Chapter Text
"Dialogue"
Thoughts or Emphasis
His source cracks and breaks. The burn of his muscles and the exhaustion in his bones fades as he is overwhelmed with horrible pain, nothing compares to the feeling of one’s source being destroyed. Black quickly seeps into his vision, he feels light-headed as his lungs struggle to take in any air. He can still vaguely hear Kanon, “…my hero.” He gathers his magic with the last of his strength for one last spell, if this doesn’t work…
Anos could sense that Kanon truly did not want him dead. He can sense Kanon’s surprise and horror, not expecting Anos to just suddenly stop fighting. He knows Kanon is beginning to despair, he has once again killed someone he didn’t want to. Ironic, it was the same last time, too. Even back then, being supposed mortal enemies, Kanon didn’t like killing him. And this time… Kanon is crying.
Dying was less of a relief than it was last time. Back then he was tired, desperate for something – anything – to change. He got his affairs in order and was sure he would die leaving nothing important behind. This time he can only think of his regrets: what will the twins do? How will his parents react when everyone comes home only to realize their son, their child, is gone forever? What about Kanon? He wishes they had talked sooner, there was so much he wanted to tell Kanon.
Anos tell himself that this was not the end of him. He finished casting the spell- a spell that could bring one back to life, as long as the mortal wound that they receive was one they have suffered from before, but that was all theoretical, one last gamble. It wasn’t like Anos ever had the chance to test it out.
He wondered if it would even work with Heaven’s Mana, Kanon’s sacred sword, involved. That sword was blessed, it was literally forged with the sole purpose of killing demons. And then everything went dark.
It’s not like he just transports away and waits for a good moment to dramatically enter the fight. No, he truly died. His source shatters and he’s gone. His body falls, no magic left to maintain flight, he doesn’t even feel the impact with the ground.
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Pluto is the God of Death. Generally, he does not interfere, even when Anos first gave up his life with the promise of reincarnation. In a world where magic is natural, sometimes reincarnation is just part of the process. However, what Anos was attempting now had never been done before, and forcefully trying to bring one back to life without reincarnation was going too far.
Anos wakes to a dark, nearly black domain. It’s not all that different from when he battled the God of Time, save for the color change. He is forced to his knees, pitch-black chains wrapping around his body, his palms flat on the floor.
“You think this is going to stop me?” Unlike the God of Time, Pluto is silent. Despite Pluto’s heavy armor and pulsing magic, the entire domain is silent. No wind, no rustling leaves, no footsteps or quiet breaths. Anos’ voice seems far too loud and echoes off the walls, “Sorry, I don’t have time to play with you, there are people waiting for me.”
As if on cue, Anos’ revival spell activates. Blue magic bursts through the domain, cracking the walls and disintegrating the chains that twist around his body. Pluto is unfazed and simply reaches for his sword. The blue magic glows white hot, blinding them both, and then Anos is gone.
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Having your source slowly knit back together is probably just as painful as having it shattered. Maybe even worse. Anos feels paralyzed, he can’t move, or speak, or do anything. His head feels like he’s underwater, it’s hard to figure out what going on. Is he lying down? There is still no sound, what happened to his senses? A spike of fear runs through him. Had Heaven’s Mana done too much damage? Would he be stuck like this forever?
Another spike of pain runs up his spine as his organ, muscles, and skin are stitched back together. Magic sense is the first thing to come back. He can feel two overwhelming forces, but his brain is too muddled to identify them. His other sense all hit at once, pain explodes in his head and suddenly he’s moving.
Anos jerks up and to the side, rolling to his left, coughing and hacking as his deprived lungs try to catch up. His vision swims with greens and browns and blues, adding to the confusion and dizziness, he slams his eyes shut again. Loud crashes and his ears ringing and the smell of fire and the feel of the ground and the pain of his source and everything all at once. He chokes on his breath and throws up on the grass.
Finally, after minutes of laying on the ground, he catches his breath and opens his eyes. The ringing fades as he finally processes what is going on around him. Jerga is easy to spot, and he can feel Kanon’s magic flaring around him.
Anos heaves himself off the ground and stumbles forward, leaning against a nearby tree. Maybe it was a bad idea to destroy 6 of Kanon’s sources in their battle, neither of them was exactly in the best condition to be fighting right now. There is another spike of magic, and he looks to see a woman in white battling against Jerga. Good, Misha and Sasha are alive. Well, he hoped they could buy him a little more time, at least until he can stand on his own again.
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“Anos,” Sasha called across the room. “Umm, well…” she hesitated and started to fidget with her sleeve.
After returning from battle and getting some sleep, Anos had decided they should all meet at the Demon Palace to celebrate without interruptions. His mother, as always, took the opportunity to make several of his favorite dishes which were now laid across a huge table.
Honestly, it was more of an excuse to show all of them that nothing has changed between them despite Anos retaking his position as Demon King. But, with Kannon’s identity revealed, questions were bound to come up, and, as much as he wanted things to stay the same, that was no longer an option. On the bright side, he could also use this to avoid the headache of politics for a while.
“Hmm?” The talk around the table settled and Anos could sense her nervous energy. “Don’t be afraid to ask about something, go ahead.”
“Why did you decide to give up your life 2,000 years ago?” she asked, but quickly continued in a rushed tone, “I mean, why at that time, not sooner or later?” She tried to explain, not wanting to sound condescending or ungrateful. It was an extremely personal topic and could easily be a touchy subject, especially with Lay (or is it Kanon now?) sitting right next to Anos.
To their surprise, Anos chuckled. “Well, I suppose I should have known that question would come up eventually. To put it simply, it is because I ran away for a week and caught a cold.”
“...What? You're not making any sense. And how is this funny?” Sasha responded, fire in her voice.
He sighed, “It started out as quite a terrible day actually. A demon close to me had… tried to…” He signed again, this was about to get messy, “This concept doesn’t really exist in this era, but he… tried to force a source corridor with me.”
CRASH
Everyone, except Anos (who pretty much knew what was going to happen next), jumped in surprise. Lay had suddenly broken the glass of water he had been holding in his hand. Water and ice spilled over the table and blood dripped from his hand that was clutching a broken shard.
“What?!” Lay yelled, standing up so fast it nearly knocked his chair over.
“Kanon, your hand.” Anos calmly got up and reached out to grasp Lay’s wrist.
“You better have destroyed that demon immediately.” Lay snapped.
“Kanon-”
Lay reached out with his uninjured hand and grabs the front of Anos’ shirt. “What happened to that demon? Tell me right now!” He demands, bringing their faces closer together.
“Kanon,” Anos repeats calmly, “I will tell you if you let me look at your hand.” At this point, everyone else is very concerned. They have never seen Lay lose his cool like this before. Sure, some of them were present when he fought Jerga, but this was different. This was neither his burning determination to protect others nor his cold, levelheaded focus that they all came to know him for. No, this was pure rage.
The air stills for a moment, several of them hold tense and hold their breaths. “…Fine.” Lay concedes, letting go of Anos and opening his bleeding palm. Anos immediately gets to work, using magic to pull out the small shards of glass.
Lay doesn’t even pause for a moment. “Tell me.”
Anos sighs again. “I destroyed his source and all. Don’t worry, he’s not coming back.” Lay relaxes a little but is still boiling with rage. Was he supposed to feel happy that the demon was gone forever? Or disappointed that he couldn’t kill the demon himself?
Anos seems to understand his cross feelings, seeing the bloodlust in Lay’s eyes. “There’s not much more to say about it, but if you want, I can give more detail another time. For now, let’s not talk about killing someone in the middle of dinner.” He wraps a small cloth around Lay’s hand and turns back to the others.
Sasha clears her throat and tries to break the silence and tension in the room. “Right, I’m having a hard time understanding what’s going on, what did this demon do that was so bad to get a reaction like that?”
“As I said, it is not really a concept in the age, but I guess the best way to describe it is that it was a sacred tradition,” Anos explained. “It was a magic spell that both humans and demons valued greatly, and trying to force such a thing was…”
Lay continued his explanation, “it’s a crime comparable to rape or murder.”
“…Oh.”
Anos’ parents, Izabella and Gusta, were looking extremely concerned. “Don’t worry, I would never allow anyone to get that far. As you can imagine,” He gives a meaningful look at Lay (or is it Kanon now? Seriously, maybe they should ask). “I was upset and left the castle to cool my head. I flew to a random forest and just sat in the rain for a while.”
“Oh dear, you could catch a cold like that.” His mother spoke up in worry. He smiled a little, satisfied with the change in subject.
“That’s exactly what happened. I eventually fell asleep slumped under a tree. I didn’t know at the time, but my magic reacted instinctively when I vaguely sensed people nearby. My magic temporarily changed my form to a female,” he paused as several of the girls reacted with surprise and amusement. “It was so I wouldn’t be recognized. My body suppressed my magic to the point where you could probably mistake me for a normal civilian. Eventually, someone found me and took me to a nearby human camp.”
“Wait, a human camp?” Lay asked. His conversation with Anos was far from over, but he let it go for now.
“Right. My disguise and lack of magic, coupled with the fact that I was drenched, muddy, and obviously feverish, led the humans patrolling nearby to assume I was a human refugee who had been caught in a demon attack.”
Flashback
His head is pounding, and his clothes stick to his body with sweat. He must have a pretty bad fever. Anos slowly opens his eyes, and it takes his muffled brain a moment to realize he is staring up at the top of a white tent. He rises and shakily leaves the tent, only to immediately pause in shock. Humans. He is in a human camp. Dozens of soldiers clad in basic armor huddle around small fires and haul around boxes of supplies. Which means he’s technically surrounded by the enemy. An enemy fully armed with various weapons and magical items.
Why aren’t they attacking? Shouldn’t he be restrained? Did they underestimate him because of the fever?
He looks down, unsure of what to do, and a long strand of hair falls into his face. Wait, did he use transformation magic? When? At least that explains the lack of panic and fighting. He (she?) wanders around hoping to simply walk away without any fuss. He didn’t feel like fighting today.
Unfortunately, luck was not on his side today. Near the outskirts of the camp, he stumbled upon a disturbing scene. Soldiers, three of them, standing around a single man who lay on the ground. The man didn’t seem to be a soldier, from the ragged clothes he wore, it was safe to assume he was a real refugee. Blood poured from the man’s abdomen, staining the dirt below him, and Anos realized one of the soldiers had just stabbed an innocent bystander. Murder was not uncommon among those of the same race, even in the time of war when all humans were supposedly a single allied force. No, the disturbing part was that the three soldiers were smiling with joy in their hearts and maddening bloodlust in their eyes.
“What?” Anos says in confusion, his voice was unfamiliar, high-pitched, and a little raspy from the cold. They all turn to him. One groans.
“Great, now you see what your slow asses have done? You were having sooo much fun slicing that dude up, and now we gotta kill this chick.”
“Okay, okay I get it.” Another soldier replies with an annoyed tone as if he was being nagged by his mother. “Let’s at least make the best of this little situation if you know what I mean.” The others look at him, satisfied with his answer, and turn back to Anos with a disgusting grin. Disgusting, human cruelty and greed really have no bounds. Anos thinks darkly.
“Hey, come here for a moment, we won’t hurt you.” Anos bends his legs, centering his balance, ready to fight back. So much for not fighting today. Anos can’t bring himself to be annoyed by it, in fact, he’s looking forward to showing these men what death really looks like.
One of them pulls out their weapons, realizing the woman in front of him is not going to go down easily. “Easy now. No need to scream and cause a scene.” He raises the sword and swings it down in a big arch.
CLANK
Metal clashes against metal. A warm chest appears against Anos’ back and suddenly he’s staring at a very familiar sword. He instinctively flinches back, remembering his various battles and injuries caused by that weapon. The soldiers’ faces suddenly go pale, recognizing the man behind Anos. One panics and yells out, “Shit, we’ve been found out! Kill them!”
A comforting arm wrap around his waist as the soldier against his back pulls them to the left. Anos falls back as the soldier ducks, sweeps him off his feet, and vaults into the air, dodging multiple swords. He lands on a tree branch, holding Anos in his arms, bridal style. “Are you alright?” A gentle voice asks. Anos instinctively wraps his arms around the man’s neck and looks up at the one holding him… It’s The Hero, Kanon.
End Flashback
“Wait, what?” Lay looks shocked, and Anos chuckles. “I saved you?”
“Yes.”
“2,000 years ago,” Lay asks to clarify. “When we were enemies?”
“Yes.”
“I saved the Demon King of Tyranny? From random corrupted soldiers?” He looks very confused.
“Yes.” Anos grins wider. “You quite literally swept me off my feet.” Lay groans. “And held me bridal style.” Another groan, his face turning red. There are various chuckles across the table.
One of the girls coos, “Amazing, a literal knight in shining armor.” Several others agree. They are going to see some kind of fanart of this, aren’t they?
This time, it’s Misha who speaks up. “So, you decided to end the war because you saw Kanon in a new light?”
“No,” Lay answers, “It’s because of what happened afterward.” He looks at Anos. “I remember you.”