I'm back and better than ever, with fresh ideas and a new obsession with yaoi. You can expect to see a lot more boy-on-boy action in this revised edition of my fic. I will leave the original story up, but I'll only update this one. Even if you've already read the original fic, read this revised one all the way through. I know it's asking a lot, but you'll miss certain alterations and nuances that were not present in the original story. Thanks for all your support. It's because of your reviews that I've even remembered that I have this story...and I'm updating because so many of you demanded it. So here you go! A long overdue update after over a year of nothing!

-Laitoste

NOTE: I realize that the storyline in the manga is a lot further along than what is presented in this story, but pretend you didn't read any of that. I originally wrote this to be set around the fourth book or so, so just go along with it, alright? It gets better.

Chapter One

"No, please, spare me!"

"Shut up old man!"

"Please, I beg you, don't do it! My family will hear of it! They'll come after you, and then...no!"

A sound like a tortured animal rang throughout the forest, followed by a dull thump as the poor victim fell to the ground. Bierrez laughed, "You don't have a family anymore, weakling,"

He licked the blood from his fingers as it dripped and ran in thin streams down his forearm. This arm was not his own; a good friend had died giving it to him when that pet of Lykoleon's ripped off his original, giving Bierrez greater demonic power than ever. The hand at the end of this new appendage could more than double in size and release venom into whatever flesh it pierced, not to mention the claws. This power was further increased by the alchemist Kharl, who enhanced Bierrez's talent with poison and granted him the ability to fling small paralyzing demon larva at his opponents. As his hand returned to it's normal size, Bierrez crouched to study his handiwork, admiring the gaping hole he had inflicted upon the old man's throat. Still snickering, the demon kicked the corpse and started to leave, but stopped short. A prickle ran up his spine, and he sensed eyes upon him.

"Who's there?" he called into the trees. Silence. Bierrez glared about, continuously moving to make for a harder target. A light breeze rustled the deep green foliage and made the perfume of the flowers at his feet waft through the cool evening air. Still suspicious, the demon wiped the remainder of the blood staining his right hand on the lush grass and left. As he walked through the thickly strewn plant life and wove between the trunks of monstrously tall trees, Bierrez failed to notice the pair of intensely focused eyes, blazing crimson and tracking his every move. Without so much as a whisper, the watcher melted back into the overgrowth, and stalked the wary demon on wings of silence.

The orange sun was setting in the west; its fiery light pierced the treetops and filtered into the forest and cast long shafts of fading color. The leaves rustled in the high branches, some falling and fluttering to the deep darkness of the forest floor. A sudden burst of icy wind swept through the boughs and loosed a splash of red and golden leaves that rode the gust like fire birds in a hurricane. A clawed hand flashed from a nearby shadow, and Bierrez stepped out, delicately holding one of the descending licks of flame.

"Damn that alchemist, cursing me with this arm!" he growled, "Of course he increased its power, so he could turn around and use it through me!" Bierrez crushed the dead leaf, and cast the pieces to the quieting breeze. "How could I have been so stupid?" Frustrated, the demon began to pace, "It's all Shydeman's fault anyway. That self-absorbed peacock sent me to retrieve Cesia from the very home of the Dragon Lord. Out of the palm of his hand, no less! He may as well have told me to revive Lord Nadil and slay Lykoleon while I'm at it, and then maybe fetch him a bit of human flesh for him to snack on, the worthless pig."

Bierrez whirled around and kicked the tree behind him out of sheer anger. "I'll bet he arranged Lord Nadil's death, just so he could be in charge of the demon army. If you ask me, Shydeman isn't worth his weight in demon shit, let alone be given control the entire yokai force. But wait," he stopped dead, and rubbed his chin in thought, "If he has control of the yokai army, then why is he sending me to get Cesia? And why is that brat of a girl so important anyway? She couldn't even eat like a demon. I'm not even sure if she is pure demon. Why would a half- breed like her be so damn important that the Dragon Lord protects her, along with that murderer Rath?"

He sat down on a large tree root protruding from the ground and smiled when the sun finally sank, leaving the air abruptly cold and the forest drowned in shadow. His green eyes shone without light, for demons can see even in the abyssal black of a night without stars or moonshine. Even so, the world around him was tinged with deep blues and dark violet, a wash of gloom that pervaded everything and extended past the four horizons, the perfect concealment. Those who wished to be unseen and unnoticed traveled and worked their deeds under the cover of black nights like these.

Bierrez considered slaughtering more hapless villagers just to vent his anger, but that would eventually attract unwanted attention. He couldn't afford to be noticed, not now at least. Stealth would serve his purpose better. After his first failed attempt at seizing Cesia and returning her to yokai hands, the Dragon Lord would be doubly watchful and cautious. Lykoleon probably had Rath following that brat around like a dog. Bierrez shivered with pleasure at the thought of exacting his vengeance upon Rath for the loss of his arm, and for keeping from him the one thing that could set him free of Kharl's power: Cesia. No matter how hard he thought about it, all the threads tied at that mysterious girl.

Humph. She could at least be hot or something. That way I could have a bit more motivation, Bierrez thought numbly. He shifted uneasily on the tree root, trying to get comfortable. He hadn't forgotten about the feeling he'd gotten after he had killed that old man, and was contemptuously trying to hide his fear of being followed.

Just the sort of thing Kharl would do, Bierrez thought in a sudden flare of anger. Kharl. He would know more about this. He must know something that he was withholding from Bierrez; Kharl wasn't the author of the demon bible for nothing. The shady alchemist must have deep, dark secrets about the race of yokai that he kept only to himself, things long forgotten in the cataracts of time. Perhaps he knew the secret of Cesia's worth... why was she so vital to the demons? What could a lone girl have that the entire yokai army didn't? Bierrez shook his head, his long strands of hair flowing with slow grace. It wouldn't do anything for him to sit here and simply ask the empty air. He needed answers to his questions. Answers that only the one-winged angel possessed.

"I'll go to him," Bierrez said suddenly, "and I'll rip the snake's throat out if he refuses to tell me anything. I have to know." The demon stood in the darkness and flexed his claw, which was growing steadily. "I must know."

With that, Bierrez whirled about, and with a sound like rushing wind, slashed a deep gash in the thick bark of a nearby conifer. The scaly trunk seemed to wither before his very eyes, and before long was cracking with the weight of itself. As brittle leaves drifted in a rising breeze, Bierrez laughed passionately into the blackness of the night.

"Soon, I'll be free of that bastard Kharl. Soon, Rath will suffer as I have! They all will! Every one of the Dragons!"

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters, places or anything else associated with Dragon Knights. These belong to Mineko Ohkami. All I can do is dream and write fanfics! .