Azalea Bonez

"A conflicted woman caught between her creed and a family's expectations."

- The Great One

Azalea Bonez (ボネスアザリア, Bonesu Azaria) is a currently independent mage wandering the reaches of the Fiore and former Neo Arcadia countryside. The first-born child of the current Crown Princess of the Underworld, she also counts the presiding regent and his siblings among her ancestry. Possessing a potent demon lineage only strengthened by her deceased father's input. However, to contrast with her daemon heritage are powerful pacifistic tendencies that served as a sticking point with her main family. Yet her the bloodline would not be denied as she tore through battlefields with machine-like efficiency. Only to be haunted by the unspeakable acts committed by Akumu's hand in her dreams turned nightmares. The small remnants of her humanity sought to remain afloat while the Berserker Bonez aspired to overwhelm it. However, her pacifistic demeanor and demonic wrath came to a head when she found out the reasoning for her father's untimely disappearance. Namely, that he had served as nothing more than a meal for her then pregnant mother. An idea that horrified her to no end and served as the catalyst for her abandonment of the guild. Both figures in her life decided to let her go, knowing that she would come back in good time. But now, she seeks to understand her existence, one completed by the situation known as her conception and the clashing of two sides within one person. Growing pains indeed.

Personality
Azalea is perhaps most recognizable for her pronounced pacifism. While she notes that it is somewhat a hypocritical stance given the monstrosities that she has committed in the past, Aza justifies her position by confirming those as the reasoning for her peace seeking ways. Despite this, she is shown to be on good terms with most individuals in Tartaros and Succubus Eye, possessing a certain charisma and charm that sets others at ease. All while hiding her own personal suffering from view. She is particularly close with Senna Florailis whom she refers to as Aunt Senna or Senna-sama in respect for the demon's older age and higher standing. A notable exception is the rocky relationship she has with her mother, whom encourages the violent tendencies displayed by her other half and condemns the tranquil ways that are a staple of Azalea's dominant demeanor. Her relationship is strained with her grandfather for this very reason, as he feels she is handicapping herself by holding such "restrictive" views. Thus it is clear that Aza and her mother would deal with tense situations differently with the former using manipulation and force while the latter seeks more diplomatic channels. Such tension was only brought to a head when Azalea was told the fate of her father, namely that he served as a buffet for Aojiro when her mother was pregnant. That clearly shameless cannibalism drove a wedge between the two that is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon, as the Azalea disappeared from those two accursed places, seeking to find herself before it was lost to the barbaric pedigree that inflicted those who came before her.

There is always another side to every coin however. In Aza's case however, this was the development of a split personality. It was a consequence of the mental trauma inflicted upon her as Aza came to the realization of what she had just completed. In order to cope with this burden, the vicious, sadistic, and taunting Akumu was created, serving as a compartmentalization of all the darkness that lurks within the berserker bloodline. As noted by Azalea, Akumu has little care for allies and comrades unless they are useful to her. Once they have outlived their worth, she discards them in brutal fashion. More often than not, she fights on her own, preferring not to share the carnage. Within battle, she generally exhibits a high level of cunning and field smarts, prone to making use of her surroundings for the construction of complex attack and defense formations. Always adding a personal touch, one that is meant for excruciating pain and potent demoralization. If the situation calls for it though, Aku has shown the ability to work with individuals, particularly those that have earned her respect. This list includes Aojiro, Kraken, Sub-Zero, and Naaza, sensing a kindred darkness residing in each of them. In short, Akumu is unabashedly selfish, merciless, and craves destruction. Despite this however, she has been shown to be very protective of her other half, perhaps knowing the reason for her existence was a coping mechanism for Azalea. Often she'll try to block out the dreams that visit Aza in her sleeping hours, noting her somewhat fragile state of mind.

She will occasionally extend this protective demeanor to those Azalea holds dear, knowing their value to her is greater than words. Nevertheless, Aku retains a prickly demeanor around them, not wanting to become soft due to Azalea's influence. One could sum up the dynamics between the two as akin to feuding siblings, though the level of empathy can only be that of identical twins. Nevertheless, Aku will be prone to giving her pacifistic half a hard time, at times attempting to woo her from her peaceful path and to the more destructive dark side. Though such attempts are half-hearted in their origin due to Akumu realizing the latter's importance in maintaining Akumu's sanity. For without Aza, she would be nothing more than a monster seeking endless destruction, savoring the slaughter as if it were a meal. Such an existence while initially satisfying would ultimately lead to boredom, something that irritates Akumu to no end. However, Akumu keeps this epiphany to herself, preferring not to reveal the weakness to the pacifist, perhaps harboring the irrational fear of the latter taunting and belittling her for it. Yet continuing to protect Aza from the shadows, staving off the darkness of the world from her precious sister.

History
The origins of story began with her dear mother Aojiro Bonez. The only daughter of the current King of the Underworld, she had built up a Spartan complex alongside her ever increasing bloodthirsty nature. The young woman was a person who did right by the Bonez name, only adding to their histories of slaughters and massacres by conceiving several of her own alongside her guildmates, increasing their battle prowess while taking the survivors of the decimated guilds for her own. It was a steady process to not only weaken the position of potential rivals but to strengthen her own. In spite of this, her intellect remained perfectly intact, perhaps even enhanced by all the bloodshed, her creativity ingenuity receiving a workout from orchestrating new strategies and methods of destruction before applying them. It helped that she had a fellow mastermind on call if she happened to run out of ideas, with the latter becoming a sensei of sorts after serving as her recruiter to the dark side. Despite all this, she noted that as the years passed she needed a heir: just as she was the likely successor to her father's attainments should anything befall him, someone would be needed in order to inherit the dark guild dominion that she had wrought, one that had made her guild a partner of equals rather than some run-of-the mill offender. The time had come to conceive a child, one that would need to be as strong or stronger that she was while capable of continuing the Bonez bloodline if need be.

So the woman began searching for a mate, one that would match her in magical prowess or bring something equally as valuable to the table. After all, this was not about love, but rather the production of a strong heir. Of particular importance to her was preserving the demon bloodline, so the idea of cohabiting with a human was out of the question, as the resulting child would hold a mere quarter in ancestry once it came to fruition. Thus Aojiro broadened her search, careful to choose areas were she remained relatively anonymous, knowing her destructive reputation would not bode well for the completion of her personal objective. In particular, she put to use information of the remaining dark guilds, noting some of them to be the strongest outside of the Millennium Echo Alliance and likely full of potential candidates for the deed. So she chose one named Shattered Dreams, a guild with a penchant for raids and a ruthless nature that would make any Bonez proud. Taking advantage of her abilities, Aojiro infiltrated the guild, noting how quickly she fit in by accessing specific portions of her true personality. Revealing the whole nine yards could be disastrous after all. Having chosen a specific womanly appearance, with ocean blue eyes, cascading hazelnut hair and a hourglass figure, Ao wormed her way into the affections of the male population both human and demon alike. Though it was a particular S-Class demon that caught her attention within Shattered Dreams. He possessed a level of power that rivaled her own, and was considered the guild's ace and potentially a match for the guildmaster, high praise that he earned with a sterling job record. Putting to work the womanly charms of her current appearance Aojiro began to woo him.

And more importantly succeeded, using a combination of the former and her own distinctive magical capabilities. For like her, this was a being who respected strength, and saw enough of this to consider her with his time. Thus they became more intimate as a couple, starting the process of make outs and other interactions before reaching the plateau of full carnal knowledge. That night in particular was one that put an end to the physical needs of Aojiro, to the point where she almost considered not killing him. Almost. Upon learning she was pregnant however, Aojiro knew that the first objective of her mission had been completed, so upon his waking she kidnapped him and left the guild. Once doing so she dispersed her transformation before proceeding to fight him, due to the latter arising from his slumber after such a disturbance. As expected, a vicious battle ensued, one that Aojiro thoroughly enjoyed as she found that her initial observation was not without merit; he was indeed capable of matching for extended periods of time, even overcoming her once or twice. But in the end, her desire won out, allowing her to deal the final blow and leaving him in a state of coma. Having achieved victory and building up a major appetite while doing so, Aojiro chose to consume the nearly dead demon, swallowing his body whole while digesting it thoroughly, licking the dried demon blood from her lips. It was a delicious cherry on top as he would serve as initial nutrition for the life growing in her womb. Satisfied that she would at least be full for a few days, Aojiro made the trek back to the guild, prepared for the next state of affairs.

With the birth imminent, the guildmaster had turned over duties to her second in command Abraxas, seeing him as a capable leader with the curse strength to keep everyone else in line. Worry free, Aojiro relaxed more, watching her belly move slightly as her child was nearly ready to enter the world. Her water broke, and with it came several contractions that shrunk her world down to the two of them, causing tremendous focus on the former's part. Ao had never realized that birthing could be this painful, pushing out the baby with all her might while the latter slowly emerged before turning bright red. Having entered a world much colder than the one she left, the baby let out a healthy cry, looking for warmth. Perhaps surprising herself, Aojiro's heart soared at the sound before she reached for the child that was her own. After being securely wrapped in blankets, the new mother had her wishes fulfilled as the now quiet child was placed within her hold. The first thing she noticed about the little girl was her human appearance, enough to nearly convince that Ao that she had accidentally coerced with a human. Until she felt a potent demon aura, one that surprise even her own in it's vitality. Despite her innocent appearance there was to be no mistaking the monstrous lineage that hid with the young child's body. Yet despite this, Ao chose to give her a name matching her appearance; Azalea. As expected, she received the last name Bonez because of her connection to the family through her mother. Nevertheless, the deed had been completed and a second heir was born. Growing up with ties to an ancient demon family proved to have its challenges for Azalea. She generally split her time between Succubus Eye and Tartaros, due in part to the busy lives both her mother and grandfather led. She constantly wondered what happened to her father, only to be told that he had disappeared long before Aza's birth. Nevertheless, such an answer was unsatisfactory for the girl, who desired to know more. She often stayed with SZ and Naaza when they weren't out on jobs, finding the two to be somewhat sane in comparison to the madhouse that was the other members of both guilds. Azalea would be putting it nicely if she were to say that the others were simply quirky. In spite of this, the young girl found some kinship with Senna, whom she would refer to as either Aunt Senna or Senna-sama, depending on the seriousness of the circumstances. Their relationship was built on the nature of Senna's creations, allowing the girl a restful place among otherwise depressing nature of the castle's decor. One could argue that this was a sign of her growing pacifism, despite the lurking Berserker Bonez bloodline ingrained in her veins. Despite this, Aza excelled at the magic arts, displaying a finesse and innate control for the manipulation of raw magic power, shaping it into various items of both practical and combative use. However, she had yet to specialize in any specific magic or even a curse, considering her ties to "true" demons as opposed to artificial etherious. For now though, Azalea was focused on both mastering her abilities and finally specializing as well as discovering the truth about her missing father.

But such a peaceful existence, if it can be called that, was not meant to last. After all, both her mother and grandfather were tremendously curious to see if she had "it". That desire for carnage, that love of bloodshed, the need to decimate entire cohorts at a time while receiving a high from doing so. More importantly, they needed to see if the Berserker Bonez line was alive and well with the next generation. Azalea for her part had already seen some of what her ancestry was capable of, watching her mother single-handedly wipe fields clean of inferior foes, while her grandfather made war games look like child's play. It revolted the girl, yet some tiny piece of her was excited when watching the events occur, as if desiring to inflict her will upon the opponents. That only served to disgust her even more, while she hoped that the day would never come when she took part in this disgraceful family affair. She had learned a while ago that it wasn't just her grandfather and mother who did this, no, it was her granduncles who dropped by occasionally, her great-grandparents, every single Bonez back to the progenitor. It's as if the family motto was Effundendum Sanguinem or "Shed Blood". To a pacifist like Azalea, it was the polar opposite of her desires, and one that brought the scent of conflict within her very bones.

The day can only be delayed so long however. As she reached the certain age of 13, both her mother and grandfather took her to the frontlines. And in that moment Azalea's naivete was crushed under the sole of the opposing force's boot. Before they became the stars in Azalea's game of puppetry. Her maniacal laugh rang out among the field as she forced the opposing military to turn on each other, impale themselves on their own swords, and generally fall into a chaos of Aza's design. The girl's malice rose with each death, and soon she thrust herself into the fray, mixing magic power with psychokinetic abilities that left her side speechless. The people of the Millenium Echo Alliance stood and watched as she committed casualty after casualty, not resting until the enemies were in full scale retreat. Or at least attempting such an objective. Her familial observers for their part were incredulous, not having expected such power and sadism from the girl at such a young age, though their surprise turned into a smothering pride. At last Azalea stopped, standing among the carnage while the bloodlust faded from her sunset eyes. Looking about, she wondered how she had ended up in such a terrible scene until she looked down at her clothes and palms, soaked with blood that wasn't her own. Falling to her knees, she sobbed into those very hands, horrified by what she had just completed and appalled at how much satisfaction she had derived from the affair. Azalea suffered a mental breakdown on that day, one that resulted in the creation of a second personality as a coping mechanism. She couldn't deal with what she had just done, how many lives she had ended in the span of a day.

Meanwhile, Aojiro burst with pride, knowing that was her daughter, a true heir to the Bonez family line. Hell, if Azalea was able to achieve this now, what could stop her from surpassing her mother and the King of the Underworld? When Aojiro looked back at her family through her bloodstained face, she could see them beaming, while their nearby allies held expression that ranged from awe to revulsion. She couldn't blame them after all, the condition of her clothing after that affair was the equivalent of rags. Her mother at least had the decency to bring over a cloak so that Aza wouldn't expose herself to the world. While she did so however, she whispered into the girl's ear, saying simply "You did it." Those three words only served to restart the tears while she leaned heavily on her mother for support. Her pacifism was only reinforced after that day, and it was at that point Aza became afraid of herself, knowing that she may be capable of far greater atrocities than what she committed today given the time to develop and grow. It was also on that day that Aojiro decided she would tell her daughter what really happened to her father, though she would give her time to recover first. Even a warmongering individual like Ao could see that Azalea needed time to recoup before learning this news: she only hoped that a second breakdown wasn't to follow, considering how messy that could be.

However, paradigm shifting news like that would have to wait as Azalea took the time to separate herself from the family. She even isolated herself from her technical guardians SZ and Naaza, needing time to think. In the mean time, her other half continued its development, leaching away her darkness in order to reinforce its own existence, cementing the entity as an inextricable part of Aza. While she had the conscious recognition of its awakening, she chose to ignore it, seeing it as an important step in maintaining her sanity. That is, until the nightmares started. Tortured by the memories of what she had committed, followed by the need for more, and the voice of the dream eater whispering for continued wanton. Only to be inflicted with crushing guilt for ending all of those lives, knowing that she had become the judge, jury and executioner in that specific situation. Only after a few weeks of adjustment did she venture out of the confines of her bedroom once more. Having eaten little, she was surprisingly healthy, probably because of the psychological separation that had occurred in her mind. Even so, Azalea waited until the girl had turned 14 before finally giving into Azalea's demands about the existence of her father. Despite being a mother taking with her daughter, Aojiro kept it blunt. "I ate your father after we had conceived you." she said to Aza. To her intrigue, her daughter didn't weep, didn't fling curses or wail at her. No, all that she received was a quiet thank you for divulging the information before Aza retired to her chambers. Only in privacy did she allow herself to release the feelings that had been bottled up after that proclamation; Aza was tired of creating spectacle after spectacle. She ripped that room to pieces as her "better half" leaked out, egging her on to continue her "blowing off steam". Only when the room had been completely trashed did she collapse, tucking her head between her legs in an attempt to regain some control. There had never been a chance for Aza to meet her father, not when he became supper for Aojiro.

She refused to think of that woman as her mother now, not after such a revelation was brought to mind. Her mental anguish finally ebbed as the last portion of room collapsed, leaving Azalea to wallow in the untouched center. Those who heard the commotion decided wisely to remain away from the scene, knowing the likelihood of them becoming collateral for the currently unstable daughter. At that moment, Aza decided that enough was enough; having seen the madhouse that was Tartaros and Succubus Eye, the atrocities that they committed unflinchingly and the devastation they wrought upon the world without hesitation. Where this girl's moral compass had come from, no one knew, though it most certainly didn't stem from that vexing Bonez line. Surprisingly though, Aza's "better half" agreed with her, finding the Tartaros area too drab and confining for her tastes; she wanted the world's madness and ferocity instead, knowing there was no shortage of that outside the dark land's imposing gates. So the two halves struck an agreement; should a battle or the need for self-defense arise, Azalea would let Akumu free, allowing her to destroy whatever stood in her way with reckless abandon, becoming the Bonez monster that her progenitors and ancestors loved and feared. In exchange, Azalea would manage normal day to day affairs, navigating the world for the two while building ties and creating opportunities for Aku to have her fun. Upon settling the nuances, the two parts of Azalea became whole once more. Reflecting this agreement was the lightening of her hair to a warm gold, leaving the drab days of hazelnut behind. Her body itself grew as well, maturing around her hips while becoming more curvaceous in regards to her butt and breast areas. Her height meanwhile rose from a mere 5'7 to a more stately 6'2.

The new Azalea smiled, one that took the innocence of the former and the sardonic tendencies of the latter before mixing them into a sultry grin. This place was of no value to her any longer. For all intents and purposes, she was now an orphan, given the nature of her immediate relations. Propping herself on broken window's ledge, Aza jumped to the floor of the compound. Walking to the wall, she snapped a portion of it in two before stepping through the opening, reconfiguring the pieces so that the wall was whole once more. Now outside, she was free to do as she saw fit, uncaring of the consequences when her absence was noted, if it hadn't been documented already. So she settled on wandering the countryside for the time being while deciding upon a new purpose. Perhaps she would join another guild, one that was legal; though she doubted using her real name would be a good idea. Thus need for a pseudonym was born. Nevertheless, she worried about little, instead focused on strengthening her magic abilities for when the day came. Though her initial magic was strong, the need to diversify in a world full of likely hostile threats made training imperative. Among her first priorities for now though was a new set of clothes, seeing as her old ones reminded her of that past life.