The corruption which Yal feared had already spread many weeks ago.
The air was cold that night in Violentum’s empty streets. Sharknel had just been like any other Lawyer that time, hurrying home after a long, gruelling day of work in the Throne, prosecuting innocents and defending people she didn’t want to defend. She had long forgotten about the ethics of her work.
She rubbed her hands for warmth. For now, she just really wanted to go home.
There was a strange, suspicious feeling rising from her chest, however, and that was when she realized that the street was unnaturally devoid of people. Not even that vixen, Melinda, who never missed out on a chance to casually insult her from across the road, going so far as to stalk her and conveniently time their encounter, weren’t there!
It relieved her in a way, but not for long in a situation like this. She looked for a semblance of safety in a passing city patrol. Hopefully there was one down the road, but there wasn’t—so maybe behind her!… but there weren’t any.
“Better not go down that road, missy,” a stranger’s voice called out. She nearly jumped in surprise, but when she turned, she found the source of the voice was a man sitting along the side of the road. He looked down on his luck—not a threat, then.
“Is there anything there?” she asked him.
“How would I know? If no one’s going there, then I’m not going there.”
The man had a point.
“I suppose I’ll turn around, then,” Sharknel said.
“Wait,” the man called, and she stopped. “You’re a Lawyer, aren’t you?”
Sharknel thought that maybe his downcast-ness had something to do with legal troubles. It was her job, but it’s getting late. “Why, do you need legal counselling? Look, it’s getting late, so just find me at the Throne tomorrow” —
Some strange feeling assaulted her, like every psychotic tendency she had ever had was being set free. She had visions—flashes of doing things like murdering the man right in front of her, or maybe murdering Melinda. Perhaps she’d bring a knife to work tomorrow—it sounded like a sweet idea.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
She knew these things were wrong, but she just kept thinking them, anyway.
She snapped out of her reverie. It felt like she’d just offended the man in front of her, even if her thoughts had just been thoughts. “Sorry, I have to go,” she politely said.
“You’re troubled by something other than money, aren’t you?” the man called out again.
She looked at him again. She just couldn’t turn away from him for some reason.
“I can help you,” he said, “if you can help me.” His grin grew wider and wider, and yet, Sharknel couldn’t perceive it.
“I don’ think” —
“I can kill anyone you want dead,” the man said, and those words struck sweet to Sharknel’s ears. “Being a Lawyer is all about climbing to the top, right? I understand better than anyone just how that works.
“You can’t climb higher without pulling other people down, right? I heard your colleague landed a big job she can’t possibly deserve.”
In a blink, the man who was seated was now standing right beside her, whispering into her ear. She was frozen. “Just think of the words. Just wish for it. ‘Die, Melinda’—and it will happen. In exchange, I want you to pick up her case and slightly alter the contract.”
Sharknel shook her head. “What?” she blurted out, but when she turned around, there wasn’t anyone there. The street was suddenly filled with people.
“Are you okay, lady?” someone asked her.
“I’m fine,” she said.
She went home.
The next day, she was at the office when Melinda “accidentally” spilled a cup of water on her. The damned woman walked away laughing.
She must have landed a contract that blew everything else out of the water to be like this, Sharknel thought. She suppressed her rage, but she could only do so to some extent.
She remembered the words that echoed in her head. She’d dismissed it as a hallucination, but now, at this moment, oh how she wished that Melinda would well and truly die—right this instant.
To her and everyone else’s shock, Melinda clutched her chest and toppled over.
The healers arrived and dragged her away. Two hours later, the office received news of Melinda’s death.
Two days later, Eliza Sharknel was the new person handling a high-priority royal contract. The sheer amount of Reputation that it would award her was just…it was a windfall! [+1000 Reputation]!
The first round of negotiations was going to be in a few days… She didn’t have any time to dally!
She skipped almost all the way going home. Melinda’s death had been ruled a freak occurrence; after all, it wasn’t unheard of for people to get a heart attack for no apparent reason. Ha! That woman deserved it!
It hung in the back of her mind, though: was there really no apparent reason? What if it wasn’t a hallucination, and that strange man was actually real?
When she got home, got changed, and laid on her bed, she saw him right there, looking at her from the corner. He didn’t look like what a human should with his red skin and strange-colored eyes.
She was frozen, her gaze locked with his.
“Remember the contract?” he said. “If you comply, I won’t kill you, and you reap the benefits.”
The demon’s name was Thywurgen, and he had a mission straight from the ###### God himself. Violentum was just a [Side Quest], though; Harmony was the [Prize].