Chapter 1 The Beginning

"Why are you crying? "

Margarette abruptly stopped crying after hearing the voice, and based on the thickness of it, she is certain it was a man.

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.

Margarette bent down again, embraced herself, and continued to cry.

"Is something wrong, Margarette?"

Instead of being afraid, Margarette bravely raised her face once more.

"Who are you? How did you know my name? What do you want from me?" Margarette 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.

Margarette 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, Margarette hugged her knees.

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

Margarette 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?" Margarette asked her Grandfather Hiroshi. A pure Japanese.

Margarette just got home from class. She truly meant to go see her grandfather and ask about the creature she recently saw because he frequently appears to her. 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, he is still not finished.

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

Margarette placed her face on the table and turned to face her grandfather.

"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". Margarette made an effort to capture everything she noticed.

"If that creature is one of the ones I'm telling you about, it would be better if you stop talking to him since he will only put your life at risk." Hiroshi walked towards Margarette. He then reached for her hand and opened her palm.

Hiroshi pulled an antique necklace from his kimono sleeves and placed it in Margarette's palm. "Always wear it wherever you go. It will give you protection against creatures invisible to ordinary eyes."

When Margarette saw the necklace that her grandfather Hiroshi had given her, she was in awe. 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.

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

"What's wrong with you constantly wearing a mask? We've known each other for over a few months, but until now you still haven't shown me your face."

It's been more than five months since Margarette 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 Margarette, Margarette's grandfather was unable to be persuaded that Akio was a good yokai; instead, he became stricter with her but Margarette decided to be friends with Akio instead of following her grandfather since she saw nothing but goodness from him. It was very challenging for her to just avoid Akio because he had saved her life numerous times.

Akio swiftly responded, "Hmm, let's just say we used this kind of stuff for our security."

Margarette pouted. "Security, huh? Is that the reason or you just don't want to show me your face? It's sad to think that between the two of us, you're the one who doesn't trust me," she said bluntly.

Akio chuckled; he then grabbed Margarette's hair that was sticking out from her forehead.

"You know that's not true; out of everyone I know, the only one I trust is you," Akio answered sincerely.

Margarette swiftly shifted her head in the right way, folded her arms, and pouted even harder, "Liar! I hate you!"

Akio was laughing uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?"

After releasing his grip on Margarette's hair, Akio looked up to take in the clear, expansive sky.

"I'm just delighted that I met you. Thank you very much for the friendship, especially for the trust you gave me. Promise, I will eternally appreciate whatever we have now." Akio smiled back at Margarette.

"Are we still far? Where do you intend to take me? Dad must be looking for me." Margarette's entire body was drenched in sweat, and her legs were trembling from the exertion of walking for nearly an hour.

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

Margarette 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.

Margarette looked around, her eyes in terror, "What are we doing here? This place is so scary. Please, Akio, let us return. I'm worried that something bad might happen to us."

Even though the moonlight was bright, Margarette 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 Margarette. He then slowly released her hand and caressed her face.

Margarette 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.

"I'll be waiting for you, Akio," Margarette uttered these words as she watched Akio leave.

***

"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 its voice.

"If you think I'm afraid of the knife you're holding, you're mistaken; just so you know, 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.

When Leonard noticed the creature heading in his direction, he took a step back from where he was standing. His entire body started to shake from extreme 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 Margarette.

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. It just meant that the spell his father had cast on Margarette had weakened.

"As I said earlier, we'll get there soon, but first I want to see how you suffer in front of me. Do you think I've forgotten what you did to me before?" When the creature got close to Leonard, he grabbed him by the neck and slowly lifted him with only one hand.

The creature's 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 let go of himself 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 can only say one thing, I would never let my daughter end up with someone 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.

The creature said, "Goodbye," 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 its 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..." Margarette's eyes widened when she saw her father being held by the creature. She 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, Margarette! 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 today. I don't have to waste time hunting for you because you came to me on your own." The creature moved slowly in Margarette's direction.

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

Margarette 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.

"You indeed look exactly like your mother; your blue eyes and the shape of your face are no different. I'm sure the blood that runs through your veins smells just like your mother's blood." It was only a few steps before the creature reached Margarette but before he could get close to her, Leonard gathered the last of his strength and quickly ran toward Margarette.

"No matter what happens, you'll always remember how much I love you and your mom." Leonard turned his head to gaze at Margarette's face. 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. Margarette's eyes widened when she witnessed what had happened to her father, whose stomach was ruptured and filled with poison

"Da–" Margarette was about to scream when her eyes suddenly darkened and she lost all awareness.

"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. The creature stepped towards Margarette and tenderly caressed her face after it had left.

"I'm sorry if all of this had to happen, but this is the fate engraved on your palms; I will never let you be apart from me again, and I will go to any length just to be with you, mate."