The Guardian

Prologue 3:Giants Arena

"Kai is dead," the demon muttered.

The sun started to break dawn, and Mazoku and Alas stood speechless, their eyes locked on the demon manipulating Kai's lifeless body. The creature stretched and did pushups, every movement a mockery of life. Suddenly, it leaped into the air. Mazoku grabbed Alas, pulling him back away from the monster.

The demon cracked its knuckles, smirking. "Ah, you're scared of me. Don't be. I'm sorry I never fully introduced myself. I'm Inazuma."

Mazoku's face paled. "You speak fluently now?"

Alas, still in shock, stared at the demon. Inazuma's grin widened. "Yes, this body gave me knowledge of what I am and what I can do." He let out a deep, evil laugh. "Oh, but it's so weak." With a sickening snap, he broke Kai's neck, letting the body slump to the ground.

Alas's scream pierced the dawn. "No!" He broke free from Mazoku's grasp, running toward the fallen body.

"Don't!" Mazoku shouted. He grabbed Alas and pulled him away from Kai's body. Alas screamed, "Let my brother go!"

Suddenly, the demon's neck snapped back into place, reanimating Kai's lifeless body. Inazuma whined mockingly, "Let my brother go!"

"Understand this, boy: the only way a demon can die is to destroy its core." In an instant, the demon teleported right in front of Alas and Mazoku, leaning in dangerously close to Alas. "And anyways I've already told you, boy—your brother is..."

Mazoku acted, throwing Alas high into the air and delivering a massive punch that sent Inazuma crashing through the house. He charged, rage fueling his every move. "You went too far, Inazuma!" He slammed the demon into the ground.

As Mazoku began to fall on top of Inazuma's flattened body, his body swelling to the size of a mountain, Inazuma laughed, "It's futile." He vanished, reappearing beside Alas in mid-air, grabbing him. "Hey, boy," he sneered.

Alas sobbed, his fear obvious. "Such a baby," Inazuma muttered.

"Zip," he teleported onto Mazoku's back, still free-falling. Mazoku, confused, asked, "What are you doing, demon?" Inazuma then whispered in his ear, "Shrink, hippo. I have the boy." Mazoku heard Alas's cries and complied. He twisted mid-air, shrinking back to normal size. Inazuma grinned, "Good human." Lightning enveloped his hand, slashing through Mazoku's gut. The man fell, his strength waning.

"Put the boy in the house," Mazoku gasped, his voice a pained whisper. "Final request?" Inazuma mocked, smirking. "Zip, zip." He appeared back on Mazoku, just the two of them. "He doesn't have to see you die, right?" Inazuma said.

Mazoku crashed to the ground, Inazuma perched on top of him. Mazoku was bleeding out, his stomach open, but despite this, he smiled. "I'm not supposed to kill you, you know."

Inazuma's eyes narrowed. "Pitiful. Half-dead, and you still make ignorant statements." Lightning crackled around his hand. "Die," he sneered, swinging his arm down.

But Mazoku leaned back and uttered, "Blessed Bloom: Giant's Arena." Time seemed to stop as a shimmering veil enveloped them, blocking out the world. Inside the veil, the arena transformed. Inazuma stood on one side, Mazoku on the other. Mazoku now looked muscular instead of fat, and his wound was already starting to heal.

"What the hell is this?" Inazuma snarled.

Mazoku grinned. "It's my arena." Cheers erupted from a visible crowd filled with millions of imaginary people. "Yes, yes, calm down," he said to the crowd, flexing. He then turned to Inazuma, "It's just a WWE match, demon. Make me tap out or knock me out, and you can kill me. But every time you use your blessed art, I get bigger and stronger." He hyped up the crowd.

The commentator announced, "This is the match of the century! MAZOKU, a retired guardian captain and undefeated champion!" The crowd roared as Mazoku jumped into the ring, flexing. "And the other one..." The crowd booed. Inazuma laughed, attempting to teleport in front of Mazoku but remained in place. Mazoku grew larger.

"Nuh-uh, what did I say? You play by my rules now, demon."

The commentator declared, "Get ready! The match begins in 3... 2... 1..."

...

The match ended with Mazoku's foot pressing down on Inazuma, who lay defeated. The crowd's cheers thundered as Mazoku, now the size of a tower, stood victorious. The veil lifted, the arena fading away. Mazoku shrunk to his normal size, grinning. "And the crowd goes wild! Woo-hoo!" Mazoku mocked.

He bent down to Kai's body, checking for signs of life. He smiled. "What happened? Aww, the demon's knocked out." His hand enlarged, picking up the body gently. "You're lucky I didn't kill you," he muttered.

Carrying Inazuma up the mountain, he explained, "You're barely even conscious or alive, but you should know this is for you too, Kai. A blessed art is the concentration of a being's life energy or prana. Every living creature has prana, but not every living creature can concentrate it into a blessed art. But if they can, like me and you can, you can go beyond. When you understand the true essence of your blessed art and are strong enough to control it completely, you can expand it or further concentrate it into a state up to 1,000 times stronger than your base one. These expansions or concentrations are called blessed blooms, which are the expansions like I used, or blessed buds, which are the concentrations. Unfortunately, high-level demons like yourself don't have a lot to process and understand and are already extremely powerful, so you unlock them quite fast. I'm lucky you didn't. You don't even understand your true power yet, but if you did..."

Mazoku got back to the house, where Alas was sitting, sobbing. But Mazoku smiled. "Don't worry, your brother is fine." Alas's tear-streaked face lifted, confused. "But the demon..." he said.

Mazoku nodded. "Go into the room to the right and bring me the black cube." Alas obeyed, returning with the cube. Mazoku set Inazuma down, taking the cube.

"Thank you," he said to Alas, pressing the cube onto Kai's body. Inazuma woke, screaming, moving his arms around trying to get out. Mazoku continued applying pressure until Inazuma's movements ceased and the cube was completely absorbed into Kai's body. "The seal is complete. As long as this seal is on him, Kai will control the demon." He smiled reassuringly at Alas, "He should wake up soon."

Seeing the confusion on Alas's face, Mazoku added, "I know it might seem strange that I didn't remove the demon, but if I did, it would kill your brother. The only way to protect him is by sealing the demon within him, making it so Kai remains in control."

He sat cross-legged, looking at Alas with curiosity. "Now, tell me about your Aunt Kami. How is she?" Alas started to cry as he recounted what happened to her. Mazoku listened, comforting him. "You can stay here until you're old enough to live on your own," he promised.

Five years pass quickly. Kai and Alas are now both 16.
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In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!
‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬ ‭