The Crimson Demon

Shin didn’t sleep very well that night. He knew that the girl wanted to kill him in a fair duel, but you could never trust anybody, even if she wanted a fair duel. He knew that swordsmasters from Raalte generally always wanted honorable duels, and she may have been no different. But had been alone for years, and it was possible that the traditions of Raalte could have changed, or that she didn’t care for traditions at all. Revenge can make you break rules and tradition, after all, and she certainly wanted revenge.

Shin watched her as she slept, wondering why she slept so easy. He knew she was asleep; it was impossible to fool him pretending. At least, he had never been wrong when it came to reading body language. It was almost a necessity for swordplay, or any type of combat, for that matter. So why didn’t he sleep if he knew she was asleep? And why did she fall asleep so easily, knowing that her nemesis, so to speak, was standing right there?

According to this girl, he had killed her family and nearly everyone she had known then. So why sleep so easy near him? Perhaps she thought he wouldn’t break the code of honor, either.

Code? What code of honor? He barely followed any laws, if any, but that didn’t stop him from slaughtering entire villages when he got beyond angry. And as for combat, he always tried to duel honorably. Those that lost the duel lost their lives in the process, but they did accept the duel. Eventually. So in a sense, it was their fault for losing.

But dueling this girl was pointless. There would be no test of skill for him. It would be ridiculously easy. And it was the truth, but that never stopped him from killing villagers who couldn’t fight back.

That’s what he kept telling himself, anyways. So why did he still leave her alive?

There was something about this girl when he first met her, only a night ago when she walked up to him and challenged him right from the start. He didn’t understand, nor did he try to.

It was nice to have company after all these years, though, even if they didn’t really trust each other. He looked at the girl again. She still looked like a child to him. Imagine, a child challenging him to combat! Children should be playing, not seeking revenge.

But then he thought back to his own life. He challenged others when he was a child too, and he never lost. This girl reminded him of, well, himself.

Only, he never lost and she just lost to him.

He would never lose a battle. He was to be the best of fighter in the world! That was what he wanted to become, and losing to this child would be ridiculous.

But if he killed her now, that would also seem cowardly; killing potential enemies in their sleep to ensure that he was the best? Nonsense. He would never do that. He would prove it in honorable duels of skill alone. That way it would be certain that he truly was the best warrior there was alive, his swordplay unmatched by anyone.

So he wouldn’t kill her. Instead, he would wait. Wait, until she was really ready to duel him.

Shin meditated until the girl woke up. It was the second best thing he could do instead of sleeping, he reasoned. It helped him stay alive from ambushes, at any rate. People claim that there was a price on his head, but why should that be? He usually only killed in fair duels.

“I thought you said you were going to kill me in the morning.” She spoke defiantly.
“I said I probably would.” He shot back. “Go away now and leave me alone.”
“No. I’m not leaving until I duel you and win.”
“Rephrase that to until you duel me and die.”
“I won’t die, because I’ll win.”
“The chance of you winning against me is zero because I never lose.”
“Of course I’ll win, you demon.”
“I could also kill you now.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“And how would you know?
“Because you would have killed me in my sleep if you would.”
“Why should I kill you in your sleep?”
“Because you’re a demon.”
“I’m a 100% genuine human.”
“Really?”
“Well, if you continue to insist on calling me demon I might as well be one and kill you on the spot.”

As they continued their idle banter, Shin wondered why the girl constantly referred him as a demon. What did he ever do? Sure, he massacred a few villagers here and there, but that doesn’t make him a demon. Being called the Crimson Demon was not his idea, either. Somebody named him that and it stuck one day, who knows when or where. He probably wasn’t there, but it caught on. In fact, he only knew when Brixus had told him.

Shin continued making his way through the forest, replying to the girl’s insults. He smiled as she grew frustrated that she couldn’t provoke him; was she trying to get him angry enough to attack her, giving her a reason to strike? Either way, this was making him smile, so it was doing the opposite.

Having company like her was fun, though. Certainly made traveling much less boring as they continued to idly banter. H But even if it was fun, he still preferred to be alone, and tried many times to get her to leave without using force. Each time, she refused.

And so this continued until, some days later, they reached his a town with a companion for the first time in his life. There, he found a room for himself. The girl managed to get a room right next to his.

“Will you stop following me around?” he asked.
“No, not until I kill you in a duel.”

Shin sighed, closing and locking the door behind him as he entered the room. The town he was in was on the border between Raalte and Slazsk, and he could feel some tension in the air. Plenty of it, and it was there long before he had arrived. Something must be going on, but he was tired.

That night he slept lightly. He could get up at the slightest sound, but at least it was still sleep. And as for the girl, he didn’t really care. She wasn’t bad a swordsmaster; he could tell, even with her flawed stance. She wouldn’t lose to most people.

He woke up the ever growing tension filling the air. There was going to be battle today, he knew it. He opened his door, and knocked loudly on the girl’s door.

“Who is it?” came the reply, still quite sleepy. Shin sighed before answering.
“There will be battle today. Today is your chance to show me how skilled you are.”

It worked better than he had expected; in seconds the door was open, and the girl stood there, her sword drawn, wide awake, ready to fight.

“You wanted to prove yourself that badly? Only a few moments ago you still sounded sleepy.”
“The faster I prove it to you, the earlier I get to kill you in a duel.”
“Fair point.”

He turned and walked toward the exit of the inn.

“I don’t get it. What battle?”
“There will be battle today. Don’t you feel the tension in the air today? It’s gotten to the point where battle will start soon. As to what kind of battle and when it will occur, I don’t know, but we’re going to be there.”

One glance was all it took for Shin to know that she knew there was tension, but she couldn’t distinguish it.

“So how do I prove myself to you?”
“You fight for the side at a disadvantage. Alone.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
“No. This how you will prove yourself.”
“You’re going to get me killed before I get to duel you, aren’t you?”
“I swear that as long as I am nearby, you will eventually get your duel against me.”

That shut the girl up for a bit. And whether he would keep his word, he didn’t know.

That was panic struck.

An alarm was called, and the townsfolk ran to and fro in terror, doing who knows what. Why should he care? He made his way to the entrance of the village, the girl still following him. Some of the townsfolk were armed, but he already knew that they would be dead once it started; their forms were terrible, but he felt no remorse for their fates. He made his way out, and some tried to stop him, but a sword pointed at one of their throats was all it took to allow him, and the girl, outside as they shut the gate behind them.

And as Shin looked across the field, he knew that the town would be at a huge disadvantage, for as far as his eye could see, the vanguard of the army of Slazsk was advancing, and with a vanguard that large, it was obvious that they were attempting to invade.

Shin smiled as he looked at the massive vanguard.

“There you go.” He said. “Kill as many as you can by yourself, and come back when you can’t take any more. I’ll judge you depending on how many you kill, and how much those soldiers suck.”
“Y-you can’t be serious. That vanguard is practically the size of an entire army!”
“Have fun.” He replied, smiling. If he had to estimate, though, Slazsk’s vanguard was smaller than a normal full sized army. But it was still quite a lot of soldiers.

This was going to be fun.