The world is broken.
Not in the way stories like to dramatize it, no endless screams, no constant fire in the sky. It is broken in subtler ways. In the way people avert their eyes when demons pass through their towns. In the way kings speak of peace while sharpening their blades. In the way survival has become a virtue, in the way kindness became a liability.
Demons exist because the world allows them to.
That is the truth no one wants to say aloud.
They were not born from malice alone, nor summoned by some ancient curse. They came into being the same way corruption always does, quietly, patiently, nurtured by fear and neglect. When the kingdoms split, so did responsibility. Each side blamed the other. Each waited for someone else to act. And in that hesitation, something took root.
I've seen demons up close.
They are not all monsters frothing at the mouth. Some wear faces no different from ours. Some speak gently. Some even believe they are justified. That, I think, is what makes them dangerous. They are reflections of ambition left unchecked, of power without consequence, of a world that decided unity was no longer worth the effort.
Once, there was only one enemy.
Not demons. Not kingdoms.
Fear.
Fear was what shattered the crown and split the land into two. Fear of who would rule. Fear of who would be ruled. Fear of what might happen if people stopped pretending they were different.
Why can't something that has been extinct for so long just return?
Not because the past was perfect, but because it proved something important: when humanity stands together, it does not need monsters to explain its suffering.
So why don't they? All we do is fight and fight until all thats left is the pool of blood that we shed.
I'm tired. I don't want that. Something needs to change, because I want it to.
Not for glory. Not for recognition. And not because I think myself special.
But because if all we do is wait, then a time where everyone can smile won't come.
I fight because if the kingdoms remain divided, they will continue inventing enemies to justify their decay. And as long as that happens, demons will keep being born—not from darkness, but from us.
'He's too optimistic.'
They say I smile too easily. That I trust too readily. That I forgive too fast.
Maybe they're right.
But I've learned something important walking these roads: most people are not evil. They are tired. Confused. Afraid. If someone does not reach out to them, they harden. If no one believes they can be better, they stop trying.
So I choose to believe first.
Even when it costs me. To protect even when it hurts. To listen even when it would be easier to judge. If this world is rotten, then it does not need more blades carving pieces away, it needs someone willing to nurture what little still lives.
One day, the kingdoms will stand united again.
Not under fear. Not under force.
But under the shared understanding that demons are not the enemy we should be fighting.
Until that day comes, I will walk forward.
With open hands. With a steady heart. And with the belief that even in a fractured world, something good can still be grown.
Because right now, the people we should be fighting is ourselves.
The world changed me, so all I must do is respond. Akio Sekishiro can only do, and keep doing.