[GRRR!!!]
The Nightcrawler growled while its white pupils contracted as they faced Arion, who stood holding the stick in his left hand, while his right hand held the head of a Nightcrawler. Arion stared blankly at the furious beast as he threw the head towards it. “You’re the last one…” Arion said in a breathy tone. The Nightcrawler’s eyes slowly drifted down at the head, then it gazed around and found dozens of dead Nightcrawlers lying on the ground. The last amount of sunlight was being filtered through the dense leaves, turning the ground slightly red as it entered the forest. The Nightcrawler’s eyes pierced through the darkness that had slowly began engulfing the entire forest, and clearly saw Arion standing a few meters away from it, covered in splashes of Nightcrawlers’ blood.
The Nightcrawler contracted its body in preparation to lunge at Arion. Arion stared at him, his red eyes fixated on the Nightcrawler’s growling face. “Let’s get this over with,” Just as Arion spoke, the Nightcrawler jumped at him with its mouth wide open. Arion swiftly moved to the left. The Nightcrawler slashed its claws at Arion’s chest, but he proved to be much faster than the Nightcrawler. He ducked and dodged the claws, followed by rapidly stabbing the sharp stick into the Nightcrawler's extended arm.
“GRAARRRR!!” It screamed in agony as the stick pierced its arm dozens of times in mere seconds; its eyes shivered as the Nightcrawler attempted to kick Arion with its large foot. But Arion once again moved out of the way. Blood gushed out of the Nightcrawler’s fur-covered foot as the wooden stick tore the flesh on its leg right in the middle. Arion had stabbed the stick inside the Nightcrawler’s leg on the top, then dragged the embedded stick down.
The Nightcrawler fell on its back, its eyes shook with pain as it attempted to move away. Arion climbed onto the Nightcrawler’s chest, then stabbed the stick into its second hand, causing it to be pinned down on the ground. The Nightcrawler breathed heavily, making Arion move up and down; now sitting on its chest while staring directly into its eyes. “What do your eyes see, human?” The voice said in an intrigued tone, sounding quite amused by the occurring events. “Fear…” Arion replied as his red eyes pierced deep inside the Nightcrawler’s emotions.
The Nightcrawler began shaking its body, trying to move away, while it constantly kept stomping its unharmed foot on the ground, attempting to kick Arion, who escaped by inches each time. “I can't go back to the capital city,” Arion whispered while keeping his eyes locked with the Nightcrawler. “If they know you are related to a demon, they’ll tear you apart,” the voice added in a serious tone. Arion removed the stick stabbed into the Nightcrawler’s arm. The Nightcrawler groaned in pain; it tried to move its hand, but Arion had stabbed it in a very specific spot, making the arm immobile. “They already have,” Arion said calmly, with a blank expression while stabbing the stick into the Nightcrawler’s right eye.
The Nightcrawler’s body became motionless as Arion stepped down from its chest. He began heading in the opposite direction of the Nightcrawler's corpse at a slow yet steady pace. Arion raised his eyes and saw the star in the sky that had almost turned completely dark. “My father had mentioned a village in the outskirts of Phoenix kingdom; it was marked for investigation for some demonic happenings. I can start from there,” Arion spoke as the moonlight fell from the gaps of the leaves and bathed him in light.
His golden hair, despite being covered in splashes of blood, glowed brightly in the moonlight, while his red eyes stared at the full moon in the sky. “What do you wish to gain from there, human?” The voice asked in a curious tone. Arion didn’t say anything and continued walking ahead. "...There are three conditions you must abide by: the god’s avatar shall be slain even at the cost of your life; no being shall hear about my existence from you; and when your eyes close to rest, I shall see the world by mine.” This time when the voice spoke, it held a weight that Arion had not felt from it before this moment.
"Fine. But I have a rule too… You can’t do anything to my body without my permission,” Arion said in an equally serious tone as the voice. “HAH! What makes you think I need your permission, human?” The voice chuckled and asked in an intrigued manner. "...I know you need me to do your bidding. I'll kill this Avatar as you asked. But you'll not control my life anymore than that. I'll follow your condition, you'll follow mine.” Arion replied just as he arrived next to a river bank.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The voice didn’t say anything for a few moments, during which Arion jumped into the flowing river. "....Do humans not travel by boats anymore?” The voice asked as Arion began rapidly swimming in the river’s current. “If someone comes looking for the one responsible for the dead Nightcrawler, they’ll find my footsteps leading to the river. Searching for a boat will be their first instinct… and I don't want anyone to find out where I'm going. Besides, I’m no longer a human,” Arion replied as his hands rapidly pushed the water behind him, causing him to go faster and faster.
—
[A few hours later.]
Arion stood some distance away from a village. His red eyes scanned every nook and cranny visible ahead, witnessing a strange presence throughout the place. Arion raised his eyes, leading his gaze towards the sky, covered with thick dark clouds strangely fixated over the village. Arion looked at the place he stood at and saw the morning sunlight falling brightly on the grass. As the river’s water flowed down his body and fell on the ground, Arion slowly began moving towards a bush.
He ripped the armpiece of his blue shirt, turning it inside out, revealing the black cotton layer inside and wrapping it around his head, hiding his golden hair. He ripped the second armpiece and wrapped it over his mouth upon turning it inside out. He removed his shirt, dug a small hole in the ground using a stick next to him, then buried the shirt in the ground.
Arion then began heading towards the village, his eyes constantly noticing strange movements in his peripheral vision. After a short while, he arrived next to a few kids playing in the dirt. The kids had strange discolored patches of skin all over their body, while their eyes were deep inside their skull with nothing but tiredness visible in them. Their clothes were damaged at many spots, and appeared unwashed for quite a while. The kids slowly raised their heads and gazed at Arion’s eyes.
Their faces were down, as if all energy was drained out of their body. “Who are you?’’ A boy asked while hiding the doll made of clay behind his back. Arion didn’t answer. “A-..are you here to punish us?” The boy asked with fear weighing his voice down. “No. I’ve lost everything I had…. just looking for a spot to rest.” Arion answered in a calm tone while his eyes drifted towards the rest of the people of the place, who appeared in as terrible of a situation as the kid in front of him.
Arion didn’t notice, but the kid's expression suddenly brightened upon hearing his answer. While the rest of the kids ran away in different directions, the boy suddenly grabbed Arion’s hand. Arion looked down at the kid and found him smiling. “Someone came to our village!” The kid excitedly said while running ahead. Arion could effortlessly resist the kid pulling him forward, but he decided to follow him while matching his movements' pace with him.
After just a few moments of walking, Arion found himself inside one of the mud houses in the village. Inside, an old lady sat in front of seven pots, mixing different colors of liquids together, her back facing the entrance. “GRANDMA!! A VISITOR!” The boy exclaimed while hugging the woman from behind. “Ho ho… Dibu… I have told you, son… you should stop doing such pranks…” The woman replied in a solemn tone while she continued mixing the liquids. Each time she poured the liquids into a pot, it turned black. “Tch….” She frustratingly placed the pot aside and began pouring another liquid into a different pot. “No no no! He’s really here! He doesn’t even have a shirt on!” The boy said while shaking his head.
Upon hearing those words, the old lady’s eyes brightened a bit. With hopeful eyes, she turned back and found Arion standing right at the entrance. “OH?” She whispered while gently moving the kid aside. Arion noticed her expression getting brighter with every moment, similar to the boy’s. “I need a place to stay…” Arion added in a calm tone. The old lady’s wrinkled face expanded with a smile; “Of course, traveler… What is your name?” She asked while slowly standing up. The kid brought a wooden stick for her to hold, which had become smooth at the spot she held it. “I don’t go by any name…” Arion politely replied. “Ho ho… I haven’t seen an unnamed-masked traveler for quite a while…” The woman replied with a soft laugh.
Arion’s attention was neither on the kid nor on the old woman. His red eyes stopped on something only he could see. A dark shadow was floating behind the woman, with two of its hands placed on her shoulder from behind. In his peripheral vision, Arion saw hundreds of dark shadows crawling on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling of the house. In his left peripheral vision, Arion saw a dark shadow hanging upside down from the ceiling, staring directly at his face.
[END OF CHAPTER 7]