Chapter Text
There wasn’t much to be lost, was there?
Banri sighed, checked the map again, ventured forward again.
There wasn’t much to be lost, but much to gain and there was no use in looking backwards, in changing his decision now, that he had already taken this way. After all, he was on his way with a plan, a goal in mind, because maybe, finally, he would find what he had been looking for for so long now.
A determined grin graced his lips as he fought his way up the mountain, ignoring the wind that was trying to rip the heavy coat from his shoulders, that was trying to push him back, keep him from reaching his goal. He wasn’t one to let himself be stopped by something as a mere storm - not when he had already gotten so far in his journey, not when he could almost taste it, the sweetness of a worthy challenge, the sweetness of finally being released from the chains of this dull world that couldn’t grant him any excitement anymore, this dull world that did not hold any more challenges.
Never had given him any challenges in the first place.
Most people would probably have envied him for his life.
Born the son to a noble family there had hardly ever been anything Banri could have asked for, hardly ever anything that he hadn’t gotten instantly, because everything that wasn’t possible to buy with money he would take hold of with his quick wit, his intelligence, his fighting skills - sometimes even his good looks.
Yes, there was hardly anything Banri could have asked for, and yet this was exactly what made the world so bland in his eyes.
After all, what was there still to gain if one had everything?
What reason was there to even try when putting in effort didn’t even change anything about the outcome, when he was already perfect at everything after even one or two tries?
He only had to wave his hand, the success would follow behind easily.
As a child he had loved this, had loved how their servants would read every wish of his eyes, had loved how he had been admired by children and adults alike, how his private tutors would praise his intellect, how easily he would grasp new things.
There was nothing he couldn’t do as a child, easily escaping the boring lectures, the long hours of studying because he already knew everything he needed to know, because he was a quick learner, no comparison to the other children who sometimes took days, weeks to understand a simple equation.
Back then he hadn’t understood how it set him apart from the others in more than one way, had only known that he could go outside earlier than the others, that he was the one who could play instead of study, the one who got praised instead of scolded and it had felt great, his life had been perfect.
However, it had gotten boring quite soon, hearing the always same praise, seeing that in his tutors’ eyes there hadn’t been the same amazement as before, the joy at having such a good student being exchanged with expectations, sometimes even annoyance, because there was nothing to do with someone who already knew everything, was there?
And then there was the jealousy, almost hate that some of his peers harbored towards him.
As a child he hadn’t understood it, still too deeply caught up in his own view of the world, but now that he was older he understood, knew that they had become aware of his superiority, of the fact that they were no match for him.
Of course, they weren’t.
In fact, no one was a match for him, had ever been a match for him.
Even if he didn’t study, he would get perfect marks, would be at the top of class. Even if he didn’t particularly try it wasn’t hard for him to understand what others wanted of him, wasn’t hard to follow through with everything asked of him.
However, there was no real benefit in doing what others wanted of him anymore, no real reason to follow through with any of this, because what was the point of fulfilling expectations when no one cared anyways? What was the point of doing the things asked of him when there was no praise for it, no gratitude, not even thanks? What was the point if he could fulfill all the expectations as much as he wanted and people didn’t even bat an eye anymore, because after all this was normal, after all, he was perfect anyways, right?
After realizing this, Banri had sought excitement in battles, had spent countless hours in the courtyard, sword in his hand, battling against the wooden dolls, venting his frustration and honing his skills at the same time.
After all, there were enough warriors out there, right? Battle was still something he could find honor in, still something he could amaze people with, right?
And at first that had been true. At first he had found a new source of excitement, the steel in his hands leading his way to victory but not without effort and for a while Banri had felt the fire surging through his veins again, for a while he really had thought that he had finally found it, for a while he had finally felt alive again.
The feeling hadn’t lasted.
Of course it hadn’t.
It never did.
He wasn’t sure if it was again an issue of him being too good, of having put too much effort into something despite knowing better, despite knowing that if he did put in effort, he would soon be met with the same hopelessness of being a lone champion again. But the fire had burned and he hadn’t been able to help himself, hadn’t been able to hold back, to keep himself from surging forward, from learning everything he could.
Or maybe it was because of his perception, because of his quick-wittedness, that allowed him to easily follow his opponents’ moves, something that had been admired by many, had been feared just as much.
Something that had made others lose interest again.
Something that had made others tell him again that with his abilities there was no way they could win anyways, that with his abilities there was no point in fighting against him and at some point Banri had simply stopped to care.
At one point he had simply given up.
There didn’t seem to be any chance for him to find anything worthwhile anyways, no chance of finding anything that still provided challenge, that still provided meaning. Not if even magicians refused to go against him, if even people with abilities he himself could only dream of, didn’t dream of winning against him.
There was nothing that could excite him anymore.
He had stopped caring in general after that realization.
Because why should he still care if there was no reason to?
His sister was the heir to the family, the one who would have to make sure everything was going as it should, the one who needed to focus on honing her skills and learning more and more about the world, but Banri himself knew everything he needed and even more he didn’t need, could do everything he needed and everything he didn’t and without having a goal to work towards there was no point in putting in effort into anything.
Actually there was no point in even doing anything anymore.
And throughout the past years he had instead found himself aimlessly wandering around more and more often, not in hopes of finding anything, rather just wasting time, simply waiting until either his family would get fed up with his behavior or till someone had picked a fight with him just so that he could indulge them - at least that had taken his mind off his immense boredom for a few hours.
Usually he had hung around the different taverns in town, letting himself go, drinking sometimes alone sometimes with strangers, easy company for a few hours, just waiting until the day was over, until the sun would rise again, the next day just as boring as the ones before.
It was on one of these evenings that he had heard of the demon lord of the west.
It was simply by chance that he had overheard the conversation, really, but it was the best thing that had ever happened to him, of that he was sure. Maybe it was even fated; he was inclined to believe it. Because who should have gotten that information if not him, who was the one who had craved for an opportunity like this if not Banri?
The way their world worked was simple, big epic battles between humans and monsters a thing of the past, the hate between the races far long gone. Instead battles were now fought for fun and challenge, monsters and humans alike upholding their positions as lords and ladies, keeping the illusion that they were the enemy, that defeating them was something to be proud of.
And it really was. No one in this position was an easy to match opponent and just as many fighters as won also failed the challenges, if not more. Banri himself had tried his hands at some of them, but even then, even with these supposedly difficult challenges it had always been disappointingly easy, disappointingly quick and he had lost more and more interest with every completed challenge.
This one though…
There was much needed to be introduced as “the undefeated demon lord”, Banri knew that, much skill and strength especially considering that said demon lord seemed to be fairly new in his role, that he seemed to have taken over his late father’s position only a year and a half ago, considering that the one talking about him had been a renowned warrior, someone who had beaten all the other lords and ladies in the area already.
There was no reason to do any favors to someone that new, no reason to lie about his abilities and Banri had gotten curious.
Had gotten curious because this evening was not the only one when he had heard of the demon lord of the west.
Because whenever someone talked about him, they would describe what he was capable of, would warn anyone and everyone from ever getting involved with this man, from ever even thinking of it, listing off the most adventurously sounding magic, the most powerful abilities and Banri was almost inclined to believe that it was just one elaborately spun lie, that there was no possibility someone with abilities like these could be real, no possibility that maybe, possibly his hopes hadn’t been in vain.
That maybe there was an actual challenge awaiting him out there.
Needless to say that he had been on his way only shortly afterwards.
It was quite the trip he had taken upon himself. Quite the trip for someone who had never ventured all that far from home because there had not been much reason to do so.
However Banri hadn’t stopped in his training, was still in shape enough that the cold wind biting through his clothes, trying to blow away his cape was annoying at most, but even that couldn’t hinder him. After all, he had a goal, had finally found something that deserved his determination, something that filled him with enough passion that he almost didn’t even notice the cold, far too excited that soon, finally he would see for himself if there was at least one person in this world that could give him a challenge. At least one person whose skills and abilities he had to be careful of.
He didn’t care for the promised riches or fame that he would surely get when he passed the challenge when he was the first one to beat this new demon lord.
The only thing he cared for as he made his way over rocky paths and through narrow valleys was if this demon lord was good enough to entertain him for longer than a few minutes. If again, this would turn out to be rather underwhelming, the rumors all a lie - or if this was finally the one challenge that would demand all his skill and knowledge from him to pass.
And soon, so soon he would find his answer, wouldn’t have to dwell on it anymore.
It had taken him days, almost weeks, but he had finally arrived at his destination, the giant doors made from oak directly in front of him.
One had to say that this lord knew how to set a scene, an atmosphere, the castle looking far too much like one from the history books Banri had studied years ago, looming over the brunet, and he could feel the almost menacing aura of dark magic coming from its walls making him shiver.
There really was no better scenery for him to finally get his long awaited fight, the fight that would hopefully make the fire in his heart burn again, the fight that would prove again to him that he was living.
With a determined motion he pulled open one of the heavy doors and entered the castle.
It was quiet in here, almost unnaturally so, and for a moment he asked himself if there shouldn’t be guards around here. Then again if this demon lord really was as powerful as people said he was, then there shouldn’t be a need for guards, right? If his abilities were only half as impressive as people said they were, then someone as him could easily just wander around here alone, maybe have a few servants, nothing more.
So if anything, the lack of guards, of people to hinder him from making his way to the great hall, the sheer lack of hindrances spoke volumes about the actual skill of the demon lord of the west.
Banri could feel excited shivers running down his spine at the thought of it.
So much that in the first moment he thought the great hall was empty.
However on the second glance there was someone sprawled over the throne on the backside of the hall not even sparing Banri a glance when he walked up to them, his steps unnaturally loud on the polished marble floor.
It was a young man, Banri realized as he stood only a few steps away from him. A young man clad in flowy robes, tousled blond hair hiding his face as he leaned over a device in his hands, seemingly absorbed in whatever was happening on it.
Banri took a deep breath.
“I have come to challenge the demon lord to a fight!”
After all, even if this man seemed to be busy, he could at least lead him the way, right? There wasn’t anyone else he could ask after all.
To his surprise the blond actually looked up, bright ruby eyes focusing on him, and only now did Banri see the pointed ears, see the black horns that wound out of the blond locks. So this was him then? This was the demon lord of the west? The undefeated one?
He looked far younger than Banri had assumed, far younger than someone in this position usually was - then again he himself was pretty young as well, this kind of thing didn’t say anything about one’s abilities.
He could feel a grin forming on his lips as he stared back at the supposed demon lord.
This was it.
“I have come to challenge you to a fight!”, he repeated and the demon lord’s eyes narrowed, his posture straightening before he stood up, looking down on him.
“I don’t really feel like fighting you. It seems bothersome and actually I have a bit of grinding to do for the event this weekend…So if you could just go away again and forget about it, that would be great!”