I never knew how it was like to have a father ever since I was born. After all, my biological father abandoned me after having a fling with my mother, who was forced by circumstances to be a prostitute. In our isolated and poor village, jobs were scarce, explaining the desperation of my mother as a young woman.

My biological father not only left me behind, he left his cursed ancestry with me as well. At the age of 3, my demonic ancestry came to light when I threw a tantrum at home, my eyes turning blood red with a fearsome aura coating my body that disintegrated everything I touched. Fortunately, my mum was able to calm me down, but not without suffering some injuries.

Nonetheless, despite my unholy origin and my mother's less than respectable profession, our little family of 2 got along fine, and I generally had a rather enjoyable childhood, despite getting shunned by the villagers. I didn't have any friends as a young child, but who needs them when I had a loving mother who took care of my every need?

However, my world came crashing down at age 6. The risks of my mother's profession had finally caught up with her and she became too sick to work, though it was unknown to me at that point of time. Even though my mother's body was ailing by the day, with weird rashes emerging on her body, she refused to give up her responsibilities as a mother, resuming her housework as well as playtime with me with vigour.

Until one day, her body could take it no longer as she collapsed right in front of my very eyes. I panicked visibly and cried, "Mum! Are you OK? Come, let me help you to your bed at least!" After a brief struggle, I managed to support my frail mother to her bed, when I realised that she was running a high fever.

Remembering how my mother looked after me when I had a fever, I quickly got a small towel and soaked it with a little water before placing it on my mum's forehead. Even though my family rarely visited the apothecary as we were hardly welcome, I recognised that the situation before me was dire enough to make an exception.

After asking my mother where she had placed the last of her savings, I sprinted out of my house, money in tow. As my house was located on the fringe of the village, it was a great distance I had to cover before I could reach my destination. Racing through the village and ignoring the contemptuous murmurs among both children and adults alike, I only had one thing in mind; acquiring the medicine needed to treat my mother.

In my haste, I failed to see a person emerge from a corner and crashed right into him, falling onto my ass. Before I could get onto my feet, a warm hand was extended towards me. Looking at the owner of the hand, I realised that I had bumped into a man dressed with a black cloak, his hood covering most of his facial features from sight.

However, his most prominent feature was his hair, as his fringe contained streaks of red against a black background. The man's question shook me back to reality, "Little girl, are you hurt? Come, let me help you up."

I readily accepted the stranger's gesture of goodwill, as I took his hand before he pulled me back onto my feet. Now, upon closer scrutiny, I realised that the stranger had red eyes as well, which generated an awfully familiar sensation.

The memory of my vital task flashed across my mind as I shook myself out of my thoughts. I mumbled softly, "If there's nothing else, please excuse me, I have something important to do." After ensuring that I still had my money on me, I quickly rushed off to the apothecary, unaware that the man was still staring at me for reasons unknown.

When I finally arrived at the apothecary, it was surprisingly packed, with several foreign faces amidst the crowd. From their attire which consisted of light armour, it was clear that these guys were probably either mercenaries or adventurers.

One of them, who had messy blonde hair and was most likely their head, barked impatiently, "Move these crates of herbs out quickly! The boss doesn't want any delay in our expedition!" His men obliged without a word of complaint, as they hastened their work.

Ignoring the commotion, I went straight to the owner of the apothecary and asked urgently, "Mister, I'm here to buy medicine for my mother, who's too sick to get out of bed. You've got to help me, please!"

The owner, who was a kind old man, said gently, "Alright, calm down, child. To help your mother, I've got to know what exactly she's suffering from. Can you describe what your mother is going through now, like the physical signs? Usually, I'd prefer to go down personally to see what's ailing my patients, but I'm held up at the moment by these customers."

I quickly shared my knowledge of the symptoms exhibited by my mother, especially the weird rashes that had emerged on her body. Upon hearing my story, the owner's expression became sullen as he closed his eyes before releasing a sigh of helplessness.

Confused by his reaction, I shook the owner's hand and questioned, "Mister, what's wrong? My mother can be treated, right?" The owner replied sadly, "I'm so sorry, my child. In my humble apothecary, I don't have the herbs and medicine to treat the illness currently afflicting your mother. I suggest you go home quickly and accompany your mother in her last moments."

Tears were already flowing down my cheeks as I cried, "Mister, please, I would buy anything if it means making my mother feel better, please!" The owner merely shook his head as he explained, "There's nothing here that can cure your mother's ailment. I do have some herbs that can alleviate her symptoms and make her feel better, but unfortunately, they are already sold to this customer over here."

The owner pointed to the man with blonde hair. Shifting my attention away from the owner, I tugged at the pants of the stranger as I pleaded, "Sir, please sell me some of the medicine that you've bought, my mother really needs them, please!"

To my horror, the man simply kicked me away as he cursed, "Get off me, you snivelling brat! We need all these medicine for our upcoming expedition and there's no way we can afford to spare any for the sleazy bitch that is your mother! The owner's just too nice to say it out loud, but even a boor like me knows that your mother is suffering from an illness that only whores suffer from! Ha, your mother can only blame her fate as a cheap woman!"

A new emotion bubbled within me as I pounced towards the man, my rage clear to all present. Grabbing the man's right thigh with all my strength, I stared at him with eyes burning with fury before growling, "Take back what you said about my mother…"

The man and his comrades burst into laughter as the owner attempted to diffuse the tension in the room. However, their laughter didn't last long when they witnessed an intimidating red aura enveloping my body, as I continued to stare at the man, my eyes now turning blood red with intense hostility.

The man immediately screamed in pain, as he felt the erosive powers of my demonic aura firsthand, creating a burning sensation in his right leg. In his panic, he attempted to shake me off his leg frantically as he cried, "Someone, get her off me! It really burns! What's with this girl?"

The man's subordinates continued watching warily, afraid to approach me in fear of getting hurt themselves. In his desperation, the man withdrew a knife from his left thigh pocket before slashing at my face mercilessly.

The man's weapon instantly drew blood as I released my grasp immediately, clutching my face in pain. The man gasped in relief as he glanced at his right leg. His horror was conspicuous after he realised that a large part of his right leg was severely burnt and bloodied. Before the man could order his men to get me, ignoring the pain on my face, I made a mad dash out of the apothecary, running home as fast as I could, with tears of regret filling my eyes.

Meanwhile, the man looked at his knife, which edge was damaged by my demonic aura. He stammered, "D-Demon…we must inform the boss immediately, this evil child must be put to death! What're you guys waiting for? Get moving! Search for the child's whereabouts before informing the boss, he would personally take care of her, hahaha!"

When I finally returned home, I discovered that my mother was already barely conscious. Quickly kneeling by her bedside, I choked on my tears, "M-Mother…I'm so sorry that I'm so useless…I failed to get any medicine that could make you feel better. I'm so sorry!" before bawling out loud.

To my surprise, my mother only placed a gentle hand on my head before whispering, "No, it's Mummy that should be sorry…not only did I fail to give you a stable and warm family, I even got your beautiful face scarred by some ruffian when you were out alone in the village. I'm such a failure of a mother…"

My mother then stroked my face gently, as I grimaced in pain, my wound still sore. Suddenly, I heard the door creaking open and I quickly spun around, ready to protect my mother and myself. To my pleasant surprise, it was the kind man who I'd bumped into when rushing to the apothecary.

My eyes were still red from all my sobbing as I asked softly, "Sir, what are you doing here? Can you help my mother?"

The man could only close his eyes as he shook his head, apologising, "Sorry, I'm not a doctor. I'm only here because I detected the presence of a half-demon and followed it. Oh, where are my manners? The name is Redmond.

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Truth be told, I'm the Chief of a group of half-demons living out in the North and I'm currently gathering half-demons who are scattered all over the Northern Wildlands. Of course, I would accept human relatives as well but…"

My mother turned to the man named Redmond and spoke weakly, "I know my condition is near impossible to treat at this stage, and my remaining time is short. I'm actually thankful that someone like you showed up, for I needn't worry about my daughter, Akame, when I'm gone.

I was afraid that no one would be willing to take my daughter under their wing because of her ancestry. Never did I expect to meet another half-demon in my life again. Promise me you would take care of Akame well, Redmond, for I have no one else whom I can pin my trust on."

Redmond bowed and replied solemnly, "I promise you that I would look after her as though she was my own, if you're willing to take my word as a stranger." Staring deeply into Redmond's eyes, my mother simply nodded ruefully before turning to me.

With her final breath, my mother whispered, "Akame, I'm so sorry that Mummy can no longer accompany you. Follow Uncle Redmond and promise me that you will live a better life than before…always remember, Mummy will always be in…your heart…forever."

Upon completing her sentence, my mum's hand which was holding onto mine went limp, as she died with her eyes open, tears still flowing down her cheeks. When reality struck me, I bawled without constraint, grief overpowering any self-restraint that kept my emotions in check. Redmond simply placed his hand over my mother's eyes before closing them, allowing her to leave in peace.

I stopped crying when I noticed a sudden change in Redmond's expression before he walked towards the door. Afraid of being left alone, I followed closely behind him as we exited the house.

To my horror, I realised that we were surrounded by a group of men, who all wore bloodthirsty gazes. They were led by a mean-looking individual with 3 scars running in parallel across his left eye, and beside him was the blonde-haired man who had kicked me earlier, his right leg all bandaged up.

The blonde-haired man pointed towards me and cried, "That's her! The demon girl who hurt me! Boss, you've got to purge that demon before it's too late!" The leader gave me a piercing look before turning to Redmond and asking, "Who're you to this girl? Her father? If you're her father, I expect some compensation from you for your daughter's misdeeds, after all, she had the gall to hurt one of my precious subordinates."

Redmond simply smiled before he replied calmly, "It seems that you do not know the truth behind this regrettable incident. Your subordinate provoked this little girl after refusing to sell her even the smallest amount of medicine that could alleviate her mother's sickness, and even slashed her across her nose with his knife!

I was just outside the apothecary when this incident occurred, allowing me to overhear everything. Thus, I feel that this girl owes you people nothing in lieu of what had happened. Yes, she may not hold any blood ties with me, but from now on, I'm her guardian, so direct your problems to me instead if you still have any!"

Stumped by Redmond's response, the leader kept quiet for a few seconds before replying haughtily, "This is the first time anyone dared to stand up against me, interesting. You're the girl's guardian? Prove to me that you can protect her then!"

The leader disappeared before my very eyes and I could only catch a glimpse of steel before a shadow jumped before me. All I could see were drops of blood on the ground before I realised that Redmond was standing in front of me, accepting the stab from the leader on my behalf.

The leader cackled, "Ha, you've got good reflexes, I'll give you that! However, the fact remains unchanged that you're nothing but a braggart hahaha!" Redmond, whose expression remained calm, merely turned his face to look at me before smiling warmly.

I'll never forget the words he spoke at that moment, "I may never fully understand your sorrow, Akame, but I'll gladly take your pain…and your anger." Turning back sharply to his assailant, without warning, Redmond's left hand shot towards the leader's face, grasping it tightly.

Everyone present was intimidated by what happened next. In an instant, an extreme demonic aura covered Redmond, disintegrating the leader's weapon which was embedded within his gut as the wound patched up so rapidly as though it didn't exist.

Unarmed, the leader struggled to escape from Redmond's monstrous grip, where Redmond's demonic aura was slowly chewing away at the leader's face. The blonde-haired man's legs went limp as he collapsed, stammering, "A-Another demon? Is this a nightmare?"

Redmond, who still kept a tight grip on the leader's face, replied calmly, "You call me a demon? Don't make me laugh. In my opinion, demons are not decided by their ancestry but rather by their actions. Take a good look at yourselves before accusing others, you curs!"

Redmond then nonchalantly flung the leader towards his subordinates, as he crashed unceremoniously among them. When the men had finally recovered, they realised, to their utmost horror, that their leader was unconscious, but worse still, that his face was completely disfigured, as though he had suffered from third degree burns.

Redmond taunted the men, who were all gripped by fear after witnessing the strongest warrior in the group being humiliated like a child, "If you guys are still up for it, I'll gladly take you all on! However, I can't promise you that you'll be left as intact as your leader if you attack me."

Recognising that challenging Redmond was akin to suicide, the men immediately fled with their tails behind their legs, carrying their leader with them. Redmond took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly as his demonic aura slowly dissipated.

Turning towards me, his expression immediately lightened as he said gently, "I'm sorry if I scared you. Let's perform your mother's last rites before we depart, shall we?" I could only nod as a different type of tears flowed down my cheek; tears of gratitude.

Unwilling to leave my mother in the village which didn't appreciate her presence, I refused to bury my mother. Subsequently, Redmond suggested to cremate my mother's corpse upon a funeral pyre, thereafter, I could carry her ashes wherever I went.

Ceding to Redmond's suggestion, my mother was cremated the very next day, her ashes placed in an urn which I regarded as my most precious treasure. After all the preparations were made, we departed from the village, my birthplace but never truly my home.

The next few days passed in near silence, as I was still grieving for my deceased mother while Redmond respected the space I needed, limiting our interactions to simple questions and answers. Though I was thankful to what Redmond had done for me so far, I was too caught up in my depression to show any appreciation.

Moreover, there was still lingering distrust within me towards Redmond, whose actions didn't make any sense to me then. After all, which stranger is willing to take in a child with no apparent benefit to himself? It just didn't add up from the perspective of my 6-year old self.

The turning point came when we had arrived at another village. As we travelled through the marketplace of the village, suddenly, something caught the eye of Redmond as he instructed, "Akame, stay put here for a short while, I'll be right back."

As Redmond disappeared amidst the crowd in the busy marketplace, I contemplated escaping from Redmond, as I couldn't understand why he would keep a useless child like me by his side, unless he wanted to sell me off to some trafficker.

In the end, I decided to remain where I was, after rationalising that escaping did not improve my fortunes one bit, since I had no idea where I was nor did I have any money on me. Redmond returned shortly before I could regret my decision, his face wearing a big smile which scared me a little.

When we were far from the public eye, Redmond stopped and said with a bright smile, "Akame, I know the past few days had been difficult for you, so I've prepared a pleasant little surprise for you."

I gave a cynical look, which appeared to upset Redmond as he quickly explained, "I'm serious! See what I've got for you, I think it suits you perfectly!" In his hand was a simple, yet beautiful silver hairclip.

Ignoring my protests, Redmond knelt down before brushing the hair which I had used to cover most of my face except my left eye aside, before holding them together with the hairclip which he had just bought such that the entirety of my face was clearly visible, my hair flowing neatly down the sides of my cheeks.

I turned red with embarrassment as I looked away from Redmond, who encouraged gently, "Akame, you have a beautiful face that many girls would die for, so why do you hide it from view? Yes, you may have a scar across your nose, but there's no way one little scar can diminish your beauty, right? Hence, take pride in your looks and put in on display for the world to see!"

Tears welled up in my eyes. This was the first time in my life someone else other than my mother had called me beautiful. Unable to keep my emotions in check any longer, I pounded my tiny fists on Redmond's chest as I questioned, "Why are you so nice to me, a complete stranger? What value do I hold in your eyes for you to treasure me so much?"

Redmond's expression softened before he replied softly, "You know, truth be told, I had a son, who would be slightly younger than you if he was still alive now. If I had been a better husband and father, my family wouldn't have perished because of me and I would be holding my dear son in my arms right now.

Every time I see you, I'm reminded of my dear boy whom I've never met, not even once. Thus, I swore in my heart that I would not make the same mistake with you, that I would raise you to the best of my ability and give you the greatest warmth that I can muster as a father.

My actions thus far are not only for your mother's sake, but also for my own selfish need to allay the guilt that I've experienced from the loss of my son. I hope that this clarifies any doubts in your heart and I ask for your forgiveness for all my actions up till now…"

The weight in my heart was finally lifted upon seeing my benefactor break down, for even as a child, I could tell when a man's emotions was genuine. Embracing Redmond tightly, I sobbed softly, before whispering, "I'm sorry too…for not trusting you all this while…Father."

We held each other for what seemed like eternity, as the tears which flowed down our cheeks conveyed the emotions which were finally released with the opening of the floodgates…

I fiddled with the silver hairclip that Father, no, Chief Redmond, had given me 13 years ago as a little girl, closing my eyes as I immersed myself in the wonderful childhood memories I had thereafter with Clan Vizard.

I still recall my decision not to cover up my scar when probed by the residential surgeon, Stergen, to whom I said with a smile, "I'm still beautiful even with this scar so why should I be afraid to show it?" much to his befuddlement.

"Akame, are you ready? It's time for breakfast and Dad won't let me eat until you join us!" Kai's voice rang from outside my room. When I heard that Father had finally found his long-lost son, I was filled with mixed feelings, for on one hand, I was happy that Father could be reunited with his own flesh and blood. On the other hand, I was afraid that Father would treat me differently from then on, with his son taking priority over me.

Fortunately, my fears were unfounded, as Father placed his faith in me to take his son under my wing, to teach Kai how to control demonic energy just as he had taught me many years ago. Father remained the fair, yet loving man I had come to respect over these years.

"Oh, Akame, are you applying make-up in there? I didn't know you were into that sort of thing. I beg you, hurry up, I'm starving and a long day of training awaits!" Kai's impatient and sarcastic voice could be heard audibly.

I replied with a tinge of annoyance, "I'm coming! You've got quite the audacity to hurry me, you brat! Here's a friendly warning, watch your back during training later!" I quickly placed the hairclip next to my mother's urn, the 2 objects my most prized possessions before rushing out of my room.

Ah, I could not ask for a brighter life than what I'm enjoying now. Mother, if you can hear me, I want to say, thank you for bringing me into this world and entrusting me to Redmond, the best father I can ever have.