Soji's face twisted in pain. My eyes widen at the sight of the dagger in his chest. I inhaled deeply my heart squeezed. Soji's eyes seemed to have locked with mine. His lips moved. 'I love you.' As he exhaled, he went skill.
Someone else died. Ban killed another person that was important to me. I could see Soji's blood pooling from the table and onto the floor. There was a symbol that Ban had painted under the table. As soon as the first drop hit that symbol it started to glow.
I was supposed to protect him. I promised so many people that I would kill him safe. I failed. Yet again I failed. Soji was dead because I was weak. It was the same reason why Shu was dead. Why Amy was dead. My weakness was why Kaleb was gone from this world. More importantly it was why my family was no longer with me.
Rage boiled inside of me. As I looked at the still frame of Soji, I only felt rage. I wanted blood, I wanted Ban's blood. This was the last time that I was going to let him take someone from me. This was the last time someone would suffer because of Ban.
The glow of the symbol was getting brighter by the moment. I didn't care about that. I only cared about one thing. Killing Ban, getting back at the demon that takes everything at me. My eyes went back to Soji. It was awful seeing him so still.
Soji was so young, he was pure and good. Soji was a good person. He wasn't like other people. He knew kindness. He found a way to love a demon. Few people could do that. Soji was special and person and Ban took him from the world.
Moving towards Soji I grabbed the dagger that was in his chest. Ripping it from his body I threw it at Ban. The Great Demon moved to the side slight as the dagger flew by him. He smiled at me, but his eyes shifted to the edge of the rooftop. He was watching something down below. He didn't care that he just snuffed out one of the brightest lights in this world. Was that what it meant to be a true demon?
So much happened today. I felt . . . I didn't feel anything. Everything was hollow inside of me. I should have felt something, but even the rage was leaking from me. My eyes shifted to Ban again. He felt things. Ban was a demon in every sense of the word, but even he felt things. He loved me, and for the first time I believed that he actually does love me.
"What have you done?" I asked him my voice was cold, it was hard. Not the tone that I normally take with Ban. He turned towards me. His black eyes looking at me. They held my gray eyes and smiled. He probably saw me as the human he killed two hundred years ago.
"I did what I told you I was going to do, Natsu. Don't be so shocked." I looked back at Soji. He was still bleeding out. Still feeding the symbol on the floor. "Come here, Natsu. Come see." See what? What was it that he was looking at. I walked towards the edge. Looking over the side my eyes widen at the sight.
A portal to hell had opened under us. I could see thousands of demon rushing towards the surface. They all were moving as if swimming towards us. Then all at once they burst through. Hundreds of thousand of lesser and lower class demons were flooding the sky.
They covered the sky moving as if it was alive. It was unthinkable, it was fearsome. I backed away from the edge and frowned. I didn't want this, it was worse than the gate that was opened when I was human. This was hell. All of hell was coming to earth. I couldn't allow it, I didn't know how I could stop it either.
"Don't be scared Natsu, you asked me to take you to hell once. I've brought hell to you instead." I shook my head. I was stupid and afraid when I asked Ban to take me to hell. I had thought to say that would let me keep my life. Ban still killed me.
Ban grabbed my hand before I could back away from the edge. "For the last two hundred years you've been wonder what the difference between humans and demons were. I'll tell you the secret, Natsu." Ban ran his hand up my shirt. I hated his touch, but I hated him as well. He was poison just like his blood.
He leaned in so that his lips were near my ear. "There isn't any." He whispered it so low that I couldn't be sure that I heard him. He was wrong. He had to be wrong. If he was right then what did that mean? What did all of this mean?
"Humans know love," I spoke and Ban motioned around himself.
"What do you think all of this is? I love you, Natsu." I pushed him away from me. How many times have he said that name. How many times has he whispered that line? Yet it all was different now. Natsu, Natsu, Natsu. Hundreds of memories with that name flooded to my mind. Then one stayed. My father as he bled in front of me. He smiled softly when he looked into my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Natsu." Not Zero, Zero was just a nickname. My name, my human name was Natsu. My hand reached up touching the ring around my neck. The collar was in place, but it did nothing but make me look like some weirdo. Natsu was me. This whole time Ban has been using my real name. He loved Natsu, he loved me.
"It doesn't matter if you love me. You killed Soji. You killed so many people I care about. For that, you will die." I swung at him with that. He blocked my punches with ease, but I went lower kicking his legs out from under him.
I had given Ban three hard, sharp kicks to the rib before he caught my leg flipping me over as he knocked me to the ground. Ban grabbed me by the hair as he slammed my head into the floor of the roof. I could see it dent in before he let me go. I stumbled to my feet seeing double.
"Ban . . ." Kenji called as I came at Ban again swinging and kicking using my full demon speed. Ban had no trouble keeping pace with me. " . . . Ban . . ." Kenji called again, and I gave Ban a shift kick to the side of the head.
I punched him in the face, and his head snapped back. He growled when he tasted his own blood. Was that a first for the Great Demon? Ban grabbed me holding my neck in one hand, punching me in the face with the other. I kneed him in the groin and he let me go. "Ban!" Kenji yelled, and Ban turned to him growling.
"What!?" Ban yelled, and Kenji pointed to the portal that was below. Ban walked over smoothly and looked down from the rooftop. He growled and looked at me. "What did you do?" He hissed at me, and I just looked at him.
I rushed over to the edge and looked down. I could see the portal rippling as if it was a pool of water. I could hear the cries of the demons that were in the portal, it was closing on them. While they were traveling to get here, the portal was closing.
There was still demons that were flowing through, but the numbers were starting to slow. Still there was so many of them fighting to get out. The ones that had freed themselves were now moving away from this place.
"Ban," Kenji said again. This time Ban turned walking towards the table that Soji was on. I growled at the Great Demon, I didn't want him anywhere near Soji. My eyes shifted to Soji and his body was glowing a bright white.
He was brighter than I ever saw him before. The blood that had been spilled on the ground was now moving back towards him. Soji's blood was moving back inside of him. I took a step forward, but Ban grabbed me. He held me back from Soji.
"Let me go," I hissed at him but he was looking at Soji, not at me.
"There is only one thing with white magic that can bring itself back to life." I looked at Ban. What was he talking about? How could Soji even have this power? I didn't understand.
"What is he?" I asked Ban as the Great Demon backed away from him a bit more.
"Where is the fun of telling you that?" Rolling my eyes at him I looked back at Soji. His whole body was brighter than sun. He made it seemed like daytime in the middle of the night. I wanted to go to him, but I wasn't stupid. I knew what touching his light did to demons. Even Ban was standing back.
Soji moved, I watched as he sat up. His legs swinging over the side of the table. He walked forward his body swaying as if he was unsure how to use his feet. How could I help him? There was probably nothing that I could do for him right now.
I took another glance at the portal to see it bubbling. I had no doubt that the whole thing was about to close in on itself. The demons that were inside seemed to be trapped. No more were coming out. Ban frowned when he noticed his portal was on its last leg. He failed, now even Ban knew what it felt like to fail.
"Kill him, I need that blood," Ban spoke and Kenji went into his full demon form. Kenji hissed lunging at Soji. The white mage ignored him walking towards the portal as if he was drawn to it. I could hear Kenji hissing louder as he moved in Soji's path. Kenji was going to die as he tried to prove his worth to Ban.
"You're not getting past me, whore," Kenji spoke and Soji stopped. He looked at Kenji as if he was just now seeing the demon.
"I call upon the great spirits, hear my prayers, and answer. Thanatos, Mania, and Keres hear my calls. Come!" Soji said holding out his hand as a symbol formed in the air in front of him. He closed his hand into a tight fist and the symbol spun around as it went to the ground.
The symbol glowed brightly, and when the light died down three tall glowing people were in front of us. Two were men and the last a woman. There was a blue, a green, and yellow light. They were dressed in armor and all held a sword in their hands.
I never heard of a white mage calling on spirits before. Then again, I never heard of a person coming back to life, and not becoming a demon. Soji was still pure, and that was unheard of, it seem impossible.
The spirits all turned around bowing to Soji. "Kill the snake," Soji told them; his voice was harsh; and void of emotions as he spoke. He was Soji. I knew that I knew that he was in there. At the same time, he didn't seem like himself. He didn't feel like the Soji I knew.
The spirits turned around looking at Kenji and rushed forward. Kenji snapped, and whipped his tail out trying to take the spirits down. It all seem useless. As he tried to attack one, the other two was still around. He was so big and they were little. They could move around with easy while Kenji seem to fumble over himself.
In no time the three spirits overtook Kenji stabbing him again, and again with swords of light. Kenji tried to defend himself, but they were too fast for him. The Spirits darting around him. They looked like fireflies moving around the giant snake. If I didn't hate him so much, I might have felt sorry for Kenji.
He didn't stand a chance against them. He was fighting so hard and that made me laugh. I knew that this battle was over. Even though it wasn't with my hands, I knew that Kenji was going to die. Shu would get his dream. At last the Blood Demon Kenji would die.
I turned to look at Soji, as he chanted something. It wasn't the same prayer that he had used the last time I saw him use his powers. I could still feel the power in his words though I still couldn't understand the meaning.
His three spirit lined up in a straight line forming a lance. Turning his back to Kenji, Soji walked over to them to picked up his lance. He seems to struggle under the weight of the weapon. Soji was a slight boy, but the lance was massive. I wasn't sure Soji would be able to lift his weapon.
Looking over at Kenji I could see the doubt on his face as well. My eyes went to Ban, he was looking down at his portal as if the on goings of the battle in front of him meant nothing. Maybe Ban didn't care if Kenji lived or died. I wondered if Soji could die now. He had come back once, if killed again would he revive from the dead again. It wasn't something that I wanted to test out. I was fine with having him back. I was great with knowing that I could hold, and kiss him again.
Seeing this as a chance to attack, Kenji went for him slithering as fast as he could towards Soji. He was laughing as he came at Soji. So cocky he didn't think that he could lose. He had no honor attacking Soji when his back was turned. Then again, there was no honor among demons. Turning around with ease on his feet Soji hurled the lance at Kenji.
His mouth was open as he went to bite Soji, and the lance went down his throat. I could see the light glowing inside of him. It took less than a minute for Kenji's body to rip apart as the lance went through. Kenji was turning to ash as the lance traveled down the length of his body. When they made it to the end, the spirits disappeared as if they were never here.
The light that was around Soji faded as he went back to his normal self. I rushed towards him grabbing him before he collapsed. Laying him down on the ground I checked his pulse. He wasn't dead. I could see the slight rise and falls of his chest. He passed out, but he wasn't dead.
"Do you know how hard it is to train demons. I had Kenji just the way I liked him and your whore mage killed him. Ban sighed turning away from the edge of the roof. "Tonight just isn't going my way." He pushed his fingers through his hair. "Still got an hour before the sun is up. Guess I better kill the whore the right way this time. So annoying."
"You'll have to go through me if you want him," I told Ban and he looked at me. His brows pulled together as he glared at me. Then he sighed pushing his fingers through his hair again.
"If I must, Natsu. I will make this a lesson you will never forget." Ban said before charging towards me.