As the First Flame fades, darkness swallowed the world whole. In that darkness, the Ashen One fell through until he wakes up in a completely different world. One devoid of the horrors, devoid of violence, devoid of the Dark Soul...a world where monsters disguised themselves as alluring women to entice men to their embrace, plunging them into mindless pleasure. In such a world, where does he, an Unkindled of no renowned, stand? (Rewritten for a friend)
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What Remains of Ash and Cinders (Dark Souls x MGE)
- Thread starter Dimiel
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Dimiel
Mobu-san
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He looks up at the darkened sky, lit by what was left of the sun.
The ringed sun that was fading.
Sit at the center of where it all started surrounded by countless blades of fallen Unkindled, was the Kiln of the First Flame or what remains of it. The First Flame that was a shred of what it once was glows dim, a testament of the many times the First Flame was linked. The First Flame...
The cause of it all.
His journey in Lothric had not been easy-far from it. He had faced countless deaths just so he could reach here. Many monsters he slain, many Lords of Cinder defeated, many horrors, foes and allies alike...it was not an easy journey. When he came face to face with the Soul of Cinder, he knew his journey had come to an end.
He has a choice to make.
Preserve, let the Age of Fire continue. Do what he was reborn for again, link the flame like the many exalted lords before him.
Or...end the fire, let it fade so darkness may settle once more.
He stares at the remnants of the Soul of Cinder, nothing but ashes, much like himself. The Age of Fire, the First Flame, did more damage than good. Gwynn tried to preserve it for so long and countless other Undead followed, even the current Soul of Cinder. Because of that, the world turned upside down, time was shattered and the lands distorted. Continuing to preserve is to continue to destroy the very place they all lived in.
He turned his head at the summon sign, he was ready to make his choice.
What Begets Fools
The Ashen One awakes under the sound of distant cries.
His eyes shoot open and sits up, shaking his head from the grogginess fogging his mind. The chaos that permeates through his eardrums did not help but he knew very well that it wasn't anything normal. Gaining his senses, the Ashen One frowned and immediately set out to see what was happening. It didn't take long for to find out.
Through the window, he can see the city of Lescatie covered in fires and mysterious purple mist. Roars of violence and moans of lust told him what he needed to know.
He had been in Lecastie for about a year. After he smothered the First Flame and let darkness settle, he somehow wound up in this strange new world known as Eos. Lescatie is the city state under the theocracy of the Order of the Chief God. A grand city built to be an impenetrable jewel, a jewel that fools the fools. It has its own sets of problems but as a foreigner not just to these lands but to the world itself, he finds it too bothersome to get too involved and merely wanted to be left alone. The only reminder of his old world was his job as a mercenary, nothing more.
It was only natural the Ashen One didn't join the Order. He was not one for faith, disillusioned after the events of Gael in the Ringed City. Even the Hero of the Generation, Wilmarina Noscrim, tried to convince him to join but he adamantly refused. Priests and Inquisitors alike also tried to get him join through various methods. Intimidation didn't work, the Ashen One received far worse threats. The fanatics' masks fell to reveal the ugly truth beneath the surface; Lescatie was not a jewel and the Order weren't people of good faith.
Their greed for power and materialism sits above all else and faith was last...most likely never even to be considered.
While fanatics or lunatics are nothing new to the Ashen One, what was new are the monsters of Eos disguised as shameless harlots craving for the embrace of men. Despite being monsters themselves, when faced with unrestrained violence, they called those that impose such things as monsters.
How ironic.
This world was strange, even stranger than he had anticipated.
His questions remain unanswered, what were these monsters?
The Ashen One got his answer after stealing a certain book; the Monster Girls Encyclopedia. A book that details many entries of every single type of monsters, or Mamono as they are called in these lands. All their needs, how their bodies work, their behavior, habitats, their weakness. From what he had read, they were made or changed more specifically by the current Demon Lord who was once a Succubus after the previous Demon Lord fell at the hands of a hero. She also happens to be another fool with an ambition of uniting all humans through mindless pleasure.
Such notion sickens the Ashen One. Uniting the world was itself a fool's ideal let alone through such crude and depraved method. The urge to bash her head in was ever present even now. The Order was even more ridiculous which brings him to now.
This one book can help the Order in their crusade by a huge margin. Knowledge is power after all, intel from opposing forces are invaluable. However, as he continues on his days in Lescatie, he learns two things. The first is that the book was said to be cursed, that it was presumed to transform any woman into Mamono and any men into Incubi which was a profoundly idiotic assumption considering it was made by a human, not a Mamono. The second issue is that the Order demanded these books to be destroyed should any devout believers find them, and anyone found holding it will be executed as well.
This had dwindled down their chance of victory by a lot. Not helped by the fact that he noticed as the year went by, Mamono presence around Lecastie's borders were getting abundant. And it was here he also noticed the nobles' sins. They failed terribly at handling the welfare within the city and instead of taking this threat seriously, they opted to serve their own greed by raising the tax on the commoners, causing anger and unrest over ninety percent of the population.
It was only a matter of time.
And now it happened.
The Invasion of Lecastie.
The Mamono appeared and began unleashing their combined might. It was clear what they were aiming for; Lescatie was known to be the Order's pride and joy as well as the Impenetrable Jewel, a safe haven from the terrors of the Demon Lord. By taking over such a famed city, they will show the world their power while also striking fear into the hearts of the Order. If it were to fall, then the Order would be backed into a corner of which they have no escape from.
And in this very moment, it was precisely what the Ashen One was going to do. But escaping the city was harder than it seems especially with the chaos that was unleashed by both sides.
"..." He held in the urge to sigh at the sight of the burning city.
He needs to pack up the bare necessities before he goes out on a long journey. He managed to get his gears into his arsenal, some spare casual clothing, the materials, and most importantly his hard-earned money from all the quests he had done as a mercenary. Everything was ready and now he merely needed to plot a route out of the ci-
KNOCK KNOCK!
Just then, he heard a knock on his door.
Hearing knocking made the Ashen One raise an eyebrow. The knock was far too casual for a city about to fall at the hands of the Mamono. Clearly, something was wrong. Narrowing his eyes to form a glare, he took his Lothric Straight Sword out in a slow but thoughtful maneuver. The blade let out a glow as the knock began to get louder.
BOOM!
'As I suspected...' The Ashen One thought to himself as the door flung open, hitting the wall.
In came a couple of the Order Inquisitors, three of them. They brandished their weapons out into their hands and their intentions were laced on their faces. It didn't help with their killing intent covering his abode like smokes. It seems they were ready to kill for whatever incredulous reason they have for a foreigner such as him.
"Inquisitors." The Ashen One grips the hilt tightly. "What do you want?"
They glared at him, "Foreigner, you are found guilty of treason and assisting the Mamono!" Said one of the fools.
"...treason?" The Ashen One could feel disgust climbing into his being. "Lescatie is under a siege...and you dare come into my abode and claim myself as the enemy of the Order? Imbeciles, the lot of you. It is no revelation that Mamono managed to ambush this city."
The Order Inquisitors growled at his rebuttal. They were well aware why he had thought so and getting it placed in front of them to make them swallow the truth was quite unpleasant. The Order wanted him dead, that much was clear. But without evidence, any accusations would be baseless and considered tyranny.
The leader looked down and smirked. "It seems we have the evidence." The leader said as he stabbed something with his sword and pulled it up to reveal their evidence. "The book of the heretics…"
"By the Chief God, what heresy!"
"This will serve you no good, Foreigner!"
"The book of the heretics..." The Ashen One sighs. "The book of the heretics as you claimed would help the Order in their crusades." He said as he grips the Lothric Straight Sword tightly while putting his left arm behind his back. "That book is a key to defeating the Demon Lord but you refused to use it due to your "faith"..."
"Face it, heretic!" The leader yelled with a manic look. "Your reasoning bore the symbol of treachery! You can't fool us! You are at an end!"
"Fools..." The Ashen One growled, irritated at their idiocy. "If this is how you deem it to be..." The cinder that was hidden within him sprouted forth as he conjured up a pyromancy spell. "Then by all means, suffer."
He pulled his left hand and threw the devastating spell at the Order agents who weren't quick enough to respond as nearly all of them were killed save for the leader. He was able to take the flame due to his Mana Level albeit he was still left screaming as he flails his arms around to try and put out the fire but to no avail.
"AHHHHH!" The leader roared out as the flame continued to eat his skin to crisps. "Heresy! HERESY!" He fell down to his knees, clutching his face. "I will kill you!"
The leader was then used as a stepping stool as he can feel the sole boots of the Foreigner weighing down his back. "Your words befit a lunatic, the pathetic kind as well. Licking the feet of your superiors like dogs." The Ashen One stares down, even when his face is hidden under the helmet, the leader could feel the look of disgust. "You chose to chase a foreigner who is doing a better job at keeping the Mamono from consuming this city than the Order ever will be, instead of saving the countless pleading innocents."
"Lunatic? Me? H-Heresy..." The leader grits his teeth, blood seeps out from his mouth. "DIE, HERETIC SCUM!"
The leader took out something the Ashen One would describe as a dagger. Doing nothing, the inquisitor fool stabbed the Ashen One with his dagger, feeling the blade entering the once empty vessel of ash.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU INSIGNIFI-" Before he could end his sentence with his maniacal laughter, the Ashen One merely grabbed his head.
"You wish to die a painful death?" The gauntlet made a clunking sound as the lunatic's laughter morphed into torment. "Very well." Mustering his strength, the Ashen One begins to slowly crush the inquisitor's head, slowly as the skull begins to crack like an egg. "The only heresy here is assuming a puny blade is enough to take an Unkindled down."
"AHHHH-"
The lunatic didn't get to scream louder as his head was burst under the Ashen One's grip, splattering brain matter and blood all over his gauntlets and floor. Although his head was crushed, it still left his lower mouth which remains open, clearly showing how agonizing his death was. The Ashen One threw the body to the side and flicked his hand to get some of the blood and gore off.
He scoffed, "Getting your vile blood on my blade would mean staining my honor." His urge to spit was there but even he considers his spit to be too high for a fool like the inquisitor. "In the end, fools will remain fools." He looks outside through the door frame, seeing the chaos getting worse by the second. "Hopefully, it isn't troublesome to escape from the city."
He knew hoping was nothing short of idealistic, but he had enough of cruelty to wish for otherwise.
Seems like he was being idealistic indeed.
The path to escape was more of a problem than he'd like.
After leaving his home, the Ashen One began to look for any pathways that lead out of the city. However, he is finding the situation dire by the minute. He kept crossing through the streets as he witnessed panic mobs of humans trying to escape from the doomed city all the while the Mamono took advantage of the situation, venting their carnal desires onto the unknowing innocents as they claimed their "husbands" and transformed human women into more Manono.
The Ashen One gritted his teeth, this was getting ridiculous. It seems the Mamono won't be able to learn their lesson unless he does something about it. They masked their lust under the justified "love". Their beliefs on the Demon Lord was already idiotic enough, because she herself believed the Sabbath would fix the damages they've done when nothing is confirmed yet.
The entry in the Monster Girl Encyclopedia did say that they are very knowledgeable and advanced for Mamono as they brought innovations that even left him baffled. Ideas like airships, music boxes, advanced mine carts and the like. But unfortunately, the book also mentioned that this group of Mamono are also a cult of sorts. Trying to spread this insane ideology of 'Loli Superiority' to the rest of the world.
They were no better than the rest of their kind, dictated by their own carnal desires.
And they were supposed to be the smarter bunch.
Growling, the Ashen One kept going before seeing a group of humans running from the Mamono, heading towards the north west gate, the only side that hadn't been cornered yet. Narrowing his eyes, the Ashen One realizes that this may be his chance.
One poor sod was about to be jumped by a werecat. He closed his eyes to accept his fate before feeling a liquid of sorts splashing onto his being. He opened his eyes as he gagged in shock at the now beheaded feline humanoid, spurting blood from the decapitated head like a fountain before falling down.
Even the other Mamono froze in place at such a violent display.
"Don't just sit there, escape." Spoke a deep voice.
The poor peasant looked up as he saw the foreigner wearing knight armor of unknown origin. He was famous around the poorer parts of Lecastie as he sometimes offered help in exchange for information and money. After his appearance, the slums had never been more safe as the thieves, the local bandits were all slain by this one single man. So to see his figure made the peasant breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'll take care of them. Take this moment to flee."
Not wanting to be told twice, the surviving humans agreed as they ran as the foreigner glared at the Mamono before him. "T-Thank you!"
"Hey! Don't you dare deny us our future husbands, you Order monster!" A Mamono shouted, the intimidation only works against her as the Ashen One can see her quaking in her boots.
Or hoofs to be exact. The Mamono in question was a Minotaur, the bastardized version of it.
All she got in response was a spine-shivering chuckle as the foreigner pointed his sword at her. "Calling me a monster yet again?" The Ashen One huffed as he took his stance. "Then I'll use you lot as a message to your superior." This made the Mamono to gulp nervously as he took a stance. "I may be outnumbered, but I am not outmatched. You all are hesitant to murder which makes this easier for me."
With that, the Ashen One charged at them with the intent to kill as the Mamono stood frozen in fear.
It became a gore fest.
The Ashen One started to kill any Mamono that rushed him, and he wasn't kind enough to let the fleeing ones go as they're the ones to face a gruesome death the most. Any Mamono that tried to claim the escaping humans or capture him met their end to his blade. His claymore bathed in the blood as he fought and killed vigorously. He soon began to march forward as he had to find better ground. The Ashen One walked amongst the countless corpses of Mamono, the fire behind him shadows his figure as he soon came face to face with an Ogre.
A commander who had half her company with her was wondering what was the cause of the many frightened Mamono retreating.
She soon finds the reason. "You..." She took out a waraxe made purely out of Demon Silver. "You will fall for me and I will spend the rest of my days violating you."
"Then you will join the rest of them." The Ashen One replied, motioning his head towards the towering mountain of corpses behind him.
As expected of a commander, she put up a better fight than the rest. Her strength as an Ogre proved to be much stronger than he initially thought as he was thrown hard to a wall. He felt that but it wasn't enough. He took out the Lothric Straight Sword and flared pyromancy on his left hand to make a short work of these harlots. Although she was stronger than the many other Mamono he had fought, the things he had faced in Lothric was far greater.
In the end, the fourth commander is dead as well as her entire followers. Luckily, their dying breaths told him that the rest of the Mamono were converging into the castle. The Ashen One decided if he goes there now, there is a good chance the superior who commands the army would be there along with her generals. He vowed to make an example out of them all, effectively killing two birds with one stone.
The foreigner huffs out as he flicks his blade before going to the castle. Along the way, he slaughtered many Mamono who assumed he was a defenseless weakling open for gourmet. He then arrived to see the courtyard, where most of the generals and Mamono had already breached the perimeters and were assaulting the guards.
The Ashen One narrowed his eyes as he put the straight sword back into the scabbard by his hips. "Seems this beckoned to be more thorough," He said before he took a look into his arsenal. "I have all I need." He got up as he held out a pair of Kukris, poison daggers, firebombs, his Talisman and Pyromancy ready. "Let this be done with."
Kirsch began running away.
Like a coward.
Something she thought she abandoned since she became Bishop Noscrim's assassin.
Yet some things haven't changed.
Lescatie was ambushed and everything had gone to hell. The Mamono somehow managed to breach the defenses and overran the city. The very city claimed to be impenetrable and safe haven for outsiders. The city now was nothing more than its former glory, fires erupted and the Mamono crawled in every corner. She needed to escape fast and without detection.
Her lord promised to meet up with her after they got separated. He ordered her to go and save his daughter, Wilmarina. Unfortunately, that turned out to be naught.
Wilmarina Noscrim.
The Chosen Hero of the Order.
Leader of the Ice Flowers.
And Bishop Noscrim's daughter, and only child.
She had transformed into a monster.
A Succubus to be exact, and she is currently having fornication with the boy that her father banished; Elton Dragmire. And she wasn't alone in the act, he was also assaulted by other Mamono that she would rather not list off. The unholy sight sinks onto her being as the realization hits.
She failed.
Kirsch, for the first time, failed in a mission to save her lord's daughter. And now the purple-haired assassin is on the run now. Trying to escape from this place alive. However, she had the displeasure of facing the Fourth Born, Druella herself. She claims that she could 'liberate' Kirsch from the horrors of being a human, that she is cursed and must be freed from the Chief God.
Kirsch continues to flee before slipping on the floor. She grits her teeth in frustration, this must be due to all that running and the Demonic Mana in the air weakening her. Kirsch tried to stand up but fell down to her knees again. Just then, a shadow was casted onto her being, her blood immediately ran cold. She looks up to see Druella smiling rather seductively.
She was at the end of her ropes now that Druella found her.
Quickly, she used the remaining strength within her and threw a couple of knives in her last attempt to escape only for the knives to be deflected by Druella's barrier. "Dear Kirsch..." The Fourth Born had a naughty, prideful and arrogant smirk as she now walked stridently as she won now. "Just give up, there's nothing else you can do. Lescatie had fallen and so did the Order."
"You...heretic...!" Kirsch cursed under her breath. "You will not get away with this!"
Victory is now in her hands.
Lecastie is now hers.
"On the contrary, I will." Her smile widens to form a sickening grin. "Once I overtake Lescatie, the world shall face the might of the Demon Lord! And then we will finally..." The thought of conquering the world aroused the Fourth Born so much her breathing became erratic. "Ah, what joy! And you will be one of the lucky Mamono to be able to witness utopia!" She raised both her hands, as if handing out a revelation. "Mother will-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence as an explosion shook the castle.
"What the-!?"
A figure shot through the glass panes. Dust covered the room, hindering their vision. Druella jumped back in shock while Kirsch stayed frozen in place. They stared at the figure that stood between them, his feet crushed the shattered glass as his armor can be seen. The individual in question sighed in relief, his armor clanking as he stood up, causing the Lilim to growl.
'What...?' As an assassin, she could smell blood.
"Who goes there!?" Druella demanded.
It was when the dust cleared that they received their answer.
Lying on the floor was a corpse, the upper half remains of one of Druella's generals to be specific. An Arch Succubus, dead. It seems she was decapitated by a powerful blade with tremendous strength to back it up.
Both women gasped in shock at the corpse now settling into their minds. Druella snarled while Kirsch wished she could stand, but remained frozen in place. The two then continue to observe as the dust clears up completely. Shifting as he brought his greatsword over his shoulder, his stance unwavering and his armor covered in blood. Even under the scent of her fallen comrades, Druella can smell that he was a man.
The man's armor was colored silver that seems to have seen better days with its lack of luster. There were also some patches of clothing and belts to keep the pieces in place. Around his neck is a brown cloth that can be mistaken as a scarf. The other piece of clothing was the blue rags of some kind wrapping around his torso.
Strapped on his person were a variety of equipment; a shield, one sharing the same color and state of his armor with strange engravings they are not familiar with and three weapons, two equally large blades and a straight sword by his hips. The large blades had strange designs as well, one had the color of an eclipse and seems to be broken while the other one which was the one he had on his shoulder seems to be in a better condition as evident with its glowing veins, teeming with unknown energy. It was shaped weirdly but even they could tell how deadly it was.
The two women immediately recognized this person.
To Kirsch, he was the foreigner who rejected their offer to join the Order ranks to get rid of the revolting Mamono. She was surprised to find that out considering the fate of many before him. Kirsch still remembered the time her lord, Bishop Noscrim, ranting in anger when foreign knight refused to listen to them. Not just her lord, even to the people of higher status like the nobles, priests and the king.
As for the Lilim, she was made aware of this man-no.
This monster.
She had heard of this monster's exploits. How he ruthlessly killed and maimed Mamono without any disregard of their livelihood. Even the spies that were sent to his way, from Hero class Mamono to Kunoichis, stood no chance to him. Nothing from charming to seduction to outright rape worked on him. They all failed. The rumors surrounding him grew and the Mamono became restless. Even Hel took notice of it and demanded all Mamono to avoid contact with this man at all costs.
However, Druella did not heed Hel's warning and went to search for him. Have him kneel before her to face the consequences of his actions. She even assumed he would have been held captive by now due to the chaos of Lecastie and would be easily ambushed by her soldiers. But she was wrong.
It looks like he found her instead.
He swung the greatsword to his right side, flicking away any blood still fresh on it as he pulled it back to his shoulder. He did not care where the blood splattered, he had bigger concerns now. He then did something unexpected and plunged his greatsword in between Kirsch and Druella. This was surprising for both as this knight is standing between a human affiliated with the Order and a Lilim, one of the strongest of the Mamono.
He takes a look around, seemingly surprised. "It looks like I'm in the right place, what a coincidence." He then stared at Druella. "I assume you're the cause of all this." The Ashen One said as he placed his hand on top of the hilt like a proper knight. "I will deliver upon you death, demon." Just as he said that, his armor lit up like fire, releasing cinders around.
The two shivered at the venom laced in his tone but Druella aren't one to be intimidated by such a display. "Ah, the dreaded Rusted Slayer." Druella said as she glared at the man before her. "What an honor to see you in person if not for..." She looked down at the corpse of her general, releasing a sigh. "Was it really necessary to make a mess? Killing one of my own generals...she was still looking for a husband, you know?"
"I care not for her aspirations..." The Ashen One trailed off, as if mocking her. "...along with others'."
Kirsch had her eyes immediately widened, 'D-Did he...?'
"W-What?" Druella's lips began to quiver, she had just noticed now that the sounds outside were unnaturally quiet. "You killed them all!?"
"Yes, most of your generals are all dead now." The Ashen One repeated. "I also slaughtered the sways of Mamono they commanded. Enough numbers for them to stop pursuing me and the innocents." Cracking his neck, he pulled out the greatsword from the ground. "Now all that remains is you, demon."
"Challenging me?" She looked like she wanted to laugh, but with how many he had slain, she couldn't. "Many before you had fallen for this very reason...are you adamant about this decision?"
"For a harlot, you sure speak a lot."
"So be it, Rusted Slayer..." Druella snarled as she unleashed a full miasma of her Demonic Mana.
She swiped her hands in an arc motion and immediately floored the corridor with her magic. The Ashen One let out a grunt as he held his blade up and bent forward a little to resist the surge. The surge was powerful enough to blow his Knight Shield away, skidding across towards Kirsch who was still kneeling on the floor. Due to being a human born in the world of Eos, she is vulnerable to the mana that Mamono exudes. Add in her rapier that is actually a secret demonic sword and it's a miracle she hadn't transformed yet. She could feel the Demonic Energy coursing through the ground. It was trying to reach for her, but she refused to turn into Mamono.
Quickly, with all her strength, she stood up and reached for the Knight Shield. Once she grabbed the handle on its back, she lifted it and was surprised at how heavy it was but didn't want to pay it any more attention and slammed it on the ground, performing a barricade stance. It was a good move as the shield was powerful enough to direct the surge of Demonic Mana away from her, like a huge rock in the middle of a downstream river.
Druella narrowed her eyes, that was the most power she had mustered and it should be able to change any humans within a mile radius into Mamono or Incubi almost instantly. The Demonic Mana had no effect on the foreigner as he stood up unscathed, looking more unimpressed than he was surprised. He wordlessly raises his hand. In that moment, a magic circle with unknown purple sigils formed around him. Druella's eyes widened as she could feel the Demonic Energy around her immediately vanish.
An unknown magic that was able to cancel out other magic...it was practically unheard of. And considering Demonic Mana was a more powerful variant of the normal mana, what he just did was nothing short of sacrilege. He rejected love and that is a crime not easily forgiven.
"You..." Druella growled. "I will defeat you...and once I do, I will enjoy ravishing your body and have you beg for my embrace."
"Pathetic demon." The Ashen One scoffed, he more or less mocked her for her taunt. "I will paint these halls with your entrails."
He places the Twin Prince's Greatsword back, pulling out the other one which looked more damaged; Gael's Greatsword. The accursed blade used for execution, the browning parts of the blade weren't rust, it was dried blood. The many blood spilled by Gael himself.
Druella gathered more Demonic Mana and slammed her hands down to the ground, trying to send a much more powerful surge but it all deactivated. Her eyes widened, was the magic from before affected the area and not just a one-time cast that disables magic for a brief second? Preposterous...his magic is a danger to many! If he uses it correctly...then he may also cancel Mamonization!
"No matter!" Druella taps into her other reserve, the reserve used by Demon Lords of the past.
The hues of purple began to darken, a color similar to starless nights. The Dark Energy began to envelop her body as her horns grew longer. Her eyes went from the color of ruby to the color of blood, her fangs grew longer and her wings spread bigger. Rather than a Lilim, she actually looked more like the Devil.
"Irony doesn't even to begin..." The Ashen One muttered.
"You may be able to stop magic...but magic isn't the only thing I have, Rusted Slayer!" Druella smiled widely, her body brimming with energy. "Prepare yourself!"
The Fourth Born charged up a dark energy ball before throwing it at him. The Ashen One quickly reacted and rolled to the side, avoiding most of the attack. He still got hit by the explosion radius but wasn't affected much and immediately swung down the Gael's Greatsword. Druella raises an arm to block, powering it with Dark Energy. She expected to be immune to it, as the Dark Energy is that powerful.
Instead, the barrier around her arm shattered and she was sent crashing onto the wall. Widening her eyes, she had no time to react and raised both of her hands to conjure a barrier.
The Ashen One wastes no time and jumps in air, using the momentum to perform a complete 360 swing with enough strength put into it to shatter the barrier once more. He didn't let up, once his sword landed on the ground, he didn't give Druella time to recover and immediately brought the sword to his back and swung again, letting the momentum carry him.
The momentum was strong enough to make him swing a complete circle over two times, one to shatter the barrier again though much easier since Druella didn't complete the barrier in time and another managed to strike horizontally over her abdomen. She hissed in pain as her Dark Energy tanked half of the damage but found that it wasn't enough as evident by the large cut on her exposed belly. She widened her eyes as some of her intestines tried to climb out of her being but she uses her other hand to keep it in.
'Impossible...!' Druella gritted her teeth.
Kirsch was also shocked to see what had transpired; a human like her was able to injure a Lilim. It was not possible in this world.
Making a good decision, Druella evaded an oncoming swing and flew back. Flapping her wings in the air, she glared at the dreaded Rusted Knight. In shock and confusion, what he just did was unheard of. No one in this world could take on Lilims, not humans, not heroes, no one. The only ones who could are the heroes of old, people that are similar to her father. But they were long gone, leaving only his father as the final capable hero of old.
"I-It seems your reputation holds enough truth, Rusted Knight." Druella forced out a smirk, trying to heal her wounds but it took much longer due to the unknown energy from the blade. "You are dangerous, you are a monster." She ends as she drops down on the ground, healed most of her injuries.
"..." The Ashen One only held his greatsword by his shoulder, quiet as he let what Druella said sink in. "Your kind calls me a monster...I find it ironic considering the situation right now. Who was it that ambushed Lescatie and plunder its people? Who is it that forced innocents to bend their ways and plunge them into pits of mindless pleasure? Tell me, who was it?" He spits down on the ground. "In the end, you are not so different from the inquisitors I've slain. Preaching your beliefs, calling me heretic and monster. You disgust me." He wastes no time and dashed towards her, performing another full round swing.
"I am only doing it to save them!" She growled as she ducked down and delivered a punch to him hard in the stomach but he took it. "They are suffering under the rule of the Order and you are aware of it! You even lived amongst them, in the commoner district...in the slums! Where they are taxed beyond belief!"
The Ashen One strikes her on the head, causing her to be stunned as he tries to slam his greatsword on her but she avoiding by flapping her wings. "Yes, I'm very well aware." He replied, causing Druella to be even more confused. "But as much as fools the Order are...you are just as foolish." He spat out. "Death is inevitable, demon."
'That blade of his did more damage than I initially thought, I need to avoid it at all cost.' Druella thought, a bead of sweat trickled over to her forehead before her eyes went toward a heavily damaged wall. 'This place is too tight, making it harder for me to evade his large strikes...I know just the solution.'
The Lilim rushed at him this time, forcing the Ashen One to carefully swing his greatsword as he had no shield on him to block any of her attacks. He swung down but Druella uses her wings as an advantage and dashed, narrowly avoiding getting cleaved in half. However, she wasn't able to avoid it completely as it managed to graze her left leg. She held the pain in. Druella conjured up dark orbs with both her hands and hurled it towards the Ashen One. He quickly tilted his head, avoiding one of the orbs and immediately diving into a roll to avoid the many others.
He gritted his teeth, her barrage of attacks were getting irritating. "Coward." The Ashen One muttered before dodging another dark orb. "I have enough." Opening his palm, pyromancy burst forth in a brilliant display. "Burn."
Druella merely smirked. Her plan worked. Her goal was to lure him close to the damaged wall which would give her an opportunity to turn the tides of the battle. Before he could cast his pyromancy on her, Druella uses her wings to dash and get behind him. Quickly acting, she charged a dark orb on her palm and struck the Ashen One on his back. Caught off guard, he was sent crashing through the wall and flew into the air as he collided with the statue by the fountain, shattering it in the process. With a grunt, he recovered and with masterful acrobatic movement, he used the momentum to flip, reducing the speed and landed on the ground.
He felt that one.
"There, much better." Lilim commented though inside, she was holding her urge to wince as the two slashes he got in really were taking its toll.
He looked around, cursing under his breath. "I see…" Mutters out the Ashen One as he realized he was outside which gives her an advantage.
The Lilim did not take any chances and immediately created clones of herself. They all let out devilishly seductive giggles before each powered up dark orbs. Though he managed to evade her previous onslaught, it would be much harder this time as he had to deal with the clones along with the real Druella.
"There's no running now!" All of Druella's clones and the real one said as they launched spells at him.
The Ashen One growled as he immediately rolled to the left, ducking after as to avoid countless dark orbs. He ran and slid down towards a concrete wall, covering himself from harm. However, he underestimated the power behind the dark orbs as once it collided with the concrete wall, it blew up. Pain surges on his back, he could feel blood trickling down from his head.
He shook his head and the cinders from within burns bright. He barrel rolls to the right, avoiding yet another onslaught as each orbs explodes in contact. He slammed his hand onto the ground and the force behind it was powerful enough to make him stand up and ran again. He took out his Estus Flask and downed it, his injuries healed almost instantly.
Glaring at Druella, he pulled out the Twin Princes' Greatsword and swung it as hard as he could. The veins within the blade grew bright and torrents of flames cleaved through like a wall of fire. Druella and her clones managed to evade it just in time but one of her clones was not prepared for his next move. The foreigner got close to one clone, holding the hilt near his face and thrust forth with all of his might. The Druella and her clones winced as the clone let out a shriek in agony as she was pierced through by the greatsword's thrust that somehow extended its reach in a form of a light before dispelling away.
Druella threw the dark orbs towards him but the Ashen One uses the Twin Princes' Greatsword to cut it in two. He proceeded to slice more of her dark orbs, somehow managing to keep with how many dark orbs there were. She once again tries to overwhelm him with some new tactics but it wasn't working as the Ashen One sees through her tactics.
It seems she wasn't thinking of killing him, the Fourth Born was adamant on her decision to get him to submit. Unfortunately, no matter what she does, it will not work. She didn't realize it but the Vow of Silence's timer had ran out quite a while ago. He decides to use this to repay her.
The Ashen One got close and swung his greatsword, harming the clones and Druella to keep them in check. He kept moving and rolled out of dodge as he charged up a pyromancy spell. With the clones getting within the estimated range, he had to do it now.
"Submit, Rusted Slayer!" Druellas shouted.
"...die." The Ashen One slammed both of his palms down to the ground.
Soon the ground shook as a fire erupted from the courtyard. The fire erupted out, spewing magma and caught a few of the clones, even harming the real Druella in the process. The Fourth Born let out a pained scream at the surprised burns as she and her clones were scorched. She gritted her teeth and flew up, trying to get some distance. However, as she ascended upwards, she screamed once more and as she collapsed to the courtyard, landing on one of her generals' corpses-a Hellhound to be Precise. The Fourth Born looked at her back in confusion and was shocked to see her right wing was burnt and was not healing.
He immediately casted the Vow of Silence once more, the fight was coming to an end. "You are not getting away." The Ashen One stated, slowly he strides in between the countless corpses in the backyard as his imposing figure made its way towards her. "Remember what I promised?"
Panicking, Druella frantically looks around and grabs a sword, a blade filled with Demonic Mana. While used to corrupt humans, she will use it to kill and defend herself. The Rusted Slayer swapped his blade back to Gael's Greatsword, perfect for execution. Druella held her sword tightly as she knew this might be the end as well.
In an instance, they flash towards one another and a sickening sound of a sword plunging into flesh can be heard.
Both gasped in pain as they looked at each other. Druella stabbed him in the gap of his armor on the left side of his torso while the Ashen One plunged her in the stomach on her right side. He couldn't move his greatsword and he had to pull up before he collapsed backwards, groaning in pain while Druella gasped, trying to squeeze out her breath as the gaps on her abdomen was suffocating. The Fourth Born couldn't heal as she couldn't access her magic.
From afar, Kirsch watches over the gaps of the destroyed wall and couldn't believe it. A human defeating a Mamono, not just any human and certainly not just any Mamono. A foreigner not blessed by the Chief God and a Mamono classified as a Lilim, one of the strongest Mamono in the world. And she was the direct fourth child of the Demon Lord as well.
Her rapier lets out a red glow and quickly acting, she throws it away out of her hands. It seems her admiration could be used against her. Grabbing the Knight Shield with two hands, she raises it up and with her all and slams it down, completely shattering the rapier as it lets out a haunting silent scream. Sighing in relief, she can feel her strength returning. Even though it was a prized weapon from her lord, it was a burden more than it is a help.
Back to the two, the Ashen One stood up, stumbling a bit. He shook his head, she got him alright. Had it not been the many experiences he went through in Lothric, this would've been fatal. And unlike her, he had the means to heal himself.
He pulled out the blade from his being and tossed it aside. Taking out the Estus Flask, he took a swig and almost immediately, his wound closed up and not before long, he was brand as new.
Huffing out, the Ashen One opens his mouth. "You have outdid yourself, demon." The foreigner said to her. "All I wanted was to be left alone, my reputation should tell as much but as a fool, you did not heed the warning." He grabbed the hilt of his greatsword, Druella gritted her teeth as he slowly pulled it out, water accumulating in the corner of her eyes. "But maybe with your death, the world would understand to leave me be. Let this place be a reminder of a fool's consequences."
Tears streaming down from her eyes, blood seeps through the corner of her lips. "Spare…me…."
Instantly, his movement halted. "...what?"
"Have….mercy…" She pathetically squeaks out.
His grip tightened and his hands were shaking in anger. "Mercy…? You want mercy?" He could feel his teeth bleeding, he was now beyond furious. "Asking for such a thing after countless people you've forced into submission!? You're as much of a coward as you are a fool!" Grabbing the hilt with two hands, he raises it up. "Heed this, all of this is what begets fools…"
However, before he could finish her off, he was caught off guard when his greatsword was deflected by another weapon and a kick landed on his helmet, sending him skidding across the ground towards the center of the courtyard again. Glaring forward, his sight came upon a child wielding a scythe. His eyes caught their most prominent features; their horns and their hooves. It was a Baphomet, the Mamono who mostly make up the Sabbaths besides the Witches.
"So there are still some of you arrogant enough to interfere." The Ashen One speaks out in a quiet tone, ice laces his words.
"You have killed our kind, our comrades in cold blood…even going as far as harming the Fourth Born! A sin that will not be forgiven!" The Baphomet lists off his "sins" and points her scythe at him. "I am Kuroferuru, My Lady's Shadow. And you will pay for these transgressions, Dreaded Rusted Slayer!"
"If death is what you seek, then you may join your mistress in hell." The Ashen One said coldly, his slouched figure giving out more animosity than before.
"Stand down! All of you!"
The two turn as they see another Baphomet walking with the remaining few generals in tow. The survivors gagged and gasped in horror at the sight of their dead comrades' mutilated corpses. It seems they are not the combat-centric type.
Kurofuru and the newly arrived Baphomet glared at each other as she had one of the generals go to fetch Druella. The fight did more harm to Druella than it did to the Ashen One, his weapons managed to overpower what was once thought to be the most powerful.
"Rusted Slayer, I beg of you to cease this violence." The Baphomet started, "I am well aware that the situation has obviously deteriorated greatly. But still, I plead." She places her hand on her chest, a show of sincerity. "I, Doctor Griselda, beg of you to listen so that there'll be no more bloodshed."
The Ashen One raises his eyebrows as he finds her words to be both amusing and suspicious. "If you speak the truth doctor, then tell me; why should I take your word and not assume any signs of treachery?"
"I understand that you are skeptical, Rusted Slayer." She responded before she let out a sigh. "But as a doctor, I am a healer first and foremost. I want to be the voice of reason and wish to make sure this deal is honored all the way through."
"And the generals behind you?" Voltaire asked.
"We specialize in handling orderly affairs." One of the generals, a black harpy, explained. "We are basically the cleanup if Druella needs us or isn't available."
"..." He thought for a bit. "Your offer, am I to assume I will be left alone once the deal is made?"
She nodded, "Precisely, sir…?" Griselda trailed off, asking for his name.
"...I have no name to speak of, refer to me as you wish." He replied, surprising them.
"Very well, Rusted Slayer." Griselda nods. "You can leave peacefully, there will be no repercussions. I'll go the extra mile to make sure of it." The doctor said as she sighed again. "We have more concerning matter to worry about."
"But-!" Kuroferuru tried to argue and was quickly silent by Griselda when she sent a spine-shiverring glare at her direction.
"Silence!" Griselda shouted, her eyes dilated and her face contorted. "Rusted Slayer, you are free to go."
"Then I shall take your word for it." He turns around, putting Gael's Greatsword on his back. "But if you fail to meet the end of your deal…I will come back." He turned his head slightly. "And I will have her head, her siblings' heads, the Demon Lord's head, your head, and the heads of those related to you…and I will decorate the Demon Lord's palace with it."
Everyone froze in fear, his threat was sound and Griselda knew very well not to take it seriously. Having nothing more to say, he walks away, disappearing over the distance.
The doctor looked over Druella's form, her wings burnt and a hole through her stomach can be seen. After enduring the pain for quite some time, she had lost consciousness. The medic squad are tending her whilst Kuroferuru holds her hand with tears in her eyes. Griselda knew what she was thinking, and she wasn't about to let her have her way. Not after what had just transpired.
"Whatever it is you're thinking, don't." Griselda narrowed her eyes. "I will not condone any search for that man."
"You just let him get away!" Frustrated, she bared her fangs at Griselda. "You should've just let me defeat him!"
"Defeat?" Griselda blinked, surprised at Kuroferuru's assumption. "You? Defeating the very individual that had caused your mistress to be in this state? The very same man that managed to eviscerate fleets of Mamono? As a Baphomet, I'm surprised you think you're capable of handling that man."
"I am capable! I can-"
"Look around you!" Griselda glared at her. "We have received enough damage for today and we are not going to suffer more. Any attempts at reaching the Rusted Slayer will be swiftly met with punishment. I will meet my end of the bargain."
"Her Highness won't be happy with this!" Kuroferuru replied, still angry.
"No, but she will have to accept it." Griselda looks over the mountain of corpses. "Lest this will be the sight of our home."
The Ashen One stared at Lescatie, the fires had all been extinguished and smokes were coming out of the city. The city was done for and all the innocent people had escaped elsewhere. He was sure that the Mamono won't chase him or them anymore, not after the massacre he left. His reputation will be known throughout the lands and he wasn't sure what to think of it. He supposed he had let his emotion get the better of him this time despite not wanting any attention...
Closing his eyes, he turns and continues to walk. Where, he wasn't sure. But he wanted to leave and be nowhere near any Mamono territory…or Order territory.
As he wanders out of Lescatie's borders, he hears footsteps from behind. "Wait." He turns around to see the woman who was under the mercy of Druella earlier.
"What are you doing here?" He asks bluntly.
"Your shield." Kirsch unstrapped the Knight Shield from her back and presented it to him. "You forgot your shield."
"..." The Ashen One wordlessly took the Knight Shield and put it on his back. "You have my gratitude."
"No, thank you for coming in." Kirsch shook her head. "Had it not been for you, I would've…" She trailed off, Kirsch didn't want to think of the fate had Druella succeeded in her take over of Lescatie. "So thank you, for saving me."
"..." The Ashen One was not used to receiving gratitude, he merely did what he did for himself. "It is of no consequence." He turns around and continues his track.
"Wait…" He halted his tracks. "How…how did you get so strong?"
"..."
He began to reminisce about his time in both Lordran and Lothric, the fights, the deaths, the foes he defeated. His path to getting power was not an easy one, one might go hollow but he managed to pull through. He was an Unkindled now, he was just one of the many failures who was foolish enough to attempt to link the flame and got overwhelmed by the First Flame's power. Yet he was able to end it all.
This world was not like his, the endless cycle of violence and rule was what made him strive for greater strength. It doesn't exist in this world…
"Struggle." The Ashen One finally replied.
"Struggle…?" Kirsch blinked, confused.
"Struggle is key to power." He continues.
Silence filled as wind brushes over them. Kirsch did not understand what he exactly meant, but that was precisely why she wanted to know.
"...can I follow you?" She wasn't sure how to ask, the foreigner doesn't seem like the type to have companions on his travels.
The Ashen One lets out a quiet sigh, the woman didn't mean him any harm and she did return his shield. "Do what you want."
A smile of relief appeared on her face, it was subtle and can easily be missed but it was there. As the Ashen One walks away, an assassin with no lord to serve follows…
The ringed sun that was fading.
Sit at the center of where it all started surrounded by countless blades of fallen Unkindled, was the Kiln of the First Flame or what remains of it. The First Flame that was a shred of what it once was glows dim, a testament of the many times the First Flame was linked. The First Flame...
The cause of it all.
His journey in Lothric had not been easy-far from it. He had faced countless deaths just so he could reach here. Many monsters he slain, many Lords of Cinder defeated, many horrors, foes and allies alike...it was not an easy journey. When he came face to face with the Soul of Cinder, he knew his journey had come to an end.
He has a choice to make.
Preserve, let the Age of Fire continue. Do what he was reborn for again, link the flame like the many exalted lords before him.
Or...end the fire, let it fade so darkness may settle once more.
He stares at the remnants of the Soul of Cinder, nothing but ashes, much like himself. The Age of Fire, the First Flame, did more damage than good. Gwynn tried to preserve it for so long and countless other Undead followed, even the current Soul of Cinder. Because of that, the world turned upside down, time was shattered and the lands distorted. Continuing to preserve is to continue to destroy the very place they all lived in.
He turned his head at the summon sign, he was ready to make his choice.
What Begets Fools
The Ashen One awakes under the sound of distant cries.
His eyes shoot open and sits up, shaking his head from the grogginess fogging his mind. The chaos that permeates through his eardrums did not help but he knew very well that it wasn't anything normal. Gaining his senses, the Ashen One frowned and immediately set out to see what was happening. It didn't take long for to find out.
Through the window, he can see the city of Lescatie covered in fires and mysterious purple mist. Roars of violence and moans of lust told him what he needed to know.
He had been in Lecastie for about a year. After he smothered the First Flame and let darkness settle, he somehow wound up in this strange new world known as Eos. Lescatie is the city state under the theocracy of the Order of the Chief God. A grand city built to be an impenetrable jewel, a jewel that fools the fools. It has its own sets of problems but as a foreigner not just to these lands but to the world itself, he finds it too bothersome to get too involved and merely wanted to be left alone. The only reminder of his old world was his job as a mercenary, nothing more.
It was only natural the Ashen One didn't join the Order. He was not one for faith, disillusioned after the events of Gael in the Ringed City. Even the Hero of the Generation, Wilmarina Noscrim, tried to convince him to join but he adamantly refused. Priests and Inquisitors alike also tried to get him join through various methods. Intimidation didn't work, the Ashen One received far worse threats. The fanatics' masks fell to reveal the ugly truth beneath the surface; Lescatie was not a jewel and the Order weren't people of good faith.
Their greed for power and materialism sits above all else and faith was last...most likely never even to be considered.
While fanatics or lunatics are nothing new to the Ashen One, what was new are the monsters of Eos disguised as shameless harlots craving for the embrace of men. Despite being monsters themselves, when faced with unrestrained violence, they called those that impose such things as monsters.
How ironic.
This world was strange, even stranger than he had anticipated.
His questions remain unanswered, what were these monsters?
The Ashen One got his answer after stealing a certain book; the Monster Girls Encyclopedia. A book that details many entries of every single type of monsters, or Mamono as they are called in these lands. All their needs, how their bodies work, their behavior, habitats, their weakness. From what he had read, they were made or changed more specifically by the current Demon Lord who was once a Succubus after the previous Demon Lord fell at the hands of a hero. She also happens to be another fool with an ambition of uniting all humans through mindless pleasure.
Such notion sickens the Ashen One. Uniting the world was itself a fool's ideal let alone through such crude and depraved method. The urge to bash her head in was ever present even now. The Order was even more ridiculous which brings him to now.
This one book can help the Order in their crusade by a huge margin. Knowledge is power after all, intel from opposing forces are invaluable. However, as he continues on his days in Lescatie, he learns two things. The first is that the book was said to be cursed, that it was presumed to transform any woman into Mamono and any men into Incubi which was a profoundly idiotic assumption considering it was made by a human, not a Mamono. The second issue is that the Order demanded these books to be destroyed should any devout believers find them, and anyone found holding it will be executed as well.
This had dwindled down their chance of victory by a lot. Not helped by the fact that he noticed as the year went by, Mamono presence around Lecastie's borders were getting abundant. And it was here he also noticed the nobles' sins. They failed terribly at handling the welfare within the city and instead of taking this threat seriously, they opted to serve their own greed by raising the tax on the commoners, causing anger and unrest over ninety percent of the population.
It was only a matter of time.
And now it happened.
The Invasion of Lecastie.
The Mamono appeared and began unleashing their combined might. It was clear what they were aiming for; Lescatie was known to be the Order's pride and joy as well as the Impenetrable Jewel, a safe haven from the terrors of the Demon Lord. By taking over such a famed city, they will show the world their power while also striking fear into the hearts of the Order. If it were to fall, then the Order would be backed into a corner of which they have no escape from.
And in this very moment, it was precisely what the Ashen One was going to do. But escaping the city was harder than it seems especially with the chaos that was unleashed by both sides.
"..." He held in the urge to sigh at the sight of the burning city.
He needs to pack up the bare necessities before he goes out on a long journey. He managed to get his gears into his arsenal, some spare casual clothing, the materials, and most importantly his hard-earned money from all the quests he had done as a mercenary. Everything was ready and now he merely needed to plot a route out of the ci-
KNOCK KNOCK!
Just then, he heard a knock on his door.
Hearing knocking made the Ashen One raise an eyebrow. The knock was far too casual for a city about to fall at the hands of the Mamono. Clearly, something was wrong. Narrowing his eyes to form a glare, he took his Lothric Straight Sword out in a slow but thoughtful maneuver. The blade let out a glow as the knock began to get louder.
BOOM!
'As I suspected...' The Ashen One thought to himself as the door flung open, hitting the wall.
In came a couple of the Order Inquisitors, three of them. They brandished their weapons out into their hands and their intentions were laced on their faces. It didn't help with their killing intent covering his abode like smokes. It seems they were ready to kill for whatever incredulous reason they have for a foreigner such as him.
"Inquisitors." The Ashen One grips the hilt tightly. "What do you want?"
They glared at him, "Foreigner, you are found guilty of treason and assisting the Mamono!" Said one of the fools.
"...treason?" The Ashen One could feel disgust climbing into his being. "Lescatie is under a siege...and you dare come into my abode and claim myself as the enemy of the Order? Imbeciles, the lot of you. It is no revelation that Mamono managed to ambush this city."
The Order Inquisitors growled at his rebuttal. They were well aware why he had thought so and getting it placed in front of them to make them swallow the truth was quite unpleasant. The Order wanted him dead, that much was clear. But without evidence, any accusations would be baseless and considered tyranny.
The leader looked down and smirked. "It seems we have the evidence." The leader said as he stabbed something with his sword and pulled it up to reveal their evidence. "The book of the heretics…"
"By the Chief God, what heresy!"
"This will serve you no good, Foreigner!"
"The book of the heretics..." The Ashen One sighs. "The book of the heretics as you claimed would help the Order in their crusades." He said as he grips the Lothric Straight Sword tightly while putting his left arm behind his back. "That book is a key to defeating the Demon Lord but you refused to use it due to your "faith"..."
"Face it, heretic!" The leader yelled with a manic look. "Your reasoning bore the symbol of treachery! You can't fool us! You are at an end!"
"Fools..." The Ashen One growled, irritated at their idiocy. "If this is how you deem it to be..." The cinder that was hidden within him sprouted forth as he conjured up a pyromancy spell. "Then by all means, suffer."
He pulled his left hand and threw the devastating spell at the Order agents who weren't quick enough to respond as nearly all of them were killed save for the leader. He was able to take the flame due to his Mana Level albeit he was still left screaming as he flails his arms around to try and put out the fire but to no avail.
"AHHHHH!" The leader roared out as the flame continued to eat his skin to crisps. "Heresy! HERESY!" He fell down to his knees, clutching his face. "I will kill you!"
The leader was then used as a stepping stool as he can feel the sole boots of the Foreigner weighing down his back. "Your words befit a lunatic, the pathetic kind as well. Licking the feet of your superiors like dogs." The Ashen One stares down, even when his face is hidden under the helmet, the leader could feel the look of disgust. "You chose to chase a foreigner who is doing a better job at keeping the Mamono from consuming this city than the Order ever will be, instead of saving the countless pleading innocents."
"Lunatic? Me? H-Heresy..." The leader grits his teeth, blood seeps out from his mouth. "DIE, HERETIC SCUM!"
The leader took out something the Ashen One would describe as a dagger. Doing nothing, the inquisitor fool stabbed the Ashen One with his dagger, feeling the blade entering the once empty vessel of ash.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU INSIGNIFI-" Before he could end his sentence with his maniacal laughter, the Ashen One merely grabbed his head.
"You wish to die a painful death?" The gauntlet made a clunking sound as the lunatic's laughter morphed into torment. "Very well." Mustering his strength, the Ashen One begins to slowly crush the inquisitor's head, slowly as the skull begins to crack like an egg. "The only heresy here is assuming a puny blade is enough to take an Unkindled down."
"AHHHH-"
The lunatic didn't get to scream louder as his head was burst under the Ashen One's grip, splattering brain matter and blood all over his gauntlets and floor. Although his head was crushed, it still left his lower mouth which remains open, clearly showing how agonizing his death was. The Ashen One threw the body to the side and flicked his hand to get some of the blood and gore off.
He scoffed, "Getting your vile blood on my blade would mean staining my honor." His urge to spit was there but even he considers his spit to be too high for a fool like the inquisitor. "In the end, fools will remain fools." He looks outside through the door frame, seeing the chaos getting worse by the second. "Hopefully, it isn't troublesome to escape from the city."
He knew hoping was nothing short of idealistic, but he had enough of cruelty to wish for otherwise.
Seems like he was being idealistic indeed.
The path to escape was more of a problem than he'd like.
After leaving his home, the Ashen One began to look for any pathways that lead out of the city. However, he is finding the situation dire by the minute. He kept crossing through the streets as he witnessed panic mobs of humans trying to escape from the doomed city all the while the Mamono took advantage of the situation, venting their carnal desires onto the unknowing innocents as they claimed their "husbands" and transformed human women into more Manono.
The Ashen One gritted his teeth, this was getting ridiculous. It seems the Mamono won't be able to learn their lesson unless he does something about it. They masked their lust under the justified "love". Their beliefs on the Demon Lord was already idiotic enough, because she herself believed the Sabbath would fix the damages they've done when nothing is confirmed yet.
The entry in the Monster Girl Encyclopedia did say that they are very knowledgeable and advanced for Mamono as they brought innovations that even left him baffled. Ideas like airships, music boxes, advanced mine carts and the like. But unfortunately, the book also mentioned that this group of Mamono are also a cult of sorts. Trying to spread this insane ideology of 'Loli Superiority' to the rest of the world.
They were no better than the rest of their kind, dictated by their own carnal desires.
And they were supposed to be the smarter bunch.
Growling, the Ashen One kept going before seeing a group of humans running from the Mamono, heading towards the north west gate, the only side that hadn't been cornered yet. Narrowing his eyes, the Ashen One realizes that this may be his chance.
One poor sod was about to be jumped by a werecat. He closed his eyes to accept his fate before feeling a liquid of sorts splashing onto his being. He opened his eyes as he gagged in shock at the now beheaded feline humanoid, spurting blood from the decapitated head like a fountain before falling down.
Even the other Mamono froze in place at such a violent display.
"Don't just sit there, escape." Spoke a deep voice.
The poor peasant looked up as he saw the foreigner wearing knight armor of unknown origin. He was famous around the poorer parts of Lecastie as he sometimes offered help in exchange for information and money. After his appearance, the slums had never been more safe as the thieves, the local bandits were all slain by this one single man. So to see his figure made the peasant breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'll take care of them. Take this moment to flee."
Not wanting to be told twice, the surviving humans agreed as they ran as the foreigner glared at the Mamono before him. "T-Thank you!"
"Hey! Don't you dare deny us our future husbands, you Order monster!" A Mamono shouted, the intimidation only works against her as the Ashen One can see her quaking in her boots.
Or hoofs to be exact. The Mamono in question was a Minotaur, the bastardized version of it.
All she got in response was a spine-shivering chuckle as the foreigner pointed his sword at her. "Calling me a monster yet again?" The Ashen One huffed as he took his stance. "Then I'll use you lot as a message to your superior." This made the Mamono to gulp nervously as he took a stance. "I may be outnumbered, but I am not outmatched. You all are hesitant to murder which makes this easier for me."
With that, the Ashen One charged at them with the intent to kill as the Mamono stood frozen in fear.
It became a gore fest.
The Ashen One started to kill any Mamono that rushed him, and he wasn't kind enough to let the fleeing ones go as they're the ones to face a gruesome death the most. Any Mamono that tried to claim the escaping humans or capture him met their end to his blade. His claymore bathed in the blood as he fought and killed vigorously. He soon began to march forward as he had to find better ground. The Ashen One walked amongst the countless corpses of Mamono, the fire behind him shadows his figure as he soon came face to face with an Ogre.
A commander who had half her company with her was wondering what was the cause of the many frightened Mamono retreating.
She soon finds the reason. "You..." She took out a waraxe made purely out of Demon Silver. "You will fall for me and I will spend the rest of my days violating you."
"Then you will join the rest of them." The Ashen One replied, motioning his head towards the towering mountain of corpses behind him.
As expected of a commander, she put up a better fight than the rest. Her strength as an Ogre proved to be much stronger than he initially thought as he was thrown hard to a wall. He felt that but it wasn't enough. He took out the Lothric Straight Sword and flared pyromancy on his left hand to make a short work of these harlots. Although she was stronger than the many other Mamono he had fought, the things he had faced in Lothric was far greater.
In the end, the fourth commander is dead as well as her entire followers. Luckily, their dying breaths told him that the rest of the Mamono were converging into the castle. The Ashen One decided if he goes there now, there is a good chance the superior who commands the army would be there along with her generals. He vowed to make an example out of them all, effectively killing two birds with one stone.
The foreigner huffs out as he flicks his blade before going to the castle. Along the way, he slaughtered many Mamono who assumed he was a defenseless weakling open for gourmet. He then arrived to see the courtyard, where most of the generals and Mamono had already breached the perimeters and were assaulting the guards.
The Ashen One narrowed his eyes as he put the straight sword back into the scabbard by his hips. "Seems this beckoned to be more thorough," He said before he took a look into his arsenal. "I have all I need." He got up as he held out a pair of Kukris, poison daggers, firebombs, his Talisman and Pyromancy ready. "Let this be done with."
Kirsch began running away.
Like a coward.
Something she thought she abandoned since she became Bishop Noscrim's assassin.
Yet some things haven't changed.
Lescatie was ambushed and everything had gone to hell. The Mamono somehow managed to breach the defenses and overran the city. The very city claimed to be impenetrable and safe haven for outsiders. The city now was nothing more than its former glory, fires erupted and the Mamono crawled in every corner. She needed to escape fast and without detection.
Her lord promised to meet up with her after they got separated. He ordered her to go and save his daughter, Wilmarina. Unfortunately, that turned out to be naught.
Wilmarina Noscrim.
The Chosen Hero of the Order.
Leader of the Ice Flowers.
And Bishop Noscrim's daughter, and only child.
She had transformed into a monster.
A Succubus to be exact, and she is currently having fornication with the boy that her father banished; Elton Dragmire. And she wasn't alone in the act, he was also assaulted by other Mamono that she would rather not list off. The unholy sight sinks onto her being as the realization hits.
She failed.
Kirsch, for the first time, failed in a mission to save her lord's daughter. And now the purple-haired assassin is on the run now. Trying to escape from this place alive. However, she had the displeasure of facing the Fourth Born, Druella herself. She claims that she could 'liberate' Kirsch from the horrors of being a human, that she is cursed and must be freed from the Chief God.
Kirsch continues to flee before slipping on the floor. She grits her teeth in frustration, this must be due to all that running and the Demonic Mana in the air weakening her. Kirsch tried to stand up but fell down to her knees again. Just then, a shadow was casted onto her being, her blood immediately ran cold. She looks up to see Druella smiling rather seductively.
She was at the end of her ropes now that Druella found her.
Quickly, she used the remaining strength within her and threw a couple of knives in her last attempt to escape only for the knives to be deflected by Druella's barrier. "Dear Kirsch..." The Fourth Born had a naughty, prideful and arrogant smirk as she now walked stridently as she won now. "Just give up, there's nothing else you can do. Lescatie had fallen and so did the Order."
"You...heretic...!" Kirsch cursed under her breath. "You will not get away with this!"
Victory is now in her hands.
Lecastie is now hers.
"On the contrary, I will." Her smile widens to form a sickening grin. "Once I overtake Lescatie, the world shall face the might of the Demon Lord! And then we will finally..." The thought of conquering the world aroused the Fourth Born so much her breathing became erratic. "Ah, what joy! And you will be one of the lucky Mamono to be able to witness utopia!" She raised both her hands, as if handing out a revelation. "Mother will-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence as an explosion shook the castle.
"What the-!?"
A figure shot through the glass panes. Dust covered the room, hindering their vision. Druella jumped back in shock while Kirsch stayed frozen in place. They stared at the figure that stood between them, his feet crushed the shattered glass as his armor can be seen. The individual in question sighed in relief, his armor clanking as he stood up, causing the Lilim to growl.
'What...?' As an assassin, she could smell blood.
"Who goes there!?" Druella demanded.
It was when the dust cleared that they received their answer.
Lying on the floor was a corpse, the upper half remains of one of Druella's generals to be specific. An Arch Succubus, dead. It seems she was decapitated by a powerful blade with tremendous strength to back it up.
Both women gasped in shock at the corpse now settling into their minds. Druella snarled while Kirsch wished she could stand, but remained frozen in place. The two then continue to observe as the dust clears up completely. Shifting as he brought his greatsword over his shoulder, his stance unwavering and his armor covered in blood. Even under the scent of her fallen comrades, Druella can smell that he was a man.
The man's armor was colored silver that seems to have seen better days with its lack of luster. There were also some patches of clothing and belts to keep the pieces in place. Around his neck is a brown cloth that can be mistaken as a scarf. The other piece of clothing was the blue rags of some kind wrapping around his torso.
Strapped on his person were a variety of equipment; a shield, one sharing the same color and state of his armor with strange engravings they are not familiar with and three weapons, two equally large blades and a straight sword by his hips. The large blades had strange designs as well, one had the color of an eclipse and seems to be broken while the other one which was the one he had on his shoulder seems to be in a better condition as evident with its glowing veins, teeming with unknown energy. It was shaped weirdly but even they could tell how deadly it was.
The two women immediately recognized this person.
To Kirsch, he was the foreigner who rejected their offer to join the Order ranks to get rid of the revolting Mamono. She was surprised to find that out considering the fate of many before him. Kirsch still remembered the time her lord, Bishop Noscrim, ranting in anger when foreign knight refused to listen to them. Not just her lord, even to the people of higher status like the nobles, priests and the king.
As for the Lilim, she was made aware of this man-no.
This monster.
She had heard of this monster's exploits. How he ruthlessly killed and maimed Mamono without any disregard of their livelihood. Even the spies that were sent to his way, from Hero class Mamono to Kunoichis, stood no chance to him. Nothing from charming to seduction to outright rape worked on him. They all failed. The rumors surrounding him grew and the Mamono became restless. Even Hel took notice of it and demanded all Mamono to avoid contact with this man at all costs.
However, Druella did not heed Hel's warning and went to search for him. Have him kneel before her to face the consequences of his actions. She even assumed he would have been held captive by now due to the chaos of Lecastie and would be easily ambushed by her soldiers. But she was wrong.
It looks like he found her instead.
He swung the greatsword to his right side, flicking away any blood still fresh on it as he pulled it back to his shoulder. He did not care where the blood splattered, he had bigger concerns now. He then did something unexpected and plunged his greatsword in between Kirsch and Druella. This was surprising for both as this knight is standing between a human affiliated with the Order and a Lilim, one of the strongest of the Mamono.
He takes a look around, seemingly surprised. "It looks like I'm in the right place, what a coincidence." He then stared at Druella. "I assume you're the cause of all this." The Ashen One said as he placed his hand on top of the hilt like a proper knight. "I will deliver upon you death, demon." Just as he said that, his armor lit up like fire, releasing cinders around.
The two shivered at the venom laced in his tone but Druella aren't one to be intimidated by such a display. "Ah, the dreaded Rusted Slayer." Druella said as she glared at the man before her. "What an honor to see you in person if not for..." She looked down at the corpse of her general, releasing a sigh. "Was it really necessary to make a mess? Killing one of my own generals...she was still looking for a husband, you know?"
"I care not for her aspirations..." The Ashen One trailed off, as if mocking her. "...along with others'."
Kirsch had her eyes immediately widened, 'D-Did he...?'
"W-What?" Druella's lips began to quiver, she had just noticed now that the sounds outside were unnaturally quiet. "You killed them all!?"
"Yes, most of your generals are all dead now." The Ashen One repeated. "I also slaughtered the sways of Mamono they commanded. Enough numbers for them to stop pursuing me and the innocents." Cracking his neck, he pulled out the greatsword from the ground. "Now all that remains is you, demon."
"Challenging me?" She looked like she wanted to laugh, but with how many he had slain, she couldn't. "Many before you had fallen for this very reason...are you adamant about this decision?"
"For a harlot, you sure speak a lot."
"So be it, Rusted Slayer..." Druella snarled as she unleashed a full miasma of her Demonic Mana.
She swiped her hands in an arc motion and immediately floored the corridor with her magic. The Ashen One let out a grunt as he held his blade up and bent forward a little to resist the surge. The surge was powerful enough to blow his Knight Shield away, skidding across towards Kirsch who was still kneeling on the floor. Due to being a human born in the world of Eos, she is vulnerable to the mana that Mamono exudes. Add in her rapier that is actually a secret demonic sword and it's a miracle she hadn't transformed yet. She could feel the Demonic Energy coursing through the ground. It was trying to reach for her, but she refused to turn into Mamono.
Quickly, with all her strength, she stood up and reached for the Knight Shield. Once she grabbed the handle on its back, she lifted it and was surprised at how heavy it was but didn't want to pay it any more attention and slammed it on the ground, performing a barricade stance. It was a good move as the shield was powerful enough to direct the surge of Demonic Mana away from her, like a huge rock in the middle of a downstream river.
Druella narrowed her eyes, that was the most power she had mustered and it should be able to change any humans within a mile radius into Mamono or Incubi almost instantly. The Demonic Mana had no effect on the foreigner as he stood up unscathed, looking more unimpressed than he was surprised. He wordlessly raises his hand. In that moment, a magic circle with unknown purple sigils formed around him. Druella's eyes widened as she could feel the Demonic Energy around her immediately vanish.
An unknown magic that was able to cancel out other magic...it was practically unheard of. And considering Demonic Mana was a more powerful variant of the normal mana, what he just did was nothing short of sacrilege. He rejected love and that is a crime not easily forgiven.
"You..." Druella growled. "I will defeat you...and once I do, I will enjoy ravishing your body and have you beg for my embrace."
"Pathetic demon." The Ashen One scoffed, he more or less mocked her for her taunt. "I will paint these halls with your entrails."
He places the Twin Prince's Greatsword back, pulling out the other one which looked more damaged; Gael's Greatsword. The accursed blade used for execution, the browning parts of the blade weren't rust, it was dried blood. The many blood spilled by Gael himself.
Druella gathered more Demonic Mana and slammed her hands down to the ground, trying to send a much more powerful surge but it all deactivated. Her eyes widened, was the magic from before affected the area and not just a one-time cast that disables magic for a brief second? Preposterous...his magic is a danger to many! If he uses it correctly...then he may also cancel Mamonization!
"No matter!" Druella taps into her other reserve, the reserve used by Demon Lords of the past.
The hues of purple began to darken, a color similar to starless nights. The Dark Energy began to envelop her body as her horns grew longer. Her eyes went from the color of ruby to the color of blood, her fangs grew longer and her wings spread bigger. Rather than a Lilim, she actually looked more like the Devil.
"Irony doesn't even to begin..." The Ashen One muttered.
"You may be able to stop magic...but magic isn't the only thing I have, Rusted Slayer!" Druella smiled widely, her body brimming with energy. "Prepare yourself!"
The Fourth Born charged up a dark energy ball before throwing it at him. The Ashen One quickly reacted and rolled to the side, avoiding most of the attack. He still got hit by the explosion radius but wasn't affected much and immediately swung down the Gael's Greatsword. Druella raises an arm to block, powering it with Dark Energy. She expected to be immune to it, as the Dark Energy is that powerful.
Instead, the barrier around her arm shattered and she was sent crashing onto the wall. Widening her eyes, she had no time to react and raised both of her hands to conjure a barrier.
The Ashen One wastes no time and jumps in air, using the momentum to perform a complete 360 swing with enough strength put into it to shatter the barrier once more. He didn't let up, once his sword landed on the ground, he didn't give Druella time to recover and immediately brought the sword to his back and swung again, letting the momentum carry him.
The momentum was strong enough to make him swing a complete circle over two times, one to shatter the barrier again though much easier since Druella didn't complete the barrier in time and another managed to strike horizontally over her abdomen. She hissed in pain as her Dark Energy tanked half of the damage but found that it wasn't enough as evident by the large cut on her exposed belly. She widened her eyes as some of her intestines tried to climb out of her being but she uses her other hand to keep it in.
'Impossible...!' Druella gritted her teeth.
Kirsch was also shocked to see what had transpired; a human like her was able to injure a Lilim. It was not possible in this world.
Making a good decision, Druella evaded an oncoming swing and flew back. Flapping her wings in the air, she glared at the dreaded Rusted Knight. In shock and confusion, what he just did was unheard of. No one in this world could take on Lilims, not humans, not heroes, no one. The only ones who could are the heroes of old, people that are similar to her father. But they were long gone, leaving only his father as the final capable hero of old.
"I-It seems your reputation holds enough truth, Rusted Knight." Druella forced out a smirk, trying to heal her wounds but it took much longer due to the unknown energy from the blade. "You are dangerous, you are a monster." She ends as she drops down on the ground, healed most of her injuries.
"..." The Ashen One only held his greatsword by his shoulder, quiet as he let what Druella said sink in. "Your kind calls me a monster...I find it ironic considering the situation right now. Who was it that ambushed Lescatie and plunder its people? Who is it that forced innocents to bend their ways and plunge them into pits of mindless pleasure? Tell me, who was it?" He spits down on the ground. "In the end, you are not so different from the inquisitors I've slain. Preaching your beliefs, calling me heretic and monster. You disgust me." He wastes no time and dashed towards her, performing another full round swing.
"I am only doing it to save them!" She growled as she ducked down and delivered a punch to him hard in the stomach but he took it. "They are suffering under the rule of the Order and you are aware of it! You even lived amongst them, in the commoner district...in the slums! Where they are taxed beyond belief!"
The Ashen One strikes her on the head, causing her to be stunned as he tries to slam his greatsword on her but she avoiding by flapping her wings. "Yes, I'm very well aware." He replied, causing Druella to be even more confused. "But as much as fools the Order are...you are just as foolish." He spat out. "Death is inevitable, demon."
'That blade of his did more damage than I initially thought, I need to avoid it at all cost.' Druella thought, a bead of sweat trickled over to her forehead before her eyes went toward a heavily damaged wall. 'This place is too tight, making it harder for me to evade his large strikes...I know just the solution.'
The Lilim rushed at him this time, forcing the Ashen One to carefully swing his greatsword as he had no shield on him to block any of her attacks. He swung down but Druella uses her wings as an advantage and dashed, narrowly avoiding getting cleaved in half. However, she wasn't able to avoid it completely as it managed to graze her left leg. She held the pain in. Druella conjured up dark orbs with both her hands and hurled it towards the Ashen One. He quickly tilted his head, avoiding one of the orbs and immediately diving into a roll to avoid the many others.
He gritted his teeth, her barrage of attacks were getting irritating. "Coward." The Ashen One muttered before dodging another dark orb. "I have enough." Opening his palm, pyromancy burst forth in a brilliant display. "Burn."
Druella merely smirked. Her plan worked. Her goal was to lure him close to the damaged wall which would give her an opportunity to turn the tides of the battle. Before he could cast his pyromancy on her, Druella uses her wings to dash and get behind him. Quickly acting, she charged a dark orb on her palm and struck the Ashen One on his back. Caught off guard, he was sent crashing through the wall and flew into the air as he collided with the statue by the fountain, shattering it in the process. With a grunt, he recovered and with masterful acrobatic movement, he used the momentum to flip, reducing the speed and landed on the ground.
He felt that one.
"There, much better." Lilim commented though inside, she was holding her urge to wince as the two slashes he got in really were taking its toll.
He looked around, cursing under his breath. "I see…" Mutters out the Ashen One as he realized he was outside which gives her an advantage.
The Lilim did not take any chances and immediately created clones of herself. They all let out devilishly seductive giggles before each powered up dark orbs. Though he managed to evade her previous onslaught, it would be much harder this time as he had to deal with the clones along with the real Druella.
"There's no running now!" All of Druella's clones and the real one said as they launched spells at him.
The Ashen One growled as he immediately rolled to the left, ducking after as to avoid countless dark orbs. He ran and slid down towards a concrete wall, covering himself from harm. However, he underestimated the power behind the dark orbs as once it collided with the concrete wall, it blew up. Pain surges on his back, he could feel blood trickling down from his head.
He shook his head and the cinders from within burns bright. He barrel rolls to the right, avoiding yet another onslaught as each orbs explodes in contact. He slammed his hand onto the ground and the force behind it was powerful enough to make him stand up and ran again. He took out his Estus Flask and downed it, his injuries healed almost instantly.
Glaring at Druella, he pulled out the Twin Princes' Greatsword and swung it as hard as he could. The veins within the blade grew bright and torrents of flames cleaved through like a wall of fire. Druella and her clones managed to evade it just in time but one of her clones was not prepared for his next move. The foreigner got close to one clone, holding the hilt near his face and thrust forth with all of his might. The Druella and her clones winced as the clone let out a shriek in agony as she was pierced through by the greatsword's thrust that somehow extended its reach in a form of a light before dispelling away.
Druella threw the dark orbs towards him but the Ashen One uses the Twin Princes' Greatsword to cut it in two. He proceeded to slice more of her dark orbs, somehow managing to keep with how many dark orbs there were. She once again tries to overwhelm him with some new tactics but it wasn't working as the Ashen One sees through her tactics.
It seems she wasn't thinking of killing him, the Fourth Born was adamant on her decision to get him to submit. Unfortunately, no matter what she does, it will not work. She didn't realize it but the Vow of Silence's timer had ran out quite a while ago. He decides to use this to repay her.
The Ashen One got close and swung his greatsword, harming the clones and Druella to keep them in check. He kept moving and rolled out of dodge as he charged up a pyromancy spell. With the clones getting within the estimated range, he had to do it now.
"Submit, Rusted Slayer!" Druellas shouted.
"...die." The Ashen One slammed both of his palms down to the ground.
Soon the ground shook as a fire erupted from the courtyard. The fire erupted out, spewing magma and caught a few of the clones, even harming the real Druella in the process. The Fourth Born let out a pained scream at the surprised burns as she and her clones were scorched. She gritted her teeth and flew up, trying to get some distance. However, as she ascended upwards, she screamed once more and as she collapsed to the courtyard, landing on one of her generals' corpses-a Hellhound to be Precise. The Fourth Born looked at her back in confusion and was shocked to see her right wing was burnt and was not healing.
He immediately casted the Vow of Silence once more, the fight was coming to an end. "You are not getting away." The Ashen One stated, slowly he strides in between the countless corpses in the backyard as his imposing figure made its way towards her. "Remember what I promised?"
Panicking, Druella frantically looks around and grabs a sword, a blade filled with Demonic Mana. While used to corrupt humans, she will use it to kill and defend herself. The Rusted Slayer swapped his blade back to Gael's Greatsword, perfect for execution. Druella held her sword tightly as she knew this might be the end as well.
In an instance, they flash towards one another and a sickening sound of a sword plunging into flesh can be heard.
Both gasped in pain as they looked at each other. Druella stabbed him in the gap of his armor on the left side of his torso while the Ashen One plunged her in the stomach on her right side. He couldn't move his greatsword and he had to pull up before he collapsed backwards, groaning in pain while Druella gasped, trying to squeeze out her breath as the gaps on her abdomen was suffocating. The Fourth Born couldn't heal as she couldn't access her magic.
From afar, Kirsch watches over the gaps of the destroyed wall and couldn't believe it. A human defeating a Mamono, not just any human and certainly not just any Mamono. A foreigner not blessed by the Chief God and a Mamono classified as a Lilim, one of the strongest Mamono in the world. And she was the direct fourth child of the Demon Lord as well.
Her rapier lets out a red glow and quickly acting, she throws it away out of her hands. It seems her admiration could be used against her. Grabbing the Knight Shield with two hands, she raises it up and with her all and slams it down, completely shattering the rapier as it lets out a haunting silent scream. Sighing in relief, she can feel her strength returning. Even though it was a prized weapon from her lord, it was a burden more than it is a help.
Back to the two, the Ashen One stood up, stumbling a bit. He shook his head, she got him alright. Had it not been the many experiences he went through in Lothric, this would've been fatal. And unlike her, he had the means to heal himself.
He pulled out the blade from his being and tossed it aside. Taking out the Estus Flask, he took a swig and almost immediately, his wound closed up and not before long, he was brand as new.
Huffing out, the Ashen One opens his mouth. "You have outdid yourself, demon." The foreigner said to her. "All I wanted was to be left alone, my reputation should tell as much but as a fool, you did not heed the warning." He grabbed the hilt of his greatsword, Druella gritted her teeth as he slowly pulled it out, water accumulating in the corner of her eyes. "But maybe with your death, the world would understand to leave me be. Let this place be a reminder of a fool's consequences."
Tears streaming down from her eyes, blood seeps through the corner of her lips. "Spare…me…."
Instantly, his movement halted. "...what?"
"Have….mercy…" She pathetically squeaks out.
His grip tightened and his hands were shaking in anger. "Mercy…? You want mercy?" He could feel his teeth bleeding, he was now beyond furious. "Asking for such a thing after countless people you've forced into submission!? You're as much of a coward as you are a fool!" Grabbing the hilt with two hands, he raises it up. "Heed this, all of this is what begets fools…"
However, before he could finish her off, he was caught off guard when his greatsword was deflected by another weapon and a kick landed on his helmet, sending him skidding across the ground towards the center of the courtyard again. Glaring forward, his sight came upon a child wielding a scythe. His eyes caught their most prominent features; their horns and their hooves. It was a Baphomet, the Mamono who mostly make up the Sabbaths besides the Witches.
"So there are still some of you arrogant enough to interfere." The Ashen One speaks out in a quiet tone, ice laces his words.
"You have killed our kind, our comrades in cold blood…even going as far as harming the Fourth Born! A sin that will not be forgiven!" The Baphomet lists off his "sins" and points her scythe at him. "I am Kuroferuru, My Lady's Shadow. And you will pay for these transgressions, Dreaded Rusted Slayer!"
"If death is what you seek, then you may join your mistress in hell." The Ashen One said coldly, his slouched figure giving out more animosity than before.
"Stand down! All of you!"
The two turn as they see another Baphomet walking with the remaining few generals in tow. The survivors gagged and gasped in horror at the sight of their dead comrades' mutilated corpses. It seems they are not the combat-centric type.
Kurofuru and the newly arrived Baphomet glared at each other as she had one of the generals go to fetch Druella. The fight did more harm to Druella than it did to the Ashen One, his weapons managed to overpower what was once thought to be the most powerful.
"Rusted Slayer, I beg of you to cease this violence." The Baphomet started, "I am well aware that the situation has obviously deteriorated greatly. But still, I plead." She places her hand on her chest, a show of sincerity. "I, Doctor Griselda, beg of you to listen so that there'll be no more bloodshed."
The Ashen One raises his eyebrows as he finds her words to be both amusing and suspicious. "If you speak the truth doctor, then tell me; why should I take your word and not assume any signs of treachery?"
"I understand that you are skeptical, Rusted Slayer." She responded before she let out a sigh. "But as a doctor, I am a healer first and foremost. I want to be the voice of reason and wish to make sure this deal is honored all the way through."
"And the generals behind you?" Voltaire asked.
"We specialize in handling orderly affairs." One of the generals, a black harpy, explained. "We are basically the cleanup if Druella needs us or isn't available."
"..." He thought for a bit. "Your offer, am I to assume I will be left alone once the deal is made?"
She nodded, "Precisely, sir…?" Griselda trailed off, asking for his name.
"...I have no name to speak of, refer to me as you wish." He replied, surprising them.
"Very well, Rusted Slayer." Griselda nods. "You can leave peacefully, there will be no repercussions. I'll go the extra mile to make sure of it." The doctor said as she sighed again. "We have more concerning matter to worry about."
"But-!" Kuroferuru tried to argue and was quickly silent by Griselda when she sent a spine-shiverring glare at her direction.
"Silence!" Griselda shouted, her eyes dilated and her face contorted. "Rusted Slayer, you are free to go."
"Then I shall take your word for it." He turns around, putting Gael's Greatsword on his back. "But if you fail to meet the end of your deal…I will come back." He turned his head slightly. "And I will have her head, her siblings' heads, the Demon Lord's head, your head, and the heads of those related to you…and I will decorate the Demon Lord's palace with it."
Everyone froze in fear, his threat was sound and Griselda knew very well not to take it seriously. Having nothing more to say, he walks away, disappearing over the distance.
The doctor looked over Druella's form, her wings burnt and a hole through her stomach can be seen. After enduring the pain for quite some time, she had lost consciousness. The medic squad are tending her whilst Kuroferuru holds her hand with tears in her eyes. Griselda knew what she was thinking, and she wasn't about to let her have her way. Not after what had just transpired.
"Whatever it is you're thinking, don't." Griselda narrowed her eyes. "I will not condone any search for that man."
"You just let him get away!" Frustrated, she bared her fangs at Griselda. "You should've just let me defeat him!"
"Defeat?" Griselda blinked, surprised at Kuroferuru's assumption. "You? Defeating the very individual that had caused your mistress to be in this state? The very same man that managed to eviscerate fleets of Mamono? As a Baphomet, I'm surprised you think you're capable of handling that man."
"I am capable! I can-"
"Look around you!" Griselda glared at her. "We have received enough damage for today and we are not going to suffer more. Any attempts at reaching the Rusted Slayer will be swiftly met with punishment. I will meet my end of the bargain."
"Her Highness won't be happy with this!" Kuroferuru replied, still angry.
"No, but she will have to accept it." Griselda looks over the mountain of corpses. "Lest this will be the sight of our home."
The Ashen One stared at Lescatie, the fires had all been extinguished and smokes were coming out of the city. The city was done for and all the innocent people had escaped elsewhere. He was sure that the Mamono won't chase him or them anymore, not after the massacre he left. His reputation will be known throughout the lands and he wasn't sure what to think of it. He supposed he had let his emotion get the better of him this time despite not wanting any attention...
Closing his eyes, he turns and continues to walk. Where, he wasn't sure. But he wanted to leave and be nowhere near any Mamono territory…or Order territory.
As he wanders out of Lescatie's borders, he hears footsteps from behind. "Wait." He turns around to see the woman who was under the mercy of Druella earlier.
"What are you doing here?" He asks bluntly.
"Your shield." Kirsch unstrapped the Knight Shield from her back and presented it to him. "You forgot your shield."
"..." The Ashen One wordlessly took the Knight Shield and put it on his back. "You have my gratitude."
"No, thank you for coming in." Kirsch shook her head. "Had it not been for you, I would've…" She trailed off, Kirsch didn't want to think of the fate had Druella succeeded in her take over of Lescatie. "So thank you, for saving me."
"..." The Ashen One was not used to receiving gratitude, he merely did what he did for himself. "It is of no consequence." He turns around and continues his track.
"Wait…" He halted his tracks. "How…how did you get so strong?"
"..."
He began to reminisce about his time in both Lordran and Lothric, the fights, the deaths, the foes he defeated. His path to getting power was not an easy one, one might go hollow but he managed to pull through. He was an Unkindled now, he was just one of the many failures who was foolish enough to attempt to link the flame and got overwhelmed by the First Flame's power. Yet he was able to end it all.
This world was not like his, the endless cycle of violence and rule was what made him strive for greater strength. It doesn't exist in this world…
"Struggle." The Ashen One finally replied.
"Struggle…?" Kirsch blinked, confused.
"Struggle is key to power." He continues.
Silence filled as wind brushes over them. Kirsch did not understand what he exactly meant, but that was precisely why she wanted to know.
"...can I follow you?" She wasn't sure how to ask, the foreigner doesn't seem like the type to have companions on his travels.
The Ashen One lets out a quiet sigh, the woman didn't mean him any harm and she did return his shield. "Do what you want."
A smile of relief appeared on her face, it was subtle and can easily be missed but it was there. As the Ashen One walks away, an assassin with no lord to serve follows…
Snippets
New
Dimiel
Mobu-san
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2021
- Messages
- 21
- Likes received
- 117
"Kirsch! Help me!"
"Oh Elt~! I'm coming for you~"
"Kirsch! Please, save Wilmarina! Save my daughter!"
"Damn it, assassin! Don't just stand there!"
"HELP US!"
"All according to plan."
"Please!"
"Good evening. Um, I was interested in seeing you after such a long time. I've been waiting for this moment for so long but you guys went too slowly towards him."
"Save us!"
"This rapier and you too - you wanted to communicate with people more than anyone else. So, the rapier chose you and you accepted it, I'm sorry. Forgive me, I left this difficult role to you..."
"You failure!"
"You did not destroy, you cut down the link between the demon and the person. Thanks to you, this country will change for the better."
"We thank you for giving the wrong to us."
"You sent these girls to the Demon Realm with your sword, and they got the power to make connections with their loved ones that can never be destroyed...may I thank you for all of them, as a woman?"
"I'm sorry but it had to be this way."
"It is necessary for you."
With a gasp, her eyes shot open and she immediately sat up. Her breathing became erratic and she had her hand on the ground, searching for any weapon. Then she blinked as her breathing relaxed down, remembering that the gifted rapier was destroyed. The damned rapier she wasn't supposed to accept...
"Nightmare?" She slowly turns her head towards the foreigner she had followed a few weeks ago. "Strange for an assassin, I have to say."
The Ashen One was resting at a campfire, he wasn't looking at her, he was just staring at the flickering fire as if he was enamored by it...
"..." Kirsch wanted to rebuke but the words didn't come out, she merely stared down on the ground. "Why...is that strange?"
"From where I came from, assassins are raised and trained to be incapable of feeling guilt, or emotions." The Ashen One took a few twigs and threw it onto the campfire, fueling it as he poked at the cinders with a stick. "They're killers, true killers. They're perfect dolls meant to kill, nothing more."
"I was…" Her lifeless eyes stared at the empty ground once more, "I protect, killing is as necessary when it needs to."
"In this world, killing is always necessary." The Ashen One adjusted the pillars of the campfire watching as it grew in size. "But I assume that rapier of yours did you no favor. You turned a few unsuspecting innocents into monsters craving for pleasure. It is, after all, a weapon made by Mamono."
Taking offense, Kirsch growled. "What do you know?"
"..." He stopped, reminiscing the many times he had seen people turned hollow before the Chosen Undead linked the flame whereas he failed to do so. "...nothing." He continues to poke the cinders with the stick.
"..."
Silence ensued after that.
Days of Past and Prejudice
"Seems like we've arrived." The Ashen One announced, seeing the landscape change drastically as the forest and mountains were in view. "Riberion, was it?"
"Yes." Kirsch replied, looking around as she observed the landscape. "There should be a village nearby."
The Ashen One looks at his map. "By near, over a dozen miles away." He sighs. "No matter, let us hither."
"..."
These past few days, their interactions were quite limited. The Ashen One while talkative at certain times, it was only during very important times. Otherwise, he was not interested. Unless it concerns information he can get his hands on, he is silent all the time. Not helped by the fact that the conversation they had prior to a few days ago strained any meaningful (in Kirsch's eyes) way to talk to him about how he achieved the strength to take down a Lilim.
She knew it had to do with struggle, but what kind? It was as vague as looking through a fog for a needle, she didn't know where to start with his answer.
Nevertheless, she learns a bit of his fighting style from the encounters they had with bandits and Mamono. One of the things she learns is how he mercilessly kills them without reservations, something he claimed to be a must for an assassin and a survivor. Unlike the conventional materials that were made up of a weapon, his weapon was somehow able to kill Mamono completely. Usually, blades such as his are reserved for Heroes and Elite Knights. So it's a wonder how he got his hands on it.
"Rusted Slayer." Kirsch called.
"Speak." He replied, still facing ahead as they were marching towards their destination.
"After we arrive at the village, what are we going to do?" She asked.
"I'll be getting quests, I need more money." He emphasizes.
It was clear that he still thinks he's on his own despite her being there. It wasn't just his thoughts, his actions also speaks that he is alone. He fought the stray Mamono alone, leaving her to her own without even giving her a warning. He was not really keen on having a companion, yet the humanity within him still lives free. While he does things alone, he does things that help people. The many quests he took back at Lescatie already indicated that much.
Knights, Adventures and whatnot usually took very dangerous quests - most of them usually revolving around Mamono. However, he undertook quests that primarily helped people like herb gathering, cleaning ditches around the slums, repairing rooftops and more. No wonder the Order took notice of this act and contacted him to join.
Still, his cold personality was not really helpful.
"..." Kirsch mustered up her courage. "Can I join you on those quests?"
"As I stated, do as you wish." Was his reply.
Heaving a sigh of relief, they continue on their journey.
The Principality of Riberion is a neighboring country that was not really impressive at first glance. The ruler, King Alfred von Quincitree, was a fair ruler, but other than that, not much was known. Which was why the Ashen One was surprised to find the lack of Mamono around—no, the complete absence of them. Along their journey towards a small village called Uble, they haven't encountered any attacks from humans and Mamono alike.
It was certainly strange to now know that there's a much safer place than the overblown claims of the capital of Lescatie. Because even when they're nowhere currently, it was much safer than being inside Lescatie's walls. Seems like Lescatie was indeed a fraud when it comes to reputation.
Arriving at the village, the Ashen One immediately heads towards the local guild for a quest. He didn't want Kirsch following him around, so he suggested that she go to the smith shops for some weapons. He was a bit dismissive, but she agreed nonetheless. She had no weapons on her to defend herself. The last thing she needs is getting overwhelmed in a battle.
As she enters the shop, a middle-aged man greets her. "Oh, how nostalgic." The man said, smiling. "Been a while since I've seen an actual knight around here. Almost three years to be exact…"
Actual knights? But there were quite a few outside, what did he mean by that?
"..." Kirsch kept silent as she stared at the man, trying to find his motive but she found none.
"Don't be too judgemental, missy. That'll land ya in more trouble than help around these parts, heh." The man then places his palms on the counter. "So what can I do for ya? Name's Frederick by the way."
"...I'm looking for some weapons." She replied.
"Well, what kind? Nah, hold on." He looks at her attire, observing carefully. "Seems like yer the kind to have an element of surprise behind 'em, how about a pair of daggers and a sword?" He turns around and takes a few weapons on the display and puts it down on the counter. "I may have gotten too lax years ago doing construction and neglecting my smithing skills, but I assure ya the quality."
She takes a look at the daggers, the sharp edges and its brilliant glow did nothing more to her as she thinks of it as more of a visual stimulation. That is, before she trailed her fingers across the surface. When she felt the cold steel, her eyes immediately widened her eyes.
"Surprised?" He smirks. "Yes, it isn't yer typical steel, it's Medocron. Best for weight distribution and toughness, also good at handling mages."
"Medocron...never heard of it." Kirsch commented, admiring the daggers as her touch illuminated parts of the blade, showcasing that it was a metal made to be enchanted.
"Heh, Riberion is a paradise for these metals. Why do ya there's barely any Mamono here?" He explained. "Besides, a good friend of mine once wanted me to make something out of Medocron, and here we are."
"How much?" She asks.
"That'll be 90 gold pieces for the daggers and 50 gold pieces for the sword, missy." Frederick replied. She handed him a bag and he took it. "Heh, pleasure doing business with ya." As she turns around, the smith talks again. "And a word of advice, missy. There's only one reason why you're here so I suggest ya be careful around the Order zealots. They can be unpredictable."
She looked down a bit, thinking about his words before going out. Frederick looked at her figure, recognizing the clearly elite attire she wore, which was a good indicator of being high up in the Order hierarchy, as he remembered a certain someone.
"Eina would've liked her…" He smiled, remembering things that he shouldn't have remembered. "Vester would be surprised to see that attire."
"Blasted lunatics." The Ashen One cursed under his breath, even in Riberion the Order lunatics were still here. "Keep preaching and you'll preach to the tip of my blade."
After getting a quest, the Ashen One looked around the vendors for some supplies and was surprised to see an Order presence lying about. Even in Riberion, they were still persistent, but from what he had seen, the folks around weren't big fans of them. All they got from their preachings were empty gazes and disgusted looks, which is surprising. There must've been some kind of incident that led the people to be like this.
"First time?" The vendor asks the Ashen One.
"...yes." He replied, picking his stuff and handing a bag of gold towards him.
"Yeah, things have not been favorable for them lately." The vendor shrugged, counting the gold pieces inside. "Lescatie and Riberion don't like each other much."
The Ashen One raises his eyebrows before handing a pouch of gold. "Elaborate."
"Hehe, thanks!" He smiled widely before frowning. "See, Riberion's pride and joy is Medocron, metal that you can only find around here. The Pope of the Order didn't like that, and we nearly had a war had it not been for King Alfred to show what he could do with Medocron. Safe to say, even with their so-called "Heroes", the Pope got scared."
"I see…"
"Ah, and there's also the incident three years ago when some Order Knight got enticed by a Mamono and nearly wiped the village out had it not been for our local strongman." The vendor continued, finishing counting and putting it down. "As a bonus for your kindness, I suggest asking for some folks here if they have a place to stay. The inn is occupied mostly by Order Knights so it's better not to stay there since they can be...say, "arrogant". Be safe!"
"..."
The Ashen One nods and quickly leaves the scene, so even in a neighboring country, the Order have the guts to seek materialism and act as if they owned the place. But the folks here at least have some backbone not to let them walk over them like a red carpet. Seems like Riberion is a good place to stay for a while, unless the Demon Lord wants to have her head decorated on her throne.
As he walked, he saw Kirsch and their eyes made contact. She immediately went towards him with new weapons, weapons in his opinion befitting of an assassin.
"I'm ready." Kirsch said to him.
He didn't say anything and merely walked past her, she wanted to sigh but she held it in and followed him. Together, they ventured out into the woods.
The Ashen One picked up a few herbs and mushrooms, healthy ones he presumed, for the local herbalist. It was a fairly rewarding quest since there's barely any extermination quests. There were a few but it may take a bit of time before they could get rid of the Mamono in question due to the distance. He may need to take a few more quests before he could do that one.
As he was gathering, he could see the disappointment within Kirsch's eyes as she plucked out their objective. He may have been very...distant but that was because he couldn't get used to having a companion around. The only time he does was with Siegmeyer, but that was different because they're both Unkindled braving in a ruined world. The world he was in wasn't something he was used to and the people here interacted differently, pretty much like how monsters here crave for men while the monsters in his world seek death.
"I'll be doing these quests for a few days before I'll take the dangerous one." The Ashen One said, collecting the herbs and putting it in a basket. "If you think we'll be slaying all day, better to tamper that expectation of yours. Riberion from what I gather is a place not even Mamono dares to enter."
"..." Her emotionless face didn't tell much, but he knew she was thinking about it.
"A path of struggle isn't always one filled with dangers, it can be quiet moments like this. Learn to appreciate it as it will not last." He continues, looking above at the tree where sunlight permeates through the small gaps of the leaves. "I might've been too...distant, but I have my reasons." The Ashen One looks at her. "The path you want to walk is not easy, it will cost you."
"Aren't assassins supposed to be true killers?" Kirsch asked.
"Yes, but even through this path, they may break." He replied. "Resilience, discipline, perseverance...it requires everything. You will break, often more times than one might expect." The Ashen One this time, was finally asking her. "Do you have the strength and courage to walk this path?"
"..." She stared back at him, her emotionless face finally showing determination. "Yes."
"...so be it."
Her eyes widened when the Ashen One took out his Lothric Straight Sword and lunged towards her, giving her no time to think. She took her blade out to block his. As the sword clashed, she was surprised at the amount of power put behind his blade and was sent flying away. Quickly, she recovers and drops down to the ground and widens her eyes to see the Ashen One already in front of her with the blade closing in.
She narrowly ducks down, the blade manages to nicked her cheeks before she performs backflips as fast as she can. Her boots dug onto the ground as she skids across, finding that the Ashen One was relentless in his assault.
"Pick up the herbs." He said all the while continuing with his onslaught.
"W-What are yo-tch!" She blocks another attack but this time, she was prepared in a defensive stance and managed to match him in power.
The ground below shook and shattered when they both swung their blades and made contact. Sparks flew as their blades vibrated under their strength. Slowly, however, the Ashen One began overpowering her as he applied more pressure.
"Pick up the herbs." He repeated, pushing her onto the ground as her boots dug onto the ground. "Pick. It. Up."
"Tsk! You-!" Skillfully using his own strength against him, she positioned her sword where the Ashen One's would slip and carefully used the momentum received to perform a backflip.
As her hands landed on the ground, with her all, she pushed off the ground and kicked square right on his chin, sending him back a bit. However, her current pose left a very wide opening and seeing the opportunity, the Ashen One swiftly sends a kick, hitting her on her abdomen as she spurts out blood and is sent crashing onto a tree. The power behind that kick was powerful enough to make her stick onto the tree before dropping down with a nasty thud.
She coughs out a few splashes of blood, gasping for air. Kirsch lifted her head up to see the imposing figure of the Ashen One approaching. His steps were loud in the silent forest.
He stopped before her, his shadow covered her small figure. "The path you're going to walk will give you no opportunities to breathe. You want something? Seize the opportunity yourself and get it." He raises the Lothric Straight Sword and points it at Kirsch. "This is not even a taste, this is not a percent of what's to come. The path of struggle is much tougher…"
"Ggaghh!" Kirsch coughs out, huffing. "Y-You…"
"So I ask you again; do you have the will to walk this path?"
Kirsch's lifeless eyes light up, the flames of determination burning within as she forces herself to stand up with the help of her blade. She wiped off the blood around her lips and stared daringly towards the Ashen One. He himself could not help but be impressed by her sheer will, it reminded him of his early days in Lordran...
"Yes."
Due to being Unkindled and an assassin, both Kirsch and the Ashen One had taken the liberty to not rest within the village and merely undergo the many quests available in the village. They camped outside and the Ashen One provided the rations needed for Kirsch as being an Unkindled means he lost many semblances of humanity except for his appearance which even now remained a mystery.
Today marked the day where the Ashen One takes a quest where they are required to kill something. What, they were not sure yet but rumors circulating around the mountainous parts of Riberion having a powerful Mamono was a tad bit concerning. While the rumor itself was worrying, attacks or the lack of it provides the Ashen One with another insight.
The Monster Girl Encyclopedia states that not all Mamono are lustful beasts. A very few may have retained their purity and lived on properly as normal people, which is why most Mamono have the ability to change form into humans. While lust is powerful, some people's beliefs or faith in themselves or others are stronger, which is how they manage to remain sane.
If this is true...then killing is unneeded.
Still, it is unconfirmed through his eyes, as every Mamono he had met had all been very shameless harlots. But denying it outright is also ignorant. The information in the book was all accurate, so all that's left for the Ashen One is to confirm it himself.
They traveled across vast distances, coming across bandits and again, no Mamono. For a country sitting right besides Lescatie, the lack of Mamono was both a blessing and a curse. One, bandits are far clever in terms of ambush and two, it could spell disaster as the Ashen One finds it strange. While the country was indeed powerful from the many talks he overheard, it was an ill omen of some sort.
The Fourth Born aimed for Lescatie, the prized Impenetrable Jewel of the Order.
If she recovers...what better target than Riberion priding themselves for having superior military prowess than even Lescatie?
While it was not known throughout the lands, he was sure the Mamono knew of Riberion.
If that is so...then living here for the long term is not a good move.
"We're nearing our destination." Kirsch said, stopping a bit to see the mountainous parts of Riberion. "We'll have to traverse into the mountains...climbing it won't be easy."
"No matter, we shall hither nevertheless." The Ashen One replied and continued to march.
True to his words, the Ashen One climbs the towering peaks reaching the heavens. It was not easy certainly but it won't stop him. As they climbed, they began seeing strange signs that were clearly manmade. While it was strange to see things being built in a place far from what one might consider a proper living space, the strangest thing about it is that these signs were insignias of devotion for the Chief God.
"Crude, but I recognize that symbol anywhere." Kirsch said, staring at a crude wooden Chief God insignia in suspicion. "It seems like they were inviting those who travel through these mountains to stay for a bit and pray, if they were placed where people could see it is anything to indicate…"
"..." The Ashen One wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "Press on."
"...right." Kirsch's glare did not go unnoticed by the Ashen One; it was extremely hostile, and it seemed like she had an idea who placed the insignia here.
They finally came across a cliff and climbed up, seeing a pathway leading somewhere. There were some trees, but they weren't enough to block the view of a church over a kilometer away. Kirsch's glare intensified, and her teeth were gritting against each other. The Ashen One raised an eyebrow as he wondered where this animosity came from. Her emotionless face was laced with wrath, a silent one.
Although she managed to keep it in, he was sure it'll break out sooner or later.
They made their way towards the church and entered. There, they saw a young woman garbed in modest attire with a veil over her head, kneeling down over the statue of the Chief God while inciting prayers.
"Fill us with your blessings, fill us with your will, fill us with the gifted delicacies you've placed into this world, embrace us with your warmth. Cleanse us from sinful thoughts, forgive us for our transgressions. Your might, your love and your kindness is all we ask. Bless this day so we may continue our devotion for you, Chief God." She lowered her head towards her clasped hand. "Amen."
In anticipation, the Ashen One's eyes landed towards Kirsch's hands, and her right hand reached towards her sword.
The woman before them noticed their presence and stood up. "Visitors? Forgive me, I had just done praying."
She turns around to reveal her face. Although not much was seen due to the dimly lit candles, her eyes were a good indicator of what she truly is. The glowing yellow eyes that stood out even in the midst of darkness. The eyes of a Succubus…
"Heresy…" Kirsch whispered harshly, her irises shrunk.
"Kirsch." The Ashen One called, he picked up on her intent. "Do not engage."
"HERESY!!!" Kirsch pulled out her blade and immediately dashed forward.
"W-Wha-" The Succubus flinched and before she could react, Kirsch was already right in front of her with her blade pulled back.
"Die, heretic!!" She swung her blade but was blocked by someone else's.
"W-What are you doing!?" Another woman appeared but she was human, she also wore an attire belonging to the Order.
Specifically, a Hero's armor.
"You dare protect a Mamono!?" Kirsch yelled and used all of her strength to send the Hero crashing to the left. "Heretic, all of you!"
"Kirsch, calm down." The Ashen One called out but his words fell on deaf ears.
"Heresy is a sin that cannot be forgiven!!" The Hero climbed out of the wall, bruised and in pain. "You, a Hero, should very well know that!" Kirsch then turned to glare at the Succubus who was frightened and confused. "And you! You dare pray to our god!? Your kind deserves no such thing!"
"Final warning, stand down." The Ashen One once again said.
"Wait! She's not like other Mamono!" The Hero tries to stop Kirsch only for Kirsch to snap towards her direction and immediately swings her blade, slicing her belly open. "Gghh-!"
Her blood splashes over the ground, the Succubus' eyes widened. "Telle!"
"You all deserve to die!!" Kirsch raises her blade, the clear hatred glints in her eyes like an animal eyeing a prey. "In the name of the Chief Goddess, I smite heretics and spill their rotten bloo-"
Before she could even finish her words, a kick landed to her side and she was sent bursting through the right side of the church, rolling over the grass like a ragdoll before she plunged her blade onto the ground to halt the momentum.
Kirsch clenched her teeth as hard as she could, blood seeping out through the gaps of her teeth. "What is the meaning of this, Rusted Slayer!?"
The Ashen One climbs out of the church. "I said stand down."
"Stand down!?" Magic bursts around her, flaring like a blazing flame. "How can I calm down when heresy is being committed before my eyes!?"
"I don't see any heresy." The Ashen One replied, not a bit intimidated by her lightshow.
"You're just a damn foreigner, you don't know anything! Stay out of this!" She shouted, her reason was clear to the Ashen One.
"..." The motions on his shoulders can be seen when he inhales, "Really…how bothersome." He muttered before pulling out the Twin Princes' Greatsword as it let out an eerie glow. "No."
As that word came out of his mouth, his aura washed over her like a tidal wave and immediately snuffed out her magic aura like blowing onto a candle as it sent out gusts of wind. Her eyes widened in absolute shock and her lips quivered. She took a step back, shocked at the sudden change in atmosphere. She was greatly intimidated but had it been any other situation, she would've stood down. However this time, she won't relent.
Kirsch pressed on. "Why!? You told me that killing is necessary!"
"Then I was wrong." The Ashen One replied. "I admit, I thought of the same…until we met her." He pointed his thumbs towards the Succubus inside the church. "She is a Mamono, yes. But she does not pose a threat to us nor does she bear any ill intent."
"Who cares for ill intent!? She's a Mamono! Praying and acting all devoted! A heresy–no, a sacrilege of the highest degree! I do not wish to turn a blind eye to it!" She grips her blade tightly, the hatred in her eyes was still flaring. "She needs to die, horribly…"
The Ashen One ceased his animosity, staring at Kirsch with a gaze she could not understand. "..." He sheathes back the Twin Princes' Greatsword. "Then you're a hypocrite."
"What…?" Kirsch became confused.
"You claim to act upon heresy before your eyes yet, I did not see any actions taken in Lescatie." His figure was unmoving, her thoughts came to a halt as she began to process what he had just said. "Not by you, or those who claimed themselves pious."
"That's dif-"
"How is it any different?" The Ashen One gave her no time to reply, the acts being committed in Lescatie was far more "heretical" than the one he saw earlier. "The Heroes, the Knights, you…all of you turn a blind eye to the atrocities being committed by your own priests and lords."
"Heresy…" She growled.
"Heresy, you say? Me?" He scoffed. "You are no different than the inquisitors I killed, preaching truth when you refuse to see it yourself. You don't even hesitate to hurt innocents, the Hero did not try to kill you yet you tried to kill her." He pulled out the Lothric Straight Sword and pointed it to her neck. "You are not just any hypocrite, you are a cowardly one. Rather than acting upon your biases, why don't you learn and see the truth by yourself?"
"Y-You…" She gritted her teeth and then looked down. "..."
"I am not stating that you should ignore what had transpired in Lescatie by those Mamono, but the Order as well are not all innocent." He puts his blade away. "The slums are a good indicator of the Order's wrongdoings."
"...." Kirsch glared at the Ashen One. "Then you're not innocent as well."
"...Indeed, I am not." The Ashen One lifted his head up to the skies as he lowered his blade. "Far from it…"
Silence filled the spaces between them. The Ashen One wordlessly sheathed back his sword and turned around to aid the Hero's fatal injury all the while Kirsch was left there to ponder on his words as well as the state of Lescatie before it was invaded.
"Damn, that hurts." The Hero, Ellatelle Quartz hisses in pain.
"Sit still, I need to stitch your wounds." The Ashen One said whilst the Succubus, Marce, watches. "You are lucky that the wound was not deep, otherwise you'd be at death's door by now."
"I knew the Order were a bunch of fanatics but not to this degree, ouch!" Ellatelle said as the Ashen One continued to stitch.
"Strange, you both are devout believers of the Chief Goddess. Why are you stating so as if you are not one of them?" The Ashen One asks, his eyes still on Ellatelle's belly to focus on stitching.
"Ah, it's a bit complicated." Ellatelle looked at Marce. "Marcy here could explain, not really good with all the history and stuff, wha-hey! Ow!"
"Even more strange to see a Mamono praying without an ounce of malice in her heart." He replied.
"I…well, it has to do with my faith." Marce started. "I was Mamonized by a Dark Elf, but my faith was too strong for their energy to completely corrupt my mind and I retained who I once was, not falling to the depravity of Mamono."
"I see." The Ashen One took out his dagger and cut off the strings, finally done stitching. "So it is possible for one to turn into Mamono without completely losing themself." He took out a bottle of alcohol and poured it on the stitched wound.
"Gah! That stings!" Ellatelle pouted. "Would it kill you to be gentle!?"
"No, but it certainly will kill you if I do."
"Grr, you're not gentlemanly at all." Ellatelle puffs her cheeks in annoyance. "Besides, we don't pray to the Chief Goddess, we pray to the Chief God."
The Ashen One raises his eyebrows. "Elaborate."
"Marcy, would you?" Ellatelle gestured towards Marce.
"Yes." The Ashen One took note of her eyes. While they were clearly of a Succubus, they didn't have the same slant and mischievous look behind them. If anything, they held the same softness many humans held, which spoke well of her humanity she clung onto. "In Riberion, we still hold on to the old beliefs of the Chief God. The Order revered the Chief Goddess, the one who replaced the original Chief God after the Hero slain the previous Demon Lord."
"The Old Order?" The Ashen One seemed surprised even with his face covered. "I have only heard rumors about it."
"Indeed, the new Order despises the Old Order which is one of the reasons why Riberion and Lescatie don't get along well." The Ashen One nods, urging her to continue. "Riberion preferred the Old Order because of the mistakes made by the Chief Goddess. Although the Order of the Chief God exists even before the first Demon Lord appeared, Chief God is a title. And the Chief Goddess took the title after the Chief God disappeared."
"I see, so the main difference is the two different gods you revered." He said.
"Yes, but for us, the main difference is the teachings which might not seem like it but differ from one another." Marce then points at herself. "For example, what do you notice about my attire?"
The Ashen One raises an eyebrow. "Attire? I see no-" Then he stops, it wasn't really subtle since while the color themes remain unchanged, her attire was far more modest than the one he sees in Lescatie. "You're…covered, more than the ones I see in Lescatie." Then he turned his head towards Ellatelle. "You too."
"Naturally." Ellatelle smirks proudly.
"Yes, even down to the clothes we wear, there are differences." Marce looked down on the ground, she had a downcast look on her face. "Some of the scriptures written by the Chief God were overwritten by the Chief Goddess, it's baffling really."
"..." The Ashen One was not sure how the religion works here, but from what he knew of the books he had found in Lescatie, there were multiple gods.
Some even suggest that the other gods opposed the Chief Goddess and aimed to support the current Demon Lord's conquest to unite humanity. Not just those books, even the Monster Girls Encyclopedia states so. The many blessings bestowed upon the Mamono were staggering, while the humans were only blessed by the Chief Goddess. Something here doesn't sit right with him, but one thing is for sure.
The Chief God's blessings were far more powerful than all the gods' combined. They allowed one to retain one's humanity after going through Mamonization. Although this is a theory…it's very likely, considering even the pious ones in Lescatie succumbed to Mamonization, becoming slaves to pleasure. It was a ridiculous notion. Why unite humanity using pleasure when even wars weren't able to?
The Demon Lord really is naive…
"I thank you for your explanation." He lowered his head a bit to Marce before facing Ellatelle. "And you, take a rest. Don't move or your wounds will open."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Ellatelle waved dismissively. "You better go and convince that partner of yours to not slice me again. Had enough scars on me already. Even I want to marry you know? How can I marry if I have ugly scars on my body?"
"I humbly apologize for Kirsch's behavior…what happened in Lescatie, it has been weighing on her mind lately." The Ashen One explained.
"No, it's okay." Ellatelle sighs before a sad look appears on her face. "It reminded me of someone I knew before…" She shook her head and smiled. "Also, what's this about Lescatie? Something goin' on over there?"
"Oh, I've heard of the rumors. It was taken by the Fourth Born, wasn't it?" Marce asked, intrigued.
"Indeed, Lescatie is no more." The Ashen One affirms.
"Whoa, really?" Ellatelle rubs the back of her head. "Well, that sucks. I can see the reason behind her aggression towards Marcy. Still, if she keeps jumping on Mamono like that, she'll get someone killed."
"I know, I must speak to her now." The Ashen One nods before standing up. "I leave you both to rest."
"You two can rest in the guest room later, take it as my thanks for saving us," Marce said with a soft smile.
The Ashen One stops by the door frame, seemingly in thoughts. "I deserve no such things."
With that, he left, leaving both of the Old Order believers confused. "What was that about?"
"..." Marce stares at the door frame where he was. "I sense…sadness within him. He might not know of it but deep down…he is depressed."
"You think so?" Marce nodded as Ellatelle released a sigh. "Hope it gets better for him then, I barely see anyone who'd tend to my wounds like this…despite the rough treatment."
"I'll prepare a meal for you." Marce stands up. "And listen to him, don't move too much alright?"
"Ugh, you wanna be my mom too?"
"Yes or no, Telle?"
"I already said yes, please don't chew me up anymore."
Kirsch curls up on a tree in the midst of darkness illuminated only by the dim moonlight. The cold breeze was beginning to prick her skin. Her eyes were terrible, a result of frustrated tears that fell after what happened earlier. She was very angry at the Ashen One for protecting the Mamono, but she was also angry at herself for just realizing what she had done in Lescatie.
Every word said by the Ashen One was like a sword through her chest; she hated it because she knew it was the truth. Kirsch was hypocritical for acting aggressively towards Marce when the things done by the nobles and priests in the Impenetrable Jewel were far worse. It was her prejudice that got the best of her. Her hatred for Mamono grew from birth, and the teachings ingrained in her mind gave her the idea that all Mamono were evil.
But she knew very well of the truth…she knew what Sasha Fullmoon had been doing in secret. Sparing Mamono children…yes, they were children. Children that did not know anything. She didn't do anything, not to report nor try to convince her to get rid of them. Because the truth was complicated, and the actions one takes was even more complicated. She did not know what to do…
"You are not going to last long out here."
Kirsch visibly jumped a bit when the Ashen One's voice suddenly came out of nowhere. She lifted her head up, in the corner of her vision, she could see the Dreaded Rusted Slayer staring at the skies. He was still as mysterious as ever, his face covered and his voice muffled by the helmet. She did not understand him, his actions more often than not came off as abuse than help. He claimed that the path to struggle was how he got so strong yet, she could not understand it.
He was vague.
And she hated vague things.
"What do you want?"
The Ashen One did not miss the disdain in her tone.
"...nothing." Then as if it was natural, he sat beside her without any reserve, shocking even the emotionless assassin.
"W-What are you…" She wanted to berate him, to tell him to go away but she couldn't as the words were stuck in her throat. "..."
"Your impulse. I'm aware of why you act in such a way and I understand it." The Ashen One said, Kirsch just listened. "The events of Lescatie and perhaps some experiences you had in the past may have shaped you in some way but…if you want to get stronger, disregard that past and face the future. The path to struggle does not concern your personal past. It will only hold you back…"
"...So you want me to forget my past? To forget who I once was and the people I care about?" She could feel frustration once again overwhelming her being.
"I never said to forget it, disregard it. Don't let it cloud your judgment." With a clank of his armor, he raises his head to see the moon hanging over the mountains. "Your past stays as your past, you could not change it. No matter what you do. The best you can do…is learn from it, nothing else."
"..." Kirsch began to think, she pondered deeply about what he said.
As an assassin, she was supposed to be a killer in the shadows—a perfect doll, so to say. But the things she did in the past, the burden she carried…it might've held her back more than it helped her. While the memories of the people she held dearly are important, her vengeful side would regard those memories as empowerment to dawn a false justice.
Even after what she did earlier, before this conversation, she knew what she had done was wrong. That hatred, that anger that was built up from the past made her act in a way that the people she cared about wouldn't want to see or support. A path filled with the blood of the innocents…
And a path filled with corruption of the innocents.
It all started with that damn rapier, the rapier that was gifted to her by Priest Noscrim to serve under him. A guise that set a catastrophe in motion. Had she not destroyed that rapier, it would've taken control of her and no doubt she will go on to corrupt people without care. A path she should avoid at all costs, lest she'll be no different than the traitor Sasha.
"In the past…" She began and the Ashen One listened attentively. "I had a friend. We were in a squad together, she and I were good friends." Kirsch could feel her eyes getting watery again, this was a painful memory for her. "Before I became an assassin, I was just one of the Order Knights that protected the borders of Lescatie. I was a girl who lived in the slums before House Noscrim recruited me and I went through training. That training also included the basic Knight course of which I was sent to the borders…"
"..."
"I met her there, right at the barracks near the wall. When she introduced herself to the squad, she was loud, obnoxious, naive, energetically chaotic and...kind." Another uncharacteristic expression made its way to Kirsch's face in the form of a fond smile, a smile the Ashen One didn't expect to see considering how Kirsch is. "She approached me out of curiosity because I was silent and my introduction was brief. I didn't bother replying to her, I was too preoccupied with my situation and contract with Priest Noscrim."
"But she kept bothering me until I told her to stop and do you know what she said?" She turned towards the Ashen One, that smile still adorned to her face. "She said, "Finally, you looked at me!" with that stupid grin on her face."
"To your valor, my sword and our victory together! Long may the Sun shine!" Echoes of the past immediately entered his mind as Kirsch tells her past with a good friend.
"And I just…got attached to her. It may have been a mistake but to me…it was the only time I felt like I was human once again." She lowered down her head, staring at the grass below. "We got along so well and for the first in a very long time…I can smile again. We smiled together as we trained and guarded the borders. We fended off Mamono together, got punished by our squad leader and various other mischief she had managed to drag me in. It was an unforgettable memory…"
"...I assume things went wrong?" The Ashen One guessed.
She nodded, "Yes…" Frustration appeared and the sound of leather tightening can be heard from her clenched fists. "Priest Noscrim called me to the capital and bestowed me with that damn rapier. That rapier was what ruined everything." She grabbed a rock, infusing it with Spirit Energy and threw it, impacting a tree and causing it to fall. "I was excited of course, I brought it with me to the border and I trained with it. In doing so, I accidentally swiped her."
"At the time, I wasn't aware of what it could do and even she didn't seem affected by it…until some Mamono attacked the border. We managed to drive them away but one remained, it was Succubus and she…s-she…." She gritted her teeth, anger flashed in her eyes as it formed a wrathful scowl. "She turned my friend into a Mamono. I-I could not hold the rapier, I didn't…want to kill her. So I let them go."
"She wasn't the only one turned, the rapier also has a miasma that was unnoticed even by veteran Heroes that also affected others. That Succubus managed to change them too…" The Ashen One could hear the faint hiccups in her tone, he knew it was painful to experience such a thing. "So she thanked me and said that my rapier was the thing that made it possible, that it is "love". I didn't understand, I refused to understand. I couldn't believe it…" She took a sharp inhale. "After that, I was broken once more. Returning to the capital, I vowed to destroy any "love" I could find. I became obsessed with killing those who think they can commit mistaken-love without consequences…"
"And look at where it got me." Kirsch wanted to laugh but she couldn't, it was all too pathetic. "My past burdened me heavily, I became someone I don't think Olivia would approve of. If she were to see me like that, she'd smack me across my face and ask me to return to who I once was...ha, thinking about it, that's what she'll definitely do..."
"..." The Ashen One was quiet, her past no doubt contributed to the actions she does now. "Olivia...is that her name?" He asked.
"Yes, Olivia Carnibell." Kirsch replied, smiling. "A clown with no manners...but one possessing a bright heart. Now she's nothing more than a beast controlled by the false lust of Mamono."
"I see…" The Ashen One then slowly and gently puts his hand on her shoulder. "Does getting all of your past burdens out of your heart ease you now, Kirsch?"
"Yes, I…" She turns to look at the Ashen One, smiling with a nod. "Yes, it does. Thank you…"
"...it is no problem." The Ashen One hesitated a bit to receive gratitude, he was still not used to it.
"I'm sorry…for how I acted earlier. I was not in the right state of mind." Kirsch apologizes and the Ashen One merely shakes his head.
"It is not me who you should apologize to, Kirsch." He replied.
"Right…" She was riddled with guilt. "Is she...is the Hero fine?"
"Yes. However, had I not patched her wounds quick enough, she wouldn't be. But otherwise, she is fine now."
"Alright…" She stood up. "I should go and apologize to them. Thank you again, Rusted Slayer."
"Elias."
"Huh?" Kirsch was bewildered.
"Elias, my name. Elias Bergin." The Ashen One, Elias Bergin, finally gave her his name.
A name he had long abandoned ever since he awakened as an Undead.
"Oh…" Kirsch unconsciously smiled, a faint blush can be seen on her face as she realized that the Ashen One now Elias trusted her enough to give her his name. "Thanks, Elias. I'll be going now."
"I am going to stay here for some time, hither on without me."
"Right."
After that, Kirsch left the scene leaving the Ashen One alone in the dark woods. He sat there with his back on a tree for a few minutes before he stood up and began gathering a bunch of twigs and sticks. He places them down to form a campfire before...he remembered something. He took out something out of his arsenal; a coiled sword. He stabs it on the campfire and...it did nothing.
The Ashen One crouches down and with the cinders left on his body, he lights it up. The fire sprouted forth, it was a flame that did not replicate the ones he was used to yet…
"Link the flame…" He muttered. "To what end…? It is all over...but what now?" The Ashen One did not know what possessed him but something inside him was eating him away. "What…" His breath became shaky and hitched. "WHAT NOW!?"
He kicked the sword and with his greaves, he stomped down the campfire with anger never displayed before. He kept stomping even as there was no fire left except ashes and cinders. The ground caved in until he stopped. He fell down to his knees as his hands were left hanging.
"What remains…" The Ashen One uttered as he stared at the ash and cinder.
Kirsch was not the only one burdened by the past…
In the Kingdom of Arion
A lone figure sat atop a mountain of corpses. Both humans and Mamono decorated the scene like twisted flowers. Unlike the Slaughter of Lescatie, which was brightened up by blazing flames of judgment, the atmosphere was dark and colorless. A man wearing strange knight armor sat atop the mountains of corpses, his eyes dead and his expression unchanging.
"This…this is insanity…" From below, a young knight commented followed by an old veteran knight. "This is too far for a retaliation."
"Perhaps." The old veteran knight replied, sighing as he looked up to stare at the lone figure. "However, he's doing better than we ever could, that merc."
"But…" The young knight tried to argue but even he knew the efficiency this Nameless Knight brought to their enemies.
"You're still young to understand this but…the Slayer's Guild is a blessing even if their methods are inhumane." The veteran knight commented as he sat down for a rest. "For now, we need a moment of respite before our contract ends."
The young knight could only look down as he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Damn it…"
As the Nameless Knight watches, rain pours down slowly, painting the scenery in an even dreader gradient. He closed his eyes and reminisced about the time he spent on that island.
Born of Salt
Devour'd by sea
From icy crypt
Deliver me
Trivia/References:
*The Principality of Riberion.
Riberion is a neighboring country situated in the north of Lescatie. Ruled by King Alfred von Quincitree, he was known throughout Riberion as a fair ruler. Although not much was known about the country, Medocron can only be found in Riberion. The ecological phenomenon behind this remains unknown as scholars are still researching it, but Medocron is Riberion's most powerful weapon. Because of this, not even Lescatie dared to touch Riberion.
In the Slayer's Guild information web, the Demon Lord is on the fence on how to deal with Riberion due to their superior military power as well as the weapons they possess which can disable mana. For that very reason, no Mamono dares to invade Riberion and the numbers are at an all time low. But those who do dare face a terrible fate.
*Medocron.
A special metal found in Riberion that has properties of anti-magic, also known as the Mage-Killer metal. Not only that but it also possesses a purity unlike any other metal on Eos. A complete opposite of the Demon Realm Silver, it can be forged into a weapon capable of taking even the higher tiers of Mamono. King Alfred's great grandfather once donned a full armor made of Medocron and managed to fend off fleets of Mamono from the Dragon Empire Dragonia.
Most of the members of the Slayer's Guild uses Medocron weapons as a way to either scare off Mamono or torture them for information.
*Slayer's Guild.
The Slayer's Guild is a mysterious organization specialized in Mamono extermination. The guild's consisted of eccentric individuals possessing strength, skills and powers no one has ever seen in Eos. Rumor has it that the members are all Otherworlders.
"Give a good man a reason to kill and he'll find no shortage of bodies to bury."
- Unknown
What Remains of Husband and Father
"The Order is a place of faith, a place welcome to anyone who desires truth and warmth. We welcome you all! Chief God is one, Chief God is true, Chief God is warmth! Praise the Chief God!"
A man walks amongst crowds of people passing by and ignoring the ramblings of an old priest glorifying his religion and inviting those who seek some form of shelter from existential crisis.
He was not a believer, he didn't believe in the Chief God or any other gods. Whether he was made by something greater or not was not his concern, he wasn't interested why or how he was made. He was a man born on Eos, he was a human. Nothing more, nothing less. His life as a normal man was as eventful as others, he worked on his farm and avoided any Mamono contact. He married a beautiful woman and had a beautiful child. A blessing? Perhaps, but that is all gone now.
He slowly made his way out of the village, into a pathway leading to a secluded forest. Unlike the continent of Lescatie filled to the brim with Mamono and Order cultists, the continent of Riberion was a far safer place. Due to the conflict between both countries revolving around resources, not many from Lescatie could travel into Riberion, it was a safe haven for those seeking life without Mamono or poverty. The rules set by King Alfred were strict yet fair, he was one of the few Kings in Eos to have humanity within him.
As his sight saw the clearing ahead, he stopped for a bit. He took an inhale, closing his eyes.
Another day, another path to the past.
He exhaled and continued his track forward. As he came to a clearing, his farm came into view as well as a well-established house that had a porch. Over the fences right behind a forest, the one mistake can also be seen. No matter how many times he had seen it, visions of the past always reminded him of the very mistake he had made. Time is a very strange yet cruel thing, once things have come to pass, nothing can ever be changed.
The man walked towards the mistake he had caused, two makeshift gravestones were revealed and he kneeled down, placing down the flowers that reminded him of his wife and daughter. Two of the only things he cared about in this life. His lips quivered as he stood up, staring at the two gravestones before walking away to work on his farm.
Another day, another yield.
He worked tirelessly on his farm, raising the hoe and stabbing it on the ground. Every stab made a sound that caused a vision to return. A trauma, a nightmare. As he continuously stabbed the ground, the memories came back like it was yesterday...
Three years ago...
It was just another peaceful day in his house, he was awakened under the morning sun.
Just then, the door was open to reveal his daughter who beamed a smile at him. "Dad! Breakfast's ready!"
He smiled. "I'll be down shortly, small sprout."
"Okay! But you better be fast or I'll eat all the breakfast!" His daughter replied and quickly went down the stairs.
He lets out a hearty laugh. "Oh no, you don't!" He jumped out of his bed and chased after his daughter who was laughing happily before she got caught. "If you eat my breakfast, I'll eat you too!" He playfully nibbles on her cheeks. "Nyom, nyom, nyom, nyom!"
"D-Dad, that tickles! Stop!" She laughs as he continuously nibbles.
"Honey, please stop that." Then, his wife came into view, her perfect smile, her beautiful eyes and the warmth underneath it. "We gotta have breakfast, Frederick just called in and you have so much work ahead of you."
"Alright, alright." He rolled his eyes but smiled. "Today's going to be a long day but I have your breakfast to keep me going." He placed his daughter down and she went onto the chairs, climbing it and sat comfortably.
He made his way towards his wife and gave her a kiss. "Oh, you!" She playfully slapped him on his shoulder but nevertheless reciprocated the kiss.
"So what's for breakfast?" He grabbed her close by her hips.
"Well, as you can see, we have some pies and dried meat, as well as some dash of kini fruits." She smiled. "Come on then."
"Yeah, dad! I'm hungry!" The daughter said.
"Alright, let's dig in then!" He replied energetically.
Under that sole table, they enjoyed breakfast together. As he eats, the sight of his wife and daughter so happy was ingrained into his mind. A sight he never got tired of.
The life he had worked for, the life he frankly felt he didn't deserve, it was...beautiful.
After finishing his breakfast, he got ready for a day at work. His farm was taken care of already and today, he was offered a job to help the villagers construct a house for a newcomer.
Standing on the porch, his wife and daughter approached him. "Honey, don't forget your lunch." The wife said as she handed him a few wooden boxes.
"Thanks, Eina." He kissed her yet again and ruffled his daughter's hair. "I'll be back this evening. Be good alright?"
"Of course, dad." The daughter replied, giving him that toothy grin he was accustomed to.
"Take care of yourself." The wife smiled warmly.
"A few stones got nothing on these." He flexed his muscles proudly.
"Dad is strong!" His daughter cheered for him.
"That's right, small sprout!"
The wife could only giggle as he walked down the porch. "I'll be making your favorites tonight, honey."
He waves back. "As expected of my excellent beautiful wife!"
She blushes at his compliment. "Oh, you!"
They waved back at him. Their figure gets smaller as he walks into the distance, not knowing it was the last day he will ever get to see them as...them.
"Goddamn, Fred. Are we making a house for a noble or something?" The man asked his friend, their sweating form can be seen even in the dark. "This house is way too big!"
"I have absolutely no idea, the elder said that guy paid a pretty penny for this house to be built." Frederick replied, shrugging. "Well, thanks to ya, we finished it in a day! Always helpful with those muscles of yours."
"Hah! As if these stones can handle my muscles!" The man smirked. "I can handle a few Mamono with these."
"Hey now, careful with what ya say." Frederick scolded albeit playfully. "Some folks around here said they saw a dark elf wandering about."
"A dark elf? All the way to Riberion?" He scoffed, chuckling a bit. "Yeah, fat chance bud."
"I can't confirm it but some newbie knight said he spotted one drifting around the borders." Frederick said, looking at the sky in thought. "But weirdly enough, he just sort of...forgot about it. Don't know what happened, must've been some kind of "discipline" the knight captain put him through to not make any bullshit up."
"Pssh, discipline." The man rolled his eyes. "The Orders are just a bunch of zealous maniacs, can't believe them for a second."
"Yeah, but they have been guarding the borders for years now. I think they could be trusted, albeit to some degree." Frederick commented thoughtfully.
"Doubt it." The man shrugged. "So is there something else we could do here? My wife and daughter are waiting at home."
"Just a few finishing touches and it'll be done." Frederick smiled. "Ya can just go home, ya done enough."
"Really? You sure?" The man asked, a bit concerned.
"Yeah, it's okay. A few lazy asses here should be able to finish it." Frederick then turned towards the three sitting young men talking rather loudly by themselves. "Oi, you three! Get yer asses up and finish the goddamn house!" The three young men immediately stood up and began working. "See? They got it handled."
The man shook his head, chuckling. "Young men these days."
"Well, that's what the Heroes gets ya. A legendary figure is made known throughout the lands and boys will aspire to be one." Frederick chuckled along. "Guess they thought this work is too simple for aspiring heroes like them."
"Aren't Heroes supposed to be blessed or whatever?" He asked and Frederick merely nodded.
"Yeah, and that's where they're wrong." He looks at the three young men working on moving the furniture. "Heroes are born blessed by the Chief God, they are Heroes at birth. We never heard one that's risen up without blessings."
"If that's the case then we're better off without any heroes." The man carried a sack over his shoulders with wooden lunch boxes in hand. "The last thing we need is some brat thinking he's better than us hardworking men."
"Amen to that, heh." Frederick gave a small wave. "See ya tomorrow, and don't forget to bring those kini fruits with ya. They're amazing!"
"Depends on the yield." The man waves back.
The man couldn't wait to see his family.
The man entered the clearing, smiling only to see his home...strangely dark. Did his wife forget to light up the lanterns? She must've been incredibly tired.
As he made his way to the house, a sense of dread filled his entire being. He didn't know why but something felt wrong.
He opened the door, it creaked loudly amongst the deafening silence. It was dark inside and his wife was not in sight.
Slowly, his heartbeat starts to get faster. "Eina? Darling?" He calls but the silence continues to persist. "..."
He made his way up the stairs, looking for any signs of his wife and daughter. As he got up to the first floor, the door to his and his wife's bedroom lay open with a dim light permeating through the gaps of the door. His breathing which was silent earlier can be heard, even when not doing any heavy lifting he finds himself sweating.
"Eina, this is not funny." He tries to reassure himself that it was a prank but the lack of response only fueled his anxiety. "Eina?"
He opens the door fully to reveal his wife being hugged by...
"Eina!" He shouted, his eyes widened and his teeth immediately gnawing against each other. "You bastard!"
He tries to land a punch but narrowly misses as the person in question evades, jumping skillfully towards the windowsill. He quickly grabbed his unconscious wife, glaring at the person.
The dark elf smiled, "Oh my, what a stud. No wonder she was so enamored by you~!"
"You...you're that dark elf!" Anger doesn't even begin to describe his emotions, his nose flared. "What did you do to my wife!?"
"Oh well, I didn't manage to do anything to her...completely." The dark elf holds her chin in thought, almost as if she was mocking him. "Is this what they call slow burn romance?"
"You shameless bitch!" He growled.
"Don't worry, she isn't hurt...just a bit "different", so to say. Or "better" preferably." The dark elf giggles. "Enjoy your new life~!"
"Wa-"
Before he could stop her, the dark elf disappeared. Damn Mamono and their spellcrafts!
"Shit, I better tell the others…" He cursed before looking back at his wife's unconscious form in his hands. "Eina, Eina! Are you alright!?" He asked as he gently shook her.
His wife groans before slowly opening her eyes. "Honey…?"
Relieved, he smiled. "Yes, yes! I'm here!"
As she opened her eyes, her irises slowly began to change. It went from her beautiful blue eyes to yellow almost slanted haunting eyes. His eyes widened but before he could say anything, he was slammed onto the ground with a force he didn't expect coming from his wife as their lips interlocked with one another.
Her kiss was forceful, violent and overpowering. Almost like she was devouring him, like a beast starved for days. It was not the kiss he had known coming from her. This...is not the wife he knows.
He pushes her off, "Eina, what the hell's gotten into you!?"
She was breathing erratically with her tongue out, almost salivating as droplets dropped on his face. "Honey~! You look so delicious today, let's have sex!"
"What!? You said you weren't ready for another child!" He said as he tried to fight her off but her strength was just on a whole different level.
Slowly, horns began to protrude from her head. The soft and warm smile she always has was replaced with a smile of lust, a smile of a seductress. A smile that did not belong to her face. She was changing into a Mamono.
"I changed my mind, let's have lots and lots of children!" She was overpowering him, it was not helped that he didn't want to hurt her.
"Please…" He struggles to push her off, teeth clattering. "E-Eina...please....stop!" Mustering all his strength, he pushes her off and she flies back, hitting a wall. "Shit, Eina! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
She slowly stands up-no, more like twisting it in a very inhumanely manner as she rises from the ground, hugging her body and emphasizing the curves. "It's okay, honey~! You can make it up now by letting me drink your semen!"
"No…" His eyes grew, fright began to overwhelm his body. "Eina...this is not you…"
"What are you talking about? I'm always like…" She trailed off as in that moment, she turned her head to the side seeing her reflection in the mirror above the wardrobe. "I'm…" Her eyes slowly widened, her clothes were shredded and were replaced by revealing clothing and tights around her body. "I-I'm…"
Her eyes began to flicker between blue and yellow before she turned her head towards her husband who was looking at her fearfully. She blinks, memories of their first time meeting, of them falling for each other, of the passionate night they had, the time their daughter was born and how happy he looked. It overwhelms her as one of her eyes changes back into its natural blue color.
She held her head, "W-What was I doing…?" Her lips quivered but she found herself closing her eyes shut as the perverse voice at the back of her head was trying to possess her. "Honey! I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to do that…" She grits her teeth before she stumbles her way towards the wardrobe, opening it quickly and smashing the back of the wardrobe to reveal a blade. "Honey, I don't have much time...ugh!"
"That's...the blade you had when you were still a knight! I thought you got rid of it?" He asked, baffled at the revelation.
"I-I'm sorry...I had to...."
She dropped down and the man immediately went towards her. Before he can help her however, she raises her hands and halted him in his tracks. She couldn't make any move, she was struggling to fight the perverse nature of the Mamono from taking over.
"Don't! If you touch me, I'll lose control." She pointed at the blade, "I...I don't want to burden you...but please….use the blade."
His eyes widened. "F-For what!?"
"Use it...and plunge it to my heart." She said, her hands covering her other eye that were changing. "You have to do it…"
"What!? No! Are you insane!?" He refused. "We'll just get you to a doctor, they'll fix you somehow!"
"No…" She shook her head, smiling sadly. "You can't fix this, there's no way to reverse Mamonization."
"B-But-"
"And you can't keep me locked up." She continued, "A newly turned Mamono will release fumes that can change anyone into a Mamono and its radius is too large. If I change completely now, all the villagers will be affected as well…"
"No...no, no, no, no." He shook his head, denying the truth of the situation. "This can't be…I can't….I can't do this!"
"Do you want our daughter to change as well!?" His breathing came into a halt at the mention of their daughter, eyes widening in realization. "You need to do this...or she'll turn as well." She smiles, the smile he was familiar with. "I'm sorry I made you do this, but you have to. For both of our sakes...and for her as well."
"No…" Tears dropped from the corner of his eyes.
"Do it while I'm still changing, otherwise I'll just get resurrected…" Her smile widened, one corner of her smile was the smile he knew while the other was one of lust. "I want to at least die as a human." His eyes widened.
He grabbed the hilt of the blade, positioning it to her bosom. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"It's okay, honey. It's okay…" Tears can also be seen from the corner of her eyes. "Just remember, no matter what happens...I love you…"
His breathing became more erratic, every inhale and exhale louder than before. Closing his eyes, flashes of the times they spent together bursts forth. The pain, the suffering, the burden he has to carry after this…
He opened his eyes and his irises shrunk. "HAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
With all of his strength mustered mentally and physically, the blade went through her. Blood drips on the ground, a proud smile can be seen on her face as her eyes turn normal again. The horns on her head drop down on the ground as a result of stopping an ongoing transformation. The Demonic Mana that once tried to take over her ceases.
He stares at her, lips quivering and tears still going down from his face. "Thank...you. For everything…" She yet again gave him that smile. "For being a loving husband, for being the man I need...thank….you…"
With that, her last breath was drawn.
At that moment, it seemed as if the world stopped moving. He drops down to his knees, letting the grip on the blade loosen before slowly hovering his hands towards her face. Tears dropped onto her face, even in death she was as beautiful as ever.
He grabs her head and holds it tightly to his chest. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" He lets out a scream only a grieving man could understand.
"Small sprout!" The man bursts through the door, seeing his daughter also unconscious. "No!"
He ran towards her and was relieved to find that she was unaffected, must've been knocked out by magic from that dark elf.
"Dad…?" She opened her eyes, she was normal. "D-Dad! T-There was a strange lady and she used something a-and then…!"
"Shh, it's okay. It's okay, small sprout." He hugs her, the pain of losing his wife tore a hole in his heart.
He is not about to lose his daughter too.
"Listen, we need to get out. We have to warn others." He held her up as she hugged his body.
"O-Okay." She replies.
Running out of the house, he ran towards the pathway between the forest that leads up to the village. As he ran, he saw some guards in the distance.
He waves his hand, "Hey! Help!"
"Huh!?" The guards were immediately alarmed as the man arrived in front of them. "What the, Vester? What's going on?"
"A dark elf broke into my house!" The man responded, he was sweating.
"What!? So the reports were true!?" The guards looked at each other as the older one hisses out a curse. "Shit, then it could be anywhere by now. Scout the village!" The other guards look hesitant. "The hell are you waiting for!? Go, go, go!"
The guards nod and immediately run into the village, shouts can be heard in the distance.
"Goddamn, these newbies. I swear…" The older guard shook his head. "You okay, Vester? You look like shit."
"Yeah…" The man huffs out, exhausted.
"Wait, where's Eina?" The older guard immediately noticed, looking around. "Vester…?"
The man merely avoided eye contact. "...I had to do it."
"Fuck…" The older guard took off his helmet and held it on his chest. "I'm sorry to hear that…"
"..." The man kept quiet.
"Dad?" His daughter looked at him innocently. "Where's mom?"
The pang in his heart, it took his all to not break down in front of her as he forces out a smile. "She's...gone somewhere."
"When will she come back?" She asks.
He bit his lips. "I'm not sure, small sprout." He ruffled her hair. "We'll just have to wait, alright?"
"O-Okay…" She replied, confused and frightened at the same time.
"..." The older guard then noticed something wasn't right. "Vester, run."
"What?" The man blinked.
"RUN!"
His instincts began screaming at him and holding his daughter closely to his chest, the man kicked off the ground and ran past the older guard. As he ran, his ears began to pick up distant moans coming from some houses. It was getting louder and he gritted his teeth.
"Close your ears, small sprout!" The man yelled and the daughter immediately blocked her ears with both of her hands. "Shit, shit, shit!"
As he ran, his eyes caught a figure jumping from roof to roof. He couldn't miss the ponytail, it was the damn Dark Elf! She was following him and she was fast!
Continuing to run, he passed by the houses and ended up on the other side of the village entrance. Before he could make it to the other side however, he tripped down. To protect his daughter, he let his face hit head first onto the ground but the grip loosened and his daughter flew off his hands.
"Fuck!" He gritted his teeth and shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. "Small sprout!" He lifted his head only to see the same Dark Elf carrying his daughter. "No…no!!"
The Dark Elf stared at him in frustration, tears drips down from her face as he could only stare helplessly.
"You…you monster…." She exclaimed. "How could you!?"
He clenches his fist as he slowly rises up. "Let…her go!"
"She was your wife! She loved you!" Her frustration grew as her fangs bared open.
"Let her…ugh, go!"
"You were her everything! Were the memories you've had together amounts to nothing!?"
"I said….let her go…!"
"How could you kill her!?"
"YOU KILLED HER!!" The man shouted, his eyes bloodshot and widened. "She was not herself anymore! You…changed her, she asked me to do it…you're the one who killed her! You ruined everything!"
"You foolish man! I was only trying to help!" The Dark Elf argued back.
"You blind bitch, we don't need your help!" He gritted his teeth so hard his gums began to bleed. "Now let her go!"
"No…" She flared her nose. "No, I can't leave this be." The Dark Elf opened her palms as a dark-purplish concentration of energy gathered within. "If your wife can't convince you…then your daughter will."
"What!?" The confusion only lasted for a second before realization hit. "No, don't!"
"I hope you have a happy life with her." She raises her palm and pushes it towards his daughter.
"NOOOOOO!!!!"
The screams still echoes in his mind even after all these years. A grim reminder of his failure. There were many instances that he wished he didn't left his home before that happened…but nothing could change that.
Wiping the sweat from his eyebrows, he raises the hoe and strikes the ground.
"No…please no…"
He strikes the ground again.
"You need this. The Demon Lord will unite all of humanity…even if it means it'll lead to this."
Another strike.
"Monster. That's what you are, that's what your kind really are!"
Another one.
"I'm doing this to save you."
Yet another strike.
"WE DON'T NEED TO BE SAVED!"
His grip on the handle tightens as it begins to creak under the pressure of his palms.
"Dad?"
With his all, he puts everything onto the final stab as the sharp end of the hoe plunges onto the dirt.
He huffs out in exhaustion. He stared at the ground where his hoe was stuck. He blinks as flashes of the time he used a shovel to dig out a grave entered his vision before it all disappeared again after another blink. His breathing calms, his mind only focused on one particular memory that had broken him apart.
This is his life now, relieving that memory over and over again to no end. A curse blighted upon him by that accursed Dark Elf…
He stood up straight and lifted his head, seeing the dark clouds already looming over his abode. It didn't take long for the droplets to rain down. As it gets more in abundance, his surroundings were shaded grey.
The man closed his eyes and remembered that moment.
"No…what have you done?" His lips quivered as the Dark Elf dropped down his daughter gently.
"This is for your own good." She said, her eyes soften when she looks at his daughter.
She had the gall to-
"Dad?" His breathing halted as he slowly turned towards his daughter who was still laying on the ground facing him.
His eyes couldn't widen any further as slowly, the Demonic Energy slowly enveloping her as her eyes began to turn the same color as his nearly Mamonized wife. The yellow was bright, too bright he might get blighted by it. Not the color he knew but one he came to despise. And staring at his daughter in this state haunts him. He gritted his teeth, his ankle was busted from running so all he could do was use his hands to grip the dirt below. He desperately crawled towards her.
"Small sprout!" He called out as he reached her. "Hey, hey, hey. I-It's...it's okay." Even he knew he could not hold his facade longer after seeing what was happening to his daughter. "Y-You're going to be fine, you're going to be fine! I-I…I promise!"
"Dad...I'm scared." Tears streaked from her face, even he couldn't help but feel his eyes begin watering.
"I-I know, small sprout. Everything is going to be fine." He forced out a smile. "It's going to be fine...."
Her transformation was slow, like how his wife was. The realization hits him like a brick, this was the exact same situation as his wife. Should he allow it, she would turn completely and spread the Demonic Energy like spores, infecting others in the village. It was a consequence of letting his daughter live but he knew very well that Mamonization completely alters the personality of the infected.
He couldn't bear to see his own daughter becoming a monster.
The Dark Elf stares at the scene, surprised that his daughter managed to hold the transformation much like the man's wife. She knew people from Riberion bear great will but she puts every ounce of energy into her Mamonization so this shouldn't be possible...
"Dad...is mom dead?" She asked, half of her face was changing with one side looking at him with an expression he could only describe as denial while the other half was completely different as the corner of her lips curved to form a sickening smile.
"N-No, she's…"
Could he lie to her?
Even at this moment?
His throat became dry, his teeth clattering as he slowly but methodically reached out the sword his wife gave to him.
"I'm sorry, small sprout…" He apologized, her breathing immediately came to a halt. "Your mother is no longer with us…"
"No…" Her eyes widened, even the Mamono half of her face mimicked the same expression as the human half. "No…" She began to cry, her sobbing became louder and louder before energy began to gather towards her heart. "NO!!!"
"Small sprout, no!" Before he could do anything, he was caught off guard when his own daughter's lips captured his in a sickening passion that was forbidden. "!?"
The Dark Elf smiled joyfully. "If your wife wasn't able to show you what true love is, maybe your daughter can."
Her grip on his neck was strong, he was too flabbergasted to understand what had happened when he fell down onto the ground as his daughter cradles him. Her lips pushed further and he could even feel a foreign object entering his mouth. In that moment, he immediately came into his senses and pushed his daughter off as strong as he could.
However, it only pushed her upwards, separating their lips.
Fright and disgust filled in his mind and the thought of committing such incestuous act made a bile climb up his throat. He couldn't hold it and threw on the other side, coughing as he could not believe what had just happened.
"Daddy, how mean of you! That was my first kiss!" His body was shaking as he slowly turned back to see his own daughter nearly completing Mamonization as parts of her attire morphed into a skimpy black outfit, cradling him like she was a prostitute. "Daddy, mom is no longer here so I should accompany you for the rest of your life~!"
Something sparked within him, something he had never felt in his life.
Something that consumed him.
The light behind his eyes flickers before snuffing out completely.
Without both the Dark Elf and his daughter realizing, he pulled out his sword and plunged it into her heart, completely shocking both the Dark Elf and even himself.
"What are you doing!? W-What have you…" The Dark Elf could only watch as the scene unfolds before her.
Blood slowly trickled in the corner of her lips as she slowly looked down, where a sword was and the hilt grabbed by her own father. His eyes void and his face empty, yet she could tell that despair took him over. His eyes widened before he quickly pulled the sword out, his daughter stumbling backwards before falling down. The Mamonization halted before slowly reverting.
His breathing became unstable, he watched as his own daughter was reaching her final breaths. He helplessly crawled towards her, sitting up as he stared in disbelief at what he had just done.
"Dad…?" Her face slowly became pale yet, even in her final moments, she smiled at him. "I love you, dad."
"Small...sprout...." Those words were the only thing he could mutter, his mind was going through many things.
She smiled at him for the final time before letting out a long exhale as she closed her eyes.
He had been broken once.
He thought he could recover.
But now he has been broken twice.
He could never recover.
Never.
This image would be etched in his mind for eternity.
A hell for a man like him.
"H-How could you…!?" The Dark Elf shouted at him. "Your wife...and now your own daughter…you truly...y-you truly are a monster!" She growled. "THEY WERE ONLY TRYING TO PROVE THEIR LOVE FOR YOU! AND YOU KILLED THEM BOTH!"
"..." He slowly turned his head towards her.
"-!" At that moment, her blood ran cold as a chill ran down to her spine.
She was greeted with the man, his face had no expression and his eyes dead yet tears were coming out of it. His eyes tore a hole in her soul, dread was beginning to fill her being as if huge amounts of blood were shoved down her throat.
"Monster…?" His voice was low and quiet yet his eyes still focused on her. "I am...a monster." She flinched, something about this wasn't right. "I will chase you to the ends of earth, I will find you...I will hunt you down. I will make you suffer...everyone you ever loved and cared for will share the same fate."
Then there it was.
The feeling he had never felt before.
Pure, unfiltered wrath.
Decorating his face like a twisted work of a twisted artist.
"Whatever god you pray to, don't bother. The only salvation you'll get is one where you'll rot in hell for eternity."
"Tch, you-" Before she could retaliate, an arrow landed on her shoulder. "Gah!"
"Ukira!" A man immediately caught her in a bridal carry.
It was the rookie knight who had once tried to warn the village of her presence now fully became an Incubus.
"Torus!" The Dark Elf exclaimed before wincing in pain. "I can't regenerate! I don't have much mana left! What happened?"
"T-The villagers, they…" His eyes widened as he saw the man staring at them with an intensity that could not be described in words. "We need to get out of here!"
"What!? Why? We need to spread-"
"No!" The rookie knight cuts her off, his eyes drifting off towards the tree line behind the man where he could see the empty eyes of the villagers shine due to the moon light. "They're already here."
"What-" The Dark Elf's eyes immediately widened.
The villagers came out of the tree line, revealing their despaired state by their angry tearful faces as they carried weapons-be it kitchen knives and forks-all dripped in the blood of their loved ones. Yet, even with that, the man's eyes still stood out amongst the crowds of angry depressed villagers. Their shouts and yells fell on deaf ears as only the man remained static as he made no sounds at all. Just staring at them.
"Sorry, Ukira. We have to escape." Before she could reply, the rookie knight leaps off to escape the angry mob.
But the Dark Elf could only stare at the man who watched them as they escaped.
His stare ingrained in her mind and his words began haunting her.
She will return.
And once she does, she will make sure herself that they will understand.
The rain pours down heavily, but the man was oblivious to it as he kept working on his fields. After hours and hours of tilting the land, he stops. He huffs out before turning around, heading towards his house. He placed the hoe by the door and entered inside, not bothering to wipe himself. He grabbed a lantern and darkness soon settled. Brief flashes of lightning shot through the skies, illuminating the land as it let out rumbles.
The man silently goes out again with the lantern as his guide. He walks across the house, passing by the porch his daughter usually occupies to play before arriving at a small shabby shack. He stares at it with an empty gaze before opening the door. As he opens it, putrid scent washes over him but he was used to it.
As he entered inside, his gaze set on a figure strapped to a wall surrounded by mysterious crimson crystals filled with unknown energy. Rather than strapped, they were nailed onto the wall. Large nails made out of Medocron were used to keep the individual in place and the crystals disables any manifestation of Demonic Energy. Dried blood can be seen all over the floors and walls. Various torture devices riddled a rusty cabinet, most of them rusty and lost their edges.
The man merely went towards a wardrobe and opened it. A body falls down as it jolts awake, the young man seems to be panicking but can't move due to his body being encased in powerful bonds. His eyes shot around, trying to look for any ways to escape but there were none. The man casually pulled the young man by his hair, dragging towards where the individual was as she slowly opened her eyes. They immediately widened when the man slowly began to raise the man towards a hook on the ceiling.
"N-No, please! No more! PLEASE!" The individual, the Dark Elf, begged.
The man wordlessly stopped, looking at her with the same eyes void of light. He drops the young man down to the ground before turning him around and instead hooks the young man's feet onto it, eliciting a scream of pain. The purity of Medocron hisses at the contact of the young man's skin and the cold magical metal of the hook.
"W-What are yo-" Her lips quivered, his methods of torture knew no end. "Please, I beg of you, stop this!"
The man didn't heed her and merely browsed the cabinet for a particular tool. His eyes caught what he needed and grabbed it, a knife his wife used to cut vegetables. It was rusty and the edges weren't sharp enough due to the exposure of air. He made his way back and held the young man in place, facing his lover who was helplessly nailed on the walls.
The young man's mouth was covered with a bandage but the man took it off. "No more! No more, I beg of you! Please!"
The man hovered the rusty kitchen knife towards his throat and slit it. But it didn't cut through due to its lack of sharp edges and only managed to tear skins off his throat.
It is better this way.
He merely persisted and used the knife as if it was a saw, cutting into the young man's throat back and forth as a sickening sound of the young man gurgling on his blood can be heard. The Dark Elf watches the scene, her eyes are already bad enough but it won't get better any time soon as tears of blood squeezes through her eyelids.
The Dark Elf grits her teeth, "Monster! Monster! Monster, monster, monster! You're a true monster!"
As the man tears open the young man's throat, blood spurts out along with bile and pieces of flesh. It pours down like a fountain and the Dark Elf couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach. She vomits anything she has in her body at the scene. The woman cried helplessly as her face was riddled with despair, something the man wanted to see when he simply took a chair and sat down to stare at her with the same gaze he has as when he lost his wife and daughter.
This was his every day.
Coincidentally, this was also the Dark Elf's every day.
As well as her lover's.
The man watched her despairing and crying, trying to break out but couldn't. Every day was like this, it always started with him getting tools made by a friend in the village and ended with him watching her suffer. Due to them being blessed by the many gods of this world, they could not truly die. But that doesn't stop them from feeling pain. Every time they die, they will come back to life and regenerate, creating an endless cycle of life and death.
Of pain and suffering.
He did tell her didn't he?
That the only salvation she'll get is one where she'll rot in hell for eternity.
This is her hell as well as his.
This is their life now.
For this is what remains of a father and husband.
"There are three things all wise men fear; the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."
- Patrick Rothfuss
Trivia:
Dark Elves in the entry of Monster Girls Encyclopedia states that they are not against the idea of incest. Actually, they encourage it as Dark Elven children are taught skills in pleasuring men using their own fathers. Once they reach adulthood, they usually travel around in pursuit of husbands or "slaves" but sometimes, there are Dark Elves that have fallen in love with their father after the many training sessions and desire no other man so they elope with their fathers together with their mothers.
Source: MGE Wiki
I know it's pretty dark but not all bonus snips are doom and gloom. While this particular bonus snip showcases the brutal reality of broken men and love-obsessed Mamono, there...ahem, "might" be some wholesome ones. Maybe even hopeful ones.
That being said, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter.
"Oh Elt~! I'm coming for you~"
"Kirsch! Please, save Wilmarina! Save my daughter!"
"Damn it, assassin! Don't just stand there!"
"HELP US!"
"All according to plan."
"Please!"
"Good evening. Um, I was interested in seeing you after such a long time. I've been waiting for this moment for so long but you guys went too slowly towards him."
"Save us!"
"This rapier and you too - you wanted to communicate with people more than anyone else. So, the rapier chose you and you accepted it, I'm sorry. Forgive me, I left this difficult role to you..."
"You failure!"
"You did not destroy, you cut down the link between the demon and the person. Thanks to you, this country will change for the better."
"We thank you for giving the wrong to us."
"You sent these girls to the Demon Realm with your sword, and they got the power to make connections with their loved ones that can never be destroyed...may I thank you for all of them, as a woman?"
"I'm sorry but it had to be this way."
"It is necessary for you."
With a gasp, her eyes shot open and she immediately sat up. Her breathing became erratic and she had her hand on the ground, searching for any weapon. Then she blinked as her breathing relaxed down, remembering that the gifted rapier was destroyed. The damned rapier she wasn't supposed to accept...
"Nightmare?" She slowly turns her head towards the foreigner she had followed a few weeks ago. "Strange for an assassin, I have to say."
The Ashen One was resting at a campfire, he wasn't looking at her, he was just staring at the flickering fire as if he was enamored by it...
"..." Kirsch wanted to rebuke but the words didn't come out, she merely stared down on the ground. "Why...is that strange?"
"From where I came from, assassins are raised and trained to be incapable of feeling guilt, or emotions." The Ashen One took a few twigs and threw it onto the campfire, fueling it as he poked at the cinders with a stick. "They're killers, true killers. They're perfect dolls meant to kill, nothing more."
"I was…" Her lifeless eyes stared at the empty ground once more, "I protect, killing is as necessary when it needs to."
"In this world, killing is always necessary." The Ashen One adjusted the pillars of the campfire watching as it grew in size. "But I assume that rapier of yours did you no favor. You turned a few unsuspecting innocents into monsters craving for pleasure. It is, after all, a weapon made by Mamono."
Taking offense, Kirsch growled. "What do you know?"
"..." He stopped, reminiscing the many times he had seen people turned hollow before the Chosen Undead linked the flame whereas he failed to do so. "...nothing." He continues to poke the cinders with the stick.
"..."
Silence ensued after that.
Days of Past and Prejudice
"Seems like we've arrived." The Ashen One announced, seeing the landscape change drastically as the forest and mountains were in view. "Riberion, was it?"
"Yes." Kirsch replied, looking around as she observed the landscape. "There should be a village nearby."
The Ashen One looks at his map. "By near, over a dozen miles away." He sighs. "No matter, let us hither."
"..."
These past few days, their interactions were quite limited. The Ashen One while talkative at certain times, it was only during very important times. Otherwise, he was not interested. Unless it concerns information he can get his hands on, he is silent all the time. Not helped by the fact that the conversation they had prior to a few days ago strained any meaningful (in Kirsch's eyes) way to talk to him about how he achieved the strength to take down a Lilim.
She knew it had to do with struggle, but what kind? It was as vague as looking through a fog for a needle, she didn't know where to start with his answer.
Nevertheless, she learns a bit of his fighting style from the encounters they had with bandits and Mamono. One of the things she learns is how he mercilessly kills them without reservations, something he claimed to be a must for an assassin and a survivor. Unlike the conventional materials that were made up of a weapon, his weapon was somehow able to kill Mamono completely. Usually, blades such as his are reserved for Heroes and Elite Knights. So it's a wonder how he got his hands on it.
"Rusted Slayer." Kirsch called.
"Speak." He replied, still facing ahead as they were marching towards their destination.
"After we arrive at the village, what are we going to do?" She asked.
"I'll be getting quests, I need more money." He emphasizes.
It was clear that he still thinks he's on his own despite her being there. It wasn't just his thoughts, his actions also speaks that he is alone. He fought the stray Mamono alone, leaving her to her own without even giving her a warning. He was not really keen on having a companion, yet the humanity within him still lives free. While he does things alone, he does things that help people. The many quests he took back at Lescatie already indicated that much.
Knights, Adventures and whatnot usually took very dangerous quests - most of them usually revolving around Mamono. However, he undertook quests that primarily helped people like herb gathering, cleaning ditches around the slums, repairing rooftops and more. No wonder the Order took notice of this act and contacted him to join.
Still, his cold personality was not really helpful.
"..." Kirsch mustered up her courage. "Can I join you on those quests?"
"As I stated, do as you wish." Was his reply.
Heaving a sigh of relief, they continue on their journey.
The Principality of Riberion is a neighboring country that was not really impressive at first glance. The ruler, King Alfred von Quincitree, was a fair ruler, but other than that, not much was known. Which was why the Ashen One was surprised to find the lack of Mamono around—no, the complete absence of them. Along their journey towards a small village called Uble, they haven't encountered any attacks from humans and Mamono alike.
It was certainly strange to now know that there's a much safer place than the overblown claims of the capital of Lescatie. Because even when they're nowhere currently, it was much safer than being inside Lescatie's walls. Seems like Lescatie was indeed a fraud when it comes to reputation.
Arriving at the village, the Ashen One immediately heads towards the local guild for a quest. He didn't want Kirsch following him around, so he suggested that she go to the smith shops for some weapons. He was a bit dismissive, but she agreed nonetheless. She had no weapons on her to defend herself. The last thing she needs is getting overwhelmed in a battle.
As she enters the shop, a middle-aged man greets her. "Oh, how nostalgic." The man said, smiling. "Been a while since I've seen an actual knight around here. Almost three years to be exact…"
Actual knights? But there were quite a few outside, what did he mean by that?
"..." Kirsch kept silent as she stared at the man, trying to find his motive but she found none.
"Don't be too judgemental, missy. That'll land ya in more trouble than help around these parts, heh." The man then places his palms on the counter. "So what can I do for ya? Name's Frederick by the way."
"...I'm looking for some weapons." She replied.
"Well, what kind? Nah, hold on." He looks at her attire, observing carefully. "Seems like yer the kind to have an element of surprise behind 'em, how about a pair of daggers and a sword?" He turns around and takes a few weapons on the display and puts it down on the counter. "I may have gotten too lax years ago doing construction and neglecting my smithing skills, but I assure ya the quality."
She takes a look at the daggers, the sharp edges and its brilliant glow did nothing more to her as she thinks of it as more of a visual stimulation. That is, before she trailed her fingers across the surface. When she felt the cold steel, her eyes immediately widened her eyes.
"Surprised?" He smirks. "Yes, it isn't yer typical steel, it's Medocron. Best for weight distribution and toughness, also good at handling mages."
"Medocron...never heard of it." Kirsch commented, admiring the daggers as her touch illuminated parts of the blade, showcasing that it was a metal made to be enchanted.
"Heh, Riberion is a paradise for these metals. Why do ya there's barely any Mamono here?" He explained. "Besides, a good friend of mine once wanted me to make something out of Medocron, and here we are."
"How much?" She asks.
"That'll be 90 gold pieces for the daggers and 50 gold pieces for the sword, missy." Frederick replied. She handed him a bag and he took it. "Heh, pleasure doing business with ya." As she turns around, the smith talks again. "And a word of advice, missy. There's only one reason why you're here so I suggest ya be careful around the Order zealots. They can be unpredictable."
She looked down a bit, thinking about his words before going out. Frederick looked at her figure, recognizing the clearly elite attire she wore, which was a good indicator of being high up in the Order hierarchy, as he remembered a certain someone.
"Eina would've liked her…" He smiled, remembering things that he shouldn't have remembered. "Vester would be surprised to see that attire."
"Blasted lunatics." The Ashen One cursed under his breath, even in Riberion the Order lunatics were still here. "Keep preaching and you'll preach to the tip of my blade."
After getting a quest, the Ashen One looked around the vendors for some supplies and was surprised to see an Order presence lying about. Even in Riberion, they were still persistent, but from what he had seen, the folks around weren't big fans of them. All they got from their preachings were empty gazes and disgusted looks, which is surprising. There must've been some kind of incident that led the people to be like this.
"First time?" The vendor asks the Ashen One.
"...yes." He replied, picking his stuff and handing a bag of gold towards him.
"Yeah, things have not been favorable for them lately." The vendor shrugged, counting the gold pieces inside. "Lescatie and Riberion don't like each other much."
The Ashen One raises his eyebrows before handing a pouch of gold. "Elaborate."
"Hehe, thanks!" He smiled widely before frowning. "See, Riberion's pride and joy is Medocron, metal that you can only find around here. The Pope of the Order didn't like that, and we nearly had a war had it not been for King Alfred to show what he could do with Medocron. Safe to say, even with their so-called "Heroes", the Pope got scared."
"I see…"
"Ah, and there's also the incident three years ago when some Order Knight got enticed by a Mamono and nearly wiped the village out had it not been for our local strongman." The vendor continued, finishing counting and putting it down. "As a bonus for your kindness, I suggest asking for some folks here if they have a place to stay. The inn is occupied mostly by Order Knights so it's better not to stay there since they can be...say, "arrogant". Be safe!"
"..."
The Ashen One nods and quickly leaves the scene, so even in a neighboring country, the Order have the guts to seek materialism and act as if they owned the place. But the folks here at least have some backbone not to let them walk over them like a red carpet. Seems like Riberion is a good place to stay for a while, unless the Demon Lord wants to have her head decorated on her throne.
As he walked, he saw Kirsch and their eyes made contact. She immediately went towards him with new weapons, weapons in his opinion befitting of an assassin.
"I'm ready." Kirsch said to him.
He didn't say anything and merely walked past her, she wanted to sigh but she held it in and followed him. Together, they ventured out into the woods.
The Ashen One picked up a few herbs and mushrooms, healthy ones he presumed, for the local herbalist. It was a fairly rewarding quest since there's barely any extermination quests. There were a few but it may take a bit of time before they could get rid of the Mamono in question due to the distance. He may need to take a few more quests before he could do that one.
As he was gathering, he could see the disappointment within Kirsch's eyes as she plucked out their objective. He may have been very...distant but that was because he couldn't get used to having a companion around. The only time he does was with Siegmeyer, but that was different because they're both Unkindled braving in a ruined world. The world he was in wasn't something he was used to and the people here interacted differently, pretty much like how monsters here crave for men while the monsters in his world seek death.
"I'll be doing these quests for a few days before I'll take the dangerous one." The Ashen One said, collecting the herbs and putting it in a basket. "If you think we'll be slaying all day, better to tamper that expectation of yours. Riberion from what I gather is a place not even Mamono dares to enter."
"..." Her emotionless face didn't tell much, but he knew she was thinking about it.
"A path of struggle isn't always one filled with dangers, it can be quiet moments like this. Learn to appreciate it as it will not last." He continues, looking above at the tree where sunlight permeates through the small gaps of the leaves. "I might've been too...distant, but I have my reasons." The Ashen One looks at her. "The path you want to walk is not easy, it will cost you."
"Aren't assassins supposed to be true killers?" Kirsch asked.
"Yes, but even through this path, they may break." He replied. "Resilience, discipline, perseverance...it requires everything. You will break, often more times than one might expect." The Ashen One this time, was finally asking her. "Do you have the strength and courage to walk this path?"
"..." She stared back at him, her emotionless face finally showing determination. "Yes."
"...so be it."
Her eyes widened when the Ashen One took out his Lothric Straight Sword and lunged towards her, giving her no time to think. She took her blade out to block his. As the sword clashed, she was surprised at the amount of power put behind his blade and was sent flying away. Quickly, she recovers and drops down to the ground and widens her eyes to see the Ashen One already in front of her with the blade closing in.
She narrowly ducks down, the blade manages to nicked her cheeks before she performs backflips as fast as she can. Her boots dug onto the ground as she skids across, finding that the Ashen One was relentless in his assault.
"Pick up the herbs." He said all the while continuing with his onslaught.
"W-What are yo-tch!" She blocks another attack but this time, she was prepared in a defensive stance and managed to match him in power.
The ground below shook and shattered when they both swung their blades and made contact. Sparks flew as their blades vibrated under their strength. Slowly, however, the Ashen One began overpowering her as he applied more pressure.
"Pick up the herbs." He repeated, pushing her onto the ground as her boots dug onto the ground. "Pick. It. Up."
"Tsk! You-!" Skillfully using his own strength against him, she positioned her sword where the Ashen One's would slip and carefully used the momentum received to perform a backflip.
As her hands landed on the ground, with her all, she pushed off the ground and kicked square right on his chin, sending him back a bit. However, her current pose left a very wide opening and seeing the opportunity, the Ashen One swiftly sends a kick, hitting her on her abdomen as she spurts out blood and is sent crashing onto a tree. The power behind that kick was powerful enough to make her stick onto the tree before dropping down with a nasty thud.
She coughs out a few splashes of blood, gasping for air. Kirsch lifted her head up to see the imposing figure of the Ashen One approaching. His steps were loud in the silent forest.
He stopped before her, his shadow covered her small figure. "The path you're going to walk will give you no opportunities to breathe. You want something? Seize the opportunity yourself and get it." He raises the Lothric Straight Sword and points it at Kirsch. "This is not even a taste, this is not a percent of what's to come. The path of struggle is much tougher…"
"Ggaghh!" Kirsch coughs out, huffing. "Y-You…"
"So I ask you again; do you have the will to walk this path?"
Kirsch's lifeless eyes light up, the flames of determination burning within as she forces herself to stand up with the help of her blade. She wiped off the blood around her lips and stared daringly towards the Ashen One. He himself could not help but be impressed by her sheer will, it reminded him of his early days in Lordran...
"Yes."
Due to being Unkindled and an assassin, both Kirsch and the Ashen One had taken the liberty to not rest within the village and merely undergo the many quests available in the village. They camped outside and the Ashen One provided the rations needed for Kirsch as being an Unkindled means he lost many semblances of humanity except for his appearance which even now remained a mystery.
Today marked the day where the Ashen One takes a quest where they are required to kill something. What, they were not sure yet but rumors circulating around the mountainous parts of Riberion having a powerful Mamono was a tad bit concerning. While the rumor itself was worrying, attacks or the lack of it provides the Ashen One with another insight.
The Monster Girl Encyclopedia states that not all Mamono are lustful beasts. A very few may have retained their purity and lived on properly as normal people, which is why most Mamono have the ability to change form into humans. While lust is powerful, some people's beliefs or faith in themselves or others are stronger, which is how they manage to remain sane.
If this is true...then killing is unneeded.
Still, it is unconfirmed through his eyes, as every Mamono he had met had all been very shameless harlots. But denying it outright is also ignorant. The information in the book was all accurate, so all that's left for the Ashen One is to confirm it himself.
They traveled across vast distances, coming across bandits and again, no Mamono. For a country sitting right besides Lescatie, the lack of Mamono was both a blessing and a curse. One, bandits are far clever in terms of ambush and two, it could spell disaster as the Ashen One finds it strange. While the country was indeed powerful from the many talks he overheard, it was an ill omen of some sort.
The Fourth Born aimed for Lescatie, the prized Impenetrable Jewel of the Order.
If she recovers...what better target than Riberion priding themselves for having superior military prowess than even Lescatie?
While it was not known throughout the lands, he was sure the Mamono knew of Riberion.
If that is so...then living here for the long term is not a good move.
"We're nearing our destination." Kirsch said, stopping a bit to see the mountainous parts of Riberion. "We'll have to traverse into the mountains...climbing it won't be easy."
"No matter, we shall hither nevertheless." The Ashen One replied and continued to march.
True to his words, the Ashen One climbs the towering peaks reaching the heavens. It was not easy certainly but it won't stop him. As they climbed, they began seeing strange signs that were clearly manmade. While it was strange to see things being built in a place far from what one might consider a proper living space, the strangest thing about it is that these signs were insignias of devotion for the Chief God.
"Crude, but I recognize that symbol anywhere." Kirsch said, staring at a crude wooden Chief God insignia in suspicion. "It seems like they were inviting those who travel through these mountains to stay for a bit and pray, if they were placed where people could see it is anything to indicate…"
"..." The Ashen One wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "Press on."
"...right." Kirsch's glare did not go unnoticed by the Ashen One; it was extremely hostile, and it seemed like she had an idea who placed the insignia here.
They finally came across a cliff and climbed up, seeing a pathway leading somewhere. There were some trees, but they weren't enough to block the view of a church over a kilometer away. Kirsch's glare intensified, and her teeth were gritting against each other. The Ashen One raised an eyebrow as he wondered where this animosity came from. Her emotionless face was laced with wrath, a silent one.
Although she managed to keep it in, he was sure it'll break out sooner or later.
They made their way towards the church and entered. There, they saw a young woman garbed in modest attire with a veil over her head, kneeling down over the statue of the Chief God while inciting prayers.
"Fill us with your blessings, fill us with your will, fill us with the gifted delicacies you've placed into this world, embrace us with your warmth. Cleanse us from sinful thoughts, forgive us for our transgressions. Your might, your love and your kindness is all we ask. Bless this day so we may continue our devotion for you, Chief God." She lowered her head towards her clasped hand. "Amen."
In anticipation, the Ashen One's eyes landed towards Kirsch's hands, and her right hand reached towards her sword.
The woman before them noticed their presence and stood up. "Visitors? Forgive me, I had just done praying."
She turns around to reveal her face. Although not much was seen due to the dimly lit candles, her eyes were a good indicator of what she truly is. The glowing yellow eyes that stood out even in the midst of darkness. The eyes of a Succubus…
"Heresy…" Kirsch whispered harshly, her irises shrunk.
"Kirsch." The Ashen One called, he picked up on her intent. "Do not engage."
"HERESY!!!" Kirsch pulled out her blade and immediately dashed forward.
"W-Wha-" The Succubus flinched and before she could react, Kirsch was already right in front of her with her blade pulled back.
"Die, heretic!!" She swung her blade but was blocked by someone else's.
"W-What are you doing!?" Another woman appeared but she was human, she also wore an attire belonging to the Order.
Specifically, a Hero's armor.
"You dare protect a Mamono!?" Kirsch yelled and used all of her strength to send the Hero crashing to the left. "Heretic, all of you!"
"Kirsch, calm down." The Ashen One called out but his words fell on deaf ears.
"Heresy is a sin that cannot be forgiven!!" The Hero climbed out of the wall, bruised and in pain. "You, a Hero, should very well know that!" Kirsch then turned to glare at the Succubus who was frightened and confused. "And you! You dare pray to our god!? Your kind deserves no such thing!"
"Final warning, stand down." The Ashen One once again said.
"Wait! She's not like other Mamono!" The Hero tries to stop Kirsch only for Kirsch to snap towards her direction and immediately swings her blade, slicing her belly open. "Gghh-!"
Her blood splashes over the ground, the Succubus' eyes widened. "Telle!"
"You all deserve to die!!" Kirsch raises her blade, the clear hatred glints in her eyes like an animal eyeing a prey. "In the name of the Chief Goddess, I smite heretics and spill their rotten bloo-"
Before she could even finish her words, a kick landed to her side and she was sent bursting through the right side of the church, rolling over the grass like a ragdoll before she plunged her blade onto the ground to halt the momentum.
Kirsch clenched her teeth as hard as she could, blood seeping out through the gaps of her teeth. "What is the meaning of this, Rusted Slayer!?"
The Ashen One climbs out of the church. "I said stand down."
"Stand down!?" Magic bursts around her, flaring like a blazing flame. "How can I calm down when heresy is being committed before my eyes!?"
"I don't see any heresy." The Ashen One replied, not a bit intimidated by her lightshow.
"You're just a damn foreigner, you don't know anything! Stay out of this!" She shouted, her reason was clear to the Ashen One.
"..." The motions on his shoulders can be seen when he inhales, "Really…how bothersome." He muttered before pulling out the Twin Princes' Greatsword as it let out an eerie glow. "No."
As that word came out of his mouth, his aura washed over her like a tidal wave and immediately snuffed out her magic aura like blowing onto a candle as it sent out gusts of wind. Her eyes widened in absolute shock and her lips quivered. She took a step back, shocked at the sudden change in atmosphere. She was greatly intimidated but had it been any other situation, she would've stood down. However this time, she won't relent.
Kirsch pressed on. "Why!? You told me that killing is necessary!"
"Then I was wrong." The Ashen One replied. "I admit, I thought of the same…until we met her." He pointed his thumbs towards the Succubus inside the church. "She is a Mamono, yes. But she does not pose a threat to us nor does she bear any ill intent."
"Who cares for ill intent!? She's a Mamono! Praying and acting all devoted! A heresy–no, a sacrilege of the highest degree! I do not wish to turn a blind eye to it!" She grips her blade tightly, the hatred in her eyes was still flaring. "She needs to die, horribly…"
The Ashen One ceased his animosity, staring at Kirsch with a gaze she could not understand. "..." He sheathes back the Twin Princes' Greatsword. "Then you're a hypocrite."
"What…?" Kirsch became confused.
"You claim to act upon heresy before your eyes yet, I did not see any actions taken in Lescatie." His figure was unmoving, her thoughts came to a halt as she began to process what he had just said. "Not by you, or those who claimed themselves pious."
"That's dif-"
"How is it any different?" The Ashen One gave her no time to reply, the acts being committed in Lescatie was far more "heretical" than the one he saw earlier. "The Heroes, the Knights, you…all of you turn a blind eye to the atrocities being committed by your own priests and lords."
"Heresy…" She growled.
"Heresy, you say? Me?" He scoffed. "You are no different than the inquisitors I killed, preaching truth when you refuse to see it yourself. You don't even hesitate to hurt innocents, the Hero did not try to kill you yet you tried to kill her." He pulled out the Lothric Straight Sword and pointed it to her neck. "You are not just any hypocrite, you are a cowardly one. Rather than acting upon your biases, why don't you learn and see the truth by yourself?"
"Y-You…" She gritted her teeth and then looked down. "..."
"I am not stating that you should ignore what had transpired in Lescatie by those Mamono, but the Order as well are not all innocent." He puts his blade away. "The slums are a good indicator of the Order's wrongdoings."
"...." Kirsch glared at the Ashen One. "Then you're not innocent as well."
"...Indeed, I am not." The Ashen One lifted his head up to the skies as he lowered his blade. "Far from it…"
Silence filled the spaces between them. The Ashen One wordlessly sheathed back his sword and turned around to aid the Hero's fatal injury all the while Kirsch was left there to ponder on his words as well as the state of Lescatie before it was invaded.
"Damn, that hurts." The Hero, Ellatelle Quartz hisses in pain.
"Sit still, I need to stitch your wounds." The Ashen One said whilst the Succubus, Marce, watches. "You are lucky that the wound was not deep, otherwise you'd be at death's door by now."
"I knew the Order were a bunch of fanatics but not to this degree, ouch!" Ellatelle said as the Ashen One continued to stitch.
"Strange, you both are devout believers of the Chief Goddess. Why are you stating so as if you are not one of them?" The Ashen One asks, his eyes still on Ellatelle's belly to focus on stitching.
"Ah, it's a bit complicated." Ellatelle looked at Marce. "Marcy here could explain, not really good with all the history and stuff, wha-hey! Ow!"
"Even more strange to see a Mamono praying without an ounce of malice in her heart." He replied.
"I…well, it has to do with my faith." Marce started. "I was Mamonized by a Dark Elf, but my faith was too strong for their energy to completely corrupt my mind and I retained who I once was, not falling to the depravity of Mamono."
"I see." The Ashen One took out his dagger and cut off the strings, finally done stitching. "So it is possible for one to turn into Mamono without completely losing themself." He took out a bottle of alcohol and poured it on the stitched wound.
"Gah! That stings!" Ellatelle pouted. "Would it kill you to be gentle!?"
"No, but it certainly will kill you if I do."
"Grr, you're not gentlemanly at all." Ellatelle puffs her cheeks in annoyance. "Besides, we don't pray to the Chief Goddess, we pray to the Chief God."
The Ashen One raises his eyebrows. "Elaborate."
"Marcy, would you?" Ellatelle gestured towards Marce.
"Yes." The Ashen One took note of her eyes. While they were clearly of a Succubus, they didn't have the same slant and mischievous look behind them. If anything, they held the same softness many humans held, which spoke well of her humanity she clung onto. "In Riberion, we still hold on to the old beliefs of the Chief God. The Order revered the Chief Goddess, the one who replaced the original Chief God after the Hero slain the previous Demon Lord."
"The Old Order?" The Ashen One seemed surprised even with his face covered. "I have only heard rumors about it."
"Indeed, the new Order despises the Old Order which is one of the reasons why Riberion and Lescatie don't get along well." The Ashen One nods, urging her to continue. "Riberion preferred the Old Order because of the mistakes made by the Chief Goddess. Although the Order of the Chief God exists even before the first Demon Lord appeared, Chief God is a title. And the Chief Goddess took the title after the Chief God disappeared."
"I see, so the main difference is the two different gods you revered." He said.
"Yes, but for us, the main difference is the teachings which might not seem like it but differ from one another." Marce then points at herself. "For example, what do you notice about my attire?"
The Ashen One raises an eyebrow. "Attire? I see no-" Then he stops, it wasn't really subtle since while the color themes remain unchanged, her attire was far more modest than the one he sees in Lescatie. "You're…covered, more than the ones I see in Lescatie." Then he turned his head towards Ellatelle. "You too."
"Naturally." Ellatelle smirks proudly.
"Yes, even down to the clothes we wear, there are differences." Marce looked down on the ground, she had a downcast look on her face. "Some of the scriptures written by the Chief God were overwritten by the Chief Goddess, it's baffling really."
"..." The Ashen One was not sure how the religion works here, but from what he knew of the books he had found in Lescatie, there were multiple gods.
Some even suggest that the other gods opposed the Chief Goddess and aimed to support the current Demon Lord's conquest to unite humanity. Not just those books, even the Monster Girls Encyclopedia states so. The many blessings bestowed upon the Mamono were staggering, while the humans were only blessed by the Chief Goddess. Something here doesn't sit right with him, but one thing is for sure.
The Chief God's blessings were far more powerful than all the gods' combined. They allowed one to retain one's humanity after going through Mamonization. Although this is a theory…it's very likely, considering even the pious ones in Lescatie succumbed to Mamonization, becoming slaves to pleasure. It was a ridiculous notion. Why unite humanity using pleasure when even wars weren't able to?
The Demon Lord really is naive…
"I thank you for your explanation." He lowered his head a bit to Marce before facing Ellatelle. "And you, take a rest. Don't move or your wounds will open."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Ellatelle waved dismissively. "You better go and convince that partner of yours to not slice me again. Had enough scars on me already. Even I want to marry you know? How can I marry if I have ugly scars on my body?"
"I humbly apologize for Kirsch's behavior…what happened in Lescatie, it has been weighing on her mind lately." The Ashen One explained.
"No, it's okay." Ellatelle sighs before a sad look appears on her face. "It reminded me of someone I knew before…" She shook her head and smiled. "Also, what's this about Lescatie? Something goin' on over there?"
"Oh, I've heard of the rumors. It was taken by the Fourth Born, wasn't it?" Marce asked, intrigued.
"Indeed, Lescatie is no more." The Ashen One affirms.
"Whoa, really?" Ellatelle rubs the back of her head. "Well, that sucks. I can see the reason behind her aggression towards Marcy. Still, if she keeps jumping on Mamono like that, she'll get someone killed."
"I know, I must speak to her now." The Ashen One nods before standing up. "I leave you both to rest."
"You two can rest in the guest room later, take it as my thanks for saving us," Marce said with a soft smile.
The Ashen One stops by the door frame, seemingly in thoughts. "I deserve no such things."
With that, he left, leaving both of the Old Order believers confused. "What was that about?"
"..." Marce stares at the door frame where he was. "I sense…sadness within him. He might not know of it but deep down…he is depressed."
"You think so?" Marce nodded as Ellatelle released a sigh. "Hope it gets better for him then, I barely see anyone who'd tend to my wounds like this…despite the rough treatment."
"I'll prepare a meal for you." Marce stands up. "And listen to him, don't move too much alright?"
"Ugh, you wanna be my mom too?"
"Yes or no, Telle?"
"I already said yes, please don't chew me up anymore."
Kirsch curls up on a tree in the midst of darkness illuminated only by the dim moonlight. The cold breeze was beginning to prick her skin. Her eyes were terrible, a result of frustrated tears that fell after what happened earlier. She was very angry at the Ashen One for protecting the Mamono, but she was also angry at herself for just realizing what she had done in Lescatie.
Every word said by the Ashen One was like a sword through her chest; she hated it because she knew it was the truth. Kirsch was hypocritical for acting aggressively towards Marce when the things done by the nobles and priests in the Impenetrable Jewel were far worse. It was her prejudice that got the best of her. Her hatred for Mamono grew from birth, and the teachings ingrained in her mind gave her the idea that all Mamono were evil.
But she knew very well of the truth…she knew what Sasha Fullmoon had been doing in secret. Sparing Mamono children…yes, they were children. Children that did not know anything. She didn't do anything, not to report nor try to convince her to get rid of them. Because the truth was complicated, and the actions one takes was even more complicated. She did not know what to do…
"You are not going to last long out here."
Kirsch visibly jumped a bit when the Ashen One's voice suddenly came out of nowhere. She lifted her head up, in the corner of her vision, she could see the Dreaded Rusted Slayer staring at the skies. He was still as mysterious as ever, his face covered and his voice muffled by the helmet. She did not understand him, his actions more often than not came off as abuse than help. He claimed that the path to struggle was how he got so strong yet, she could not understand it.
He was vague.
And she hated vague things.
"What do you want?"
The Ashen One did not miss the disdain in her tone.
"...nothing." Then as if it was natural, he sat beside her without any reserve, shocking even the emotionless assassin.
"W-What are you…" She wanted to berate him, to tell him to go away but she couldn't as the words were stuck in her throat. "..."
"Your impulse. I'm aware of why you act in such a way and I understand it." The Ashen One said, Kirsch just listened. "The events of Lescatie and perhaps some experiences you had in the past may have shaped you in some way but…if you want to get stronger, disregard that past and face the future. The path to struggle does not concern your personal past. It will only hold you back…"
"...So you want me to forget my past? To forget who I once was and the people I care about?" She could feel frustration once again overwhelming her being.
"I never said to forget it, disregard it. Don't let it cloud your judgment." With a clank of his armor, he raises his head to see the moon hanging over the mountains. "Your past stays as your past, you could not change it. No matter what you do. The best you can do…is learn from it, nothing else."
"..." Kirsch began to think, she pondered deeply about what he said.
As an assassin, she was supposed to be a killer in the shadows—a perfect doll, so to say. But the things she did in the past, the burden she carried…it might've held her back more than it helped her. While the memories of the people she held dearly are important, her vengeful side would regard those memories as empowerment to dawn a false justice.
Even after what she did earlier, before this conversation, she knew what she had done was wrong. That hatred, that anger that was built up from the past made her act in a way that the people she cared about wouldn't want to see or support. A path filled with the blood of the innocents…
And a path filled with corruption of the innocents.
It all started with that damn rapier, the rapier that was gifted to her by Priest Noscrim to serve under him. A guise that set a catastrophe in motion. Had she not destroyed that rapier, it would've taken control of her and no doubt she will go on to corrupt people without care. A path she should avoid at all costs, lest she'll be no different than the traitor Sasha.
"In the past…" She began and the Ashen One listened attentively. "I had a friend. We were in a squad together, she and I were good friends." Kirsch could feel her eyes getting watery again, this was a painful memory for her. "Before I became an assassin, I was just one of the Order Knights that protected the borders of Lescatie. I was a girl who lived in the slums before House Noscrim recruited me and I went through training. That training also included the basic Knight course of which I was sent to the borders…"
"..."
"I met her there, right at the barracks near the wall. When she introduced herself to the squad, she was loud, obnoxious, naive, energetically chaotic and...kind." Another uncharacteristic expression made its way to Kirsch's face in the form of a fond smile, a smile the Ashen One didn't expect to see considering how Kirsch is. "She approached me out of curiosity because I was silent and my introduction was brief. I didn't bother replying to her, I was too preoccupied with my situation and contract with Priest Noscrim."
"But she kept bothering me until I told her to stop and do you know what she said?" She turned towards the Ashen One, that smile still adorned to her face. "She said, "Finally, you looked at me!" with that stupid grin on her face."
"To your valor, my sword and our victory together! Long may the Sun shine!" Echoes of the past immediately entered his mind as Kirsch tells her past with a good friend.
"And I just…got attached to her. It may have been a mistake but to me…it was the only time I felt like I was human once again." She lowered down her head, staring at the grass below. "We got along so well and for the first in a very long time…I can smile again. We smiled together as we trained and guarded the borders. We fended off Mamono together, got punished by our squad leader and various other mischief she had managed to drag me in. It was an unforgettable memory…"
"...I assume things went wrong?" The Ashen One guessed.
She nodded, "Yes…" Frustration appeared and the sound of leather tightening can be heard from her clenched fists. "Priest Noscrim called me to the capital and bestowed me with that damn rapier. That rapier was what ruined everything." She grabbed a rock, infusing it with Spirit Energy and threw it, impacting a tree and causing it to fall. "I was excited of course, I brought it with me to the border and I trained with it. In doing so, I accidentally swiped her."
"At the time, I wasn't aware of what it could do and even she didn't seem affected by it…until some Mamono attacked the border. We managed to drive them away but one remained, it was Succubus and she…s-she…." She gritted her teeth, anger flashed in her eyes as it formed a wrathful scowl. "She turned my friend into a Mamono. I-I could not hold the rapier, I didn't…want to kill her. So I let them go."
"She wasn't the only one turned, the rapier also has a miasma that was unnoticed even by veteran Heroes that also affected others. That Succubus managed to change them too…" The Ashen One could hear the faint hiccups in her tone, he knew it was painful to experience such a thing. "So she thanked me and said that my rapier was the thing that made it possible, that it is "love". I didn't understand, I refused to understand. I couldn't believe it…" She took a sharp inhale. "After that, I was broken once more. Returning to the capital, I vowed to destroy any "love" I could find. I became obsessed with killing those who think they can commit mistaken-love without consequences…"
"And look at where it got me." Kirsch wanted to laugh but she couldn't, it was all too pathetic. "My past burdened me heavily, I became someone I don't think Olivia would approve of. If she were to see me like that, she'd smack me across my face and ask me to return to who I once was...ha, thinking about it, that's what she'll definitely do..."
"..." The Ashen One was quiet, her past no doubt contributed to the actions she does now. "Olivia...is that her name?" He asked.
"Yes, Olivia Carnibell." Kirsch replied, smiling. "A clown with no manners...but one possessing a bright heart. Now she's nothing more than a beast controlled by the false lust of Mamono."
"I see…" The Ashen One then slowly and gently puts his hand on her shoulder. "Does getting all of your past burdens out of your heart ease you now, Kirsch?"
"Yes, I…" She turns to look at the Ashen One, smiling with a nod. "Yes, it does. Thank you…"
"...it is no problem." The Ashen One hesitated a bit to receive gratitude, he was still not used to it.
"I'm sorry…for how I acted earlier. I was not in the right state of mind." Kirsch apologizes and the Ashen One merely shakes his head.
"It is not me who you should apologize to, Kirsch." He replied.
"Right…" She was riddled with guilt. "Is she...is the Hero fine?"
"Yes. However, had I not patched her wounds quick enough, she wouldn't be. But otherwise, she is fine now."
"Alright…" She stood up. "I should go and apologize to them. Thank you again, Rusted Slayer."
"Elias."
"Huh?" Kirsch was bewildered.
"Elias, my name. Elias Bergin." The Ashen One, Elias Bergin, finally gave her his name.
A name he had long abandoned ever since he awakened as an Undead.
"Oh…" Kirsch unconsciously smiled, a faint blush can be seen on her face as she realized that the Ashen One now Elias trusted her enough to give her his name. "Thanks, Elias. I'll be going now."
"I am going to stay here for some time, hither on without me."
"Right."
After that, Kirsch left the scene leaving the Ashen One alone in the dark woods. He sat there with his back on a tree for a few minutes before he stood up and began gathering a bunch of twigs and sticks. He places them down to form a campfire before...he remembered something. He took out something out of his arsenal; a coiled sword. He stabs it on the campfire and...it did nothing.
The Ashen One crouches down and with the cinders left on his body, he lights it up. The fire sprouted forth, it was a flame that did not replicate the ones he was used to yet…
"Link the flame…" He muttered. "To what end…? It is all over...but what now?" The Ashen One did not know what possessed him but something inside him was eating him away. "What…" His breath became shaky and hitched. "WHAT NOW!?"
He kicked the sword and with his greaves, he stomped down the campfire with anger never displayed before. He kept stomping even as there was no fire left except ashes and cinders. The ground caved in until he stopped. He fell down to his knees as his hands were left hanging.
"What remains…" The Ashen One uttered as he stared at the ash and cinder.
Kirsch was not the only one burdened by the past…
In the Kingdom of Arion
A lone figure sat atop a mountain of corpses. Both humans and Mamono decorated the scene like twisted flowers. Unlike the Slaughter of Lescatie, which was brightened up by blazing flames of judgment, the atmosphere was dark and colorless. A man wearing strange knight armor sat atop the mountains of corpses, his eyes dead and his expression unchanging.
"This…this is insanity…" From below, a young knight commented followed by an old veteran knight. "This is too far for a retaliation."
"Perhaps." The old veteran knight replied, sighing as he looked up to stare at the lone figure. "However, he's doing better than we ever could, that merc."
"But…" The young knight tried to argue but even he knew the efficiency this Nameless Knight brought to their enemies.
"You're still young to understand this but…the Slayer's Guild is a blessing even if their methods are inhumane." The veteran knight commented as he sat down for a rest. "For now, we need a moment of respite before our contract ends."
The young knight could only look down as he gritted his teeth in frustration. "Damn it…"
As the Nameless Knight watches, rain pours down slowly, painting the scenery in an even dreader gradient. He closed his eyes and reminisced about the time he spent on that island.
Born of Salt
Devour'd by sea
From icy crypt
Deliver me
Trivia/References:
*The Principality of Riberion.
Riberion is a neighboring country situated in the north of Lescatie. Ruled by King Alfred von Quincitree, he was known throughout Riberion as a fair ruler. Although not much was known about the country, Medocron can only be found in Riberion. The ecological phenomenon behind this remains unknown as scholars are still researching it, but Medocron is Riberion's most powerful weapon. Because of this, not even Lescatie dared to touch Riberion.
In the Slayer's Guild information web, the Demon Lord is on the fence on how to deal with Riberion due to their superior military power as well as the weapons they possess which can disable mana. For that very reason, no Mamono dares to invade Riberion and the numbers are at an all time low. But those who do dare face a terrible fate.
*Medocron.
A special metal found in Riberion that has properties of anti-magic, also known as the Mage-Killer metal. Not only that but it also possesses a purity unlike any other metal on Eos. A complete opposite of the Demon Realm Silver, it can be forged into a weapon capable of taking even the higher tiers of Mamono. King Alfred's great grandfather once donned a full armor made of Medocron and managed to fend off fleets of Mamono from the Dragon Empire Dragonia.
Most of the members of the Slayer's Guild uses Medocron weapons as a way to either scare off Mamono or torture them for information.
*Slayer's Guild.
The Slayer's Guild is a mysterious organization specialized in Mamono extermination. The guild's consisted of eccentric individuals possessing strength, skills and powers no one has ever seen in Eos. Rumor has it that the members are all Otherworlders.
"Give a good man a reason to kill and he'll find no shortage of bodies to bury."
- Unknown
What Remains of Husband and Father
"The Order is a place of faith, a place welcome to anyone who desires truth and warmth. We welcome you all! Chief God is one, Chief God is true, Chief God is warmth! Praise the Chief God!"
A man walks amongst crowds of people passing by and ignoring the ramblings of an old priest glorifying his religion and inviting those who seek some form of shelter from existential crisis.
He was not a believer, he didn't believe in the Chief God or any other gods. Whether he was made by something greater or not was not his concern, he wasn't interested why or how he was made. He was a man born on Eos, he was a human. Nothing more, nothing less. His life as a normal man was as eventful as others, he worked on his farm and avoided any Mamono contact. He married a beautiful woman and had a beautiful child. A blessing? Perhaps, but that is all gone now.
He slowly made his way out of the village, into a pathway leading to a secluded forest. Unlike the continent of Lescatie filled to the brim with Mamono and Order cultists, the continent of Riberion was a far safer place. Due to the conflict between both countries revolving around resources, not many from Lescatie could travel into Riberion, it was a safe haven for those seeking life without Mamono or poverty. The rules set by King Alfred were strict yet fair, he was one of the few Kings in Eos to have humanity within him.
As his sight saw the clearing ahead, he stopped for a bit. He took an inhale, closing his eyes.
Another day, another path to the past.
He exhaled and continued his track forward. As he came to a clearing, his farm came into view as well as a well-established house that had a porch. Over the fences right behind a forest, the one mistake can also be seen. No matter how many times he had seen it, visions of the past always reminded him of the very mistake he had made. Time is a very strange yet cruel thing, once things have come to pass, nothing can ever be changed.
The man walked towards the mistake he had caused, two makeshift gravestones were revealed and he kneeled down, placing down the flowers that reminded him of his wife and daughter. Two of the only things he cared about in this life. His lips quivered as he stood up, staring at the two gravestones before walking away to work on his farm.
Another day, another yield.
He worked tirelessly on his farm, raising the hoe and stabbing it on the ground. Every stab made a sound that caused a vision to return. A trauma, a nightmare. As he continuously stabbed the ground, the memories came back like it was yesterday...
Three years ago...
It was just another peaceful day in his house, he was awakened under the morning sun.
Just then, the door was open to reveal his daughter who beamed a smile at him. "Dad! Breakfast's ready!"
He smiled. "I'll be down shortly, small sprout."
"Okay! But you better be fast or I'll eat all the breakfast!" His daughter replied and quickly went down the stairs.
He lets out a hearty laugh. "Oh no, you don't!" He jumped out of his bed and chased after his daughter who was laughing happily before she got caught. "If you eat my breakfast, I'll eat you too!" He playfully nibbles on her cheeks. "Nyom, nyom, nyom, nyom!"
"D-Dad, that tickles! Stop!" She laughs as he continuously nibbles.
"Honey, please stop that." Then, his wife came into view, her perfect smile, her beautiful eyes and the warmth underneath it. "We gotta have breakfast, Frederick just called in and you have so much work ahead of you."
"Alright, alright." He rolled his eyes but smiled. "Today's going to be a long day but I have your breakfast to keep me going." He placed his daughter down and she went onto the chairs, climbing it and sat comfortably.
He made his way towards his wife and gave her a kiss. "Oh, you!" She playfully slapped him on his shoulder but nevertheless reciprocated the kiss.
"So what's for breakfast?" He grabbed her close by her hips.
"Well, as you can see, we have some pies and dried meat, as well as some dash of kini fruits." She smiled. "Come on then."
"Yeah, dad! I'm hungry!" The daughter said.
"Alright, let's dig in then!" He replied energetically.
Under that sole table, they enjoyed breakfast together. As he eats, the sight of his wife and daughter so happy was ingrained into his mind. A sight he never got tired of.
The life he had worked for, the life he frankly felt he didn't deserve, it was...beautiful.
After finishing his breakfast, he got ready for a day at work. His farm was taken care of already and today, he was offered a job to help the villagers construct a house for a newcomer.
Standing on the porch, his wife and daughter approached him. "Honey, don't forget your lunch." The wife said as she handed him a few wooden boxes.
"Thanks, Eina." He kissed her yet again and ruffled his daughter's hair. "I'll be back this evening. Be good alright?"
"Of course, dad." The daughter replied, giving him that toothy grin he was accustomed to.
"Take care of yourself." The wife smiled warmly.
"A few stones got nothing on these." He flexed his muscles proudly.
"Dad is strong!" His daughter cheered for him.
"That's right, small sprout!"
The wife could only giggle as he walked down the porch. "I'll be making your favorites tonight, honey."
He waves back. "As expected of my excellent beautiful wife!"
She blushes at his compliment. "Oh, you!"
They waved back at him. Their figure gets smaller as he walks into the distance, not knowing it was the last day he will ever get to see them as...them.
"Goddamn, Fred. Are we making a house for a noble or something?" The man asked his friend, their sweating form can be seen even in the dark. "This house is way too big!"
"I have absolutely no idea, the elder said that guy paid a pretty penny for this house to be built." Frederick replied, shrugging. "Well, thanks to ya, we finished it in a day! Always helpful with those muscles of yours."
"Hah! As if these stones can handle my muscles!" The man smirked. "I can handle a few Mamono with these."
"Hey now, careful with what ya say." Frederick scolded albeit playfully. "Some folks around here said they saw a dark elf wandering about."
"A dark elf? All the way to Riberion?" He scoffed, chuckling a bit. "Yeah, fat chance bud."
"I can't confirm it but some newbie knight said he spotted one drifting around the borders." Frederick said, looking at the sky in thought. "But weirdly enough, he just sort of...forgot about it. Don't know what happened, must've been some kind of "discipline" the knight captain put him through to not make any bullshit up."
"Pssh, discipline." The man rolled his eyes. "The Orders are just a bunch of zealous maniacs, can't believe them for a second."
"Yeah, but they have been guarding the borders for years now. I think they could be trusted, albeit to some degree." Frederick commented thoughtfully.
"Doubt it." The man shrugged. "So is there something else we could do here? My wife and daughter are waiting at home."
"Just a few finishing touches and it'll be done." Frederick smiled. "Ya can just go home, ya done enough."
"Really? You sure?" The man asked, a bit concerned.
"Yeah, it's okay. A few lazy asses here should be able to finish it." Frederick then turned towards the three sitting young men talking rather loudly by themselves. "Oi, you three! Get yer asses up and finish the goddamn house!" The three young men immediately stood up and began working. "See? They got it handled."
The man shook his head, chuckling. "Young men these days."
"Well, that's what the Heroes gets ya. A legendary figure is made known throughout the lands and boys will aspire to be one." Frederick chuckled along. "Guess they thought this work is too simple for aspiring heroes like them."
"Aren't Heroes supposed to be blessed or whatever?" He asked and Frederick merely nodded.
"Yeah, and that's where they're wrong." He looks at the three young men working on moving the furniture. "Heroes are born blessed by the Chief God, they are Heroes at birth. We never heard one that's risen up without blessings."
"If that's the case then we're better off without any heroes." The man carried a sack over his shoulders with wooden lunch boxes in hand. "The last thing we need is some brat thinking he's better than us hardworking men."
"Amen to that, heh." Frederick gave a small wave. "See ya tomorrow, and don't forget to bring those kini fruits with ya. They're amazing!"
"Depends on the yield." The man waves back.
The man couldn't wait to see his family.
The man entered the clearing, smiling only to see his home...strangely dark. Did his wife forget to light up the lanterns? She must've been incredibly tired.
As he made his way to the house, a sense of dread filled his entire being. He didn't know why but something felt wrong.
He opened the door, it creaked loudly amongst the deafening silence. It was dark inside and his wife was not in sight.
Slowly, his heartbeat starts to get faster. "Eina? Darling?" He calls but the silence continues to persist. "..."
He made his way up the stairs, looking for any signs of his wife and daughter. As he got up to the first floor, the door to his and his wife's bedroom lay open with a dim light permeating through the gaps of the door. His breathing which was silent earlier can be heard, even when not doing any heavy lifting he finds himself sweating.
"Eina, this is not funny." He tries to reassure himself that it was a prank but the lack of response only fueled his anxiety. "Eina?"
He opens the door fully to reveal his wife being hugged by...
"Eina!" He shouted, his eyes widened and his teeth immediately gnawing against each other. "You bastard!"
He tries to land a punch but narrowly misses as the person in question evades, jumping skillfully towards the windowsill. He quickly grabbed his unconscious wife, glaring at the person.
The dark elf smiled, "Oh my, what a stud. No wonder she was so enamored by you~!"
"You...you're that dark elf!" Anger doesn't even begin to describe his emotions, his nose flared. "What did you do to my wife!?"
"Oh well, I didn't manage to do anything to her...completely." The dark elf holds her chin in thought, almost as if she was mocking him. "Is this what they call slow burn romance?"
"You shameless bitch!" He growled.
"Don't worry, she isn't hurt...just a bit "different", so to say. Or "better" preferably." The dark elf giggles. "Enjoy your new life~!"
"Wa-"
Before he could stop her, the dark elf disappeared. Damn Mamono and their spellcrafts!
"Shit, I better tell the others…" He cursed before looking back at his wife's unconscious form in his hands. "Eina, Eina! Are you alright!?" He asked as he gently shook her.
His wife groans before slowly opening her eyes. "Honey…?"
Relieved, he smiled. "Yes, yes! I'm here!"
As she opened her eyes, her irises slowly began to change. It went from her beautiful blue eyes to yellow almost slanted haunting eyes. His eyes widened but before he could say anything, he was slammed onto the ground with a force he didn't expect coming from his wife as their lips interlocked with one another.
Her kiss was forceful, violent and overpowering. Almost like she was devouring him, like a beast starved for days. It was not the kiss he had known coming from her. This...is not the wife he knows.
He pushes her off, "Eina, what the hell's gotten into you!?"
She was breathing erratically with her tongue out, almost salivating as droplets dropped on his face. "Honey~! You look so delicious today, let's have sex!"
"What!? You said you weren't ready for another child!" He said as he tried to fight her off but her strength was just on a whole different level.
Slowly, horns began to protrude from her head. The soft and warm smile she always has was replaced with a smile of lust, a smile of a seductress. A smile that did not belong to her face. She was changing into a Mamono.
"I changed my mind, let's have lots and lots of children!" She was overpowering him, it was not helped that he didn't want to hurt her.
"Please…" He struggles to push her off, teeth clattering. "E-Eina...please....stop!" Mustering all his strength, he pushes her off and she flies back, hitting a wall. "Shit, Eina! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
She slowly stands up-no, more like twisting it in a very inhumanely manner as she rises from the ground, hugging her body and emphasizing the curves. "It's okay, honey~! You can make it up now by letting me drink your semen!"
"No…" His eyes grew, fright began to overwhelm his body. "Eina...this is not you…"
"What are you talking about? I'm always like…" She trailed off as in that moment, she turned her head to the side seeing her reflection in the mirror above the wardrobe. "I'm…" Her eyes slowly widened, her clothes were shredded and were replaced by revealing clothing and tights around her body. "I-I'm…"
Her eyes began to flicker between blue and yellow before she turned her head towards her husband who was looking at her fearfully. She blinks, memories of their first time meeting, of them falling for each other, of the passionate night they had, the time their daughter was born and how happy he looked. It overwhelms her as one of her eyes changes back into its natural blue color.
She held her head, "W-What was I doing…?" Her lips quivered but she found herself closing her eyes shut as the perverse voice at the back of her head was trying to possess her. "Honey! I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to do that…" She grits her teeth before she stumbles her way towards the wardrobe, opening it quickly and smashing the back of the wardrobe to reveal a blade. "Honey, I don't have much time...ugh!"
"That's...the blade you had when you were still a knight! I thought you got rid of it?" He asked, baffled at the revelation.
"I-I'm sorry...I had to...."
She dropped down and the man immediately went towards her. Before he can help her however, she raises her hands and halted him in his tracks. She couldn't make any move, she was struggling to fight the perverse nature of the Mamono from taking over.
"Don't! If you touch me, I'll lose control." She pointed at the blade, "I...I don't want to burden you...but please….use the blade."
His eyes widened. "F-For what!?"
"Use it...and plunge it to my heart." She said, her hands covering her other eye that were changing. "You have to do it…"
"What!? No! Are you insane!?" He refused. "We'll just get you to a doctor, they'll fix you somehow!"
"No…" She shook her head, smiling sadly. "You can't fix this, there's no way to reverse Mamonization."
"B-But-"
"And you can't keep me locked up." She continued, "A newly turned Mamono will release fumes that can change anyone into a Mamono and its radius is too large. If I change completely now, all the villagers will be affected as well…"
"No...no, no, no, no." He shook his head, denying the truth of the situation. "This can't be…I can't….I can't do this!"
"Do you want our daughter to change as well!?" His breathing came into a halt at the mention of their daughter, eyes widening in realization. "You need to do this...or she'll turn as well." She smiles, the smile he was familiar with. "I'm sorry I made you do this, but you have to. For both of our sakes...and for her as well."
"No…" Tears dropped from the corner of his eyes.
"Do it while I'm still changing, otherwise I'll just get resurrected…" Her smile widened, one corner of her smile was the smile he knew while the other was one of lust. "I want to at least die as a human." His eyes widened.
He grabbed the hilt of the blade, positioning it to her bosom. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"It's okay, honey. It's okay…" Tears can also be seen from the corner of her eyes. "Just remember, no matter what happens...I love you…"
His breathing became more erratic, every inhale and exhale louder than before. Closing his eyes, flashes of the times they spent together bursts forth. The pain, the suffering, the burden he has to carry after this…
He opened his eyes and his irises shrunk. "HAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
With all of his strength mustered mentally and physically, the blade went through her. Blood drips on the ground, a proud smile can be seen on her face as her eyes turn normal again. The horns on her head drop down on the ground as a result of stopping an ongoing transformation. The Demonic Mana that once tried to take over her ceases.
He stares at her, lips quivering and tears still going down from his face. "Thank...you. For everything…" She yet again gave him that smile. "For being a loving husband, for being the man I need...thank….you…"
With that, her last breath was drawn.
At that moment, it seemed as if the world stopped moving. He drops down to his knees, letting the grip on the blade loosen before slowly hovering his hands towards her face. Tears dropped onto her face, even in death she was as beautiful as ever.
He grabs her head and holds it tightly to his chest. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" He lets out a scream only a grieving man could understand.
"Small sprout!" The man bursts through the door, seeing his daughter also unconscious. "No!"
He ran towards her and was relieved to find that she was unaffected, must've been knocked out by magic from that dark elf.
"Dad…?" She opened her eyes, she was normal. "D-Dad! T-There was a strange lady and she used something a-and then…!"
"Shh, it's okay. It's okay, small sprout." He hugs her, the pain of losing his wife tore a hole in his heart.
He is not about to lose his daughter too.
"Listen, we need to get out. We have to warn others." He held her up as she hugged his body.
"O-Okay." She replies.
Running out of the house, he ran towards the pathway between the forest that leads up to the village. As he ran, he saw some guards in the distance.
He waves his hand, "Hey! Help!"
"Huh!?" The guards were immediately alarmed as the man arrived in front of them. "What the, Vester? What's going on?"
"A dark elf broke into my house!" The man responded, he was sweating.
"What!? So the reports were true!?" The guards looked at each other as the older one hisses out a curse. "Shit, then it could be anywhere by now. Scout the village!" The other guards look hesitant. "The hell are you waiting for!? Go, go, go!"
The guards nod and immediately run into the village, shouts can be heard in the distance.
"Goddamn, these newbies. I swear…" The older guard shook his head. "You okay, Vester? You look like shit."
"Yeah…" The man huffs out, exhausted.
"Wait, where's Eina?" The older guard immediately noticed, looking around. "Vester…?"
The man merely avoided eye contact. "...I had to do it."
"Fuck…" The older guard took off his helmet and held it on his chest. "I'm sorry to hear that…"
"..." The man kept quiet.
"Dad?" His daughter looked at him innocently. "Where's mom?"
The pang in his heart, it took his all to not break down in front of her as he forces out a smile. "She's...gone somewhere."
"When will she come back?" She asks.
He bit his lips. "I'm not sure, small sprout." He ruffled her hair. "We'll just have to wait, alright?"
"O-Okay…" She replied, confused and frightened at the same time.
"..." The older guard then noticed something wasn't right. "Vester, run."
"What?" The man blinked.
"RUN!"
His instincts began screaming at him and holding his daughter closely to his chest, the man kicked off the ground and ran past the older guard. As he ran, his ears began to pick up distant moans coming from some houses. It was getting louder and he gritted his teeth.
"Close your ears, small sprout!" The man yelled and the daughter immediately blocked her ears with both of her hands. "Shit, shit, shit!"
As he ran, his eyes caught a figure jumping from roof to roof. He couldn't miss the ponytail, it was the damn Dark Elf! She was following him and she was fast!
Continuing to run, he passed by the houses and ended up on the other side of the village entrance. Before he could make it to the other side however, he tripped down. To protect his daughter, he let his face hit head first onto the ground but the grip loosened and his daughter flew off his hands.
"Fuck!" He gritted his teeth and shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. "Small sprout!" He lifted his head only to see the same Dark Elf carrying his daughter. "No…no!!"
The Dark Elf stared at him in frustration, tears drips down from her face as he could only stare helplessly.
"You…you monster…." She exclaimed. "How could you!?"
He clenches his fist as he slowly rises up. "Let…her go!"
"She was your wife! She loved you!" Her frustration grew as her fangs bared open.
"Let her…ugh, go!"
"You were her everything! Were the memories you've had together amounts to nothing!?"
"I said….let her go…!"
"How could you kill her!?"
"YOU KILLED HER!!" The man shouted, his eyes bloodshot and widened. "She was not herself anymore! You…changed her, she asked me to do it…you're the one who killed her! You ruined everything!"
"You foolish man! I was only trying to help!" The Dark Elf argued back.
"You blind bitch, we don't need your help!" He gritted his teeth so hard his gums began to bleed. "Now let her go!"
"No…" She flared her nose. "No, I can't leave this be." The Dark Elf opened her palms as a dark-purplish concentration of energy gathered within. "If your wife can't convince you…then your daughter will."
"What!?" The confusion only lasted for a second before realization hit. "No, don't!"
"I hope you have a happy life with her." She raises her palm and pushes it towards his daughter.
"NOOOOOO!!!!"
The screams still echoes in his mind even after all these years. A grim reminder of his failure. There were many instances that he wished he didn't left his home before that happened…but nothing could change that.
Wiping the sweat from his eyebrows, he raises the hoe and strikes the ground.
"No…please no…"
He strikes the ground again.
"You need this. The Demon Lord will unite all of humanity…even if it means it'll lead to this."
Another strike.
"Monster. That's what you are, that's what your kind really are!"
Another one.
"I'm doing this to save you."
Yet another strike.
"WE DON'T NEED TO BE SAVED!"
His grip on the handle tightens as it begins to creak under the pressure of his palms.
"Dad?"
With his all, he puts everything onto the final stab as the sharp end of the hoe plunges onto the dirt.
He huffs out in exhaustion. He stared at the ground where his hoe was stuck. He blinks as flashes of the time he used a shovel to dig out a grave entered his vision before it all disappeared again after another blink. His breathing calms, his mind only focused on one particular memory that had broken him apart.
This is his life now, relieving that memory over and over again to no end. A curse blighted upon him by that accursed Dark Elf…
He stood up straight and lifted his head, seeing the dark clouds already looming over his abode. It didn't take long for the droplets to rain down. As it gets more in abundance, his surroundings were shaded grey.
The man closed his eyes and remembered that moment.
"No…what have you done?" His lips quivered as the Dark Elf dropped down his daughter gently.
"This is for your own good." She said, her eyes soften when she looks at his daughter.
She had the gall to-
"Dad?" His breathing halted as he slowly turned towards his daughter who was still laying on the ground facing him.
His eyes couldn't widen any further as slowly, the Demonic Energy slowly enveloping her as her eyes began to turn the same color as his nearly Mamonized wife. The yellow was bright, too bright he might get blighted by it. Not the color he knew but one he came to despise. And staring at his daughter in this state haunts him. He gritted his teeth, his ankle was busted from running so all he could do was use his hands to grip the dirt below. He desperately crawled towards her.
"Small sprout!" He called out as he reached her. "Hey, hey, hey. I-It's...it's okay." Even he knew he could not hold his facade longer after seeing what was happening to his daughter. "Y-You're going to be fine, you're going to be fine! I-I…I promise!"
"Dad...I'm scared." Tears streaked from her face, even he couldn't help but feel his eyes begin watering.
"I-I know, small sprout. Everything is going to be fine." He forced out a smile. "It's going to be fine...."
Her transformation was slow, like how his wife was. The realization hits him like a brick, this was the exact same situation as his wife. Should he allow it, she would turn completely and spread the Demonic Energy like spores, infecting others in the village. It was a consequence of letting his daughter live but he knew very well that Mamonization completely alters the personality of the infected.
He couldn't bear to see his own daughter becoming a monster.
The Dark Elf stares at the scene, surprised that his daughter managed to hold the transformation much like the man's wife. She knew people from Riberion bear great will but she puts every ounce of energy into her Mamonization so this shouldn't be possible...
"Dad...is mom dead?" She asked, half of her face was changing with one side looking at him with an expression he could only describe as denial while the other half was completely different as the corner of her lips curved to form a sickening smile.
"N-No, she's…"
Could he lie to her?
Even at this moment?
His throat became dry, his teeth clattering as he slowly but methodically reached out the sword his wife gave to him.
"I'm sorry, small sprout…" He apologized, her breathing immediately came to a halt. "Your mother is no longer with us…"
"No…" Her eyes widened, even the Mamono half of her face mimicked the same expression as the human half. "No…" She began to cry, her sobbing became louder and louder before energy began to gather towards her heart. "NO!!!"
"Small sprout, no!" Before he could do anything, he was caught off guard when his own daughter's lips captured his in a sickening passion that was forbidden. "!?"
The Dark Elf smiled joyfully. "If your wife wasn't able to show you what true love is, maybe your daughter can."
Her grip on his neck was strong, he was too flabbergasted to understand what had happened when he fell down onto the ground as his daughter cradles him. Her lips pushed further and he could even feel a foreign object entering his mouth. In that moment, he immediately came into his senses and pushed his daughter off as strong as he could.
However, it only pushed her upwards, separating their lips.
Fright and disgust filled in his mind and the thought of committing such incestuous act made a bile climb up his throat. He couldn't hold it and threw on the other side, coughing as he could not believe what had just happened.
"Daddy, how mean of you! That was my first kiss!" His body was shaking as he slowly turned back to see his own daughter nearly completing Mamonization as parts of her attire morphed into a skimpy black outfit, cradling him like she was a prostitute. "Daddy, mom is no longer here so I should accompany you for the rest of your life~!"
Something sparked within him, something he had never felt in his life.
Something that consumed him.
The light behind his eyes flickers before snuffing out completely.
Without both the Dark Elf and his daughter realizing, he pulled out his sword and plunged it into her heart, completely shocking both the Dark Elf and even himself.
"What are you doing!? W-What have you…" The Dark Elf could only watch as the scene unfolds before her.
Blood slowly trickled in the corner of her lips as she slowly looked down, where a sword was and the hilt grabbed by her own father. His eyes void and his face empty, yet she could tell that despair took him over. His eyes widened before he quickly pulled the sword out, his daughter stumbling backwards before falling down. The Mamonization halted before slowly reverting.
His breathing became unstable, he watched as his own daughter was reaching her final breaths. He helplessly crawled towards her, sitting up as he stared in disbelief at what he had just done.
"Dad…?" Her face slowly became pale yet, even in her final moments, she smiled at him. "I love you, dad."
"Small...sprout...." Those words were the only thing he could mutter, his mind was going through many things.
She smiled at him for the final time before letting out a long exhale as she closed her eyes.
He had been broken once.
He thought he could recover.
But now he has been broken twice.
He could never recover.
Never.
This image would be etched in his mind for eternity.
A hell for a man like him.
"H-How could you…!?" The Dark Elf shouted at him. "Your wife...and now your own daughter…you truly...y-you truly are a monster!" She growled. "THEY WERE ONLY TRYING TO PROVE THEIR LOVE FOR YOU! AND YOU KILLED THEM BOTH!"
"..." He slowly turned his head towards her.
"-!" At that moment, her blood ran cold as a chill ran down to her spine.
She was greeted with the man, his face had no expression and his eyes dead yet tears were coming out of it. His eyes tore a hole in her soul, dread was beginning to fill her being as if huge amounts of blood were shoved down her throat.
"Monster…?" His voice was low and quiet yet his eyes still focused on her. "I am...a monster." She flinched, something about this wasn't right. "I will chase you to the ends of earth, I will find you...I will hunt you down. I will make you suffer...everyone you ever loved and cared for will share the same fate."
Then there it was.
The feeling he had never felt before.
Pure, unfiltered wrath.
Decorating his face like a twisted work of a twisted artist.
"Whatever god you pray to, don't bother. The only salvation you'll get is one where you'll rot in hell for eternity."
"Tch, you-" Before she could retaliate, an arrow landed on her shoulder. "Gah!"
"Ukira!" A man immediately caught her in a bridal carry.
It was the rookie knight who had once tried to warn the village of her presence now fully became an Incubus.
"Torus!" The Dark Elf exclaimed before wincing in pain. "I can't regenerate! I don't have much mana left! What happened?"
"T-The villagers, they…" His eyes widened as he saw the man staring at them with an intensity that could not be described in words. "We need to get out of here!"
"What!? Why? We need to spread-"
"No!" The rookie knight cuts her off, his eyes drifting off towards the tree line behind the man where he could see the empty eyes of the villagers shine due to the moon light. "They're already here."
"What-" The Dark Elf's eyes immediately widened.
The villagers came out of the tree line, revealing their despaired state by their angry tearful faces as they carried weapons-be it kitchen knives and forks-all dripped in the blood of their loved ones. Yet, even with that, the man's eyes still stood out amongst the crowds of angry depressed villagers. Their shouts and yells fell on deaf ears as only the man remained static as he made no sounds at all. Just staring at them.
"Sorry, Ukira. We have to escape." Before she could reply, the rookie knight leaps off to escape the angry mob.
But the Dark Elf could only stare at the man who watched them as they escaped.
His stare ingrained in her mind and his words began haunting her.
She will return.
And once she does, she will make sure herself that they will understand.
The rain pours down heavily, but the man was oblivious to it as he kept working on his fields. After hours and hours of tilting the land, he stops. He huffs out before turning around, heading towards his house. He placed the hoe by the door and entered inside, not bothering to wipe himself. He grabbed a lantern and darkness soon settled. Brief flashes of lightning shot through the skies, illuminating the land as it let out rumbles.
The man silently goes out again with the lantern as his guide. He walks across the house, passing by the porch his daughter usually occupies to play before arriving at a small shabby shack. He stares at it with an empty gaze before opening the door. As he opens it, putrid scent washes over him but he was used to it.
As he entered inside, his gaze set on a figure strapped to a wall surrounded by mysterious crimson crystals filled with unknown energy. Rather than strapped, they were nailed onto the wall. Large nails made out of Medocron were used to keep the individual in place and the crystals disables any manifestation of Demonic Energy. Dried blood can be seen all over the floors and walls. Various torture devices riddled a rusty cabinet, most of them rusty and lost their edges.
The man merely went towards a wardrobe and opened it. A body falls down as it jolts awake, the young man seems to be panicking but can't move due to his body being encased in powerful bonds. His eyes shot around, trying to look for any ways to escape but there were none. The man casually pulled the young man by his hair, dragging towards where the individual was as she slowly opened her eyes. They immediately widened when the man slowly began to raise the man towards a hook on the ceiling.
"N-No, please! No more! PLEASE!" The individual, the Dark Elf, begged.
The man wordlessly stopped, looking at her with the same eyes void of light. He drops the young man down to the ground before turning him around and instead hooks the young man's feet onto it, eliciting a scream of pain. The purity of Medocron hisses at the contact of the young man's skin and the cold magical metal of the hook.
"W-What are yo-" Her lips quivered, his methods of torture knew no end. "Please, I beg of you, stop this!"
The man didn't heed her and merely browsed the cabinet for a particular tool. His eyes caught what he needed and grabbed it, a knife his wife used to cut vegetables. It was rusty and the edges weren't sharp enough due to the exposure of air. He made his way back and held the young man in place, facing his lover who was helplessly nailed on the walls.
The young man's mouth was covered with a bandage but the man took it off. "No more! No more, I beg of you! Please!"
The man hovered the rusty kitchen knife towards his throat and slit it. But it didn't cut through due to its lack of sharp edges and only managed to tear skins off his throat.
It is better this way.
He merely persisted and used the knife as if it was a saw, cutting into the young man's throat back and forth as a sickening sound of the young man gurgling on his blood can be heard. The Dark Elf watches the scene, her eyes are already bad enough but it won't get better any time soon as tears of blood squeezes through her eyelids.
The Dark Elf grits her teeth, "Monster! Monster! Monster, monster, monster! You're a true monster!"
As the man tears open the young man's throat, blood spurts out along with bile and pieces of flesh. It pours down like a fountain and the Dark Elf couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach. She vomits anything she has in her body at the scene. The woman cried helplessly as her face was riddled with despair, something the man wanted to see when he simply took a chair and sat down to stare at her with the same gaze he has as when he lost his wife and daughter.
This was his every day.
Coincidentally, this was also the Dark Elf's every day.
As well as her lover's.
The man watched her despairing and crying, trying to break out but couldn't. Every day was like this, it always started with him getting tools made by a friend in the village and ended with him watching her suffer. Due to them being blessed by the many gods of this world, they could not truly die. But that doesn't stop them from feeling pain. Every time they die, they will come back to life and regenerate, creating an endless cycle of life and death.
Of pain and suffering.
He did tell her didn't he?
That the only salvation she'll get is one where she'll rot in hell for eternity.
This is her hell as well as his.
This is their life now.
For this is what remains of a father and husband.
"There are three things all wise men fear; the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."
- Patrick Rothfuss
Trivia:
Dark Elves in the entry of Monster Girls Encyclopedia states that they are not against the idea of incest. Actually, they encourage it as Dark Elven children are taught skills in pleasuring men using their own fathers. Once they reach adulthood, they usually travel around in pursuit of husbands or "slaves" but sometimes, there are Dark Elves that have fallen in love with their father after the many training sessions and desire no other man so they elope with their fathers together with their mothers.
Source: MGE Wiki
I know it's pretty dark but not all bonus snips are doom and gloom. While this particular bonus snip showcases the brutal reality of broken men and love-obsessed Mamono, there...ahem, "might" be some wholesome ones. Maybe even hopeful ones.
That being said, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter.