The small black robed figure stood before Milly, still shrouded in darkness, his face hidden by a hood. She got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was as if she had seen this figure before, but it must be her imagination.

The robed figure slowly lifted pale white hands, small and delicate hands, up to remove the hood from his face. For it was indeed a boy. A pale white boy with long black hair and a small horn jutting from his silky black hair. A 12 year old boy with a crystalline purple eye and a sinisterly glowing red eye.

Milly gasped, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. ”N-no, no. It can't be you. You shouldn't be here... you shouldn't...” She muttered, taking a few steps back before falling on her ass in a most unladylike manner.

Then she remembered Max. She quickly glanced over to see that Max was just staring at the figure... the creature. No.. what about the girl... but, she was different.. she was...

”So it was you.” The boy said. Milly almost cringed at those sharp and judgemental eyes, that cold tone. This was a nightmare come to life for her.

”I thought Apophis said slave girl.” The boy mused to himself. Still that cold, indifferent tone he was putting on sent a shiver down her spine. Beside her, Max was remarkably relaxed. Then again, he didn't know about the boy. Not like Milly knew. This was a true demon, an incredibly powerful one. Strong enough to wipe out her knight commander and a group of B rank mages with a single wave of his small hand.

This was a casual murderer. A killer. An ancient evil, if her previous knight-commander was to be believed.

”No, he is never wrong, but then...” The boy said, still speaking to himself.

This just made Milly even more uneasy. She swallowed audibly. ”But then, that means they got you somehow? The slavers took you for themselves?”The creature asked, cocking his head to the side, which made him look even more inhuman.

Milly bit her lower lip, glancing around. She should've picked up a sword... but even with a sword, what could she do against an existence such a this? The little demon surprised Milly then.

He sighed, half closing his eyes as if he was remembering the past. ”I don't know what happened to you, miss Knight. ” He said in a tired voice. ”But there's been enough killing today I think. More than enough.” He then cocked his head to the other side, as if listening to something.

Then she felt the familiar electrifying sensation of mana being used near her and she directed her gaze at the demon. ”What did you do?” She asked it. She still did not know its name and wasn't really sure she cared to know. What if it was cursed or something?

An existence that stands above that of even the ancient demon king! Her knight-commanders voice echoed inside her skull, sending shivers down Milly's spine.

”I did not do anything.” The demon said simply. For some reason, Milly believed him. He didn't seem like the type to lie to her. Why would he? Someone with his amount of power did not need to lie. He could just do whatever he wanted.

”Then what?” She asked, crossing her arms in a bid to seem more confident than she actually was. That and to cover the ragged clothes that barely hid her body from view.

”This is Xuberanth. Apparently there's a very famous Academy here that trains knights and mages.” The boy said, continuing to study Milly with his intense eyes. She suddenly felt inadequate... she was dressed in rags and her bare legs and feet were freezing.

There were goosebumps on her arms and legs and she shivered once as she noticed how cold the stones beneath her bare soles actually were.

”It is not surprising that they would send out scrying magic. I think they will arrive soon, but won't teleport here directly since that will be too risky. They will set up a formation a few blocks away then advance with an organized team. That's the only way that really makes sense.” The boy nodded to himself, then he seemed to notice Max. He even did a double take on Milly.

Frowning, he said. ”Isn't this a familiar situation... Though I don't have the luxury of you being unconscious...” Milly wondered what he meant by that. He really was a hard to read person. If he was a person at all.

”Just who are you?” Milly asked.

”I thought you knights had some idea about me. You were rather aggressive when we first met.” he said, but then quickly waved his hand in the air.

”Nevermind. My name is Shugireth, but please just call me Shu.”

”I.. my name is Milly. And the boy over there's Max.” Shu nodded to her, acknowledging that he got their names.

Sighing, the boy fished out a small black box from within his robes and clicked it open.

Milly thought that the demon muttered, ”It can't be helped,” under his breath as he stuck a hand into the box. What came next greatly shocked Milly, though it really shouldn't have.

He pulled out clothes. First, he produced a very fine, dark emerald coloured doublet with silver embroidery, along with nice black silken pants, which he handed to Max. The blonde haired boy she had saved from the slavers just moments ago, merely stared at it with a dazed expression.

”What's wrong Max?” Shu said. Milly was surprised at the change of tone. He almost sounded compassionate, but that couldn't be. Milly stepped forward. ”He's been through alot.” She said.

Shu raised an eyebrow at this. ”You seem fine though?” He asked. It was like someone had punched Milly in the stomach and she quietly gritted her teeth. She couldn't say it. She shouldn't. And she couldn't yell at him either. What if he got angry.. and killed them.

”Now those are eyes that I remember.” Shu said, coming over to stand before her. Although Shu was small like a child, he still seemed to tower over Milly with his imposing presence.

Scrunching up his nose, Shu pulled out another set of clothes. Well, actually the first thing he pulled out was a thick warm looking cloak which he threw at her.

”You seem cold.” He said by way of explanation, still absentmindedly rooting around in that strange infinity box of his. Next, he produced a set of thin leather armor that looked so exquisitely crafted that Milly wondered if it was just meant to look nice. Then she felt the hum of powerful magic from the leather and her eyes widened.

”You... for me?” She said. Shu nodded. ”Bu-but why?.”

”Don't flatter yourself. It's just a normal set. Actually it's a bit crappy, but you seem like a leather type warrior and I don't have much of that. My guild wasn't really into the whole medium thing, only for rangers really. Heavy armor wouldn't suit you I think.” The little demon said.

Milly opened her mouth, then closed it again. She hadn't expected that. If he wasn't so scary, he would almost be pleasant to talk with. Almost. She took the armor, noting out of the corner of her eye that Max had already put on the silk pants and was currently struggling with the doublet. Milly looked from Max to the little demon, then back again before determinedly setting her jaw.

Then she started to remove the filthy rags. ”Wa-wait a second.” shu said. That voice... She resisted the urge to grin, afraid of what might happen if she did and then pissed him off. But he was really surprisingly shy for a mass murdering ancient evil. Was that a tinge of red on his cheeks? No that couldn't be right.

”He-here. Underclothes.” Shu said, his voice quiet. Then he turned away from Milly. Again, she briefly felt a surge of mana from the boy, but this time she was less afraid. If he was going to kill her, he wouldn't have given her this armor.

But why... why the hell would he give her this armor! It was way too extreme. She had never even seen armor like this before, and it had layer upon layer of enchants on it like S-rank adventurer gear.

The fuck...

Still, she shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, as the strange old saying went. When she'd finished dressing in the armor and wrapping the dark brown cloak around her, she felt almost comfortable.

All she needed now was, ”A sword!” Shu exclaimed. ”Might aswell...” the little demon muttered to himself, rooting around inside the black box with an absentminded expression on his face.

No way. This guy was crazy. He'd killed the knight commander so easily, he was supposed to be evil. But he was shy... he was strange. Mad? Maybe he was mad?

Shu procured a bland looking bastard sword from the box. The sight of the long blade and sheath emerging from the mysterious black box was surreal to say the least.

On the pummel of the sword glittered three blue lines. They looked powerful, as if drawn by a master calligraphers bold hand. They were vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't remember where she'd seen that symbol before. Milly almost felt like this was one of those stories of old, like she was part of one of those strange stories.

She'd read some of them as a child, and the fantastic tales had inspired her to become a knight of the realm like those ancient Blue wind heroes. Even if they had lost to some strange guild in the end, they were still heroic figures to Milly. She had wanted to become someone like that. Someone whose very presence inspired awe and commanded respect.

She'd wanted to stick it to her damn sister and her adventurers guild... truth be told, right now that life did not look so bad. It was appealing.

Becoming an adventurer was so appealing.

She could be anonymous, she could forget her sins. As an adventurer, she could take on jobs to help people. She could...

”What's wrong, miss Knight?” Shu asked, raising an eyebrow. ”Is the sword inadequate in some way? The standards of you people seem so low, but even so could it be that I underestimated you by bringing this thing out? I've wanted to get rid of it for quite awhile you know?” The little demon said.

”No, no. It's not that. Please, thank you. It was just really unexpected is all. For you to give me this equipment...”

”Don't mention it.” Shu said, seeming to gather himself. ”Right then, you should be good now, yes? Gotta run now. The team from the Academy is coming.” He said, as if that explained everything.

With that, the little demon simply turned on his heels and started walking away. ”Wait, wait!” Milly shouted, surprising herself and startling Max, who had been in a trance since meeting Shu.

She wondered what was going through the little blondies head.

It couldn't be that, right? Even if Max seemed girly, he was a man. Right? Well, a boy. Although the creature was indeed supernaturally beautiful in an eerie, inhuman way, there wasn't a chance in hell she would be affected by his charms, right?

”Wait up already.” Milly said, making the little demon turn. ”What?”

”it's just... ugh.. You're gonna leave just like that? No explanation for why you're here? Why you gave me this armor? No nothing?” Then the little demon smiled, and it shocked Milly.

It was not a scary smile, but a smile that made her heart skip a beat for a reason other than fear. Get it together stupid girl. This is that thing from the cave... remember! But was it fair to judge him by that alone? Ugh! This was so frustrating. This Shugireth was so frustrating.

”Just... ah for fucks sake man! How can you be like that huh? Where are you off to in such a hurry? Are you gonna go gather your demon army and bring about the downfall of the allied races like in the tales of old? What the hell are you gonna do, huh!?” Milly shouted.

A small voice inside of her head told her that she was being an idiot for giving lip to such a powerful demon, but she didn't care anymore.

He was just too strange, and his visage had haunted her dreams ever since she had first layed eyes upon him. He couldn't just disappear again like this. She had to settle this properly or she would never be able to live it down.

The pale little demon boy caressed his chin with a delicate hand for a moment, studying Milly and Max before seeming to come to some sort of decision. ”My first priority is getting away from here before the Academy team discovers me and makes a fuss. After that... well, I was going to meet some friends actually. I haven't eaten in a day, so I wanted to grab a bite with them. I suppose you can come with me, you don't seem like you have much coin on you...”

At that moment, Milly's stupid stomach interrupted Shu by growling loudly.

Dummy tummy. Stupid dummy tummy. The mention of food had revived the beast.

Although Shu wore a stoic expression, his strange purple and red eyes were laughing. Somehow, they didn't seem so scary anymore.

”Okay then Milly and Max. Come here.” Shu said, motioning them over to where he was drawing a pentagram on the floor with magic. Soon, the symbol started to glow. He stepped onto the glowing pentagram, motioning for Milly to join him.

She took hold of Max, who was staring at Shu like he was a form of candy, and dragged the little boy along. How the hell had he survived for a decade in this cruel world with such an absent mind? He had absolutely no self-preservation instinct if he was so smitten with the little demons charm.

”I'm not really used to bringing others along, ” Shu said, ”So you might get a bit dizzy.” Then the world dissolved so suddenly that it made her heart jump. She hadn't heard any incantation, nothing indicating that the little demon had cast magic. And yet he msut have, for the world spun and flickered around her.

Milly felt like she was going to throw up. Then the world stopped spinning and she found herself lying face down on the ground in an alley.

She looked over to see Max lying next to her, his eyes closed. Next to Max stood a worried looking little demon peering down at them.”Uhm. Sorry about that.” Shu said.

”I'm okay, I'm okay.” Milly muttered both as reassurance to herself, and to satisfy the oddly worried looking Shu whose hands fidgeted as if he did not know what to do.

”What about him? He seems.. out.” Shu said, bending to check on him.

Milly smiled fondly and looked down at Max. ”He faints at everything. He's like a frightened little girl. I had to carry him out of the warehouse because he fainted as soon as the battle began. He's very delicate.”

”You seem fine though?” Shu asked, scrutinizing her with his gaze. It sort of made her feel odd inside to be stared at by such a young looking boy.

”I'm a warrior. Trained since birth, so this much is nothing for someone like myself.” Milly said, feeling a little bit stupid about her pride in the presence of such an inhumanly strong creature.

”Is that so? You're a surprisingly formidable woman then.” Shu said. ”I guess even I can be wrong. You're not with the knights any longer I presume? It's rather unlikely that slavers, no matter how bold the bastards are, would attack a knight of the kingdom.”

Milly nodded hesitantly. ”I... had my eyes opened.” Damn it, her voice had cracked. She wasn't going to cry. She had it all under control. Everything but her stupid voice atleast.

”So uh, why did you attack the slavers?” Milly asked, hoping her distraction would work on the little demon. She didn't want him to think she was weak.

The little demon surprised her by shifting and lowering his gaze to the ground, appearing a bit... embarrassed?

”Actually... I'm ashamed to say this, but my first reason was of a personal nature.”

Immediately, an image of the poor little girl they had hunted sprung into Millys mind. Her? Where was she? Had something happened to her? She had no right to ask about that girl though.

”First reason, does that mean there's more?” Shu nodded. His quiet hesitance was almost cute, though Milly never thought she would use such a word to describe the killer from her nightmares. Yet right now, he was Shu. Not the killer.

”My first reason was selfish, but then I realized something else. How can I live in a world that thinks slavery is okay? My second reason for eliminating the Chain Emporium was to discourage the practice of slavery. I hope it will have the intended effect.”

Milly's mind reeled. ”You mean to say... you want to destroy the whole chain Emporium?” Milly asked. Shu smiled. ”I think I already have.”

The HQ crystal has-

”That was you?” Milly asked, and Shu merely nodded. ”You mean to tell me that you have eliminated the entire Chain Emporium. Alone. You?” Milly said, crossing her arms. The words had come out before she could stop them. It was odd, but she was growing more comfortable with the little demon.

”What about it?” Shu asked with a frown. The expression itself was a warning, a sign for her to shut up before she got herself killed but...

”It's you! A demon, a killer! Why would you care?” Milly yelled. Afterwards, she quickly covered her mouth, instantly regretting the words.

There was a dark look in the little demons eyes.

”So it's like that, is it? Moral preaching from the woman who hunted down an escaped slave girl with a squad of knights. What right do you have to question my morals? All I did then was in self defense, since you knights did not seem so kindly disposed toward my kind.”

Shu raised a hand in her direction and Milly's heart froze. This was bad. She was such an idiot for having let her mouth run away from her like that. Max was here too... Milly didn't want the kid to suffer because of her. He shouldn't have to die because of her. The sword! But her hand was frozen.

She could not move. Would not. There was no point in her fighting back. If the little demon wanted to kill her, then so be it.

Milly closed her eyes, cursing the wetness she felt escape from them as she did so. A moment passed, then another and another. Then she felt an impact against her forehead. ”ugh” She exclaimed, opening her eyes.

She saw a small pale hand, and a thin delicate finger hovering right infront of her face. He had flicked her forehead?

”You idiot woman.” Shu said. ”I told you it's not like that. I am not like that. I'm not.” He said the last bit as though he was trying to convince himself aswell.

Wait, why was she still crying? Milly used the cloak to wipe at her tears, frustrated that she was crying infront of him. She was strong, she was fine. No problem.

”You had it tough too. ” Shu whispered. There was no hint of a question in his voice, only softness and compassion. The tears kept coming even though Milly wanted them to stop.

When his small hand patted her on the head and rustled her tangled red hair, she started crying in earnest, falling to her knees infront of him.

”They... they raped... me” She wailed, hiccuping. She was a mess. She had to pull herself together. But she couldn't. Her chest contracted and she felt cramped, like she was being strangled by her emotions. She choked up. ”Da-damn them. They raped me.... the bastards they.. they..”

Shu knelt down infront of Milly and looked at her. Then, he reached out his small arms and hugged her to his chest like a big brother comforting his little sister. It was as if the flood gates had opened and Milly cried her heart out, burying her face in his small chest, in that black doublet of his.

”I'm useless! I'm weak, so weak! I'm despicable! How can I call myself a good person? I hunted down a little girl! I helped the slavers! I'm the same as those bastards... the bastards that raped...- uuuuaaah! No, no no no...”

Milly did not know for how long she stayed like that, crying and sniffling, but when she finally pulled herself together and unburied her puffy face from his chest, she found a mess of wet tears and snot not just on her face, but also smeared on his fine doublet. Milly's cheeks burned hot and she felt extremely embarrassed.

”Sorry.” She said in a small voice.

”Me too.” He said. Looking up, Milly was shocked to see that there were also tears in his eyes, though they flowed quietly down his cheeks and he was ignoring them as if they did not exist.

When Shu saw her looking at him, he smiled through the silent tears. ”Killing is... not so easy, after all.” He said in a quiet voice. She stared into those abnormal eyes of his again, and saw not a monster there, but something else.

With a start, she realized that he too was gazing into her eyes. She reached for her cloak, intending to wipe the snot from her face. She must look like a horrible mess with snot and tears smeared all over her puffy noggin. He did not look like that at all. He was so elegant. Like a statue that did not know it was weeping...

A sound from the unconscious Max sent both of them scrambling back from each other. Milly's heart slammed her chest so hard she thought it might punch through her rib-cage. Now it was she who felt lightheaded and dizzy.

Gosh that was such a shock. But she had been so close to him. For how long? How much time had passed?

Shu chuckled quietly, getting to his feet. ”Seems like it got dark without us noticing. They must wonder where I am. Let's go.” The little demon said.

”But, your doublet...” Milly said. Her voice was dry and cracked but she did not choke on her words like before. She must be incredibly unattractive right now, a soppy snotty mess with a puffy red face and a hoarse, broken voice. Shu cocked his head, then smiled at her again. It was not the smile of a demon, but an angel.

Then he reached up to remove his doublet.