Chapter 29: Origin

20 years ago

Yami

A swift kick to the stomach was all it took to stop the young woman from screaming. Before she was gagged by a filthy piece of cloth tied around her mouth, the young woman struggled against it but only quiet muffles could be heard as she writhed in her bonds, tied around both her ankles and wrists. She lay weak in what looked like a hole where they would keep pigs, a large filthy hole dug into the mud with only a weak fence to cover it. The men stood by her as she groaned in pain. Both were thieves or bandits. They had kidnapped her earlier that night from her small village and taken her to an unknown place. The men were talking about the most vile of topics regarding her. Who would get to have her first, how old was she, she had never felt more sick or scared in that moment. One of the bandits - a scrawny, greasy black-haired man - walked over and knelt down to her. His face looked even more horrid up close with his missing teeth.

“What’s yer name then?” he asked in a skeevy way. The young woman only moaned in a muffled tone through her gag as she tried to scream and plead for help. The filthy man leaned closer and held his hand to his ear mockingly. “Eh, wit was that,” it was humiliating. The two of them laughed at her in such a horrible position. Tears slowly formed in her eyes as she wept through her gag. Before she could flinch - the man who was kneeling - grabbed a handful of her long one-piece dress from her bust and tore it off violently with an unexpected strength from a man so thin. The fabric tore apart and what was left of her dress hung wide open off her shoulders. Her firm, small breasts were exposed to the cold night air. Her eyes widened in shock. She had never felt so exposed, she couldn't even cover herself with her arms. The two men looked at her with lust and hunger. Before she could even begin to feel sick, the thin began to grope her chest and touch her skin like an object. She wished she could scream in fear but she couldn’t. She could only lay there and take what she was given, she hated it. She wished she could die right there.

Suddenly, the thieves' attention was diverted abruptly and they quickly fled outside the primitive hole they sat in. The young woman was unsure of what just happened, so much fear coursed through as her eyes were clenched tightly. Before long, however, the cage to the hole opened again. She recoiled and closed her eyes, ready for another round of torment.

“Oi, las, can you open yer eyes a wee bit?” That voice sounded different, more refined than the thieves she was abused by. She opened her eyes slowly. The tears in her eyes made vision blurry but as they rolled down her cheek, she was able to make out the figure who spoke. A tall, young man, well put together with pulled-back black hair, and certainly not a bandit or a thief. He wore loose black trousers with a black sleeveless vest that crossed over asymmetrically with buttons to hold it.

“Aye, that’s better, need tae be sure I've got the right bird on the poster,” he said looking between a torn poster and herself. “Well, if it's no the right wan then, I’ll just blame the artist who drew this bloody thing, dosnae even look like a lassy,” he said to himself as he tucked the poster into his pocket. He then bent down to undo her binds and gag. The woman gasped for air and scurried back to the deepest part of the hole.

“S…Stay awa from me,” the petite woman pleaded between gasps and weeps. The tall man only stood there with his arms folded with an impatient expression.

“You gonae move? I dinae get ma payday till I get ya back tae yer wee village,” The young woman relaxed slightly upon hearing his words

“Y-you…you c-came tae save me?” The tall man began to look impatient.

“Aye, hup hup nue lass, we’ve nae got all day,” the woman apprehensively rose to her feet. She covered her exposed breasts with her arms as she approached the man nervously.

“That wasnae so hard nue was it? Right!” he said clapping his hands together, “Let’s get oot of here, we’ll get you home in less than an oor,” the man said as he jumped up from the hole and reached for the metal fence covering the whole.

“I-I cannae go oot like this!” the woman protested holding her chest firmly. The man gave her a confused look as he looked back while climbing the shallow hole.

“Wit, oot the gate? Sorry love but a dinae think these bandits were nice enough tae make ye a door,” he said smiling to himself as he undid the gate.

“Noo!” She whined “My claes!” she protested as she covered her chest. The man rolled his eyes and dropped down from the fence covering.

“Listen, once were oot this wee camp, Naebidys gonae be alive tae remember wit yer tits look like.” The woman gave him an angry yet still anxious expression. The man sighed “Fine, How aboot this, you bide doon here till I deal with all the lads up in the camp, then we can leave. I’ll even bring ye something tae cover up with.” The woman looked away as her blush grew stronger by the second.

“That…would be nice,” She said bashfully.

“Good stuff,” said the man as he turned back to the fence. “I’ll be aboot a minute or so,” with that, he grabbed the fence and flung it to the side. He quickly hopped out of the shallow hole in the ground and back into the bandit's camp.

“Dinae move a muscle,” shouted one of the bandits. He was surrounded by about twenty men, though, he half expected this with all the time spent in the hole. The man simply laughed as he looked around the group that surrounded him.

“Lads, how are we tonight?” he said spreading his arms out and presenting himself like a dictator. All while having a grin on his face.

“How’d you get in here?” shouted one of the gruff bandits through the sound of the heavy rain crashing down. The sleeveless man gave a confused expression to mock them.

“The gate,” He said in a snarky tone as he gestured towards it. “Oh aye, yer wondering how I got in without you noticing…yer just group of daft bastards.” He said with a grin. “Made sneaking in easy as,” The man gestured towards the whole the woman lay in. “That lassy you've got doon their’s ma payday. Canne risk going in loud and losing ma golden goose.”

The bandit slowly became more agitated the more the man spoke.

“Who’d you think yer speaking tae! Do him in! Slit his throat!” Shouted the bandit. In unison, the men ran towards the lone fighter, drawing their weapons and reading their spells of many varieties. They roared almost in unison as they charged towards the man. The sleeveless man shifted his hands into the pockets of his baggy trousers and took a relaxed standing posture. Before the bandits could react, three ghostly silver swords materialized all around the man in a circle, completely surrounding him. The foes at the front of the charge were none the wiser to the sudden appearance of the objects and ran head-first into them. The bandits all fell on top of one another in a jumbled mess as their bodies collided. The sleeveless man slowly strolled over to one of the fallen bandits with his hands still in his pockets and leaned over with a sly grin on his face.

“Dinae ken how you lot got this far in life, if your bairn is running intae waa’s you usually pit it aver a bridge and make new in,” The bandit underneath quickly struggled to his feet with his teeth grit and attempted to swipe his knife at him. As the bandit rose, the sleeveless man quickly grabbed onto the thief’s shoulder and used his body to vault over, pushing the man back to the ground. As he vaulted over with one hand, the man summoned a silver spectral sword into his hand that appeared within an instant. Once the man landed back on the ground, he swiftly thrust the sword into the back of the bandit he used to vault over. Two more men began to charge the mysterious sword user, both from the side. The man stood tall and reached his arms out horizontally with his hands open. The two men raised their swords to strike but as they did. The mysterious man summoned two swords in his palms - one for each hand - and the bandits ran straight into them, impaling themselves by their mouths and eye socket respectively. The spectral swords quickly dematerialized as the men fell to the ground on their backs. The large group of soldiers now began to recover from the fall they had taken previously. The sleeveless man snapped his fingers and with precise aim, created three spectral swords that flew from where he stood like an arrow. The swords found themselves lodged in the head of three bandits, killing them instantly. The sleeveless man used this opportunity to break out of the circle of men he was surrounded by before he got overwhelmed. He dashed and quickly leaped over the three bandits he killed, with the swords no longer stuck in their heads.

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“Wit are you’s all daeing?! Get him!” yelled one of the bandits. The sword user spotted a bandit casting fire amidst the small crowd of thieves.

“Clear oot! Fire coming!” he shouted. The man hurled a small fireball towards the sleeveless man that flew towards him like a comet. The man effortlessly pivoted on one foot and let the ball of fire fly past his face, letting it land in a small explosion not far from him. He nonchalantly strode over to the small fire made by the explosion and held his hands over.

“Cheers fir that mate!” He shouted toward the man who threw the fire, “Didnae bring my jacket so I’m a wee bit chilly,” he said rubbing his hands together. The men all had looks of anger, embarrassment and confusion across their face as they decided if their remaining numbers should attempt to rush him.

“Tell you what lads, I cannae be bothered shanking more of you’s so how aboot you let me and that woman oot and let you boys live,” the men began to murmur but the sleeveless man was unable to hear due to crackling of the fire he stood next to.

“Dinnae let him take the piss oot us! Fuck him up!” shouted the same man issuing all the commands before. The mysterious sword wielder rolled his eyes and took his hands away from the fire. He summoned a spectral sword into each palm and dashed into the crowd of men. He quickly pivoted as a blast of earthly magic whizzed past his face and smashed into the soil behind him. The sleeveless man entered the crowd and became a tornado of blades. He pivoted and stepped away from all their weapons as he sliced and stabbed each with his spectral swords. He was an unstoppable force, a force moving so fast the bandits couldn’t keep up. As he continued his flurry of attacks, one of his blades shattered against a bandit war axe in an attempt to parry. He quickly ducked to his feet and swept the floor with his leg. The bandit fell to the ground and dropped his axe. The sleeveless man rose and as he did, he summoned another sword to replace the broken one. Plunging it within the fallen bandit's flesh.

Before, long, every bandit lay dead or immobilized on the ground. The heavy rain of the night diluted all the blood that poured from the bodies of the fallen thieves. The man was covered in blood from head to toe. The rain slowly began to strip the bodily fluids from him. The man stood silently for a moment, spectral swords still in each hand as he looked into the rainy sky. His hair turned from a slicked-back style into a dripping wet mop on his face. It was as if his carefree personality disappeared for a moment as he stood in the small pile of bodies and blood.

“I…is it over?” a small quiet voice barely above the sound of the rain crashing against the ground said. The man turned only his head quickly. The woman recoiled slightly and began to feel anxious as she saw his blood-soaked face. The man had the eyes of what could only be described as a beast.

“Aye!” he shouted back as his conscious brain came back. The woman had poked her head out of the hole to see what had happened. The man dispelled his blades and quickly picked up a scarf from one of the dead men before the woman could spot him stealing it and jogged up to her. “Here, will that dae to cover you up?” he asked as he held out the damp scarf to the women. She took it gently and sighed.

“I suppose it will,” the woman said as she tied the scarf around her torso to hide her breasts. She then stood out of the hole to stand with the man. “Thank you, you mentioned you came here to save me?” Asked the woman.

“Aye, yer family pit up a wee poster to get samwan tae save ya and take ya back hame,” explained the man.

“Ah, I see,” said the woman slightly disappointed he was only doing this for coin. The sleeveless man began to walk out of the fort the bandits had taken for themselves. He turned round back to the woman who was still standing there.

“Mon then! I didnae get payd till I bring you back,” he shouted back rudely. The woman quickly jogged up and joined him to leave the fort.

“Wit’s yir name? I dinae mind if I you telt me or no,” she asked.

“Yami,” said the man as he kept his head forward. “Dinae get all wooed by ma charm nue that I've saved ya,” he said with a grin as he left the fort. The woman blushed furiously as they walked on. The rain began to slow its descent.

The sun was low but bathed the land in a strong, warm morning sunlight. Redden was as busy as usual on a morning like this. As the main settlement in Dangai, it attracted a lot of attention from both locals and people who lived across the land in Elden. Yami reached the wooden gates that led into Redden and stopped, taking in the air around him. It was the smell of home to him. Even though the job of reducing the woman only took him about twelve hours, it still felt good to be back in familiar lands. He quickly broke into a sprint with a grin on his face, almost as if he had too much energy and had to spend it somehow.

“Aight everyone!” Shouted the young man as he ran through the crowded streets, waving at anyone he could find. Most turned to look as he ran by as many were well aware of who Yami was, both for his good deeds and bad ones. Yami quickly made it to the central square of Redden and found the bazaar where many stalls were open and selling a variety of foods and tools, standard for the early morning. The food, specifically, drew Yami to stalls like a magnet and before long he was browsing the many fresh breads that were on sale and ready to spend some of his recently earned coin.

“Aye, can I get that wan, the sweet kind…actually make that twa,” He asked the vendor. It had been only six months he had been using his newly inherited devil relic…Mirage Blade it was called. An inheritance from Yami’s father who had died in a recently ended war in Elden. This relic was kept in secret however so if he were to die…his body would be brought back with none the wiser to the relic he carried so it could continue to be passed on through his family. Yami quickly took his packaged bread and left, making sure to handle them with care as one was for his mother. Mirage Blade, from his father’s note’s, allowed him to summon and manipulate silver translucent swords. The total amount of swords that could be summoned at once was decided by the proficiency of the user’s demonic energy. Yami’s was currently limited to three at once. He found the swords were brittle and very disposable, preferring to use them as disposable projectiles he could dismiss and resummon instead of blades. Despite this setback, the blades proved to be an invaluable asset for Yami, with his father gone and his mother left to tend to the house, he quickly took the position of breadwinner in his house. It didn't help that his family home had suffered severe damage due to weather and was in urgent need of repair, thus, Yami was in further need of more coin. His father’s notes also mentioned another application of the devil relic. However, the condition of the parchment it was written on had worsened to the point where he could no longer make out the writing. Still, Yami found the relic more than useful, previously he was magicless and thus, was unable to deliver results the same way most people could. The devil relic now offered an advantage his foes would be none the wiser to. Though, his name was traveling further than he liked. There were only six devil relics to exist, meaning a he would slowly become a target for the world, whether he liked it or not. As he reached the end of the town center - the part that dived into many smaller alleys in the residential area - Yami stopped and puffed out deeply.

“Probably should be thinking aboot getting hame nue, need to gee oer the coin tae maw,” As he turned to walk down the alley where he and his mother lived, a woman - most likely a housewife - came rushing out her door in a panic and ran towards Yami.

“Oh Yami, it's you!” said the slightly portly woman as she came rushing from her small home towards him.

“Aye, it’s me…Wit are you wanting?” he said impatiently as he rolled his eyes.

“Oh it’s gid I was able tae catch ya, I didnae think I could find somebody tae help,” she said gasping for air.

“Spit it oot then wifey! I’ve got place’s tae be,” he said curtly as he looked down at the woman.

“Right,” she started anxiously, “Well if you are still looking fae work,” she trailed off, as if she was struggling to get the courage to ask something. Yami looked at her expectantly, with his interest only being held with the suggestion of work.

“Aye, “looking fae work” and?” he said as if he was demanding an answer in that moment.

“Well…if you were looking fae work…I would like tae pay you ya to guard ma daughter doon tae Atlus’s medical school,” she finished her question and she began to cringe, realizing how much she had asked. Yami only laughed.

“Piss aff, Atlus? As in aww the way doon in Elden?” he asked in a rhetorical manner.

“Y…yes, I cannae take her myself as I need tae tend to oor farm, nae other medical schools would accept her due to her age,” the woman explained. Yami only scoffed and pushed past her to walk home.

“Sling yer hook lady,”

“Please!” she pleaded turning to him. “I’ve heard of terribly dangerous roads oot in Atlus. I cannae see her go on her ane,” Yami only continued to walk on and waved her off with his hand.

“Nae my problem,”

“I’ll pay you as much as you want!” She blurted out desperately. Yami stopped and turned, walking back to where the woman stood.

“Enough tae cover my maw’s hoose repairs?” he asked, bringing his voice lower as he was closer to the woman.

“Y…yes,” She uttered hesitantly.

“Forget it, You dinae even have that coin,” He told her.

“Not now,” She explained “But my daughter will begin tae earn more than me once she’s enrolled in the school, we can pay you in full with time.” Yami stood and thought for a moment. The fact he would need to wait before being paid in full was irritating. He needed that coin, his mother couldn’t provide enough for the house repairs on her own. However, the idea of being able to wipe away the costs with one job was intriguing.

“I want a good chunk of the payment payed aff nue as a doon payment, if you dae that, I’ll bodyguard yer daughter.” The woman stood and considered the amount she could pay before answering but it didn't take her long.

“That’s fine, I’ll gee yer maw the doon payment of coin then,” Yami, nodded with satisfaction on the deal, but was still frustrated he had to bodyguard over an entire continent. Not to mention the trip back. I better no be joining da grave for this job.