[Sometimes, things were meant to happen for a reason. Don't you agree ?]
"Kana", he said to me, "You're a demon yet you want to aid someone like me ? Someone who's ideals stand against your own ? Are you certain that you're prepared to betray those that have entrusted you for so long ?" "If I had doubts, then surely, I wouldn't have come here, don't you agree ?", I asked. The stern look on his face disappeared as a more serene one appeared. "If that is your choice, then so let it be. However, once if begins, you can never go back."
"I'm aware."
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In the end, this place really was the Demon World. A place where blackened hearts existed the most. The place itself was nothing more than a place of chaos. "Hope" was such a limited thing. Especially in merged worlds.
With one last yelp, the messenger collapsed in front of me. I watched as a pool of blood slowly began to form underneath him. "Why...?", I heard him say weakly as he looked up at me in pain, "How could you.. do this..?" He was clutching onto his side, the place where I had struck him. I slowly broke out into a smile. "Do what ?", I asked apathetically. There was a hint of amusement in my voice. "The Council...", the demon said slowly, "Will.. find out.. of what you.. did to me. Could it be.. that you're.. going to betray them.. by killing me...?" "You don't seem to understand the situation", I replied in a carefree tone, "Though, I guess I'll allow you to assume that. You don't have much time alive anyways." "So then.. it's a.. yes ?" I chuckled and loomed over him. "I don't know, you tell me", I said nonchalantly. "How could you... do this ?", he asked faintly. "I thought you... despised humans ?" I shrugged and slowly moved closer to him. Once I was beside him, I knelt down and grinned.
"Sometimes, there are some things that you are willing to throw away for the sake of others", I replied bitterly. I raised my hand and diagonally held it above his neck. "And in this case", my voice trailed off, "I'm willing to throw away everything in order to see a new world."
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Sachi slammed his fists against the desk around the same time he abruptly stood up. "What !?", he shouted, "He was killed !?" Ryou nodded his head slowly. "His corpse was found floating in the river nearby", Ryou replied sternly. "Who the hell could've done this !?" Xiela, who was sitting to my right look up at Sachi dully. "Perhaps he was caught ?", she suggested. "Impossible !", Sachi snapped, "He was one of our best spies !" "Though that necessarily doesn't signify anything, now does it ?", I added in. Sachi frowned and turned back to Ryou. "Where is Luurè ?", he asked him. "Luurè is with Eion at the moment", Ryou replied nonchalantly "They're in the East Wing, examining the body." Xiela turned to me with a grin. "Hmm..", she mumbled enthusiastically, "I wonder who was stupid enough to get in the way of the Council's plans ?" As a response I smirked. "Indeed", I replied as I looked over the reports that were on my portion of the table, "Clearly, someone needs to be put in their place." In the background, I could hear Sachi giving out orders. He still sounded agitated. "Hey, if that fool had lived, I wonder what kind of information he would've given us ?" , she said. "Who knows", I mumbled as I skimmed through the papers, "Though there's really not much that we can do now." "Agreed."
After a while, the doors to the main room opened up to reveal Luurè and Eion. Like usual, even they had papers in their hands. Makai didn't have a government of any sort, but the Council existed to monitor the movements between the Demon World and the Human World. Since they were merged worlds, there had to be some sort of system to watch over them. Sometimes we'd even observe the Spirit World. The Council consisted of 10 members, 5 of which who have been members since the very beginning. I was included in that group of 5. For nearly 10,000 years, it's been like this. Someday surely, there'll be a change. "Kana". From the corner of my eye, I could see Luurè heading in my direction. "Nande ?", I asked as I turned to him. "You're not doing anything at the moment correct ?" I took a small portion of papers from the table and waved it in front of him. "I guess you can say that", I replied with a grin. Luurè chuckled at my response. "I have a task for you", he said. "As in ?", I asked as I returned the papers back to the table. "A little investigation", he replied nonchalantly, "I want you to figure out what happened to our short lived companion moments before he was killed." I sighed in dismay. "You give me such bothersome", I mumbled, "But I guess it's better than being stuck in a place like this." Luurè grinned as I stood up. "I guess it can't be helped", I mumbled.
Nearly a month passed by and Eion eventually appointed another spy. By then, no one spoke about the spy before him. In the end, any memory of that demon even existing disappeared. As if he had never existed in the first place. But I remembered, since I was the one who killed him. In a way, I guess you could say that things returned to normal. It was like that for a year.
"King Enma plans to create a barrier in order to separate the Demon and Human Worlds from each other ?" The messenger who had given the news nodded his head. "From what I heard, it is almost completed as well. It's location is not that far away from here either." Eion turned to Luurè, who slightly nodded his head. He then turned to Xeila and I. Xeila broke out into an excited grin while I remained staring. "If you both will", Luurè said with a smile as he raised a single piece of paper, "Please go to these coordinates and do what is needed." We both nodded. "And remember", I could hear Luurè add in before we left the room, "Make sure that nothing of its sort never exists again." Leave nothing but ruins...
I believe that it was after this event that the Council became extremely restless.
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When we arrived to the coordinates that Luurè had given us, Xeila didn't hesitate to take the barrier down. For a strange reason, it was left wide open. There was nothing to protect it. I watched from afar as she took it all apart, one by one. In some ways, I regretted not being able to silence that second spy. If I had, then perhaps I would've been able to prevent this. It would've been completed. I glanced around and made it seem as if I were doing something. To make it seem like I was "observing" the area. I'd be questioned it I didn't. When Xiela finally broke down the last piece of the barrier, it was when I began to walk towards her. The dim light that existed inside of the barrier began to fade out. And once it did, the things around the barrier began to collapse. Xiela and I stepped back, watching as dust began to engulf us.
After it all subsided, Xeila turned to me. "To think that King Enma himself would be able to hide something like this", she said with a smirk on her face, "What a fool..." "Indeed", I mumbled as I stared at the now desolate place. "Anyhow, let's head back and report to Luurè." I nodded my head as Xeila walked past me. For a couple seconds, I remained staring at the ruins before following after her. There was a faint sense of pity. But I knew this wasn't the end. After it was reported to Luurè, Eion selected a group of demons to observe the Spirit World. There were 15 of them, all Rank A demons. I made sure to give it some time before I killed them off. And the day I did that, I was prepared for the worst.
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To my surprise, I returned to the Ruins. It was there that I encountered a group of demons. In the center of the group, children. Human children. There were at total of 5, all crying. It was strange to see human children in this side of the Demon World. If I hadn't cared, then maybe I wouldn't have interfered. I would've let them die. But something poked at me.
As blood splashed along the ground, the children watched in fear, trembling. They probably assumed that they would be next. For a minute, I stared at them before turning around. "Wait..", a weak voice called out. I glanced over my shoulder to see the oldest child standing at their feet. "Nani ?", I asked coldly. "Wh..why did you.. save us ?", he asked me. I turned away and stared at my hands. Again, it was stained with that vivid color. "Hurry and leave", I said, not bothering to answer. "But where...?", another voice asked. "We don't know where to go..." This time, the voice of a girl. I debated my choices. I turned around and stared at them. "How did you step foot into these lands ?", I asked them. The oldest child stood in front of them protectively. It wasn't new to be glared at. "Well ?" "We were led away by these demons", a voice said. It came from the girl behind the boy, probably the second oldest. "Miho !", the boy snapped. She slowly stood up and dusted herself off. "Stop it Arata", she said to him, "If we don't talk now, we'll die anyways. We could at least try to return to the village." She turned to me sternly. "You're a demon yet... you save us", she began to say slowly, "I don't know if it matters to you, but thank you for saving us." I grinned at the girl. "Good choice", I replied.
"So tell me, before I change my mind. Where is this "home" of yours ?"
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Eventually time continued as the second barrier was being created. By then, it's been about 3,000 years since the first barrier was destroyed. I managed to keep myself out of suspicion. Especially from Luurè and Eion. Of all the members in the council, those two were the most observing. If they found out what I had been doing, then all the effort I had put into helping King Enma would have been for nothing. I prepared for my confrontation when I finally killed off the demons that were ordered to observe the Spirit World. I killed 14 of them, but made sure to keep one alive in order to bring the news of my betrayal to the Council. Like I had expected, they were enraged. The night of my betrayal, they immediately sent out a search to find me. "Whoever was able to bring me back alive would be rewarded greatly", it was. Such a pity that they never found me, even with Sachi, who was the most strategical of the group.
I ended up wandering off to the human side of the merged world. It was there that I was somehow able to run into those children again. Although, they weren't exactly children anymore. The eldest boy, Arata, I believe, was around the age of 17. Miho was 15. The first time we met, he was only 8 and she was only 7. I would've kept moving if it hadn't been for them. When they recognized me, I was questioned. Since it had been about 8 years since our last encounter, they were both uneasy. As usual. It took them a while, but I eventually gained their trust. For as long as I remained in that village, I was a "human" known as Minori. During that time, I was able to observe them. Humans, that is. I came to understand why King Enma decided to create a barrier. To demons, humans were nothing more than items, things that could easily be replaced yet... seeing them in the village so full of life, began to make me rethink their existence. Perhaps, there was an unknown potential for their existence. That was the one thing I wanted to find out about before the barrier was completed.
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2 years passed by like a breeze and I was still in the human village. At this time, I was still "Minori", a 19 year old human girl. The Council was still unable to locate me. I had grown accustom to the human culture that sometimes I questioned if I really was a demon or not. By now, Arata and Miho were married. I was nothing more than a guardian to them at this point. Though I didn't mind. Things remained peaceful until the full moon of the next month.
The village was attacked by a group of bandits. Demon bandits. To my luck, there were no casualties, only wounds. Only a few homes were destroyed by fire and not a lot was lost. It was also around this time that I met him, a silver haired fox with a cunning gaze. Beautiful, yet deadly. Almost like a rose with its thorns. It was when I was drawing the remaining demons away from the village. There had been at least 20 of them. A quarter of them were killed by the villagers while another quarter was killed by me when I was alone. The 8 that remained followed after me. I tried to act as "helpless" as I could. They were fools. When I killed them all off, it was around that time he appeared before me. From the corner of my eyes, there was the alluring glint of silver. And then a piercing gaze with a mischievous smile.
"Who are you ?", he had asked. "A human", I had replied. The fox smirked as he looked over me. "You lie." It was then that I made acquaintance to the cunning kitsune known as "Youko". A selfish demon who did nothing but steal for his own pleasure. He seemed to be just as ruthless as Luurè. Though he was also quite sadistic. He also seemed very sharp and intelligent. When we fought, he had stated that I was an S Ranked demon for the way I reacted to his attacks. I didn't agree, but I also didn't disagree with him. "Believe in what you'd like", I had told him. After that day, he'd come back to the village every few years or so. I don't know why. The very last time I met him, it was around the time Arata and Miho's child turned 5.
He had given me something and told me that he'd find me again someday. His reason was that he wanted to go back and get revenge for the night I destroyed his treasures. To the time we met. I laughed at him and wished him, "good luck", because the next time we met, things would probably be much different. This world would no longer be merged. The last time I saw him, he left me with that usual mischievous smile I had seen the very first time I met him.
A few more years passed by, and things began to change. Arata's and Miho's child was now 10 years of age. "Minori" was now 24 years old. It was around this time that I left the village. I wished Arata and Miho luck, hoping that they'd keep themselves safe. To their child as well. Maybe in a few thousand years or so, I'd meet their descendants. Who knows.
Once I left, I returned to the demon side of the merged world. By then, the Kekkai Barrier was completed. When I arrived to the Demon World, it's effects were already showing. Many things changed. I gave it a few days or so before the human side of the merged world was completely gone. I also waited for someone on the Council to locate me. It ended up being Xeila.
In the 12th month of that year, I was confronted by Xeila. I was at the Ruins by then. Apparently Luurè knew that I was going to betray them. He just didn't say anything. Leave it to him to do things like that. The next time I see him, he'd probably kill me. Luurè wasn't the type to get involved into fights, but when he did, he was much more cruel and ruthless than I was. Like the Council, she was angry at my choice. It's been nearly 6 years since I left, but the hate was still deep. It was still fresh. That wound was still there.
As the rain poured down on us, we remained in one spot, waiting for something to happen. Even in this situation, I could feel the tension between us grow.
"How could you ?", she said sharply, "How could you betray us ?" I grinned at her, slightly amused by her words. "I'm surprised that you've managed to keep your composure Xeila", I replied, "Even during a time like this..." "Answer me damn it", she snapped as she glared at me, "Why Kana ? We trusted you so much. How could you turn your back on us ?" Her voice was strained. "And why not ?", I asked her softly. "Why not !?"
I glanced down at my hands. "Tell me Xeila", I mumbled slowly, "I've been alive for a long time. And during all that time, all I have been doing is killing. But tell me, is that all I was born to live for ? Every single time, I stain my hands in that vivid red color. I've grown tried of seeing and doing the same thing over and over again. Is that really all that I can live for ?" No answer. I closed my hands into fists and narrowed my gaze at her. "Not all demons have bad hearts." "What else is there to do ?", she replied after a while, "Demons are demons. Even if you try to change that, it'll never happen. By betraying the Council, its like betraying Makai. I don't understand Kana. Why did you aid the king ? What benefit did it do to you ? You're still a demon. Your hands will remain stained no matter how many times you wash them." "I'm well aware", I replied indifferently. "So then why Kana?" I turned away from her and faced the ruins.
"Why ?", I repeated softly. I looked over my shoulder and sympathetically smiled at her. Xeila watched me, the hatred still being clearly reflected in her eyes. I knew she wouldn't forgive me. None of them would. I didn't blame them for that. I sighed in dismay.
"Sometimes, there will be things that you won't be able to explain", I said as I shifted my position. Behind me, movement. "And when that happens, what can you do ?"
Surely someday, we'd meet again. However that time was not now, no.
The very last words I heard from her were, "I'll never forgive you for doing this."
I smiled in response. "Of course not."
Good-bye... Makai.