Hey guys, made a little story for Demon Avenger and added some things of my own. Like many characters, I wish they get more lore to them in the future. Sorry if not everything is 100% correct among the things I've added.
This story aims to tell the story from Demon Avenger's perspective and WHY he chose to be a Demon Avenger instead of a Slayer, as well as adding some more elements of my own, hope you enjoy it!
Centuries ago, when the Maple World was shrouded in darkness - at the most stressful hour and at an utmost critical moment in time, I have made the reckless and just decision to betray the Black Mage.
Whether it was due to how my sight and better judgment were blinded by rage and grief, or whether I was motivated to redeem my heinous crimes as one of the most esteemed commanders of the Black Mage's abyssal army... Both, most likely...
My choice made an impact on the future and allowed the Heroes of Maple World the opening they needed in order to seal the Black Mage and subdue his other commanders.
I had made this decision as I tumbled back into the Temple Of Time that we conquered and made as our base... I was reeking of ashes, cinders, and dust under the Goddess of Time's rain of tears that covered the entire Temple Of Time that sat in chaos under their rule on top of the black, now-storm clouds. I ran into Mastema, who had followed me ever since I saved her life, that day in the Dragon Valley. I was consumed by emotions to such an extent that I was ready to slay my faithful and trustworthy servant... And friend... On the spot, should she show the slightest sign of resistance to my act of betrayal against the Black Mage.
The feelings I've had made me forget, at that moment. While I lost everything... My mother... Damien... Mastema hadn't known the pain of loss and was happily serving me as we were both under the Black Mage's rule. She had every right to refuse my orders, yet even with an enemy this great, this... Powerful... She had chosen my side yet again... As if her gaze was piercing through my unmoved expression and witnessed the truth behind my dry eyes.
Solemnly, I had ordered her to deliver a letter of mine to the Heroes. The letter included news of my betrayal and of my will to cooperate to defeat this fiend, as well as weak spots in the Temple Of Time, where they can strike their hardest.
I made my way to his chamber uninvited, battling the plentiful guards within the pristine, spotless marble corridors of the Temple.
At last, I ran into the mouthy old man, Arkarium - Another one of the Black Mage's commanders, my former comrades... A powerful dark wizard and the final obstacle that stood between myself and the Black Mage's throne room.
I should have seen it then.
When I did not manage to slay Arkarium in the first five seconds, I should have KNOWN. No... I knew. I knew much, much earlier of how powerful the Black Mage was and how I compared to his strength... Yet as I prepared for my battle with Arkarium, a most unusual event had happened. The doors behind Arkarium opened... As if the Black Mage invited me in, not even counting me as a threat. I marched on, facing down the great, menacing - half-open door to his throne room, connected between shiny marble pillars.
I was anxious about how my Demon Fury fared to the Black Mage. I was worried about how this might be the wrong choice for now, as I felt his evil, overwhelming aura creeping outside from behind the doors - enveloping my Demon Fury almost entirely... I felt weaker and my legs were getting heavy... Yet as I gazed at my own reflection within the marble pillars next to his great doors, I couldn't see anything besides the reflection of my ruined, burnt to the ground hometown and my dead family... As a result of the Black Mage's orders that were conveyed under my nose, to destroy my home...
Unforgivable...!
He WILL PAY!!!
I aggressively, WRATHFULLY, pushed the doors open and walked into his throne room, fully prepared to battle with him on my own... My thoughts turned into a mess. At the moment I walked in, I felt as if I was hit by a tidal wave that was as high as the clouds. Like I was drowning in an ocean of chaotic energy. For a single instant, my heart was compromised to his presence.
I asked him, like a child who wanted to ask his own father why he was hit, with tears welling up in his eyes.
"Why...!?" I asked loudly as I tumbled.
But I remembered. As if both of them came back from the Afterlands to pull me out of his raging ocean, my mind became clear... My rage was clear.
There was no going back now.
"You were a FOOL to betray me... And now... You WILL PAY FOR IT!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I summoned every bit of Demon Fury I could muster before lunging at him with all of my strength.
Every attack, every experience, every battle - led to this moment. My struggle against the strongest being in Maple World, maybe even in Grandis!
He hit hard, but I got back up and hit him in return with the pride of the Demons.
The Demon Fury I inherited from my Father and nurtured all these decades!
The battle was hard-fought, after all my effort, I manage to break his shield barrier and we entered our final clash of powers.
I gave my PRIDE.
I gave ALL of my Demon Fury into this fight.
I knew, deep in my heart that I would lose...
Yet all I manage to destroy was...
Naught but his shield and a piece of his rob? That's it? THAT... Was my contribution to the heroes' final battle against him!? THAT is how my pride, my Demon Fury, my strength fared!!? You must be joking!!
Was I really this weak!!? All this time, he was just playing me like a fiddle!!?
...
Maybe, this is a sign. A sign that I should change the path I took when I built my strength...
Then again, that would be foolish...! I thought as I chuckled at such ludicrous thoughts...
Won't it?
My father once belonged to an ancient, powerful demon clan before he started a family with my mother.
Growing up, there was one thing I always noticed him carrying on his back.
(Play this while reading, I think it's a good fit:
Fullmetal Alchemist OST - Tsuisou )
A hilt, without a blade, he carried on his back as if it were a person-sized longsword.
And while my hair was as red as the sweetest grape, as my mother would say, his hair was as white as the cloud of a summer sky, with a young smooth face.
He would always tell me, that whenever the time comes... "Reject the Desperado." And to stay true to what I am... A demon.
As demons who are bound to a clan, they cannot choose their paths. They are to make use of their Demon Fury, which is their innate Demonic energy, to grow in power and live forever as the dark rulers of the world. My father believed this is the most favorable option for every demon alive.
But in this world, there are demons who hate who they are. Demons who do not wish for immortality. Demons who have no pride left in their hearts, with nothing to fight for, nothing to live for.
The weapon they wield is not a scepter like the rest of their kin. It is called...
The Desperado.
The Desperado is a weapon of the lifeless Demon - The Demon Avenger. Which, unlike other demons - sacrifices their demon-hood and Demon Fury - to a hilt of a long blade which is, as a result, becomes the Desperado - a blade comprised entirely of a once-demon's entire Demon Fury. Their destiny is to fight alone, for just one goal - and die like a mortal when they are done.
Yet it does not come without risk, even as it is.
For you see, once created, The Desperado chooses its master regardless of who created it. You risk being powerless for the rest of your miserable, mortal life - as the Desperado can choose to not reveal itself to you.
And even if it does reveal itself, the road to nurturing it is long and arduous. Since the user is now a mortal, they risk never reaching their fullest potential, as they may not live as long as needed to nurture such power.
What more, every attack made with the Desperado eats away at the user's life force. This is why training alone is impractical and dangerous. The training dummy must always be... A living being, In order to relieve the strain of the Desperado upon the user's body and have it take away the enemy's life, and not the user's.
Before my father left me and my mother alone after she was pregnant with Damien... He taught me everything I need to know about our kind and the path I must take.
The first thing he said was that he was not as great as other demons. He was an outcast not only due to his sacrifice to the Desperado but also because he was the only demon that fell in love with a human woman... My mother.
I never asked my father about why he cast-away his Demon-hood. Nor have I seen him actually use the Desperado which may hint that it didn't choose him...
"Yet... I think the life we all had together, was a life worth fighting for..."
"And a Life..."
His grape-red hair began losing its fixed, smooth form as he broke the uppermost part of his old scepter.
"Worth risking everything..."
A dark eruption of his Demon Fury emerged from his eyes, his mouth and from the markings on his face - as if he was overloaded from his own energy manifesting inside of him - he held his broken scepter tightly and focus all of his Demon Fury into it.
"...TO AVENGE FOR!!!"
His hair gradually lost its color, starting from the edges - all the way to his scalp - until whitening completely. His entire Demon Fury was drained into the broken scepter which still didn't develop into a Desperado. As doubt filled his mind, he held the locket with the pictures of his mother and brother tightly in his hand, reminding him once more of his determination.
"...BLACK MAGE!!!!"
The Desperado revealed itself with its vibrant, dark blue color. Resonating with his Demon Fury...
And so the road for revenge had begun for the last Demon Avenger.
