Rupture: Rise of the Demon King (23 page)

The group followed behind him as he moved toward the portal’s position. Seeko pointed to the volcano. “The portal is on the side of it! We have to seal it!”

Kazuma’s eyes went wide. “Are you insane? Paltri Peak? That thing will destroy us!”

Seeko could see that the rest of the company agreed with Kazuma, even Mori.

“What did we come here to do?” Seeko said. “Seal the portal! We can’t just give up now!”

“When I agreed to follow ya, it wasn’t into an active volcano!” Kazuma said.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to trust me.”

Kazuma gazed up at the soot leaving the nearby mountain. He closed his eyes. “You’re insane.” He stepped forward, willing to follow. “Just don’t get me killed.”

Seeko smiled and faced the others in the group. Mori threw her arms up in the air and stood by his side.

Keith spoke as he walked up to him. “We better hurry. We don’t have much time.”

Seeko spun around and found Lorissa already with the group.
“Thanks,”
Seeko said to her.

The young girl smiled.

And the group moved toward the volcano, following their hero. Soon they stood at the bottom of the mountain. Ash filled the air, becoming thicker with each passing minute. A gray film layered the ground in all directions. Seeko coughed on the ashes and kicked a bush next to him. The ash fell from the plant, repositioning on the ground.

“Can we get this over with?” Kazuma said. “I don’t want to be here when it actually erupts.”

Seeko nodded and continued to ascend the mountain. He listened to the Voice for the exact location of the portal. The group walked up and around the mountain, following Seeko’s lead. They soon found themselves standing at a flat notch in the mountain. In the center of the dip was the portal surrounded by cliff edges. The black orb swirled with dark purple and maroon smoke around it.

Seeko took a step forward, scanning the area. “There should be someone here protecting it.”

He drew his weapon and the others copied him, with the exception of Lorissa, who had no weapon. They crept up to the darkness and stood before it. Suddenly, a bulky, bearded man wearing simple cotton garb walked out from behind the portal. He strode calmly to protect the portal from the company. Seeko could see a necklace around his neck, and knew who he was instantly, for the Kikoeru had already told him.

“Hatsuko. He is the protector of the garnet necklace. He is very dangerous and powerful, and he has the capability to kill all of us. And that is without the boost in power the necklace gives him.”

“He also has four arms,”
Kerodesis added inanely.

Sure enough, at that moment, Hatsuko’s back burst open and a pair of bloody, grotesque arms erupted from it, long and misshapen.

“Who dares approach me?” he asked in a rumbling voice. As he spoke, blades materialized in each hand, a different one for each element.

“We are so dead,”
Seeko thought.

Kerodesis laughed from within his cage.

21: Casualty

27 Din, 112 AV: Day 156

The four-armed Hatsuko flourished his elemental swords. “Again! Who dares approach me?”

The company stood in silence.

“Answer me!” Hatsuko barked. A gust of hot wind buffeted the company, created by him.

Seeko cleared his voice. “I am the Hero of Endetia, Seeko Dris!”

“Where did that bravery come from?”
Lorissa asked within.

“All bravado,”
Seeko thought back.

Keith and Mori moved to shield Seeko from Hatsuko.

Hatsuko chortled. “You? The hero?”

Seeko pulled out the topaz necklace. “See! I’ve defeated Vishoni!”

“You? Good for you. He was rather insane, was he not?” He took a step forward and the world rumbled around him. “Challenge accepted!”

For a moment, Seeko exchanged glances with the others, then turned toward Hatsuko. But when he looked back in Hatsuko’s direction, he was gone.

“Above!” Keith shouted. He fired pressurized air above them. No response.

Then, all of the sudden, a high-pitched whistling invaded the airspace. Red flares of flaming rock rained from the heavens. Seeko and Kazuma shielded the majority of the assault and Keith blew away what they couldn’t protect themselves from. A loud snap from behind was the only warning the company got, as Hatsuko ambushed them, swinging his blades madly into the company. Lorissa narrowly dodged the attack while Keith dashed at the demon to counter him. Seeko and Mori moved to support Keith, holding back Hatsuko’s multi-bladed barrage. Then Lorissa summoned a bright light from behind the trio, blinding Hatsuko. Keith took advantage of this, cutting off Hatsuko’s extra left arm with a wind-augmented swing.

The mountain responded with a tremor. Hatsuko fell back, screaming, then disappeared. More tremors rocked the battlefield, and soon sharp spires of stone shot from the ground. A spire smashed into Keith’s right side, sending him to the ground and nearly breaking his arm.

“Keith!” Mori shouted. She was at his side, looking at the damage.

Hatsuko used the distraction to teleport back in front of Seeko, swinging his blades like windmills. Seeko fell back hastily, sending green flame into the deadly blade-storm. The blades dissipated the flame, so Seeko launched a black beam of darkness at the demon. The beam blasted through the blades, connecting with Hatsuko for a moment. But then he teleported again, appearing behind Kazuma. Kazuma ignited the ground underneath Hatsuko, protecting himself and Lorissa from the monster. Hatsuko flipped to the side, swinging his blades at Lorissa …

… but right then, Keith appeared, blocking the otherwise fatal blow. Keith blasted back the demon and Kazuma followed up with a wave of crimson fire, connecting with Hatsuko squarely on the jaw. Hatsuko disappeared once more.

Again the mountain rumbled, this time so violently that the volcano erupted. A wicked plume of red lava flew high into the sky, followed by more rumbling.

“Seeko! We have to leave!” Mori cried over the noise of the rebellious earth.

“No! Not until we get the necklace!” Seeko shouted back.

“Take it from me, hero!” Hatsuko burst from the ground, grabbing Mori as he did so. He used his momentum to throw the girl, casting her to the ashen ground and knocking her out.

“Mori!” Seeko shouted.

He pulled on all the magic he could from the necklace and launched the dark energy at Hatsuko. His energy dipped as a hundred sharp claws reached for the three-armed demon, but the claws only managed to scrape and scratch. Hatsuko spun around madly, becoming a mess of ash, dust, and rock. He hovered above the whirlwind he created, sending it into the company, who scattered. Rocks and ash went everywhere, forcing Seeko into a coughing spasm. The world became a gray haze as ash scattered into the air.

Seeko summoned orange fire into his left hand and in his other hand lit his blade an emerald green. The world rocked again. Then Seeko heard the shout of a man in pain.

“Kazuma!” he shouted. Worried, Seeko ran in the direction of the shout.

He found Keith and Kazuma protecting Lorissa and Mori. Kazuma had a gash on his head, and Mori was still unconscious, but they were all still alive.

“Where is he?” Seeko shouted, flame still in hand.

“He’s watching us from somewhere,” Kazuma said. “I clipped him in the leg, but he returned the favor.” Kazuma pointed at the wound on his head.

Keith nodded. “Seeko, Lorissa is our best bet,” he said quietly. “She has light magic, which she says is very effective against demons.”

“Okay,” Seeko said, “so we distract him and you hit him with everything you got.”

They nodded and stood to defend Lorissa.

“Keith, can you get rid of this ash?”

Keith swept his hand across the air. The ash cleared, revealing Hatsuko charging from only several feet away. Seeko was not fast enough and took a cut across the arm. He lost the magic he held in his hands. In a flash, Keith was there, slashing his blade everywhere, and Kazuma was close behind. They gave Seeko enough time to recall the magic, and soon green and orange flew toward Hatsuko. But Hatsuko plunged through the fire, swinging his blades like propellers and knocking away Kazuma. Hatsuko lunged in for the kill, but was blasted back by Keith’s air magic.

Seeko once more called on the dark hands and a few managed to grab Hatsuko. The demon struggled and sliced at them, but as he did so, Keith jumped at him, cutting off his other left arm. An enraged Hatsuko roared, using his gushing blood as water. He sprayed it at each of the combatants at an incredible speed. The blood pelted Seeko and Kazuma and began to boil. At the same time, Hatsuko lunged forward and the ground responded. A slab of earth echoed in all directions, knocking Seeko and Kazuma back.

The volcano reciprocated with another eruption.

Seeko frantically scrubbed the scalding blood from his body, but as he did so, Hatsuko materialized before him and cut at him. The blade was an inch from his face when Seeko remembered something.
Turn into fire!
Hatsuko’s blade cut through Seeko, but he converted the parts of him connecting with the blade into fire, and then back into flesh. It looked like he was cut through without being hurt, which baffled Hatsuko.

Lorissa took advantage of Hatsuko’s confusion, firing a brilliant beam of light at him. The white light burned the demon, but he teleported out of the way of it, assaulting Keith.

“I’m not strong enough!”
Lorissa thought with an edge of fear to Seeko.

“Is there any way you can use my spark to power your magic?”
Seeko thought.

“Maybe. You have to give me permission!”

“You have it! Kill him before he kills us!”
As Seeko said this, he watched Kazuma take another hit across the face.

“I’ll try, but you have to keep him from teleporting!”
Lorissa moved to him and Seeko to her. They grabbed hands right as Keith went down from a nasty blow to the leg.

Hatsuko raised his blades to remove Keith’s head, but at that instant, another beam of light knocked Hatsuko to the ground. He teleported to Lorissa, but Seeko was ready. As he materialized, dark hands rose from the ground, holding him in place. Again he struggled, but he knew it was in vain.

Lorissa raised a luminescent palm to Hatsuko. “Sorry,” was all she said, and a beam of light fired into Hatsuko’s skull. He fell, face-first, lifeless. For a moment, Lorissa stood frozen and wide eyed. Then she shakily retrieved the garnet necklace from Hatsuko’s corpse and handed it to Seeko.

“Let us go, hero,” She said.

Kazuma tried to nod, but staggered and clutched his head instead. “I’ve had about all I can take from this volcano.”

Paltri Peak roared as if to end Kazuma’s statement.

“Are you okay?” Keith asked a trembling Lorissa.

Lorissa headed down the mountain, shrugging off Keith’s offer for help. “You coming?” she called back to them.

Seeko scooped up Mori in his arms, and the five escaped the slopes of Paltri Peak.

/ / / / /

After they left the mountain, Lorissa healed the most grievous wounds with her light and water magic. She woke Mori back up first and together the five of them outran the eruption behind them. Once they were suitably out of range, Lorissa and Mori healed the rest of the company.

Seeko watched as lava flowed off the volcano and connected with the town on the north side and the forest on the south. The woods ignited as the lava made contact, sending even more smoke into the already ashen air.

The company spent the rest of the day on the road leading east from Paltri, heading to Linea. The plan, according to Kazuma, was for them to find a boat in Linea and take it down the Linea River to the Vorryl Gulf and from there to Port Merina and the next portal.

They made camp off the road halfway to Linea. The wide Linea River flowed by, starkly contrasting the violent volcano behind the company. As they prepared their camp, they watched straggling refuges make their way to Linea.

Mori took first watch as the rest of the company prepared to sleep. “If the fire catches up to us,” she joked, “I’ll extinguish it with this massive river right here!”

Satisfied, the rest drifted to sleep, with the exception of Seeko. He moved to her.

“Mori, I was really worried when he grabbed you—”

She shushed him and gave him a kiss.

“I’m not leaving that easily, Seeko,” she said. She held his hand. “Don’t worry about me. Nothing will separate me from you.”

“Nothing will separate me from you either, Seeko,”
Kerodesis joked.
“What a load of—”

“Shut up!” Seeko shouted.

“What?” Mori moved back, clearly hurt.

Ah crap.
“No, it’s not you, it’s Kerodesis.”

“Who’s Kerodesis?”

Ah crap.
“He’s—He’s the demon inside me.” Seeko looked away and took a deep breath.

Mori looked at Seeko with concern but moved no closer. “The demon is still alive?”

“I can ignore him for the most part.”

“How is he still alive?” Mori seemed equally disturbed and interested.

Begrudgingly, Seeko told her everything about the two sparks of himself and Kerodesis. He told her how Kerodesis was the stronger of the two and had controlled the body until the Mother sealed him away. He told her of the voices within and how he could use them to communicate with the Mother. It felt good to let it all out.

Mori just took it all in, like desert sands absorbing water. She sat quietly when he finished and just stared at him. Slowly, her gaze dropped and she hugged her knees to her chest. “I’m so sorry, Seeko. While we were taking you to the temple, you were fighting yourself in your head.” She took a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

“I’m still the same as before, Mori.”

She drew in the dirt with a finger. “Are you? First your eyes, then the dark magic, and now I know that you hear voices? Do I even know you anymore?”

Seeko frowned and looked away. “I’m still the same.”

The pair sat in the awkward silence, watching the river flow. When Mori said no more, Seeko moved to his bed. He lay down and tried to sleep, but his restless mind kept him awake for a long while.

He was still the same, wasn’t he? He tried to convince himself that he was, but the voices and the orange spark reminded him that he wasn’t.

/ / / / /

The company awoke early the next morning. The smoke of the volcano and the fire had caught up with them in the night, and so they had continued to move down the road, hoping to pass it. They were a few miles from Linea when the smoke finally cleared, bathing the group in the midmorning sunlight. Even though the atmosphere cleared up, the company’s mood did not, and they walked through the morning in relative silence.

They were less than a mile from Linea when Seeko fell to his knees, holding his head. The Kikoeru began roaring more frantically than normal. Kerodesis linked to Seeko upon hearing this, going into an insane rant. The orange spark bellowed in anger, crying,
“Yoshino approaches! I will destroy him! I will break his neck with my teeth!”

“Yoshino is coming!” Seeko shouted to the company.

At that moment, a snap came from behind the group, alerting them of Yoshino’s presence. They faced him.

“Seeko!” Yoshino began. “You survived! Excellent! And you are stronger than ever. This is wonderful news!” Yoshino walked closer to the group. “Did you defeat Kerodesis?”

Seeko struggled to hold back Kerodesis and the Voice. “No! He’s still inside!”

Yoshino frowned. “What a shame. It’s also a shame that Hatsuko had to die, but I can work with it.”

Mori and Keith moved in front of Yoshino, shielding Seeko from him. Lorissa moved behind him while Kazuma stayed where he was.

“Stay away from us! Haven’t you done enough already?” Mori cried, fear entering her voice.

Kazuma’s eyes lit up with recognition. “
You’re
the one who made Seeko do what he did!
You
killed Grama Company, not him! You’re not a human, you’re a monster!” Kazuma’s sword rose and he took a step forward.