In the human world...
In a city, in the country of Japan.
A handsome young man and a beautiful woman stood side by side not far from a temple.
This handsome young man and beautiful woman were Ken and Grayfia.
Although occasionally there would be someone on the street who would find Grayfia's clothes strange, Grayfia didn't care about the strange looks given by the person.
All that was in her head was that at this moment she was walking alone with Ken.
'A-Is this called a date?!' Grayfia said nervously in her heart as her heart rate began to increase at the thought of this.
Her delicate and soft cheeks showed a faint blush.
With her appearance like this, Grayfia kept glancing at Ken secretly.
Yes, that's right, what was inside Grayfia's head right now was just her own wild imagination.
As such, Grayfia didn't have time to care about the strange looks from passers-by.
"Hmm... it should be time..." Ken spoke.
Grayfia who heard this immediately came out of her wild imagination and regained consciousness.
"Alright, let's go." Ken said to Grayfia.
Grayfia nodded her head and followed Ken to go up the stairs that led to the shrine.
...
It didn't take long for Ken and Grayfia to reach the top and see the sizable Temple in front of them.
The first thing that caught Ken's eye after climbing the last step was the red archway.
Then Ken shifted his gaze forward to look at the temple in front of him.
Ken saw one human visiting the shrine and looked like he was praying or making a wish.
Considering Grayfia was a demon, Ken gave her protection personally using his aura.
Why?
It was because there was some kind of barrier that encircled the entire shrine area.
From the itchy sensation Ken's body felt when passing through this barrier, Ken could immediately tell from one glance that this barrier had a holy or divine nature, which was the natural enemy of a demon.
Although Ken didn't need to worry about Grayfia given his current strength, there was no harm just in case.
Grayfia turned her head towards Ken as she felt a rush of warm energy envelop her body.
As if she understood Ken's purpose and intentions, Grayfia felt her heart become warm and sweet.
What woman wouldn't feel happy if the man she liked paid attention?
Grayfia is one of those women.
While Ken and Grayfia were looking around, the human who had finished with his business then turned around and nodded at the two of them in greeting, before finally going downstairs and leaving the temple.
Ken then stepped his feet to approach the shrine with Grayfia following behind.
However...
When Ken had only taken two steps, he suddenly stopped in place.
With a wave of his hand, Ken made his and Grayfia's figures vague and transparent, before finally disappearing and becoming completely invisible.
"What's wrong?"
Grayfia who wanted to ask didn't have time to finish her sentence as Ken signaled her to keep quiet using his index finger.
"Sssshhh! Just watch, the show is starting." Ken whispered to her.
Grayfia closed her mouth and followed Ken to the edge and leaned against a large tree.
The curious Grayfia looked at Ken and only saw that Ken was smiling mysteriously while folding his arms across his chest.
Right after they leaned against the tree, the shadowy silhouette of a person appeared.
One, two, three-
One by one, seven people appeared.
Ken smiled even wider with his eyes full of interest as the show in front of him began.
The performance Ken was referring to was the massacre that happened to Shuri Himejima before the plot of the original story began, which ended with the death of Shuri Himejima, Akeno's mother.
Since Shuri Himejima is one of the women on his target list, Ken naturally has to do 'something' to snatch Shuri away from the fallen angel, Baraqiel.
If Ken plays his cards right and smoothly, he can be fully confident of taking Shuri's heart.
Because no matter what, this massacre was the key point for Ken to capture Shuri.
Ken even believes that this point alone plays an important role in whether he succeeds or not.
So, when Ken decided to make Shuri his own, he had to use this massacre as the centerpiece of his plan.
...
While Ken was deep in thought, the seven people had a brief discussion before walking towards the temple.
From the outside, the shrine looked like a normal shrine.
But if one opened the door, the inside of the shrine was not much different from a house.
These seven people are famous Jutsusha (Practitioners) sent directly by the Himejima Clan.
The main reason is because they consider Shuri's relationship with Baraqiel, who is a Fallen angel, as a taboo relationship.
The Himejima Clan is one of the 'Five Major Clans of Japan'.
The Five Major Clans of Japan are Nakiri, Kushihashi, Doumon, Shinra, and most importantly Himejima.
They are powerful 'Ancient Mystic Clans', which have carried a divine connection with the 'Shinto Gods' and served them for generations.
Since ancient times, members of the Five Major Clans were born and blessed by the Shinto Gods, with the power to manipulate any of the five elements, also known as the 'Five Phases' and creatures called the 'Five Sacred Beasts'.
Each of these powers is blessed to their clan due to their strong belief and strict worship in Shintoism.
An example is the Himejima Clan, as part of the Five Major Clans that wield the power of the Sacred Beasts, the Himejima Clan has one known as the Vermilion Bird.
The Himejima Clan has also been blessed by the Shinto Gods, allowing its members to wield the 'Fire Phase', one of the Five Elements.
The Himejima Clan has stood in the shadows to serve the Shinto Gods and perform [Exorcism], which translates to [Exorcism], on evil creatures to keep Humans safe from their influence.
Given their beliefs and relationship with their Shinto Gods, it's no surprise that Shuri and Baraqiel's relationship is their taboo.
Because no matter which way you look at it, Baraqiel is someone who comes from the fallen angel class, which automatically means that fallen angels are something that can be interpreted as angels that turn 'Evil'.
Furthermore, with Shuri having a background from a family that serves Shinto deities and her occupation being an exorcist, it makes sense that her relationship with Baraqiel is a taboo.
...
Thinking of the deep complications between Shuri, Baraqiel, and the Himejima clan, Ken could not help but sigh.
*Baangg!
The sound of a loud banging on the door could be heard as the seven people forcibly barged in.
"Ah!"
A woman's worried cry rang out.
"Mom! Who are they?!"
A cute little boy's voice was heard afterward.
But from the cute voice, Ken could tell that the little girl was panicked and scared.
"Shut up! This is the task assigned to us, to kill that child!" One of the Jutsusha leaders snapped at her.
Inside the shrine, in the living room that looked simple but very cozy...
Ken saw a beautiful woman who had long black hair and light brown eyes.
If Ken had to judge her overall, the woman looked exactly the same as the adult Akeno.
Even from the way her hair was braided and her figure looked the same.
What made her slightly different was the color of her hairband and eyes.
This woman was immediately confirmed by Ken as Shuri Himejima.
In his arms, Ken saw a frightened little girl.
Although still unable to compete with her mother's figure, Ken could tell that when the little girl grew up, she could become her mother's rival and stand proudly beside her.
That little girl was none other than Akeno Himejima.
'She's so cute...' Ken thought so when he saw little Akeno.
The seven practitioners then took out their weapons and surrounded the mother-daughter pair.
Shuri hugged Akeno in a position where she was willing to protect her.
The figure of her husband flashed through her mind and still hoped that he would come to their rescue.
But as each second passed, the shadowy figure of the man she loved became blurry and eventually disappeared.
'Where are you?' Shuri asked in her heart sadly.
But in the end, Shuri pushed Akeno back and decided to sacrifice herself.
"Akeno-chan, listen to mom, you have to keep running and never look back!" Shuri said hurriedly while pushing Akeno away.
"Mom!" Akeno shouted with her eyes filled with tears.
At the same time, Akeno was asking in her heart with sadness and despair.
The same question Shuri was asking in her heart.
'Dad! Where are you?!' Akeno shouted in her heart.
Her throat choked as her mother threw herself backwards.
Seeing her attitude, the seven practitioners cursed in their hearts.
"Damn it! Catch her! Don't let her get away!" The leader said.
Of the six practitioners, two of them jumped up and chased after Akeno.
Despite the pain and heaviness in her heart, Akeno still did as her mother told her.
"Keep running and never look back.
While running, teardrops continued to fall leaving a trace of this dark event.
*Boom!
There was a huge explosion, which made Akeno scream out loud as she continued to run.
The child's loud scream would only be used as earplugs for herself so as not to hear the sound of the explosion behind her.
Tears continued to flow, her eyes getting wetter and blurry.
But her determination remained the same.
Akeno continued to run further and further away.
Ken on the other hand flicked two small marble-sized stones at the two people chasing Akeno.
*Sizzling!
The sound of a beautiful gust of wind rang out as the small stones shot out very quickly.
Baang! Baang!
The two stones hit the bullseye and pierced the heads of the two men without mercy.
The two practitioners who were chasing Akeno suddenly felt dizzy and their heads became heavy, before their bodies fell to the ground.
They didn't even know how they died.
With Ken intervening, Akeno's back slowly disappeared into the forest without a trace.
"You didn't help that woman?" Grayfia asked in a low voice.
"Hm? You'll find out later..." Ken gave a mysterious answer.
Grayfia nodded obediently and continued to watch her surroundings.
"Damn it! That little kid actually managed to escape!" The leader of the practitioners said angrily.
Then the leader looked down at Shuri's body lying limply on the ground.
Sword puncture wounds could be seen on her abdomen and burns on her skin.
With her last breath, images of the past played out in her head.
From the beginning of her meeting with her husband, Baraqiel, to her peaceful life with Akeno.
Everything played out in Shuri's head until this terrible day.
(Shuri's first meeting with Baraqiel.
Shuri and Baraqiel when they became a family while eating together with Akeno.
Shuri playing with Akeno.
Shuri and Akeno who were attacked by Jutsusha.
All the images and beautiful moments with Baraqiel and Akeno replayed in her head.
The more Shuri saw it, the more Shuri became sad.
Even at the end of his life, Baraqiel had not returned from his assignment.
Shuri initially still held hope that Baraqiel would come using Teleportation Magic and save Akeno.
But the facts immediately slapped Shuri in the face and made her realize the uselessness of that hope.
Sad and hurt.
Shuri thought again about whether she was right when she decided to be in a relationship with Baraqiel?
Does Baraqiel really love her and her little family?
Was it wrong to help Baraqiel during her first meeting with him?
Was it wrong when Shuri decided to heal Baraqiel's wounds at that time?
These kinds of questions kept popping up in her mind.
Shuri painstakingly glanced to the side to see where Akeno had gone.
In agonizing pain, Shuri groaned as the Jutsusha leader stabbed another stab wound in Shuri's abdomen.
Judging from his actions towards Shuri, it seemed that the leader was feeling very angry and wanted to take his anger out on the mother of the child.
Despite the excruciating pain, Shuri could only grit her teeth tightly and force her mouth to remain shut.
Only in this way, Shuri still showed an attitude of resistance to the group of practitioners.
Especially to the leader.
Sure enough, the leader grew increasingly displeased and raised one foot to stomp on the stab wound in Shuri's abdomen.
With blood leaking more and more profusely, Shuri's vision became blurry as death overtook her.
Her whole body went limp and her eyes lost the color of the world.
"Tsk! Useless woman!" The leader snapped.
"Let's go! We're going after that kid!" The leader gave the order.
But...
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The loud, crisp sound of applause echoed there.
Their entire bodies became rigid and petrified in place.
The five practitioners became alert when they saw two figures that suddenly appeared beside a tree not far from them.
"Great! Why do you guys want to rush away? Staying a little longer doesn't bother you, does it?" Ken said in a mocking tone.
Grayfia beside him walked elegantly and locked her gaze on the five people in front of her.
With just Ken's voice, Grayfia would instantly advance and kill them all.
Looking at their individual strengths, they were all far inferior compared to Grayfia.
Considering they were from the Himejima clan, Grayfia even wanted to try to test her [Ice] power with their [Fire].
But since Ken himself did not say anything, Grayfia did not move and remained obediently silent beside him.
"Who are you?!" The Jutsusha leader shouted.
Their entire bodies were completely immobilized.
The five panicked as they felt some sort of invisible force holding them in place.
"Hoo? Now you want to ask~ why did you want to leave so quickly?" Ken asked back.
"We're from the Himejima clan, if you-"
One of the members shouted out to try and scare Ken, but was cut off by Ken.
"Sssshh! I know, do you know that I have an inside man there?" Ken said.
Hearing the words of the young man in front of them, the five people became even more panicked and confused.
"Who?!" The leader of the group asked.
"Eh? it's a secret~" Ken said mockingly.
"Wait there for a moment, the person who will decide whether you die or not, it's not me." Ken added.
Ken then walked over to Shuri's corpse and squatted beside it.
Seeing this action, Grayfia became curious and chose to pay attention to Ken.
"Humph! Just a mere line of destiny trying to get in my way?" Ken muttered.
That's right, Ken was currently using his divine eye and saw that the red line which was Shuri's line of destiny, was trying to prevent Ken from doing something.
"Go away! You leave me alone!" Ken said in exasperation and pulled forcefully on the line of destiny attached above Shuri's head.
No kidding, Ken pulled it forcefully until it broke, which freed Shuri from her [Destiny] that should have died in this massacre.
"With my permission, return [Resurrection]!" Ken whispered softly.
As the action confused the audience, a dictionary-sized book that only he could see appeared in front of him.
Ken then wrote and reversed the destiny of Shuri who was supposed to die here.
Shuri's soul in the form of a ball of light swooped down on Ken from above.
"Get back into your body, your time doesn't end here." Ken commanded.
As if hearing a majestic voice and an absolute command, the soul ball sank into Shuri's body.
Ken lifted Shuri's head and placed it on his lap while his right hand rubbed Shuri's beautiful face.
Shuri's eyelashes fluttered gently indicating that she was about to wake up.
Ken smiled when he saw this.
Sure enough, Shuri slowly opened her eyes and saw the handsome face of a young man who was bowing his head.
His face was too close!
Too handsome!
'Is this the bastard who will become a villain for the ladies?' Shuri wondered in her heart.
Right after Shuri thought that, memories of her entire life filled her head.
"Urgghh..." Shuri groaned softly as she felt the pain in her head.
After a moment later, Shuri widened her eyes and looked around her.
'That's right! I should have died! How is that possible?!' Shuri reached a conclusion.
Shuri even remembered every detail of things during her life.
And this massacre was no exception.
Shuri panicked, but after seeing Ken who smiled at her gently, Shuri calmed down.
"Did you save me?" Shuri ventured to ask first.
"It was me." Ken confirmed.
"Thank you very much!" Shuri hurriedly said gratefully.
Shuri was sure that even if he continued to live, Shuri felt that he would not be able to repay his debt to this handsome young man.
'Wait a minute! This position.... is too close!' Shuri realized her position leaning into Ken's embrace.
And in her opinion, this position was quite embarrassing.
Furthermore, this handsome young man who was her helper was also a nobody.
In other words, Shuri had no particular relationship with him other than his benefactor.
Shuri struggled to sit up and leaned against the pillar.
Ken then took out Miko's clothes for Shuri.
Because no matter what she looked like, Shuri's clothes were already a mess.
Stabbed and burned, would the clothes still remain intact?
Therefore, Ken made a black barrier for her to change clothes.
Ken then exited the barrier and joined Grayfia who was still shocked.
...
It wasn't long before Shuri came out from inside the barrier when she finished changing.
The five practitioners sent by the Himejima clan were scared to death when they saw Shuri like she was seeing a ghost.
'Isn't that woman already dead?!'
'How did that guy do it?!'
'Is he a God?!'
Questions popped up inside their heads, which made their heads tingle.
Ken turned his head back to look at the practitioner.
"The person who decides whether you will die or not is this woman~" Ken said in a teasing tone.
Hearing his words, the five practitioners became desperate.
Wasn't the outcome obvious?
Their leader even tortured that woman and tried to kill her daughter!
Isn't that woman going to become a madwoman who dares to skin them alive?!
Meanwhile, Shuri who heard Ken's words put on a face of gratitude again.
Her beautiful eyes were full of gratitude as she looked at Ken.
Although there were many doubts and questions she wanted to ask Ken, Shuri decided this was not the right time for it.
With that, Ken embraced Shuri's body and helped him up, which the mature woman could still feel embarrassed about.
'Hey, hey, hey, are you a teenage girl?!' Ken said with wonder in his heart.
But in the end, Ken could only shake his head and brought Shuri to the front of the practitioners.
"Hehe~ do you need my help? do you need a weapon? or are you going to torture her first?" Ken threw questions enthusiastically.
Shuri suddenly seemed to transform into another person, as she picked up the sword on the ground and stabbed the leader.
"Aaarrghhhh!!!"
The scream of someone in pain rang out and echoed.
"This is for that stab in my stomach!" Shuri said cruelly.
"This is the second stab for my wound that you stabbed!"
"This is for your crime of messing up my little family!"
"This is for the two of her men who tried to chase Akeno!"
"This is for the pain in my heart!"
"This is for the damage you caused to the shrine!"
"This is for Akeno's tears!"
"This is for your foot that tried to step on my face!"
"This is for-"
"This is for-"
....
The current Shuri looked like another person who had turned into a sadistic woman.
Despite the fresh, red blood splashing onto her shirt and face, Shuri did not stop.
The sound of flesh piercing after flesh piercing continued to be heard as Shuri similarly pierced them one by one.
Sometimes Shuri would even use her [Purgatory] which was used to purify evil creatures.
The smell of burning charred flesh and miserable screams were evidence of the woman's cruelty.
Ken chuckled and didn't blink when he saw Shuri's brutality.
Ken already knew this, Shuri's little secret was that she was actually someone who had an 'S&M' fetish with her husband, Baraqiel, every night.
Perhaps this, too, was the reason why Akeno had a sadistic nature when she grew up.
"Haha! No mother, no son, they're both the same." Ken laughed and said playfully.
Meanwhile...
Grayfia who saw the whole process from the beginning felt more and more admiration for Ken.
Grayfia also felt that the young man in front of her was looking more and more mysterious.
Not only his strength, even he was able to revive dead people.
If Grayfia was asked about who could revive a dead person, Grayfia would first answer that the person was reincarnated as a demon.
Then secondly Grayfia would answer that only Gods can do that.
The way Grayfia looked at Ken at this time changed completely.
In her eyes was admiration, awe, and love.
Her eyes at first glance only looked stern and gentle, but one could tell that they were giving the gaze of a wife looking at her husband.
The impression for Ken in her heart rose higher and higher again.
If it was already high before, then this time her impression of Ken had reached its peak.
Ken only needed to make a 'small push' to make Grayfia fully his.
Ken smiled even wider after noticing Grayfia's gaze on him.
With that, Ken and Grayfia continued to chat while Shuri was busy torturing the 'criminals' for their crimes.
-x-X-x-
After Shuri was relieved and had enough of torturing the five practitioners, Ken and Grayfia approached her.
Ken snapped his fingers to summon his fire, [Origin Of Fire].
[Origin Of Fire] is the origin of all existing fire.
In other words, this fire created by Ken himself was the mother fire of all fires.
A terrifying flame blazed in the palm of Ken's hand.
The fire danced on his palm vigorously, as if it was happy to have been summoned by its creator.
The [Origin Of Fire] had no color, it almost looked transparent.
If it wasn't for the fact that the fire was currently dancing vigorously, which showed the current wave of its flames, people wouldn't be able to see the fire with the naked eye.
Immediately, after Ken called out to him, Ken threw the fire onto the bodies of the five practitioners.
"Come on, don't be lazy, it's time to work!" Ken whispered softly.
*Whoossh!
As if delighted after hearing the command from its creator, the flames roared and madly devoured the five corpses.
In just seconds, the bodies of the five corpses dissolved and became extremely vulnerable before this fire.
The flames left not even ashes and remnants of their corpses.
It emitted no smoke or scorching odor, all in silence.
But to Grayfia and Shuri who saw this, the fire looked deadly to them.
The two of them couldn't feel the heat of the fire, but somehow the transparent flame gave them a sense of death crisis.
"Good job~" Ken said with satisfaction.
Hearing such words, the [Origin Of Fire] jumped back into Ken's palm and blazed like it was happy.
Ken then removed the fire from his palm.
"Alright, now..." Ken said and looked at Shuri.
Feeling Ken's gaze, Shuri's body stiffened and inexplicably felt embarrassed at the sight of his eyes.
Shuri felt that she was naked under those eyes.
"You can come with us, considering the temple is in such a mess, I assume that you don't have a place to stay anymore, right?" Ken said.
"Uhhh...." Shuri couldn't say anything.
"It's decided." Ken dropped the final decision.
...
With that, despite Shuri still being surprised by Ken's attitude, the three of them left the half-destroyed temple.
Ken took Shuri to a sizable house, which Ken had already bought.
Given that Akeno is still on the run, Ken will temporarily stay in the human world with Shuri, until Akeno meets with Rias and is taken away to the underworld.
As for Grayfia, she would go back to the underworld and would occasionally visit Ken.
It was a plan made secretly by Ken.
Throughout their journey, Ken and Grayfia introduced themselves to Shuri.
Vice versa, Shuri introduced herself to Ken and Grayfia.
Although this was her first encounter with Ken and Grayfia, Shuri quickly became familiar with both of them.
Shuri even told Ken and Grayfia about the reason why the practitioners were targeting her and her daughter, Akeno.
While Grayfia felt sorry for Shuri after hearing her story, Ken who listened to Shuri's story decided to pretend that he knew nothing and could only comfort her.
That way, Shuri who saw the sincere feelings of the two got the impression that Ken and Grayfia were good people.
After arriving at a fairly large house, Ken, Grayfia and Shuri went inside to continue their conversation.
In the afternoon, Grayfia said goodbye to Ken to go back to Underworld.
After saying goodbye to Ken and Shuri, Grayfia gave Ken a passionate kiss in front of Shuri.
Shuri felt her face become hot and her cheeks reddened slightly when she saw the two people making out openly in front of her.
Therefore, Shuri quickly turned her head and looked away to the side, until the two were done with their 'business'.
After Grayfia and Ken were done with their business, Grayfia summoned the magic circle under her feet to instantly teleport to the underworld.
After Grayfia left, Shuri looked back at Ken and saw him in a strange way.
Shuri originally only felt embarrassed when she saw Grayfia and Ken kissing, but now for some reason Shuri felt an 'upset' feeling in her heart.
"Hm? Why?" Ken asked and put on his 'innocent' face.
"I-It's okay." Shuri replied and stuttered at the beginning of her sentence.
Shuri was inwardly rejecting the idea that she was starting to like Ken.
Shuri even used the excuse of being married and still being a wife of another man.
Therefore, inside, Shuri was fighting with her other self to stop thinking 'weird' things about Ken.
"Hmm... Okay, let's go to the second floor, I'll show you your room." Ken said.
Shuri came out of his thoughts, nodded and followed Ken to the second floor.
...
That way, the two of them lived in the same house.
Ken would occasionally track down Akeno's whereabouts and bring Shuri to see her.
Akeno currently still thought that her mother was dead and did not know the true facts.
Therefore, Akeno is currently living with her mother's relatives.
During her stay at her mother's relatives, Akeno also developed feelings of hatred and continued to blame her father, Baraqiel, for her mother's death.
Because no matter what, Akeno as a child would feel that her father had failed to be a father because he could not protect her and her mother.
But a crueler fate seemed to play tricks on her again and again, in just one to two years, Akeno was expelled because her mother's relatives found out that Akeno had the blood of a Fallen Angel in her.
Thus, Akeno became increasingly resentful about the fact that she was half human and half fallen angel.
Akeno's hatred and dislike was more directed towards her Fallen Angel blood.
In other words, the more she hated her Fallen Angel blood, the more Akeno had to be reminded of her father, Baraqiel, who was a Fallen Angel.
Fates can indeed be cruel when they make a child who originally loved himself, now hate himself after his mother's death.
Of course, Ken also knew the news about Akeno being expelled.
Therefore, right when Akeno was expelled from her mother's relative's house, Ken brought Shuri to see how his only daughter had to struggle alone.
All of this was Ken's plan to take Shuri away from Baraqiel.
Because either way, if Baraqiel came and saved them, Akeno wouldn't have to go through this.
Therefore, Ken used this opportunity to poison Shuri's mind and make her doubt Baraqiel even more.
During this period of time, Ken would stay outside or in the hotel with Shuri.
This was all done because he and Shuri continued to follow Akeno's directionless journey.
...
It doesn't feel like another year has passed.
Akeno is now ten years old.
During this one year period, Ken and Shuri continued to follow Akeno and kept a close eye on her.
Ken of course prevented Shuri from meeting Akeno directly.
Ken still wanted to continue to show Akeno's life after her mother's death.
Otherwise, Ken would not have succeeded in making Shuri doubt Baraqiel and even hate him.
Therefore, in this one year, Shuri felt her heart ache when she was shown about how her little daughter's life was.
But...
Little by little, the pain in her heart had changed and made Shuri blame Baraqiel.
If Baraqiel could have come to save her and Akeno at that time, Akeno wouldn't have had to live such a heart-wrenching life.
This was not the life a child should live.
As a parent, such a life was definitely not the life Shuri wanted to give her little gem.
Therefore, the pain in her heart every time she saw her child living a difficult life, was now diverted and directed the pain to Baraqiel as the cause of everything.
Meanwhile, Ken on the other hand felt happy and danced in his heart.
Ken only used a few words to dispel Shuri's feelings for Baraqiel.
One year is a short time, but for Shuri, this one year felt very long when she had to see her son's life that was very painful.
Thus, it was only a matter of time until Shuri forgot and hated Baraqiel.
Although Shuri felt her heart hurt too much to see her daughter's life like this, Shuri still decided to continue following her with Ken.
Every time Shuri wanted to go and see his daughter, Ken would stop him in various ways and give reasonable excuses.
In the end, Shuri could only undo his intentions and continue to watch his son from a distance.
Until one day...
At the age of ten, without food or money, Akeno traveled throughout Japan and used her skills to purify evil spirits that she learned from her mother.
It was all Akeno did to survive.
Akeno did this for a year and a half.
As such, Ken and Shuri were constantly moving between cities because they had to follow Akeno.
...
Ken and Shuri continued to follow Akeno who traveled from one town to another while purifying evil spirits as her job.
While stumbling into a certain city, Akeno indirectly saves a human contracted by the Demons of the Gremory Clan.
As Akeno felt worried that the Demons would kill her because of her Fallen Angel blood, Akeno ultimately decided to hide from them.
However...
When Akeno tried to leave the city, she was suddenly attacked by her relatives from the Himejima Clan who came to kill her.
The person who wanted to kill her was her great uncle, Suou Himejima.
The location of this attack took place in a forest not far from the town that Akeno had just left.
Shuri who was watching everything from afar panicked and looked at Ken, as if asking Ken to help her daughter.
But Ken just shook his head in response and said.
"Don't worry, someone will save your son."
Hearing his words, Shuri became a little calm and confused.
As Shuri looked back towards her daughter in the distance, her heart sank instantly.
This was because Shuri saw that Suou Himejima was about to land the final blow that would decide her daughter's life.
But just as her heart was clenching and she was ready to jump out to save her little daughter, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared and stopped her uncle's attack.
Ken beside Shuri suddenly grinned.
Not for the rescue or the middle-aged man, but when he looked at the other person who came along with the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was named Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa.
He was the Bishop of Zeoticus Gremory.
Meanwhile, the other person who came with him was a girl of the same age as Akeno.
Regardless of the young girl, she would become a beautiful woman when she grew up and became an important person.
The girl had fair and delicate skin, with eyes that were green-blue in color.
Her most prominent characteristic was her Crimson-colored hair.
Thus, Ken knew the girl's identity just from her hair alone.
Yes, that's right, she was Rias Gremory.
While Ken was appraising the cute girl, Shuri on the other hand sighed with relief.
But after that, Shuri looked at Ken strangely.
Of course, this was all about how Ken could know that there would be someone else who would save his daughter.
But since Ken himself just smiled at him mysteriously and didn't want to say it, Shuri didn't dig any further.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Rias, and her father's Bishop, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, persuaded the Akeno family not to kill Akeno.
Suou Himejima initially refused, but after thinking that the other party was from the Gremory Clan, Suou Himejima finally agreed.
Furthermore, the identity of the other party was that one was a Bishop of Lord Gremory, while the other was an heir of the Gremory Clan.
In other words, the Crimson-haired little girl before him was a little princess of the Gremory Clan.
Therefore, after thinking for a moment Suou Himejima agreed, as his current actions would have an impact on his Himejima Clan.
However, Suou Himejima still had to give two conditions to Heinrich and Rias:
- The first was for Akeno to never enter the territory under the Himejima Clan.
- Second is for Heinrich and Rias, Akeno must always be by Rias' side.
With the second condition, Suou Himejima hoped that Akeno would always be under the direct supervision of Rias and the Gremory Clan.
While the first condition given to Akeno...
It was natural for Suou Himejima to say it to Akeno.
Given that Akeno herself had the blood of a Fallen Angel in her, it was the right thing for them to prevent beings that were considered 'sinful' and 'dirty' from entering the territory under the Himejima Clan.
Because after all, as is well known, the Himejima Clan is in charge of [Exorcism], which translates to [Exorcist].
In other words, their job is to protect the human race from evil creatures.
One example of what they believe to be evil creatures is Fallen Angels.
As such, Ken himself felt that there was nothing wrong with either condition.
Even if Ken was in Suou Himejima's position, Ken would have done the same thing that Suou Himejima did.
In the end, after Heinrich and Rias agreed to the two conditions, Suou Himejima immediately left Akeno, Rias, and Heinrich there.
Rias then walked over to Akeno who was sitting on the ground and stood not far from her.
Akeno, who was still sitting on her knees due to Suou Himejima's attack, looked at Rias.
"Are you hurt? Take it easy, from now on no one will hurt you anymore." Rias said.
Hearing her peer girl's words, Akeno looked down and shed her tears.
Akeno didn't even have time to care that the girl in front of her was someone from the demon race.
During these past years, the suffering Akeno had felt made her unable to hold back her tears anymore.
Hence, Akeno cried silently with her head facing downwards.
When Akeno cried, it didn't mean she was weak, the tears were proof that she had fought and continued to be 'strong' for a long time.
Heinrich who was there as an adult could only sigh.
'That child's life must not have been easy for a child of her age.' Heinrich thought so.
Rias on the other hand sat down beside Akeno and allowed the girl to let out all her long-held emotions.
At least, only with a peaceful and secure life, which only she could do.
Thus, that was the encounter between Rias and Akeno.
An encounter that changed Akeno's life completely and Rias' encounter with the girl who would become her best friend in the future.
...
Ken watched the whole event calmly, as if he had known that it would end like this.
"Don't worry, that Crimson-haired girl is a good person, that's why I didn't stop her." Ken said to Shuri who was beside him.
"For now... don't show yourself to Akeno, okay? When the time comes, I'll be the one to bring Akeno directly to you." Ken assured her.
Shuri thought for a moment after listening to Ken's words.
With a unanimous decision, Shuri sighed helplessly and nodded his head, agreeing with Ken's words.
"I knew it." Shuri replied.
"It's good that you understand, because only in this way will your son have the desire and will to be strong." Ken said.
While the two were talking, Rias, Akeno, and Heinrich left the human world.
Heinrich used the Teleportation magic circle to bring Rias back to Gremory Castle.
Akeno was also no exception, since Rias personally took her, Akeno ended up going with them.
...
After Ken sensed that the three people had left, himself and Shuri also returned.
This was the moment where Ken had to start his second plan to take Shuri completely.
The plan itself can be said to be quite easy, Ken just needs to spend a lot of time with Shuri in the human world.
Whether it's going shopping, chatting, flirting, and the like.
Although both of them can be said to be familiar with each other, Ken has never flirted or even asked Shuri to go out together.
Therefore, with this last step, Ken could be sure that it was only a matter of time until Shuri snuggled into his arms.
While reading her emotions, Ken found that Shuri's feelings for Baraqiel had become shallow, no longer as deep as before.
When his conversation with Shuri insinuated about 'husband', Ken saw that Shuri suddenly became unhappy with the topic and chose not to answer him or change the subject.
Therefore, whenever this happened, Ken would smirk secretly without Shuri knowing.
Occasionally Ken would also go to the [Underworld] to visit Grayfia, Serafall, and his other female targets.
The process of his approach with Shuri was also not forgotten by him.
In the end, Ken is currently a busy person with all his affairs.
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