"I will make you wish you have never come to this village!" "And how do you intend to do that?" "You choose. Either surrender or fight me in a duel and get your butt kicked" "I choose..." 'He vanished!' "to kill you" he appears closer to me swinging his sword almost cutting me in half. Fortunately I manage to dodge, barely escaping with my head on my shoulders. 'Where did he go?' I look back with the corner of my eye and barely dodge again. 'He's fast!' Just as he was preparing attack again from the back...
'I get it!'
"Hiro!" Ayato shouts Drops of blood start watering the ground. His sword pierced my hand but no further than that. 'Damn it' "What the hell!?" he looks at me unable to comprehend what just happened "What's wrong, General? You look surprised" I ironically smile I tighten my fist, breaking the sword; as dark, scratch-like markings appear on my body and my white-turning hair escapes from my hood.
"I knew you weren't just a simple girl. Neither you nor your friend over there" he says pointing at Ayame who is sleepily walking out of the inn "I've got some questions for you and you better answer them if you want to walk out of this alive" I say "Go ahead" "Why do you spread rumors about defeating The Demon army?" "I have fought a big group of demon terrorists in the past and people have confused it with the demon army" "All right then, what about killing a member of the royal family?" "That I do not know where they have that kind of information. I have never dared to touch your royal family by the order of My Good Lady Queen, Etheia!" 'Mother!?' "Our royal family? So you knew we weren't humans but demons?" "Not quite. Your dark markings gave you away." "You don't say..." As I am awkwardly scratching my cheek I look at the villagers who are staring terrified at me. Even Ayato who is shielding Mayu and his mother. "General?" "Yes?" "May I ask for a favor?" "Go ahead" "We need to get to Erydon, do you mind escorting us?" "Not at all, although I believe it's dangerous for the two of you to enter the city" "It doesn't matter" I quietly respond unable to look anyone in the eye seeing that they are too afraid, not of me but of what I am. I walk into the inn, take my bag and my sleepy headed friend and go back to the General.
"I demand some horses!" he exclaims "There's no need, I do not want to bother this village any longer, and I want you to do the same" I say "Very well" he agrees "We shall give you two horses as thanks for helping us but we do not want to do anything with the three of you from now on" the elder says with a somewhat terrified voice "Thank you for your understanding elder" the General says
As the men are preparing the horses I go to Ayato and hand him a little bag trying not to make eye contact. Unsure but brave he accepts it. When he takes it in his hand something inside made a metallic sound. In the small black leather bag there are two bracelets. "Why are you giving this to me? Aren't these gems like super rare?" he unsurely asks "They are and I want you and Mayu to have them" I respond "the green gem, The Gem of Regeneration, it's for Mayu and the yellow gem, The Gem of Protection, it's for you" I continue
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"But...why?"
I hesitate, looking away. With no warning Ayame comes from my back, showing her head from behind my shoulder and answers the question before I get a chance to react to her arrival. "Because she cares for you, but just between us I think she started caring for you more than for a certain someone" she says I quickly react and 'gently' hit her in the stomach. "I don't know what you're talking about" I say blushing "Your face is all red though" she smiles "Anywho..." I say with a very annoyed tone "Let us go ladies, the horses are ready" the General announces "Come on Ayame, let's not make the General wait"
I turn away from Ayato, leaving him with many questions. Even though the villagers no longer seem frightened of us I still want to leave them be. We mount our horses and slowly gallop out of the village. After just a few minutes from behind, a faint scream, it's Ayato together with Mayu, we stop and wait for them. "Why did you come after us?" I ask "We want come with you" Ayato responds followed by Mayu's nod "Oh really!?" says the General in a sarcastic way "Yes, and we want to see the world with you" Ayato continues "But aren't you afraid of us?" Ayame asks "I don't care that you're demons, your soul matters more than your species" he motivationally responds "Let them come. It's going to be more fun to travel in four" Ayame tells me "Fine" I say spurring the horse
I am still not able to look them in the eye but I see that they are serious about coming. Ayato has a bow and some arrows and if I'm not mistaken Mayu is carrying a dagger. I know they trust us because they are wearing the bracelets that I gave them. I knew they were going to come after us, that's the whole reason I gave them those. The journey that we started is a dangerous one, for what Ayato and Mayu don't know, is that we want to prevent the war that is raising between the elves and the demons, before it's too late.
