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CHAPTER 22 | HER CLOISTERED IDENTITY

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(y/n)'s P.O.V.:

"W-Who a-are you... W-Where's Y-Yona..." I uttered despite in such discomfort, still trying to fight out of this paralyzing spell.

"I am Yona, dear." She said, as her hand in my neck moved and raked my hair softly. "I am your best friend, right?" She whispered as she yanked my hair backwards, making me scream in pain, and her lips met with my earlobe. I whimpered in distress, and tears started forming at the corner of my eyes.

"N-No... Y-Yona w-wouldn't do t-this to me..." I said timidly, almost on the verge on crying. I want my best friend back...

"Oh, no. I'm sure she wouldn't," She replied sarcastically, as she hastily turned my whole body around, facing her, and then pinned me down the floor.

"But Astra would." The green-haired woman glared at me as her orbs glowed wickedly in the dark, and a mischievous smirk plastered on her lips.

....What?

My mind went blank after her words, unable to comprehend what she just said. A cold shiver went down through my spine, as I stared at her eyes full of hatred-a look that I never thought I would see on a sweet face like Yona's. Unless...that's not Yona.

"Wh-what do you mean?! Stop saying nonsense and tell me where Yona is!" Despite the nerve-wracking aura she's been emitting got me frozen in place, with both of her hands held me down the floor. I was shaking. It was hard to breathe with the heavy aura that surrounded whole cafe. But I kept my game face on and didn't show a hint of fear.

"Can you not understand my words, or are you simply stupid?!" The devilish woman hastily placed her right hand on my cheeks, squeezing my face with a great sinister look on her face. "I am Yona, and I am also Astra! And you, (y/n), are my prey." She slipped in a sinister grin on her lips before blocking my sight with her palm grabbing my whole face, pulled it up, and smashed my head on the ground.

"Ackk!!" I screamed in agony, as the tiles on the floor cracked and I immediately felt the immense pain on the back of my head. Ugh, she's strong...

Not letting me breathe, she landed a heavy punch on my side, cracking at least 2 of my ribs. I then coughed out a huge amount of blood at the impact, making me lose my mind in the pain I felt. I tried my best to break free, but her force of pushing me down was just too strong.

"AAAHHH!!" I yelled along with my whole body reacting to the pain as it struggled to escape her grasps. "Astra" laughed maniacally as if she was enjoying torturing me.

"Finally, after so many years of pursuing and searching you, I've finally got you in my arms!! Hahaha! I can finally use my powers it's full extent!!" She stated with a wide, creepy grin, while still making me a punching bag.

Luckily, I had a small knife hidden in my pants, and I finally got an opening in between her painful punches. I swiftly grabbed my weapon and stabbed her at the torso, making her stop and lose balance-allowing me to have an opportunity to jump out and escape her. I was honestly hesitant to hurt her since she still is Yona, but now is not the time to doubt.

Placing my hand at my broken ribs, I groaned in pain as distanced myself from her and leaning my whole body weight on a wall. I continued coughing up blood, since I was not able to reinforce my body with my remaining, weak nen when her punches met my body.

I took a breather and averted my eyes to her back, motionless.

"Nice move, (y/n)." She mumbled under her breath, which I honestly didn't understand. She then tilted her head backwards with a demonic smile, as I noticed her form slowly changes. My red eyes widened at the sight and my knees trembled in fear. 'it's happening again... She's transforming like Siel...!'

"But I'm afraid a petty knife wouldn't do me any damage, dear." Her evil gaze landed me and gave me goosebumps, as my breathing hitched. No....! Stop!

I felt her bloodlust gushing towards me, and I was able to avoid her abrupt jump towards me. I leaped sideways, rolled away since my legs and knees are failing me at the moment. I couldn't find the energy to walk nor run as I am focusing that energy in my injuries so that they won't hurt that much.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, (y/n)! You're mine!" Astra shouted as I kept leaping and crawling as far as I could. But I doubt I can out run her. I just need to go outside... It's too difficult to breathe nor talk in here...not with my injuries.

When I finally found an escape route, I dashed quickly to use my speed in pushing the door open, as I felt her throwing me an attack. I ducked and rolled in the opposite direction of her weapon, finally breathing in outside air. It was fairly dark, with only few street lights on.

I hid behind a metal post, with my hands still covering my destroyed ribs as I groaned in pain.

"You were lucky I forgot to secure this one door earlier," Astra commented, as I can hear her footsteps finally leaving the cafe building.

"...Enough with all the chitchat," I finally got myself and thoughts together, and decided to face her with words despite my current condition. "What do you want from me, Astra? Where's Yona?!"

"I said it earlier, right? You are my long lost prey. I've been after you my whole life." She answered without stattering, and her footsteps approaching me as my heart beating a lot faster. "And Yona? You mean the original owner of this body?" Original owner..?

"She's been dead 18 years ago, when I possessed this vessel in order to survive. My demon form was weak afterall." She continued. What...?!

"Then, how about the person who was my best friend for years...?" I looked at her eyes; those same eyes I'm familiar ever since I was a child. As the woman in front of me continue to waltz towards me, my heartbeat raced and the eye contact remained. This was it. This was her cloistered identity.

"It was me. Only me." She answered. My eyes widened in shock, not knowing how to respond. "Wasn't I pretty convincing? A sweet, innocent kid who became with a weirdo like you back then. Siel got to you first, but it's okay. Me getting close to you was easier, more natural. He was pretty useless when you went missing though, but when you returned, I could finally use him."

...Use? If I recall correct, Siel kept mentioning an almighty... Astra...!

"...YOU MONTSER!" I yelled in sudden realization as my body automatically ran to her and landed a few punches. It was all weak and futile though.

She just remained silent, a smirk creeping in her lips. She then grabbed my arm with a tight grip, which made me look her, still furious. "You're right, I am a monster." Astra remarked as she let go and her form changed, from a normal human being, into something similar.

Her green locks got longer and two burning red horns grew on her forehead. Glinting and glowing green eyes glared down at me as she became bigger, taller. Black, dark wings came out of her back, and lifted her from the ground. Her skin turned black and gold, her fingers sharpened. Green light surrrounded her and concentrated at her head and formed a crown like object.

"Allow me to introduce myself again: I am Astra, the queen of the underworld and the ruler among demons." Her voice and tone completely changed, as if it was a different being talking. Her aura became more intense, making the atmosphere even heavier than it already was.

I felt the urge to kneel down, as if there were thousands of demons weighing me down. The pain from my injuries heightened, which made me wince and fall down on the cold cemented ground.

"I'd like to talk about why and how I got here, but that'll take hours. Instead, I'll just have to take you by force-"

"I'll go. I'll come with you." I interrupted with a stern voice, reminding myself my ulterior motive. I need to stop this chaos Astra was causing. No one needs to suffer just because of me.

"Uh, okay?" Astra was at shock at my instant response. "That was easy." She grinned.

"I'll come with you under one condition." I added, making sure I wasn't doing this sacrifice in vain.

Her eyes sneered at me, not giving me an immediate answer. "What is it?" She questioned, her eyebrows furrowed and lips frowning.

"Bring back all the missing souls and stop your demon servants on rampage in the human world. This is between us, and what you want from me. Don't involve anymore innocent people." I strongly demanded. Despite the immense pain I felt, I showed no weakness in my expression, only determination.

"Or else what?" She teasingly provoked as she leaned closer to my face, her fingers tapping my chin.

"I won't let you have what you want from me." I stated, even the fact that I have no idea what she wanted from me.

"Hmm..." She stood back, landing both of her hands on her hips. "You know I could just knock you out and take you against your will, right?" She smirked at her words, clearly thinking that she's still superior in the current situation. Well, she is. But I'm not gonna let her think that.

"Yeah, but you're gonna have a hard time getting what you want. You don't know if I'll fight back or not." I shot back a smirk, which obviously irked her.

"You stubborn brat..." She uttered under her breath, as she rolled her eyes in obvious annoyance. "Fine." She finally agreed, with a wide grin on her lips. She held out her hand, offering me to shake it. "We have a deal." She voiced out in a very slow manner, making me rethink my condition and actions. I shook her hand, not breaking my eye contact with her.

She's definitely going to break this deal as soon as she got what she wants. She might think I'm completely naive, but I actually have a plan-a plan that may risk everything I have, and I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

Killua's P.O.V.:

30 minutes earlier...

"It's been hours since she went inside," I murmured to myself as I watched the coffee shop (y/n) entered from across the street, inside a fast food restaurant located in front of it. The glass of the cafe was tinted so I can't pinpoint where she was.

I know-I promised (y/n) I won't worry too much, but she can't blame me. I love her too much not to worry. She's my girlfriend and she's all I have.

My eyes wondered on the surroundings of the shop, on guard of possible and sudden actions. I've seen numerous people went in and out the coffee shop, but so far, no weird sensation. I hope she's enjoying her time with her friend.

I smiled to myself as I visualized her sweet, beautiful smile in my mind, making my heart twinge in happiness. I really want to protect that smile. And I want her to keep smiling like that, together with me until the end.

I glanced on my wrist watch, as I scooped a spoonful of chocolate icecream from the 3rd cup I had since I entered this restaurant. 'It's almost 9 pm, the store should be closing by now. I can't wait to see the surprise look on her face to see me waiting for her at the door.' I thought.

I once again glanced at the cafe, only to see (y/n)'s friend peeking her head out the tinted glass door. Yona, was is it again?

Anyways, I thought they were both gonna go out, so I stood up from my seat as well. But to my surprise, Yona didn't went all the way out the door and retracked her gaze outside and went inside again.

My actions were stopped, confused. Hesitantly, I returned to my seat, asking myself if I was too expectant. I shrugged it off, and continued to eat my icecream. I enjoyed every scoop of it, until minutes later-I felt it.

The ominous aura that washed the grin on my face as I stopped my movements and gasped for air. It was only for a second, a demonic bloodlust so thick that I could almost tell where it came from. It then got suppressed, but I can still faintly sense it. My eyes hastily averted towards the coffee shop, as I abruptly stood up and headed there, without giving a care if my chair or table made a noise because I honestly didn't care. All I had in my mind was (y/n)'s safety.

I turned on my nen and raced across the street, as I hid my presence at the same time. When I took a step in front of the coffee shop, I immediately turned on my En, and searched (y/n)' s aura within my En's radius.

"(y/n)!!" I shouted her name, as I tried to open the front door. But it was locked and won't budge. I can hear faint sounds of furniture thrashing from inside, and harsh footsteps on the tiles. I gave another nen-powered pull at the glass, but I couldn't break through. The whole cafe had some sort of barrier, the similar one at the orphanage incident. It was too familiar that it irritated me more. If I don't hurry, I'm gonna end up regretting splitting up with her again.

I decided to turn my Godspeed on, and run around the vicinity of the barrier, looking for any sight of (y/n).

When I reached the back part of the building, I saw a glimpse of a demonic creature with huge, black-feathered wings, giving off the same vibe that guy Siel had. Turning my angle a little on the left, I finally saw (y/n) on the floor, kneeling in front of the winged beast with her face beaten up.

The sight of her being hurt made my blood boil even more. Half of it was because of anger, and the other half was frustration to myself for failing at protecting her again. Tsk, I'm such a useless bastard.

"(y/n)!! Hey!" With more power, I banged my fists on barrier, hoping that she would hear me on the other side. I tried every attack and skill I have, but I barely scratched the surface of the shield. My eyes kept watching them in horror, as I saw them hand...shaking?

I was utterly confused on what was happening, but it didn't matter. I once again tried a different method; sharpening my nails and concentrated the lighting nen on the tip of my fingers. I stabbed the barrier with full force, making some of it bounce back to my arm bones and muscles. It was really painful, but it didn't matter since I saw it was effective. I applied the same method on my other hand, and kept hitting the same point over and over again.

Until I finally cracked a hole big enough for me to fit in and dash towards the two. The winged beast noticed my entrance faster, letting go of (y/n)'s hand. Without wasting the opportunity, I snatched (y/n) in my arms and ran away as much as possible from the demonic creature.

However, I couldn't stop at one place since I sensed it following us. It extended its arms and tried to grab me. I dodged sideways hastily, not noticing her other hand blocking me, as if she had predicted my next move.

I lost balance and wrapped my arms around (y/n), my hand hovering over her head, as fast as I could so that I could shield her from the impact of me tumbling down and rolling on stone floor.

"Killua! What are you doing here?!" (y/n) yelled in my embrace, as I groaned in pain I took on the fall. I closed my eyes for a moment, but the demonic being was already in front of us as soon as I opened them. Ignoring (y/n)'s query, I tightened my hold on her and jumped away from the evil creature, landing on the top on a fountain. It seems we are in the park.

"Mr. Boyfriend finally entering the scene to rescue his lover, huh? How typical." It retorted with a infuriating smirk on her face, making a firm eye contact on me. (y/n), who's still in my arms, grunted and faced the enemy as well.

Before she could utter a word, the sinister figure dashed towards us too quickly, but I was quicker. I evaded all of her continuous forward attacks, making me dodge and take steps backwards.

"You're quite fast on your feet, Mr. Boyfriend." She stated, with an amused grin on her face as she continued aiming for me and (y/n). Not bothering responding, I abruptly jumped up, flipped backwards and landed a strong kick at the back of her head, pinning her head on the ground.

Without wasting any second, I gave her back several more power kicks, burying her down the dirt and electrified her whole body by sending a million volts through my legs into her veins.

I landed on the ground beside her, and ran away while she's still down. I feel my nen weakening since I used too much power in those kicks and punches earlier on the barrier. I can hear my whole body screaming in pain, but the adrenaline rush on my head and blood ignored it successfully.

"Not so fast, lover boy." An immense bloodlust followed us, as if a dam of water that was being compressed got poured over us and knocked me down. I kept running, but with less speed. It was too heavy, too sinister. The air felt so thick, as I saw in the corner of my eyes the demon catching up to us.

Then, in a flash, she appeared in front of me and fired an attack directly in my face. I jumped away to avoid (y/n) getting hit but I was a millisecond late, so my left side of my face got hit. She still got that power and speed left?! Damn it!

"AAAHH!" I exclaimed in pure, excruciating pain as I landed a meter away from the demon, but still held (y/n) in my arms, protecting her from the impact of the landing.

"Give it up, will you? You're making me use my powers, and I don't have a lot of it. I don't want to waste it on someone like you." The evil being remarked, as I hear casual footsteps walking towards us. I can't open my eyes!

"Astra, stop this! Don't hurt him any further, please! Please..." I felt (y/n) shifting out of my embrace, as her voice cracked and shakingly called out. Astra...? That was Astra?!

I felt the girl in my arms moving away from me, which I didn't allow. "What are you doing, (y/n)?!" Tightening my hold on her, I felt her soft skin touch my injured face.

"It's alright, Killua. You can let go of me." She uttered in such a sweet voice that it almost bewitched my hearing. But my whole body's pain said otherwise.

"No. I'm not letting you go ever again." I mumbled faintly as I carried her bridal style despite my muscles screamed to give up and rest. I'd rather die than to let her sacrifice herself.

She yelped in obvious surprise as I squeezed every ounce of nen out of my body to run to the opposite direction of Astra.

"Killua! Let me down! Please stop this! You'll get hurt-"

"Shut up!! I'm not going to let you do something so stupid!" I angrily remarked, my heart breaking at the thought that she actually considered offering herself to Astra. What made you think that way, (y/n)? Throwing away your life as if you didn't matter. You matter. You matter so much to me.

"Killua..." She breathed out my name. I didn't realize how much I loved hearing that from her lips. "You don't understand...This is the only way! I need to do this! I'm the one she wants! If I don't do this, she's going to hurt more innocent people. Gon, Riesha...and you! I know she's not gonna stop but I'll atleast minimize the damage I caused and find a way to defeat her. Just let me-"

"No! Stop it, (y/n)! Stop talking nonsense," I shouted, almost on the verge of crying. "It's not your fault, okay?! Stop blaming yourself and try to solve everything on your own! You have me, and your friends. You are not alone!"

"I know! But you don't understand, Killua! I don't want to you and them getting involved! She only wants me, and let it end that way! This is between us two-"

"She's right, lover boy. Listen to your girlfriend, okay?" A sudden appearance of Astra in front of us stopped me from my tracks. What?! She still caught up to us?!

Astra shot another attack from her palm, this time a lot quicker and powerful. It directly hit my whole face, blowing me away. She grabbed (y/n) from me as I was sent flying horizontally from them.

"Killua!!" She shrieked, with an obvious hint on her voice that she's crying. "I told you not to hurt him!! Please, not him!" I heard her yelling in a distance, as I failed to open both my eyes and see anything. What...

"But he kept taking you away from me, I had to use force. Don't worry, he's not going to die from that." Astra responded. "Now, if you come with me right now, I'll leave him be." She added.

"No!!" Turning on my En, I pushed myself to get up and run towards them despite me losing my sight.

"Killua, don't!!" I heard (y/n) scream as I felt another shot nearing me, and evaded with full trust in my senses. However, this got me distracted and powerful kick landed on my side, breaking my rib cages and my organs absorbing the painful impact.

Blown away, I landed unto a some sort of building and broke into the cemented foundation. Despite my eyes wide open in the impact, I saw pitch black, hearing only footsteps coming my way. I coughed up way too many blood to keep my focus without my ears ringing, my body and muscles failing.

"No, stop!! Don't kill him, please!" (y/n)'s footsteps were also headed towards me, feeling her presence in front of me. "Let's just leave, okay?? Just stop this!"

"He pissed me more than I expected," Astra stated, anger staining her voice. "Move!" I felt (y/n)'s aura being pushed a block away, and a heavy thud can felt on the ground.

"You're dead!" The demon queen let out an immense bloodlust, as it almost felt there was something weighing me down.

"You finally went out of your hiding spot, Astra!!" A familiar voice washed out the entire heavy atmosphere, and I felt Astra's presence disappear in front of me, as a piercing object got impaled on the same spot Astra supposedly was standing on.

"Killua? Are you still conscious?" That familiar tone spoke again, as I felt her aura in front of me and her hand touched my face.

"Y-Yeah," I responded shakingly. My voice barely made it out of my throat, breaking, as I coughed out more blood. Ugh, everything hurts so bad...

"Sorry I was too late. My skills got a bit rusty for not using it for a while." She apologized, as I felt her pull out the object impaled on the ground. "Stay back, I got this." The female added and stood up. "(y/n)! You alright?! I'm coming!"

I tried to stand up, leaning back to the broken cement on my back. I pulled myself together, calling my focus in place once again. This person... She's...

"Riesha?" I looked up, as if I was directing my face towards her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm finally doing my lifelong mission," She answered in a serious manner, with a faint smile on her lips. "and saving you too, of course."

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[A/N:] Finally updated! 😭💕 After almost a year, I updated. Again, I'm so sorry for going on such long hiatuses, and I accept that I lost some of my readers, but I hope someday they get to read my apology and forgive me T~T

Anyways, thank you for patiently waiting. I really really appreciate it 🤧💖 Also sorry for the cliffhanger 😆 Sorry too if my writing's off, I haven't been writing lately😔 I'll write the next chapter asap and update soon! 💕

Hope you look forward to it!

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UP NEXT: CHAPTER 23 | A Demon's Memoir

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