THE DEMON KING
1507 Words
Pain.
Not physical. Deeper.
Like someone was scraping Enma’s soul with glass.
He was hanging. Black chains through his shoulders, wrists, ankles.
Above him: a ceiling that wasn’t there. Just screaming.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 52%*
_“Welcome home, King,”_ the voice said. The big one. _“We’ve been waiting 200 years.”_
Enma opened his eyes.
*HELL.*
Red sky. Black ground. Towers made of bone.
And demons. Thousands. All shapes. All staring at him.
On the throne: *THE DEMON KING.*
20 meters tall. 4 arms. Skin like cracked lava. Crown made of skulls.
And its eyes. Red. Like Enma’s at 90%.
“Kurogane Enma,” the Demon King said. Voice shook the ground. “Vessel of the First King. Bearer of the Crimson Sync.”
Enma didn’t answer. He tested the chains. 53%.
They didn’t budge.
The Demon King laughed. “Strong. But not strong enough. Not yet.”
It stood. The ground shook.
“You closed the seal,” it said. “You gave yourself. Noble. Stupid. But noble.”
It walked to Enma. Each step cracked the ground.
“I have a proposal,” the Demon King said. “Serve me. Become my general. And I will send you back. To your brother.”
Enma looked at it. 55%.
“Or,” the Demon King said, “you rot here. And I break the seal myself in 100 years.”
Silence.
Enma smiled. Blood on his teeth. “Third option.”
The Demon King tilted its head. “What third option?”
Enma yanked.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 60%*
The chains screamed. Didn’t break.
The Demon King grabbed Enma’s throat. “Foolish.”
It threw him.
Enma hit a bone tower. It collapsed.
He stood. 65%.
“Let’s see what you’re made of, little King.”
---
*THE PIT*
They didn’t fight in the throne room.
They fought in *THE PIT.*
A crater 1km wide. Filled with demons. Watching.
The Demon King dropped in. 4 arms out.
Enma dropped too. 70%.
The crowd roared.
_“KILL HIM. KILL HIM. KILL HIM.”_
The Demon King moved first.
Arm down. Enma dodged.
The ground split.
Second arm. Enma caught it. Bones in his hand cracked. 75%.
Third arm. Enma ducked.
Fourth arm caught him and threw him into the wall.
Enma stood. Spitting blood. 80%.
“Not bad,” the Demon King said. “For a human.”
Enma didn’t answer.
He ran.
Fist to jaw. The Demon King barely moved.
Knee to gut. Nothing.
Elbow to eye. The Demon King blinked.
Then it hit back.
One punch.
Enma flew across the pit and through 3 towers.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 85%*
He stood. Shaking.
_“Is this it?”_ the King whispered. _“Is this all you are?”_
“No,” Enma said.
He ran again.
This time he didn’t punch.
He climbed.
Up the Demon King’s arm. Up its chest.
To its face.
And he whispered in its ear: “I’m not here to beat you.”
*CRIMSON SYNC: 88%*
He bit.
Right into the Demon King’s neck.
Black blood poured into his mouth. Burning.
The Demon King roared and grabbed him and _threw_.
Enma hit the ground and didn’t get up.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 90%*
The red was everywhere. Eating his skin.
The Demon King walked to him. “Pathetic.”
It raised a foot to crush him.
Enma opened his eyes. 91%.
“Who said I was done?”
He grabbed the Demon King’s ankle and _pulled_.
20 tons fell.
Enma was on top of it in a second.
Punch. Punch. Punch.
Each hit cracked the bone floor.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 93%*
The Demon King grabbed him and threw him again.
Enma landed on his feet.
The crowd was silent.
The Demon King stood. Slower now. “You... you drank my blood.”
Enma wiped his mouth. “Tasted like shit.”
93% to 90%.
“I’m not here to kill you,” Enma said. “I’m here to make a deal.”
The Demon King laughed. “You’re in no position—”
Enma moved.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 94%*
He was in front of it in 0.1 seconds.
Hand through its chest.
Not to kill. To grab.
He pulled out something. Glowing. Red.
A *HEART.* Made of Sync.
The Demon King gasped. “My... my core...”
Enma held it. 95%.
“Now we talk,” Enma said.
---
*THE DEAL*
1 hour later.
Enma was sitting on the throne.
The Demon King was on its knees. Bleeding.
The army of demons was kneeling.
Enma looked at the heart in his hand. 90%.
“Here’s the deal,” Enma said. “You don’t touch Earth. Ever. You don’t touch my brother. Ever.”
The Demon King nodded. “Yes, King.”
“And in return,” Enma said, “I don’t crush this.”
He squeezed. The heart pulsed.
The Demon King whimpered.
“Deal,” it said.
Enma let go. The heart floated back into the Demon King’s chest.
“Good,” Enma said. “Now send me home.”
The Demon King stood. “It will take time. The seal is closed. To open it, we need... a sacrifice.”
Enma stood. 88%.
“Not my brother,” Enma said.
“No,” the Demon King said. “You.”
Silence.
“You have to go back to 100%,” the Demon King said. “And then let go. The backlash will tear a hole.”
Enma was quiet.
_“DO IT,”_ the King said. _“THIS IS WHAT WE WERE MADE FOR.”_
Enma looked at his hands. The red was receding. 85%.
“How long?” Enma asked.
“3 days,” the Demon King said. “To build the power. To reach 100%.”
Enma nodded. “Then we start now.”
---
*3 DAYS OF HELL*
Day 1: Fighting.
Enma fought 100 demons. Back to back.
No rest. No food. Just blood and red.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 92%*
Day 2: Pain.
The Demon King chained him and poured Sync into him.
Enma screamed for 12 hours.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 96%*
Day 3: The Edge.
Enma sat in the center of the pit.
Demons around him, chanting.
The Demon King above him, pouring its own blood into him.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 98%... 99%...*
Enma was translucent. Made of red light.
He could see through his hands.
_“ONE MORE STEP,”_ the King said. _“AND WE’RE FREE.”_
Enma closed his eyes.
He thought of Jin.
He thought of Hana.
He thought of Aoi.
“Almost,” Enma whispered.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 99.9%*
The Demon King raised its hands.
“NOW!”
Enma let go.
The red exploded.
---
*THE TEAR*
Back on Earth.
Night.
The camp was asleep.
Jin was on the roof. Couldn’t sleep.
He was looking at the stars.
Then: *CRACK.*
The sky split.
Red light.
A hole opened.
And falling from it: *ENMA.*
On fire. Made of red. Screaming.
Jin ran. “BROTHER!”
Enma hit the ground.
The impact made a crater.
Silence.
Dust.
Enma moved.
He was human again. Naked. Burned. Breathing.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 0%*
He opened his eyes.
Jin was there. Crying. “Brother. Brother you’re back.”
Enma smiled. “Yeah. I’m back.”
He passed out.
---
*1 WEEK LATER.*
Medical bay.
Enma was awake. Bandaged.
Jin hadn’t left his side.
Aoi came in. “You did it.”
Enma nodded. “The seal is holding. The Demon King promised.”
Aoi sat down. “You were gone 3 days. For us. For you it was...”
“3 days,” Enma said. “Felt like 3 years.”
Jin took his hand. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Enma squeezed it. “No promises.”
Hana came in. “We have a problem.”
“What?”
“The Wall,” Hana said. “It’s... growing.”
---
*THE WALL.*
They stood at the gate and looked.
The Wall was 10 meters taller.
And on Floor 90: a light. Pulsing.
Aoi checked her scanner. “The seal is stable. But something’s feeding it.”
Enma looked up. 20%.
He could feel it.
The First King.
“Not him,” Enma said. “Someone else.”
From the top of the Wall: a voice.
Not the First King. Not Kuroda.
A woman’s voice.
“Hello, Vessel. I’m glad you’re alive.”
Everyone froze.
“Who are you?” Enma called.
“I’m the one who made the Wall,” the voice said. “And I need your help.”
The light pulsed.
“Come to Floor 90,” she said. “Alone. Or the Wall falls.”
The voice cut.
Silence.
Jin looked at Enma. “Don’t go.”
Enma looked at the Wall.
Then at Jin.
Then at everyone.
“I have to,” Enma said.
*CRIMSON SYNC: 30%*
He started walking.
Alone.
Toward Floor 90.
Toward the woman who made Hell.
*TO BE CONTINUED*
- Writer
