章 14: Dismal Dawn
They ran off in the cave and then Mazoku tripped headfirst on a rock on the floor. Due to that, Daichi fell on him and then everyone fell on each other like a domino except Akari and Akio who stopped in the course.
"Seriously? Utter fools." They both said in unison as they both looked at each other.
"If we could both see each other, you'll know that I am frowning at you, Akio," Akari muttered to himself.
"Same could be said here, Akari," Akio remarked to himself looking at the cave opening behind them to check for any danger. "We need someone to get us some light. It seems that the minor light from the caves has run out and I do not want to continue seeing this circus fall and those bufoons playing around in the cave."
"Well by the look of you, you seem like the clown of the circus," Mazoku remarked.
"That's a lot coming from you and it isn't ideal joking about ramifications of unexpected cataclysms," Akio said and snapped his fingers to direct Akari. "Lights."
"What? I'm the one who had to go through that stuff..." He muttered confused as Akari unsheathed his katana releasing a light with an electrifying shock to Aldrif who was above them all.
"Ah!" She cried as Elliot tried shutting her, "It would be best if you don't try attacking your teammates when that beast is out there."
"I am truly sorry that a weapon of battle was made for that and not for a lantern." He commented to himself.
"Well, I guess I could do it if Aldrif wasn't still on me like a dumb boulder," Elliot mentioned.
"Everyone's a boulder to you when you're a twig, Elliot" Aldrif stated, getting up and began to fix her hair from the electric attack.
Elliot ignored her and spun his hands to generate some flames as they looked at awe at the light produced.
They continued to walk but Akio took lead to stop anything to happen again. They made their way through carefully across the passageway. It seemed normal until it began to diminish in height.
They then began to crouch across and then Aldrif complained, "I feel like Rei is gawking at me-"
"I'm not it's just this passageway was made very awkwardly." He interrupted her solemnly and quite annoyed.
"Just shut up the both of you we're getting there." Akio scolded them looking at the light outside of the tunnel.
As he made his way through, he then accidentally dropped down into a large crater full of birds and nests with scintillating light.
There were squawking birds with diverse colours and vibrant feathers. They squawked out noisily and blaring in sparkling tones. Baby birds swayed across the nests as mothers fed them with delicacies such as appetising berries and an abundance of worms. The nests were filled with alluring petals and crisp leaves, in which the birds rested in. The incandescent sunlight reflected on the flying birds getting food out. The beguiling tone of this land was contrasted with the hideous setting of the lair of Alutzumal.
Akio was grabbed by his feet by Mazoku and he dangled above that heavenly land looking in awe over it.
"I've got you!" He shouted pulling him easily with his demonic strength as he backed away while crawling pushing everyone back. Aldrif tripped, Akari as he crawled back, and tried to stop chuckling to herself.
"This place exists in the same abyss as the manticore there. What a dazzling place." Akio muttered to himself until the same injured bird flew in his face angrily screeching in front of him.
"What are you doing!? How did you make it here!? You have damned us all, you idiots! You villains! You fiends! Scoundrel! Bastard!" It cried to his face hastily.
Akio grabbed the bird irritated by it and then he closed its beak. "Shut it, you halfwit."
"Stop it Akio! You're hurting it! It's already been injured!" Daichi protested to him as she pushed Mazoku hastily.
"Stop it he's the one in front of me, not me! I know we're both demons but we still look totally different!" Mazoku grumbled looking behind himself with a displeased stare towards her.
Akio looked at the scars the bird carried; with sorrow for it, he felt merciful and opened it's beak saying, "It's time you tell me why you're so infuriated about us finding something beautiful like this..."
"You killed all of our children now. You doomed our haven to the uncaring jaws of the devilish leviathan and it's all the fault of yours!" It continued croaked harshly.
"How may I ask?" Elliot asked trying to look but Mazoku's back blocked him from looking.
"This place was meant to be a place that protected us from that beast and our children from dying in his jaws. We hid it away and now we'll die all of us terribly!"
"It is evident that this seems to be a shelter but how have we destroyed that secrecy?"
"You imbeciles. I can smell the blood dripping off one of you..."
They looked back in horror as Akari looked in shame at himself covering his wound with his hand. "Apologies." He stated.
"'Apologies!?' You have slaughtered our children!" The bird protested crazily.
"Enough! We can clean it off somehow?" Mazoku added as he looked at Akari in disbelief. "It would've been best if you told us that you were bleeding."
"My pain is my business only-" Akari said before being cut in by Mazoku.
"Ok, then that's all fine. I am deeply sorry to everyone that I asked. So we can just destroy the evidence and be gone from here?"
"No no no!" The bird shrilled, "Alutzumal is no mere animal he can smell the particles of blood on the floor. He's going to get a faint smell of the trail and then he'll find our homes then our haven becomes a brutal massacre!"
"Won't happen if we kill it," Daichi suggested to them.
"Kill it? We will all die before that happens. Didn't you see the size of that beast?!" Mazoku interjected.
"So we let them die?" Daichi asked him, "They've been living slaves and in fear even in something beautiful like this. We can't allow that."
"She's right... We need to help these birds. I and my sister came here to be heroes and if we ignore them then we're just monsters like this Alutzumal…" Elliot added.
"There's a difference between a monster and a fool and a hero. This is the natural order. Survive or die." Mazoku argued.
"Enough we can talk this over in a much easier place for discussion and not a cramped tunnel. Good bird are you able to get some of your friends to help us?" Akio offered.
"Well..." The bird thought it over: peace. Finally, they can get that if those people defeat Alutzumal, king of the caves. But can they defeat a dark god like him? He looked over at the nests where eggs laid; some may have died before being born if that manticore had something for it. His eyes glittered with faith as tears went down touching his scars and paining him a little. "Very well... I can do that."
He called on a flock of birds to carry them down one by one and as they dropped down they looked at the home, made by the birds, amazement sparkling in their eyes. As she was dropped, Daichi ran cheerily to pet some of the birds while Mazoku facepalmed as he sat waiting for them to discuss what they do.
Elliot walked up to Akio asking, "I didn't want to ask them because it might sound rude but how are these birds communicating with us?"
"In Kamisugawa, birds have been a stable companion of humans that some domestic birds have learnt our language and they caught on to it that soon the children learnt it. This is a mere folk tale, though, and very rare to find birds that can understand each of you. These birds seem to be some of the only ones that speak like us, quite mysterious but, as a self-renowned king, that manticore seeks messengers. Such as those," he explained.
"Well that's great but why will we risk our lives like this? I'm sorry but I don't want to die that quickly to the manticore for birds who will probably die once the manticore finds out. Tell me what plan do you have?" Mazoku inquired cynically.
"I have faith." Answered the bird flatly.
"Faith? Is that what'll kill the manticore? I guess you're a serious idiot." Mazoku laughed to himself as Daichi looked at him annoyed but was stopped by the bird who flew over to him.
"Come with me," He began to hover above in front of him. "Faith is important to us birds. It's how we grow. It takes faith for us to take our step growing and jump into flight. We must have faith to perform that action and fly. To adapt and become higher. It's the first step of getting their life to the fullest. So will you fly for yourself?"
"I'd rather just run, much safer," Mazoku remarked comedically.
"Tell that to them." He said appearing in a small cave and placed a flower on a small heap of objects.
Mazoku looked at the heap strangely, as confusion grown in the atmosphere. Then he saw it.
Skulls and beaks laid in the heap as he stretched his hand confused. "They...?"
"They die. They were devoured by that monster. I took it up to get every one of them the desired resting ground they deserved. I don't want to have to do that anymore. I don't want to find the shells of the eggs and have to know that they wake up to see the false beauty of the world. I don't want to hear the cries of the mothers as I hand them the remains of their children. I don't want to lay 20 ripped carcasses knowing soon more will join them. If you will not fly for yourself then, please... fly for them..."
Mazoku sat kneeling to the heap and put his hand away after paying respect to it. He walked out transforming to his demonic form. For one of the first moments, he felt peaceful and in control finally.
"Well then?" Akio asked looking at him.
"We kill the manticore and then nobody dies," Mazoku answered back to him.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Alutzumal demolished the globe with his claws as he tried devouring them but, luckily, he only found branches and leaves in his mouth. Disgusted, he spat it out hitting some birds who sat watching. The bombardment left them dead and he plummeted down to them to eat them.
"I need a delicious meal after that disgusting fake." He muttered to himself as he gazed upon the tunnel holes in the caves. He then stared carefully at one of them and saw a stain of blood in the tunnelway moving from the start and he climbed up to it and smelled the delicious scent of blood from it. His eyes lit with malice as his bloodshot eyes found a small feather on the top of the roof of the cave.
"This, hehe haha haha! This is where the game starts! I'm going to be having fun now!" He cackled malevolently.
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