Surprise...!

I looked up and saw three men floating in the air. the one on the left had short copped brown hair with red eyes and a scar that extended down his left eye. The man wore no shirt, his toned chest on display, light brown pants lined with fur, and brown boots also lined with fur. The man in the middle had spiked, shining silver hair with ruby colored eyes, two pronounced canines, sharp features, and two light blue horns that framed the side of his face. He wore a tight fitting white V-neck lined with red fur with white pants, a red rope tied around his waist, and no shoes. The man on the right had features that were hard to make out because he wore an all black outfit with a mask that covered almost the entirety of his face, but he had wild, dark grey hair that extended to his shoulders, two bright golden eyes, and two small red horns that barely poked out of his hair.

The Demon in the middle spoke "Are you going to accept my gracious offer, or are you going to stand there and size us up?" his earlier smile now turned sour.

I clicked my tongue as the three lowered to the ground next to me, the two flanking the white haired Demon giving me annoyed stares. A malevolent aura surrounded the three. It was so strong that I was struggling to breath just from standing a few meters away from them. A bead of sweat rolled off my cheek as I called out "Guys...take Kabuto and leave..."

"What!? You're crazy if you think we're leaving you to fight these monsters! You can feel their aura too, can't you? They're on a whole different level than that other Demon!" Adam yelled at me.

"I think you should listen to dear Yuu, he really is the only one that stands a chance at killing us after all..." The silver haired Demon said nonchalantly with a shrug. "Now, scram...!" He swiped his hand in front of him causing a gust of wind to carry everyone away in an instant.

"The hell did you do!" I yelled, panic evident in my voice.

"Chill, Yuu. I broke their fall, so they're not dead. I knew you'd hate me if I killed your precious 'family'." He said with a deadpan stare. I felt my blood turn icy as I looked at the overbearing trio in front of me. I wanted to run, but I knew that I had to buy time for everyone to escape...

"Woah now, I'm here to chat for a while so don't jump the gun just yet." The silver haired Demon said with his palms raised.

"And why would you want to 'chat' with me when I'm your enemy?" I asked while taking a cautious step backwards.

"You dare ask why? Be grateful that he's even wasting time with you...half-breed brat!" the man on the left snarled.

"Shut the hell up Corvis!" The silver haired Demon smacked the man named Corvis, a small shockwave erupting from the impact.

I tensed my leg muscles as I watched the Demon in the middle look back at me with a hint of bloodlust in his eyes. "I am so sorry that you had to see that my dear little Yuu. Oh, how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself yet!" He adopted a sly and arrogant smirk before continuing "Ahem, my name is Karmest Silver...the true heir to the Silver clan!"

"Shut the fuck up you bastard!" I yelled as I drew my katana from within my coat and formed a bolt of red lightning in my left hand as I charged at Karmest.

The black clad Demon appeared in front of me and blocked my katana with a kunai while he drew what looked to be a shorter katana and parried my boot of lightning before kicking up at lightning fast speeds. I barely dodged and got clipped on my chin, sending me careening back. Before I had even righted myself the Demon was already back at Karmest's side, staring at me blankly with no emotion visible in his golden eyes. I cursed at my lack of power, desperation taking its hold.

"Now, now...Yazir was just saying hello. Isn't that right, Yaz?" Karmest said while holding his hands up in a placating gesture. I had a feeling that something was going on...

Yazir nodded his head in affirmation while Corvis snorted through his nose. Karmest looked me in the eyes and asked "So, how do you plan on winning, Yuu? Will you join us...or will you die here?" His eyes squinted slightly, but he wasn't smiling this time.

"Pff, as if I'll join yo-" Karmest had already conjured a silver chain and tried to wrap it around me, but I was able to dodge at the last second.

The chain seemed to follow me around as I blurred around the now barren ground. I felt a burning sensation in my righty wrist as blood began to flow out and block the chain from lashing against my chest. The trio all had their brows raised from either surprise at me blocking his attack or surprise that I can wield blood magic, either way it doesn't really matter.

I used a line of blood to yank my katana back toward me, something that Yazir took note of. I brandished my blade as I coated it in red lightning, eyeing the silver haired Demon the whole time. This time, Corvis leapt at me with a wild gleam in his eyes. His arms, legs, and chest began to grow fur while his hair grew into a shaggy mane, his eyes turned a wine-red, and his fingers grew large claws. Corvis let out a loud roar as he slashed down at me with his clawed hands. I deflected his initial attack and dodged his follow up kick before countering with a slash to his midsection, only for my blade to slide across him harmlessly.

Corvis tried to jab my in the stomach but I extended my palm and caught his fist mid swing. Lightning danced around my body as I used Corvis' body as a conductor, trying to fry his insides to no avail. The bastard was now trying to bite my neck with his razor sharp teeth while also trying to rip my stomach open...so lets say that the fight was getting interesting.

"Alright Corvis, that's enough for now...heel..." Corvis froze before falling to his knees, his face pale and his whole body shaking uncontrollably. "Now, I have something to tell you. As you have probably figured out, we are the three lieutenants under General Osotaro...a monster even among monsters. He will most likely get bored and come here within the next few minutes...so how about letting us join you for the time being? We're sick of following those old dumbasses in Velentra and these two follow my every order...so, how bout it, little brother?" Karmest said with a straight face and a bit of hopefulness in his eyes.

'He has to be kidding...' I thought as my mind raced to calculate the possibilities of his words being true. If he truly was my brother that Kain had mentioned before...then why is he a Demon? Why is he slaughtering his own people?

"Ah, you must be wondering why I am a Demon, no?" His usual smirk turned into a soft smile for a second "Well, I'll tell you everything if you can find it in your heart to trust me..."

"Uhhh, what about the 'I'm the true heir to the Silver clan!' thing you had going on? And with everyone attacking me..." I asked with an unconvinced stare.

Karmest stuck his tongue out and said "Awww c'mon Yuu...I was just getting carried away with my 'bad-guy' act...no need to spoil the mood" with a slight pout. Seriously, this guy seems weird...

"Yeah well I still have a hard time trusting someone who's killed who knows how many people for his own gains..." I said with a frown.

'Oh, my! You think I killed people!?" Karmest said with a shocked expression "I haven't harmed a single soul, so I believe you have the wrong idea!"

My mind stalled for a few minutes before I finally snapped back to reality, this time with Karmest extremely close to my face and staring into my eyes while stroking his non-existent beard. "Hmm, you've got some pretty weird pupils for a half-demon...interesting..." I took a step back and extended my hand to make him take a step back causing him to adopt a hurt expression before chuckling and saying "So, can you please, and I really mean please, let us travel with you...we're not your enemies and we would be rather decent allies who could not only provide strength but also knowledge on Velentra, the Demon continent..."

I sighed heavily while rubbing my temples as I said "Fine...but you're going to have to find a campsite of your own...I doubt anyone could get sleep with you three nearby..." I felt like this was going to be one big clusterfuck, but I could sense that he was telling the truth, or at least partially...

---

"So, that's how I got those three lieutenants to join us...well I say it like I persuaded them...but I honestly have no fuckin clue what happened either..." I said as I looked at the angry and hesitant faces of everyone, with the exception of Verm, who was dabbling with his time magic with literal stars in his eyes.

"Haaa...well, it can't be helped. If they were telling the truth then that means we have one hell of a bodyguard detail..." Kabuto said with his face in his palm. I managed an awkward laugh but everyone just sighed and began to set up camp. Karmest, Corvis, and Yazir had already found another cave a short distance away and hadn't come back over since the time they introduced themselves and stated their purpose.

I took guard duty since I had the feeling I wouldn't be able to sleep anyways. I sat at the entrance of the cave while staring up at the stars and listening to the distant howls of mana beasts and the different sounds of nature. It truly amazes me how beautiful nature is...

"Um, m-may I join you...?" I tilted my head back to see Senaris shivering from the cold. I let out a small laugh and threw her my coat, leaving my bare chest to bathe in the moonlight. "W-wait you'll catch a co-"

"I'll be fine, silly. I have a high tolerance and meager things such as cold weather can't effect me..." I said while looking at the stars twinkle in the night sky.

Senaris sat beside me, a little too closely if you ask me, and began to follow my gaze. "Wow...they're really pretty..." She said with a smile as she watched a star speed through the sky. "Yeah, they really are beautiful...sometimes I wish I could just reach out and grab one, and keep it somewhere so I can always look at it..." I said while holding my hand out toward the sky.

"pff...that's such a childish thought coming from you, Yuuki...!" Senaris began to laugh with her hand covering her mouth. I couldn't help but crack a smile "Yeah, well I am only 13 after all...so who cares if I have a childish thought once in a while..."

I felt a sudden weight on my shoulder. I looked over to see Senaris laying her head on my shoulder, sound asleep with a content smile. I shook my head with a smile of my own before biting down on my thumb to create a small line of blood. I used the blood to grab a blanket from inside the cave and wrapped it around Senaris to keep her warm.

I wish things could stay peaceful for once...