Forbidden life

But ever since the old shrine maiden died, and after Ailiya's mother died, the shrine has fallen into disrepair. Apart from the occasional servant coming to clean it, it seems that no one else ever comes.

The village is training the next generation of shrine maidens; the shrine will only open to the public once the next generation of shrine maidens is capable of fulfilling this role.

"Weir" pushed open the door and pushed the wheelchair inside.

The shrine remained as desolate as ever. Ailiya had visited it once when she was a child, and it was during that visit that her leg was broken by these people, and there was still no way to repair it.

"Hehe... I knew you'd come..."

An aged voice echoed in the courtyard, mingling with the constant booming of explosions outside.

Ailiya's expression changed; that somewhat familiar voice seemed familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

"Playing tricks!"

She gave a cold laugh and ordered the doll Weir to push her inside. They arrived at the entrance of the shrine.

The doll Weir raised his hand, and a magic circle was formed. Immediately afterwards, a surge of magic power burst forth, blasting open the ancient wooden door.

"Boom!!"

Dust filled the air, and sawdust flew everywhere. Moonlight streamed in, and Ailiya could vaguely make out a human figure.

"The little guy from back then has this level of power now... Hehehe... You're here... to take the Demon Sword Crimson Sakura, aren't you?"

The aged voice rang out again, like that of a kind old man. Ailiya was suddenly terrified. That voice... that voice... although she hadn't heard it many times, it was so familiar to her, so familiar that she couldn't forget it!

"Quick! Run!" she shouted suddenly.

The puppet Weir behind him immediately pushed the wheelchair around and left.

"Whoosh!"

A clear, audible sound of air being pierced reached Ailiya's ears. A beam of sword energy shot out from inside the house, piercing directly through the doll Weir's head. She slowly collapsed, lifeless.

Ailiya broke out in a cold sweat. Without much thought, she instantly entered demon form and flew into the air.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!"

With a crisp sound of magic circles being formed, five enormous magic circles were created, forming a cube that enveloped the mansion.

"Hehehe... I've already prepared everything for you, little one. Don't be impatient, you'll soon be able to pay your respects to the great deity..."

Laughter came from inside the house, followed by approaching footsteps. Soon after, a hunched figure emerged from within.

She had a full head of white hair, but wore a red and white shrine maiden outfit. She held a red longsword in her hands, and her face was full of wrinkles.

"Old witch..." Ailiya said in a trembling voice.

The old witch looked up at Ailiya in the sky and chuckled, "I really thought you couldn't get out of your wheelchair. Looks like you can fly."

"You... how are you still alive?!" Ailiya shouted.

"Yes... why am I still alive?" the old witch sighed. "I should be in my coffin, so why am I still alive?"

"After I learned of your bloodline, I tried everything to prolong my life. Everything... was to protect this village..."

"So you already anticipated that I would destroy this village?" Ailiya sneered.

The old witch shook her head. "The Demon God Halphas and the Demon Monster Aibudelun are both extremely ferocious demons from ancient legends. Humans are simply unable to adapt to their power; they will only be assimilated by them step by step, eventually turning into beasts that only know how to kill."

"Besides, you must be filled with hatred, because we did those things to you."

Ailiya sneered, "What? Regretting it?"

The old witch shook her head again. "Not so. Although from a humanitarian point of view, what we did was indeed excessive, your mother violated the rules of being a messenger of God. It is already the greatest mercy we have shown by not killing you."

"What kind of bullshit rules are these!" Ailiya's face contorted with rage. "Just for pursuing love, I get treated like this! What did Mom do wrong?"

"Love is the most untouchable thing," the old witch said solemnly. "It can make people lose their original purpose, their respect for God, and their loyalty to God."

"And... the person she loved never came looking for her until her death..."

"Shut up!" Ailiya roared, then said, "If you want to fight, then fight! Do you think I'm still the same as before, letting you do whatever you want with me?!"

"Alas..." The old witch sighed, then drew her longsword.

Mountain top.

Weir went to bed early.

Weir wasn't worried about Chiba and the others at all. If she had to say what she was worried about, it was what to eat for breakfast the next morning.

But the sound of bombing below the mountain woke her from her sleep.

What happens?

Out of curiosity, she got dressed and hurried downstairs.

"Thump!"

Ailiya fell from the sky, crashing into the courtyard and creating a huge crater.

"Wow..."

She coughed up a mouthful of blood, struggling to get up. Her wings flapped, lifting her body into the air, but she still swayed precariously.

"Swish!"

Two sword energies shot out, severing her wings. Blood spurted out, and Ailiya's face turned deathly pale as she fell to the ground again.

The old witch, sword in hand, walked towards her step by step, while Ailiya crawled about in terror.

But the old witch quickly appeared before her, her expression cold, and said indifferently, "It seems you haven't changed much since then, weak... evil..."

Ailiya gritted her teeth and endured the pain, glaring at the old witch, but the intense pain almost rendered her speechless.

"To be honest, I'm full of sins... to do such a thing to such a cute little thing..." The old witch looked up at the night sky and murmured, "You remind me of Menair when he was little..."

"That child, if he hadn't met your father, would probably have been my favorite child," the old witch reminisced.

Ailiya continued to struggle, trying to crawl out with her hands.

The old witch seemed to see nothing, simply gazing quietly at the moon.

Do you know the origin of the demonic bloodline within you?

Suddenly, the old witch spoke slowly.

"Your mother is not a demon, your father is not a demon, so why are you and your sister demons? Haven't you thought about this?" the old witch said calmly.

Ailiya shuddered and stopped crawling.

Yes, she had thought about that question too.

Her father, Bolunte, is the legendary commander of the Magic Custody Force of the Magic Council. He was a pure human, and so was her mother. So why did their two children possess demonic blood?

"Because... your bloodline... was instilled in Menair when you were children." The old witch sighed, "Menair violated a taboo of the gods; you were never meant to exist, forbidden beings."

Ailiya was stunned.

"Forbidden... life?"