Chapter 23- A Tale Lost In The Swirling Snow

Gabriel slowly got back to his feet after Luna had cried herself to sleep. Rekka glanced at Gabriel and then followed his line of sight to where Spiral stood in the center of the burned area.

Spiral was still stomping on the spot where the fragment’s remains had been. Spiral noticed Gabriel who scowled quietly.

“Who the hell are you?” Gabriel asked and Spiral scowled back.

“Spiral the Hurricane. Ever heard of me?”

“Nope.”

Spiral glowered at Gabriel who glared back bitterly. Rekka sat down in front of Spiral, which made the two boys look down at the cat.

“Spiral, right? What’s your last name?” Rekka wondered and Spiral huffed quietly.

“Don’t got one, don’t need one. I’m the Hurricane! Now who the hell are you, cat?” Spiral asked and Rekka chuckled lazily.

“Rekka and that’s Gabriel. We’re very thankful for your help, Spiral.” Rekka said and Spiral stared at the cat silently before, “that cat’s talking!”

Rekka and Gabriel fell silent as Spiral jabbed a finger towards Rekka in shock.

“This guy…”

“Is extremely dense.”

Rekka sighed quietly and eyed Spiral.

‘This boy is interesting. He took down both a demon and an Influence-proof General of the East without getting scratched once. What in the world is he?’ Rekka thought and Spiral yawned loudly before stretching.

Spiral looked at Gabriel and blinked a few times before huffing.

“Man, and here I thought it was him I smelt. Who the hell are you?” Spiral asked bitterly to Gabriel who twitched slightly.

“The cat already said…” Gabriel muttered and Spiral didn’t wait for an answer.

Rekka looked at Spiral strangely and narrowed his eyes.

“Who is this “him” you mentioned?” Rekka asked and Spiral looked down at the cat.

“Are you stupid or something? How could you not know?” he asked and Gabriel gritted his teeth.

“Maybe cause we just asked you,” he muttered vehemently and Rekka sighed quietly. “Please just answer.”

“Yeah, you all are stupid! It’s my bud of course!” Spiral stated and Rekka grimaced.

“That’s not what I asked. What’s his name?” Rekka asked and Spiral was obviously getting ticked off along with Gabriel at two different things.

“It’s Dead Façade, duh! Whom else could I be talking about?” Spiral said and Gabriel and Rekka froze in shock.

“You know that guy…?” Gabriel asked slowly and Spiral scowled bitterly.

“I just said I did, didn’t I, stupid?” he snapped and Gabriel clenched his fist tightly. Rekka recomposed himself and looked back up at Spiral.

“Could you perhaps tell us how you know him?” Rekka asked and Spiral thought about for a second before holding his hand out.

“Give me 500 and then I will,” he said and Rekka nodded.

“Pay him, Gabriel.”

“Why me?”

“Just do it.”

“Tch…”

10 Years Ago

The wind whipped through the remains of houses that barely stood as snow buried some of the lesser lucky houses.

The sound of feet trudging through snow could be heard before it stopped.

“What a mess,” an old man said while a young boy wearing only a sleeveless white shirt, gloves, and pants stood next to him.

“This place looks boring, Old Man Kong.” The boy said and the old man sighed quietly.

“Hush.” Kong said and the boy heard the sound of wood against wood.

Kong and the boy looked into one of the remaining houses to see a young black haired boy curled up in a corner.

The black haired boy raised his head and glared at the two with eyes that held skulls on them.

Kong walked over to the boy bravely and placed a blanket around the boy.

“Aren’t you cold, child?” he asked and the black haired boy fell silent. The snow outside stopped and the other boy stared at the black haired boy silently.

“What might your name be, child?” Kong asked and the black haired boy raised his head slightly. “Dead Façade.”

Dead Façade looked around the warm room as Kong sat by the table with the other boy.

“Why not sit with us, Façade?” Kong asked and Dead Façade looked over at them before slowly sitting down by the table.

Kong smiled and then motioned towards the other boy who looked absolutely bored.

“This, apparently cold-resistant, child is Spiral. You may also call me Kong if you like.” Kong stated and Dead Façade nodded slowly.

Kong smiled and Spiral munched on the side of the table out of boredom.

“What might you have been doing in that place, Façade?” Kong asked and Dead Façade was silent before speaking.

“My mother tried to kill me. After she failed, she ran outside and I heard this large explosion…” Dead Façade trailed off and Kong nodded slowly.

Spiral had stopped munching on the table while Kong looked at Dead Façade.

“Did she try to kill you because you’re a half-demon?” Kong wondered and Dead Façade froze up in surprise.

Spiral looked at Dead Façade silently while Dead Façade nodded slowly. “My mom was human…” Dead Façade muttered and Spiral grinned slightly.

Kong nodded again and smiled warmly.

“You’re safe now, Façade.” Kong said and Spiral chuckled lightly.

“Your Ma was a human, huh? Cool, just like mine. What kind of demon was your Pops?” Spiral asked and Dead Façade looked at Spiral in surprise.

“… Devourer Demon.”

“Sweet! Mine was a Dragon Demon!” Spiral laughed while Kong smiled softly.

“Spiral here is also a half-demon like yourself. Perhaps you two can be friends.” Kong said and Dead Façade slowly nodded before Spiral yawned loudly and went back to munching on the table.

Kong sighed quietly and smacked Spiral’s forehead to make the boy stop.

“Excuse that habit of his please.” Kong said and Dead Façade paused before smiling slightly. “Okay.”

Dead Façade shivered as the three walked along the top of the mountains while snow whipped around them.

“How can you stand the cold dressed like that?” Dead Façade asked Spiral who only laughed but didn’t answer back.

Kong stopped walking and the two boys looked at him in confusion.

“This country is faced with a calamity.” Kong said suddenly and the boys stared at the old man silently.

“1,628,723 demons were just eaten by one of their own kind. Now the remaining demons have decided to use the humans to replenish the lost demons, Spiral, Dead Façade. You two are half-demons so you must know this: if the remaining demons are not stopped, more people will be forced through what you have. The demons must be stopped. However, humans cannot hope to do that on their own.” Kong stated before coughing harshly and when he removed his hand, blood dripped from it. Spiral and Dead Façade flinched in surprise at the blood before Kong continued.

“Because of the demons, humans are born under an endless mountain of corpses with only one hope of escaping. That hope is to become powerful enough to overthrow the one that sits on top of that mountain: the Creator of Demons. However, humans are only as strong as they are born to be. None of them can get stronger on their own. They must call upon the power of the gods or even the demons to get stronger. But the price is steep no matter which side you pick to be on.” Kong stated and started coughing blood more.

Spiral and Dead Façade watched Kong turn towards them and smile.

“You two are both capable of climbing out of this mountain of corpses. Being half-demons, you two can become stronger without assistance. You must overthrow the Creator of Demons and end the demon race forever. No one else can do it but you two.” Kong stated before suddenly falling forward and the two boys rushed to his side.

“Please… end this calamity. The gods cannot end it by themselves. I have faith that you two can do it.” Kong said and then closed his eyes to the cold and his hand fell limply at his side.

The two boys were silent as they buried Kong in the snow and stood up.

Spiral pounded his fist against his palm and glared ahead of him.

Dead Façade took the bandana Kong wore around his head and tied it around his own head.

“Let’s do it then, Dead. I’ll burn down this corpse mountain!”

“If he said we can, then we will, Spiral. I’ll devour everything to get rid of this mountain of corpses.”

Afterwards, Dead Façade found the North Occult and took control on it after devouring the Influence of all the members and adding it to his own.

Spiral wandered around training in various areas while perfecting the skills Kong had taught him before meeting Dead Façade.

After hearing this story in the present time, Gabriel helped Luna bury Gin next to the grave of Luna’s mother they found in the royal burial ground behind the palace.

Spiral disappeared after telling his story (and receiving his money).

Gabriel and Luna returned south to later find out what had happened to the rest of the group.

Spring turned to summer before Luna sat back down on her throne in the West Palace.

Everyone gathered in the throne room while Luna looked out at everyone.

“It’s time we ended this once and for all. I’m done running around.” Luna said before standing up from her throne.

“It’s time we struck the East. Get ready and we leave in the morning. This war shall end.”