The Blood Stone

[Chris]

The realm of Velatos is going through tough times, evil acts have been spreading
like wildfire. Caravans have been raided by bandits, seeking to fill their never-ending
greed. Demonic creatures continue their uprising on mortal men. And various kingdoms
have also begun war through steel and sorcery for dominance of the land. The Kingdom
of Harven was no exception to this madness. The land itself was far away from the
mainland, attackers could never reached them, demon raids have been the primary
concern for the kingdom’s security. These creatures have attacked countless villages,
raided passing caravans for their goods and money, and have fed on the blood spilled by
their own hands. Emporer Harven couldn’t stand the thought of his people being
slaughtered. Nor the fact that his army was incapable of holding off the village attacks.
He called forth his advisors and generals to discuss a plan of action. It was on that day, a
group of demon hunters were formed. The members of this group consisted of the land’s
finest warriors, hunters and arch-magi.

Demon attacks dwindled and peace began to return to the Kingdom of Harven.
The demon hunters now setup their base camp at the base of Mount Zenebar, in the
southern parts of Harven, to watch over the kingdom and its surrounding land. Mount
Zenebar was a beautiful place. Forest covered the base of the mountain, flowers bloomed
through the plains to the north, and Zenebar Falls poured out pure, clean water. From this
land, they constructed their village. The humans, elven and dwarves focused on their own
powers of steel and magic to subjugate and destroy demons, as well as performing acts of
science to promote the kindgom’s living. If necessary, they have used the bones and
blood of thier fallen enemies as ingredients or materials for their research.

Amongst the slayers that grew up in the village, little Yume was destined to be one of them. He was an Elven adolescent, with blonde hair, green hair, and a small stature. Although he lacks strength in his body, his power to communicate and harness the power of nature was not to be taken lightly. He lived in the outskirts of the village, in a small house made of lumber with his older sister and brother. However, both of them usually went on missions or tended to lounge around in the outside world. Because of Yume’s age, he was unable to leave the region to combat demons or explore the world, under the elders’ law. Feeling lonely and isolated, he headed towards the only place the elders would allow the younglings to go, Zenebar Falls. He traveled down the dirt road, over the wooden bridge, and through the forests towards his destination. Getting there was straight forward, since signposts were setup to guide the villagers in case they got lost. And since the roads were close to the village, demons never show up to attack on unsuspecting villagers or slayers.

There was a place at Zenebar Falls that Yume loved to sit. It was on a small rock,
next to one of the largest deciduous trees in the area. Yume was able to strongly hear the
voices of the forest from this location. He spoke with nature in his mind, asking them
questions: “How has it been going”, “Are my siblings safe?” He could even share his
most personal feelings and thoughts without anyone laughing at him. To him, nature was
basically his best friend, one that could listen and not return hurtful jokes or remarks. He
would also climb his tree, to pull of practical jokes using his powers on the unsuspecting
crowd. Yume was bored and didn’t really want to talk to nature, so he began to climb the

tree. The tree was pretty easy to climb, Yume left grooves inside the bark to stick his
hands and feet into. There were also branches that were able to support anyone’s weight,
in case someone would fall. He climbed until he reached his favorite branch. The branch
extended over the water pool and next to the falls. People around Yume’s age would
often climb the tree to this branch. At the middle of the branch, there was a small wooden
platform nailed to it. There, they would jump off of the platform into the pool, showing
their friends how brave they were. However, someone was blocking today’s jump. For
Kurisu was taking a nap on the platform. She was a beautiful, young woman, aged 20 in human years. She wore a large, water patterned, blue hooded tunic over her slayer’s outfit and had short black hair. Yume couldn’t see anybody else on the ground or climbing up the tree. This was the perfect opportunity to strike. Yume took out his knife and carved a sigil into the tree. He put his left hand over the sigil, closed his eyes and concentrated his powers on the tree, allowing him to control the branch they stood on. He then twisted his hand so the branch would tilt towards the right, along with the platforum and the sleeping beauty. Kurisu woke up just as she was plummeting into the pool below her. “Ahhhhhh!” she cried as she was falling. The fall ended with a splash. Kurisu surfaced from the pool and yelled out “Yume!” Wet and angry, she swam towards the shore to find the mysterious
prankster.

Yume climbed down the tree back to the ground. On the ground, he walked over
to Kurisu and laughed at her hysterically. “Hahaha! You are so gulliable, my dear sister.”
He said.“I was going to offer you a drink, but apparently you already had it.” Kurisu
didn’t find it funny one bit, she stared at Yume with her brown eyes and said,

“That wasn’t funny one bit, sometimes you are so impossible to deal with.”
“Come on, I need to have some fun. You and big brother are rarely ever around to
play or have fun with me. Always out saving the day or running errands for the
people. I want to have those adventures too, until then… have fun getting wet!”
He replied, then continued his hysterical laugh.

Kurisu was still furious. She couldn’t stand Yume’s laughter any longer. She decided to
user her aquamancy against her childish brother. She clapped her hands once, which
caused a giant pillar of water to form from the pool. When Yume looked up, he stopped
laughing. He then told his sister, “Don’t tell me you’re gonna… I was just playing
around!” With an evil smile, she stook out one finger and pointed at Yume. The water
pillar crashed down all over both of them, causing both siblings to become soaking wet.
“Who’s laughing now? Hahahaha!” She said, happily. She continued on, “Was there a
reason for you to come this far and get us both wet?” Yume reached into his pocket and
pulled out a sharp, red crystal. He then showed it to Kurisu, “Five years have passed
since that day…. that day where… I… don’t…. want….“ said Yume, then he started to
cry. Kurisu knew what he was talking about. “Don’t cry!” She whispered. “It’s getting
late, lets go home and see if our brother returned.” She grabbed Yume’s hand and left
Zenebar Falls together.

By the time Kurisu and Yume got home to the village, the sun started to set. The
sky started to turned orange and the children began to return home. The guards at their
posts began to change their stations and continued their watch over the forest. And the
stores began to close down for the night. When they both got home, Hitora was sitting
outside the house on a log. He was looking up into the sky, drinking his bottle of rice
wine he took home from work. Hitora was around Kurisu’s age, but younger. He had
brown spikey hair, freckles on his cheeks, and striking green eyes. Kurisu rolled his eyes
and said, “Dammit! We come home soakin’ wet, only to find that our brother has been
going through Dad’s belongings again.” Hitora was carrying a small clay jug in his hand.
Inside the jug there was some of dad’s rice wine that he would drink during dinner or
with friends. Hitora looks at Kurisu for a moment. He nods his head in disbelief and
continues to drink from the jug. Kurisu ignores him and walks into the house with Yume.
“Go hang up your stuff and have some soup in the pot.” He told Yume. Yume then went
into his room and did like she told him to do, like a mother to an obedient child. Hitora
began to laugh a bit, “Nice try, but you are not his mom”, he said to Kurisu from outside.
She walked out and sat next to Hitora’s jug. He then continued:

“Mom and Dad would still be here…. if that bastard didn’t kill them.”
“Why do you keep going back to that incident? I feel bad enough as it is over the
tragic images we saw that night. I just don’t want Yume to feel sad about it
anymore.” Kurisu replied.

She pulls out the small, red crystal from the tunic’s pocket. She then showed the bottom
of it to Hitora.

“This would have saved all our lives that day. All I need was the blood of a living
being and that creature’s blood spilled onto it. If it worked, both of their spirits
will be sealed into the crystal. Then when smashed, their spirits cannot be
restored.”

Hitora nodded his head. He wasn’t really in the mood to hear the stories of their past. He
grabbed the jug with his right hand. “Believe what you will, we can’t go back in time and
bring them back.” He said, then he started to drink some more. Kurisu got up and went
back into the house for soup, leaving his brother on the log with his liquor.

Yume was inside the house. He was in the front of the pot over a roaring fire. The
soup was still cooking and it was going to be awhile before it was done. He loved to stay
in front of the fire pit and cook soup for his siblings. Tonight however, he wasn’t really in
a cheerful mood, for he had overheard what happened outside. “I wish bad things didn’t
happen in this world.” He said to Kurisu as he stirred the soup. “Then we would still have
our parents right in front of us, telling me how awesome my cooking is.” Kurisu walked
right next to him and sat down. She looked into the pot. She saw that Yume was making
his tomato soup that he loved so much, she could recognize the smell and the color of the
red liquid that was stirring around in it. “Don’t worry bout it. You still got us! Alright, I
need to go to a guard post now. Can I have a vial of what you got?” she said to Yume.
Yume felt more relieved. He grabbed a large vial from the table next to him and poured
some soup into it using his wooden ladle. Yume then said “Be careful, I’ll pray you
return home safely.” He handed the bottle over to Kurisu and she left the house. Kurisu
then speaks to Hitora with a warning:

“I’m out. Make sure that Yume doesn’t do anything stupid like burn himself or I
will have your head. And dammit man, quit drinking from Dad’s old cabinet! There is no telling how long that stuff has been in there for.”

Hitora listened but didn’t return a reply, he was still going through his flavorful rice wine.
Kurisu could tell by the red expression on his face that he had too much. Hitora then lost
balance and fell to the ground, like a town drunkard after having going through a large
amount of ale. On the ground, he fell asleep. “Oh Yume!” she cried out. Yume left the
pot boiling and headed outside to find out what was going out. “Something you wanted?”
he replied. “Your brother went through our dad’s rice wine cellar again. Can you bring
him inside, I think he needs to take a nap.” The jug began to pore out its remaining
contents all over the ground, leaving behind a strong smell of rice wine and sleeping
grass on the ground. Their father used to spike his ale and rice wine with bits of sleeping
grass, to keep his children from drinking it but him. Of course, he and his wife developed
immunity to the potent herbs. But the rest, fell into a sleep state for a while. Hitora started
drinking ever since their parents died, but he never really knew the contents of what he
was drinking. Yume grabbed Hitora by the shoulders and dragged him into the house.
“Why he keeps drinking spiked liquor is a mystery to me!” he said as he dragged Hitora
into the house. Kirusu ran off to the guard post, leaving his two younger brothers at
home, alone.

The streets of the village were different at night. During the day, everyone was
trading their wares or training themselves for combat at the barracks. People from far and
wide would also come to hire them for mercenary work. Even Emporer Harven would
come to inspect the town and speak to the elders, who fought the demonic scourge long
ago. At night, everyone was either indoors, drinking away at the local pubs, or a town
guard ordered to keep the peace. Kurisu ran through the dark streets to the west gate of
the village. The post was a small hike up a mountain path. It wasn’t really a guard post, it
was more of a watch station. From the location, any person could easily see what was
going on in the roads below. If something happened, they would set off the magic alarm.
Causing the bell tower at the elders’ tower to ring and alert the people to take shelter if
necessary. Kurisu started heading up the path to change places with the guard that was up
there. Halfway up, she met up with the guard returning home. The guard was a dwarf,
armed with a giant metal poleaxe and short, muscular build. He had a long brown beard
and was bald. “Oi!” He cried out to Kurisu,

“Ye been sleepin’ again haven’t ya? I be going to the pub for a pint. Make sure
nothin’ goes wrong, ya hear? I dinnae want to spill me ale all over meself when a
war breaks out haha! Also, stop leavin’ ye sword up in the tower, that thing gives
me the chills.”

Kurisu rolled her eyes and nodded her head and ran past the dwarven guard to the watch

tower. The guard continued his journey down the road back to the village.
The old watch tower was made from stone and stood about thirty feet high. An
old wooden ladder on the inside would allow guards to climb to the top and view the
roads. There was also a barricaded gate on the door to keep unwanted guests from
coming or breaking in. Kurisu entered the tower and barricaded the door. She then
climbed up the ladder and looked out the north side of the tower. Nothing ever really
happened on her post, the roads were quiet and not many demons were spottable. All and
all, it was a peaceful night. The stars were visible and the moon glowed with intensity
over the horizon. And the children of the night began to show their music to the world.
Kurisu was never really fond of the watch tower routine, but she did it anyway for this is
what she signed up for. Luckily, there was a bed to relax on during the boring hours, but
they needed to have another person or some kind of a sentry spell active in order to do
this. She pulled out a large wooden box from under the bed. Inside the box were sentry
wards, and wristbands to activate them. The guard would setup one of these on the tower
and put on the wristband. If the sentry ward picked up something with its watchful eye, it
would shock the wearer of the wristband, causing him or her to wake up instantly. Kurisu
pulled out one of the wards and placed it on the tower wall. She then put on the wrist
band and went to lie down on the bed.

In Kurisu’s state of thought, she was dreaming about what happened that night…
six years ago from tonight. On that night, they were traveling in their caravan to the
village with supplies from the Emporer’s castle. The whole family traveled in the old
wagon, with Kurisu’s mother and father in the front steering the horses. In the back,
Kurisu and her brothers watched over the goods to make sure nothing fell off or broke.
She could easily remember her parent’s appearance like the back of her hand. Thier
father was a human male with black hair, brown eyes, a strong muscular build and a short
beard. As for their mother, she was a beautiful Elvin woman with blonde hair and green
eyes. Both of them have been trained to combat any demons that attacked themselves at
night. Halfway to the castle, they heard a villainous, beastly laughter from the woods.
Kurisu’s father pulled on the ropes to stop the horses. Her mother turned around and gave
a stone rune to Hitora. The stone rune was used to help people hide from demonic sight,
she then told him with her sweet voice “I want you and your siblings to get out of the
wagon and hide in the bushes. Use this rune’s power when the creature comes. We will
try to outrun it.” Hitora woke up Yume and they both got out of the wagon. Kurisu back
then was extremely stubborn and didn’t want to leave her parents behind, “I’m not
leaving, I will help you fend off the creature!” She said to her mother as she reached into
her pocket. Her father didn’t have time for these arguments. He turned around and looked
at Kurisu and said to her, “We have no time to waste, go with your brothers and watch
over them. We need someone to look after in case….” He then stopped speaking and
threw Kurisu out into the road. “Sorry… be careful! And remember what I have taught
you!” he yelled to the young Kurisu. Then he whipped the horses and galloped away.
Kurisu wanted to chase them and tried to help her out, but Hitora pinned her down.
Kurisu was squirming on the ground, trying to break free from her brother’s hold.
“Dammit!” he said to her, “This isn’t the time to go off and play hero, we need to do
what father says!” Hitora held the rune and concentrated on it, which caused its power to activate. “Now stay quiet and don’t attract any attention!” he said. Kurisu got up from the
ground, and they traveled up the road back to the village. From the shadows jumped the source of the noise: A giant wolf demon standing on two legs. Kurisu remembered exactly how it looked like that night: He stood at 15 feet tall, covered in all white fur. He had cold, blue eyes and a blue mane growing in his neck region. The wolf demon looked around, and sniffed the area. “Hmmm, they went this way.” It then chased after the wagon on four legs. “Oh no… that monster will find them!” Yume yelled. The demon stopped and turned around, “Who’s there? I know someone is still out there!” It shouted. He sniffed around and couldn’t find the source of the call, so he left. It wasn’t about a quarter of the way up the siblings heard the bell ring from the elder’s tower. It only ever rang when someone or something attacked the village. They continued their running until they found a group of slayers from the village surveying a wagon wreck. The wagon was trashed, the goods were stolen, and the drivers had disappeared. The only clue the culprit left behind were giant paw prints, engraved onto the dirt road along with the horse tracks. The siblings ran up to the slayer and asked him what happened. The slayer turned around and looked down on them, “Did this caravan belong to someone you know?” he said. Kurisu and Yume nodded their heads, agreeing with his question.

[Chris]

“I am terribly sorry! This caravan was attacked. Your parents looked like they got blitz attacked and couldn’t defend themselves. They were slaughtered and eaten by the beast, it also raided the caravan’s supplies and destroyed them.”

Kurisu and Hitora looked down on the ground in disbelief, they both didn’t want to
believe what just happened. Yume hugged Kurisu and started to cry. “No! They can’t be
gone! That bastard! I wish all the bad monsters would all just go away!” he cried to his
sister.

Kurisu’s state of thought ended after that scream. She then pulled out the red crystal from her tunic pocket. “If I had used this crystal that day… then we would be living happily.” She said to herself. “I never really got the grasp of why my mother gave me this thing. She told me to use it on the verge of death. Those elder fools never wanted to tell me the truth about it either.” Just then, the wristband sent a shock through her body. “What the hell?” she yelled. She got off the bed and looked down at the road. There was nothing there, not even an animal. “Honestly, these wards need severe improvements! Can’t always rely on elven magics to do anything nowadays.” She said to herself. It was when she turned her head to the village, she saw the reason that the ward set off. The village’s east side was on fire and the elder’s bell was ringing. Some of the people were fleeing from the village. She removed the wristband and stormed down the ladder. She checked the vault room inside the tower to find that her sword was still there. The sword was all blue with a purple hilde. The blade was large and needed to be held with two hands most of the time. The sword was made from a magic, unmeltable ice found in the mountains and was deemed “Ice Brand” by the elder mages. Anyone who dared to touch its blade would feel the chill of its cold, and possibly become frozen. She grabbed the sword, broke down the barricade with the sword and exited the watch tower. The sky was filled with smoke and screams of the villagers began to echo the air. Flames were coming out of the roofs of the buildings. She also came across the same dwarven guard from earlier, who was trying to find her. “Huff huff…. Ye got to go back to the village. A crazy bastard is single-handedly laying siege to the town. They be callin’ the guards and slayers to subdue it. Help ‘em out.” Kurisu grabbed him and yelled, “Where are my brothers you crazy drunk!” The dwarf said with a stutter “I… dinnae… know.” Kurisu grunted and threw him to the ground. She then ran for the village, leaving the dwarf guard all by himself. The dwarf eventually got up and said “She be a feisty lass…. much like her father was.” He brushed off the dust and left for the watch tower.

The village was blazing and the streets were all abandoned. Screams continued to
echo the land and various amounts of bodies were scattered on the ground. Kurisu
couldn’t believe the mass destruction that was happening here. Some villagers and wounded slayers began to run from the village, “Run for it! The demon is attacking!” They shouted. Kurisu watched them zip right past her. She then prayed that Yume and Hitora had evacuated from the village or took shelter in the Elder’s Tower. She ran ahead to see what kind of demon was causing everyone to run away. She made it to the town square, to find various people and animals slaughtered around her. The fountain’s water began to stain red with the blood of mana. At the center of it all, standing on top of the fountain, a giant wolf demon standing on two legs stood on the fountain. It was looking at the elder tower high up in the mountains. It was the exact demon that Kurisu saw six years ago in the caravan incident. He stood at the same height, of fifteen human feet. The same facial appearances; striking blue eyes, blue mane developing at the neck. However, his claws, arms and even his mouth was coated with mortal blood. The creature started to sniff the surrounded area. It looked over at Kurisu, who was terrified at the sight that was before her. “Heh heh heh, your smell….. I may have met you before.” He said to her, “I could remember my victims like the back of my paws, even from days long gone.” It then licked his mouth.

“You heartless glutton!” she yelled, “You were the one who killed my parents on
that night, six years ago! I will avenge their deaths by spilling your blood on the ground.” It showed its razor sharp teeth to Kurisu began to laugh. “Yes mortal, it was I who
raided that wagon a long time ago, and I devoured your so called parents. Believe me
they were delectable. You will soon join them, within my belly!”
The wolf demon jumped from the tower and rushed at Kurisu with blinding speed. Kurisu tried to block its’ incoming charge with her sword. But by the time she managed to get it into position, the demon was right in attack range. With one of it’s mighty claws, she slashed Kurisu across her stomach. Causing her to be thrown back and
leave a trail a blood on the rocky ground. Her sword was also sent flying, unreachable to her hands. The demon then jumped onto her. With his two claws pinning down her arms, she was unable to move or escape from the vicious beast. Kurisu still had some life in her, but it was fading fast. “Heh Heh Heh!” it laughed, “Where is your spirit now? Your empty threat means nothing to me. Soon, you will suffer the same fate as your parents.” The demon began leave drule on what was left of Kurisu’s armor. With Kurisu’s last ounce of strength, she took the crystal and rubbed it on the blood left on her hand. “If I go down….. I am… taking… you with me!” she whispered. She took the red crystal that was in her hand and jabbed it into the wolf demon’s claw. The magical reaction from the stone caused both their bodies started to glow.

“What the hell have you done?” it cried out.
“It’s a…. Blood Stone, you cur.” She spoke silently. “With the blood of two
beings…. is applied to….. it….. both… their spirits…. will get sealed into it. Thereby, exposing the true damage.”
“Fool! You would sacrifice your own life… for what, this village?” It yelled.
“For…….. my… brothers.” She spoke before she fell dead.

With a loud cry from the demon, both their souls got implanted into the crystal. Both
Kurisu and the wolf demon had no spirit within their bodies, for now they were merely
empty vessels, much like the bodies that were scattered on the cold, dead earth of the
burning village.

The fire wasn’t controlled until the aquamancers came back to the village, quenching the feriocous flames with their water magic. Yume and Hitora entered the village from Zenebar Falls, looking for their sister who they couldn’t find. “Where the hell could she be?” Hitora cried out. Yume ran off, shouting Kurisu’s name to aid in their search. “Everyone! The demon has fallen!” a slayer shouted out. Everyone who was still alive began to gather in the village square, where the fallen hero and the demon now lay. The crowd was heavy, there wasn’t any room to get through to see what it was. The children in the crowd were told to avert their eyes due to the gruesomeness of the scene. “Yume, go find Kurisu’s sword and come back later. This isn’t a scene for children.”
He said to Yume. Yume nodded his head and ran off, looking for Kurisu’s lost sword. Hitora pushed through the crowd, only to find the shocking scene that was before him:. Kurisu was on the ground; open wounds from claw swipes and unable to do anything. Next to her was the wolf demon, lying on the ground with an open wound on his left claw. Both of them were dead. Between their fallen bodies, was the crystal, except with a ball of white light contained within it. “God… She…. I… I can’t…. believe she’s gone…..” said Hitora as he struggled his speech. He ran past the slayers that were surveying the mess and kneeled next to Kurisu’s body. He then lifted up Kurisu’s body, and examined it. Her claw swipe was deep, her eyes were closed, and her tunic was ripped. The leather armor underneath was also damaged, and stained with blood from the open wounds. “Dammit!” he yelled, “First our parents, now this!” Hitora began to cry, showing his emotional damage to the crowd. The surrounding villagers lowered their heads and prayed. A village elder headed into the crowd and ventured into the scene. He was elven, wearing a white robe, white long hair, and green eyes like Yume’s. The elder had been watching the events unfold from the tower, up to the part where Kurisu sacrificed herself. He walked towards the crying Hitora with Kurisu’s lifeless body in his hands. He bent down and touched Kurisu’s cheek with the palm of his hand. “She’s beautiful. But her life ended too quickly. You were lucky to have someone like her.” He said with encouragement. Hitora didn’t want anyone to speak to him right now. The elder got up and spoke to the crowd,

“Here lies before us, a woman who was willing to protect this town from our invader. She knew the risks and responsibility she had to uphold. She triumphed, even though she payed the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. This warrior will not be forgotten, for her sacrifice was not made in vain. And therefore, we will always remember this sacrifice, with the Tribute of Heroism.”

The elder reached into his robe for a seed. He then grabbed it and flicked it onto the ground. The seed began to sprout vines, forming the shape of an altar. The Tribute of Heroism was for those who truly fought to the end for their land. The body would be placed on an altar, and then ritually burned to ashes. It was done to help the dead rest in peace and to make people remember the meaning of a powerful sacrifice. “Now, young one. Place the body on the altar.” Hitora had no choice, he was ordered to follow the elder’s orders to the letter. He picked up Kurisu and placed her on the altar. He then took the glowing crystal and held it in his left hand. Hitora stepped back from the altar, breaking into tears before it. The elder slowly walked up to the altar. He then took out the ceremonial dagger and cut out her tunic and the armor underneath to her skin. Using the blood from Kurisu’s slashed chest, he drew out a sigil over Kurisu’s heart. After doing so, the elder threw the dagger in front of Hitora. “The sigil has been drawn. You were the closest person in her life, so you will perform the Tribute of Heroism.’ The elder said to Hitora in a calm voice. He then stepped aside and began to pray for them. Hitora slowly picked up the enchanted dagger and walked up to the altar. He began to tremble in sadness, he didn’t want to have to do the most honorable ritual on his own flesh and blood. Pressure became to bottle up inside of him over what to do. Hitora looked at her face and said “Forgive me, for what I must do.” The dagger’s runes began to glow and the blade caught fire, the very flame that will burn Kurisu’s body to ashes. Hitora’s hand began to shake. Everyone in the crowed fell into silence and looked at the scene before them. The slayers began to pray for Kurisu and Hitora was suffering with the decision of going through with this or not. “I…. I….” he stuttered, “I can’t do this!” Hitora threw the knife into the fountain behind the altar. He then revealed the Blood Stone, dwelling with a white light. “Not when my sister can be saved!” he cried out. The elder broke his prayer and spoke to him, “What are you doing? If you jab the Blood Stone back into one of the hosts, there is no telling what evils you might unleash onto this world.” Hitora looked at him with a stare. He then turned his head towards Kurisu’s face and jabbed the Blood Stone into her heart.

The crowd was in awe and horror over what Hitora had done. They thought he had gone delirious and crazy over the loss of his sister. Just as the slayers were about to apprehend Hitora, the Blood Stone began to radiate a crimson glow. The crystal then cracks and shatters to pieces, leaving behind tiny shards over Kurisu’s chest. Two balls of light emerged from her body and appeared before the crowd. “I feared for this. The two souls are going to merge into one being. Arm yourselves.” As the Elder predicted, the two balls of light merged into one and went into Kurisu’s body. This began to change her physical appearance. Her hair grew longer and turned blue, like the mane of the wolf demon. Her nails began to increase in size, almost like claws. Her front teeth began to grow into wolf fangs and her body healed over the wounds. The elder never saw this transformation happen before. “Young one, you have given birth to the scourge of this world! A demon combined with the aspect of a human; a half-demon.” Spoke the Elder. Kurisu awoke with and got up before the crowd. She then looked at the crowd around her. “What seems to be going on?” she questioned. The people looked at her in fear over her new appearance, for now she was nor man nor beast. Feeling scared, the ran for their homes “Half-demon!” they yelled. Hitora looked up at the new Kurisu, unable to feel satisfaction for resurrecting her body from the dead. He began to cry and ran up to Kurisu, and hugged her. “Welcome back…. to my arms.” he cried. Kurisu had a blank expression on her face. The demon had made her void of all emotion. The elder couldn’t believe what he had seen. The slayers than surrounded her and pointed their spears at her neck. Hitora stood under the tips, terrified over what might happen to his sister. He looked up at Kurisu. She kept her emotionless facial experession as she looked upon the men around her. She then spoke a threat “Take any unnecessary actions, and I will be forced to defend myself and my brother.” She hugged her brother right there. In Hitora's opinion, it looked like she had control over the demon within her. For he knew he would be dead, much like other villagers who failed to survive. The elder walked through an opening in front of the siblings and spoke. Kurisu looked at him. "Tell them to drop thier weapons!" She demanded.

"Kurisu, I don't take kindly to your bluff." He said.
“You now have the spirit of a wolf demon flowing through your body. The very wolf demon that killed your parents six years ago. That goes against the teachings of our village. But, you saved the rest from a terrible fate. There is no assurance that you won’t kill anyone around you, even your very brother that is in your arms. I am sorry, but you are hereby banished from this village.”

The slayers dropped their spears on the ground and created a path leading to the South Gate. Hitora was surprised what he heared, and said to her “Half demon or not, Kurisu is my sister and I will always love her.” He grabbed her arm and they walked away from the town square. She turned her head to the elder and told him “I don’t frankly care that I am shunned from this village. But you better pray to your God that my brothers remain within the safety of this village, or there will be trouble.” Kurisu once again was being serious. Yume ran up to Kurisu with her sword and gave it to her. “Hehe! Don’t forget this! You always leave your stuff everywhere without remembering where it is afterwards.” Kurisu smiled and grabbed the sword. They then walked towards their home, to pack up Kurisu’s belongings for her departure. “What the hell? You are letting that half demon swine leave town?” said one of the slayers. “Even her brothers don’t see what she has become!” The elder walked up to him and placed his wrinkled hand on his shoulder. “Maybe so, but I feel she will be able to control her demon aspects, but there will be days where her it may destroy her. Until that dreadful day comes before us, she will remain unharmed. Let us pray that day will never happen!” he repied. The elder then headed back up the stairs to the elder’s tower, and continued to watch over his land and those who lived in it.