The black of night shrouded the forest floor. The moon, which should have been enough light to see the area around them, was hidden behind thick, dense clouds. A woman in black looked at the fox girl in front of her with horror in her eyes. She never thought in a million years that she would be captured so easily. No one told her that her target and those around her were all in the universal core realm and above. 

“Now…. Answer my questions or lose your face. Tell me everything you know about the pill sects and where you would go to sell a mystic race. If you do not tell me, I will slowly peel your skin off and sell it on the black market. Don’t worry. I happen to have some salt here as well. I will do you a great favor and make the process as painful as possible.” Yuki grinned as she brought her sword to the woman’s skin, while the face was beautiful, the coldness and bloodlust hidden in her eyes said one thing…. If she did not speak, she was done for. 

She did not wish to be tortured. She would rather give away those pill sect people since they were never loyal to begin with. “It’s the Celestial Heaven Sect. They are from the mainland. They have a small subsidiary sect here on this continent to give them a decent foot hold here called Twilights Veil. Out of all the sects, only this one has a foothold on this continent and is responsible for capturing many mystic races. The man I usually meet, Greegan, is from Twilight Veil. He normally sits around the bars of Twilight City. A harbor city. This is all I know.”

“I see….” Yuki smiled brightly, looking very pleased, causing the girl to relax a bit, but soon her screams filled the air. Yuki had jammed her fingers into her eyes and pulled out her eyeballs. “I see that you are part of the problem. To even know so much tells me you have sold off many mystic races. Now, as your judge and jury, I will judge you. You will roam these lands as a blind, mute cripple with no cultivation. That is if you can even make it out of this forest alive.”

“Aw…. Not going to peel her face off?” Delia felt like they were missing out on free money.

“No need. She will probably not last a night here, and I want nothing from a person who has sold off mystic races. But killing her is also too easy. I wonder how she would feel when she is eaten alive by some demonic beast. Or worst yet, raped by one that is in heat.” Yuki stripped the girl of her clothes after cutting off her tongue. She then punched the woman’s stomach and stood up. “The horror of that day. The images of my people being killed before my eyes. My best friend was kidnapped. What they had done to her, I do not know, but she was so young. You humans call others demons or devils when it is convenient. But you turn around and do all of this. To me, the real demons and devils. Only a handful of humans are good, while the rest can rot in hell. I hope you have a good time.”

“Don’t worry, just leave her here.” Delia walked up and hugged Yuki from behind. “I already have about three hundred demonic beasts on the way here. They will all gladly play with her for you.”

“Delia….” Yuki turned and burst into tears. She was one step closer. One step closer to finding the people who kidnapped her kin. She did not know if any of them were alive, but she did know one thing. She would kill each and every one of them. She would go to the mainland and destroy the Celestial Heaven Sect.

Delia’s heart broke hearing Yuki’s sorrow filled wails. She held her close and rocked her back and forth without a word. She had only heard Yuki cry one time. And that was back in the hospital. The girl in the ward for the terminally ill. She could not even get out of bed, but she was such a kind person. 

Delia remembered it as if it was just yesterday. They were two peas in a pod. She also was stuck in the ward, only slightly better than Yuki. Delia felt the time was right to expose herself as she began humming a song that the two of them used to sing back then. 

“When we are together. We are strong….

“When I am with you, I feel like I can go on…

“You are the one. You are the only one.

“Who can stay by my side….

“So do not cry.

“So do not cry for meee…

“I am…. Here and will stay by your side.”

The language was not of this world. When Yuki heard the song, her eyes shot open. The tears that still brimmed in her eyes froze in place. She turned and looked at Delia, who had her eyes closed singing, who was singing a song she knew well. It was the song she used to sing with one girl, a girl a few years younger than her. She was her only friend in the hospital. But she had died at the age of fourteen… Yuki’s lips trembled as she slowly spoke in english: “Renni?”