"Ah, the red elk," Niten admired from a distance as the boy guided his rather unusual steed out from a raggedy shed, "A hearty breed native to the northeast, how'd you come to meet each other?"
"He was injured," Ritsuki turned to the older man as he adjusted the straps, "We rescued him as a fawn..."
"Calf," Niten corrected with an amusing frown, "He's an elk..."
"Right..." the young man rubbed his head.
"Does he have a name?" they walked with each other up the narrow dirt path.
"Akai, we named him after the colour of his fur and his love for swimming."
"Huh, well ain't that neat...?" The man genuinely looked impressed, "Well then, come along."
They turned on their way up a mountain, the weathered roads and ruins of an abandoned town scattered all around them.
"Niten-san, where are you taking me?" the boy turned to his new friend curiously. He wondered why this town would be abandoned.
The man remained silent for a moment, seeming to think of an answer.
"Just... someplace I feel you should see..." he only replied vaguely, Ritsuki was rather dissatisfied but he would give him some benefit.
The man seemed trustworthy enough, though secretive about certain subjects. He knew about the Ritsuki's curse though he would not say how he came across such knowledge and insight.
They arrived at their destination, and though the building was weathered and ancient like the town below it still impressed a modicum of prestige. Ritsuki could imagine this was an old house of nobility.
"Come along, watch your head while we're in there though." the man turned to him with a flat expression.
"Why...?" Ritsuki frowned and grew alarmed, "Is there something inside?"
"No, it's just old," the man's face shifted into a crooked smile, "Old things tend to fall apart and hit you on the head..." he finished with a chuckle.
The younger man clicked his tongue, he noticed that Niten liked to joke to lighten the mood.
Leaving Akai by the door, the two made their way inside.
"What is this place...?" Ritsuki took note of the murals on the walls, his curiosity spiked with every passing moment.
"The old house of lords, over a thousand years ago this town must have been prospering. Ripe with life and potential..." the older man began to narrate.
Making their way through the empty halls and the old library, they arrived at an open room connected to a balcony overlooking the empty town below.
"But something happened here," his voice became deep and brooding, "Something terrible... It came from this very room, I can feel it."
They both remain silent for a moment, Ritsuki could see the man was balling his fist as he hung his head.
"You are angry..." He softly noted; the boy's words brought Niten back to it.
"I am..." Suddenly turning around, the man gestured to Ritsuki with an open palm.
"Now, that thing inside you; in myths, it is the Kishu-no-Seishin, the Spirit of Vengence." He then tipped the boy his head, "I see that you've made a deal with the devil..."
"What...?" the young man's eyes shifted wild as he unconsciously staggered backwards.
"Don't try to hide it from me kid, no point..." Niten moved his hand to rub his right thumb, "You're among the deceived..."
YOU ARE READING
GHOST RIDER X DEMON SLAYER: Book 1: Imps and Prayers
FanfictionA boy who sold his soul in exchange for his father's life, cursed by the devil to exact his will and vengeance upon the world. Slowburn. Set roughly two to three years before the events of the first episode of Demon Slayer. - Cover Art courtesy of J...
