So, Arus began to think. What if there was no final sage? The first sage he’d met had claimed to be the second sage. In that case, perhaps he would never be able to meet that first sage at all?
Even so, he continued his search. He searched for the sage with everything he had, but he still could not find him. No matter what he did, he couldn’t meet the final sage.
However, Arus had a sword, shield, and bangle. Below his feet was a ship that would take him to the demon king. Arus looked at all of this and thought: I might be able to defeat the demon king with all of this!
Ah, how very unfortunate. The young Arus departed for the demon king without meeting all five sages. Indeed, he had forgotten the words the fortune teller had told him.
The place the demon king dwelled was a horrific location. It was surrounded by a poisonous swamp and impossible to approach via normal means. Even if you somehow managed to get across the swamp, you would be met with giant vicious monsters, as well as demons who sought to drag you down the path of evil.
But thanks to the ship, Arus could easily cross the swamp, and he could fend off the monsters with his sword and shield. The shield he had was very tough, blocking the monsters’ claws and fangs. The sword was extremely sharp, allowing Arus to cut monsters in half with minimal effort on his part. On occasion, demons would whisper in his ear that he could use those very same items to become the king of the humans, but Arus couldn’t hear them. The evil-warding bangle protected him from these words.
Eventually, Arus arrived before the demon king.
The black castle she lived in was several orders of magnitude larger than the castles humans lived in, and much more foreboding as well.
“Bwahaha! You did well to get this far, human child! What business do you have with me?!”
The terrifying monster known as the demon king had a massive body, a large mouth, and purple hair.
“I want you to put the sky back to normal. For the girl I love.”
“I cannot do that! I happen to love the purple sky! Bwahaha!”
The demon king refused to listen to the boy’s request. She did not understand the meaning of the words “For the girl I love.”
“In that case, I’ll turn it back to normal by cutting you down!”
Thus, Arus engaged the demon king in battle. He confidently charged toward the monster with his sword, shield, and bangle. But oh, how light on her feet the demon king was! She moved like she could see the very future itself as she dodged Arus’s sword. No matter how much he swung his weapon, he couldn’t make contact with the demon king.
“Bwahaha! You’ll never hit me, you’ll never scratch me! It’s my turn now!”
The demon king laughed as she sent her fist flying at Arus. The boy raised his shield and blocked the demon king’s massive fist.
“Aaah!”
Alas. The very next moment, the demon king grabbed the shield and swung it, along with Arus, into the air. He smashed into the wall, where he trembled with fear. The sword and shield he’d received from the sages had no effect on the demon king.
“I’m going to crush you and eat you, starting from your head. Bwahaha! I’ll rip you apart!”
The massive demon king approached the boy. Arus ran with everything he had. Despite his strong will, when faced with true fear for the first time in his life, he could no longer stand and fight. He tossed his sword and shield to the side, slipped his bangle off, and fled from the demon king with nothing on his person.
In the aftermath, Arus wandered the demon king’s lands. The miasma from the poison swamp slowly ate away at his body. But it was a different kind of poison that ate away at his heart. That poison was called “resignation.”
“I ran. Even though the girl I love is waiting for me.”
In his grief, he wandered the land, his head held low. Even with the sword and shield, he could not defeat the demon king. Tears flowed from his eyes and left damp spots on the ground.
An evil demon who devoured grief approached Arus, who had lost his protective bangle. They licked at Arus’s tears and whispered in his ears.
“Greetings, little hero. What is the matter? You’re dripping tasty tears.”
“I can’t defeat the demon king.”
“Of course not. After all, the demon king is very, very strong. Even if she were not, you are but a small child.”
“I want to make the sky go back to normal.”
“Of course you can’t. After all, you are but a powerless child.”
“Then what should I do?”
“There is nothing you can do. You cannot grow bigger, and you cannot become more powerful. There is nothing you can do.”
Arus took the demon’s whispers seriously and lost himself in his pessimism. He walked toward the edge of the poison swamp.
He considered throwing himself in. If he did, his tiny body would most certainly melt down to nothing in an instant. He no longer had anything to lose. Arus was about to close his eyes and let himself fall in, but just before he could, he noticed a strange building in the distance. It was an odd house that looked like a tortoise shell placed over a hole.
“What is that place? Do you know anything, demon?”
But the demon had vanished. No matter where Arus looked, he couldn’t find them. In fact, at some point the entire area had been flooded with holy energy. It seemed the holy energy was being projected from that house. Surely, someone most holy lived there. With that in mind, Arus gingerly entered the house.
“Hello, child of man. What is the matter? This isn’t the sort of place a child as young as yourself should be.”
Inside the house was a person with gentle eyes and red-silver hair.