The Demon Slayers Sidekick

“No....No...NO!”

Shooting awake, a girl with red hair shot jolted her body upward in a terrified panic. She’d just been through a horrible nightmare.

In the nightmare, she’d been standing face to face with a horrible screeching monster.

Its body was a mix of red and orange and as it spread it's flaming wings, it destroyed the people closest to her. It was terrifying.

However, when she woke up, she felt a warm wind hit her face and she looked at her surroundings.

She had expected to find herself inside her normal cage that she had been forced to suffer inside for the last few years.

But instead, she was lying inside a fluffy and comfortable little pouch that somewhat resembled a bed.

Confused, she looked around and saw bright grassy fields all around her as well as a small forest nearby while the wind caused her hair to flow backward. It clearly hadn't been cut in years.

“Well look who finally woke up.”

Jumping in surprise, the girl turned to find a boy with spiky blue hair looking at her.

For some reason, the expression he seemed to be wearing was like that of a caring sibling.

She huddled a little bit into the bag, nervous about her new supposed captor.

“Hiya. How's it going?”

She was immediately startled by another voice. This time, it was a man with brown hair. He seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties, while the blue-haired one seemed to be in his teens.

She felt like burying herself even deeper in the bag before thinking back to before.

While her vision was a blur, she recalled the blue-haired boy had stepped up and broken the chain keeping her captive. And then he carefully carried her in his arms before she passed out from exhaustion.

She looked back at the blue-haired boy as he handed her a loaf of bread.

“Well don't just sit there dazed. Go ahead and eat something,” he said.

The girl hesitantly took the loaf of bread and took a bite out of it.

Approximately eight seconds later, the whole loaf was gone. She chewed it down as fast as possible. She hadn't tasted something so nice in ages.

The blue-haired boy smiled as he pulled out a cup of water which she sipped down as fast as she could.

The blue-haired boy looked at her curiously while the brown-haired man stood up.

“Whelp! I'm gonna go get some more firewood to help cook the boar we came across. If she needs anything, let me know.”

With that, the brown-haired man walked off into the woods nearby. Leaving the girl with the blue-haired boy who figuring the girl would still be hungry, started preparing things for another meal.

While he did that, the girl watched him. Unsure of what to do in her current situation.

About an hour earlier, Rorio and Domino decided to discuss their plans.

“So I've decided where we're going next on our journey Rorio!”

“If it's not to take down the four Creator Knights and defeat the Creator, then I'm out.”

“Oh come on! We're in a brand new land that we've never explored before. The least we could do is take a look around.”

The two talked back and forth for almost twenty minutes until Rorio let out an annoyed huff.

“You do know we're out here because we're fugitives in the Inlands, right?” he asked.

“Well...yeah. But I figure we should at least make the most of this chance! We’ve never been here before!” Domino said as he frowned at Rorio’s lack of interest.

“The only reason we’re in this mess is because you couldn’t see through that woman's stupid lies!”

“So why didn’t you stop her if you knew she was up to no good?!”

“Because I thought you weren't dumb enough to actually fall for her trickery!''

The two continued bickering for quite a while.

It went on until Rorio finally gave up on arguing.

“Well, we're here now. So we might as well try to help while we can.”

“Fine! But only if we get to explore while we search for these four creator people,” Domino huffed.

Rorio groaned in frustration from how stubborn Domino was being. But in the end, agreed to the compromise.

Returning to the present, Rorio grabbed what seemed to be a bottle from his bag and handed it to the girl.

“Here. I'm sure you need another drink to replenish your energy. You looked like you were completely out of it when I saw you stuck to that chain before.''

Hearing these words helped confirm to the girl that this was indeed the same boy who got her out of those chains and carried her away.

She took the drink and gulped it down.

It wasn't a special healing drink or anything, but water probably wouldn't be enough to quench her thirst. So Rorio made her a drink using some apples he’d found.

She finished the last of her drink and looked at Rorio. Still unsure of what to think.

“I never asked, but what's your name?” Rorio asked

The girl seemed hesitant to answer. More like she couldn't answer. She tried mouthing the words the best she could, but no sound came out.

“Risa Florumia, huh?”

The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.

Rorio just smiled.

“Sorry if that surprised you. I've kinda trained myself to read lips for a while now. It's a skill I obtained while adventuring.”

As he said that, Rorio let out a light chuckle.

The girl whose name was Risa looked at him with an expression that seemed to be one of both relief and fear. This person had heard her name when she herself could not speak it, he treated her with care even though she was technically a slave, and he didn't show any malice toward her at all. Was this all real? Or what it some kind of trick? Either way, she refused to stay calm in this situation and tried to move away.

However, just when caution was about to get the best of her, she felt a warm embrace around her which caught her by surprise.

Rorio was hugging her tightly.

“I can see through your eyes that you've suffered quite a bit. I don't know what I can do to help you feel better, but I'm here to make sure you're protected from now on.”

The reason behind this embrace was simple. Rorio could see how much she had been suffering all this time just by looking at her eyes.

He wasn't very good with people, but all he wanted to do was embrace this girl and give her protection. Not because he felt obliged too, but because he just wanted to give someone hope that they could cling to when they thought they’d never be able to escape the darkness. So no one suffered the way people he had once suffered.

Rorio continued hugging Risa as he loosened his grip to make her feel more comfortable.

She couldn't explain why, but it felt as if the savior she had called out to for so many years had finally come and saved her. Because of this, the cation faded away as Risa felt a sense of relief washing over her. And as it did so, she felt tears fall from her face.

She still couldn't talk, but Rorio could hear her crying as she hugged him tighter.

The two hugged for what seemed like hours before finally letting go of one another.

Risa wiped the tears away from her eyes as Rorio stood up and turned his head toward Domino who was returning with something in tow.

“Let me go you bellowing oaf! I'll have you know I'm one of the most benevolent slave traders in all the land and I refuse to be treated like rags!” said a voice that belonged to the one being dragged.

Risa immediately jumped in surprise and hurriedly hid behind Rorio.

Her body was shaking.

“Hey, guys! Look what I found!” Domino shouted happily as he held up SpellsWorth who wriggled around in Domino's hand angrily.

Keeping an eye on Risa, Rorio spoke out to the person in Domino’s clutches.

“What do you want you annoying slave trader?” Rorio said in a cold tone that would send a shiver down any normal person's spine.

“You imbeciles! I'm the mighty SpellsWorth. I decide which of my slaves come and go! You weren't supposed to break the chain! You must have cheated in some way! There is no way I would ever let my most precious slave be taken! Not in a million light years!” SpellsWorth shouted. Completely oblivious to Rorio's tone.

Domino tossed SpellsWorth to the ground in hopes of pinning him down.

However, SpellsWorth was ready for this and immediately spun backward before shooting a beam of magic at Domino who barely dodged it.

He then spun around once more and attempted to shoot a new dragon chain from his ridiculously long robe toward Risa.

“You're coming back to me Risa, Knight of IronForm!” he shouted with a smile on his face.

All the while, the chain moved in on Risa who was frozen in fear.

However, the chains didn’t even get close to Risa as Rorio, who used speed that seemed almost unnatural, grabbed hold of the dragon chain and brought it to a halt.

He then yanked the chain forward and SpellsWorth came flying at him.

Rorio brought SpellsWorths face straight into his fist and swung with everything he had, sending SpellsWorth flying while letting out a very odd squeal as he flew through the sky.

“Man. This guy has already become a major pain in the ass.” Rorio grumbled annoyed while shaking his hand from the power of his punch.

SpellsWorth crashed not too far from the group and let out a goofy sound of pain. He almost seemed like a cartoon character as he popped up barely bruised somehow.

“You blue-haired Bozo! I'll make you pay for harming the great SpellsWorth and making him look like an idiot!” SpellsWorth shouted as he seemed even angrier than before.

But before he could get another word in, Domino charged straight at him and punched him clean in the stomach.

“AHHHH!”

Screaming, SpellsWorth flew off through the sky too far away for any of them to see.

Domino patted his hands against one another with a smile before he walked back to the others.

Satisfied to see the enemy get sent flying off, Rorio turned around to find Risa still shaking nervously.

While she did that, Rorio suddenly came up with an idea.

"Say, she can't talk because something is stopping her, right? I wonder..."

Having come to a decision, Rorio walked over to Risa while pulling out his inventory bag.

Reaching inside, he pulled out a blade he was quite familiar with.

“Here. I may need to teach you how to use it, but this is one of my spare legendary weapons.”

He was of course lying as this was one of his most prized possession. But he said that so as to not make her feel bad for taking it.

With a look of curiosity, Risa took it and gazed at its design. It was a shining black that looked like it could both break at any second or take on the strongest of blows. And with the color matching that of obsidian, it was hard not to find it somewhat mesmerizing. And as Risa gripped the blade tightly, the color started to return to her eyes.

“Is this-?' she whispered just barely audible but still enough to be considered talking.

“Yep. The legendary blade Xeto. Obtained it during a simple cave boss battle back in the Inlands.”

That wasn't entirely false on Rorio's part. It's true it was both a legendary blade and he retrieved it in the Inlands. But he went to hell and back to retrieve it due to how rare it was.

Hearing Risa’s muttered words, Domino smiled.

“So you could talk after all huh? Good to hear!''

Risa didn't seem to properly process Domino's words at first. But as what he said dawned on her, Risa touched her lips.

“I...I can..then the curse..”

Rorio nodded.

“That's Xeto for ya. The sword of curse breaking!”

Xeto. The obsidian curse breaking blade. A weapon that was not only powerful but could also cancel out any and all curses that affect the user of this blade.

However the effects only work if the previous user hands it over willingly, and the one being given the weapon accepts it as well.

Domino looked over at Rorio confused.

“Curse? You mean to tell me the reason she couldn't speak was because of a curse?”

Rorio nodded.

“Yeah. Curse of the unspoken. That's literally one of the oldest ones in the book. Since Xeto can break any curse just by being held, I figured this would be an easy method to free her.”

When Risa heard that explanation, tears began to form in her eyes as she only seemed to feel even happier about the sword Rorio had given her.

So, with her voice restored, Risa began talking with Domino and Rorio as the group decided to sit around for a little while.

And as Risa tried readjusting back to her vocal cords multiple times, Domino eventually walked off to scout the area while Rorio kept Risa company.

They ended up setting out and walking down an open path a little while later and after three to four hours, the group decided to set up to prepare for the night.

Once the fire was good to go, the trio sat down and Rorio turned his head to Risa.

“I know this may sound kinda out of nowhere, but would it be okay for us to know your story?”

“Huh?” Risa seemed surprised at the question.

“I can tell you’re not from the Outburst. So I want to know why you're out here.”

This wasn’t some baseless assumption, since raising a human in the Outbursts was close to impossible, it didn’t seem likely Risa lived here.

Plus there was the thing SpellsWorth said about her being a knight from IronForm which was a kingdom that resided within the Inlands.

Risa looked down as she fidgeted with her fingers.

“I didn't want to be out here. It's because of my mother that I was with that slave trader.”

Domino and Rorio stayed silent while Risa collected her thoughts and thought about where to start her story.

Finally, she took a deep breath and began her tale.

“It all started back when I moved to the kingdom of IronForm at the age of 13. I worked as a squire to my father and was set to be knighted a year later.”

“What idiot would let you be a knight at such a young age!?” shouted Domino.

Rorio let out a sigh.

“Did you forget that we started our adventure when you were 12?”

“Ah...fair point. Please continue.”

Moving past it, Domino let Risa continue her story.

“After being knighted a year later, I was assigned to guard the prince since the two of us had gotten along since I first visited the castle. Plus, with my Father being the one to guard the king, it almost felt natural. However, my mother wasn’t pleased with any of it. You see, she was a maid who absolutely loved the thought of taking things easy. And when she saw how far I’d gotten as a knight, she was enraged at the fact I hadn’t tried hooking up with some rich aristocrat she could mooch off of instead.”

Risa clasped her hands together.

“That’s why, two years ago, she made a plan.”

Two years ago, Risa stood in the king's throne room behind Prince Daniel. The man she was assigned to protect.

In front of them, a situation was beginning to unfold as a messenger was reading demands by the people of IronForm.

“And furthermore, the kingdom’s people demand for prices to drop since it makes it impossible for them to survive on a day-to-day basis,” finished the messenger before lowering the paper and turning her head to the king.

Sitting on the throne was a man who seemed like a rather cold individual. With a chiseled orange beard, the man had a muscular build and despite being in his late fifties, didn’t look a day over thirty. This man, who had a rather chilling glare, was known as King Quither.

Bringing his brown eyes down on the messenger, his gaze was absolutely intimidating.

Next to him, the castle wizard watched the proceedings without any expression on his face. The wizard next to the king was of a special variety as he possessed a magic rare to be seen in this day and age. This magic made it so that the wizard could be summoned by either the king or prince at any time with a magic bell they kept in their rooms.

However, despite the usefulness of these bells, they weren’t used very often and the wizard remained by the king's side a majority of the day.

Getting up from his chair, King Quither’s gaze fell down upon the messenger who had goosebumps forming on her skin.

“If that’s what they want then go tell those peasants to go screw themselves! Without these prices, our kingdom would only become even more of a dump! If we lowered the prices any more then we already have, we’d fall apart before we knew what hit us!” he shouted out angrily.

The messenger shrunk back.

“U-Understood!”

With that, she bowed and dashed out of the room as soon as possible.

Sitting back into his throne, Quither let out a sigh as he rubbed his eyes.

After that, the meeting was quickly disbanded and Risa followed Prince Daniel out the door.

Daniel grumbled random stuff to himself before scratching his head in frustration.

“Man. I wish my dad wasn't such a jerk sometimes. It makes us look like demons to the people,” he mumbled.

Seeing how frustrated he looked, Risa smiled in an attempt to calm him down.

But seeing that wasn’t working, she tried to start a conversation.

“It must be rough to be king,” said Risa.

Picking up on her conversation stater, Daniel sighed and recomposed himself.

He turned over to Risa and pointed his finger at her.

“Maybe. But I promise this, when I become king, I'm gonna try to take IronForm in a better direction. I'm positive I can do it!”

At her age, Risa didn’t really understand his words. So she simply shrugged off his statement.

However, despite him only being at the age of fifteen, Risa knew he’d pull it off.

She’d seen his determination plenty of times already. So she was certain he would make this goal a reality. Even if it didn’t make much sense to her.

“I'll look forward to that day, Your Highness,” she replied.

After that, the two made their way down the hall to the prince's chamber when Daniel decided to pop a random question.

“Hey Risa, is there anyone you like?”

Risa wasn't expecting such a sudden question and this caused her face to flush red.

“Huh?! What brought that about your Highness!?” she asked.

Despite being a knight, Risa was rather informal with the prince. That was why a reaction like this didn’t surprise him.

It was clear the connection these two shared was one that was built on true friendship.

Thus, despite being prince and knight, they got along incredibly well.

“Er...it's just...I don’t mean anything weird by it. I guess I just wanna know what it feels like. I always hear stories of how much the people of this land love their friends and family. How much they love their communities and how much they mean to them. I just has me curious about the concept. Especially since my Father won't stop talking about wives and concubines as of late.”

Despite the awkward topic, Risa understood what he was saying.

So while her face was still a little red, she replied to his question.

“Well if we're referring to family, I guess you could say I love my father. But it’s more of a love born out of respect than anything so I guess that doesn’t really count. As for romantic and the like, I can’t say I’ve ever experienced it before.”

Daniel seemed a little disappointed with that answer but tried his best not to show it.

“I...see.”

Even though he tried to keep his voice stable, you could easily tell his voice was shaking when he spoke.

With that conversation done, the two continued walking in silence before arriving in front of Daniel's chambers.

The two had planned to just pop in for a bit before Daniel went off to take care of more duties.

However, they were caught by surprise when they saw someone standing at the door. Seemingly waiting for them.

“Mother?” Risa said with a confused look on her face.

The person who Risa just called Mother looked down at the two of them and turned her head to Daniel.

“I must speak with my daughter for a bit. Would you leave us alone for a second, Prince Daniel?” she asked in a stern voice.

Daniel gave her a look of suspicion before forcing on a fake smile.

“Of course Mrs. Distrona. Please excuse me.”

Daniel walked past Distrona and into his chambers.

Distrona turned back to make sure Daniel had closed the door before turning to Risa and giving her a look of disgust.

“How did I ever give birth to such a disappointment? You could have grown up to be an amazing wife or concubine. But instead, you chose your father's job to be an idiot in shiny armor.”

Her words were as cold as always. Risa had grown accustomed to this kind of torment.

Most would probably call what she was saying cruel. And while they would be entirely right, no one dared to attempt speaking back to Distrona.

Due to her skill with words, she could easily trick the king into thinking Risa and her father were heretics and have them killed. Meaning Risa wouldn't be able to complain about her even if she wanted to.

But leaving that be, Distrona continued to list the reasons she thought Risa was a disappointment for a few more minutes before saying something that caught Risa’s attention.

“Well, the thing me and the king agreed upon should fix everything in one fell swoop.”

Risa, whose mind had drifted off during the conversation, turned to look back at her mother with a look of both curiosity and concern.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Distrona gave her a sinister smirk that was followed by a creepy chuckle.

“Me and the king have seen how close you and Prince Daniel have become.”

“Close?! I'm his guard! It's my job to protect him at all times!”

Risa’s mother rolled her eyes.

“From what has been seen, you two are close enough to engage in personal conversation. And because of that, the king and I reached an agreement.”

Risa's voice was caught in her throat. She understood what her mother meant.

As mentioned before, Daniel and Risa got along quite well. The connection the two made was clear as day to anyone. Still, that was all it was. They were simply close.

However, with their friendship as her angle, Distrona used this to her advantage.

Thus, without much else to say, Risa asked a single question.

“What....kind of agreement?”

Distrona responded immediately.

“Due to how close you two have become, the king and I have agreed on your two’s engagement. I trust you’ll be a wife worthy of the honor.”

This was Distrona’s plan.

If Risa were to marry into Daniel's family, then the ones related to her, such as her father and mother would be given luxury and leisure far beyond what any commoner could imagine.

However, this wasn't the only reason Distrona did this.

Walking up to Risa, Distrona whispered quietly into her ear.

“I hope you enjoy living through this forced marriage. Just like I had to with your father.''

The other reason was her own grudge toward personal circumstances.

Pushing away her mother, Risa took a step back.

“No! I don't want this! You can’t just force us together!”

Smiling, Distrona let out a chuckle that sent a shiver down Risa’s spine

“You don’t have a choice in the matter. And I intend to see this all the way until the end. Let’s pray you’re ready.”

Shocked at the current situation, Risa slumped to her knees and curled up her fists in frustration.

Seeing Risa in this state, Distrona let out a hearty laugh. That's when it happened.

SLAM!

To her surprise, a door shot open behind her.

Turning around, Distrona found Daniel standing there with an angry glare in his eyes as he held what seemed to be a silver sphere in his hand.

“You monster! I refuse to allow this! I don't care if I must talk with Father personally, I won’t allow you to toy with Risa’s feelings!”

In response to his words, Distrona simply smiled.

“Ha! Like you can do anything to change these arrangements. All I have to do is whisper a few lies to the king and your words will mean nothing. In fact, I’d like to see you try and change his mind.”

Distrona’s grin widened as she stood there triumphantly. However, her expression of confidence quickly changed to fear when a familiar face stepped out of Daniel’s room.

“T-The castle wizard!?” Distrona shouted.

Lost on what the wizard was doing there, it took her a second to notice an item resting in Daniel’s hand.

As mentioned before, both the prince and the king had been given a special bell that, when rung, would immediately summon the wizard serving under the king. A wizard respected by not just the king, but the people as well. Meaning that if he had informed the king of anything wrong, it was trusted without a second thought. That was the type of respect this wizard had gained after serving under the king for the last twenty years.

Slamming his staff on the ground, the wizard glared at Distrona.

“Miss Distrona! It has come to my attention that you plan to force these children, who share nothing but a mutual friendship, into holy matrimony. As one who serves under the king directly, I find your plans despicable and entirely immoral. Something I’m sure the king will agree with.”

At those words, Distrona's face went pale as she realized what was happening. All of her plans were starting to fall down the drain.

Feeling anger swell up inside her, Distrona dashed away as fast as possible before turning back and glaring at Risa.

“My plans may have fallen today Risa, but I will make you suffer for choosing the path of the knight! I swear this on the gods themselves!”

After screaming those words, Distrona ran away as Risa breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning to Daniel, she bowed her head in thanks.

“Thank you for your help, Daniel. You too Sir Wizard. That was a truly terrifying situation.”

Daniel shook his head.

“It was nothing. But moving past that for now, are you okay? You still look a bit pale.

Risa lightly shrugged her shoulders.

“It's fine. I'm not injured or anything. Though I am concerned by my mother's words. “

Despite the chance of them being an empty threat, Risa knew how relentless her mother could be.

And little did she know at the time, just how far her mother was willing to go.