Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hey everyone! Pinkshuchan here. I'm hoping everyone is still enjoying Prince of Damonen so far. I don't have every much to say here so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Beautiful but Deadly

The sun shined bright as it reached its peak, standing out in the cloudless blue sky. It watched as an old horse and buggy travelled across the lifeless fields of Stahlern and was heading farther into another continent; the next destination.

Akihiko couldn't sit still the entire ride. He had never travelled around in a horse and buggy before let alone around Stahlern. It was all so exciting to him. Hiroki on the other hand had been quiet the entire time since they woke up. Even when Miyagi presented him with metal knuckles with steel claws as his other weapon besides his fire abilities, the cinnamon haired man only replied to a small thank you and said nothing else. The oldest man didn't know what was wrong, although he had a feeling it had something to do with Akihiko as Hiroki would constantly give small glances at the silver haired man when he wasn't looking.

As they kept going, they noticed how the scenery changed. What was first fields of dried up grass slowly started sprouting evergreen trees. The horse and buggy stopped the moment it reached some sort of cave.

"This is the farthest I can take you," the driver of the buggy called out to them, "You'll have to go the rest of the way on your own."

The three men got off and began walking to the cave. "Thanks a lot," Miyagi replied back to the driver, "We greatly appreciate it." And then they disappeared in the darkness of the cave.

This cave was unlike any cave Akihiko had ever seen. There were lots of holes in the ceiling of the cave to provide light for them to see. As they walked, they found lots of carvings. The silver haired man asked Miyagi, considering he was the expert having travelled everywhere before. The older man replied by saying that the carvings weren't anything important, but rather they were decoration. Akihiko was not sure himself. He wondered if there was actually a story behind them.

Their way through the cave was not a safe one. Demons kept popping up everywhere as they continued on. These demons weren't too strong so Akihiko only used his staff to get rid of them. And for Miyagi and Hiroki, they too saw no need to go extreme on them. As a result, Miyagi only used a shortsword against them and Hiroki only used the metal claws, not bothering to use his fire. To keep them safe, Akihiko summoned Suzuki once again to warn them if anymore demons came.

They finally made it out of the cave safe. They found themselves on a pathway on a cliff, giving them a good view of the beauty before them. Akihiko went for a closer look and found the scenery absolutely breathtaking.

There before them was an entire forest of evergreen trees that expanded across the land. There were little patches of green grass in some spots and there was even rock with a waterfall leading to a river. This was what Akihiko called a perfect paradise. This was the place he wanted to live in as soon as he got his freedom.

"Like the view, don't you?" asked Miyagi, snapping Akihiko out of his thoughts, "Then again, there's no better place than Erden, the Earth Continent."

Hiroki huffed. "I'm sure it's not that great," he replied with his arms crossed, "Especially its people. They're all tree huggers I bet."

"They do care for trees, yes," said Miyagi, "But the people of Erden care for anything; it doesn't matter if it's plant or animal. Erden, the spiritual being that was responsible for this continent's creation, was a kind being that wouldn't hurt a fly."

"A guy like that would be beaten up for being that soft."

"She, Hiroki. She is female; the only female of all the spiritual beings. And on the contrary, she was deeply admired by the other spiritual beings, especially since she is known as Peace. Her love for all living things was so great and how beautiful this place became because of that love had the citizens call by another name; Mother Nature. Not only that, but the people born here in Erden are known to be absolutely beautiful, just like Erden herself." He began walking away. "But enough about Erden's history. We have the next item and our future ally to find, isn't that right?"

Akihiko nodded as he and Hiroki followed him further on. It didn't stop them from conversing with themselves while walking. Miyagi continued on. "So Akihiko, we're almost halfway there. After Erden, there's still Ozean and Kurbeln, right? And then Damonen where you fight your brother, obtain your freedom, maybe find yourself a cute girl-!"

At saying cute girl, Hiroki smacked him in the head. "You idiot!" he yelled, "Akihiko can't focus on that now. His freedom is most important to him. Why would he look for a girl?"

"But Little Hiroki," said Miyagi, "Just look at him. Akihiko is no doubt the type of man who girls won't be able to keep their eyes off of. I wouldn't be surprised if he could win himself a princess."

Hiroki grabbed Miyagi's shirt and pulled the older man close so their eyes were at the same level. "Listen here!" he growled, "You keep this up, you're going to experience a slow painful death at your age."

"Understandable," Hiroki let go. Miyagi just smirked. "But we both know it's not because you're annoyed with the conversation but rather with something else."

And by saying that, the older man was shot by one of Hiroki's fireballs, setting his butt on fire. He jumped around in pain by that but was able to grab the gourd on Hiroki's back and dump the water inside on the flames, setting them out. The cinnamon haired male pulled the ground away in anger.

"Why the hell did you do that?" he roared.

"That's what you get by throwing fire at me," Miyagi replied.

"You are lucky this gourd's supply is endless or I would've turned you inside out."

"Would you both shut up," Akihiko yelled, "Hiroki is right; I'm not interested in anything like that for now. I don't even have someone in mind right now. I have not met that person who has given me the feeling of 'Yes, that is the one'. And I know I'll never meet that person if I don't obtain my freedom."

Hiroki and Miyagi were silent. Neither had thought Akihiko would say anything like that. But the words disappointed Hiroki a little. Akihiko had not met that person he wanted which meant that Hiroki wasn't the one. He couldn't give up though. Maybe he was the one and Akihiko didn't see it yet. He knew he couldn't let his feelings go unless he knew for certain.

They stopped walking as they saw someone walking their way. Who it was, they were not sure. They prepared themselves in case it was an enemy. But it turned out to be something they didn't expect.

A young woman stood there. She was dressed in a long lavender Chinese dress with lavender heels and long lavender and magenta fingerless gloves. A magenta bow was tied in her long raven hair at the back of her head. She carried a while umbrella with a cherry blossom pattern.

"Wow!" Miyagi exclaimed, "A cute girl really did appear. Who knew?"

Hiroki glared at him. "You are both an idiot and a pervert. That's a terrible combination in my opinion."

Akihiko was the only one who said nothing. Instead, he pulled his staff out. Hiroki and Miyagi were confused why the silver haired man would pull out his weapon like that. But Miyagi analysed his surroundings and knew what was up.

"Lavender is another colour used to determine Damonen royalty," he explained, "More specifically females. She must be another one. Plus, I believe to recall that that bear demon of Akihiko's hides off somewhere when there's trouble."

Hiroki looked around. Miyagi was right. Suzuki was no where to be found. And looking at Akihiko's expression, he seemed to know this woman.

The young woman glanced at Akihiko before turning to the sight of Erden. "Such a beautiful place, isn't it?" she asked, "This forest is truly a peaceful paradise. However, even this place has its conflicts."

"Enough of your talk!" Akihiko snapped, "Haruhiko sent you here, didn't he, Kaoruko?"

"It is my duty to keep peace in all of Elementar," the woman, Kaoruko, replied, "After all, I am a Damonen Knight. Damonen Knight #4, the Beautiful Killer, Kaoruko."

Hiroki and Miyagi were taken aback with what she said. She is another Damonen Knight? Who had thought another one would appear this soon. She pulled out an item similar to the ones Shinoda used before and threw it, causing another barrier.

"I am sorry, Brother Akihiko," Kaoruko continued, "These are Barrier Making Items, used to prevent targets from escaping and allies from helping. This is a battle to the death. As much as I don't want to fight you, I have a reputation as a Damonen Knight to protect," She closed her umbrella and pulled something out from the pole. A katana was hidden in the umbrella. "Well then, let us begin!"

Akihiko charged at Kaoruko with staff in hand. She blocked every attack he made and vice versa when she tried striking a blow. When blocking couldn't be used, they tried dodging. However, when Akihiko tried an attack from below, Kaoruko jumped over Akihiko and managed to strike him in the back. The silver haired man cried in pain. It didn't stop him from attacking her again. But she was able to do another successful counter attack.

"You may have been able to destroy Shinoda, Brother Akihiko," she explained, "But you have yet to reach my level. Though it is expected; if you had stayed in Damonen and properly learned what you needed, you would've possibly become one of the Damonen Knights."

"I have my reasons," Akihiko replied, "Damonen is nothing but laws. There is no freedom. I am fighting for that freedom for myself! No more will I have to follow Damonen anymore."

"But tell me, Brother Akihiko. What will happen once you get your freedom? Where will you go?"

That was actually a good question. What would Akihiko do once he receives his freedom? Like Hiroki and Miyagi explained; people in other continents are not overly excited with anyone of Damonen lurking around. It wouldn't be a good thing for anyone to know he was from Damonen. Even with his freedom, he would still have the powers of someone from Damonen. If that was the case, what would he do after he obtained his freedom.

Kaoruko knew she got Akihiko's attention. "After what you did," she began again, "I don't think there will be a way to have you atone for your crime. However, I will make sure that if you surrender to Damonen, your execution will be quick and painless, unlike what will happen if you don't."

Akihiko was quiet for a bit. He then looked at Kaoruko. "It is obvious that whether I continue on or not, I will die if I don't have the strength to succeed for my freedom. However, I would rather die trying to obtain what I want then die by giving up. So what if I don't fit in with others when I obtain my freedom; I will make my life the way I want it, not the way someone else wants it to be!"

The young woman sighed. "I really didn't want it to come to this, Akihiko. But you leave me with no other choice." Her eyes began to glow. Akihiko stared, wondering what was going on.

He didn't know it would be a big mistake on his part.

Something was shot at him. He was not sure what it was. But when he tried looking around, all he could see was darkness. What had happened?

Kaoruko laughed. "Behold my power!" she yelled out, "There are many beautiful things all over the world, but how can you see them when you're blind?" She dashed as fast as she can. Akihiko tried to hit her, but without his sight, he couldn't find her exact location. Kaoruko used this as an advantage and managed to give multiple blows on the silver haired man. Akihiko fell. "And now for the final attack!" She knocked Akihiko one last time hard on the back which pushed him off the cliff.

"AKIHIKO!" Hiroki cried out, trying to run in that direction only to be stopped by Miyagi.

"No, Hiroki!" Miyagi yelled back.

The barrier disappeared and Kaoruko faced the two men left standing there. "I apologize for you having to see that. It couldn't be helped. It would be best if you ever forgot he existed." She placed her katana back into the umbrella, opened it up, and walked away.

When she disappeared from view, Hiroki slowly walked over to the cliff Akihiko fell off of. Surely the silver haired man was pretending his death to have Kaoruko off his tail. But it was in vain. He couldn't see Akihiko anywhere. All he could see was trees below them. He fell to his knees. This couldn't be happening. Akihiko couldn't be…

Miyagi walked over to the cinnamon haired male, who fell to his knees, and placed his hand on the latter's shoulder. "I am sorry, Hiroki," he said in an upset tone, "He was an interesting guy, I'll give him that."

"AKIHIKO WAS MUCH MORE THAN AN INTERESTING GUY!" Hiroki snapped at Miyagi, tears falling from his eyes, "Akihiko was… he was…"

There were two reasons why Hiroki didn't continue that. One, because there were no words to describe the type of person Akihiko was. And two, because a familiar sound got their attention.

Suzuki flew around them, no doubt in an attempt to cheer them up. Hiroki's tears still fell but for an entire different reason. "It's you!" he cried, "You're still here. Then… Akihiko, he's…!" Suzuki nodded.

Miyagi sighed in relief. "If Akihiko is still alive, we'll have to find him, won't we?" He helped Hiroki up. "It's a possibility that woman may figure that out as well. We better find Akihiko before she does." Hiroki nodded, wiping away his tears, and with Suzuki leading they went to find Akihiko.

As for Akihiko, he indeed miraculously survived the fall. All the trees served as nets as he fell, but after falling in one, he would start falling into another. This patterned continued until he fell through a hole on the ground and fell hard into some dark place. He lost consciousness during the fall. If his wounds were not healed, he was likely to die pretty soon.

But when Akihiko fell in, there was something else there. After being startled by the silver haired man's drop, it ran behind a rock. When he didn't move, it slowly came out of its hiding place. It cautiously walked over to the unconscious man and looked at him. It knelt down before him to get an even closer look. A tiny, gentle hand hesitantly brushed the silver bangs from the well chiselled face and felt the burning forehead. The touch of that gently hand caused a soft baritone groan from the silver haired man. That something, or more, someone else gasped and quickly took their hand away.

With Akihiko unconscious, he is unsure if he is truly safe, or if he really was as good as dead.

Pinkshuchan: And that is it for this chapter. Who or what is it that had found Akihiko? Are things going to get better for him or worse? Read and Review everyone!