Chapter 0: Prologue

“Kuroko! Please stop this already!”

The girl pleaded, black hair and porcelain skin covered in blood and gore. She held her left arm, which simply hung to the side, clutching a black blade tightly. Despite the mess, her mesmerizing eyes still looked up, with a faint hope and determination.

“...Stop... After everything?...Of course you would say that...”

The words left his mouth with a melancholic tone.

‘There’s no way... there’s no way to bring them back after all... there’s no way we can go back to before...’

Realizing this cold truth, the man held his katana more tightly.

Seeing that, the girl’s party members gave her some advice.

“Shiho... you can’t back out now” Yui spoke softly...afraid that her friend would hesitate... although in her heart, she knew  what the outcome would be.

“It’s useless to try persuading him Shiho.” Next to her, the man in pure white armor spoke. 

She understood...but...why did his usually gentle tone  sound so cold...?

“Even if you were childhood friends before, he isn’t the same as you remember. “ 

Without a glance, the armored man spoke without hesitation.

“He is the Crimson Demon King after all.” 

Saying his fill, the hero like man readied his sword once more...but the girl remained hesitant...her hero, Reizo...or her former childhood friend turned supposed demon lord.

“For once I agree with you, Brave of Light. There is no going back now...It will be either you or me...” He paused and grit his teeth “No matter what happens to me... They won’t come back. So... even if I fall...I will take you bastards with me”. 

Resolutely, those ruby orbs glared at her group in hatred and despair. Despite the hostility, her heart couldn’t help but ache seeing that familiar face... one which had been so overflowing with kindness now scrunch up with the determination of a madman. With his words, she knew what came next.

Was this the only path? She did not know, all she could do was bitterly smile as the tears stained her face.

He stood before the moonlight, katana in hand... It flashed like a crescent, and like a guillotine it descended without hesitation.

The blade swung in an imperceptible arc, though simple, it bore no openings. 

The brave responded in kind, rushing into the blade light with the grin of a madman. 

“Clang!” 

The two blades met, one glowing with the light of a million suns, the other with the darkness of a million nights. 

“Counter!” 

The brave’s sword shone white, and suddenly, the demon king found an invisible slash nearing his neck. 

He made a slight movement and dodged it without blinking, instead opting to stab his sword at the brave.

“...Dragon’s Talon”

The man muttered apathetically, his blade now coated with a crimson sheen.

The brave watched as his sure fire move failed, helpless at the impending figure. 

“Aegis!”

A charming voice yelled in panic as Yui tried to block the stab. Kuroko dully looked up as he saw the pink energy converge into a shield with the aura taking shape of a ram. Still, his stab bypassed the barrier and struck the brave on his shoulder...but it seemed the barrier had done it’s purpose in saving him. The shoulder instantly darkened, losing color as it corroded.

“Dispel! Restore!” 

A panicked voice resonated. Sakura chanted, desperately trying to prevent the curse’s effects. Instantaneously, the brave’s wound began to close and heal, it’s pigmentation returning. Without a pause, however, the death like figure once again stabbed down.

“NOOOOO” A harmony of voices sounded. 

Suddenly, the tip of the merciless blade paused. The demon king was dumbfounded as he saw Shiho once again stand before him, seeking to halt his blade. Unknowingly, he had stopped his harbinger of death suddenly, instead opting to stare. His eyes began to widen as he felt something leaking from his chest. Her sword had struck him in the heart, piercing through without mercy. His eyes which for once seemed to be full of the emotion it had lost looked stupidly at the woman, who had long closed her eyes to accept her impeding death.

——————————————————— 

‘I should have known’ 

The man thought as he fell.

‘Of course I wouldn’t be able to kill her...Even after everything she’s done...I still can’t bear to kill her.’

He suddenly straightened his back and stood once more to stare at he woman he had once loved one last time. 

‘In the end, I was still never able to tell you...Not that it would have mattered. If I were to get a second chance...’

He closed his eyes to remember. Remember the times they had run around the mountains as children. The time they had both studied under her grandfather to learn sword-fighting. The time they had promised to remain with each other under that moonlit night. Although she could bear to forget, he remained like an idiot, enraptured by the promise she had long forgotten. Though she could forget, he could never let go of that moment, the moment which had shaped his goals and desires.

....

“In my next life...I will never fall in love again with such a heartless woman....”

At those words, the brave and his party dumbly stared as the personification of darkness fell. There, a man of the ages had now fallen, never to rise again.