As the world spun from day to night and changed again, an adult male sat quietly looking up at the starry night sky in awe. No matter how much he tried to count the number of stars in the sky he still don't know the exact number of it, ever since his mother told him the number of stars in space, He could only imagine the stars as grains of sand on the ground that he could not count.

["Mom, why do the stars keep shining at night and disappear during the day?"] A boy asked his mother while resting his head calmly on the grown woman's lap.

The woman who is his mother smiled, "Because the star only shines to light the streets for those who will become one of them in the sky"

"At night, many souls who drift away do not know where they are going and the stars are their souls who live illuminating the sky and invite those who are lost to join them." Her mother told stories, smiling at the stars. "Your father's soul is there, he is there to illuminate us to guard us and keep us protected from anything" Continued her mother's story when she saw one of the brightest stars in the sky.

As a child he could only imagine seeing stars until that time comes

The time when his mother lay with a pale blue face with a scent of rotting body it smelled very pungent on his nose. He lay crushed, covered in wounds and bruises and as a child he could only stare blankly leaning beside his rotting mother.

"...Bert..."

...

"Issei"

A voice managed to wake him back to the real world where he was swept away in the bad memories he had ever remembered. Koneko Toujo, a silvered hair Duchess's with blue eyes look at him with gaze full of worries. "What's wrong? Why do you look so sad?"

Toujo asked when she saw Issei who was sitting on the grass with a look that almost cried staring at the stars, Realizing how pathetic he looked as a loyal bodyguard of Toujo, Issei quickly corrected his slightly pathetic appearance

"Nothing, Ojou-sama. Are you having trouble resting?" Issei asked after seeing Toujo who was looking at him with a worried face.

"... Issei... What were you really thinking earlier? " Toujo asked with great worry seeing Issei, but Issei brushed it off by silently not answering her question. "Do you not trust me so much that you don't want to answer me, Issei" Toujo continued her words in a sad tone when she saw Issei who was looking back at the stars.

"It is not a matter of whether I believe in you or not, Ojou-sama "

"So what? What makes you always treat me differently than Momo? " Toujo protested with frustration at Issei when she recalled how she saw the distance between Karen and Issei very differently between her and Issei

"Answer me, Issei!"

Toujo started demanding an answer when all the jealousy towards Karen that she couldn't hold back any longer start to boil off to the max. It seemed ridiculous but that was the reality that Toujo had been feeling all this time.

"Do you want to hear a fairy tale, Toujo Ojou-sama?" Issei first called her by her first name even though it ended with a formal designation but it gave a little red blush on Toujo's cheeks.

"Once upon a time, on the outskirts of the kingdom which was close to the slums but all the inhabitants lived peacefully. There lived a family who lived in peace "

"The peace of the family was sometimes broken when they were driven away due to ... "

fourteen years ago

"Issei, do you know. In the royal palace, there is a princess who cares about small citizens like us" His mom began to tell a story like telling a fairy tale to him as dusk slowly turned into night. "The princess has the nickname as the fire princess of the immortal Phoenix bird , she was given a nickname like that, that's because of the color of her hair that like a blazing fire from hell"

"Whooaaa... She's must be pretty, right, mother? " The boy asked in amazement at his mother's explanation.

Her mother smiled, while gently stroking her child's head who was excited about the story of the princess in the royal palace, however, little did the child know about what was happening in this cruel world.

The street is pitch black with a terrifying aura, a child walks unsteadily with a body full of scars from someone's beating him with blunt objects visible all over his body.

"Mother... where are you?"

He called his mother while walking down the street, until in the distance he could see something from afar, something so terrible that was happening to his mother.

"Mother!"

There, a group of humans in armor treated his mother cruelly, they beat her and allowed their feet to her mother's face. "Don't hurt my mother!" he shouted at them trying to gather all the strength he had to protect his mother but those who numbered much more could easily overpower him and he could only remain silent. Silence, seeing himself and his mother being beaten and tormented by them with huge laughter on their face.

Issei continued to tell stories where he witnessed his mother dying in front of him seeing them laugh when they finished torturing him and his mother like a to.

"..."

Koneko Toujo was silent, unable to breathe smoothly when she heard the dark story that happened to Issei in the past. The story is very dark beyond the story what she's had gone through in fact when Toujo compared her story with Issei's story, she could feel that her story just worthless one compared to Issei's past suffering.

She trembled in sadness listening to Issei's story, while Issei just stared at the stars in the sky before continuing his words.

"My mother once said, stars are those who are guardian figures to anyone who prays to them but no matter how long I prayed, they never answered me. No matter how or no matter what, they just stare at me doing nothing"

The emptiness in Issei's tone made Toujo's throat feel dry, her chest was like being pricked by so many needles, that she wanted to scream right now after she could no longer endure the pain that struck her heart.

The silence between the two of them made Toujo unable to make a sound or move from her place other than to keep quiet letting time pass between the two

"Ojou-sama, you better sleep. We still have a long way to go, let me be on guard tonight " Said Issei is still not looking at Toujo. Toujo just nodded and returned to the wagon silently without saying a word

The night passed and Issei couldn't erase the old memories that always haunt him every day, like a broken opera played by the worst actor ever.

-0-

"Duke, Looks like they had left for the capital about a day ago " Report someone in the room wearing military clothing gave a military greeting towards the Duke with great respect.

"Tell me where they are now?"

"Our intelligence says they are now in a small rural area, located north from the city"

"Hm... How many guard she's bring with her"

"it seems she's only bringing one man with her"

"Only one?"

"Yes, Your Highness"

"Ho? So what do we know about this man?"

"So far we know that he comes from a semi-military organization, it's just that we do not find any relation between that man, with any listed organizations in the kingdom. He is quite mysterious one"

"So you want to tell me that this person is the same person who defeated one of our best wizards?"

"Sadly, that's right. Your Highness"

"Interesting, How about you? Do you think you can beat this guy?"

"If that is your wish, I will do it. Your Highness"

"Oh? You're sound so confident about it"

"Are you telling me that I can't beat that anonymous guy?"

"Not really"

The Duke started to let out a joking tone towards him when he saw his annoyed expression. "I just wanted to say. Don't underestimate your opponent"

"Yes, Your Highness"

Like a magic, the man then became transparent and instantly he disappeared from this room as if his existence had never existed

The Duke, who was alone in this room, could only chuckle with a dark smile when he thought of something he was sure would work "This will be very interesting. Let's see how tough you are, Lost Princess"

-0-

Morning came, Koneko Toujo, a 16 year old girl with silver hair who looks very unnatural to the inhabitants of this kingdom is currently traveling towards the capital city. With a guard named Issei J (James) Hyoudo, a soldier from a semi-military guild whose name had not been known to the public for many years, they had now arrived at a fairly large village, Issei, who had served Toujo for 7 years since the bloody incident, was now working as a bodyguard and knight for Toujo. Speaking of knights, the origins of who and what Issei was still a great mystery to Toujo, as far as she knows Issei is a very strong knight but she still wants to know more about Issei, sometimes Toujo can't deny that she really likes Issei but ...

It was quite sad for Toujo when the man she liked didn't see her as a girl at all but a master to her subordinates.

"Ojou-sama, Is there something wrong?' Issei asked in a worried tone, they were currently on a path that led directly to the countryside not far from their current position.

Toujo, who saw how Issei has been unaware of her feelings, made her eager to hit Issei's head. 'Jerk' said Toujo in her mind while sighing heavily at the fact that her body still looks like a fifteen year old child.

Seeing that there was nothing wrong with Toujo, Issei continued his footsteps where he was at the forefront in case if there was an attack he was the first to know of it.

"Ojou-sama, We have arrived" Said Issei when he saw the village gate in the distance. Toujo just nodded silently and they walked back towards the village.

'It's strange' thought Issei when they entered the village which was quite quiet even though this village was quite large, then what happened? that's what Issei thought

Toujo, who had been silent since earlier, started to feel an unpleasant feeling as they walked down the village streets. Suddenly a thin mist began to cover the streets of this village, Toujo started to feel goosebumps when this thin mist gave off a sinister aura that made her slightly close the distance between her and the still calm Issei.

"Ojou-sama?"

Without realizing it, Toujo pulled a little of Issei's black coat with a slightly scared face. She looked at Issei as if she wanted to say that she was scared

Issei immediately realized what Toujo was feeling, he immediately glanced around him trying to find anything suspicious here. Strangely, until now they continued to walk, Issei didn't feel anything that could endanger Toujo's life or him. Somehow Issei was sure that this mist had some kind of strange power but he wasn't sure what it was

'Please don't scare me' Toujo said in her mind while thinking about the ghost story that Karen had told her before falling asleep.

'What is that?' What Toujo saw was a kind of human silhouette in the distance that strangely Issei did not react as if he did not see it in the distance.

The silhouette became even more clear as they continued walking down the village streets until Issei suddenly stopped his footsteps.

"Who is there?" Issei asked in a stern tone when looking around the two of them felt tense even though there was no one as long as the eye could see. Seeing that there was no answer, Issei began to draw his sword spontaneously, making Toujo even more frightened and she began to draw herself closer to Issei as if she wanted to hug him.

"Al ... Issei ... are there any enemies there" Toujo pointed at a silhouette in the distance with her index finger in a trembling tone of fear as the atmosphere grew tense, strangely Issei didn't see anyone where Toujo was pointing.

'...' Issei saw Toujo's face which was about to cry because of the pressure of this thick aura leaving him with no other choice but to use that method.

His eyes began to close when he opened his eyes, his eyes changed shape and began to glow. The pair of shining blue eyes allowed him to look around him which was filled with strange energy, Issei then started pointed his sword towards the energy source a few feet away from them.

"Who are you? Do you want to hurt Ojou-sama"

"If so, this is your last day in this world"

Issei began to emit a tone full of menace at the transparent figure. For a moment Issei threatened the figure, the figure slowly turned around and looked at them, which suddenly scared Toujo.

The figure of a woman in strange clothes like a princess looked at them with a smile.

("You guys are so weird") The figure replied in a very soft voice like a gust of wind, the smile of the woman whose figure was transparent made Toujo tremble even more with fear when she peeked from behind Issei's body.

"G ... Ghost ?!"

The transparent woman giggled as Toujo stared at her.

("Don't be afraid, little girl") Said the woman's figure as she walked closer to them, which suddenly made Issei on guard right away and pointed his sword at that figure.

"Don't you dare come near Ojou-sama" Issei threatened, his sword slowly covered with bright blue energy like a burning blaze.

("Fufufu ... Don't be too alert with me, strange human ") The woman replied, laughingly looking at Issei who was still alert at her. ("You know, you guys are very strange humans. A princess with holy power and you ... What kind of creature are you?")

This time it was Issei who was made speechless when the woman found out something about him.

("Fufufu ... I really look forward to humans like you, especially ... ")

"Hyah !" Toujo screamed when she felt something touch her cheek. When Toujo glanced sideways, a transparent woman beside her smiled amusedly which suddenly made her almost scream out loud.

("A figure like yourself is very attractive, little girl. So don't hold back your feelings, ok?")

"W ... what ... what do you mean?"

("Oh? Didn't you realize that I talked about your feelings to h ...")

"Eekkk ! D ... Don't say that !" Toujo immediately screamed loudly trying to make the transparent woman silent as soon as the secret of her feelings was almost exposed.

"Ojou-sama, if you get annoyed with her, just say, I'll make her disappear from this world " Issei threatened when he glared at the woman

Strangely, Toujo just stepped away from her stuttered when Issei looked at Toujo worriedly, Toujo and the woman then looked at each other. Toujo then turned to look at the woman who was still smiling giggling at Toujo's behavior, which was easy to guess what was wrong.

"H ... how do you know?" Toujo asked as if her fear just disappeared. The woman just smiled as she touched her face, smiling a little sadly

("I was like you a long time ago, of course I know what it's like to fall in love")

"T...Then, can you give me some advice. "

("What is it, little girl?")

"How do you make a stone brain like him aware of my feelings!" Angry Toujo when glanced at Issei who looked at the two of them suspiciously, even though Issei could not hear the two of them talking as if in whispers he could only watch

The two of them continued their secret conversation ignoring Issei who was ready to attack the woman's figure, without realizing that a long time passed between the two as if they were close friends.

-0-

"My King, we have information"

"Tell me"

The man wearing the knight's clothes then handed over a kind of letter which was rolled up with a stamp as the binding rope.

The king then read the letter with a serious face, "If this is true, we can't let them get away with this problem."

"So what are your orders, My King"

"Tell me, do you think this report from Duke Kalzwart is true regarding this mysterious Guild?"

"We don't know about that yet, My King. This guild I have never heard of in my life, so there is a high chance that they have some kind of bad influence on the kingdom."

"How many troops in the holy knight unit are there?"

"To date, there are more than 2315 combat-ready troops who are the most trained in history." Reported the knight while kneeling before the king

"All right, I trust you. Tell the Duke we will take care of them"

"Yes, My King"

As soon as the knight left the King in the throne room, he could not get his mind off this problem. He never thought that there was an organization hidden under his feet for years without anyone knowin about them.

The king then sighed as he glanced at the window where the sunlight shone on this enormous room.

Meanwhile in a hidden place, a man like his in his late forties began glancing sharply at a woman dressed in a kind of mixed dress and armor. "Leviathan, I know you never joke about something you already know, but are you sure about this?"

"Yes My Lord" Leviathan answered briefly when the man glanced at her, Leviathan then brought out her large sword out of thin air. "My Lord, We'd better get out of here while we can, I already warned all Guild headquarters scattered in several areas for immediate evacuation. Whoever it is that cornered us, must have something to do with them from one of us. I will find out who the mouse is and get rid of him from this world " Leviathan said that with anger as she prepared to find and pursue who the culprit was

"Leviathan, You go on ahead. I still have some work to do " The man replied calmly to Leviathan who spontaneously got an angry answer from her.

"What does that mean, My Lord! We can't stay here long! They will come after us if you don't leave right away! " Leviathan snapped at the man who still looked indifferent to this precarious situation

Seeing the angry Leviathan, the man could only smile at her. "Look, I want you to do something, and this is not a request but an order."

"Say it, My Lord"

"Get out of here and take command during my absence. Do you understand"

"B ... But!"

"Leviathan, this is an absolute order from me" Affirmed the man to Leviathan who spontaneously made Leviathan speechless. Leviathan then could only kneel a little irritated, she tried to hold back the feelings that were overflowing from within her heart. Seeing that this was the man's absolute order, Leviathan then stood up and looked at the man once again

"Yes, My Lord"

Leviathan replied as she left this room leaving him in this room. The man saw Leviathan leave could only sigh heavily as he looked at the window

'What on earth is that person thinking? Why is he doing this, don't tell me that it has something to do with the dispute seven years ago. '

He then took out something from a desk drawer, he was holding a revolver pistol and aimed at the door where he felt something behind it.

"Don't you have manners?" Asked the man calmly when he knew someone was there. No answer, but suddenly the door was destroyed and at that moment the man fired a shot with the power from within him.

"Oh? How unexpected" Said the figure behind the shadow when he saw three people killed by the power of that man.

"Sorry, but I don't accept guests like you for today" Replied the man as he stood up from his chair look at them with sharp gaze.

As the shadows began to clear who was behind it, a man like his 30s wearing a royal knight outfit began pointing his sword towards him. "On behalf of the King of Solfia and this Kingdom, you and your organization are considered a threat to the kingdom. We will finish you and force you to reveal your rotten plan "

"In my whole life, this is the first time I've been threatened by someone much younger than me" he said calmly as he took a cigar from his pocket while sipping it casually. He then aimed his gun at the knight while smiling contemptuously at him. "Well, can you cheer me up when I'm bored?

"Are you joking? Instead I will finish you very quickly "

"Oh? I'm really looking forward to it"

As the two of them fell silent, the knight rushed towards him at high speed with his sword ready to cut him down, when the man saw the knight's attack he immediately parried it with the gun in his hand

"Is that all you can do?" He asked as he calmly blew cigar smoke from his mouth

"Sacred light" A blinding flash of white light started out from the blade, and the knight quickly jumped backwards and headed back towards the man who was still in his place.

Tiiing

The sound of iron fighting each other echoed, when the knight was sure he hit the man he was quite surprised to see the man calmly managed to intercept his attack with one hand.

"Not bad" Praise the man when he saw that his attack was enough to make him more alert, when the knight started showering him with repeated attacks, he casually dodged all of them.

"You're mine" Said the knight as he darted towards the man with full force. The man quickly aimed his gun at the knight who was about to attack him head-on

"Black death" Said the man softly, the mouth of the gun was immediately covered with black energy and a high-speed bullet shot towards the knight who was also going towards him at the same time.

The knight who did not expect an attack darting at him as he rushed towards the man, he was immediately hit by the shot which immediately sent him crashing through the wall. The knight's collision with the wall cut a large hole through the building to the outside

The man calmly returned to smoking his cigar when he saw the hole that was created in this room. "Ah ... how troublesome. This wall will be very expensive to repair" He complained when he saw the damage in his room and this building

(clap...clap)

"Who would have thought that if you were able to keep hiding without me knowing, you seem so different from him huh? " Said the man while clapping his hands when he realized the presence of someone in the corner of the room, soon that figure began to emerge from the shadows and showed himself.

A man in black clothes carrying a sword of the same color as his clothes had very flat facial expression.

"Don't want to talk? Really ... "

Suddenly the man immediately shot towards her at high speed with a sword imbued with black energy. The black energy then immediately collided with the gun he was using. An instant burst of energy made windows and rooms fall apart instantly.

"Cough ... cough ... I never imagined that there would be Dark Mages among a royal army like you" Said the man when he saw the man in black who still didn't speak until

"My job is to finish you off, and I will carry out the mission "

Said the man in black as he looked at him blankly, he only raised one eyebrow when he heard such an answer.

Not waiting for him to say a word, the man in black immediately attacked him again at a very high speed making him have to dodge every slash that was directed at him.

'hrgh ... Is he even human?' He thought as he tried to balance the attack speed with every evasive action he took.

"Urgh" A successful kick hit his body which immediately sent him crashing into the wall. When he turned his gaze to the strange man, a slash went straight to his neck he quickly tried to dodge by getting up and jumping away from his position but the strange man did not provide a gap for him to get away from the man.

"Hghk" The man was hit in a row that seemed as if it never stopped from the strange man. As he was blown away once more and hit the wall he nearly broke his arm

"You're pretty good" he complimented the strange man who pointed his sword at his face.

"This is the end" Said the strange man when he looked at the man who was still leaning on the wall. But that man just gave a mocking smile towards the strange man as if he didn't care about it

Like a gust of wind, the sword was swung so quickly that the room suddenly fell silent.

The man in black stared at the body he had finished with a blank gaze, he then picked up something from the floor as proof his target had been eliminated.

The gusts of wind were felt in various places, even a woman with gray hair who was running away from the capital immediately stopped from running when she felt something. Something very unpleasant attacked her heart, it was very painful ... it hurt so much that she even had to sit on the ground holding her sore chest.

"Eh ... Why ... why am I crying" Tears started flowing from the corner of her eye, Leviathan started to cry and she even sobbed when she found out that the feeling was true. "M ... My Lord ..." She continued to cry quite loudly as if the sky listened to her cries, the weather turned a little cloudy and it would rain in a moment.

Far away from Leviathan's place, a man in his twenty-four years stared at the dark sky as a sign of rain, his feelings said something bad but he couldn't tell what.

Issei J (James) Hyoudo, that's the name of the boy who is now a knight of Koneko Toujo.

He looked up at the twilight sky wondering what he was really looking for in his life, was it treasure? Was it strength? or title? He will never know

Himself is just one piece that can be forgotten by time and it will continue to be repeated to anyone. All the hero stories he hears from his mother are nothing more than empty tales designed to entertain children who are full of dreams. The thousands to millions of melodies he heard about heroic tales were all about slaying demons and saving the world, but not a single story was about saving someone or a single person who needed help the most.

He stared at his hands where he knew what was under the skin, the human skin underneath was the skin of the devil which was his inheritance. If the prediction about the chosen hero is correct, then the day he will be killed will come and he believes he must be ready if the time where Ojou-sama will kill him.

What will ojou-sama think when she finds out that he is a devil

He asked silently as he gazed at the sky, for the seven years he had spent guarding and protecting Princess Toujo at the last wish of the previous Lords of the city.

'If, Princess Toujo finds out the truth about that time ... Will she forgive me?' Issei remembered that time, the time when he killed Toujo's parents.

("Do you like to daydream all day long, Mr. strange?") A soft voice came from beside him, when he turned his face he saw a transparent woman hovering smiling at him.

"Where is Ojou-sama?"

("Fufu ... Your beloved daughter is trying to light a bonfire there") The woman pointed her finger towards where Toujo was trying to light a bonfire.

Seeing Toujo who was still struggling to light the fire, Issei could only smile as he looked back at the sky.

("Are you going to keep hiding about who you are from that little princess? ") The woman asked Issei who was looking up at the sky, imagining in his mind.

"I don't know, I'm only a shield and a sword for Ojou-sama. If Ojou-sama asks me to explain everything, I will do it" Issei confidently explained about his decision made the woman could only chuckle at him but Issei did not care about it at all.

Dusk ends, replaced by the night that has come to bring darkness in this world. In front of the bonfire, Issei was cooking something for Toujo and Toujo was just staring at him excitedly while telling stories excitedly with that strange transparent woman. Issei, who was still daydreaming, began to feel that this bad feeling was something he shouldn't forget

'What a feeling is it?

When the cooking was finished, Toujo immediately ate Issei's cooking which she thought was the best in the world

"Huuuuumm ... Very delicious! I never got my judgment wrong on you, Issei!" Praise Toujo while eating the dish Issei made

"I am very honored by your compliment, Ojou-sama."

("You look so happy, Toujo")

"Of course! Issei is the greatest knight in the world and the one I lov... cough !"

Toujo immediately coughed when she almost said something very embarrassing, Issei who saw Toujo choking immediately moved to help her by wiping Toujo's mouth.

"Ojou-sama, talking while eating is something you shouldn't do, that's bad manner." Issei lectured to Toujo, and Toujo could only glance at him with a slightly angry face but looked quite cute in Issei's eyes

The transparent woman who saw the exchange of conversation between the two made her chuckle a little. ('These two really interesting')

"Issei! Why are you doing that so casually!"

"What do you mean, Ojou-sama?"

"What do I mean that ... wh ... why ... why don't you feel as if you don't feel embarrassed just a little when doing that!"

"Ojou-sama, I don't understand what you mean. Why should I be embarrassed when I've been doing this for a long time?"

"Urrrr ... A ... Issei you're an idiottt !" Toujo protested when she saw how stone-brained Issei was not realizing how embarrassing it was.

('Fufufu ... maybe I'll keep an eye on them for a while') The woman giggled at them