Ch 33: All or Nothing

In a bar, in one of the multiple alleys of Tokyo, a young bartender was cleaning a trail of blood left for the guest of the owner. Because he just joined two months ago, he was not yet accustomed to seeing blood, even if their business sometimes become... shady.

It seemed that the owner knew the guest, so he didn't ask nothing. But he must admit, that even with the shabby appearance of the woman, she was certainly a great beauty.

*Thud!*

Suddenly, the door of the local was violently opened, scaring the young bartender.

When he turned his attention to see who the person who opened the door was, there he saw two people, a woman and a child.

The woman had grey hair and eyes, and instead of making her look older, in fact she looked young and beautiful.

Meanwhile, the child had white hair with dichromatic blue and red eyes and an androgenic beauty, making the bartender almost thought that maybe he was a 'she'. But his thoughts were frozen when he saw the eyes of the child.

He had a look that a kid of his age shouldn't had.

Even if his facial expressions made him look calm, his eyes said the contrary. In his eyes, there was dread, anger and an indescribable amount of killing intent, making the poor bartender shiver in fear.

"Where is she?" Asked the child, trying to contain the anger in his voice.

"Huh?" The bartender was confused.

"Don't make me ask again."

The child started to walk slowly towards him, and the bartender started to feel an invisible force over him and that 'something' was crushing his heart in the inside with each step that the child made. The bartender fell on his knees, holding his chest with his hand in a futile attempt to ease his pain.

When he turned his gaze at the child, he could see how a red and blue fire covered his body. The red flames burned his flesh until it became black like charcoal, but it returned to its original colour after being touched by the blue flame.

Just after the child stood a few inches in front of the bartender, the latter could feel how his skin and flesh were being burned, inducing him a great pain. However, even if he wanted to scream, he couldn't, due to the invisible force crushing him.

"I said, where is she?!" The child asked with a great anger inside him, making him exert more of his killing intent on the bartender who was at the edge of collapsing.

Then, before he could die, the woman placed her hand on the child's shoulder, making the latter look at her. Due to the flames, her hand was being hurt, only to be healed constantly in just seconds.

Seeing this, the child started to calm down, letting only the blue flames cover his body, healing the woman's hand.

The child then held her hand with his with an apologetically look. The woman just nodded in understanding with a gentle smile.

Then, once again the child turned his attention at the bartender. "Where is she?" He asked for third time.

Unfortunately, the bartender was unconscious, no longer able to answer his question.

"She is upstairs, in the room of the left." Said an unknown male voice. "You must be Zircon-kun. Asako-kun was quite 'descriptive' about you."

"Who are you? Asked Zircon.

"Think on me as an ally, for the moment." Said the man with a calm expression, like if he wasn't affected by Zircon's killing intent, making the latter more suspicious about him. "But you can call me 'Owner'. If you ever need information of quality, by the right price, you are always welcome."

Zircon didn't seemed to care, but he took a mental note about it.

"Upstairs in the left room, right?" Asked Zircon, which the Owner affirmed nodding his head. Then the first looked at Cleria. "Sorry, but I would like if you could watch them."

Zircon didn't trust completely in Owner, even if he helped Asako. His instincts were reacting at him like if he was someone with who don't low his guards

"Don't worry. Go to see her." Cleria gave him a warm smile.

When Zircon went upstairs, while seeing his back, Cleria's heart started to ache. She definitely knew what she was feeling, after all, she was a devil, a race that is intense with their emotions, it was in her nature and it would be foolish from her if she denies it. However, she didn't dare to do anything, because Zircon didn't feel the same for her.

(At least for now.) She thought.

____

Inside a room, there was Asako lying i a bed with a bandage covering the wound in her stomach. She was sleeping, but she soonly awoke after hearing the steadily and hurried steps from outside.

Then, the door of the room was opened, letting her see a boy who seemed to be at the brink of tears after seeing her.

Not long ago, Zircon received a message from Yuria, telling him that Asako was severely wounded. He felt anxious and wanted to go at her even if that meant that he had to run, but he knew that he must be calm and ask for help. He asked for Cleria's help and she used her teleportation spell along to a tracking spell to go to Asako's location.

Now that he saw her with the bandages covering her abdomen, he wanted to cry. But he didn't allow it, it wasn't the time.

"Who did this?" He asked. There was anger and desire for vengeance in his voice.

"Don't worry too much. It's just a flesh wound." Said Asako, trying to ease Zircon's feelings.

"Just a flesh wound?" There was pain in his expression. "Asako, don't lie to me. You are dying."

Zircon's blue eye shone. It allowed him to see mana and other supernatural energies from anything, including humans and devils. And what he saw in Asako, made his heart start to shatter.

Asako was also aware of her condition. Her target, Heath Oslo, had with him a high calibre rifle when he shot her. He ambushed her when she was with the guard low, and in just a second, three bullets got inside of her.

If it was just only normal bullets then she just needed to heal herself with her mana. But whatever the bullets were made, it absorbed viciously her mana.

By the time, she realized what happened, Oslo's men surrounded her, and as the situation was quite desperate, she had to use her last resource.

To be honest, Asako, despite her quantity of mana comparable to a Satan-class, she didn't has talent for magic. The only spells that she could dominate and use were sight enhancement, barrier creation and physical reinforcement.

The latter one had many risks in her body. If it took long, then it wouldn't only damage her body but also her mana pool, crippling her both physically and magically.

However, after using it in her weakened state, her body was not only a mess, but also, her mana pool was broken and almost depleted. It was a simply a miracle that she could even walk.

Zircon knew that, and all that he could see with his blue eye was her body broken in multiple cracks in her body, trying to maintain themselves united.

Asako gave him a defeated smile. "You know. When I once told you that when I adopted you, I did it because you didn't wanted to be alone. But, that wasn't the whole truth."

Zircon had a confused expression but he let her continue.

"Not long before I found you, I went to the hospital to make me some medical studies. I wanted to know if... if I could have a child."

Zircon was shocked by her words. He once asked her why Asako didn't want to start a family before, and she only said that she wasn't interested, but it seemed that there was something more.

"Obviously I didn't want to marry. I didn't find any good man neither it tried to. But at least, I wanted to know if I was able to carry another life in me." A tear formed in her eye, and because she now had difficulties to move, she couldn't wipe it. "But then, I got the news was no longer able to do it. It seemed that due to the great stress that I put in my body each time I used my physical reinforcement caused that I would no longer be able to be pregnant."

At that time, Asako felt devastated. Even if she wasn't totally interested in having a child and start a family, the mental shock caused after knowing that she couldn't give birth made her feel like she had lost a part of her.

She entered in a brief state of depression, and she decided to take the week free from any job to think.

Asako wanted to talk with someone, but there was only one person she could talk about such topic. Yuria.

After arranging everything, she went to America to see Yuria, who was preparing herself to be trasladated to Japan.

It was then, in an isolated alley, she found a child with white hair. It would be a lie to say that she didn't consider adopting him. However, due to the danger of her job and her mentality as a soldier to finish a mission at any cost made her doubt.

Her parents were also soldiers, and they raised her to think like one until they died, leaving her alone with no relatives to take care of her and ended up living in an orphanage. She didn't want that the same happened to the kid.

Nevertheless, she also was scared. Yes, scared. Even if someone as strong as Asako didn't have fear of death, she has still those emotions for those who she cares.

That's why she decided to adopt him at the end.

Then, 6 years passed like nothing. It was fast but slow at the same time. Each birthday, Halloween, Christmas and New Year celebrated, were something that only she could really enjoy with the company of Yuria and Zircon. Her new family.

However, that changed after Yuria and Zircon became a couple. The balance that existed in her family was broken and Asako felt that she was being left behind.

At the beginning, she made some moves on Zircon, trying to be in the same position as Yuria, only to realize that it was foolish. Zircon treated both equally; listening at them, helping them when they needed it but always respecting their privacy, and she has even experienced how it was being pampered, something that the 'old her' would have laughed about.

In time, she had managed to know him even more that she already has. It was only a matter of time; until she fell in love with the kid, she raised as her little brother. And she gladly would say 'fuck yourself' to anyone who dares to critic her in her face.

After hearing her story, Zircon clenched his fist and walked near to her. "Why are telling me this like if you are going to die?"

"Isn't that obvious?" She asked without waiting for an answer. "I don't have much time. I'm barely maintaining myself alive by manipulating the mana inside my body."

"Why?" Zircon asked.

"Do you really want to know? It's because I love you. Not like a sister loving her brother, but a woman loving her man." Then she closed her eyes, and her heart rate was slowing down.

Zircon was shocked by her words, not because he didn't expected them, but because she said them as her last will.

He felt ashamed of himself. Someone precious for him was about to die and even then confessed her feeling to him. But him.

(What I'm waiting for?) He thought for himself irritated.

He then place himself above her, with his legs at the sides of her waist and his hands on her shoulders.

Asako, seeing this couldn't do nothing to stop him. She was feeling weak, but even then, she didn't want to stop him. His dichromatic eyes that were like blazing flames, filled with love and obsession, mesmerized her. The same gaze that he gives to Yuria, he was now giving it to her.

"Don't you dare to leave us behind!" Said Zircon furiously. "I already lost my parents six years ago. I wont let you die even if ask for it."

"Hahaha." She laughed weakly. "You are being too selfish."

"I don't care being it."

"If you are saying those words then that means that you are taking full responsibility of me."

"I will."

"What about Yuria?"

"I will talk with her. But I won't let her go either?"

"Haha. Selfish and greedy. I'm such a hopeless woman for having a hopeless husband."

She called him 'husband', and he knew that that meant that she accepted him.

"Then that settles it." He said firmly but with a slight smile on his face.

"Until death do us apart?"

"Then I'll kill 'death' and take you back if I have too."

She just nodded in answer, exposing her neck to him.

Zircon's fangs grew in his mouth and then he approached them to his target to finally bit her neck.

****

Villain4ever: Hi guys! Happy Halloween!

It has been a while and I just wanted to say that initially I was planning to divide this chapter in two or more parts but it seemed unfair to you, so I wrote the whole chapter.

Vengeance is coming and no one can't stop him.

'See' you tomorrow.