Shuri Himejima, Akeno Himejima 1

In the human world...

In a city, in the country of Japan.

A handsome young man and a beautiful woman stood side by side not far from a temple.

This handsome young man and beautiful woman were Ken and Grayfia.

Although occasionally there would be someone on the street who would find Grayfia's clothes strange, Grayfia didn't care about the strange looks given by the person.

All that was in her head was that at this moment she was walking alone with Ken.

'A-Is this called a date?!' Grayfia said nervously in her heart as her heart rate began to increase at the thought of this.

Her delicate and soft cheeks showed a faint blush.

With her appearance like this, Grayfia kept glancing at Ken secretly.

Yes, that's right, what was inside Grayfia's head right now was just her own wild imagination.

As such, Grayfia didn't have time to care about the strange looks from passers-by.

"Hmm... it should be time..." Ken spoke.

Grayfia who heard this immediately came out of her wild imagination and regained consciousness.

"Alright, let's go." Ken said to Grayfia.

Grayfia nodded her head and followed Ken to go up the stairs that led to the shrine.

...

It didn't take long for Ken and Grayfia to reach the top and see the sizable Temple in front of them.

The first thing that caught Ken's eye after climbing the last step was the red archway.

Then Ken shifted his gaze forward to look at the temple in front of him.

Ken saw one human visiting the shrine and looked like he was praying or making a wish.

Considering Grayfia was a demon, Ken gave her protection personally using his aura.

Why?

It was because there was some kind of barrier that encircled the entire shrine area.

From the itchy sensation Ken's body felt when passing through this barrier, Ken could immediately tell from one glance that this barrier had a holy or divine nature, which was the natural enemy of a demon.

Although Ken didn't need to worry about Grayfia given his current strength, there was no harm just in case.

Grayfia turned her head towards Ken as she felt a rush of warm energy envelop her body.

As if she understood Ken's purpose and intentions, Grayfia felt her heart become warm and sweet.

What woman wouldn't feel happy if the man she liked paid attention?

Grayfia is one of those women.

While Ken and Grayfia were looking around, the human who had finished with his business then turned around and nodded at the two of them in greeting, before finally going downstairs and leaving the temple.

Ken then stepped his feet to approach the shrine with Grayfia following behind.

However...

When Ken had only taken two steps, he suddenly stopped in place.

With a wave of his hand, Ken made his and Grayfia's figures vague and transparent, before finally disappearing and becoming completely invisible.

"What's wrong?"

Grayfia who wanted to ask didn't have time to finish her sentence as Ken signaled her to keep quiet using his index finger.

"Sssshhh! Just watch, the show is starting." Ken whispered to her.

Grayfia closed her mouth and followed Ken to the edge and leaned against a large tree.

The curious Grayfia looked at Ken and only saw that Ken was smiling mysteriously while folding his arms across his chest.

Right after they leaned against the tree, the shadowy silhouette of a person appeared.

One, two, three-

One by one, seven people appeared.

Ken smiled even wider with his eyes full of interest as the show in front of him began.

The performance Ken was referring to was the massacre that happened to Shuri Himejima before the plot of the original story began, which ended with the death of Shuri Himejima, Akeno's mother.

Since Shuri Himejima is one of the women on his target list, Ken naturally has to do 'something' to snatch Shuri away from the fallen angel, Baraqiel.

If Ken plays his cards right and smoothly, he can be fully confident of taking Shuri's heart.

Because no matter what, this massacre was the key point for Ken to capture Shuri.

Ken even believes that this point alone plays an important role in whether he succeeds or not.

So, when Ken decided to make Shuri his own, he had to use this massacre as the centerpiece of his plan.

...

While Ken was deep in thought, the seven people had a brief discussion before walking towards the temple.

From the outside, the shrine looked like a normal shrine.

But if one opened the door, the inside of the shrine was not much different from a house.

These seven people are famous Jutsusha (Practitioners) sent directly by the Himejima Clan.

The main reason is because they consider Shuri's relationship with Baraqiel, who is a Fallen angel, as a taboo relationship.

The Himejima Clan is one of the 'Five Major Clans of Japan'.

The Five Major Clans of Japan are Nakiri, Kushihashi, Doumon, Shinra, and most importantly Himejima.

They are powerful 'Ancient Mystic Clans', which have carried a divine connection with the 'Shinto Gods' and served them for generations.

Since ancient times, members of the Five Major Clans were born and blessed by the Shinto Gods, with the power to manipulate any of the five elements, also known as the 'Five Phases' and creatures called the 'Five Sacred Beasts'.

Each of these powers is blessed to their clan due to their strong belief and strict worship in Shintoism.

An example is the Himejima Clan, as part of the Five Major Clans that wield the power of the Sacred Beasts, the Himejima Clan has one known as the Vermilion Bird.

The Himejima Clan has also been blessed by the Shinto Gods, allowing its members to wield the 'Fire Phase', one of the Five Elements.

The Himejima Clan has stood in the shadows to serve the Shinto Gods and perform [Exorcism], which translates to [Exorcism], on evil creatures to keep Humans safe from their influence.

Given their beliefs and relationship with their Shinto Gods, it's no surprise that Shuri and Baraqiel's relationship is their taboo.

Because no matter which way you look at it, Baraqiel is someone who comes from the fallen angel class, which automatically means that fallen angels are something that can be interpreted as angels that turn 'Evil'.

Furthermore, with Shuri having a background from a family that serves Shinto deities and her occupation being an exorcist, it makes sense that her relationship with Baraqiel is a taboo.

...

Thinking of the deep complications between Shuri, Baraqiel, and the Himejima clan, Ken could not help but sigh.

*Baangg!

The sound of a loud banging on the door could be heard as the seven people forcibly barged in.

"Ah!"

A woman's worried cry rang out.

"Mom! Who are they?!"

A cute little boy's voice was heard afterward.

But from the cute voice, Ken could tell that the little girl was panicked and scared.

"Shut up! This is the task assigned to us, to kill that child!" One of the Jutsusha leaders snapped at her.

Inside the shrine, in the living room that looked simple but very cozy...

Ken saw a beautiful woman who had long black hair and light brown eyes.

If Ken had to judge her overall, the woman looked exactly the same as the adult Akeno.

Even from the way her hair was braided and her figure looked the same.

What made her slightly different was the color of her hairband and eyes.

This woman was immediately confirmed by Ken as Shuri Himejima.

In his arms, Ken saw a frightened little girl.

Although still unable to compete with her mother's figure, Ken could tell that when the little girl grew up, she could become her mother's rival and stand proudly beside her.

That little girl was none other than Akeno Himejima.

'She's so cute...' Ken thought so when he saw little Akeno.

The seven practitioners then took out their weapons and surrounded the mother-daughter pair.

Shuri hugged Akeno in a position where she was willing to protect her.

The figure of her husband flashed through her mind and still hoped that he would come to their rescue.

But as each second passed, the shadowy figure of the man she loved became blurry and eventually disappeared.

'Where are you?' Shuri asked in her heart sadly.

But in the end, Shuri pushed Akeno back and decided to sacrifice herself.

"Akeno-chan, listen to mom, you have to keep running and never look back!" Shuri said hurriedly while pushing Akeno away.

"Mom!" Akeno shouted with her eyes filled with tears.

At the same time, Akeno was asking in her heart with sadness and despair.

The same question Shuri was asking in her heart.

'Dad! Where are you?!' Akeno shouted in her heart.

Her throat choked as her mother threw herself backwards.

Seeing her attitude, the seven practitioners cursed in their hearts.

"Damn it! Catch her! Don't let her get away!" The leader said.

Of the six practitioners, two of them jumped up and chased after Akeno.

Despite the pain and heaviness in her heart, Akeno still did as her mother told her.

"Keep running and never look back.

While running, teardrops continued to fall leaving a trace of this dark event.

*Boom!

There was a huge explosion, which made Akeno scream out loud as she continued to run.

The child's loud scream would only be used as earplugs for herself so as not to hear the sound of the explosion behind her.

Tears continued to flow, her eyes getting wetter and blurry.

But her determination remained the same.

Akeno continued to run further and further away.

Ken on the other hand flicked two small marble-sized stones at the two people chasing Akeno.

*Sizzling!

The sound of a beautiful gust of wind rang out as the small stones shot out very quickly.

Baang! Baang!

The two stones hit the bullseye and pierced the heads of the two men without mercy.

The two practitioners who were chasing Akeno suddenly felt dizzy and their heads became heavy, before their bodies fell to the ground.

They didn't even know how they died.

With Ken intervening, Akeno's back slowly disappeared into the forest without a trace.

"You didn't help that woman?" Grayfia asked in a low voice.

"Hm? You'll find out later..." Ken gave a mysterious answer.

Grayfia nodded obediently and continued to watch her surroundings.

"Damn it! That little kid actually managed to escape!" The leader of the practitioners said angrily.

Then the leader looked down at Shuri's body lying limply on the ground.

Sword puncture wounds could be seen on her abdomen and burns on her skin.

With her last breath, images of the past played out in her head.

From the beginning of her meeting with her husband, Baraqiel, to her peaceful life with Akeno.

Everything played out in Shuri's head until this terrible day.

(Shuri's first meeting with Baraqiel.

Shuri and Baraqiel when they became a family while eating together with Akeno.

Shuri playing with Akeno.

Shuri and Akeno who were attacked by Jutsusha.

All the images and beautiful moments with Baraqiel and Akeno replayed in her head.

The more Shuri saw it, the more Shuri became sad.

Even at the end of his life, Baraqiel had not returned from his assignment.

Shuri initially still held hope that Baraqiel would come using Teleportation Magic and save Akeno.

But the facts immediately slapped Shuri in the face and made her realize the uselessness of that hope.

Sad and hurt.

Shuri thought again about whether she was right when she decided to be in a relationship with Baraqiel?

Does Baraqiel really love her and her little family?

Was it wrong to help Baraqiel during her first meeting with him?

Was it wrong when Shuri decided to heal Baraqiel's wounds at that time?

These kinds of questions kept popping up in her mind.

Shuri painstakingly glanced to the side to see where Akeno had gone.

In agonizing pain, Shuri groaned as the Jutsusha leader stabbed another stab wound in Shuri's abdomen.

Judging from his actions towards Shuri, it seemed that the leader was feeling very angry and wanted to take his anger out on the mother of the child.

Despite the excruciating pain, Shuri could only grit her teeth tightly and force her mouth to remain shut.

Only in this way, Shuri still showed an attitude of resistance to the group of practitioners.

Especially to the leader.

Sure enough, the leader grew increasingly displeased and raised one foot to stomp on the stab wound in Shuri's abdomen.

With blood leaking more and more profusely, Shuri's vision became blurry as death overtook her.

Her whole body went limp and her eyes lost the color of the world.

"Tsk! Useless woman!" The leader snapped.

"Let's go! We're going after that kid!" The leader gave the order.

But...

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