"Alright, the body is actually a physical weapon," Seth finally concluded, one book
open on his lap and another in his hand. "So, whoever our Demon Lord is, they'll be going
after it pretty soon. We just need to figure out what the heart is."
Bakra continued to read through his own books. "Right. Then the plan is to intercept
the Demon Lord and his servants?"
"Nah," Seth said simply. "They already know what they're after and it would be
dangerous to handle. Chances are we'd just put ourselves in danger trying to secure the
weapon. It's better to learn about it and understand how we can fight it."
Bakra let out a snort. "Great. Because, you know, us demons are totally capable of
taking down a Demon Lord - crap, Seth! We do have an angel, but isn't Isaka's girlfriend an
exorcist?"
"...yeah, but we're not exactly sure what happened to her since Isaka is still out."
"Exactly! We don't stand a chance without an exorcist. I just read that the last Demon
Lord was taken out over three hundred years ago by a huge group of spiritual something or
others. And guess what? They all died in the battle to seal him up!" Bakra let out a long
sigh. "Look, I'm just saying that we need to figure out something, is all."
"No, no, I completely understand." Seth shut his books and looked up to see Tycara
coming down the stairs with a frown on her face.
"Isaka's awake, but... Abby is with her now," Tycara said, walking over to Seth. "Abby
said I should come down to see you so you're not attacked by the butt-pirate."
Bakra gulped and dropped the book he'd been holding.
"Butt-pirate?" Seth asked, utterly confused.
"I don't know what it means, but it's what she said..." Tycara murmured, trailing off.
It was then that Seth looked over at Bakra, trying to pick up the book
inconspicuously. No such luck. When he sat back, Seth was still looking over at him. "Uh,
Seth, it's not... uh... I hope you're not offended or..."
Seth just blinked. "What? That you're gay?" The young man let out a slight laugh. "I
knew by the time we entered the Demon Lord's castle."
"What?!" Bakra asked, shocked. Was he that obvious?
Seth went back to looking through his books. "I mean, if you were straight, you
wouldn't have reacted that way to a bunch of pretty lesbians in one room." He blushed a bit.
"It took me awhile to get used to it and... well... you obviously don't have the same kind
of 'reaction' to it, like I do."
Tycara, luckily for both of them, didn't catch Seth's meaning and just sat next to her
boyfriend.
Bakra leaned back with a sigh. "And here I was, thinking I was totally straight
acting..."
"Well, that and this dude in my gym class in high school... actually, he was Krystal's
cousin and..." Seth took a minute to think. "Shoot - I wonder if that stuff is
hereditary..."
The demon just went back to investigating, switching out his old book for another.
*****
"So, are just going to sit here and cry all day?" Abby asked, stroking Isaka's head.
She was sitting on the bed, allowing the demon to use her lap as a pillow. Tears were still
running down her cheeks.
"...maybe..." Isaka croaked out. "What else can I do?"
"Tell all of us what happened... that would be a nice start."
Isaka's lip trembled. "Krystal may as well be gone... Tsuru took her away. Krystal was
the bait because Tsuru is in love with her and she just... she just took her."
Abby frowned a bit, but continued to comfort the demon. "Then why are you so worried?"
"Because Tsuru is such a... such a sweet girl and I know that if it weren't for me
then Krystal would like her more and now I'm not there and... what if she..." Isaka
swallowed. "What if she decides I'm not worth anything."
"Don't say that. You mean the world to Krystal. Jeez," Abby let out a sigh. "Listen to
yourself. You're acting like she's dead."
"...it wouldn't hurt as much, because... it sounds selfish but I know she would have
died loving me... the only reason she likes me is because I tricked her into thinking she
loved me and I was her first so- so she wouldn't want to leave. I've made her think she has
to stay with me, but she doesn't and if she figures that out-"
"She wants to be with you. If Krystal didn't love you, why the hell would she have
stuck around this long? You're beating up on yourself for nothing..." Abby trailed off a
bit, stroking Isaka's head again. "When Terry died, I just lied in bed and cried myself to
sleep. I kept it up for a long time until one night... Eveon came to me and said she had a
nightmare. She was so scared and here I was, to busy pitying myself to care for her."
Abby gave the demon a slight smile. "I told myself that I had to be strong for her and
at least keep it up until she was ready to be on her own. I planned on giving in to grief,
but I had something to hold on to... then Sakura showed up, so I got my happy ending.
Sometimes... sometimes I wonder if I would be with Sakura if Terry hadn't died. Or what if I
met her first? Would I have never had Eveon? We can sit here and wonder about all these
things, but it doesn't matter, right? We both know Krystal loves you."
Isaka nodded. "But does she love me enough...?"
Abby almost let out a groan. "Isaka... don't start with that again. Krystal is a
strong girl. Give her some more credit."
"I haven't hurt this badly since the first time I became a demon," Isaka murmured.
"Once I got all this power, I promised that I would never be the one with the broken heart
and when I wanted something, that I would just... I would just... take it..."
Isaka shut her eyes as Abby wiped at her tears. "Just look at how far that's gotten
me. I'm still the stupid little girl by the river..."
"So what? Are you just going to let Krystal down? Let her heart get broken just
because the thought of her leaving you is too much?" Abby sighed. "Get over yourself. She
needs you as much as you need her. That's all that matters - not how awesome Tsuru is or how
selfish you are. Krystal loves you because she can see the little girl inside you and that's
what she loves."
Isaka let out a small laugh. "...you know Abby, you were the last person I'd expect to
be cheering me up..."
"I know a thing or two about heartache, so it's either this or alcohol."
"...thank you," Isaka whispered as she got up. It was amazing how fast she'd lost
sight of herself. She'd almost forgotten where she'd come from - just a girl with a dream.
She remembered getting beaten for loving her sister and the scars on her face marking her as
a sinner.
It had been so easy to let the evil spirit enter her body and turn her into a demon.
She'd become a beautiful girl with all the power she ever wanted without the cost of her
soul. She could get any girl she saw and have her pick. There were never any consequences or
things to worry about...
But it was all in vain because all she wanted was that same love she felt with her
sister. That same burn of desire, but... the fear of rejection was so high that it was
easier to do the heartbreaking... Krystal... she loved Krystal so much that she just... she
just acted like a fool the whole time instead of...
Abby gave her a curious look. "Did we figure something out about ourself?"
Isaka let out a long sigh. "I'm a philandering whore. And I need to stop acting like a
sex freak to cover up my sensitivity when it comes to relationships."
"Great, shall we prepare to rescue your damsel in distress?"
*****
"...so Tsuru is the Demon Lord and she kidnapped Krystal."
Carmilla made a sour face. "Seriously?! Ugh, I am so going to throttle that girl...
taking away my Tsuru-"
"She's my girlfriend," Isaka cut in, trying to stay calm."
"Really?! That's great... so if you go rescue your girlfriend then Tsuru is single
again!" The vampire smiled to herself, but Erin cut in.
"But weren't you stalking Eveon around the house? She came to hide in our room," Erin
murmured, still remembering the blonde coming in at a most inopportune moment.
"Oh, that's completely different. With Eveon, it's all about food. With Tsuru, it's so
much more."
"Gee whiz," Eveon said. "I feel so special now..."
Mina grabbed her hand. "Oh, you're more than just anything to me, you know?"
Bakra was rapidly flipping through a book. "Ah, shit... if Tsuru really did take
Krystal then I think we have a problem..."
Seth was currently on the phone in another room as Bakra found what he was looking
for. "Alright, so we know that the Demon Lord's power is divided into three parts - the
soul, body and heart. They're really just fancy names for the vessel of the Lord of Demons,
his weapon and... well, first off, Tsuru is the soul, since she is the vessel. The weapon is
sealed up somewhere, though I'm sure she's gone to get it already. The heart-"
Seth came back into the room, shutting his cell phone. "What did I miss?"
Faye shrugged. "Bakra's going into conniptions about the Demon Lord's heart..."
Seth grimaced. "Then it's probably what I suspected. This is going to sound weird, but
the Demon Lord exists to raise demons back into their former glory. The heart refers to the
Demon Lord's Bride."
"You have got to be shitting me," Isaka murmured.
"Unfortunately, I think that's why Tsuru has Krystal... The Bride is ideally someone
strong who complements him and... well, that would explain why those three sisters trained
Krystal. They wanted her to be as strong as possible for the Demon Lord. Once the Bride
consummates her relationship with the Lord of Demons, they are both endowed with the final
part of his power."
Isaka sat and ran a hand through her hair. "That's why Tsuru was able to absorb
Krystal's holy power! So she's... oh no... if she has control over both light and dark, it
will be near impossible to beat her." She bit a nail, worried. "But Krystal wouldn't do
that... right?"
Seth looked away. "You're right - Krystal wouldn't, but the Bride would. Let's assume
that Tsuru has been corrupted since Hoshi used her insecurities against her. Should Krystal
get... infected... by that same kind of power from Tsuru, it is completely plausible that
she will do it. Once the Demon Lord has chosen and marked a bride, she's doomed to fall in
love with him."
Isaka and Abby exchanged looks. "Damn it," the purple eyed demon sprung on her feet.
"It's one thing for Krystal to legitimately fall for Tsuru, but another if she's magically
coerced into it! Do you know where they are?"
Seth shrugged. "The Demon Lord has castles set up all over the world and we are
completely unprepared to go after Tsuru. We could try to prevent her from getting her weapon
and I've already gotten in contact with the ones protecting it. Unfortunately, it's sealed
right next to Hell's Gate."
"Hell's Gate?" Sakura asked, wide eyed. "But... it should be impossible to get there,
unless..."
Seth gave her an apologetic smile. "They haven't found a replacement for you yet
and... without a new Living Inferno, that area is basically open."
"Oh no," Sakura whispered. "It was my job to keep it sealed and-"
Isaka cut her off. "Oh please, Sakura - it's not your fault. I'm sure Tsuru would have
easily broken the seal regardless. You had a hard enough time with Eska, so it would have
happened anyway."
Seth continued on. "There's a good chance Tsuru will take the sisters and Krystal with
her when she goes to retrieve it, but... I know where they're next destination is so it may
be-"
"I'm going," Isaka said, getting up. "I know it might be better to wait, but if
Krystal is there, I have to rescue her. I can't leave her there."
Carmilla got up, "Then I'm coming-"
"No you're not," Isaka said, cutting off the vampire. "You need to stay here in case I
fail."
Bakra let out a groan. "Hey, this is our fight too. You know what the Demon Lord is
planning, don't you?"
Everyone turned towards him. "What? You don't know? Tsuru is going to release the
trapped souls in the Pit of the Damned or whatever it was called. She's going to try and
turn a good portion of the world into chaos demons."
"What? Demons?" Eveon asked. "Are you serious?! I thought she was just doing this to
hook up with Krystal!"
Isaka was puzzled. "Oh... you guys didn't know? I though that's why you were all going
to fight."
"No," Faye said with a giggle. "We were fighting to help you and we were planning to
rescue Krystal for you."
The demon flushed bright red, a very uncharacteristic thing for her. "Uh... thanks..."
She looked towards Seth. "Tell me where Hell's Gate is located. I need to bring some stuff
to Tsuru as well."
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