“Let the holiday sale roll on!” the girl heard from her confinement. Her anxiety only grew, her heart beating faster and faster. She about died from panic when she felt the box that she was trapped in start to move.

The single hole of light above her head started to flicker, meaning she was being transported somewhere quickly. But then all the movement stopped for a moment until the girl heard the loud whirring of gears and cranks. It was so clamorous that it even drowned out the whispers for a few moments.

“Thank you all for coming to this special auction, everyone,” the announcer continued. “With Boon Day and New Years just around the corner, I hope you were able to pick up something nice for you and your loved ones. But before we go, we have one final item for auction, something special that you won’t be able to find anywhere else… A Fiend!”

The box broke apart and blinding light filled the girl's eyes, making her flinch away. She found herself on a stage in a circular room, a spotlight beaming down on her. There was no audience, but there was a circle of windows around her, high up on the walls. They were tinted so she couldn’t see inside of them, no doubt to hide the identities of the scum that lurked inside.

“This is Senli Diormo, but you can rename her whatever you want. She’s 16 years old and an orphan, so you can rest assured that no one will come looking for her. As for her Curse, well, we’re not quite sure what it is. All we know is it lets her garner information she shouldn’t know. But think of all the fun you could have by discovering it together.”

“She may not look strong now like other Fiends, but just look at her sapphire hair and cream colored eyes. They’re all telling. As for her Curse Mark—”

Senli couldn’t hear the announcer’s voice anymore, since it was drowned out by a new overpowering voice—one that only she could hear. 💡Sorry, sorry, for shining my light. I don’t mean to be so bright.💡 The spotlight above her apologized. 💡This ought to be such a fright. You must go and escape this night.💡

The others around her joined the light in its message—the windows hiding everyone, the box she’d just been released from, the very walls themselves. Whenever more than one object spoke to her at once, they seemed to harmonize, and it almost sounded like a limerick.

🧱Get out of here, go, away from this place. You must move fast, ‘fore they give chase.🧱

🪟In this den, only monsters lie. Get out quick, before you die!🪟

📦Free of me, you must flee. Through the trapdoor, can’t you see?📦

💡🧱🪟📦Run away. Run away. Run away, don’t stop! Run away! Run away! Run away!!!📦🪟🧱💡

The chains behind her that had been binding her arms started to rattle. ⛓️You have the strength, my metal will break. Go ahead and do it, for your sake.⛓️

“But… you’ll get hurt,” Senli quietly whispered to the restraints. Even though they had been actively keeping her captive, it wasn’t their fault. Through this ordeal, they had been her constant, her closest friend that had always seen her through. Her other friends, her clothing, had been recently taken from her since she’d worn them down to rags. The new duds she’d been given to make her look prettier seemed rather jaded to her situation—probably not the first girl they’d sold to their fate.

⛓️Even though now we must part, I’ll always remain inside your heart.⛓️ Senli tried her best to summon her strength, but it was just too painful. But she had to do it, she had to escape from this nightmare. Without trying to make it obvious, she wrapped the chains more around her arms to tighten them and then started to pull.

But she let go a moment later as the entire mood of the area changed, and all the objects sung an upbeat chant.

🧱He’s here!🧱 🪟He’s here! To save the day!🪟 💡A blessing sent, to Rathe we pray!💡

📦Fear not girl, don’t shed a tear. You’re safe now, the Fiend is here!📦

Senli tried to focus on the announcer to see what was going on, but they weren’t speaking anymore. Aside from the chanting voices, it was strangely quiet. But then she heard a thud from up above, and one of the windows seemed darker, like something had been sprayed on it.

A moment later, another window went dark, this one covered in something more runny that was seeping down the foggy glass. One room at a time there was a thud and then a darkened window. Not every window got much on them, and some were completely coated.

🪟Yes, go ahead, I don’t mind the stain. To see them suffer, let justice rain!🪟

After every window had been painted, it went back to silence for a while. Then Senli heard slow heavy steps coming right towards her. It was from directly in front, behind the double doors she was staring at. The person had to be coming down some steps. All the items in the room went quiet as the door creaked open.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

A man stepped through and slowly walked towards the stage. He had to be the most handsome man that Senli had ever seen, not that she’d seen too many in her life. But with his radiant crimson hair and his glittering golden eyes, he looked so gallant, so dreamy.

The man crouched down in front of her to match eyeline and gave her a smile. “Hello, I’m Xard Randex from the Fiends For Hire. I’m here to save you.”

◆◆◆

Xard stared at the meek girl in front of him, doubting for a moment that she was actually a Fiend. She had to be only second to Creti for the most scrawny Fiend he’d ever seen, clearly malnourished. But her hair and eyes didn’t lie, and she perfectly matched the description of the girl he’d come here to save, so there was no reason to doubt.

Strangely, though, the look on her face wasn’t fear or even relief that she’d been saved. It was odd, but one Xard recognized, having seen it often on Kada’s face or even his own sometimes in the mirror. Senli wasn’t just looking at him as a savior, but something more—her emotions exacerbated by the insane situation she was in. She was smitten.

“Don’t go falling for me. Trust me, you’re not my type.” Was that too cruel? Probably, but it was best to nip it in the bud early on. It sent her face into a scrunch of confusion, but it seemed to snap her out of it while also calming her down from the absurdity. “Now, let me break those chains, and we’ll get out of here.”

“W-Wait!” Senli finally said something, and it wasn’t at all what her savior expected. “Please, don’t break them. They’re my friend.” Welp, the girl was crazy after all. But, it matched the intel they had on her. She was often heard talking to people who weren’t there. Given how Roque’s Curse worked, it followed that she could be talking to the inanimate objects themselves.

Xard followed the chains to the mechanism holding them in place. It had a pin and a lock, but the girl didn’t seem opposed to him breaking those. Once she was set free, she seemed to contemplate bringing the chains with her for a while, but ultimately left them behind.

The pair then went through the doors and up the stairs. Senli stopped for a moment as she looked to her sides at the doors circling the hall that looked down at the stage she was just on. “Did… Did you kill them?” she asked sheepishly.

“I only killed monsters today,” Xard assured her and ushered her forward. They walked down a hallway of fine antiquities, and the red-head stopped for a moment next to a particularly dazzling gem-studded gauntlet. He grabbed it and moved forward, not really taking any time to appreciate the details. “Something to pay the ferry.”

The two then passed through another set of ornate doors, and Xard made sure to ignore the knocked out guards laying on the ground as if they weren’t there. Senli seemed to act in turn, as if it wasn’t something of consequence. Now they were in the public auction hall, which was all that existed on the county record.

It had been cleared out in a hurry, but was full of stuff left behind. There were still objects for auction sitting on the stage. Drinks were still in the seats’ cup holders, a few knocked to the ground and soaking into the expensive carpet. Some bags had been left behind too that needed to be returned to their rightful owners, but Xard would leave that to the authorities. The evacuation really had been chaotic, everyone fleeing at the first sign of a Fiend and danger.

The moment the two exited the front door and had cleared the steps, the swarm of police officers waiting outside rushed into the building. Senli had clutched to Xard at first, hiding behind his back. She must have thought they were coming for the Fiends.

“Don’t worry, my assistant here called them,” Xard led the girl over to a woman standing off to the side. “This is Dette. She used to be one of our support managers, but now she assists me personally.”

“Hello,” the woman gave her an affirmative nod before she went back to focusing on her tablet.

The Fiends For Hire now had safehouses in every major city across the world. As for who tended to them, they’d employed the local homeless citizens. Besides keeping the safehouses stocked and secured, they also acted as couriers for members out in the field and provided aid whenever needed. Most of them took it quite seriously, since it offered them a place to stay and an easy ticket to get their lives back on track.

Dette had been one such homeless person. After losing the civil war in Virabeld, she went on a journey out into the world to help her adapt to this new way of life. However, given her naivety from a sheltered upbringing, she fell prey to even the most common and basic scams around. It didn’t take her long before she was left with nothing and struggling to survive.

After about a month of her working as one of the support managers at a safehouse that Xard would frequent, he recruited her as his personal assistant. Now, she traveled with him all over the world to help him with jobs—often lagging behind since Xard would usually just fly ahead.

In recent months, Xard had spread his figurative wings and spent a lot more time away from the compound. He was helping lead the charge in their efforts to spread the Fiends For Hire’s reach to the rest of the world. At the moment, he only returned back home every couple of weeks—making sure he was there for the monthly meeting and for whatever else needed attention. Thankfully, he could make his way back in just a few hours in the event of an emergency, but he’d have to leave Dette behind.

“Where are we, exactly?” Senli looked around at the unfamiliar alley.

“Still in Domister,” Xard answered. “But not the city you’re from, though not too far. To think that something so heinous was going on in my own—”

“The orphanage!” the now clamorous girl spouted. “I need to get back there! They need me!”

Both Xard and Dette looked at her with sad eyes. “Actually, uhh—” Dette started but then Xard took over.

“I’m afraid that the orphanage no longer exists. You may not be aware of how much time has passed, but it’s been about two months. The city wanted to sweep what happened under the rug, so it was quickly demolished. But don’t worry about the other orphans. They’re all safe and happy, and most of them have been adopted. We can go into more detail later, or even arrange for you to meet them if you like.”

“But for now, we need to discuss your future. Like it or not, you’re now a Fiend. And Fiends have a hard time leading normal lives. We’d like to take you somewhere safe where you can rest and we can properly go over your steps.”

“No! I don’t want to go anywhere with you!” Senli spat suddenly, but then seemed to regret her words immediately—thankless to her savior. “I just, I need to go back there! I need to see it for myself and—”

“I was afraid it’d come to this,” Xard sighed. “Dette, if you’d please.”

Before Senli could realize what was going on or react to what was happening, Dette had lunged forward and jabbed a needle into her neck. Xard watched her eyes grow weary and her body started to droop. He took a step forward and caught her in his arms before she collapsed.