"Akira Mephistopheles..." a young woman with short, glossy brown hair, round glasses and light magenta eyes read a book she had in her hands.
"The 4th son of Mephistopheles, the King of Deals and one of the demon king's successors. Amongst all his siblings, Akira is the most vile and is the personification of evil..." she continued reading.
"Although he's only the 6th born, which makes him the 6th sibling out of the 8 siblings at home, Akira was recognised as the strongest demon from a very young age.
"At age 4, he thought like a fully grown adult, capable of making rash decisions. At age 6, he burnt down his first village and that's when his taste for chaos began..."
As the son of a demon king successor such as Mephistopheles, Akira was the most impressive of his siblings in terms of natural strength, mana, growth and intelligence.
Every single one of them had failed in defeating him in battle, even when they attacked him together.
Even his own father, Mephisto, feared that one day, he might try to kill him as well.
As Akira's strength grew, so did his hunger for chaos and violence. The Mephistopheles family feared that Akira would one day become too strong to overpower.
And so, they signed a deal with all races, saying that they are willing to separate his power into 7 separate cores in order for them to seal him away.
They succeeded, and Akira became yet another fairytale. But alas, the man was not a character from a children's book.
"He was real, and the proof lies in his return. On the night of the 14th of June 1491, he was released, and he destroyed the kingdom of Jericho."
The girl shut the record book in her hands and looked at the old man with a long white beard wearing a white robe.
"The demon has returned because of Saunders' foolishness," the old man said.
"But, what are we going to do?" the girl inquired curiously.
"We are not gods nor are we martyrs. As the guardians of the Earth, all we can do is hope that the siblings who turned on him are now strong enough to defeat him all on their own."
***
Days later, Akira stood on barren land with a few sturdy structures.
The cold was blistering, but he was unbothered by it. He was born and raised on this very land after all.
[Peiskos: Demon Continent _ Zenith Province]
Akira's feet touched the sand, the colour blue and sensation coarse and crunchy. It was similar to stepping on multiple small stones constantly when running barefoot on the beach.
But he was used to this. It's what hardened his landing and intensified each step he took.
The smell was somewhat pleasant, though, like the aftermath of a rainy day on the fresh and moisturised soil.
The land wasn't completely barren, though.
There were huts, houses and even businesses. But it appeared that business wasn't booming, and the town was deserted.
Except, it wasn't. The lowly imps and lower demons were hiding from Akira.
'My own kind still fears me, even after a hundred years? I suppose old habits die hard.'
Eventually, he left town and began walking down the path towards the castle on the hill.
His home, the place where he competed with his siblings to see who was better, was now in sight.
With his hands in his pockets, there were a lot of things on his mind. But one thing was clear, and it was that he wouldn't ask questions when he returned.
The castle was extremely gorgeous and tall.
The blue hues complemented the sand, which was a bit vexing considering that grass surrounded the castle, along with a few red trees and shrubs here and there.
The four towers of the castle were pretty much basic and had nothing too noteworthy.
The castle itself was regal and was built from dragon scales, just like almost all the houses in the demon continent.
The windows were tinted in light grey, and they each had different designs.
Inside the castle, where the 7 siblings were located, was a chandelier ceiling light with a beautiful floral pattern surrounding it.
The walls were brown and built with Firewood, a type of tree that could only grow in the demon continent.
The walls were accompanied by red lanterns with lotus flowers holding them in place, swirling in a circular motion as if they were dancing.
Overall, the interior of the castle was breathtaking. At least, where the 7 demons were located was.
Their table was round and had 9 seats, each custom-made to match their owner's personality and desires.
But two of them were different.
One, which was larger than the others and at the head of the table, was a normal-looking throne, and the one on its opposite side was the same size but had intricate designs. It was... fit for a demon king, to say the least.
"The fiend approaches," Kall spoke as soon as he sensed Akira's energy.
Kall had a horn on his forehead, slicked back orange hair, pointy ears and ocean blue eyes.
With an orange and black suit with his sleeves peeled back to his elbows, Kall emanated a playful yet serious aura about him. He also wore the same chain that Akira wore around his neck.
"We're well aware of that, brother," replied Alec as he balanced his back on the walls.
Unlike Kall, Alec had long, silky pink hair, pointy ears and blue eyes. He wore a white robe without a shirt and had a horn on the side of his head.
Instead of a playful aura, Alec had a more down-to-earth aura about him.
"It makes sense why he'd come here first~," said Cassie as she chuckled.
Cassie was nothing but a silhouette with medium-length hair, pointy ears and a horn on her forehead.
Her eyes and mouth had a bright light coming out of them as she spoke. She resembled exactly what a demon looks like in the middle of the night, in the comfort of your home.
"It doesn't matter. He is a shallow form of his former self," said Lacy as he walked into the room.
Lacy had three horns, pointy ears, long blue hair, blue eyes and skin of the same colour. He wore steel armour, which was also blue, and showed his long tongue whenever he spoke.
"It's 'hollow', Lacy. We've already gone through this," said Devon as he fixed his glasses.
Devon had short black hair, pointy ears, blue eyes, one horn on the side of his head and square glasses. He garnered a butler's black garments and white gloves.
Unlike all of his siblings, one could tell that he was the most respected demon of the family because he was the eldest.
"It's a shame that I have to fight my precious elder brother," said Torsten as he stood up from his seat and began stretching.
Torsten had deep blue eyes and pointy ears, just like most of his siblings, but what set him apart was his dark skin, long dreadlocks and extremely bulging muscles. He wore a black vest and grey sweatpants.
"Today, we sever the disease known as Akira—permanently," said Devon as he stood up and fixed his gloves, prompting Lacy and Kall to stand with him.
Amongst all the siblings who seemed to speak ill of Akira, one peculiar demon remained silent as she rested her head on the table.
Her pointy ears were slightly shorter, along with her two horns. Her hair was medium length and silver, while her eyes were crystal grey.
She had small black wings and a tail. Her clothes consisted of a red dress and black boots, which complemented her light brown skin.
Her face spoke of one thing, and it was that she did not share the same views as the people she was in the room with.
Her name was Fuyu, and just as her name suggested, her heart was as cold as winter.
"So, what do we do?" inquired Alec.
"We make sure he never gets to feel the Sun dance on his disgusting face ever again. It's simple," said Lacy as he smirked and cracked his knuckles.
***
After a few minutes of walking, Akira found himself in front of the castle. He looked at the area and whistled with a soft expression on his face.
"This place definitely looks better than the last time I was here," he said as he stepped through the gates and entered the path towards the main house.
He reached for the door handle, held it and sighed heavily. "I'm home," he said as he turned the doorknob and entered the house.
He walked down the long hallway, took a turn to his left and reached the room where his siblings had been speaking.
Fuyu curiously raised her head, and her eyes began sparkling as she saw Akira walk in.
Her heart pounded, and her palms became wet upon gazing at him. 'Finally...'
"... Aki—"
"Akira. I'd like to say I'm surprised to see you, but we've been expecting you," Alec interrupted Fuyu before she could finish calling him.
"But it does beg the question; why are you here so early after getting your freedom?" inquired Devon as he pushed his glasses back.
"I just missed my dear old siblings so badly that I couldn't wait to see them!" Akira retorted with a smirk on his face.
"Of course you'd say that. We just wish to know why you'd be foolish enough as to come all the way here, where your end lies," Cassie said with a smile on her face.
"Don't make me repeat myself. What do you want here, Akira?" Devon spoke in a more stern voice.
"My shit," Akira replied as he snapped his fingers, a paper appearing out of thin air right after. "This here, ladies and gentlemen, is what separates me—a god—from the insects, like you."