The night sky stretched out above on a dark canvas painted over by a myriad of stars, twinkling like countless lamps floating over the restless earth. Falling meteors and comets accompanied the illustrious painting, unperturbed by mortal burdens… even by the smoke rising high within the forest.
The wind whistled through the forest’s dense canopies, bringing with it a foreboding smell of ash and cinder. It sang a serene song, joined by the birds and the critters of the night, and the sleeping animals hidden away in their nests and burrows created yet another gorgeous picture. However, its tranquility was nowhere to be found, as, deep within the forest’s depths lay a village, its once beautiful yet simple houses now ablaze in a fiery inferno. The orange and yellow hues flickered fiercely, their color growing denser and larger, as did the flames enveloping the small town.
The door to one of the buildings slammed open, knocked off its hinges by a man carrying two small children whose mouths and noses were covered by a dampened cloth. He coughed heavily from the smoke and ash inundating his lungs, and ran toward the exit as fast as he could, ignoring his neighbor’s pleas for help. The sound of crushing bones and tearing flesh, as well as maniac laughter, rang loudly in his ears, like a waterfall crashing against a rock. However, he did not look back, he did not stop, and advanced with gritted teeth with the small hopes of saving his children.
Corpses littered the almost impossible-to-see road, a river of blood and guts flowed along its length, bringing a foul stench of death and decay along with it. A morbid chewing sound reverberated through the air, joined by screams of terror and sadistic chuckles. Shivers ran throughout the man’s body as macabre images flashed in his mind, further boosting his desire to live, to get away, to escape into the forest.
Creatures with sharp, black horns and razor-sharp teeth ran all around the village, killing everything and anyone in their path by using their sharp, long claws whilst the fire became fiercer and fiercer. Most of them had red skin, while the rest had yellow or purple skin. Among all of them, a small portion had thick tails covered in spikes and blood, however, every single one of them wore a sadistic smile, from which one could see bits of flesh and guts stuck between their teeth.
One of these creatures had ebony black skin which almost made it invisible as the light hitting its body got completely absorbed. It had a long and thin tail, and its back was decorated by a pair of large, fleshy wings that swung back and forth as it flew through the rubbles of the once lively village. Its eyes were as dark as its skin, and a long and thick spear lay between its sharp claws.
The children held the cloth tightly, their entire bodies trembling while holding on to the man’s neck, not even daring to open their eyes from fear. On the man’s right stood a little girl, her delicate face covered in ash and fresh wounds from the fire. On his left stood a boy, his blonde hair darkened by the ash, and his skin was similarly covered in ash and wounds. In the hand holding the cloth lay a small dagger in a damaged sheath, and he held onto it even tighter than the man’s neck, seemingly afraid of losing it.
“Mister Sam… how much… how much longer?” The boy’s faint, fear-filled voice echoed in the man’s ears, however, the smoke and his heavy breathing, along with his fatigue prevented any sounds from escaping his mouth. He nodded gently, a fake smile creasing his lips while running toward the exit. His legs felt light like a feather, and, despite his inability to see that much ahead, he dodged every corpse that appeared before him. Similarly, the creatures seemed too occupied to notice him run past them, simply could not see him or did not care.
Dragging his feet along the winded path, the remains of what once stood proudly at the town’s gate appeared before him. Gasping for air and pushing his body to its limits, he held onto the thin hope that escaping into the forest would bring salvation, and he glanced at the kids at his side, holding them even tighter whilst approaching the burning pillars. However, the smallest shred of hope he held in his heart quickly vanished as the foreboding sound of distorted air rang in his ears. A tall, almost invisible figure landed before the man, causing him to take a step backward, his pupils trembling in fear whilst tears dripped from his eyes.
“Please… no…” The incinerating inferno surrounding him almost drowned out his soft cry of despair, however, it still rang clear inside the creature’s ear, and a sadistic smile creased its lips as it looked down at the man. His heart skipped a beat, and he fell to the ground with a soft thud as his fatigued legs finally gave up. Glaring at the ebony creature, its silhouette almost completely invisible safe for its sadistic yellow eyes, which glowed with a menacing aura as it reached for the spear strapped to its back.
Sam’s pupils widened, and he watched in horror as the creature’s lips parted. Speaking in a weird, archaic language, it brandished the weapon, instilling even more terror into the man. Hearing the bizarre whisper, the children opened their eyes, instantly dropping the cloth as their gazes fixated on the monster, whose menacing aura caused their bodies to shiver. The boy clenched his teeth, and held even tighter onto the dagger, preparing to unsheathe it to fight the creature.
The ebony monster’s smile widened even further upon noticing the boy’s act of bravery, its razor-sharp teeth on full display as it spoke in the foreign tongue. “Mister Sam… take Minxy and run… I’ll… I’ll keep it occupied… please…” The boy’s cracked voice barely escaped his body as the fumes and ash invaded his lungs.
The man looked at the boy with bewilderment and watched as he slowly unsheathed his dagger, its rusty blade glowing with an auburn color under the flames. A soft chuckle could be heard from the creature’s body, its sadistic smile intensifying and growing even more malicious as it seemingly fed on the trio’s fear. However, its smile suddenly vanished, replaced by a deadpan expression as it flew into the air, pulling the spear back as it prepared to launch it toward the man, its tip aimed straight at his skull.
Sam’s heart raced with panic, but try as he might, his fear-stricken body refused to follow any orders, and all he could do was watch as the creature’s spear whistled toward him. Grabbing the children close to his chest and protecting them with his body, he closed his eyes, waiting for the spear to take his life.
However, the awaited sound of crushing bones didn’t come, or rather the absence of any sensation he expected didn’t. Instead, small droplets of burning liquid rained down on him, tainting his already dirty clothes in a dark crimson color.
Two soft thuds rang in his ears the next second, followed by a rapidly approaching set of footsteps. The man opened his eyes and stared at the scene before him with widened pupils. The creature’s ebony corpse lay in a pool of its blood, its still sadistically smiling head motionlessly facing the sky, and the spear it held planted on the ground a few meters away from it.
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A woman raced toward him, her beautiful dark hair fluttering in the wind, however, it took on a faint scarlet shade as it absorbed the raging inferno’s color. Her dress bore a green, forest-like hue with a transparent veil covered in leafy patterns hanging from the waist down, and her eyes shared a similar, forestry green with the dress. Stopping in front of the man and kids, her palms glowed with an enchanting lime green shade, which she then hovered over the three.
A gentle warmth flowed through their body almost immediately, and the small wounds and scars they had gathered both recently and old began healing, disappearing under their widened gazes. Standing there with racing hearts, they looked at the woman, whose serious expression didn’t hinder her beauty in the slightest, and then behind her, where a man wiped the fresh blood off of his violet sword. His short hair fluttered in the wind, ebony black like the night surrounding him, and his red eyes sent shivers down the trio’s bodies, however, they couldn’t look away from the slim figure.
The boy looked at the man with a reverent expression, the dagger clutched between his fingers trembling with excitement at the sight of the exquisitely crafted purple sword, crimson blood still trickling down its blade, which seemed almost invisible as close to no light escaped its grasp. He wore a tight-fitting black leather suit, with bandages wrapped around his forearm and a scarf covering the lower part of his face. At his feet stood the creature’s corpse, warm liquid still spurting out of its body as morbid squelching sounds reverberated in the smokey air, accompanied by the occasional spasm.
As the boy looked at the man, he too turned toward the boy, however, he wasn’t looking at him, instead, his gaze was fixated on the trio, and a wand appeared in his hand as he murmured something under his breath. A flame manifested before him, which shot toward the three almost immediately, leaving a burning afterimage as it flew past them. Its wooshing sound was swiftly followed by a muffled explosion, and a thud rang in their ears whole turning to see what had happened.
Almost instantly, their stomachs began churning, and stomach acid and its contents began rising in their throats while looking at the morbid scene before them. Sizzling blood and guts lay on the scorched ground, flesh and intestines littered the area, and some bones even dug into the earth from the force of the explosion. The remains of what once was a creature ready to strike at and kill them stood before them in a morbid spectacle, almost causing them to retch. However, quickly looking away, they let out a sigh of relief as their muscles finally relaxed.
…
“That was the first and only time I saw Violet Night, what happened afterward was a massacre, to say the least. The demons didn’t stand a chance, he’d cut a few of them with a single slash of his sword, which the poor bastards couldn’t even see. However, most of my friends died that day, and the village quickly disbanded after the fire died down. I left with Mr. Sam and Minxy, however, we split up a few years after, no idea what they’re up to now…” Frank let out a loud sigh as he gulped down the large pint, spilling some on his clothes and armor before slamming it on the table.
“Thirty years ago, were it not for your father and mother… I would have become demon food… and to think such a powerful duo could die… I guess time eventually rusts all metal…”
Kai listened quietly to Frank’s story, his vision lingering on the sword on his lap, its hilt shaking within his trembling arms. The image portrayed by the man’s story and his parents’ last battle overlapped in his mind, with his father fighting fiercely and killing multiple enemies with a single slash, and his mother supporting and protecting him from the sidelines. No wonder they looked so well-coordinated before they had me… they were adventurers… Gulping, he clenched his fists and raised his head, “My parents… what else do you know about them?”
The group looked at him with pity, and most of them let out a simultaneous sigh. “Not much, honestly. They were legends for a reason, especially your father. For some reason, he held an incredibly deep hatred toward demons, and is said he specifically picked missions that had to do with them and even hunted them in his own free time.” Hans said, shaking his head before glancing at the others.
“I heard… Evergreen healed people for free, much like a doctor, and she didn’t charge anything despite so many people willing to pay for her services.” Kraft added, awkwardly scratching the back of his head while taking a large gulp from his drink.
That sounds just like Mother… Kai felt melancholic, strangely, as he remembered what Julie had said, about a woman going and healing people for free in the city. But dad… I didn’t know he had such a violent side to him… A light chuckle escaped his lips, and a rare smile broke out on his face behind his mask. However, his joy didn’t last long, as the dark-skinned man’s lips parted, a thunder-like feeling shot through his heart.
“Some say… Violet Night was a vampire…” he said with a raspy and deep voice.
Kai’s expression froze and discretely turned toward the man as countless gasps of shock reverberated in the air, filling the room with intrigued whispers. No way he knows… Kai’s heart threatened to jump out of his chest as he stared at the man, whose deadpan expression didn’t reveal any of his thoughts, which drove Kai to further anxiety. No, he doesn’t, otherwise, the inquisitors should have been here already.
“It’s just a rumor I heard a few years ago, but nothing to be taken too seriously… don't worry about it.”
“Right…” Kai’s voice quivered as he laughed, cautiously looking around and tightly holding the hilt of his sword, an action that didn’t escape the dark-skinned man’s gaze.
The others quickly went back to drinking and sharing stories about Kai’s parents, one more grandiose and amazing than the other, with some bystanders even pitching in some of the rumors they’d heard.
“My pa said that he met Violet Night when he was a wee lad, Kid, just how old is your dad?” A man asked, white hairs scattered through his beautiful dark hair and a few wrinkles covering his dirtied face.
“I’m uhh… not sure myself, haha…” Kai laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head while the others quickly changed the subject to another story.
The never-ending joyful atmosphere continued for a while, as more and more people pitched in their own stories and experiences, after which Kai gradually built up an image of his parents different from the ones he knew. Dad, the racist toward Demons and Mom… just Mom… He let out a light sigh, his unfocused gaze staring at nothing as memories flooded his mind.
A muffled expression ran through the chattery bar, which immediately quieted down as a man dressed in light armor rushed inside the room, clutching his sword as he yelled, “Enemy attack!”
The two-starred adventurers immediately jumped to their feet, followed by Kai, who quickly broke out of his daze. A few others stood up as well, unsheathing their weapons as they quickly made their way toward the lobby, their racing hearts pumping blood and adrenaline throughout their veins. Kai followed close behind, and his eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the attacker, whose yelps of pain stabbed his heart like sharp needles.