Several figures clad in black robes and various animal masks, along with a young boy in tattered clothes, could be seen traversing the rooftops.
They halted in their tracks, as they heard…
Du-dudu~
Duu~
Du-du-du~
A soft melody that echoed across the city of Radan from on top of the bell tower, added with the clear sky depicted as a dark canvas painted with beautiful stars and moon as the background of the bell tower, made anyone who tried to trace the beautiful tune intoxicated.
They looked at the tower.
Seated at the top of the bell tower was a young boy with a crisp black suit and a red tie, as if dyed in the blood of his victim, tied on his white shirt. On his face, a black demon mask adorned with two horns on his forehead as a crown and four fangs beside his mouth.
A beautiful silver flute rested in his hand, decorated with an intricate floral design. A stark contrast with the demonic mask on his face, giving him a strange vibe of the divine yet unholy.
Du-da du~
Da-da ~
He played the flute with such proficiency that it felt like it would give the hopeless hope, make the wounded heal, and make the dead alive.
The demon stopped and glanced at them, or more specifically, toward the young boy held by a tiger-masked figure.
The masked figure traced his gaze, which ended with them looking at the young boy.
'Why is he looking at me?' But the young boy's mind was occupied with the demon's glare.
'Does he want something from me?'
The demon slowly rose, his small stature covering the moon, casting his shadow over them. The shadow was dark like the void and stretched endlessly.
Making the figures shift their attention back to him.
Then…
Thump~
The demon jumped.
Dust rose in front of the robed figures, stealing their visibility. When the dust settled, they found the demon in front of them holding a tachi.
"Get out of your thoughts and attack him! While I take the boy."
"Uh, yes, Captain!"
"Yes!"
They shouted collectively and jumped with the weapon of their own towards the demon.
Clash~
All kinds of weapons came crashing down on the demon, but he stopped them by holding the tachi up and blasting them away.
The figures got scattered and took a moment to steady their foothold.
This time, they rushed individually, focusing on speed rather than brute force.
An axe came down on the demon, but he redirected the trajectory simply by tilting his blade slightly. Soon after, followed by a sharp arrow.
Seeing the arrow, he split it in half, but another man with a donkey mask horizontally slashed, trying to cut the demon in half, yet missed its mark as the demon had already taken a step back, and instead the donkey was cut in half.
Splatter!
Seeing the donkey die didn't even arouse any reaction from his comrades, because they knew if they hesitated, it would be them who would die.
More arrows were shot toward the demon, but he cut them down. But behind the rain of arrows hid a large mace that came down, yet it too was cleanly cut in half with its wielder.
During those exchanges, the demon didn't budge from his place except for that step he took, not because he couldn't move from all the clashes. He just wanted to enjoy the fight but soon got bored.
'haaa… This is getting kinda boring. So, let's finish it quickly.'
Swoosh~
The demon moved at lightning speed while cutting horizontally.
Splatter!
Thumps!
All the assailants were cut in half so cleanly that it nearly took a moment for them to fall. Their insides were scattered across the roof. The worst part was that they were still alive and watched as their guts fell and their lungs burned with each breath they inhaled. Their blood slowly leaving, creating a pool of blood.
A normal person would have fainted just from a glimpse of the bloody carnage the demon had created.
It was truly a bloody scene; meanwhile, the artist of that scenario looked elsewhere while casually swinging his bloody tachi to remove the blood from it.
He looked toward the tiger-masked figure who ran from building to building while carrying a child.
Swoosh~
In an instant, the demon moved from his spot, leaving the carnage behind him. Now standing in the tiger's way. The tiger bumped into him and stumbled a few steps, dropping the child beside the demon.
"Wait, we can—"
Before Tiger could even form a sentence, the world spun and his consciousness faded, and before his vision could be completely devoured by darkness, he saw his own headless body.
***
I stood in front of the young boy while he stared at me with indifference.
He looks cold. I wonder what he went through to be this cold at such a young age.
Well, I, too, am young, but my mental age is around 22.
Hmm…
"What do you want from me?"
"Nothing really," I say with a calm voice, because I really didn't need anything from him.
What could he even give me, considering how he looks?
Oh, but I do need money. I wonder if he knows some hidden location with treasure?
"Then why did you save me?"
Well, because I wanted to look like some cool hero, but I can't really say that. Also, because he had the blood of a dragon, I wanted him for myself.
Hmm…
Should I use the same excuse when I saved Alina?
"Because you are one of the fates chosen."
Well, will that work?
"Fates chosen?" The boy asked with visible distrust on his face. So, I pushed the topic towards revenge.
Why revenge, you ask?
Because revenge is something that can make a broken man make a deal with the devil.
"Yes, fate is chosen."
I continued before he could open his mouth. "Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to torment the people who made you suffer?" I saw a spark in his eyes, so I pushed further.
"Don't you want power? ... To have a normal life, to laugh like other kids, to eat whatever you want." The spark within his eyes grew to the size of the candlelight, and I knew I just needed to push him a little more.
So, I extend my free hand towards him.
"I will give you the power you need. I help capture the people who made you suffer. I will give you a place. So, take my hand; in return, you will just help me vanquish the Baba Yaga."
I could see it.
The fire in his eyes, the twitching in his hand to hold mine.
Come on, just take the damn hand.
And…
After some hesitation, he took it.
He took my bloody hand.
'fuck yesss!'
"Who are you?" He asked, looking at me properly for the first time, and I saw his shining crimson eyes with a burning inferno within them.
"I am Nightmare…" I transformed my blade back to slime and took my mask off, showing him my real face, and I saw a look of surprise flash through his face for the briefest of moments.
"…and you are?" I ask him back.
"I am Novu."
"Novu… It's a cool name, but you will need a code name. So, how about the 'wrath'?"
"I like it."
"Alright, then you will be the demon of wrath."