Owned By The Demons

1

Apparent Realm

"Why are you crying?"

Relina abruptly stopped crying after hearing the voice. She slowly raised her face from being buried between her knees but only a dark room greeted her. Since her mother left for work, she preferred to stay in her room. She doesn't want to see the sunlight because she feels that the entire world has left her.

"Who are you? How did you know my name? What do you want from me?" Relina posed successive questions.

After some time, blue flames began to appear one by one, floating in the air and appearing to form a path in her direction. At first, the flames were small, but as they grew larger over a few seconds, the entire room began to glow.

Relina then felt slow footsteps, and when they were close to the first blue flame, all she could see was the hue of his eyes, which were the color of those flames. He has long, white hair that reaches to the hips and is as white as snow, including his kimono; he also walks barefoot. Only then did she recall the creatures that her Grandfather Hiroshi had frequently warned her about.

"If you're hungry, go ahead. You can eat me; after all, my existence is pointless. I want to die." Even more tightly, Relina hugged her knees.

"Don't talk like that. A lot of people will be sad when you're gone, especially me." Sadness filled the eyes of the creature.

Relina began to cry profusely as soon as she heard the creature in front of her make that comment. She believed that no one cared about her, but she was mistaken.

She brushed her tears away before getting up from her seat. She then walked towards the creature and as soon as she got close to him, she hugged him without even saying a word.

"What will happen to me if I happen to see those creatures you frequently tell me about, grandpa?" Relina asked her Grandfather Hiroshi. A pure Japanese.

Relina just got home from class. She truly meant to go see her grandfather and ask about the creature she recently saw. Even at school, she occasionally runs into him and waits for her to get home.

Hiroshi laid the old jar slowly on the table.

"Why did you ask about that thing?" Despite spending more than thirty minutes cleaning it, Hiroshi is still not finished.

"Because I happened to encounter one of them," Relina replied, making Hiroshi pause and start to perspire heavily.

Relina placed her face on the table.

"He had long, white hair that was like snow, and he was dressed in a white kimono, but unfortunately I haven't got a chance to see his face since he was wearing a mask". Relina made an effort to capture everything she noticed.

"If that creature is one of the yokai I'm telling you about, it would be better if you stop talking to him since he will only put your life at risk."

Japanese folklore includes a group of supernatural beings and spirits known as Yokai. Yokai are also known as ayakashi, mononoke, or mamono. Despite frequently being described as such, yokai are actually spirits and entities rather than physical demons. Their actions can be friendly toward humans, malicious or playful.

Yokai live on the edge of this world and the other world, sometimes inhabit natural settings such as mountains, forests, and rivers, since they prefer to live in seclusion and without human contact. Shapeshifting is the most prevalent characteristic connected with yokai, who are often portrayed as having spiritual or supernatural abilities.

Hiroshi walked towards Relina.

He pulled an antique necklace from his kimono sleeves and placed it in her palm.

"Always wear it wherever you go. It will give you protection," Hiroshi said.

Relina was in awe when she saw the necklace that her grandfather had given her. She cautiously brought it up to her face and gave it a thorough inspection. A large red-colored stone was used as a pendant, and it was encircled by smaller colorful stones that glistened like diamonds.

"I'll take good care of this, I promise." Relina answered, wearing the necklace. She is unsure of the power this necklace possesses, but if it does, she hopes it may safeguard her as her grandfather had claimed.

***

"Are we still far? Where do you intend to take me? Dad must be looking for me," Relina asked as she looked at Akio. Her entire body was drenched in sweat, and her legs were trembling from the exertion of walking for nearly an hour.

It's been more than five months since Relina first met Akio, but up until that point, she had never even had the chance to look into his face. Though she was still perplexed as to what he was concealing under the mask he was wearing, she was certain that his face resembled an angel based on how he spoke and behaved.

Despite the kindness Akio displayed to Relina, Hiroshi was unable to be persuaded that Akio was a good yokai; instead, he became stricter with her but she decided to be friends with Akio instead of following her grandfather since she saw nothing but goodness from him.

It was very challenging for Relina to just avoid Akio because he had saved her life numerous times.

"We're almost there," Akio said. His grip on Relina's hand became even tighter.

Relina looked at Akio with a worried expression.

"We're here," Akio said. Amid the woods, they came to a stop in front of an ancient shrine. The only light that lights the entire area is that of the round moon.

Relina looked around, her eyes in terror.

"What are we doing here? This place is so scary. Please, Akio, let's head home."

Even though the moon was bright, Relina felt extremely afraid of everything around her. She sensed the presence of creatures that had been observing them for some time, aside from the soaring trees.

"No matter what happens, promise me you won't leave this place until I get back," Akio said as he knelt in front of Relina. He then slowly released her hand and caressed her face.

Relina was perplexed and asked, "Where are you going? I don't understand."

"I have to do something; I swear I'll be back," Akio said before turning his back. Although it hurt him to leave Relina by herself, there was nothing else he could do to save her from certain danger.

***

"You're wrong if you think you can get our daughter so easily!" Leonard aimed the knife in his hand at the creature in front of him; his entire body was covered in black clothes, including his face, making it difficult for him to see his face but he had a feeling who was behind it based on his voice.

"If you think I'm afraid of that knife, you're mistaken; no matter how many knives you use against me, none of them will ever injure me, so if I were you, you better give up your daughter," the creature said with a wicked smile as he walked slowly towards Leonard.

Leonard took a step back from where he was standing when he noticed the creature heading in his direction. His entire body started to tremble from intense fear—fear not for himself, but rather for the safety of her daughter.

Leonard's grip on the knife became more tightened as he said, "I'll die first before you can lay your finger on my daughter!" He could never allow his daughter to be taken by this creature. He would put himself in danger to save Relina

Leonard believed that the past had been fully forgotten, but he was mistaken. He hadn't expected this creature to locate them after ten years.

"As I said earlier, we'll get there soon, but first I want to see how you suffer in front of me." The creature grabbed Leonard by the neck and slowly lifted him with only one hand.

His eyes were so furious as he stared into Leonard's; it was enough to cause Leonard's entire body to burn and turn to ashes.

Leonard attempted to break free from the creature's tightened grip on him, but he doesn't have any power over this being.

The creature's grip on Leonard grew even tighter as he said, "I suddenly changed my mind. I don't want to waste my time with a weak human being like you so I thought I'd finish you off now, after all, that's where you're headed, right?" His fingers almost sank into Leonard's flesh.

Leonard forced himself to speak despite finding it impossible to breathe.

"D-do anything you want, but I would never let my daughter end up with a demon like you!"

"Dear God, Please watch over my daughter and never put her life in danger," Leonard pleaded. He has no choice but to entrust God with the responsibility of keeping his daughter safe.

Slowly, the creature raised his hands, "Do you have any last words before you die?" His nail started to grow longer.

After seeing the creature's physical appearance gradually alter, Leonard tightly closed his eyes. He was confident he would fail to defeat this creature even if he tried to fight him. He eventually became unaware of the tears that unexpectedly began to fall from his eyes.

"Goodbye," the creature said and then moved his hand to point his long claws at Leonard's stomach. After some time, a liquid with a strong sulfur scent bubbled up from his claws.

The creature was about to burrow his claws full of poison into Leonard's stomach when the door abruptly opened, making him halt and take a look at the door.

"D-Dad—" Relina's eyes widened when she saw her father being held by the creature.

Relina turned to gaze at the creature's hand, whose claws were still spitting forth a lot of poison. Her knees started to tremble as her fear spread throughout her body.

"Get out of here, Relina! Run as fast as you could!" Leonard yelled when he saw Margarette at the door. The creature's other corner of his mouth lifted and hurled him with all of his force, causing his back to strike the wall.

"Looks like it's my lucky day. I don't have to waste time hunting for you because you came to me on your own." The creature moved slowly in Relina's direction.

Leonard yelled again, struggling to rise to his feet, "Run, Relina! Don't worry about me, I'll be alright!" The impact of the blow caused his bones to crack.

Relina was visibly terrified. She wanted to yell for help, but she was unable to do so. She attempted to run but was unable to move her legs. She had the impression that the concrete she was standing on had buried her feet.

"No matter what happens, you'll always remember how much I love you and your mom." Leonard turned his head to gaze at Relina. He then quickly switched his attention back to the creature before his tears could fall.

"How I wonder humans like you are viewed as weak beings. Why do you always choose your heart to rule over everything else in this world and desire so much pain and suffering?"

"Why don't you ask it for yourself? Haven't you been in love once?"

When Leonard's final words were heard, the creature's rage and loathing got more intense. His hands and claws move voluntarily to the feelings that surround his heart.

Leonard immediately dropped from his upright position a split second later.

"Dad—" Relina's eyes widened when she witnessed what had happened to her father. She took a step back from where she was standing and then sped off.

"Take that body somewhere no one else can see, and make sure no trace is left behind; I don't want any problems," the creature said. From behind him, a dark shadow loomed. The shadow approached Leonard's body and vanished in an instant with his corpse.

Relina was panting from exhaustion. She had been running for more than two hours, which pained her feet. Although her entire body was still trembling from extreme terror, she persevered.

She wanted to cry earlier, but her great terror kept her from crying. They had earlier been enjoying breakfast together with his father. His lips were firmly pursed in a smile, but he was now a cold corpse.

Relina's entire body came to complete halt when she heard a recognizable voice a few steps away. The trembling that she had been feeling got significantly worse. She grasped her lips with a shaking hand and covered it. She was unable to control her tears at that point.

"You indeed look exactly like your mother; your hair, the color of your eyes are no different. I'm sure the blood that runs through your veins smells just like hers."

The creature that killed Leonard appeared in front of Relina. His white kimono was stained with blood.

"Don't even try to escape because no matter where you hide, I will find you. So the best thing you should do is come with me. I promise that I will never hurt you," the creature spoke in a low, husky voice as she moved slowly in Relina's direction but before he could get close to her, she sprinted to the middle of the road to avoid him.

Relina didn't notice the accelerating car that was whirling and pointing in her direction since she was so focused on getting away from the creature.

She opened her eyes when he felt the odd warmth enveloping her entire body. She found herself in the arms of the creature. He sustained a head injury as a result of taking the brunt of the hit.

"W-why? I thought you wanted to kill me?" Relina asked, stuttered.

The creature reached for Relina's face and smiled bitterly.

"As I promised you, I will never hurt you and I will never let anyone lay their fingers on you as long as I live. You and I will be together, not now, but when the right time comes," the creature said then he abruptly vanished into thin air.