I hated her.

Everything about her was the very plague of my existence. They way she stared at me, as if I destroyed every bit of her happiness, burned me to the very core. I'd locked her away, in a lavish room in the furthest, darkest parts of the castle. I offered her anything she wanted, anything except them.

She was determined to win them back. Every time I saw her, they were the only thing she spoke of:

"Let them go"

"I'll stay willingly if you just let them go"

"Please, Natsu"

I hated the way she said my name. As if she knew me, as though we were friends. For those few moments of pleading, she didn't look as though she hated me. She regarded me with those warm brown eyes, her plush lips quivering in fear and desperation. I wanted to tell her yes sometimes. To set them free, just to see her smile at me. But I knew that releasing them meant she too would leave. Whether by her own choice or theirs. Her friends were a persistent pack of pests. They would not leave her alone with me.

Because I was a monster? Yes, I was a monster. A demon.

Because I was a monster, I always told her no. Her face would change again, to the hateful look I'd grown used to. She'd turn away from me, order me to leave her alone. I hated when she did that. I was E.N.D and she was a measly, fragile little human. I'd grab her, threaten her. I would force her to look at me, even though I didn't want to see the hatred on her face.

She would yell, and cry, and fight. And I, I hated when she cried. I hated the need to comfort her, as if I was still him. As if I was still the boy she loved. Pathetic. He was pathetic, and so is she. They are all pathetic. I am pathetic, because I hold her against me, so that she is comforted while she cries.

I cannot stand when she speaks of him. Of any man really, but him especially. That weak, childish boy whom she fell in love with. She spoke of him often, but the worst was when she spoke to me like I was him. Like I would care about her feelings, and protect her, and go on more adventures with her. I would kiss her then, press her up against the wall and ravish her body, all so she would pay attention to me. And she would call out our name, and I would never know which of us she was referring to.

After spending the night with her, I leave the dome and destroy whatever I can find. Villages, Cities, or guilds. It didn't matter. I needed to feel the blood on my hands, to satisfy my craving for destruction.

And then, I would return to her. And the cycle would continue. Over and over and over again. I hated her, but I could not bare to part with her. She was mine. I would not give her up, not to the Fairies or to the Etherious, or even to my brother. I would kill her before I would allow her to belong to someone else.

Would I? Could I? Blonde hair matted with blood, tears leaking out of her lifeless eyes...I winced. Perhaps not. Maybe? I couldn't decide.

It was all her fault. I was a monster, an etherious. I was created to destroy and kill. But she...she shined like some star in the night sky, and beckoned me to follow her. She offered warmth not even my fire could provide, and I would have done anything to continue to feel it. I would kill the other etherious, kill anyone who harmed her, just so she would want me. But she didn't want me to kill. She wanted me to love. She wanted the impossible.

I hated her.

I hated her.

I hated her.

I didn't. I was a demon, and she, an angel. She would only accept me if I rose to her level, but I belonged beneath the surface. I belonged in the darkness, in the ruins of cities and within the pits of fire. I did not want to rise up. She would have me deny my very nature, and I hated it.

But I did not hate her.

I couldn't.

That was the problem.