Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hiya, it's Pinkshuchan! Sorry for not updating in a while. Last chapter, Akihiko's secret was revealed and Misaki was furious at him, but after coming clean and showing him that he's still the same person, they share a night of love making. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 17
Hybrid Demon
Day had finally come onto Erden and Akihiko and the others continued on their way to search for the flower that never dies. It was a surprise to both Hiroki and Miyagi that the silver haired man was even more determined to succeed, but he never told them it was because of his promise to Misaki. He had to succeed if he were to get his freedom and be able to spend the rest of his life with his beautiful princess.
On and on they walked, searching for the flower. The only problem was that they didn't know what the flower looked like. Was it hidden away like with the flame that never goes out? Or was it deep in an obvious place like with the ore that never breaks? They would have to search the entire continent to be sure, even if it were to take days.
But that thought didn't take that long. As they continued walking, they were interrupted by a familiar voice. "You really are something. I honestly thought you would've died by that fall."
They turned around and stood their guard as Kaoruko appeared before them. She stood there with her arms crossed, the closed umbrella with the hidden katana still in her hand, looking slightly irritated. Then again, she did assume that she had killed him. To find out that her prey was still alive would be quite irritating.
"Well, it looks like we'll have to try this again," she exclaimed as she pulled the katana out. Another battle was going to happen between them until the most unexpected thing ended up happening before them.
The illusion of Haruhiko's head appeared before them. "I pardon the interruption of this battle," he spoke up, "As much as I would like to see Akihiko defeated here, there is something important I need you to do Kaoruko. It is something happening here in Erden."
Kaoruko placed her katana back into her umbrella before giving her full attention to the head. "What is it, Brother Haruhiko?"
"It appears that there is a hybrid demon here, planning to do harm to Erden. I want you to catch it and send it back to Damonen."
"Isn't something like that Shinoda's job? He's the master of learning about demons, even if I'm the one here in Erden?"
"Unfortunately, Shinoda's condition, although has gotten better, is not enough to handle heading here to Erden. He can only observe things here in Damonen."
The young woman sighed. "So I just need to catch this hybrid demon?"
Haruhiko's face fell and his head looked down at the ground. "Another thing is that the hybrid demon had taken someone from the main village. We don't know what it wants but we have a feeling it's not good."
"Who was it that was taken?"
Akihiko, who was listening to the conversation, grew pale with the name of the one kidnapped. The one that was taken… was Misaki.
"Where is he, Haruhiko?!" Akihiko yelled at his brother, "Where was Misaki taken?"
"This is of no concern to you, Akihiko," the older brother replied, "It would be best if you still want your freedom to leave now while you still can and focus on the things you need."
"This is of my concern! Where is he?"
"What would be the point if I tell you?"
"I'm going to save him."
Haruhiko could not believe what he was hearing. "You are a complete fool, Akihiko. Saving Erden's princess from a hybrid demon; it's best left to a Damonen Knight."
But Akihiko still looked determined. "I defeated one of your Damonen Knights already, right? I believe I'm capable of handling that demon and saving him."
"A hybrid demon is not your average demon!"
"Brother Haruhiko!" Kaoruko spoke up, "I don't think Brother Akihiko really cares at this point. How about he comes with me to save the princess and to handle the hybrid demon? It will make it easier on me to have someone accompany me rather than to go alone."
Haruhiko focused on the young woman. "Akihiko is a wanted man. You will allow that to accompany you, a Damonen Knight?"
"Consider this my challenge to him. If he manages to defeat the hybrid demon, then he's defeated me as a knight. I would like to avoid having to fight as much as possible if it were up to me. And if he doesn't defeat the demon, the condition to have him killed basically taken care of."
The king listened to this and was beginning to understand. "Alright fine!" he replied, "Consider this your test against Kaoruko. Whether you succeed or fail, either way the hybrid demon will be taken care of and the princess will be rescued. Although I don't know the specific location, my guess is the darkest part of Erden. You better hurry."
With no other word to say, the head disappeared, and our heroes, led by Kaoruko, were heading to the spot Haruhiko was talking about. As they went on their way, Miyagi spoke up.
"I am quite curious about something," he began, "What is a hybrid demon? How different is it from the other demons?"
Kaoruko looked at him before sighing and replying. "A hybrid demon is something that was discovered 30 years ago. I don't know much of the details myself, but hybrid demons were an inspiration of experiments on making an artificial hybrid demon to serve us at will."
"Wait a minute!" It was Hiroki's turn to speak up, "Does that mean the experimentation on me and my village also a part of-!?"
"Yes," she answered honestly, "Shinoda was given the charge of trying to create an artificial hybrid demon by the king before Brother Haruhiko, my uncle Great Emperor Fuyuhiko. Uncle Fuyuhiko himself is also searching for that. It is believed that hybrid demons are far more powerful than normal demons as it combines a human's strength to that of a Level 5 demon. That's why we want to create our own hybrid demon. It has not been successful yet though. The closest we have gotten to creating a hybrid demon is by you, becoming a half demon."
"Why did you use my village though? Weren't there willing test subjects back in Damonen?"
"We have already used the people from all the dying villages in Damonen. Plus, the leader of your village, knowing that the village would die sooner or later, gave us permission to use the people."
"Why would he do that?"
"I am not sure myself. Whether he did or not, we were only close to success with you. No one else passed the tests to become a hybrid demon. They would turn into normal demons but only survive for a couple days before the demon blood melts their body like acid."
"How are you close to success with Hiroki?" Miyagi spoke up again, "He had become a half demon while the others had only become normal. Has he reached the qualification to become a hybrid demon?"
"Not really," Kaoruko continued, "A regular hybrid demon willingly accepts the demon blood into their body as a way to escape their way to death. Plus, he can switch between human and demon form at any time. From what we learned with your friend, he fought the demon blood and managed to gain control of it," She looked at Hiroki. "From the looks of things, although you accept that you are a half demon now, you still try to fight it. Also, you only look slightly human with some demonic features but that's only because of that water in the gourd on your back. Without it, you would look like a demon with some human features and personality."
That was enough to be said. While the three were conversing while on their way, Akihiko was too focused to reach the darkest part of Erden. He did not want to waste any time on saving Misaki. Any distractions may cause something terrible to happen to the princess. He just hoped he'd be able to reach him in time before anything else happens.
In the darkest part of Erden, there was a lair underground. Many reptile like demons roamed around the place while some could not keep their eyes on the beautiful human laying on a long stone table in deep slumber. How they would like to see that human in torture and hear those beautiful screams. However, they were ordered by their leader not to do anything to this human, for an ultimate plan was in motion.
They hid the moment their leader came. A reptile demon with more human features than demon. He walked over to the human on the table and gazed down that radiant face. With his green, clawed hand, he caressed the human's cheek.
"Princess Misaki of Erden," the leader spoke up, "So beautiful, so delicate, so loved by all. How much I despise that! It is only when you get captured like this does our king actually appear threatening. It seems that the only role you have for Erden is to look pretty and let yourself get captured for anyone to actually do something. But don't worry; you'll get to see your brother and your precious continent fight for you. They will fight Damonen to try to get you back, only to realize too late that it had no part in your kidnapping.
"Oh dear princess! The continent that had taken away all our loved ones, including your parents, will finally be taken down. The souls of the people that risked their lives from the demons will finally be avenged. That also means that traitor, the one you had called 'Usagi' before his identity as Prince Akihiko was revealed, will go down along with everyone else in Damonen!"
Misaki's facial expression flinched at the mention of Akihiko but his eyes remained closed. His body was trapped in slumber but his mind was wide awake and alert. He could hear everything being said to him, right down to the laughter. He was frightened for Akihiko. All he remembered was trying to get home after that experience with him when demons surrounded him and trapped him. He tried to fight them when a sweet smelling stench clouded his senses and left him unconscious. When he came to, his mind had wakened, but he could not wake his body. He was not sure who this person was or why he wanted Erden to take over Damonen. Even so, he couldn't help but worry that his loved ones would end up getting hurt, whether it is his brother or Akihiko.
Meanwhile, Akihiko and the other were getting closer to reaching the darkest part of Erden. As they were about to end, the silver haired man stopped them. If it was truly safe, he wouldn't have done so. However Suzuki, who had been following closely to help in searching for Misaki, went to hide somewhere not that long ago. Someone was close.
Something jumped out at them. All of them, being experienced fighters, were able to dodge the attack. The attack was something more human like then that of a demon. Had they encountered the hybrid demon? No, it was something else.
Standing before them was Todo.
"Todo!" Akihiko spoke up, "Why are you here?"
The younger man didn't answer at first. He only raised his mace upwards and pointed it at the silver haired man. "You!" he growled, "It was you! You are the one who has taken our princess!"
Akihiko was confused. Why did he think he was the one who took Misaki? "Listen! I am not the one who took Misaki. The true culprit is supposed to be inside this part of Erden. If you will just calm down and follow us in, we can try to find him."
"And how do I know that you are not leading me into a trap? Besides, whether you are telling the truth or not, I was ordered by His Majesty King Takahiro to eliminate any Damonen blood in Erden."
"Aren't you being a little too rash? The one that has taken him is what's called a hybrid demon. The Damonen Knights are going to deal with this creature and I'm here to save Misaki."
"Lies! I've never heard of a 'hybrid' demon until now."
"It's to be expected," Kaoruko spoke up, "The hybrid demons were only known by those in Damonen. That is because that was the only place they would appear until now. We will not fight you, Soldier; even if it is the order of your king. We are busy with dealing with the hybrid demon before it causes anymore harm to the people of Erden. Besides, you would be in an unfair disadvantage against all four of us."
She had spoke too soon, for many more soldiers appeared. Akihiko and the others brought out their weapons in the defensive. They were completely surrounded. The soldiers began to attack. The four kept themselves in the defensive but didn't try to switch to offensive. Although they were being attacked, these were still soldiers of Erden. The battle went nowhere.
"I should've known than to trust you."
They looked to see King Takahiro himself standing there. "Prince Akihiko, you and the rest of Damonen will not be forgiven for taking my brother."
Akihiko looked at the king with honesty. "Please believe me, Your Majesty," he pleaded, "I wouldn't dare take Misaki against his will."
"A likely story," Takahiro replied with his arms crossed, "I may have believed you if I didn't see you take him with my own eyes. You grabbed Misaki and took him this direction. Now where is he?"
The silver haired man and the others couldn't believe what they were hearing. Someone who looked like Akihiko took Misaki? How was that possible? Could the hybrid demon shapeshift into whatever form it wanted? If so, why Akihiko? And if it wasn't the hybrid demon, then who?
Kaoruko stepped forward so she was in front of Akihiko, Hiroki, and Miyagi. "I am sorry, Your Majesty," she replied, "I have no intention of you or your soldiers to prevent us from our mission." She jumped into the air and threw stuff at all the soldiers and Takahiro. All of them began looking confused and panicked.
"What's going on?" one soldier yelled.
"I can't see anything!" another cried.
Kaoruko landed back onto the ground and looked back at the others. "Let's get going. We need to find the hybrid demon."
She began running with the men following after her. Akihiko caught up to her. "Was that the same thing you used on me?" he asked, "That thing that blinded me?"
"Yes," she nodded, "That is my special ability. Don't worry; it doesn't harm them. It only temporarily blinds them. By the time they recover their sight, we should find the hybrid demon and the princess."
Akihiko gave a nod. Misaki and the hybrid demon had to be in that forest somewhere. They ran through the forest until they were deep enough so they wouldn't be easily found by the soldiers and where the hybrid demon would most likely hide its prey. Once there, they tried to think on what they to do to try to find them. Akihiko got an idea. He summoned Suzuki.
Suzuki appeared before them and agreed to find Misaki and the hybrid demon. He used his senses to try to find Misaki's presence. He flew around the entire forest with his master and his companions trailing behind.
After a while of moving around, the flying bear stopped. He looked at his master and pointed down to the ground. "So Misaki is underground?" Akihiko asked. Suzuki nodded.
"That shouldn't be a problem," Kaoruko replied. She raised her arm and a lavender glow consumed her hand. When the light disappeared, a small, cute dog like demon with white, fluffy fur and long claws appeared. "Inu, you know what to do," she told the demon. It replied with a nod and began digging a hole big enough for them to crawl through. They followed the dog demon through the hole until there was no dirt left to dig through.
Under the ground was a tunnel filled with slime. Judging by the appearance, they assumed this had to be the hybrid demon's nest. Suzuki flew around for a bit before heading in a certain direction. Akihiko and the others followed him until they reached the core of the nest, which appeared to be some sort of lair. The silver haired man reacted when he saw in the middle of the room on a table was a sleeping Misaki.
Akihiko ran to Misaki's side. He tried to wake the princess up but his eyes remained shut. He tried and tried, but nothing he did would do anything. He wasn't sure what to do. Hiroki suggested placing a flame beside Misaki so the warmth shocked him into waking up, but Akihiko was against anything that would hurt his beautiful princess. Miyagi suggested giving Misaki a kiss on the lips, only to get a smack from Hiroki saying that that type of thing was too idiotic to work. But Akihiko tried it anyways as it gave him an excuse to kiss him. It didn't work. There were no other options to do. Was Misaki forever trapped in a sleep like state?
As Akihiko ran his eyes on his love, he noticed something unusual. Although it appeared that Misaki was completely asleep, his right index finger appeared to be tapping with slight trouble in a way that looked like he was trying to communicate to them.
"Misaki?" Akihiko spoke up, "If you can hear me, tap your finger five times."
He watched the index finger. It tapped once. Two times. Three times. Four times. Five times. It then stopped. Misaki's mind appeared to be wide awake. Akihiko leaned closer to him.
"I'm glad you're okay," he continued, "What happened? How did you get here?"
There was only silence. It appeared the only way Misaki could communicate was by tapping his finger. He tried opening his mouth to speak but he couldn't. Akihiko figured he can only ask so much using this method. "Misaki, did you see anyone as you were taken? Tap once for yes and twice for no."
Misaki tapped his finger once. Yes.
"Was it demons?"
Yes.
"Was there more than one?"
Yes.
"Did any of them look unusual from the others?"
He tapped three times.
"Am I to assume that means you don't know?"
Yes.
"It's to be expected," Kaoruko replied, "Unless you are from Damonen or have had a huge experience with demons, you can't tell a regular demon with a hybrid demon, especially since hybrid demons aren't too common."
"Even so, it's most likely the hybrid demon did take Misaki, right?" Akihiko asked.
"It is possible. What I don't understand though is why there are multiple demons involved. Unless the hybrid demon's human form originally came from Damonen, it shouldn't have the ability to summon demons. However, we believe that if the hybrid demon is here in Erden, its human form must've come from Erden. Only Damonen Knights are allowed to leave Damonen and all five of us have not been turned into hybrid demons."
"So it is the hybrid demon that has put Misaki in this slumber like state?"
Kaoruko crossed her arms and closed her eyes in thought. "Here's the funny thing. Judging by the symptoms, the princess is in a sleep like state that can only be caused by the Slifer."
"The Slifer?" Miyagi spoke up, "I've never heard of anything by that name. A demon?"
"Level 5," the young woman continued, "It is a powerful demon unable for human control; on of the most powerful in existance. Because of that, it is forbidden to summon one. The Slifer has a sweet smelling aroma that if you absorb it places your body in a deep slumber while your mind remains perfectly conscious. Despite his sleep state, the princess is aware of everything we say and do. The effect is permanent."
Akihiko refused to hear that. "That's impossible! Surely there must be some way we can get Misaki back to normal!"
"There is," Kaoruko replied, though her expression was more worried, "It is very difficult to do however. You must eliminate the Slifer."
"That's it?" Akihiko asked, "Sounds easy enough!"
"Hold on, Akihiko!" Miyagi spoke up, "There's a catch, isn't there?"
Kaoruko nodded. "The Slifer is immune to any attack. The closest we can get to damaging it is by cutting it, but even then it doesn't work as it only regenerates. It doesn't seem to have a weakness. Even if it did, it would be impossible to figure it out. Only one man was believed to have killed a Slifer in order to save his wife from the same fate the princess is currently suffering. The problem is we don't know how he did it."
"Better to try and fail than not attempting at all," the silver haired man replied, "No matter what it takes, I will do anything it takes to have Misaki open his eyes again, even if I have to give up my life to do so."
He noticed Misaki's body tense up to the former's words. He knelt down and cupped the princess' cheek with his hand. "Don't worry, Misaki. I promise you. I will be there once you're awake again," He placed a kiss on those soft pink lips. As he pulled away, he noticed something. He looked at everyone. "Misaki would be here alone. What if the hybrid demon appears? He may take Misaki somewhere where we'll never find him."
Miyagi placed his hand on Akihiko's shoulder. "I'll stay here and protect him," he replied, "You go with Hiroki and Kaoruko to find the Slifer. It's up to you to restore Misaki to normal."
Akihiko nodded. He gestured for everyone else to follow him. Kaoruko trailed behind without hesitation but Hiroki took a few steps before looking back at Miyagi and the sleeping Misaki. The oldest man just gestured for the cinnamon haired man to continue on. Hiroki then began following the others to find the Slifer. He didn't know how to feel at the moment. He looked into Akihiko's violet eyes. They were no doubt eyes that were determined to save the princess. He couldn't help but feel anger and pain in his heart. Akihiko truly was in love with Misaki; there was no denying that. But to think that Akihiko would go fight one of the most powerful demons in existence and give up everything just for him. He couldn't help but worry. What was to become of his friend?
Pinkshuchan: What will happen once they find the Slifer? Will they defeat it? Read and Review!