Prologue: The Demon Priest
The crowd shuffled about in unrest as they awaited for the doors to the shrine to open. Wearing blank and white monk robes with bald heads they stared at the doors to the shrine in anticipation, waiting for them to open, and after almost two hours of waiting the doors finally swung open.
Out of the doors came nearly fifty individuals. Each of them wearing white and black robes with golden scriptures written on the black parts with full heads of hair. In the front acting almost as the leader was the head priest. A young priest with a good looking face and long crimson hair.
Wearing yellow and white robes instead of white and black. Intricate writings allover the white parts of the robes written in golden glowing ink of sorts. The priests looked at them with great admiration. Bowing to each of them as they passed by as a sign of respect. It was only when the priest at the end came that they lost there look of admiration and instead adopted a look of barely contained hatred and contempt.
The priest was different. Unlike the others he didn't have elaborate writings on his robe. He was bald just like everyone else, only noticeable thing about him being his unnaturally colored eyes, His left eye strikingly gold while the right was a piercing red both with slit pupils.
He split from the large group as he made his way into the crowd of the other priests. The others moving out of his way as he passed them.
This wasn't from respect or fear though. They parted ways in disgust, whispering amongst each other as they looked at him.
"What do the high priest even see in him?" one of them asked out loud to no one in particular.
"Not even a high priest and being allowed into the ceremony halls, what a joke." Another said in hatred and barely contained jealousy.
Countless others started throwing jeers at him as he walked through the crowds, but still, not even once he gave them attention.
As he finally got out of the crowd some one jeered at him.
"Demon priest…"
He gave them no attention as he exited the temple grounds.
This was Akagi of the blood demons.
The demon priest of the goddess of mercy.
Being hated was every day for him. He chose to ignore them instead of confronting them. After all he didn't care what they thought…
That was a lie… he did care what they thought… and he hated himself for that.