...that I'd seen the depths of hell...

~

Hyaru

"So we're just gonna leave like that? What about that whole plan we had?" Ellice paced back and forth, antsy and stressed.

"We actually gained a lot more from that than you might think," I said in a calm voice, trying to reassure her. "Just pause for a moment."

She paused and sat down, and her tail relaxed.

"First, we tested their mettle, so to speak. We know what they're capable of, which is not much. We've got a lot set in motion. Getting the girl can wait. And besides, what we gave her will be so much more valuable in the future."

She narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean 'what we gave her'?"

"The girl had the potential; I felt it. That slice on her face is going to be so much more."

Ellice gasped. "You don't mean to say..."

I nodded.

"Okay, you win," she said mischievously as a smile grew on her. "What about everything else?"

"I sent a letter out to our old friend. I can only hope she'll get it. If not then we'll just have to pay her a visit."

"I don't think she would mind that," Elly chuckled.

"Nope."

~

Sage

I woke up in the middle of the night with a blistering migraine. I'd been in bed all day because my whole body felt sore, but now I was burning up.

Whatever the hell was happening to me, it was painful.

Though I guess I deserve it.

I didn't have time to go down that rabbit hole, though. My mouth drenched in saliva and I felt a timer in my body start counting from 5. I had to trip out of bed and sprint for the toilet even though I already hurt like hell and didn't walk all day because of it.

I threw up probably my entire stomach, which was by no means a pleasant feeling.

After I wiped my mouth I stood up slowly, feeling like death by definition. Everything ached and my head was raging, even more so after sprinting and vomiting.

I'd already slept as much as I could today, trying to fast forward through the pain, and now I was miserable and wide awake.

So I lit a candle and set it on my nightstand, illuminating a well-used stick of blue wax next to a small pile of sealed envelopes that will likely never be sent.

The person they're for is probably dead by now.

That thought stung just a little. I tried to just keep it out of my head. Thinking about Lydia's death, and knowing that it may very well be my fault - it's enough to drive anyone mad.

I picked up the candle and went to my dresser to clean up some, as my perpetual feeling of death seemed to hit a plateau. When I reached out my hands to grab a hair brush, though, my skin was a fair bit darker than before. I'd never heard of a sickness that could make you darker, but I'm assuming anything that adds color to your skin can't be good for you.

So I was definitely not in high spirits.

But that was nothing compared to what I saw when I picked up the little mirror. I froze and fell to the floor when I saw my reflection, screaming out in horror and in pain as I gripped my face and felt a burning pain like someone had stuck a hot iron to my skin.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, overcome by confusion and fear, eventually shrieking for help. Someone came busting through my doors, Yoru, and her eyes widened as she stopped in her tracks. The others followed soon after and they all did the same until a small crowd of people stared at me in my nightgown, tears of blood coming down my cheeks and my face pale as my headache felt so bad I thought I would simply faint.

And faint I did when I gripped the situation even a little bit and my blood pressure made my head throb only worse.

~

Lydia

A demon stood before me, this one bearing short, spiked horn atop his head and small, black, bat-like wings coming from his back.

Never seen or heard of a demon like that before.

My vision was still a little on the hazy and fuzzy side, and by no means do I know how to fight, so I'm at a disadvantage for sure here.

I could make out outlines of the demon, but that was with him being very still. He could tell I was wary and a newbie by far.

I had a knife - he had a sword.

I had a few sparring lessons - this guy probably knows how to take my spine out of my body with 3 fingers. Which sounds like fun (on either side of that).

He stood still, waiting, almost like he was giving me the first swing because he knew I wouldn't have much of a fight to put up but he'd give me the respect of trying before killing me for being an intruder.

But I can face death now. I'm not running and I'm not dying.

The feeling of having a goal... it's empowering. Not turning tail and running at the first sign of danger or even a little attention. It feels good.

Once again I tightened my grip around my knife and spent a moment thinking about what I would do to kill this demon.

I had a free shot, so I took it by going straight for his neck with a clean, strong swing.

The knife connected with his skin, but I didn't feel it cut. That's because he grabbed me by the neck and whipped me back to the wall like I weighed nothing.

I hit with a hard ooumph, and the rocky cave wall sent a radiating sting around my back.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Okay, so I'm gonna have to try a little harder.

With a grunt, I hopped forward and went for another attack. I lunged for a stab this time, but I knew he'd catch it.

When he did, I kicked him in the knee as hard as I could. It landed and he lost his balance for a moment, which I used to swing my knife at him. That he barely dodged, ending in me getting a small cut somewhere near his face.

The demon got to his feet with a practiced acrobatic finesse, showing that he was likely ready to start a real fight. That didn't matter to me, though. I was barely able to move; the feeling of my knife cutting through his skin, though even a little, was euphoric.

I was hooked and I wanted more. I wanted to know what it felt like to pierce his heart with my blade, to drive through his body with ease using nothing but this knife.

Perhaps it felt this way because I knew that's what my revenge would feel like. Perhaps I just wanted to kill him for fun. Maybe both. Doesn't matter.

I breathed in through clenched teeth as a smile grew on me. I felt my pulse quicken and my body lighten, and I could feel and see my heartbeat in my eyes and watched as suddenly the cave could be seen clearly, as well as the demon.

I'm just gonna have to remember what little training I have. This is my test. This is my moment.

One of many before I get my revenge, I'm sure.

This time the demon attacked first, bolting at me and swinging with a practiced perfection using his sword. No matter. I blocked it with my knife and was immediately overwhelmed with his strength.

My hand tingled from taking all of that shock.

I directed his swing to the ground and tried to get some hits in, but to no avail. I could see now, though. So that was a plus.

All I wanted was to sink my knife into anywhere I could in him.

The demon then began to get aggressive as though he were holding back before, and came at me with his sword and his feet, backing me up to the wall.

I barely dodged most of hits, and the other physical ones I took with hard grunts, and they hurt.

But I had to grit my teeth and do my best to ignore the pain. Let it keep me focused, not take that focus away from the fight. Which was much easier said than done.

Then again, nothing could be worse than the hell I felt outside of the tomb.

The man's barrage ended with his sword getting a deep slice of my chest, all the way down to my arm, which didn't feel great either.

He knew he way outmatched me, so he went in for another hit.

The one thing Lasory stressed to me throughout all of our training (which wasn't very much) was to look for openings. "Take any opportunity to gain the upper hand, because there always is one," he said.

His swing was full of power, presumably to be the final blow, but at the cost of speed. I saw my chance and took it - because I'd be dead otherwise.

As his sword came down, I swung at his wrist and knocked it out of his hand, sending it straight to the rock behind me.

He wasted no time and put me in a choke hold with both of his hands in an iron grip around my neck. One of my hands, the one with the knife, was also locked in the hold, but the other was free.

I tried punching with my fist and reaching for his sword, thrashing violently, but all was to no avail.

Every movement only hurt worse because the cut he gave me was still open and very much large and very much a problem.

His grip was practiced and damn effective, and I was quickly running out of air.

Think, damnit! Think! You're better than this, Lydia!

I've been through too many near death experiences to let things end here.

I racked my brain for a solution. He was positioned so I couldn't kick him. Trying to drop my weight to make him fall didn't work, and in fact only worsened my choking. My head was throbbing with all the blood trapped in it, and I could really see my pulse in my vision.

There seemed no escape.

Use that brain! Shit!

I was starting to panic and lose the cool I'd been able to keep so well this whole time.

I have a free hand. What can I do? What can I do?

The demon kept a steady and firm composure as though killing me was second nature. But an idea formed as I scanned myself and everywhere else for ideas.

I ungripped my free hand and focused my coordination, but I could feel myself fading fast. I was choking for air, and my thrashing had stopped.

With all the strength and focus I had left in me, I dropped the knife from my locked hand and caught the blade with my free hand, slicing the inside of my grip.

But it didn't matter. I caught it.

Though I could barely form a coherent thought, and the demon recognized what I was doing.

He tightened his grip, and I could feel him getting ready to just crack my neck. I tried to swing at his side, but I couldn't see anymore, and I missed.

Tried another swing.

Nothing.

Another.

Nothing.

I couldn't hear anymore, and my thoughts felt distant, like I was watching what was happening from a TV screen.

I done goofed. I just can't catch a break... or five minutes without my life at stake!

I'm tired of it!

That was my last thought as I fell unconscious.

...

Or at least I thought I did.

I came to my senses while on the floor a few seconds later, and immediately began hacking and coughing.

As soon as I had even a remote grip on reality, I looked over to see the demon scrambling to his feet with my knife in his side.

I did the same, and lunged for his sword in the rock.

Now he was stuck with a choice: take the knife out and fight me with it, or be up against a sword with his fists.

Not gonna lie, I felt a bit of... confidence? Happiness? Smugness? Little bit of em all? I'd gained the upper hand in a fight with almost no experience and I've survived this long against someone with real skill.

But now that I have the upper hand, I have to make sure I use it right. My biggest fear is dropping the ball and losing my whole advantage because I'm too inexperienced.

Have to act fast. This needs to end.

The voice of seriousness, and partially the voice of my desire to finish the demon off for... reasons, rose within me.

I wrenched the sword out and immediately went in for an attack. By no means was I used to holding a sword - in fact I think this might be my first time with one. So, my swing was by far clumsy and obviously so.

The demon dodged it, but in doing so, he grunted and said something in another language, probably a curse of pain. The knife wounds him more the more he moves.

Knowing this, I kept at him with clumsy swings. No matter how clumsy they were, they were decently fast and he had to dodge all of them or they would still do damage if they hit their mark.

He tried a few times to grab the sword, but I could tell he was getting tired and weak.

Eventually, the battle of attrition ended in my favor. The demon grew too tired, and both of us knew it. And he knew that I knew it.

So, he stopped and stretched his arms out as a fierce look grew on his face and he closed his eyes.

I hesitated for a moment, not sure if I was ready to take a life, especially one that was just giving itself to me like this. I mean, could he really be that bad if he was just giving it all up and leaving himself wide open?

My mouth watered at the thought of taking his life, but my heart ached for the same reason.

He sensed my hesitation and took a step forward, yanking the knife out, his blood splattering on the cave floor.

It was a statement. Kill me, or I'll do it myself.

But the sight of his blood... some instinct within me rose up and I couldn't help myself. I lunged at him with a burning, unquenchable desire - an unbreaking intent - to kill.

I drove his sword straight through his chest, and had merely a fraction of a second to doubt myself before the pure euphoria of the feeling of the sword pushing through him completely took over me, and I couldn't stop myself.

A chuckle escaped me as I wrenched the sword out and stabbed him over and over and over, each time nearly overdosing on the sensation I got from each wound I inflicted. He fell over and I stabbed him over and over and over, even though he was now definitely dead.

The chuckle became a laugh, which became a loud, unrecognizable cackle.

I've killed.

And I don't care.

I'm in love.

"I need more!" I shouted as loud as I could muster as I broke out into sinister laughter. It just felt so good. It felt like southern sweet tea as it hits your tongue on a hot day. Horrible for you but just so full of sugary goodness, and the cold refresher I needed after baking in the sun.

My hands were covered in blood and so was I, and I was in a lot of pain, but to be honest, it only added to my bliss.

This is what it feels like to get revenge.

This is what it feels like to kill those that need to be killed.

Nobody is getting in the way of my next kill. Nobody is getting in the way of me getting out of here.

And by all that the sun doesn't touch, nobody is getting in the way of the sweet sweet taste of the blood of the people that put me in this hell.

That will be the sweetest tea of all...

~

[A/N]

Ooof-

Hehe, hey there people. Been a solid minute, yeah? Been a little busy starting up a new job and finishing the last of school and graduating and all that jazz. But now I have freedom!

Really I've just been procrastinating. And that's not very nice of me :(

At any rate, I've at least been doing some thinking and of course some binging, so I'm back with more inspiration and ideas. So everyone wins, yeah? (pls no kill me)

At any rate, 4 30 am is a little late to be up, yeah? It's bed o'clock y'all. Night!

-S