing him to telepathically convey his thoughts to them. “Heya , haha...sorry to have interrupted your fight. Didn’t mean to, honest! I just remembered that I have urgent business at the base, and I can’t quite remember the way. If you both could just follow this link back to me and escort me home, that’d be great.” Of course, this was a lie; he just did not want to worry them about what might have happened if he didn’t take action.

“Mixing holy magic with a cursed sacrifice...that nature is neither good nor evil...it is just wrong.” He spoke to himself in a mumble under his breath, contemplating what would have caused the knight under a god to take such action, or even where he learned to...