1 Prologue

On a quiet night in the middle of the woods, inside a traditional Japanese house, a little girl no older than seven was sleeping soundly in her bedroom. Her eyes suddenly opened at a strange sound. She sat up from her pillow and looked towards the window. What was that? She wondered, Did I hear something or was I dreaming? She sat there and waited for a moment; then another strange sound had happened. That was no dream! She slid out of bed and followed where that strange sound is coming from, taking her cat doll with her. She tiptoed silently passed her parents bedroom and made it to the front door.

She slid it open and stepped outside. There was nothing outside but darkness and trees and the chirping of cicadas. Although she was wearing long sleeved pajamas, she was shivering from the coolness of the night. The girl was about to head back inside but the peaceful scenery was interrupted by a harsh sound and this time it sounded like a sword. She jerked her head back and scanned all over the front yard while hearing even more slashing sound. It would seemed it wasn't coming from the front yard but it was actually coming from the woods. She started running to the woods completely ignoring the cold breeze until finally she made it to the middle of the woods. Once again she found nothing but trees. Maybe it's just my imagination, the girl thought.

Suddenly something crashed through the trees right in front of her. She shrieked and ran behind a tree to hide. She peeked from behind to see what was that thing that came crashing through. The thing that just crashed through the woods was some sort of enormous animal; right now it was only lying down. Only a second later it stirred and rose up from the ground, only then does the girl realize something. Whatever it was, it was certainly no ordinary animal. It was lizard-like with orange eyes, sharp black talons, a fork-like tail, knife-like teeth and yellow markings across its blue-green scales. It was nothing like anything the little girl could have imagined. The lizard flicked its fork-like tongue out in the air and smelled with it. It slowly turned its head until he glaring at her directions. Then it must have seemed to noticed the little girl who is hiding behind a tree and without warning, it started charging towards her.

The little girl wanted to run, but she was too petrified to do so. The only thing she could do is shield herself with her arms and scream; and that is exactly what she did. All of a sudden, just as she was about to be eaten, a shadowy figure jumped in between her and the monster. She looked up and saw who or what it is that's blocking the lizard from her. It was a young man. She couldn't make out his face for his back was to her, but she does know that he has short black hair, pale skin, dressed in crimson red long robed tang suit with black markings, black trousers and boots. She inched slowly around to try to get a look of his face, but she could still barely make out. However, she most certainly made out what he had in his hands. Holding in front of him in his hands were a pair of sickles. As soon as the mysterious man flashed his eyes to the little girl, she stiffened.

"Go! Run straight for your home," he ordered in an aggressive tone.

"R-right!" She yelped, turning to run. However, she didn't get very far; she only managed to get to a safe distance where she hid behind a different tree and watched from afar.

As soon as he thought the girl had run for safety, the young man charged at the reptilian beast with his sickles, slicing from left to right and right to left. The giant lizard snapped its jaws to him, but he jumped out of the way just in time. He landed on a tree, lunged from it and landed on the lizard's back. The monster thrashed about, causing him to fall of, but he landed on his feet. Then it jabbed him with its tail multiple times with the man dodging it from most of it, save for when he got scratched on his upper arm. Nevertheless he managed to have his sickles lacerate its tail. The lizard monster let out an ear piercing shrill and again it snapped its jaw towards him. Once again, he jumped out of the way and and then up on its back once again. The monster turned its neck and attempted to snap him with its teeth, but the man jumped up high into the air. He flipped through the air and as he descended downwards, in midair, he crossed his sickles across his chest and have them gash into the monster's throat. He landed on the ground undeterred. A brief moment later, blood spewed out of the gashed throat; the little girl looked away. As soon as it was done spewing out blood, the monster dropped to the ground never to move again. The young man stood up and stood there in silence, replacing his sickles in its sheath.

The little girl turned her head back towards the scene of the action. She slowly moved away from the tree and crept forward until she comes to a halt. There before her is a bleeding reptilian corpse and a young man standing before it, who seemed to be unfazed about. The man turned his face until he was facing the little girl. She silently gasped but didn't run; she simply stood perfectly still and stare at him. The man stared back at him. His elaborate clothing is now soaked in blood and there was a gash in his right upper arm. Now that he's facing her, she can see what his face look like. He had a small elegant beard the same color as his hair, a sideswept bang that falls over his right side of his face and intense pale eyes. His pale gaze felt cold and apathetic.

"Lilith!"

The girl named Lilith spun around and found her father standing behind her. He was panting and his face seemed red. She can't tell if he's angry or scared or maybe both.

"What are you doing in the woods in the middle of the night?" He asked. "I heard you scream and I ran to your room but you weren't there. Do you have any idea how terrified we were?"

"I heard a strange sound from outside so I had to go look," Lilith explained, pointing her finger to the scene, "and a man was fighting that giant lizard monster and he slayed it." The girl's father frowned and looked up to his daughter was pointing. "What Lizard monster? And what man?"

Lilith looked at her father confused and turned her head back towards the scene. The man was gone and so was the the monster's corpse. They were right in front of her just a moment ago. Now there were nothing but broken trees. Where did they all go? All of this couldn't have been her imagination, right? Her father shook his head.

"Lilith, you've been watching too much Sailor Moon," he sighed, " C'mon, let's get home before you catch a cold."

He reached out his hand which Lilith grabbed and was led away towards home. As they make their journey, Lilith looked over her shoulder to take one last look of the creature that lays dead that grows smaller as distance grow between them. Her eyes glanced up and she caught sight of the same young man from before, hiding among the foliage of the trees. His pale eyes seemed to be staring right into her brown eyes. She looked away and returned her attention towards home. The mysterious young man stayed within the foliage and watched as the father and daughter duo returned to the safety of their home.