Demon Days (Male Reader)

Issue #0

Once upon a time, humans and yokai lived in peace.

Yokai, spirits of earth and air, fire and water, life and death, were myriad in form. Like humans, they could be benevolent or mischievous.

Some yokai, like the massive ogres called Oni, coexisted with humanity. So long as humans stayed in their villages and Oni in their mountains, balance was maintained.

But humans got greedy. They expanded their territory, cutting down forests and flattening mountains. Oni saw their land vanish along with the rest of the yokai.

Starving, they were left with no choice but to raid human villages for food. The balance was broken. Yokai became the stuff of nightmares.

They raided without mercy. Humans, afraid and unaware that they were to blame, began to fight back.

Human and yokai were at war.

But none of the yokai were more upset than the one who had came to be known as the Demon King. Furious at the wrath and greed of the humans, the Demon King brought together the tribes of yokai to push back the humans.

Years of war raged on between the two.

No one was safe.

But, some of the yokai seeked peace.

Many fell in love with the humans and vice versa. They had come to respect one another and some even fostered children. Some had children of their own.

It was 20 years into the war when the Demon King began his search for a bride. One of both human and yokai.

He set his sights upon a union of a female woman and an Oni. They had gave life to a child. A baby girl.

The Demon King sent one of his generals to recover the daughter, but her mother had prepared for this. She hid her daughter in the cave behind a waterfall to keep her away from the Demon King.

In a fit of rage, the Demon King laid waste to the village. Leaving no survivors, he left the land to find a new bride to rule by his side. However, he never did find the child.

During the night, while the smoke still rose over the village, the child cried.

Only one heard her.

From the highest mountain, a massive beast emerged from the clouds to find the source of the cries.

This was a dragon. A creature that did not belong to man or yokai. One that had been around since before the creation of the trees or mountains. It lived longed before the water and the clouds.

It found the child and took mercy on it. It carried her to it's nest ontop of the mountain where it began to raise it.

For years, the two lived in peace as the dragon gifted the child with food, water, and wisdom. It protected her from the rain and showed her the snow.

The dragon even gifted her a name.

Sai Rokku.

But, alas, nothing lasts forever.

The attack came too quickly for the dragon to stop. The samurai came from a village that was close by. Reports of attacks have come in and the dragon was the only creature that lived near.

And so, he did what he could to protect the child.

Young Sai: <No!>

She reached out towards the massive dragon as it slowly died among the flames. The samurai didn't let go of her, though.

She was forced to watch as her only friend, her protector, bleed out.

Young Sai: <Monsutā!>