The day after the events of the last chapter, Kou and Daggon were on the roof of Kou's apartment building looking up at the stars in the night sky. Daggon sat in silence but awed at the sky. Kou smiled while saying,"I always enjoy coming up here and seeing the stars."
Kou looked at her hand and had cosmic energy coat it,"It's partly why I am kind of happy with being the Daemon of the cosmos."
Daggon looked at Kou's hand then he grabbed it, causing the cosmic energy to gain orange, navy blue, and cyan coloring along with its cosmic coloring. Kou looked at Daggon, who had lifted his mask up so his face was visible, and she saw that he was giving her a caring gaze.
Kou and Daggon stared into each other's eyes for many moments then Kou's phone began ringing and she cursed under her breath, letting go of Daggon's hand. Daggon sighed sadly while Kou answered her phone. She gained a saddened look then she said,"Hai." and hung up.
"Was that the other monsters?",Daggon asked.
"Yes, they want us to meet up tomorrow morning so I should get to bed.",Kou said with sadness. Daggon nodded then he and Kou stood up but Kou grabbed Daggon's hand then said,"Is there somewhere that I can meet you again?"
Daggon thought about it then he nodded and said,"The park we met at. I sleep in that tree a lot and you can come there when you want to."
"You sleep in a park?",Kou questioned.
Daggon nodded,"Brave Sun gave me our elders… uh… what's that word?"
"Address."
"Yeah, he gave me our elders address but I can't understand this stuff.",Daggon said while pulling out a piece of paper. Kou read the paper then she took a picture of it before saying,"I'll come by there or the park tomorrow to see you."
Daggon smiled along with Kou then Daggon put his mask back on and he was going to jump down the fire escape but Kou grabbed his hand and led him to the inside stairwell.
The next day, Kou was entering the cocktail lounge to see Corvus and Xiya at the bar with Xiya drinking an entire bottle of whiskey. Kou went to the bar and sat down while saying,"Kōvu~asu, Ginza wa doko?" (Translation:Corvus, where's Ginza at?)
Suddenly, Kou was grabbed by the back of her neck and hoisted into the air by Ginza. She tried to get out of Ginza's grip, flailing her legs saying,"Ika sete!" (Translation:Let me go!)
"I am sorry my young friend but we cannot do that till you take your medicine.",Corvus said while walking up to her with a vial of lime green liquid in his hand. Xiya smirked evilly as Ginza put Kou on her knees and held her mouth open. Corvus poured the liquid into Kou's mouth, with Ginza forcing her to swallow it, then he said,"And now we stand back."
Kou fell to her side while gasping for air and clutching her throat. She then had sickly green veins appear on her body while her eyes briefly glowed green and she called out in agony. Kou then got to her back and yelled in agony as a stake made of crystallized indigo energy came out of her chest. Ginza snatched the stake from Kou, causing her great pain, then he walked over to Corvus and said,"Good work, Corvus."
"Why thank you Ginza.",Corvus said while tipping his hat.
"Kore wa dōiu imidesu ka?",Kou weakly asked, getting to her hands and knees and looking up at the other three Daemons. (Translation: What is the meaning of this?)
"You have shown me that you are unfit to be a Daemon and have thus become a liability to Lord Xykor.",Ginza coldly said, looking down at Kou.
Kou scowled at Ginza then she lifted her hand but found that barely any cosmic energy came onto it. She gained a horrified look and looked at her hand,"Watashi no chikara…" (Translation:My powers…)
"Have been extracted for the most part. I tragically can't get rid of them completely due to them being a part of your spirit.",Corvus explained coldly, picking up his cane.
"But he has extracted enough so that you're the equivalent of a weak human. Which means I can finally do something I've been dreaming of doing to you.",Xiya said evilly. She then looked at Ginza,"If you're okay with it that is."
"She is no longer useful to our Lord, so you may do as you please.",Ginza said, walking away from Corvus and Xiya. Kou gasped then she stumbled back while running out of the lounge, clutching her chest in pain as she did so.
Xiya chuckled evilly then said with a wicked smile,"Oh I love it when they run."
In the city, Daggon was walking with Jason, his mind being on Kou. Jason looked at Daggon then asked,"Hey Dag, you okay? You've been unnaturally silent even when we were fighting that Specter."
Daggon looked at Jason then he said,"I am thinking about someone."
"About someone? Who are you thinking about?",Jason asked. Daggon stayed silent and this caused Jason to gain a smile.
"Oh my gosh, you found yourself a girlfriend haven't you buddy?"
"Girlfriend? What's that?",Daggon asked.
"A girlfriend is essentially another word for a mate that's a girl.",Jason explained. Daggon nodded then he did a double take letting out a surprised yell.
"It's okay bud, I won't tell the others until you want me to.",Jason said, with a proud smile.
"Oi, I haven't found a mate… at least I don't think I have.",Daggon said while putting his hand on the chin of his mask.
"Oh~ I get ya. So you met someone but don't know what you guys are yet. Well, let your good friend Jason tell ya what to do.",Jason said while putting an arm around Daggon's shoulders as the two stopped at a crosswalk. Daggon began sniffing the air and he said,"Wait,"
"Dude, I gotta give you this advice.",Jason said.
"Shut up, brave sun, I smell a monster.",Daggon said while sniffing the air.
"Another one?! We just got done fighting a Specter.",Jason complained. Daggon grunted then he looked across the street to see Kou stumbling into a few pedestrians and falling down. He gasped then ran across the street, effortlessly jumping around cars that almost hit him. Jason followed Daggon, trying not to get hit by any cars.
Kou tried to get up but she fell onto her side, breathing heavily and clutching her chest in pain. Daggon pushed many people out of the way then he knelt down next to Kou while worriedly saying,"Kou!"
"Daggon-san…",Kou weakly said, looking up at Daggon. Jason moved past the crowd and he stopped next to Daggon, saw Kou then said,"That's the Daemon girl."
"Brave Sun, take me to the elders cave.",Daggon said while picking Kou up bridal style.
"Wait, you want to take her to Ben's?! She's a Daemon.",Jason argued while motioning to Kou.
"I don't care! Take me to our elder now!",Daggon yelled, his tone sounding serious and angry. Jason's eyes widened then he hesitantly did what Daggon asked, getting into a cab as it passed by them. Xiya watched as Jason, Daggon and Kou got into the cab and she smirked while saying,"So she's in league with the Phantomrangers. Oh, I can't wait to get her."
At Ben's house, Ben was conversing with Paul B and Casey when Daggon and Jason burst through the door with Daggon holding Kou. He quickly moved Kou to the living room and placed her on the couch while Jason said,"Sorry about the door, Ben, but Daggon's really worried."
"Oi, help her!",Daggon interrupted while grabbing Ben by his collar.
"What are you talking about? Who is this girl?",Ben asked.
"Find that out later, just help her!",Daggon yelled.
"Daggon-san…",Kou weakly said while lifting her hand. Daggon let go of Ben and immediately went to Kou's side and held her hand. He took off his mask, revealing his worried face.
Paul B, Casey, Jason and Ben stared at Kou and Daggon, all of them being surprised by how Daggon was acting. Daggon put Kou's hand to his head then he pleaded,"Please, help her."
Ben's expression softened and he sighed before saying,"Jason, get me the first aid supplies. Paul and Casey, get my medicine bag from upstairs."
Half an hour later, Ben was finishing up examining Kou with Daggon being next to him. He sighed then looked at Daggon and said,"She's going to be fine, Daggon."
Daggon sighed in relief but looked at Ben when the older man continued speaking,"However, her spirit has been severely weakened somehow."
Ben looked at Casey and the others,"You all said this girl is one of the Daemons correct?"
"Yeah, she was with two others when that first Specter became a giant.",Casey said.
"Well, she isn't one now.",Ben said with some confusion.
Paul B, Jason, and Casey gained confused looks. Paul B stepped up while saying,"How is that possible?"
"I frankly don't know. This is a first for me.",Ben said with disbelief. Daggon became angered then he growled,"Whoever did this to Kou, I will kill them."
"Whoa whoa, Daggon. I know you're angry but we need to first figure out who did this and make a plan.",Paul B said softly.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT PLANS, THEY HURT KOU AND DESREVE TO DIE!",Daggon shouted while scowling at Paul B. He then felt Kou grip his hand and he looked at her to see that she was slightly awake. Kou gave Daggon a weak smile then she said,"Tatakai ni ikanaide kudasai... Onegaishimasu." before she fell asleep.
"Kou, what did you say?",Daggon asked with a worried tone.
"She asked you to not go looking for a fight.",Paul B said in a saddened tone. Daggon nodded, then he held Kou's hand to his head.
Paul B sighed then he looked at Casey and Jason before saying,"Get Axe and Kizu here. We need to find out what happened to this girl and go after the ones who did it."
