P.S= #36: What Happened 16 Years Ago Part 1

[Cory]

Gwenyth sensed a disturbance in her Territory. "Huh, what was that? Did someone destroy my territory? No, it couldn't be," she pondered, her thoughts racing.

Distracted by the unusual sensation, Cory seized the opportunity to strike, causing Gwenyth to stumble and fall. As she lay on the ground, Cory loomed over her, dropping down to sit in front of her. "Earlier, you said that you won't give up your home again. What did you mean by that?" Cory inquired, his eyes probing for answers.

"Huh? Are you crazy? You had me. I let my guard down; you should have killed me," Gwenyth retorted, her confusion evident.

"Why would I take someone's life? I wouldn't want someone to take my life," Cory responded with a calm sincerity that left Gwenyth taken aback.

"This boy... Is he insane? He seems different from the other humans. No, I can't believe it just because he said that," Gwenyth mused silently, trying to make sense of the conflicting emotions.

"You Slayers kill Ayakashis, don't you? Well, I'm an Ayakashi," Gwenyth confessed, revealing her true nature.

"To be honest, I have never killed an Ayakashi. I value all life in this world. Plus, you don't look like an Ayakashi; you have horns though, which are cool. I'm kinda jealous. Do you think I will grow horns too?" Cory responded with an unexpected sense of camaraderie.

"What's wrong with him? He's jealous of me," Gwenyth thought to herself. "Even so, I'm a villain. I took over this village and tried to kill you and your friends."

"But you don't look like a villain. Everyone makes mistakes, plus I wasn't planning to kill you," Cory remarked, surprising Gwenyth with his understanding.

"Huh, but you came to look for me. If not to kill, then what?" Gwenyth questioned, genuinely puzzled.

"Of course, I came looking for you. You froze me, and you hurt the people who helped me. I was going to kick your ass and teach you a lesson," Cory admitted, his honesty cutting through the tension.

"What is he saying?" Gwenyth wondered, struggling to comprehend his perspective.

"When I was five, my parents got killed, not by an Ayakashi, but by humans an Elder, to be exact. His name was Goujirou. At the time, he wasn't an Elder, but he was still a part of the Slayer System," Cory shared, unraveling a painful piece of his past.

In a flashback to sixteen years ago on Green Leaf Island, a small war train landed. A man with green hair and black eyes, dressed in a full black suit, stepped out first, accompanied by five others. "Kill everyone, man, woman, and elders, but leave the children alive. It is for the sake of the world and its future," Goujirou, [A Commandant for The Slayer System] commanded.