Finding Truth

《7》

The twins immediately stood up and kneeled on the ground. Shiro didn't bother. He was too busy taking in the new information.

"Your majesty, I-"

"Sit down." Michikatsu was cut off as a man walked over to the group, sitting down on a single couch. He had black, curly hair and plum eyes. "(L/N) Shiro, your king has arrived yet you dare not to bow?"

"Shut it."

"What?"

"I said shut it. Are you deaf?" Shiro sat up straight and glanced over at the king. "You're Kibutsuji Muzan, the king, so what? I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to my liars of an uncle." [Oop- you tell him baby]

"They are not liars." Muzan said, gaining Shiro's attention. "They are not liars. I was the one who told them to not tell you the truth until the right moment."

"And when is that? The time when my mother dies?" He scoffed in a sarcastic manner. "Or maaaybe when I die too, how about that! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING!?"

"Calm down Shiro." Muzan spoke as Shiro held his tongue and sat clenched his fist. "Your mother was the saintess. She lived in the Holy Gardens. That was true, what your uncle said."

"Then why did the people keep saying that the saintess died? And what the hell is the calamity they're talking about?"

"Your mother..." Michikatsu continued the story and Shiro clicked his tongue. Michikatsu wanted to be the one to tell the story, he needed to. Next to the king, he was the one who knew more about this secret. "Shiro. Yoriichi, your mother, and I lived in the Holy Gardens together when we were younger."

"Along with a younger pair of twins, Yuichiro and Muichiro. And her younger brother, Koichi." Yoriichi said and Shiro listened intently. "They were five years younger than your mother and they were our cousins as well, making them your uncles. But... during the calamity... they... the three of them disappeared."

"Can someone please tell me the story from the beginning and not confuse me." Shiro rolled his eyes, resting his head on his hand.

"Your mother, the saintess... when she still lived in the Holy Gardens... she saved a demon." Michikatsu finally told him. Shiro's eyes widened in surprise. "That demon snuck inside and got nearly killed but your mother saved him and let him live there for a while. Of course, no one could disobey her order."

Yoriichi then continued. "Your mother gave that demon a name. She called him 'Arjun' all the time he was there. The demon didn't remember his name or who he was. Yuichiro, Muichiro, and Koichi were still young and played with him, not knowing the true colors of demons."

"Or so he says." Muzan cut him off. "That demon. He was there to kill your mother."

Shiro gasped. "What? Kill her?"

Muzan nodded. "He was the demon prince, a royalty of the demon clan, and he was sent out to kill the saintess. As the saintess had the power to eradicate a whole city without even trying."

"B-but, the demon said that he-"

"He didn't forget." Michikatsu cut him off, clenching his fist. "That demon knew exactly who he was. He played with (Y/N)'s kindness and used that! I should've known that he was only pretending and immediately killed him!"

"Then why didn't you!?" Shiro exclaimed.

"It was because your mother was against it." Yoriichi said. He was much calmer than Michikatsu, but inside he was angry as well. "She protected the demon, the three always followed along with her so they were on her side." Yoriichi paused, his eyes glossy. "He- HE-!" [Hee-hee]

"He slept with your mother and used that opportunity to try and kill her." Muzan finished the story. "That demon was your father."

"No... way..." It felt as if his whole world just crumbled in front of him. "The demon prince... was my father... and he tried to kill mother..?" He remembered the nights that his mother would tell him such beautiful stories of his father. But, were those lies too?

"I managed to save her for a while..." Michikatsu continued, looking at the floor, his eyes reflected regret.

"What do you mean?"

The twins tried to open their mouths but no words came out, so Muzan continued the story. "The demon, he used an artifact of his clan and placed a curse on your mother. That curse was supposed to kill her. But Michikatsu arrived fast enough to pause the curse and for Yoriichi to send out a search party for the demon. The moment the curse paused, I told them to erase her memory."

"The king found out how to reverse the curse." Michikatsu said. "There were two ways, either we deplete her of magic and she dies or we erase her memory of her usage of magic and make her body forget that it ever had mana. The curse eats a person's mana until they die."

"Of course we chose the second choice." Yoriichi said. "And it was your mother's wish as well... to save you."

"M-me? Why me? How do I fit in the story?" Shiro asked in utter confusion as the three adults shifted nervously in their seats.

"W-well..." Muzan coughed. "Since you have a demon's blood, you were growing faster than humans and your mother felt life forming inside her and she wanted to make sure that you were safe."

"And the calamity? What was that about?"

"The calamity..." Michikatsu trailed off. "The calamity happened a few months after the attack, (Y/N) was still on the Holy Gardens, I was making sure that every snippet of her memory about magic was erased and erasing memory isn't easy."

"I was at the Divine Lands." Yoriichi added.

"And I was at a meeting in a different kingdom, leaving the country completely vulnerable." Muzan finished. "During that small timeframe that we weren't present, the demon prince became the demon king and destroyed nearly 40% of our territory."

Shiro was at a loss for words. He got his truth, but at what price?

After getting angry for not getting his truth, but now he's got it. But why did he feel like his already broken world was just shattered further? He lost his mother. Found out that he had three uncles that went missing during the calamity. And his father, that his mother told him was a loving and caring man, was nothing but a murderer that manipulated her and tried to kill her.

"Mother, what was the actual reason mother died?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

"Your mother died because of the curse." Michikatsu answered him as he was the only one there when she died. "(Y/N) must've been using her mana unknowingly and made the curse activate and killed her."

"So... my power..." Shiro stood up, startling the adults as black wind whirled around him. "This power is from that demon?" Muzan nodded. "Then, can I use my mother's power as well?"

"Yes." The twins answered. "Every child born in our family will have an affinity with holy magic. No exception." Mihikatsu added.

"Then, if my mother could decimate cities without even trying, can I do that too?" His gaze went over to Muzan. "Hey, king, I want to train. When I'm stronger I want to go to the demon clan's territory and give that demon king a piece of my mind."

Muzan stayed quiet for a second before nodding. "Of course. Your training won't be too long. I can already see how much control you have over your demon powers, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to handle your holy powers."

"I shall teach you as well." Michikatsu stood up.

"And I'll teach you how to handle a weapon." Yoriichi added.

And thus, Shiro's adventure continues. This time he's getting ready to get revenge for his mother. To kill that bastard of a father he had.

'Mother, I don't know if your memories of that man were just fabrication by uncle Michikatsu, but I can tell that that man used you and manipulated you. He used your kindness and used your heart, all to kill you. I promise I'll avenge you.'

》A.N《

*sips tea* this is nice