Kyou Kara Maou Fan Fiction ❯ Pulled in Two Directions ❯ Malice Striker ( Chapter 11 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Black smoke rose from the moment that Razden touched the pendant. The smoke took the shape of a large serpent with glowing yellow eyes. The demon king felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the sight of Malice Striker, the spirit that inhabited the ear cuff.

Anime/Manga: Kyou Kara Maou Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Romance / Drama / Adventure | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 01.14.2017 | Pages: 7 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 142 | Status: Work In Progress

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Chapter 11: Malice Striker

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Razden's strides were long and fast as he walked right past Raven without giving him a second glance.

"Master, where are you heading?" Raven called after him as he began to catch up.

"The chamber of the Ascendants." The demon king replied in a clipped tone of voice.

"T-The Ascendants?" Raven stuttered as he tried to calm down. "But, your majesty! You said that you would never set foot in that chamber ever again after your coronation!"

"Well, I was wrong!" He hissed bitterly. His hand encircled the curved door handle and he was nearly startled when he felt Raven's hand covering his own.

"My king, you don't have to do this." The kind demon insisted.

For a brief moment, a hint of fear showed through Razden's heterochromatic eyes. But, the demon king steeled himself and stepped through the door, locking Raven out. Inside, the chamber was full of tomes that were filled with the history of all the kings of the Past. Several artifacts were also on display. Swords, helms, staffs, shields, and even an intricate hat rested in a protective case. One particular sword began to moan and grumble as he passed.

"Silence, Morgif!" He hissed as he headed down to the thirteenth tome, the one of his own ancestor, the Demon King known as Kirnon. His ancestor's artifact was a cursed ear cuff that curled around the ear in the shape of a black serpent.

"Offer your flesh to me and I will grant you all that you ssseek."

"For how long?" Razden questioned, feeling quite proud that his voice did not tremble.

"For as long as I pleassssse."

"Two hours." Razden offered, an eyebrow raised. "It is my choice to attach the pendant or not."

"Two weekssss."

"Two days," The king insisted. "And that is my final offer. Do we have a deal?"

"…contract accepted. Releasssse me."

As soon as Razden snapped the ear cuff on, the serpent immediately struck, his fangs biting sharply into the side of the demon's neck. The smoke then seeped into the punctures, filling the king's body, until there wasn't a wisp left. A tattoo formed on the surface of the skin that curled and wrapped down the side of his neck and left arm.

As he fell to his knees, the long-haired demon had never felt a greater pain in his lifetime. The agony was so intense that he merely took gulps and gasps of air, and was unable to speak or move for several minutes. When he finally rose to his feet again, he felt an entirely different pain. The new pain was a searing heat beneath his skin that vibrated with energy. "The kings of the Past be damned!" He hollered, drunk with power. "I will not bow to their will!"

~~~~Lugos Wimlos: 5000 Years Prior~~~~

Maiden Ondine turned out to be a rather petite woman with the face of a child and large, doe-like eyes. As her brown eyes shifted from man to man, Yuri felt a queasy feeling settle into his stomach. She seemed very much like a living, breathing doll.

"My Lady," Varyx's great-grandfather greeted as he gave a slight bow to Ondine. "These young men are-"

"Yes, I know precisely who they are and why they are here." Ondine responded before the Viceroy was able to say anything else.

"Is that so?" Wolfram drawled sarcastically. Ken and Yuri made a move to stop him, but he quickly moved forward and leaned down to look the woman in the eye. "Why did you not think of forewarning the guards out front to allow us passage, then?" He inquired.

Undaunted, the small woman reached over with her child-like hand and held the blonde's cheek. "No passage is ever fully safe, young one. How will you ever learn from your mistakes without allowing for trial and error?"

"What mistakes would you be referring to, Lady Ondine?" Ken wondered aloud.

The petite woman's gaze fell on Yuri. "To those you have not been faced with quite yet." She concluded. "For now, I will send you where you need to be."

The four young men were urged to stand on top of four tiles on the ground with runes on them. Lady Undine had them all hold hands as her own small hands held onto a staff. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on the flow of power that ran through her and onto the ground towards the runes. Bright lights rose up around all four of them in several different colors.

Vertigo made Yuri's stomach drop as the four of them seem to fall through the ground. For a while, the four of them fell at the same pace. But then, Yuri felt as if he was suddenly wrenched away from the other three. Wolfram called out to him as his green eyes desperately glanced back.

"YURI!"

~~~~Lugos Wimlos: 1000 Years Prior~~~~

When Ken, Varyx, and Wolfram regained consciousness, the trio found themselves in the time period that the teal dragon was originally from. Yuri was nowhere to be seen. The blonde scampered to his feet and glanced around wildly.

"Yuri!" Wolfram cried out as he stumbled from one side to another. "Yuri!"

"What's going on?" Varyx asked out loud.

"It seems that we may have lost my best friend." Ken explained as he, too looked around for him, but in a much calmer manner.

"It felt as if his hand was ripped right out of mine," Wolfram replied, feeling frantic.

With a slight frown, Varyx spoke up. "Well, if this is the Lugos Wimlos that I grew up in, then I know someone who can help us…Julia."

Wolfram took a moment to think clearly. Panicking was most certainly not going to help him figure out what happened to Yuri. The three of them then pressed on as they headed towards the fortress. Unlike before when they were stopped by the guards, Varyx was recognized immediately as Viceroy Lazor's son. They were urged inside the fortress without any difficulties.

"My son, why are you in this form?" Viceroy Lazor questioned Varyx as they rushed into the throne room.

"I have no time to explain the details, father," the aquamarine-haired man insisted, fighting down the gut-wrenching feeling of homesickness at the sight of him. Time travel was a treacherous and delicate thing, and it was already a risk for him to stand before his father when he had no idea where his younger self was. "We are in dire need of Vicereine Julia's assistance. Please let us know where she is."

"The last I heard, she was with you. Weren't the two of you going to one of the fields after lunch?" the Viceroy asked.

Instant recognition lit up Varyx's face. "Follow me. Hurry!" He urged as he took off at a run, leaving his father in bewilderment.

Ken and Wolfram followed him out of the throne room, down the hallways, and out into the fields. They arrived just in time to see Varyx's younger self, in dragon form, glowing high over the demon Julia's head before disappearing. She then turned towards them with a slightly tilted head.

"I knew you would find your way back, young one." Julia spoke out loud, her blind eyes facing in their general direction.

"Julia!" Varyx gasped as hurried forward to give her a hug. When he pulled away, he couldn't help the flow of questions that rushed out of him. "Was this a part of your vision? How close are we to the Destruction you spoke of? Forgive me, for we believe we've lost the half-blood that could save us!"

Julia found Varyx's shoulder with her hand and used it to guide her hand to the side of his face, where he cupped his cheek. "You have not failed me, Varyx, not in the slightest." She insisted. "The half-blood is here, I can feel him." She then turned towards Wolfram and gave him a graceful curtsy. "Your Highness. Though raised with the demons, this is also your land and your people. Your kings of the Past cannot protect you here, but we are in dire need your help."

"The half-blood that could save us…was Wolfram?" Varyx whispered to himself as he staggered back. Ken, concerned, reached for him in case he fell.

Wolfram felt a cold chill down his spine as he heard the demon woman address him. How did she know so much? How could she know about the kings of the Past? He took a discreet gulp and frowned. "Please help me understand," He begged. "And tell us if you know of any way that we can find Yuri…"

"Your companion is safe. He is tucked away." Julia responded. "The Destruction is near. Your king has already invoked Malice Striker. He knows not what he's truly unleashed. All that Malice Striker has ever wanted is to rip through the past, present, and future of this world."

"Malice Striker?" Ken urged.

"He is a serpent of darkness. It has been said that he is descended from Nidhogg himself, the serpent that sought out the corpses tangled in the roots of the Yggdrasil. What is myth and what is the truth has been long lost to time. However, we are certain of is that he is a spiteful spirit that has been banished again and again. He targets our era because it is believed that this was the version of this world where he had first manifested."

"You keep mentioning 'we'," Wolfram pointed out. "Just who is 'we'?"

"I am referring to Lady Ondine, Lady Ulrike, and myself." Julia explained. "We are considered Norns, or what humans call, the Fates. We do all we can to watch over our world in the past, in this timeline, and in the future from which you have been summoned."

"Why can't the kings of the Past protect him here? Is this not his past? Can they not reach through time?" Varyx wondered out loud.

"Striker has already sealed off all time travel. That is why I sent you to the future when I did, young Varyx." The female demon explained before turning towards Wolfram once more. "Please, your highness. You have both demon and dragon blood. We urged your mother to go back to her proper time even though she was carrying you so that you could be well-hidden. You are-"

Before she was able to say another word, the ground shook beneath them as if it were an earthquake. The three young men looked about as if searching for a source.

"No time left!" Lady Julia acknowledged as she shoved at Varyx's hands, which had grasped her arms to steady her. "Don't worry about me. Hurry, protect your father!"

Wolfram believed that pure instinct was the only way to describe how he had maned to shift back into the form of a massive white dragon once more. He lifted Varyx and Ken into each of his claws and soared right back to the fortress. Guards and members of the court were evacuating the courtyard. The green-eyed dragon flew over their heads and landed near the center of the courtyard, where King Razden stood.

'The King?' Wolfram questioned telepathically. 'How…?'

Broken stone and jagged cracks surrounded the area by Razden's feet. His long, black hair swayed beneath him as black smoke curled itself around him in wisps. His heterochromatic eyes glowed, one red and one gold.

"I don't like this one bit," Varyx hissed.

"Wolfram, we have to lead him away from here!" Ken insisted. "Varyx, are the cliffs still around in your time period?"

"Yes, just southeast of here." Varyx responded.

"Wolf-!" Ken began, only to be cut off by the white dragon.

'No need to tell me twice. I know what to do.' Wolfram countered as he rushed towards the demon king. He stopped several yards before he reached him and turned to quickly whip him down to the ground with his large tail. After effectively angering Razden, he took off into the sky once again. 'I just hope he takes the bait.'

"Oh, he's taken the bait!" Ken gasp, able to look behind them. He saw Razden take on the form of an enormous black serpent in the courtyard, a serpent that was slithering towards them at great speed. "And he's fast!"