Chapter 13

Crystal walks out in her new outfit, and starts to look for the pink haired man she had seen. Looking for the big wagon, she noticed it had already left and she frowned a little. Would he have left too? Was he part of the wagon?

"Oh you look absolutely stunning in that outfit!" A familiar voice called out, Crystal turns her head and her eyes widen a little, there he was. He had went undetected by her senses, which confused her the most, "Nice to see you here again."

"You too." Crystal says simply, "Listen I'll cut right to chase, me and my group are looking for a fourth person to join us on our journey to Heartfalls."

"Oh? Are you guys going to become slayers?"

"Yes. This way I can also pay you back for the garments."

"Oh please! While I still would love to join, take it as a token of good faith." El'gon says with a bright smile, "I want to figure out why you seem so mysterious to me."

"You should come meet the other two then." Crystal sniffs a little bit, "Two humans now." Turning away she walks towards the hut they were currently staying in, and as they walked in, Rayth looks up from playing Shogi with Neca.

"Oh, is this the person you were talking about?"

"Hello! I'm El'gon, nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rayth,"

"And I'm Neca, a half-demon!"

"Oh? Wait, are you a half-demon?" El'gon looks at Crystal who cocks an eyebrow at him in confusion.

"How the hell did you not notice?" She asks, "I'm not exactly human looking am I?"

"You really do pass for human, sorry." El'gon says sheepishly, "Must be from your mother."

"My mother was a full demon, my father was a human."

"Oh, that's so interesting! It's usually the other way around. Your father must have been a looker to pull a demon for a bride." Crystal's eyebrows sink down as she thinks about how her father looked.

"He looked normal to me."

"Normal?" El'gon asks, "Okay, is Rayth normal looking?" El'gon motions to the man who turns a slight pink color.

"Rayth..." Crystal looks at him, her eyes slowly going over his face, "Yeah. He looks like a normal human to me."

"Then your father must have been exceptionally good looking then, since Rayth is quite the catch himself." El'gon sits down and looks at the game that had paused, "Oh! Shogi! I love that game!"

Crystal looks at the three from the door as the two resume their game, a hand instinctively being placed on Tatsuka, "Our group only grows larger. I know Omose will catch on, but will it really be all that bad to finally get some of those things my father mentioned...? What were they called...?"

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"Crystallina!" Dotsu shouts, a slight angry tone to his voice as he approaches his daughter who was sitting in the grass.

"Yes, Father?"

"The village kids said that you were a bully to them!"

"I did not bully the kids. I simply didn't want to play with them, they kept trying to force me to play so I ran away."

"Crystallina..." Dotsu sighs as he leans down next to his daughter, "Listen, at some point in your life you're going to have to get some friends. Every human or half-human needs companionship."

"Why do I need... 'Friends' when I have Hajuka and you?" Crystallina asks, making another sigh escape her father.

"Me and your brother won't always be around, you won't either. One day you'll go off to rule your own territory as a half-demon. When that day comes, it'd be best if you had friends that weren't blood related. Humans and Demons alike both have good and bad apples. Its up to you to decide who you want to associate with."

"What if I associate with bad demons?"

"You will be viewed as a bad demon."

"And its the same if I'm associated with good humans?"

"Yes, you will be viewed as a good half-demon."

"Why does it only target half of what I am if it's bad?"

"Humans don't like to associate themselves with half-demons. As much do Demons, but they aren't as opposed to a half-demon being called a demon."

"Humans sound scared."

"Humans are scared, often fear is what drives them the most. Even over Love at times."

"I'm glad I don't feel fear or love." Crystallina says as she stands up, "I won't be controlled by such silly things as Fear or Love. I'll live my life free, as free as the birds above the trees." Her father looks at her with an unknown expression, Crystallina couldn't quite understand, had she said something wrong?

"I sometimes wish... you were born human. So that you could have experienced love." 

"Why? Love seems like a waste of time."

"Love is beautiful. Love creates life."

"Wait, Love creates life?"

"Yes. But the opposite is true as well, Hate kills Life." 

"Then why do humans hate instead of love all the time?"

"Because humans are complicated beings." Dotsu rises, "You may one day come to hate me or your mother. Depends on how life turns out for you. Maybe one day you will understand love, and understand everything I tried to teach you... But I know I won't be there to see it."

"Father?"

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"We all packed and ready to go now?" Crystal asks on her horse, looking back at the three who climbed onto theirs.

"Yeah we're ready! Let's go!" Neca shouts excitedly, Crystal nods before whipping her horse, making it charge forward. Their trip would be long and going through the dark forest was not the safest route, but Crystal knew it was the only way by land.

The paths winded and twisted as they took a left from the split in the road. Slowing down as the sun began to go over them, they all look to their right at the lake. Ducks waddled in the water and was swimming with their babies following behind.

"I keep forgetting its springtime. Lots of baby animals will be roaming around, which means an increase in predators." Rayth says, "We should get going to a clearing to set up camp before dark."

"We'll be going through the Dark Forest at night." Crystal announces, "We won't be stopping for rest." 

"The horses won't be able to do that, Crystal." El'gon chimes in, "We have to let them rest."

"If we stop it'll attract more than common predators." Crystal says harshly, "Either these horses can run for the entire night or they die before sunrise. Pick your poison." 

"We'll just have to keep them below a trot then." Rayth sighs and Crystal urges her horse to slow down.

"Isn't the Dark Forest dangerous at night?"

"No." Crystal says simply, "All the demons in the Dark Forest are Diurnal. We'll be safest going through at night." 

"Did you use to travel a lot?"

"No, my father did though. He told me all the tricks on how to survive." The sounds of the horses shoes clopping against the dirt filled everyone's ears, it would indeed be one long trip this way, but Crystal wasn't risking stopping. Her father had years before his death, and he had regretted it. Losing an entire group of demon slayers in the process.