The Demon Slayers Sidekick

A few weeks after the group's escapades, things continued on as usual.

Domino did his own thing while making sure his friends were safe, Rorio trained Risa and improved her swordsmanship, and after a few more treasure hunts, Risa grew accustomed to the danger and found herself growing an adventurous side.

Because of these escapades, the trio now found themselves standing before what the people of the Outbursts considered to be the most dangerous cave in the land.

The reason behind this claim was simple. Anyone who entered never came back out.

Even so, the trio stared down the cave with excitement in their eyes.

Or at least, Domino’s did.

While he had been excited about this trip, it was painfully obvious how much the people of the Outbursts hated humans as no matter where they went he was always treated terribly.

In fact, had Risa not been wearing a hood to hide herself, there was no doubt she would’ve faced the same ridicule.

The whole thing just proved how much humans were truly despised in the Outbursts.

But moving past that, it was time for the three of them to enter this cave that was no doubt fraught with danger.

Domino looked down into the cave and then turned his head back to the others.

“I can make out a few specks of light, but that's about it.”

Rorio and Risa looked at one another before turning back to Domino.

“So what do you two think is the reason why people go missing in this cave?” Risa asked

Domino turned to her.

“I can't say for sure. But if I’d have to guess, it’s probably due to mind manipulation magic.”

“Mind manipulation?”

“Yeah. It may not be as common as it used to be, but mind manipulation magic is the ability to alter one's thoughts and make one think and see things differently than they usually would. Like, say that you think of us as friends right now. With this magic, you could easily be convinced we’re enemies instead.”

“That sounds like some terrifying magic.”

“It was. That's why the ancient magicians used their abilities to seal anyone from ever being able to use such things. However, traps or magic items with a similar effect can still function even now. That's why the legendary warriors before us sought out and destroyed most of them. Sadly, no one knows if they were successful or not. That’s why we should still be careful in case something like that magic appears.”

Getting impatient, Rorio began walking into the cave's entrance.

“Can we just get a move on?” he asked.

Domino turned his head over to Rorio before grinning.

“Sure! It’s time for a new adventure to begin!” Domino shouted excitedly as he dashed forward leaving Rorio and Risa in the dust.

A vein appeared on Rorio's forehead as he watched Domino charge forward.

“Idiot. If there really is magic like that in there running off is the last thing you should do,” he muttered before following suit.

Risa found Rorio’s frustration a bit adorable as she let a small chuckle escape her mouth before following behind him while she pondered what interesting adventure awaited them this time.

Little did she know, they were about to deal with something that they never could have anticipated.

When they entered the cave, Rorio had expected something like magic stones, or strange creatures with odd powers to jump out at them.

But instead, all that was there was a banquet of food.

While Rorio stared at it with a confused look on his face, Domino and Risa had already started digging in.

Why had they decided to eat so quickly?

The answer was simple. They hadn’t had lunch yet.

As Domino snarfed down, he turned to Rorio.

“Come on Rorio! The food is great!” he shouted as small chunks fell from his mouth as he spoke.

Rorio let out a sigh as he shook his head.

“Need I remind you both that this is more than likely a trap? And you’re both just eating away at it.”

Realizing Rorio might have a point, Risa stepped back for a moment only for Domino to keep eating and shrugging off Rorio’s words.

“I'm not sure about that. I trust my senses and right now they’re saying this food is perfectly safe,” Domino said with his mouth full of food.

Seeing his lack of concern, Risa trusted what Domino was saying.

“That's good enough for me!” she shouted before digging back in.

Watching the two of them, Rorio groaned as he looked around the room.

While Domino's senses were sharp, they didn't always go off when he needed them to which made Rorio rely more on his own instincts. And these instincts were practically screaming the whole thing was a trap.

Just then, something caught Rorio’s eye. But just as he was about to bring it up...

“You need to lighten up Rorio. If you don't, then you'll never get anywhere in li-iiiiiifffe”

Domino immediately fell down into a hole below himself. Risa's screams followed soon after as she fell into a hole of her own.

Rolling his eyes, Rorio walked over to Domino's hole and shouted “I told you!” then walked away.

Not bothering to wait for a response, Rorio knew he wouldn’t get anywhere just standing around, so walking over to the table, he grabbed a piece of food, and the trap activated under him. With that, he fell down into the pit below. Not knowing what to expect.

Domino continued to fall. He could've sworn he heard Rorio shout down “I told you!” from above him, so he shouted “Oh shut up!” in response. He figured Rorio wouldn’t hear him, but he still wanted to shout back for the heck of it.

Eventually. he reached the ground and landed with a THUD!

He was hoping to land on his feet, but because it wasn't a straight drop and was more of a curve, it made it harder to get an exact idea of how he would’ve landed. Thus, he ended up landing on his rear.

Domino groaned as he got up from the ground and looked around his surroundings.

“Where the heck am I?” he muttered to himself as he scanned the room.

The place was covered in four stone walls that seemed to give off a dark orange color scheme without any dust coating them.

Domino wasn't entirely sure what to make of this whole thing, so he walked over to one of the walls.

“Hello! Is anyone out there?!” he shouted.

There was no response.

Deciding to try again, he continued to shout out in hopes of locating his companions.

After about twenty minutes, he gave up and sighed.

He decided to lean on a wall and fully gather his thoughts on the situation when he felt a brick move behind him. It creaked and a door started to up nearby.

Domino stepped back in surprise before staring at the door.

Light shined from the other end of the tunnel as Domino looked into it, confused.

“A light? Could it be the way to some treasure?”

Trying to be as cautious as he could be, Domino began making his way down the tunnel

It was quiet as he walked forward. However the light seemed to be getting closer and closer, so he kept on walking.

But when he reached the light, he stretched his arm out and a gust of wind blew through his face which caused him to close his eyes shut.

After a moment, Domino felt tired and forced himself holt awake only to find himself sitting around in a beach chair. Much to his own surprise.

He kept breathing in and out heavily as he attempted to recompose himself.

“What's up Domino? You just bolted awake like a crazed hound?” said a voice next to him.

Domino turned his head over to see a boy who seemed to be still in his teens with blue hair standing there.

“Rorio? What’s going on? Why are you talking so happily? What is this place?!”

Domino kept bursting out question after question at Rorio who seemed to be taken aback.

“Uh...Are you okay? Are you drunk again?” Rorio asked.

“Uhh...No?” Domino responded as if he was unsure himself.

Not sure what to make of his friend's actions, Rorio let out a sigh and turned away from Domino.

“That’s good to hear. Well, come on. It's time to party!”

“Party?”

Not even acknowledging the confusion on Domino’s face, Rorio ran off to a group of people that Domino thought looked familiar but not at the same time.

The rest of the group immediately jumped into the ocean as Domino realized that he was at a beach house and memories he somehow forgot returned to him.

How he met Rorio here in Hawaii, how he had a bunch of women swarming over him constantly which made him wonder how he wasn't dead yet, and how he had a love for medieval stories that far outweighed anything else in his life.

He looked into his lap and saw a book he had failed to finish writing called “The Demon Slayers Sidekick” and read the last little bit of what he wrote.

“But when he reached the light, he stretched his arm out and a gust of wind blew through his face which caused him to close his eyes shut.”

The book seemed to have everything he thought he had been living through inside it's pages.

He flipped through it and it almost felt nostalgic as he read it.

“So it was all just a story huh?” he murmured to himself as he flipped through the book a bit more.

Letting out a sigh, Domino looked out at the sky.

“I guess...this is real life. Maybe I'll try my best to enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my fantasies,” he muttered to himself.

With that, he took off his shoes and t-shirt as he ran over to the others with a smile on his face. Ready to finally live his life to the fullest.

Risa could hear the sounds of bells ringing as her eyes felt blinded by the sparkling lights above her head.

She blinked a few times before fully adjusting as she gazed at her surroundings.

Before, she had been falling through some strange hole. But now, She was standing in a church.

She saw the stands packed with people in nice attire, a little girl who was tossing flowers left and right at the people in the stands, and when she looked at herself, she saw that she was wearing a nice wedding outfit that practically glowed on her body.

Not only that, but she also found a man standing in front of her in a black suit who gave off a smile that made her heart skip a beat.

Memories started to flow into her head as she started remembering everything.

Her name was Risa Violet, she was getting engaged to her one and only lover, and those people in the stands were people she cared about dearly.

She felt tears drip down her eyes as the memories caused her emotions to spring forth.

To everyone in the stands, however, it seemed like she was just crying over how happy she probably was over getting married.

Risa turned back to the man in front of her and gave him a warm smile and he turned away for a moment with his face bright red.

After a few more moments, a pope walked up on stage towards the two and gave them a kind grin as he started to speak.

“Today we are gathered here to celebrate the unity between these two in holy matrimony. The beautiful Risa Violet and her lover %#&&#.”

The pope continued onward with the normal stuff he had to go over during a wedding as Risa just felt happy that the pain she thought she had suffered was only memories of her past that she never knew existed.

She didn't know if they were from a past life or some traumatic experience, but she was just glad it was all over.

Domino tossed the ball over to Rorio who caught it mid-air before tossing it over to another one of their friends.

The group continued to laugh and have fun for what felt like hours and Domino felt like this was the most fun he had ever had in his life.

After a little while, Domino decided to take a break and get a drink.

He made his way over to the porch of his beach house and took a sip of beer that he had in his hand and looked up into the sky.

“Hey, Domino! I'm about to go pick up some more drinks! I need your help carrying them! Can you come along?” shouted Rorio from below.

Looking down, Domino nodded.

“Sure! I'll be right there!” he shouted.

Rorio grinned and ran off ahead.

Domino couldn’t help but smile at how pleasant his life was.

Turning back to the book he had been writing, he found himself pondering something.

“Hmm...What should I add next?” he thought as he made his way down toward the nearby convenience store Rorio had run off to.

Spotting Rorio, Domino waved to him.

Rorio waved back and patiently waited for Domino to make his way over.

However, Domino was so focused on Rorio, that he didn’t realize there was someone in front of him.

“Oof!”

Domino suddenly bumped into said person.

“Oh! Sorry!” he said as he looked at the face of the person in front of him.

“No! It’s fine!” said the person simply shrugging it off before turning around and leaving.

To most people, that would’ve been the end of that event. However, as the person left, Domino felt his blood go cold.

“Was that...?”

Things went on smoothly at Risa's wedding as the pope had finished up the last of the things he needed to say and he turned to look at the groom.

“Now, Do you %#&&# take Risa Violet to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Risa didn't understand the name the pope said. However, she recalled that her lover was foreign so his name was different than what she was used to.

She figured this would clear things up, but there was still this nagging feeling that something was wrong.

After the groom replied with what Risa thought was probably an “I do.” the pope turned to Risa.

“And do you, Risa? Take %#&&#, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Risa, unlike her lover, was unsure how to respond.

She had finally remembered who she was, but it just didn't feel right to her. She kept trying to shake the feeling of uncertainty, but it stayed there no matter what she did. The pope looked at her confused.

“Uh...Risa Violet?”

Risa didn't respond. She just kept trying to shake the feeling.

“I...I...I..” she struggled to respond to the situation in front of her. She was finally happy, but it just felt wrong. She wasn't sure how to respond and ended up taking a step back.

“I...I D-”

CRASH!

From out of nowhere, something smashed through the wall as the crowd ran around terrified as their screams filled the air.

Some had gotten stuck under the rubble, while others ran away in fear.

In the middle of the dusty field created by the crash, a single individual stood there with something struggling in their hand.

Risa got a better look and her eyes grew wide at what she saw in front of her. It made her blood run cold and she found herself unable to speak more than a single word.

“Rorio?”

Rorio stood there with his hands around the neck of some strange creature.

Risa couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Just then, she took notice of another figure in the smoke.

Domino stood there with an expression of anger on his face as he looked at Rorio with eyes that said. “Just do what you think you should do.”

She turned back to Rorio and saw his eyes. They were completely red. The only thing that seemed to ooze from his body was the intent to kill and nothing more.

Risa almost felt herself taking a step back before she started hearing the monster in Rorio’s clutches talk.

“Please! I promise I was only trying to fill your heart’s desire! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please!” it shouted.

Rorio's eyes seemed to light up for a moment which made the monster think it was gonna be okay before Rorio released his hand and sliced through its neck. Decapitating it in one quick strike.

The monster that had been alive just a few moments earlier had its body flop to the ground. Blood leaked from its headless neck as its head rolled off under one of the seats.

Risa couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched Rorio. Suddenly she felt someone grab her and she let out a light scream as both the groom and the pope kept her from moving.

“Not one more step you monster! If you try to even touch me! I will kill this girl!” shouted the pope as he held a knife to Risa's throat. Feeling the blade on her neck, Risa started to panic.

But then, like magic, as soon as Rorio turned to face the two creatures, he vanished.

After that, Risa heard shouts of terror and pain behind her.

Turning around, she saw the corpses of both the groom and pope lying on the ground.

Both were sliced in half.

Bringing her sight to Rorio, Risa watched him as he whipped the blood off his blade.

Unsure of what to do, the chill in Risa’s body only continued to grow colder as Rorio’s intense bloodlust caused her to reach for her blade.

However, as she stared at his face, she noticed something strange about the way he looked.

While he did look angry, it didn’t seem like your normal anger. It wasn’t like the anger you got from someone playing a trick on you or someone getting on your nerves. This looked like the kind of anger that only showed when someone was spitting on your loved one's grave.

It made Risa worry about what Rorio had seen that made him act like this.

Rewinding a bit, we return to Domino as he finally recovered from his shock and made his way over to Rorio.

“Come on Domino! Let's get moving!” Rorio said with a smile.

Rorio had planned to just keep moving things along.

But when he turned around to enter the store, he felt Domino grab him by the hand.

“Stop it,” Domino whispered. Rorio looked at him confused.

“Stop what?”

Domino could feel the anger welling up in him.

“STOP PRETENDING TO BE RORIO YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!” Domino shouted.

Domino had finally understood what was happening, and he intended to make it stop.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” the one who called himself Rorio asked as if trying to act innocent.

“You damn well know what I'm talking about! Cut the crap!”

Rorio looked unsure of how to respond to Domino. However, after a minute, he realized it was pointless to hide it anymore. Thus the one calling himself Rorio sighed.

“Dang it. And we were so close too.”

“We?”

“Yes, we! All that had to be done was slowly eat off your life force while you lived in our happy little illusion! We can't do it while you're aware! We tempt you with something you've always wanted and make you happy...and I just told you how our world works...Dammit!''

The monster seemed to go from confident to frustrated as he realized he gave information that wasn't supposed to be shared.

Bringing himself back together after realizing his mistake, the look-alike faced Domino.

“Crap. Guess I’ll have to kill you now before you go tattling to other adventurers!”

Upon saying that, the Rorio look-alike's body slowly started to mold and change shape.

His form changed to look like an empty face that had no mouth, nose, or eyes. His skin seemed to be a mixed texture of dark blue and dark red, and his clothes morphed into part of his body.

“I guess I can't let you live now that you know our secret!” he shouted as he launched at Domino.

Domino immediately ducked under his attack and swung his fist right into the monster's stomach which caused the monster to fly back.

It grunted in pain as it clenched its stomach and turned to Domino. It swore under its breath as it continued to try and tackle Domino over and over as Domino delivered blow after blow.

“GRR...DAMN YOU!” the monster shouted as it tried one last launch attack.

Having had enough, Domino pulled out the pencil that had come with his book and it immediately transformed into his sword.

The monster gawked in surprise, but it was too late. Domino sliced him in half and its body collapsed to the ground.

The monsters around Domino immediately ran away not wanting to die so Domino sheathed his sword.

But as he did, he felt a small rumble across the floor under him as he looked over to find another monster getting slammed into the ground with someone on top of it.

“Rorio?!”

Rorio didn't seem to notice Domino as the monster begged for mercy.

“PLEASE SPARE ME!!”

“WHY THE HELL DID YOU TAKE HER FORM!? ANSWER ME!!”

Rorio was in a frenzied rage. This immediately helped Domino realize what had happened, and who the monster had taken the form of.

Only one form could ever make Rorio this mad.

Rorio grabbed the monster by the neck once more and threw it off into the distance as Domino followed close behind.

Returning to the present, Risa looked down at the corpses in front of her before facing Rorio once more as his eyes softened a little bit.

“If you two are done with your little temptation fest, can we please get out of this place and go somewhere a little less death-infested?” asked Rorio as his eyes returned to their normal blue color.

Risa struggled to respond, so she simply nodded. Still not understanding why Rorio had lost it.

Not bothering to see if the two had said anything, Rorio walked away with his hand still tightly clenching his sword.

Trying to understand what was going on, Risa walked up next to Domino.

From what she understood, these monsters were creatures that could transform into something that would make the subject happy.

“Was the form that monster took really that messed up?” Risa whispered to herself. She was surprised when Domino answered her.

“Without a doubt,” he replied with a grim expression.

Risa turned to Domino only to be caught off guard by how he had a more serious look on his face compared to his normally more cheerful demeanor.

She knew that she shouldn't dive further, but she decided to ask.

“Who was it?”

Domino's face seemed to grow a bit darker as he replied.

“Rorio's....sister.”

Risa's eyes widened when she heard that.

“Rorio's....sister?”

She turned to look at Rorio who still had a somewhat deadly aura around him as he walked away.

She still didn’t get it, but something told her that was as deep as she should dive right now.

Thus, the journey into one of the most dangerous caves in the Outburst ended on a rather cold note.