19-year old Link was staring out at the black sea of Netherworld as the ferry sailed farther and farther away from the shore. The Demon Tournament’s location was set on an island, or so the ferry captain had told them.
'This is such a mess…I didn’t even do anything to the demons… Now I've been dragged into this....' Link thought, shaking his head.
'To think it started out as a normal day, my chores waiting to be done as usual....
'I had just woken up; the sun was shining in my face. My window was open, so when I breathed the air, it tasted crisp and clean. I went to get dressed, and to get ready for the chores I had to do today. Then I climbed down the ladder of my house and checked the mailbox, seeing a letter stamped with blood. Curious, I opened it, and saw that invitation………
‘Link Hylian,
You have been chosen to participate in the Demon Tournament, which is being held on Devil’s Head island, in the Netherworld.
You must bring a team made up of you and three people, and it shall be known as Team Hylian. However, the team must include Princess Zelda.
If you choose to decline, we shall send demons to attack your home world. They have fully agreed to our terms, and are of A and B ranks.
In other words, they could eliminate everyone in Hyrule in a matter of days.
'The tournament will be held in 2 weeks. You and your team must show up by then.
A tunnel to the Netherworld can be found in the Northwest Passage of the Lost Woods, third chamber.'
That invitation started it all.
Link was unsure if they were bluffing or not when he first saw it, but a few demon parasites crawling on the houses of the Kokiri Forest the next day proved they were not. They multiplied quickly, and by the time the 2 weeks were over, Hyrule looked almost infested with them. Only people with unusual powers could see the parasites, but they didn’t seem to be doing anything harmful to Hyrule’s inhabitants--not yet, anyway.
Thinking about that made Link uneasy, and the black sea intensified the feeling.
He took his gaze away from it and toward his teammates: Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule, Saria, Sage of Forest, and Sakura, an angel they met on the day after Link got the invitation, also when the parasites started to appear in the Kokiri Forest.
Zelda was beautiful, with long golden hair, and sapphire blue eyes. Her attire had changed completely, going from a pink dress to a sea-green fighter’s outfit. She was training by punching the mast with her fists--everyone on the ship was staring at her in awe, and a bit of fear, as she looked like she was going to punch the mast down.
Saria, who had short green hair, gentle blue eyes, and wore a green sweater with a green pair of shorts, was carefully examining the competition.
Sakura had long, pale yellow hair, emerald eyes, and was wearing some sort of angelic robe. But she seemed to emit a mysterious aura, too. She was staring at the sky, with her large white wings folded neatly behind her.
Zelda noticed Link staring. He seemed so lost in thought that she decided now would be a good time to play a little prank on him. She stopped punching the mast, snuck up behind him and screamed in his ear--“LINK!!!”
He jumped up in surprise (about 3 feet) at the sound of his own name, and gave her a playful glare. “Don’t do that again Zelda. You almost made me deaf.”
“Heh, that’s what I meant to do, but unfortunately I was unsuccessful.” She said, grinning.
Link shook his head and turned back toward the black sea. Zelda’s expression changed from playful to serious.
“…Is something wrong?”
“No, just thinking.”
“Thinking about what? Hyrule, right?”
“Yeah. You saw how many demon parasites there were when we left, didn’t you?”
“I know. I hope that everyone is all right. They didn’t seem to be harmful, but still…What if the parasites infect the people somehow?” Zelda’s eyes were full of concern and anxiety. She had her share of concerns, too.
Link sighed and continued to stare at the sea.
“I don’t know, but our only option right now is to compete in this tournament--” He started
“--and win.” Zelda finished.
Link smiled at her. “Right.”
Right after he said that, the ship bell’s loud ringing could be heard. It was hurting Link and Zelda’s sensitive ears.
“Ahoy! We have reached the island!”
The captain called.
“Well, that’s our cue.” Link said as he and Zelda walked to their teammates, and together they went to the docks.
All the demons had gathered, and it was a huge crowd.
Some of them were barely up to Link’s knees, and others were several feet taller. “Hey, when’s the slaughter going to begin?” A blue-haired demon shouted from the back of the crowd. The captain looked at him with an annoyed expression. “We’ve got a new team here, they don’t even know what you‘re talking about, or what we do here, so I have to explain it to them. It‘s only fair.” He replied. “Fair?!” The blue-haired demon looked shocked, then frowned and mumbled “We were so stupid to get a human captain this year. Damn cheap tournament committee.”
The captain ignored him and turned to Link and his team. “Team Hylian, was it? You heard that, didn’t you? Ok, so let me explain what we do when we arrive at Devil’s Head island. As you already know, the tournament committee sends invitations to demons, humans, and angels to compete in the Demon Tournament. Then they come here and I take them to the island where the stadium is. But, we have so many people invited to the tournament, that it takes several ships to send them all. So, when we get to the Island, the teams start fighting, and whoever is left standing has the honor of actually competing in the tournament. It’s basically an elimination process--”
“Shut up, old man!” The blue-haired demon yelled. “Let’s start the fight, now!”
The captain looked at him coldly and ran to the docks. “Fine. You may begin!”
“Finally!”
All of the demons turned to Team Hylian, looking confident.
Then a huge fight ensued, the demons charging at the team. But Link, Zelda, Saria, and Sakura proved to be too much for them. Link used his sword and some magic to slice the charging demons, Zelda used Din’s Fire to incinerate them, Saria was able cut through them with her whip made from the materials in the Lost Woods, and Sakura dashed through the demons with her sword. When nothing was left but corpses, the team proceeded to the docks.
