The Pursuit Of Power

Furociousness was a common trait within all Demons, Yuuki was able to see that the dying Demon's eyes were becoming those of a Human.

There was a story behind the gaze of the Demon, before he knew it, Yuuki was lost in the gaze and saw a crying youth before him.

'Where did he come from?'

"Hey kid, why are you here? This place is... dangerous..." Yuuki realized he was witnessing the life story of the Demon as there was a marking on the entire right side of the youth's neck which was the same as that of the Centipede Demon.

His words were useless as he just watched the boy crying in the forest.

Suddenly, he lifted his head and turned towards his left.

Yuuki followed his stare and a body appeared out of nowhere. Wriggling on the surface of the body was a single blood-red centipede. It was a huge contrast with the greenery in the forest around them.

One after the other, 2 bodies were revealed which were the 3 Corpses Yuuki fought. Blood-red centipedes writhing on the top of their bodies, also.

"I didn't want to... we weren't meant to be here... but they wanted to play... haha! Haahahahaah! That's right! It's their fault. HAHAHA!" The young Demon's laugh was chilling, it sounded like the one that would belong to a psychopath. Suddenly, he stopped and his behavior flipped, he started crying again. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die."

Listening to him repeating those words as though they would make him immortal, Yuuki was confused until a centipede crawled out of his ear. The stillness was eery and the atmosphere seemed to have frozen.

Another person came out of the forest but his uniquely colored hair indicated his race, a Demon.

"Well done! You did it!" He clapped his hands together lightly and grinned widely until he reached the boy and placed his right hand on the boy. The nails on his fingers pierced into the boy's shoulder when the Demon applied a little pressure in his grip yet he dared not to release a single decibel of noise in front of 'it'.

"Good." One word left the demon's mouth before he savagely sliced his veins open and he poured his blood over the open wound, turning the boy into a demon. "I knew you could do it for me... Yuichiro."

---

Yuuki returned to reality. The life of the demon flashed by him and he returned to the ground from whence he came. He did not know how the Demon got here, he did not know who that Demon was in the memory, the only thing he knew was that they were forced into changing themselves.

"Rest in peace, Yuichiro. I believe it was never your fault, to begin with."

---

Yuuki did not encounter another Demon for the next six days.

Being the first to arrive at the area where they went further up the mountain on the first day of the Final Selection, Yuuki then saw the girl who had her hair in a side ponytail appear.

Her clothes seemed to be covered in a little dust and dirt and she turned to Yuuki and looked at him in the eyes, he nodded slightly towards her before he suddenly smiled warmly. The girl was caught off guard and looked away.

The reason Yuuki smiled was that Hana was the third to arrive, he could detect her approaching their area and he could not stop himself from hugging her the moment he was close enough.

A good 30 seconds passed before Yuuki even thought of loosening his hug. He could feel that she was both physically and mentally drained after not relaxing for several days straight.

"How are you?" He asked, knowing the answer.

"Mmm... I'm tired..." She yawned a bit before leaning against Yuuki with a content smile on her face after being reunited. He kissed her forehead and together they waited for the rest to come.

---

"Welcome back."

"Congratulations. Being safe and sound is better than anything else."

Speaking at the same time, the two twins caught everyone's attention after which, they were interrupted by the guy with scars across his face.

"Eh? What do I do now? What about the blade?"

"First you must pay the cost for the uniform. Then you must get your body measured and have your rank engraved. There are ten ranks in total. You are now at the lowest, the 10th."

Again, the guy with scars interrupted. "What about the blade?"

"Today, you will choose a chunk of Tamagahane Alloy. Your blade will be completed within 10-15 days. Also, from now on, Kasugaigarasu will be following you all." Not a second after they spoke, crows came from above and landed on their shoulders.

In between their words, the yellow clothed boy spoke mildly. "A crow? Isn't this... Isn't this a sparrow?"

"Kasugaigarasu is a crow that is primarily used for communication."

For the third time, the boy with the scar interrupted the twins. "I. Don't. Care. About. A. Dumb. Crow." He grabbed the hair of the white-haired twin and pulled it. "What I want is the blade! Give me the blade right-" Finally, the guy was interrupted by Yuuki knocking him onto the ground before he glared at him.

"Shut up and listen to them. Insolent prick. Did you not hear that you choose the metal that will be used to make your blade? Or were your two brain cells too busy deciding on whether or not to interrupt again?" Yuuki's sharp words silenced the guy who got up and stood to the side whilst he glared at the floor as though it had murdered his family.

"Are you okay?" Yuuki asked the white-haired twin who nodded and straightened their hair.

The black-haired twin was the one who spoke now, the white-haired remained silent. "Done? Good. Please choose the alloy to create your blade. The metal used to create the blade that will end the lives of Demons and keep you alive will be personally chosen by you."