* * *
"I am quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, vainly thought, that with the power of anime friendship and love, it might've been done."
- Maybe John Brown?
* * *
Unknown Location, Dranhir Province
The silent night was interrupted by the echoes of footsteps from two children running barefooted on the leaf-covered path. Behind them, people armed with pistols and swords, lit up the dim surroundings with their torches, searching for something--or someone.
Suddenly, one of the children stumbled onto the ground, injuring herself. The other, which was a boy, quickly helped her up and they continued on the path, though on a slower pace.
To their relief, in the distance, a small wooden shed stood on the side of the road, dimly illuminated by the moonlight. They then hastily went towards the abandoned shelter, hoping that their pursuers wouldn't find them.
Inside, the boy tended to the girl's sprained ankle, revealing her to be a beastkin wolf. She has long black hair, a pair of canine ears, and scars on her white skin, indicating that she was a slave. The boy also had similar features except for his hair, which was grey.
"I-It hurts..."
The boy calmed her down so that they wouldn't be found out. Peeking out of one of the wooden cracks in the walls, he saw their chasers in the short distance; weapons ready to punish. The boy alerted the girl, and they both hid in the most darkest part of the shed, hoping that they would just pass by.
A few moments later, both of them could now hear the chatter from their pursuers outside. The blinding light from their torches and lanterns pierces through the wooden cracks and windows of the structure, adding more tension to the already dire situation.
And as if the world was toying with them, when they though that they were safe since they were about to pass by, a sudden shout from one of the chasers echoed through the duo's mind.
"Hey! Check that shed!"
"This one? Really? They wouldn't be stupid enough to hide in here."
"Just incase."
"Imagine if they're really inside this, heh."
They held their breath as the light from the outside intensified. The boy watched in silent dread as the girl clinged onto him tightly; her tears streaming down her face in desperation. With a heavy heart, he held her close, facing the inevitable--
"Uhm, excuse me!"
...
'Huh?' The boy thought as a call from the outside alerted the chasers, distracting them from the shed.
"We're kind of lost, so could you help us--"
People? Lost? Merchants? These are the boy's thoughts during this whole ordeal. He peeked through one of the cracks in the wall and saw the person who called out: A man dressed in a hooded black robe accompanied by a similar individual with the same outfit.
They conversed with their pursuers, asking some questions about where was the nearest town in the area--
"AGH!"
...
'Huh?!'
Suddenly, he grabbed the individual by the neck and raised him in the air. The surrounding people then pulled out their weapons, ready to attack.
"HEY!"
"DROP HIM!"
"WHAT ARE YOU?!"
"BASTARD!"
"LET HIM GO!"
"WANT TO DIE?!"
...
"If I hadn't used 'Hunt', I would've let you be." The person then chuckled-
-then punched him in his stomach.
The fist pierced through his body, splattering guts and blood all over the place. Red meat-like tendrils emerged from the person and in just a few seconds, he was gone. No trace of his body on the floor, only blood.
He was consumed.
"D-DEMON!"
The sounds of gunfire echoed throughout the area, disturbing the sleeping wildlife within the forest. The boy hastily returned to his previous hiding spot to protect the girl. She covered her furry ears on top of her head and let out a silent wail.
On the outside, screams of pain and fear were heard from their pursuers that were getting picked off one by one. The person slashed--and slashed--and slashed, until... it became quiet.
The duo slowly got up from their hiding spot, walked towards the exit, and peeked out.
Blood.
Blood stained the area that was once filled with the lively chatter of their pursuers. The boy, gagging at the brutal sight, felt a rush of relief when seeing them dead on the ground. He couldn't afford to relax however, since there were two more persons standing at the center of it all.
They both looked at the shed--their faces covered by the shadows from their bloodstained hoods. One of them raised their left hand, signaling them.
"You can come out now," he cried out. "We don't mean any harm."
The boy, thinking that there's no other option, decided to take a step outside towards the two mysterious people that saved them--but was suddenly stopped by the girl. He knew that he couldn't just leave her here, so he grabs her arm and carries her towards the two.
The two opposite sides stare down at each other with suspicion. After all, a guy murdering a entire group of armed men without receiving a single scratch would not not be suspicious, right? Was he from one of the guilds setup at the nearby towns? Liresa? Palivar? Or maybe even Firestorm?
"You guys alright?" The man asked as he walked towards the two. "Is she injured? Can she walk?"
"S-She broke her foot."
"Where did you come from? Were they..."
"Yes... th-they took us from our houses and--"
The man suddenly turned around, walked towards his other companion, and whispered to them. The boy obviously didn't hear what he said. His friend did though--and she heard it loud and clear from a distance.
"Go fuck 'em up, will ya?"
The other person then sped off to the direction where the duo previously came from and disappeared.
...
"Do you think he's... bad?" The boy asked the girl.
"I... I don't... I don't know."
After his companion left, he then returned in front of them and asked some questions.
"What's your name kid?
"...Lucas."
"The other?"
"...Lyra."
"Lucas and Lyra, eh? Nice names you've got. I've got a question for you two."
He went in closer to them and bent down his neck since they were shorter than him.
"Do you want power?"
"P-Power?"
"Yeah, power. You've seen all those adventurers going about their successes in dangerous dungeons, right? I'm pretty sure you've thought of being like one of them in the past."
He then began to walk around the battle-fought area while looking at the sky.
"Humans, Demons, Monsters, always at a power struggle, fighting like children. Why wouldn't it end? When is it all going to stop? We're all beings who can have a deep understanding of this world, yet choose not to even try."
"It's a problem as old as time itself. A massive competition where you put your life on the line. A race to the top. It's quite hilarious to imagine it, really."
"What is another factor that supports a competition? Spectators."
"Beings that watch from the sidelines, betting on who's going to win or lose. You'll certainly hate them for being mad when they see you fail, even though you did your best."
"What beings can you compare to these sidewatchers who've got nothing to do all day?"
"The Gods. The masterminds of it all."
"Relaxing in their domain up above, they watch over us and tamper with the world with their powers out of boredom. If you were just supervising all day without anything interesting things happening around you, even if you're god, you're bound to want some action going on."
The man then looked at the two children and smiled.
"You're wondering why I'm talking about this, right?"
He suddenly raised his hands and shouted.
"Think about it!"
"Think about what your true purpose is in a cruel, unforgiving place like this!"
"The unending cycle of pain and torture brought upon ourselves!"
"Why we keep repeating the same mistakes created by our ancestors, never learning about the consequences!"
"It's because of them; the Gods."
"They're the ones causing all of this... for their own entertainment."
"Influencing us living beings to fight our own kind, our own people, our own families..."
"...ourselves..."
"...If we're really made just for that purpose..."
Before Lyra and Lucas knew about it, the man was now standing at the center of the road surrounded by sliced up corpses that are already being targeted by the small wildlife in the area.
"Then let us give the greatest show they've ever witnessed!"
"Ain't that great?!"
He then walked towards the duo; projecting a sense of fear towards them.
"So I'm going to ask again..."
"Do you want power?"
Lucas and Lyra both looked at each other, contemplating the words he said before. Power? Gods? What did it all mean? Are they really just pawns--no, a speck of dust in this huge game of life by the ones up above? They thought about it for a few moments, before arriving to a conclusion.
Lyra thought that if the world would stay the same, even after a millennia, then she'll gladly accept the power to change it. On the other hand, Lucas thought that if the world was just a game made by the gods, causing all of the suffering in the world...
...then he'll accept the power to kill them.
They both opened their mouths and spoke.
"Yes."
The man smiled.
"Good."
* * *
'Oh my fucking god I'm such a NERD how the FUCK am I always pulling these lines out of my shitty ass brain??!! I spoke like a goddamn psycho!! I wasn't even planning to speak this much but I just went with it!!'
Yuri secretly screamed in his thoughts on how he was being an 'edgy shitlord' or some sort. He then began to theorize how these two will work out on his palm.
'So Lyra looks like a girl who's probably dependent on his grey kid, and Lucas is this protective one who comes to save her at the last second in a disaster maybe?'
'Lucas already has potential on being--no wait, he IS a shonen protagonist! He's got a girl, a probably grim backstory, and maybe some revenge in his mind? I don't know I can't read minds unless if I eat 'em.'
'Tis gon' be real interesting if I let them go rampant on Ven, but let's think about that later.'
***
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard behind him. He turned around and saw Eliss, who's hood is currently stained heavily with fresh blood.
"You... got 'em?"
She wiped a bloodstain off her face. "They were weak."
"That's good. You wouldn't want to face off a guy like the one you fought at the mansion again, right?"
She stayed silent for a moment before replying.
"I've changed. He'll be dead when I see him again."
"O...kay..."
Yuri turned around and made a worried expression for that guy.
'Man, that guy's gon' be minced meat for real.'
He conversed with Eliss for a few more minutes before she left to patrol the area.
Returning to the duo, he began to take full notice on how bad their current condition was. Lucas was full of scars and recent wounds, while Lyra had a black eye and an injured foot. He wondered if these two would become really good fighters in the future, since he was gonna give them the virus after all.
He cleared his throat, tucked his hands behind his back, and spoke.
"You're condition's... how can I say this? Quite... pathetic, actually."
"I apologize for my sudden remarks, since I was just speaking the truth."
"Well, all of that won't even matter after this moment."
'Huh?'
The two became confused for a moment, making Lucas wary of him. Suddenly, without having time to react, Yuri showed his arms and grabbed their left and right shoulders, then muttered the word in their faces.
"Infect."
Small tendrils emerged from his hand that pierced through their skin and entered their bodies. They then collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain. Lucas screamed, while Lyra grabbed her stomach--trying to ease the suffering.
'Two more added to the group les gooo--'
'Uh...fuck--why aren't they waking up?'