"So you hate me now? Were all these days we have been having fun, just for this?"

He basically admitted some of what I said was true, but even if he didn't. With everything I just said can there be any other option.

"Why did you do it, you know people have died right?"

"Do you hate me now?"

"You caused so much harm, pain and you lied to me..."

"Do you hate me?"

He won't budge in this state, my words are silent to his ears. The Elfen that I have been with all this time is lost forever.

"Yes, I do."

"Ha...haahahaha!

That's fine by me, you are just like the rest then. Hurting me when I just want to be with them, yelling at me for being near them. Hating me!"

As a child he never had friends, so he would be scorned and hated by others; branded an outcast by everyone he passed.

His anger is what probably lead to what is happening...but I of all people know that pain, and have suffered deeply from it.

"You're just like them aren't you, so why stick around me for so long. Was it fun messing with me all this time, making me think I had a friend!

Did you feel bad for me perhaps? "Oh look at the lonely kid, why not have some fun with him." Or was it that not it huh!"

Is it too late to appeal to his humanity, if he even is? Creating this large-scale effect is an inhuman feat so he could be a demon himself with the ability to talk right?

During these past two weeks, I have used mana footsteps to track where I have stepped to map out the land, to be able to tell which areas are where I attached a smell or taste from memory to different tracks.

I have pretty much the whole forest mapped at this moment but there is one section Elfen would never lead me too and the fog seems pretty strong in that area, so I assume that is the location of the source of the fog.

"Elfen. I'm heading over to the real you."

Up to this point, Elfen has not once looked up to Kiramarus's face, only down to the ground with both his hands clenched into hard fists.

His body began losing color until it appeared as if he was starting to fade away. In his last few seconds, he shot a glance to Kiramaru that pierced him like arrows.

"If you look at me like that I have no choice but to feel bad, but I'm not what's wrong here Elfen."

Kiramaru dashed over to the direction of the unmarked area in a hurry using his boosted capabilities. Since using mana to remove fatigue and improve progress, Kiramaru has become rather fit and muscular while keeping his natural body shape; just with a more toned definition.

Elfen disappeared with mana for sure which confirms almost all my theories, the last one I will have to ask him face to face.

The closer he advanced towards the area, the more he noticed vines and roots spread out across the terrain until eventually, he arrived.

"So that's it huh, this is you Elfen?"

Kiramaru stood before a large tree embedded into the ground with massive roots covering the floor of most of the surroundings. Its vines and vegetation grew past everything in sight.

The tree itself was a large brown body with enormous amounts of leaves that were rich in color. The roots that embedded in the ground were peaking in some areas but from the size alone were clearly strong enough to destroy the ground it borrowed into.

"This is because of her and all that time ago."

Elfen stood beside Kiramaru staring blankly ahead towards the tree towering over the vegetated area.

"Her?"

"My mother. She is the reason I ran away that day.

Every day I would come home either sad or covered in marks from what the other kids would do to me. It would hurt a lot but she would make all that pain go away when she smiled, her love was so warm.

One day I returned to mother after being thrown with rocks again for going near the other kids, but I didn't mind much.

Mother would always say that one day those who are mean to me now would regret it and makeup with me so I should be patient.

Although when I found mother she was crying, when I went to hug her; to return the warmth she had given me all those times over, she revealed her true self to me.

She only hit me once but it hurt more than any other time from the kids that hated me because mother now hated me."

"Is that why you lured people into the forest filled with your fog? To take out your anger of her and those kids."

"That's not it at all. I wanted friends...and he promised me I could have as many as I wanted."

He? Does he mean Ko or...

"Who offered you friends Elfen?"

"Don't call me Elfen now, you're not my friend, you're not my big bro. You're worse than mother, you used me and hurt me just like he said you would."

-NO MORE!-

Elfen's body vanished again into a body of fog that scattered and cleared instantly, followed by the rumbling caused by splitting earth as the roots lifted from underground.

"I didn't want this for you Elfen, but I guess you have made your choice long before we met and now You have to face the consequences."

The large roots residing over the crumbled ground slid around his feet surrounding him while smaller and ones flew through the air at a faster pace directly at him.

They're not bad but they shouldn't be able to hit me, I am worried about these ones on the floor though.

I don't know if jumping over them would be a good idea, they move slowly now but paired up with the ones flying through the air, at the max speed they will get me eventually.

"Well, then let's see how well fire works."

Kiramaru launched a blast of fire to the collection of hovering roots in front of him. The intense black flames scorched them instantly clearing himself a path to walk through.

"I was trying to avoid hurting you cause I don't know if you feel pain from these roots but I can't mess around in life or death fights.

I will say this only once, back down Elfen!"

-I will hurt you!-

Kiramaru aimed his flames to the roots behind him and burned them up without hesitation, this lead to further attacks to the surrounding roots.

-KILL HIM!-

A claw came gliding through the air, missing Kiramarus's head as he dodged. Looking at what has happened he saw the demon responsible that has just appeared without a trace.

"Huh- So that's you're game then."

I originally thought the fog was used for confusing those in the forest to prevent navigation or escape, but he's using it in a fight too.

Creating blindspots in my defense cause I don't know where they will come from.

After the surprise attack he raised his awareness by swiftly scouring the area with his eyes, he was anticipating the next attack as he knew it would come.

""Kyaaaaa!!!""

From every direction was at least two demon dashing toward him, either equipped with claws, teeth, or a powerful deformities.

"Bring it!"