"Could you personally hunt her for us?" Edimo's wife said as she bowed her head in front of the Demon Slayer, "I will pay you as much as I physically can."
"You say this half-demon was a part of your village, and then one night just set it ablaze?" The man sitting on a throne-like chair said as he brushed his long brown locks behind his shoulder, "But why would she do that?"
"She must've hated my husband for he was a bounty hunter, assigned to hunt her and bring her back dead." Aimitsu kept her head down as she spoke.
"I'll look into it. If this half-demon continues it's wrath in other villages, I will act accordingly. But as far as I see it, your husband chose to risk his life by becoming a Bounty Hunter." The man said, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his heterochromia eyes looking at the woman as she bowed, "You may leave."
Aimitsu tensed up and sat up, tears streaming down her face, "Are you saying my husband deserved to die?!"
"I never said that. I said it was a risk that he had to accept when he took on the bounty hunt." The man stood up, "Now, it's best if you leave."
Aimitsu sniffled in anger and got up onto her feet, walking out of the room. The man sat back down and looked out the window to his right.
"A half-demon... with blue and silver hair..." He seemed lost in thought as he awaited news from his slayers.
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Crystal walked down the path of a village, the people out in their wooden carts trying to sell various foods and clothing. She held on tightly to her knife, feeling uneasy. Spotting a blacksmith, she decided to see if she could get a sword forged.
"Good afternoon miss!" The chubby guy smiled, his face was soft and kind. A grayed out beard was accompanied by a balding head. Crystal couldn't help but smile at him softly.
"Hello sir, I was wondering if you made custom swords?"
"Oh? I do! I have a selection of metals you can pick from or you can go collect fangs or bones for me if that's what you prefer." The old man smiled. Crystal looked down in thought before looking back up.
"What kind of fangs?"
"Any. But the smaller they are, the more I would need. For a long sword of Selcis fangs would need 20 fangs, for reference." Crystal hummed softly.
"How much would a normal length sword be?"
"That would be 1,000 Ales!" He smiled, "I'll give you a discount for this being the first time you've come to my blacksmith."
"Oh, thank you. I'll return in the morning with fangs." Crystal placed a pouch of Ales on the table in front of him, "Keep the change." As she walked away he counted the Ales.
"10,850 Ales?!" He shouted in shock, "This'll keep me and the kids fed for months!"
Crystal smiled softly, hearing his words made her feel a sense of pride. She shook her head quickly before heading towards the nearest forest.
"Now... To find me a strong demon..." Crystal stuck her nose up in the air slightly and her sensors started going crazy, "Alright... I smell a pack of Dedricus, three babies. There seems to be a couple of Selcis and some new scent that I've never smelt before." Crystal looked in the direction the smell was coming from, "I'll go check it out."
Strolling through the forest Crystal couldn't help but notice the tiny demons that chased their prey, wondering what it would be like to live in a world where it wasn't just demons, fairies, and humans.
Where there was more variety.
"Yagikuma wants dinner!" A demonic voice suddenly shouted, trees crashed down in front of Crystal revealing a large bipedal goat-like demon, it's glowing red eyes pierced through Crystal's blues.
"You must've been that wretched scent I caught upon. What's a demon like you doing so close to a village?"
"Yagikuma plans to eat the village!"
"Well, Yagikuma, I'll be taking your fangs." Crystal pulled out her dagger, "And I'll be keeping your head as a wall mount!"
"Don't make Yagikuma laugh! A half-demon could never kill the great and powerful-" Crystal's dagger dug deep into the creature's head, she had leaped from her spot while he was shouting and took the distraction to shove her dagger into his head.
"A half-demon can kill anyone if they have no such thing has hesitation. Something you, as a full demon, will never understand." Crystal slashed down through the demon's face, killing it. The entire body of it popped like a bubble and a pile of items remained in its place as Crystal landed on the ground.
"This should be enough..." Crystal picked up the 12 Yagikuma fangs, 3 Yagikuma leather, and a crystal-blue fragment, "Hm? What's this...?" Crystal picked it up, and it seemed to be a really smooth fragment, but she could tell it was intended to be part of something bigger.
"I'll ask the villagers." Stuffing the items into her satchel, she made sure to put the fragment in a separate smaller bag.
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"I have returned from speaking with the head chief of the village the half-demon was said to come from." A man in a latex suit with armor platings over his shoulders, knees, chest, and over his groin area.
"And?" The lord sat staring at him.
"The chief said that the fire happened during a time that all the villagers except a few were at the tavern. The fire was also supposedly started at an abandoned hut."
"How many casualties?"
"0. No one in the village was killed during the fire. The only death was with Edimo, the Bounty Hunter." The man he was reporting to, his stoic face contorted.
"So they want us to hunt down a half-demon who just defended herself and burnt the huts down? No one was hurt or injured?"
"Yes, sir." The man bowed down on his knee.
"Daika!" A small dog with three tails ran out of a room to the lord's right, "I need you to accompany me and a couple of the slayers to find this half-demon."
"We're going to kill her?!" The man bowing shouted.
"We'll see. We will just observe for a while, and then we will proceed accordingly."
"Of course Lord..." The man stood up, and went to fetch a few of the other slayers.
===================================
"That's one custom sword forged with the fangs of Yagikuma." The blacksmith smiled, pushing the long sword over to Crystal, who looked at it.
"I'm surprised it's giving off such a demonic aura." Crystal said cautiously.
"Yes, this is typically what happens with powerful demons. Once you hold the sword, if it accepts you, you'll replace the aura with your own."
"And if it doesn't?"
"It'll possess you, and do what it wanted to before it's demise."
"So it'll want to kill the village."
"What?"
"I found him not too far into the nearby forest, he was pretty determined to eat the villagers." Crystal watched as families walked down the dirt path, "I guess you can say it was extra motivation to kill it."
"Well, as one of those villagers, I wish to thank you." The old man bowed slightly, and Crystal huffed. Reaching for the sword, she felt some confidence and suddenly she grabbed it.
"Ahhh!" Crystal groaned in pain, it felt as if her flesh was being boiled off, "I will be this Sword's master..." As she fought the pain, it was washed away, and the handle to the sword turned cold.
"There you go. Your Aura is quite pure compared to the demons." The blacksmith pointed out, "I had my suspicions that you yourself were a demon, but now I'm being led to believe you're a half- demon."
"And?" Crystal looked at him with curiosity, "I'm more capable than any other living creature."
"Oh is that so?" The old man smiled but quickly noticed Crystal was feeding off of something more than just confidence, and he could sense the truth behind her expression.
"With this sword, I'll accomplish what I want to." Crystal stared down at the shiny finish of the blade when she got reminded of the fragment, "Oh! Sir. Could you tell me what this is?" Crystal
slid the blade of the sword through the cloth she has wrapped around her waist in front of her dagger.
"Hmm?" The blacksmith watched as Crystal pulled the small fragment, his eyes widened a little, "That can't be..."
"What?"
"It looks like a piece to the mystical Heart Sapphire."
"Heart Sapphire?"
"You must talk to our librarian, come with me." Crystal was hesitant to follow as the old man made his way out of his post, but as he walked, she felt something pulling her with him. Her feet moved seemingly on their own, but she didn't protest.
She felt safe like the village was under a spell.
"Hello, Mrs. Kyoko!" The old man shouted as he walked into the library.
"Mr. Yashuda, I keep having to tell you to please lower your voice when entering the library. If I have to tell you again, I'll have to ban you from the building."
"Sorry..." Mr. Yashuda lowered his voice, "This young lady has a question for you." Crystal finally tuned in to their conversation as the librarian looked at her expectantly.
"Oh! Yes, I was wondering about the Heart Sapphire. Apparently, I picked one up from the demon I just killed." The woman's face went suddenly pale.
"Where is it?" Crystal pulled out the fragment to show her, "It is..."
"What is the Heart Sapphire?" Crystal asked curiously, as Mrs. Kyoko walked to a table they could sit at.
"The Heart Sapphire is a legendary jewel. The legend goes that it would grant any being the true wish their heart wishes. But a great demon searched for the jewel for her own purpose, and when she used it while she was pregnant, it's said that her child was a half-demon. That child was then said to be born with a curse. The jewel was destroyed by a priestess, and the fragments were sworn upon to never get into the hands of an evil heart."
"So that means you are as pure as I thought you were, huh?" Yashuda said with a grin.
Crystal stood there, deep in thought as she looked at the fragment.
"Impossible..."
"Hm?" Kyoko looked at her curiously.
"It's not possible this fragment knew what kind of heart I had."
"It's not like normal items-"
"I mean. There is no heart for it to examine." Crystal said as she stared at the fragment, its glint reminding her of a star, "I was born without a heart."
"What?" Yashuda said in shock, "Do you mean you don't experience feelings or..."
"I have no beating heart in my chest." Crystal said flatly as she stared at him, "My mother gave birth to the first known half-demon to be born without a heart."
"Maybe the Heart Sapphire sees what your heart would be if you had it," Kyoko said happily.
"This Sapphire... What if your truest desire is to have a heart?"
"Well, I wouldn't know. There wasn't much to go on since any and all who had connections are
either dead or Missing In Action." Kyoko said softly as she looked at Crystal, "But I believe you do have a heart, otherwise you wouldn't be living right now."
"I don't have one." Crystal said flatly, "My mother was left with a terrible curse when she had me, and the curse made it to where I wouldn't have a beating heart."
Kyoko and Yashuda looked at her with sorrow in their eyes, but Yashuda suddenly seemed confused.
"But you're a half-demon. Don't you despise the idea of having a heart? Wouldn't it be best to be without one?"
"For the typical Demon, yes. But I'm a Half demon. I was raised by a human until he was killed for having a monster. My only desire is to understand why he would do such a thing."
"That's what's called love." Kyoko said softly, "Something you may not be familiar with. But he clearly had a bunch of love for you."
Crystal stared almost blankly at the fragment in the palm of her hand, wondering how many others were out in the world.
And what kind of adventures she'd have to go on to earn them.