IV
"She's heading to Kasglow or Harada," Dante said looking out at the sea as she and Noriko worked on getting a ship ready. They'd managed to have a truce and worked together searching for a ship that's not already been destroyed from the raid and the war against the Slaves weeks earlier. With the collapse of the castle, the Slaves no longer appeared and the remaining armies of demons and monsters pulled back to rest up and waiting on words from their masters under Dante's order.
"Think we can sail a boat with just our raw power?" Noriko asked doing a final check of the ship. "Think you can last until we reach land?" Dante replied with a smirk on her face. Since the dismissal of the armies, the demoness had shed her armors and wore normal peasant clothing. "Heh, is that a bet?" Noriko asked grinning at her enemy turning ally. "The loser cook up a feast for the winner," Dante said. "Deal," Noriko agreed. It doesn't matter where they're heading as long as they reach dry land, they would be able to catch up to Yumi.
"She's your wife?" Dante asked once they started rowing out in the open ocean. "Yeah," Noriko nodded. "You got good taste," the other woman commented. "I hope we could finally settle down after this is over," Noriko said. "I'm sure that's what your friend thinks too, but I worry that she won't be strong enough to fight the blood of the Slaves inside of her." Dante nodded. "We're such a depressing bunch," Dante said changing the subject.
MgM
In Harada, in a single night the entire nation itself was wiped out by a strong power emitting from the Capital. In the shadow of the night, darkness spread at incredible speed covering from one corner of the nation to the other. Inside the palace, nothing but peace and quietness and not a soul could be found. The corridors were empty, the rooms shown no sign of life. Harada itself quickly become a ghost-country, covered in darkness and stripped of all life.
Lying upon the well-decorated canopy bed, Sachiko was without her clothes on. Yumi silently worked on Sachiko's wounds, cleaning and wrapping it up while listening to her lover's shallow breathing. It was a good thing that the wounds aren't too deep, otherwise Yumi would have to come back and really kill her friend for good. If asked, Yumi would never hesitate to cut down even her closet friend to protect her lover. She had done her job in saving mankind from extinction once and betrayed the woman she loved, now she will not do that again because she doesn't want to lose the love of her life like it was back then. She would destroy this world if Sachiko wished for it, and now with the blood of the Slave inside of her that urge only increased all the more.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Yumi whispered as soon as she saw her lover stirred. "…lousy…" Sachiko replied hoarsely. It has been many days and she knew that she's out for many days because of the wounds on her body. "I must look disgusting to you now huh?" Sachiko asked weakly as she felt the bandages on her body. "No, not at all," Yumi quickly got up and moved over to the bed, sitting down as she looked deeply into those sapphire eyes of her lover. "If anything, it only made me love you more and to never take you for granted," she continued while caressing Sachiko's pale face with her right hand.
It's not an act of kindness, it was love, and Yumi was letting Sachiko knew how much she meant to Yumi. Even with the blood of the Slave coursing through her veins, Yumi was able to suppress it enough to keep her humanity in check. It has been far too long that she spent her life in regret, for not loving her fiancé enough and betraying her for the sake of mankind.
"You're such… a kind person Yumi…" Sachiko managed after Yumi give her some water. "Only to you love," Yumi whispered feeling the darkness inside of her stirred once more. Dropping onto the floor, searing pain ripped through her body like thousands of needles, unimaginable coldness invaded her senses. Her surroundings vanished, leaving her with nothing but darkness. Even Sachiko disappeared from her sight, the pain continued to increase itself to the point of nearly putting Yumi into an unconscious state. While struggling to breathe, Yumi's physical appearance slowly changed. A set of marvelous horns grew on her head, her fingers turned into sharp claws, a fine leathery tail, and a set of leathery bat wings on her back like the cover of the night.
MgM
"God, what happened?" Shimako gasped at the ruin sight before her. Not a single tree was alive, the land of Harada stripped of life. "This is the darker side of what Arkelaze's blood could bring forth; the Slaves are the creations of Arkelaze's pain and anger. With the host that contained a similar genome to its own, it unlocked the most terrifying power that Arkelaze herself never wished upon anyone no matter how much she hated them." Dante explained looking up at the darken sky above. "Soon, the world will be covered in eternal darkness, and all life as we know it will cease to exist. Unless the host wished for it," she murmured.
"May Arkelaze have mercy on us," Noriko said taking the lead. "Indeed, but do not be hasty." Dante said pulling Noriko back before she stepped into the darkness of the land as they're still at the dock of Harada's harbor on the far west of the country. "Why did you pull me back?" Noriko asked with knitted brows looking at her friend. "Patient," was all that Dante said as she watched the water. With a quick snatch of the hand, she brought up a life fish trying to jump out of her grasp. Tossing the live fish into the darken part of the land, the fish immediately stripped to the bone in mere seconds.
"Non-demon will instantly be stripped to the bone as soon as they set foot on land," Dante said. "Then how will we get to them?" Noriko asked impatiently. "Only a true demon could walk without damage," a simple answer and yet complicated at the same time. "Come," Dante said extending her hands to them. Hesitant, Shimako took her hand and her young wife does the same, it is hard for them to trust the words of a demon, but she's their only person that could help them get to their friend. And so, Dante stepped into the darkness the covered the land, seemingly unharmed and begin the long stretch toward the Capital while constantly telling the other two to never let go of her hand no matter what.
The power of darkness was far more destructive than anyone could imagine, because when the blood of the original Slave and the blood of a demon mixed together, the combination resulted in a deadly effect. Yumi, because she's three-part demon, it make the result even more interesting because of her five-part machine could activate the full potential of the combining bloods. The result, the entire kingdom of Harada was wiped out in a blink of an eye upon Yumi's very wish.