As Demon and Falco locked eyes, Demon smiled at him which caused him to step back in fear. As the word ‘Begin!’ echoed through the chamber of the tower, Demon instantly started running as fast as she could. The wind was blowing past her so fast that her hood flew back to reveal her beautiful golden hair flowing behind her.

  She held her huge scythe in one hand and appeared before Falco so quickly that it almost was like she had just teleported. Falco of course was a healer so he has never really had to train his eyes to keep up with attacks like a frontline fighter would have to, this made it so that each of Demon’s attacks were too fast for Falco to react to.

  He had no chance against her, and she knew that from the beginning. Demon realized that Falco would be the perfect target to use so she could fulfill her unscrupulous desires. She had tried to convince Gale to allow her to use him, but Gale was not into that whatsoever.

  Knowing that she had a target who didn’t have the power to resist her, a wide smile spread across her face. Upon seeing this Falco stepped back even further, but what met his neck behind him was the cold steel of Demon’s scythe wrapped around his head. The sharp steel made a small cut on his neck which made him flinch and fall over in surprise.

  In a shaky and nervous voice Falco said, “What are you trying to do to me? If you want to kill me then just do it already!”

  Demon smirked and said in a charming voice, “I wouldn’t want to kill you, that would just be a waste of your potential. Just let me do my thing. Stay still and close your eyes if you don’t want to get hurt.”

  Falco just nodded shakily. Under the gaze of Demon, he felt absolutely powerless. He closed his eyes as he was told and just prayed that she wouldn’t kill him. A second later he felt Demon’s cold hand on his stomach, as she made her way up to his chest he shivered.

  In the next second there was a cold sensation right where his heart was. It was like nothing he had ever felt before, it felt like part of him was being stripped away from the rest of his body. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes to see what exactly was happening to him. Demon’s hand was passing through his chest and grabbing onto something that was inside of his body.

  He surprisingly didn’t feel any pain as she pulled a transparent wisp out of his heart. The wisp shone with a slight blue and ominous glow.

  Demon looked at him with whimsy, “Oh wow, I’ve never seen the soul of a crystal bearer before. How vibrant and delicious looking!”

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  Falco had a perplexed look on his face, “Delicious? What do you mean my soul looks delicious? Wait, that's my soul?!”

  “This is only a portion of your soul. If I took the whole thing then you would surely die, not that I have the capabilities to do that anyways. And by delicious I mean… let me just show you.”

  Demon brought his soul close to her mouth and then ate it. Demon was content with the flavor, the flavor of a human crystal bearer’s soul was so divine and succulent that the measly monster souls paled in comparison. She could physically feel her power rise when she ingested it.

  Demon got up and with a satisfied look on her face she said, “Wow Falco, that soul was absolutely divine. I'm gonna need to keep you around so I can get more of that whenever I want. C'mon, join our party, we need a healer anyways.”

  Falco was confused at why she would hit him with this sudden invitation? Their enemies right? She just ate some of his soul right?

  Just then his train of thought was broken by the sound of Gabriel’s agonizing screams. Falco looked in horror as his companion’s hands were chopped off clean at the wrists. He tried to run over and heal his friend’s wounds, but Demon stopped him. She held her scythe’s blade around his neck while she stood behind him. There was nothing that Falco could do anymore, he could only watch.

  Falco, Demon, and Gale listened quietly as Gabriel gave a heartfelt speech to Julian, only for his head to be severed and thrown to the ground in a pool of blood. Falco tried to scream out, but Demon covered his mouth before could even try.

  Demon whispered quietly into Falco’s ear, “Screaming would only make Julian see you as a traitor as well, it's best to stay silent for now. And if you already didn't have a reason to betray that fool and join our party, then what's a better reason than seeing your so-called ‘mentor’ killing your friend in cold blood.”

  Falco knew that he could never forgive Julian for his actions, but he also was scared of the crazy demon lady who was holding him hostage right now. The decision came to him quickly though when he leveled the options. Joining the crazy lady’s party would give him a higher chance at survival in the long run.

  Falco whispered back to Demon, “I’ll join your party… just temporarily okay? Just until we get out of this tower.”

  Demon smiled still whispering, “Good choice. I'm sure you’ll get used to us, if we're still around after this battle with Julian that is. But let's not think about that outcome, think of the fun we’ll have going on adventures together… yeah fun.”

  Something about the way she said that made Falco a bit nervous, but overall he felt that this development was not all too bad for him. Maybe he would be able to make some real friends for once. The thought of it made him feel a slight sense of joy.

  The only obstacle in his way, and all their ways now, was Julian. The lunatic knight would be the most fearsome foe that any of them had ever fought. No matter the outcome, they would need to go all out for their survival, for what little chance they had of it anyways.