"So the princess has been kidnapped huh? Seems like she's in quite the predicament."said the voice of someone familiar. I raised an eyebrow and turned towards Kaiza who was leaning against a tree with a calm expression on his face. He had his spear in hand, his arms folded across his chest as he watched me, almost like he was assessing me. It pissed me off a bit how calm he could be right now when Xenona just got kidnapped, but he had a point, she was in a dire situation now that her sister had her prisoner, and I didn't know what to do to save her.
"What do you suggest I do? " I asked him, wondering what to do, needing some kind of guidance on what action to take to make things right, he stayed silent for a bit before smirking and saying...
"You mean what do we do?" he said, and I looked confused. I would look at him, wanting to explain "Think about it, Senna, the girl you just faced had probably taken her back to their realm, the realm of the succubi, however, you can't go there alone, Senna, being one of the princesses, might have guards under her command already prepared for you, you'd be slain without mercy, unless I go with you." explained Kaiza, and he was right, I couldn't just go in without a plan, and I would certainly need someone to back me up. I crossed my arms and looked at him, asking what we'd do as a team, he'd begin explaining the basics of the succubus realm, what the geography was like, what to look out for, the areas of it, anything that could give us an edge.
"That's all I know about the succubus realm, other than that, I'm not sure what else we will face, but it's enough that we will know most of what to expect. Though, I must ask you something important." Kaiza said to me, and I nodded, willing to listen to whatever he had to say as we walked. He then bent down and gave me a serious look, touching my shoulder and I could sense a degree of concern in his voice when he asked "Do you really want to do this? To save Xenona? Or do you want to know Edakura's past?" Kaiza asked, making me stop. He was testing me, I could tell. "I'll only tell you about one of them."
So basically, he was asking me who I cared about more at the moment, and those two people were Xenona or Edakura, he was offering to tell me about Edakura's past, something I've been trying to get from her herself. Despite that, I felt like I'd just be prying by asking Kaiza about Edakura's past, if I was gonna find out from her, I'd find out through her trust, not through someone else. I would look back at Kaiza, giving him a serious look filled with resolve "Where is Xenona?" I asked him.
"Taken by her half sister, Senna," Kaiza said as he stood up properly this time. He started to run, appearing as a somewhat bronze streak. I assumed that this was his magic that made him so fast. Realizing that he might be leading me towards where Xenona was, I gripped the feather tightly and followed along behind Kaiza without another thought, desperate to find Xenona and save her.
I had to admit that I didn't know much about Xenona's past to comment on it myself, or whatever she did to earn Senna's hate and make her believe she, 'stole the throne', I'm sure Xenona had her own explanation, and I was willing to listen. I thought about that demoness, Senna, her power was literally on par with Xenona's, so I wasn't exactly sure if I would be able to beat her if it came down to it. There could have possibly been some way that I'd be able to sneak Xenona out, however, I wasn't much counting on that, still, no matter what, I would save her.
Kaiza suddenly stopped, looking around at the clearing before he looked back at me, as if expecting me to do something. I didn't know exactly what he wanted from me, considering he was supposed to be my guide, not the other way around. "Well? Don't you know how to open gateways?" Kaiza asked me, his voice slightly mocking me, which annoyed me a bit."You're part human and part Royal demon. But not only that, you're part of the original line of demons, the ability to open a portal to the realms is an ability naturally within you, just focus and it will come naturally to you." advised Kaiza, I was a royal, but… also part of the original line of demons, I wanted to ask how he knew any of this, but that wasn't important right now.
I looked at the feather and began focusing, and was about to try doing it until suddenly "I can do it." a voice said in my head, I could recognize it, it was one of my demons, Xhanaru. If he could do it, then our problems were solved "Let me warn you, once we get in, we might be far from wherever Xenona could be. But it's better than wasting the energy you need to save her." said Xhanaru, I grit my teeth, but it was the only chance we had, so I nodded, letting Xhanaru materialize himself into the world until now, he was standing with us in physical form. Xhanaru would look at me "I'll need the feather to track us there." he said, and I would hand it to him, waiting for what he would do next.
From the corner of my eye, I watched Kaiza start to write something on the ground with his spear. And turning towards him, it was a magic circle, looking closely at it, I could tell it was similar to the magic circle Edakura showed. But, it seemed that he was looking at a piece of paper in his hand, which only caused suspicion from me. "Jealous? I got it from Edakura," Kaiza said as he smirked, looking up at me. I simply told him a quick "shut it" and focused back on Xhanaru, looking at what he was doing so I could learn from it.
I just sighed, deciding I would ignore Kaiza's small attempts to annoy me for now and would focus on Xhanaru, who now walked toward the magic circle and blue raika would suddenly begin to rise out of Xhanaru's body when he stood over the circle. He would hold out the feather, then would let it go, and it would float in front of him before suddenly, Xhanaru would cover it in his energy and it would glow before suddenly beginning to form into a large gate in front of him. After that, Xhanaru's body would stop glowing and he'd be breathing heavily, turning back into a sphere of blue energy and slamming into me, being absorbed back into my being, but it seemed that now, an entrance had finally been formed.
Kaiza pulled his spear up and walked through the portal without any sort of hesitation. There was a lurking feeling inside of me, like I couldn't trust him for some reason. Despite this, I ignored the feeling and would walk through the portal as well, now right inside the place, I had to admit, the inside of it felt… treacherous, it was nothing like the mortal realm we lived in, that was for certain. Soon, while we walked, a bright light would begin to appear before us, it felt ominous, yet strangely… warm, the light would soon begin to consume us all, where it was taking us, I didn't know, but we were about to find out soon as the light finally began to slowly fade after a while.
"Cover your mouth," Kaiza said, a sudden serious look on his face as he covered his mouth and nose with his hand. I did the same, looking at him in confusion. "They're succubi and incubi. Breathing in too much of their air will…" he didn't continue his sentence, and I didn't need him to. I fully understood what he was talking about in the situation. "You'll be like the rest of the humans that are trapped here, let's just say. Come on and hurry up, and whatever you do, don't breathe in the air directly." I watched as he started to run, and quickly followed along behind him.
I would nod and kept following, running along with Kaiza, as we ran, we would see what looked like a few succubi and incubi around, but not enough to actually notice us at the speed we were running. I couldn't believe that I was actually here to be honest, in a realm in hell, many described it as a place of horror, and had various horrendous descriptions for it, however, looking around, it didn't seem that bad, maybe it was because I was half demon, but I couldn't know for sure. As for the air, I had a plan to manage that, and had one of my demons protect me with their raika, that way, I could move in the realm without having to worry about the risk of breathing the air of the succubi and incubi.
"This is the realm of the Succubi," Kaiza said as we ran, and I could see wind surrounding his head, pushing away the air that the realm had. "It's fit for the succubus, so don't compare it to Hell. That's known as the Pureblood demon realm. Very different from a place meant for sex demons.." He looked back at me with his auburn eyes, and for a moment, I could see the similarity between him and my mother. "Royals are referred to the demons of royal descent for each of the realms. They are the ones who have the right to rule because of their power. It's in their blood. Each of the demon's blood, when you drink them, have a different effect."
I would nod at Kaiza as we kept running throughout the realm, and I could hear… certain noises coming from the villages we passed by. "She's in the palace," Kaiza said, gripping his spear tightly, and I found that it was a habit that Edakura had as well. I found that the more I watched Kaiza, the more I saw his connection to Edakura. "What's your relationship to that princess anyways?"
I would grip my sword tightly as we ran as well, images of Xenona getting cut to protect me flashing through my head "She saved my life, so I'm repaying the favor," I said as we ran. As we were running, there was suddenly a large rock wall in front of us, I would cover my entire body in a sphere of flames and smashed through it. We'd both land to the ground with a soft thud before continuing to run "I will admit, I still don't know the princess very well, but I made a promise to help her as well, so, you could say, in a way, I'm doing her a favor." I said, she had offered to help me, it would be unfair if I didn't help her right now, when she needed help the most right now.
"So you're at her beck and call then." Kaiza commented, I nodded at him rather than get annoyed, starting to get used to his comments now. In a way, I sensed that he was telling me all of this to help me, sorta like Edakura would do. "I'd say to go run in, but you'll end up dead. Like I said, she may have guards stationed there." Kaiza stopped, looking at a grand castle that I assumed was Xenona's home. I wasn't surprised that it was so big since she was the queen, but it was still massive and amazing. "She's most likely in the dungeon. Go and head there from the sewers. I'll be causing a distraction in the palace."
I would nod at Kaiza, looking for an entrance through to the sewers until I suddenly saw what looked like a vent, I would slice it open before heading right through to the sewers, splashing into murky, revoltingly green water upon landing. I would begin running while covered in green raika, my speed being increased at a high rate, while I ran, there was nothing but darkness, so I would create a sizable ball of green hellfire in my hand while I ran, managing to light up the area. I would suddenly stop running and would close my eyes, trying to focus on finding an energy source, one that would have been Xenona's.
Finding a ladder leading to some gate, I listened quietly to make sure there was nobody nearby before I sliced it apart and climbed up the ladder, appearing in the dungeons. There wasn't the presence of any guards. I immediately took advantage and started to run, yelling for Xenona, risking myself, but desperate to find her. "Xenona! Hey! Where are you?" I could hear my voice echo around the dungeon, bouncing off the walls around me, but it didn't appear that she was there.
I would stop and would close my eyes again, searching for her energy signature, until suddenly, I found an energy signature that seemed familiar and would run straight toward it, when I made it, Xenona was actually there this time. There she was, hanging from her wrists, chains binding them together, unconscious. The wings she used to protect me were torn, ripped apart with evil intentions. Xenona looked like a fallen angel, and I soon realized why. Xenona wasn't a pure succubus, and not even a fallen angel, but a half Archon and half succubus, I remembered reading about how Archons could sometimes resemble angels, and this is how I knew. It explained why her wings weren't demonic-like, yet at the same time, gave off the feeling of one.
Not paying attention to that anymore, I would quickly unsheathe Rhienzan and would slice apart the cage doors in a few seconds, then I would walk in and cut the chains binding her arms. She fell from the chains being broken and I would catch her, holding her bridal style, "Xenona, wake up!" I would yell in worry as I shook her, hoping she would wake up. Unfortunately, no matter how much I tried, she wouldn't wake up, there wasn't even a single sign of movement from her either, it was like she was dead.
I held her close to me, closing my eyes, not wanting to believe that she was dead. She was supposed to be the princess of the realm, and one of the most powerful demons in her realm. And I couldn't help but blame myself for the situation. If I was stronger, Xenona wouldn't have had to protect me, and she wouldn't have gotten hurt. She wouldn't be here, in my arms, dead. "What a troublesome boy," a whisper came, and I felt lips against mine, warm and soft. "Can't you let me close my eyes and rest?"
I would look down and I was able to see Xenona, awake, her eyes opened weakly, but still managing to stay awake, I felt tears begin to go down my eyes, glad she was alive, but I still felt it was my fault that she was in such a weakened state. I would look down in guilt, feeling the weight of everything starting to crush me "Xenona… I'm sorry… it's my fault that you got captured… it's my fault that you had to protect me, if only I had more power…. If only I wasn't such a weakling… none of this would ever happen!!" I screamed. If I were stronger, I could've went with Edakura, if I were stronger, I would have beaten that demon slayer, without destroying my village, I could have done so much if only I had more power, but it seemed everything always went straight down to the depths for me.
"Such trouble, you are," Xenona whispered to me, her hand reaching up and stroking my hair gently. "But that's what I like about you." She smirked at me weakly her signature smirk, and I wouldn't have liked to see anything else. She kissed me again, and I stood there, not resisting her. "It's not your fault. I've lost my touch over time." She pulled away from me, standing up, spreading her wings for me to see them still torn, but slowly healing. "After an enemy attack, nobody dared to fight against us. I haven't been in a real battle since the angels. I've grown weak. But I couldn't let them hurt you," she said, getting down on her knee, taking my hand. "My prince, Kurou," she whispered, kissing the back of my hand.
I would smile at Xenona, I never knew that she cared that much about me, the high princess of the succubi, caring about someone such as me, it was almost funny. I would help Xenona stand, however, despite being weakened, she seemed to manage fine on her own for the most part, "I think it's best that we leave now." said Xhanaru, I would nod in agreement and would look at Xenona.
"Xenona, are you in a good enough condition to move?" I asked her, Xenona would just give me a smirk, which made me assume yes and we would begin to move from the dungeon to back in the sewers. We traversed through the sewers until finally making it back to the outside of the dungeon, though when we finally got there, I looked in horror. Kaiza was out there, however, so was Senna, who had seemed to be waiting for us, with a sword held to Kaiza's neck, though Senna wasn't in a much better position, his spear to Senna's stomach.
"Trying to hold hostages now, are we?" Xenona asked with confidence, and I couldn't help but wonder how she had managed to gain so much power back when she was completely weak before. Her eyes narrowed to a scary looking face, one that I had never seen before. Xenona looked mad, or beyond mad. "Kurou, close your eyes. I'd rather you not see my ugly side," she said, covering my eyes. "Be a good boy, and I'll be sure to reward you later." Her voice was right beside my ear, and I couldn't help but blush and nod, doing as I was told.
Xenona's POV
The moment I felt Kurou's eyes close, I immediately pulled away to face Senna, a long time rival of mine. Since we were children, we were enemies, though we were both half bloods. I was half Archon, and she was half dragon; our mother had a tendency to spoil me over the rest of her kids. I loved that woman, but I hated all of her children. That was why I thrashed them all, but it seemed that one of her children decided not to give in to fear. So, now, it was time for me to finish the job.
"Attacking me is one thing," I said, holding out my hand, a blade forming in my palm before I gripped it tightly, narrowing my eyes at Senna who knocked Kaiza to the side with her sword and summoned another. "But I won't forgive you for attacking my Kurou and trying to take the crown from me." I chuckled, feeling a sadistic streak start to rise as I licked my lips, ready to tear Senna limb from limb and make her suffer. I wanted to make sure she never dared to come back to life again.
"That just makes me want to end you even more," Senna said to me, pointing her sword at me with a sneer. "And when I finish you off, I'll take your pet and make him into my dog." That set me off, and I glared at her furiously, dark shadows swirling around me. I took one step closer towards Senna and she took one step back, the process repeating over and over. I could hear her words echoing inside of my head, pissing me off more and more each time.
"Say it again, I dare you," I hissed, furious that she would dare challenge me and say she would touch my Kurou. Yes, I had already marked and claimed him as mine the moment I decided to kiss him. And once a succubus has claimed their man, they won't let him go until the end, and it was the same for me. "I'll rip you to shreds the moment you lay a finger on him!!!" I yelled, rushing forward, our blades clashing against each other as we fought. Her blades and strikes were no match for mine.
"I'll show you who the stronger one is! You should never have been born! You shouldn't have been allowed to live and be heir to the throne! It was supposed to be me!" Senna yelled, pushing me back, her red eyes glowing brightly as we fought and clashed, both of us not giving up. I refused to give away Kurou to the woman before me. "Die you abomination!" she screamed, slashing at me, ripping through my clothes and leaving a thin line of blood seeping from the wound she gave me.
"Abomination?" I asked, sneering before I started to laugh, covering my left eye with my left hand. I could feel the darkness swirling around me as I cackled, mocking Senna and her words. Her eyes showed the fear she had, and I licked my lips, enjoying the show. "I'm a real royal demon, and the only one for the throne. Let me show you…" I turned my hand into a fist, the shadows turning into giant black crystal shards. "Why I will be the Queen. You who dare commit treason against me, watch your life perish before your eyes!"
Swiping my hand across in front of me, like ordering troops to attack, the crystals did my bidding, stabbing through Senna's arms and legs, pinning her to the wall before the final one finished her off, piercing through her gut. With each one, I could hear her scream in pain. It only fueled me to make her squirm more and more till she passed out. "You are no sister of mine, pathetic fool," I told her, turning away, approaching Kurou, hugging him close to me, smiling. "Did you keep your eyes closed, my good boy?"
Kurou's POV
I still had my eyes closed, a tad terrified from all of the noises of destruction and fighting I heard, but not too much, I felt comfort when I suddenly felt the familiar feeling of Xenona hugging me. When she asked me if I kept my eyes closed, I nodded my head, she would then say I could open them, and my eyes would open to see her beautiful smiling face. On the other hand, I saw Senna only from the corner of my eye, who had pieces of black crystal jabbed deep within her arms and legs and even through her torso, it was horrifying, she looked like she wouldn't survive, yet somehow, I had the feeling this wouldn't be the end of her.
Xenona followed my gaze and frowned, growling softly at Senna. I made a mental note not to ever get on Xenona's bad side after I had seen what she could do. It was to be expected out of the Queen of the Succubi, but to experience that power was shocking. "...You really saved me, Kurou," Xenona whispered, catching my attention. I looked up at her, a bit confused until she kissed me once again. I could feel my cheeks burn, not sure why I was starting to enjoy her kissing me. "I'm a succubus, and your kisses are like healing magic," she whispered, pushing me up against the wall. "I should be healed up in no time if we take it one step further~"
After that, Xenona would begin to start kissing me once more, and my entire body would go an extremely bright red as she did, the more she kissed me, the more I was beginning to enjoy it. However, soon, I would hear the sound of Kaiza clearing his throat, and we both looked at him as he tapped his foot. I would look at him with somewhat of a smirk, getting a small cocky streak "What? Jealous?" I would ask him with a grin.
"Yeah right. Succubi aren't loyal. I'd never be jealous of an affair with one," Kaiza said to me, smirking as he rolled his eyes at me. It was annoying how he always got the last word. I didn't believe him about Xenona though, trusting that she would be loyal, but it wasn't like we were in a relationship or anything. Xenona was the enemy of Edakura, and there was no way something like that would happen between us, or at least, that's how I used to think. "Well, you got her back. I'll be going now," Kaiza told me, his spear and walking away.
"Wait!" I said, stopping him in his tracks and he'd stand there, looking back at me "Thank you, Kaiza…" I said, truly greatful for his help thus far, he'd simply smirk at me as he turned back around, waving before he'd jump down, disappearing, leaving me to wonder when the hell I'd see him again.