“That was… beautiful.” I said, shocked.

“Thank you.” She blushed.

“I could’ve sworn the story went differently though…” I said.

“The Demon Hunting Corps changed it, for some reason. They make it seem like the Angels were allies to the hollows, rather than indifferent to them.” Alison said. “When that wasn’t the case. At least, that’s what my mother told me, whenever she told me this story.”

“Where’d she hear it from?” I asked.

“A long line dating back to the first days of humanity. My family has kept the story alive since then, passing it down mother to daughter.” She said.

“Welp, you should make sure to keep that tradition alive. It’s too beautiful to let die.” I said.

“Aidan…” Alison said, grabbing my sleeve. “I know you lost your friend to a Demon.”

I frowned. Just like Tsukihi with daddy issues, I was not fond of bringing up Koryn.

“I lost my mother a few years ago to a Demon.” She said. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you care about.” She said.

I sighed. Seems like everyone has lost someone. I’m reminded of that everyday.

“Why do you want to be a Demon Hunter? Honestly.” She asked looking deeply into my eyes.

I sighed again.

“When I first entered the Academy, I did so on a whim. I thought it would be cool to be Demon Hunter, to put on that cool uniform. To be a hero. It was actually Koryn’s idea that I sign up with her. So that we could be together.” I smiled, remembering that fond memory of Koryn forcing me to finish the entry essay the night before it was due. “But… after she died, my reason changed. I want to avenge her, and make it so nothing like this happens again, even if it means exterminating all the demons on this Anastrid forsaken planet.”

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“Aidan.” She smiled. “Remember the reason the creation war even happened. It was to avenge the death of another. An endless cycle of bloodlust.”

“Don’t get to preachy on me.” I waved. “Why do you want to become one? Especially since you’re lower ranked than me now.”

She pouted in anger.

“Because my mother was one.” She said. “But don’t get me wrong. I’m not doing it out of bloodlust or anything like that.” She said. “I’m doing it, because I want to end the cycle of hatred. A demon kills a human because of their hatred of Anastrid, and a human kills a demon to avenge another. An endless cycle of hatred. I want to find a way to end it.”

I scoffed. She scowled at me.

“Sorry. It’s not funny to laugh at other people’s dreams, it’s just yours is kinda…”

“Vague? I know that. Still, I want to try. I want to try with everything I have. And the only way I could do that, is to become a Demon Hunter. That’s why I challenged you. If I can’t even beat you, who was once below me, how could I accomplish anything? Will I be like Mercy and just cry while a demon bashes me over the head?” She said. “No. I refuse.”

I smiled at her. I liked her spirit. It was pure and strong, and I could tell she was convicted.

“I’ll admit. I’m only doing this for vengeance. I want to kill em all. That’s all.” I said. “But I won’t look down on you for your dream. If you can convince me otherwise, if there really is another way, I’ll listen to you.” I said.

The moon had come out a bit early, even though the sun was still out. Its ghostly figure hung in the air, sandwiched between two clouds.

“Maybe I should change my dream.” I said.

“Oh?” Alison looked at me.

“I wanna go to Lunas, and see if the Angel King’s palace is still there.” I said, pointing at the moon. “Better ain’t it?” I grinned. Alison blushed, but smiled back.

“I need to become stronger.” She said. “It’s the first step to my dream.”

“Yeah. Get stronger. I’m looking forward to you kicking my ass in this rematch of ours.”

The bell rang, and we walked together to our remedial classes.