Following the man inside, the horror hidden behind these walls finally began to uncover itself. The front room, where the shopping area and the counter resided, was just a façade, a mask, an illusion that might perhaps satisfy at most the curiosity of the idiots out there while anyone with a common sense would have noticed the strange things happening surround this place.

It was only when you were inside the building that you were able to see how big this place was, mostly because it had an entire underground level that was as twice as large as the ground floor and three upper levels.

Down in the basement lied the cells where the ‘pigs’ were being kept. Inside those small dog cages were the many humanoid demons, not that different from the cultists jailing them. Naked without an inch of cloth on their body, the demons shrivelled like an injured animal waiting to be slaughtered. The fear and the cold have left them numb, but mostly it was because of the drug they were subject to. It made them unable to think, stripped them of all wills to resist while keeping them conscious enough to feel the pain that was being inflicted to them. Have you ever thought about it? That taste of ultimate despair, being tortured to death all while being unable to lift a finger? The agonies they must go through were too much for some as they begged for the swift release of death. And among all those poor souls lied a brown haired girl who was crouching herself in a foetal position in her cage. With tears pouring out of her lifeless eyes, she waited…waited to be freed…one way or another.

“So this is tonight’ sacrifice? Quite a deliciously looking bitch!” a cultist pointed at a half unconscious Tasha. This disgusting man was drooling and licking his lips as he laid his foul sight upon the innocent girl. “Maybe just a little….”

“Stop! She must remain untouched to be sacrificed to the Almighty God.” The man with a tattooed face, the one who caught Tasha in that valley, scolded his comrade.

“Fine…I will go find another one then.” The cultist grunted.

“…*sigh* Keep it in your pants! The ritual is about to begin.”

“Nah don’t worry! I will just do a quickie.”

Giving up on convincing his lusty comrade, the cultist left the cage area to prepare for the upcoming ritual of blood, or as they called it: the rite of Purification. Calling themselves the cult of Lumen, these bastards have been kidnapping demons from all around the country all while spreading their anti-demon teaching using fearmongering tactic, blaming accidents such as the recent catastrophes as the demons’ doing, even going as far as staging some attacks for the same purpose. Their origin was unknown but it was suspicious how quickly this cult spread. It would be understandable for people to have radical ideas after an unfortunate event, blaming demons on everything. However, the problem was in just a matter of days after the catastrophes, these cultists appeared out of nowhere and were now all over the country. They simply were too prepared and too organized for that to be possible, taking in account the resources they would need for their organisation.

From violating maidens to killing children, these heretics would stop at nothing for their profane and fanatic belief. Was there ever a limit to men’s treacherous insanity?

Alas, none of that was of importance to Tasha right now. These bastards have stripped her of everything, from her cloth to her consciousness. Being drugged for days, her mind was left blank like a lifeless doll. The once glittering spark of life in those eyes of her that comforted Edward so much was gone. To the men of Lumen, demons were considered as even lower than animals. Therefore they had no right to wear any piece of clothing, leaving Tasha and the prisoners trembling from the cold in the dirty dog cages. But everyone knew it was just a pretext to satisfy their lust.

In a way, Tasha was the luckiest out of all the demons being imprisoned here. The males were usually killed upon first sight while the females were kept alive and brought back here. However, it was only when coming here that all of them wished they were dead before this. A much more miserable fate awaited them here, one that could hardly be called ‘living’ in every aspect of the word.  Days after days, they were submitted to countless tortures as a ‘baptism’ act, claiming this to be the only way to their salvation.

And that was not the worst. Being exposed to these innocent maidens without a shred of cloth to hide their bodies from the filthy stares, many of the men could not hold it and succumbed to the temptation of the flesh.  No one in their sane mind would allow these lascivious shitheads who only listened to their lower parts anywhere near them. In short, they were the lowest of the low, the scums of society. Even bugs were better than them. And yet, those poor women didn’t have a choice or even the will to resist. Because of the drugs, the maidens were left defenceless as their once pure shells were being defiled. With time, the faint thought of resisting dissipated along with their virtue. Some resigned their faith, abandoning any thought of struggle, not because they have given in to the pleasure but because they no longer had anything else to live for. Others, if they were lucky enough to have the drug worn off, would commit suicide. Either by smashing their heads into the metallic bars of their cages or bite off their tongue, everything would do as long as they no longer had to spend any more time in this hell.

As for Tasha, she was chosen was the sacrifice of the full moon’s ritual so aside from the physical torture, no man has touched her yet. But the mere experience of being here, witnessing the hellish scene, listening to the constant screams of the other women have definitely done something to her, changed her from within. It was understandable. No one would be the same after experiencing this kind of trauma.

With all the cultists gone, Tasha was left unattended in her cage. Unable to move, she no longer cared about the other people in the other cages anymore. Her soulless eyes stared into nothingness, as if she was no longer there. Wherever she was, it was better than this place. Perhaps it would be for the best that she would just drift away in silence…

Suddenly, the candles lighting the room went out cold as the temperature dropped increasingly so much that the panting of the prisoners could be seen in white breath. From the wall in front of Tasha, a dark hole appeared with a black smoke pouring out faintly. A dangerous mist as anything living would have its essence sucked out dry until its last breath just by being near it. Yet, for some reasons, the smoke decided to stay close to the wall, clear of all the residents inside. From the hole, a figure slowly crawled out and walked up to Tasha, watching her intensively with its bright red eyes.

“I finally found you, Tasha.” The shadow spoke.

“…..” But it seemed those words didn’t reach her at all. The girl didn’t even turn her head to the figure, perhaps due to the drug making her unaware of her surroundings.

Passing his hand through the bars and hold her chin to make her look at him, the shadow muttered.

“Tasha Lemon….born nineteen years ago under the star of the Lover….both parents were murdered at the age of ten….Wandered the streets of Cedra for five years before being caught into slavery….Being bought by Edward Osborne and worked as a maid for the Osborne family for the last three years ever since….Saved by Alastor after being kidnapped by slavers …again….

A strong girl you are..for having lived through all that. Yet, fate is cruel indeed. Look at the miserable state you are in now!”

“….” No answer.

“Hummm…. drugged? You can’t even hear my voice, can you?” the shadow looked at Tasha’s eyes curiously. “You are already beyond saving. The soul is such a fragile thing. You might have lived through all that ordeal but in the end, your mind is of a mortal, weak and frail. Even if Edward saves you now, the nightmare of this place will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

“…..” silence.

“How about this? I will give you two choices: submit to me and be freed of this curse of life…Or fight and continue suffering for the rest of this dull life, uncertain of when the end will come! And judging from the situation, it will come very soon. But I offer salvation. You won’t feel a thing.

What do you say, Tasha?”

“….”

“What was I thinking? You might as well be dead right now. I would be surprised if you can even utter a word after this. Should I take this as a sign of resignation?”

“..e…ee..e” the girl muttered a faint sound but her throat was sore and dry, plus her strength was exhausted after all the tortures done to her. It was a miracle for her to even be conscious at this point.

“huh? What was that?” Sound of footsteps could be heard. The cultists, unaware of the presence of this stranger right under them were coming down for the sacrificial ritual. But the stranger had no interest in them. Their souls were practically worthless and he had no incentive to do anything at this point. “It seems your time has run out. This is goodbye, Tasha. I will let they decide what to do with you.”

And then he was gone. Turning into a black smoke, the dark mist quickly retracted back to the hole and disappeared. However, he didn’t really go away. No, the shadow only hid its presence inside the wall and watched the inevitable death of this poor soul. From here, he sensed new presences in the area. Immediately he knew it was Edward and his company. But there were quite a large of number of men guarding this place. Even though, they were weak, these cultists and their bodyguards would still manage to delay the group, giving time for the ritual to be completed. An absurd ideology but for these maniacs, perhaps it was not too much as insane as what they were about to do.

“It’s so cold down here.” Said a cultist upon stepping down near the cell.

“What do you expect? Never mind that! Take her to the next room!” pointed the tattooed man at Tasha.

Pulling her out of the tiny cage, two men, each holding her hand firmly, dragged the poor girl on the ground to the altar locating in the next room. The rocky soil and bricks scratched the skin on her knees, drawing blood as the red liquid trailed down from the wounds to her thighs. But those pains, she no longer felt anything anymore. Her broken mind was just waiting for the ultimate end to be released from this soiled corpse.

Upon arriving to the altar, the tattooed cultist pointed toward the two poles behind the stone table. Dragging her violently toward it, the two men bound her arms, each to a pole with a small rope to make sure the girl would not resist. An unnecessary thing considering what they have done to her already.

Holding a decrepit book on one hand and a knife on the other, the cultist with tattoo covering his head began to chant as the other surroundings him followed.

“Oh Great One, we offer this virgin to thee. Take her life and deliver her putrid soul to the deepest of hell! Grant us mercy as you purge this corrupted world and bring down the depraved for siding with the demons! Show them the correct path, just as you did to us!”

Loud noises came from above with sounds of weapon clashing each other and roars of a certain boy yelling a name “TASHA” as he fought furiously. Upon hearing those clamours, some of the cultists began to panic. They did not expect to be interrupted and certainly not a large attack against them. But before they could run to the door, the apparent leader, the tattooed man spoke.

“Do not fear, brothers! Once this demon’s life is delivered to the Almighty God, he will surely protect us from those treacherous invaders. We have nothing to be afraid of.”

Perhaps it was his own charisma or simply due to the stupidity of his peers, that simple dialogue managed to calm them down, to reassure them of their safety. They would believe anything from him at this point. Such was the caprice and absurdity of a cult, especially those that divulged themselves into foul deeds and teaching like this one.

Slowly approaching the bound girl on her knees, the heretic spoke loudly. “Anything to say, demon? Now it’s your final chance for salvation! Admit your guilt and the benevolent God will grant you mercy! Your death will be swift and painless.”

“…..*heavy breathing* “ Tasha panted.

“So you insist on defying the Great One? I expected no less from a demon like you. Suit yourself! This is the end!” Raising the knife high above his head, the heretic shouted. “Almighty One, please take this offering from us!”

Observing the scene from the wall, the shadow contemplated as images of Tasha’s memories went through his mind. She did not have an easy life and spent her entire childhood in hiding her origin as a demon. Only after her encounter with Edward did her life take a better turn. It was good while it lasted. But everything good would have to end one day and that time has apparently come. We could only hope that her last memories were about her dear master and not this rotten place.

“And so the being called Tasha comes to an end.” Muttered the shadow. “May you find peace in the next world!”

“DIE!” the knife came down.

Within her final moment, at the last second, something could be heard. A faint whisper so tiny it was that no one could notice as it came from an unexpected source.

“Ed…wa..rd”

…...

CLANG

The sound of metal clashing each other echoed throughout the room. The cultist felt something heavy pushing his knife back from going any further. Raising his head to look at what stopped him, the guy was horrified. His small dagger has been halted in its course by a sharp obsidian blade in the form of a scythe. A dark hand was holding onto its handle coming from the wall behind the girl as a dark shadow emerged from it, revealing its true form.

“I take it as your desire to live, to extend your suffering.” Said the figure to the girl. “Then it shall be done.”

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With a single swing from the scythe, something invisible slashed through the entire room. Unable to grasp what just happened to them, all the men fell down to their knees, motionless…dead. No physical wounds could be seen on their bodies and yet it was as if they simply dropped dead without reason.

Turning toward the girl as the figure crouched down to her level, it reached its shadowy hand and put it on the girl’s arm.

“”

A red light englobed Tasha as what seemed like a black tattoo in the shape of a clock began to manifest on the girl’s left arm near her shoulder, erasing her slave brand. With twelve numbers written in the old language, the outlines of the clock were imprinted in black while the inside kept the colour of her skin. Two needles, one shorter than the other with arrows for head, were superposed on each other, making it look like a single black arrow.

“All done! When the clock makes a complete turn, when it becomes fully black, I will come for you. And it won’t end like this time.” The shadow stood up and walked to the hole behind Tasha. “Enjoy your life while you still can!” With that said, the shadow vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind as if it was never here in the first place.

Immediately after, the only door of the room was burst open and a small boy rushed inside. Looking around at the corpses lying on the ground in confusion, his face became horrified when he saw the only person he cared about in this place.

“TASHA!” Edward screamed out loud as he hurried to the girl still being tied up to the poles. Cutting the ropes and letting her rest on his small shoulder as he wiped away the dirt and blood on her face, the young master of the Osborne family shouted out to his servant, to his beloved. “Tasha, it’s me, Edward! Please answer me!”

The cries of the boy did not help. The decrepit girl remained distant, inert from all that was done to her. She did not respond to his shouting or the tears falling down on her face.

“Somebody, HELP!” the boy called out in despair. His mind was filled with dreadful thoughts as he slowly succumbed to the anguish with the idea that Tasha could be gone. Perhaps it was because of this that Edward failed to notice that the clock was ticking. And no, it was not the clock of time.

The needles on the brand have moved by one ‘hour’, blackening the space it passed through.

* * *

By morning, the news of the destruction of the cult of Lumen has spread around. Apparently, it was the newly appointed royal guard, one of the geniuses from Helios who has solved the crisis. Despite being of young age, this boy has managed to crush an entire organisation of cultists all by himself and with the help with only a small group of mercenaries under him. Following this, the court has summoned the boy to an audience with the king as a way to congratulate his accomplishment.

Meanwhile at the mansion of the Osborne family, inside a chamber, a young figure has been watching over the sleeping girl after saving her from that nightmare she had to endure. He has been called to the palace but hasn’t shown any sign of intending to go any time soon. To make a king wait was normally something no one would dare to do. However, he didn’t care. The only thing  that was on his mind right now was the person in front of him and she didn’t seem to be doing well.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“Young master Edward, I am coming in!”

A woman in black opened the door and stormed inside. Her tricorne immediately gave away her identity as she was one of the few, if not the only person with such an odd hat, combined with her silver hair and her twin swords hanging from her belt.

“How is she?” asked Maria.

“She woke up a few times but….not once did she answer me. She just lied there, stared at nothing…” Edward uttered. “What did they do to her?”

“Judging from the conditions of the other women….I am afraid nothing good. It’s a miracle she is still alive.”

“Did you think they….defiled her?” Edward clenched his fist.

“…Seeing how special she was to be prepared for the sacrifice ritual, I don’t think so. But Edward, whatever happened, you can’t abandon her even if she was. It wasn’t her fault that…”

“OF COURSE I WON’T! Who do you think I am? I will never abandon her, never. What I regret is that I couldn’t kill those scumbags by my own hands for what they did to Tasha and the other innocent people. To think they killed themselves before we could….cowards!” Edward grunted in anger, grinning his teeth.

“About that, I don’t think they did. Else Tasha would not be alive by the time we arrive. Even more, there were no wounds or any sign of poisoning in their system. I can’t even say how they died.” Maria concluded after having inspected each body of the underground herself. For some reasons, she could not find the cause of death nor the method used for it. It was a complete mystery for her and anyone else.

“What matters is that they died. But this is not the end of it. There are still remnants of the cult of Lumen out there. This won’t stop until each and every one of them drops dead. I will make sure of that.”

“Admirable sentiment but you have to see the king right now! Like I said, charging into battle is the best way to be the first to die and we don’t want that, do we? Furthermore, Lumen is not our final goal. As long as equality between demons and the primes is not established, this kind of situation will continue to exist, whether as Lumen or by others. We have to fight the enemies by its roots, in this case to change the country within. Only then can we deal with the other matters.” Maria explained. “These kinds of things need time. For now, you are seen by others as a kid who is only a little more special than your peers. This accomplishment will certainly change how people see you but it won’t be enough. You have to do more than this to prove yourself. Think you have guts and will to do that, young master Edward?”

“I do…I have to. For Tasha!” the boy affirmed as he held the hands of his beloved tightly. “I will be back shortly, Tasha.”

“Then let us go! Don’t worry about her! I have stationed my men right outside this place. Not a soul will be able to come close to her alive!” Maria reassured.

…..

Arriving at the palace, Edward was greeted with a volley of cheers from the nobles and members of the court. However, he felt strange. Were their faces always like that? The lies, the fake smiles, and those obvious signs of deceit behind the sweet words spoken by them…how did he miss them all these times? Was he always this gullible to be fooled by such tricks? Yet, he could not uncover them. On the contrary, he must accept those deceptions with another deception from his part, to play along, to blend in.

After having told Charles and the rest of the court his glorious success in crushing one of the most notorious cults in Ceadric, Edward introduced the men and women who have helped him getting this far.

“This is lady Maria and sir Meto. I would not be able to accomplish this mission without their help.” Said Edward.

“Pardon me for saying this but are you Bloody Mary, leader of the band of mercenary, the Hunters?” surprisingly it was headmaster Ganon who asked the question.

“That’s correct. I am surprised to see that you have heard about me.” Said Maria.

“You know them, master Ganon?” Charles inquired.

“I have heard about the famous Hunters who are said to be the strongest band of mercenaries who specialize in dual weapons and wear a black outfit from head to toe. Whatever you may think of them, they are definitely worth to have on our sides.” Said the old sage. “Many are afraid of them, especially their leader as they said she cannot be killed. That kind of legend alone suggests how frightening they are in battle.”

“Your words are too kind.” Maria bowed her head slightly.

“And who is this gentleman?” asked Ganon as he observed a tall man with dark hair in a noble attire.

“I am Meto, a merchant and also scholar in my free time. I recently joined sir Edward in his quest to subdue this foul cult who wants to desecrate our city. I think this as a responsibility for someone who holds this precious kingdom deep within his heart. As a citizen, I cannot stand by and watch as the innocents have to live in fear because of them.” Said Meto. Of course this was Mephisto in his human form which looked nothing like his original demon appearance except for the tall feature, which was something many others shared.

“Wonderful! To think we still have people who love their country like this…truly remarkable. I hope you will continue to give us your help, sir Meto!” the king spoke.

“It would be my honour, your Majesty!”

“Ehem” A short figure walked out of the crowd. Having a long golden beard, the dwarf turned his attention to Edward before asking the question that he feared the most “By the way, I have to ask. I heard you found many captured demons among those survivors at the base of Lumen. What are they right now and what have you done to them?”

While the demons might have been saved from the cultists of Lumen, they did not get out of the water just yet. A war was coming between Valhalla and Ceadric with the demons being persecuted as evil like always. Now that Lumen was practically destroyed, it didn’t mean that the demons captured would be freed. They would either face imprisonment in the cells of Ceadric or worse.

“They…They….” Edward muttered, unable to speak out.

“They died, milord!” Meto spoke.

“What?” both Edward and the dwarf shouted in surprise.

“How?” the young noble asked, confused by the demon’s answer. Just before, Maria has said they were fine. How come they were dead now?

“I killed them.” Meto answered.

“You did what?”

“….May I ask why, sir Meto?” Goldbeard demanded.

“Simple milord! They are demons.” Meto replied swiftly.

“But you just said they are innocents.” Shouted Edward.

“I was referring to the poor citizens of Zagon being persecuted as humans while they are clearly not demons. The cult of Lumen may claim to only target demons but during their witch-hunts, it was unavoidable that some innocents would be caught in the fray.

I am disappointed in you, sir Edward. When you asked me to help you, I welcome you with open arms. But to think that you are a demon sympathizer…Pathetic.” Meto said.

“YOU!!!”

“Stop! You are in presence of the king. This squabble stops now.” The headmaster of Helios used his magic and clamoured in a loud tone, silencing everyone in the court hall. “This matter is concluded. You all are dismissed.”

To avoid further conflicts that might divide the court, it was best for Ceadric to avoid the question about the demons for now. At least that was what Charles and Ganon thought as they saw the obvious fracture Edward could cause by being a member of the royal guard. But his talent was undeniable and would prove to be crucial in the incoming war, making them unable to just ignore him either.

As for Edward, he didn’t expect such a betrayal so soon. He was surprised to see Meto with Maria at first but was in a hurry to ask anything further. At the time, all he could think of was Tasha and her safety after all. Without any other choice, he grunted in anger as the boy left the court with Maria.

With everyone gone, the dwarf slowly approached the only person left in the room and uttered in a low tone. “Sir Meto was it? Your ideology is certainly…interesting. Would you mind if we talk a bit more?”

“But of course, milord!” Meto bowed slightly, grinning insidiously.