The Scornful Gaze of a Silver Lucifer [Part 1]

Darkness.

It suffocates me once more.

Clouding my mind: thoughtless. I could feel the wicked moon’s light clinging to my skin, as it just watched over us. Mocking how helpless we appeared, especially how helpless I must have looked. The smell of black smoke was everywhere. The sound of my friends' erratic breathing started to make my blood boil with rage. How dare these worthless roaches come into my life?! I then did the only thing I knew how to do: force a torrent of gratuitous thoughts into my mind… Was I about to lose my friends? Was I about to lose everything? Is there anything I could do about it?

“Alright, we have a lot of work to do!” They shouted eagerly.

This woman had dark blue hair, in all black clothes, exposing a lot of skin. Possibly Sindarin. She was with many others; I have no clue how many. They also had attire similar to hers. I do know that they planned this. They must be part of some Guild or group that works in the dark. They might even be hired assassins. We were just prey to them.

“Now! Start by throwing all of your weapons in the forest…” They demanded, holding on Elros as leverage.

I saw that Írui and Vahaemarr just grabbed their weapons tighter. They didn’t want to give in to the woman’s demands.

“I said. Do it.” They put the blade closer to Elros’ neck which drew more blood.

We tossed the weapons in the woods. There were several of them and they then tied up Írui and Vahaemarr. I looked at Nel and Quen. Nel was frightened, holding onto Quen’s barely body conscious, with a great deal of troubled breathing.

“Great! Now, we are going to take all of your stuff and then you are going to show us where you all live! Then we’re going to—”

“Why would we do that—!”

Írui tried to shout but then was kicked by one of the others, hard enough to spit out blood.

“Rrr! I’ll kill you for that—!!” Elros tried to threaten.

“Quiet you...” They held the blade close to Elros’ neck again.

“As I was saying. Your little Guild has gotten pretty popular the past several days. And a lot of other Guilds are going to pay a nice bounty for the head of your Infernalior. So, you are going to take us to your Infernalior, so we can kill him… Understand?” They declared, raiding through our belongings.

I was trying to think of what to do! But nothing… I kept getting distracted by that woman’s constant laughing. What should I do?! I can’t just sit here! If I wait any longer, they could hurt my friends. I’m just going in circles! Maybe it’s best if I don’t do anything! They just want Vapula, so what will happen if we just show them the way? That might be the best option… Damn it! This is so frustrating! I don’t have enough time to weigh all of the options-

“Wow, you all had some interesting stuff. Ooo. We’re going to make everyone so proud!” The women said with sinister delight.

“Ha…!” I chuckled at the absurdity of my situation. I didn’t mean to do that… That quick chortle may have seemed harmless. However, it was something much more sinister that lived in my soul, and it found the opportunity to finally escape.

I heard the woman throw Elros to the ground. She must have heard me.

“Was that you?” She sounded calm, but her face was filled with anger.

I slowly turned to her with a grin on my face.

“I asked you—! A question!” She screamed as she ripped me out of the carriage.

The taste of dirt slammed into my face, easily making several cuts on my body, filled with dirt. I laid on the cold ground, listening to the other sill in a panic, while I began to clear my mind for the real me. The others didn’t know but at that moment. I knew that we were going to be safe.

Why…?

Because everyone has demons. Ones that most people would fear if they saw them.

But mine were some of the first and only friends I had.

You see, I have what I call a defense mechanism. One that somehow manifested itself every time I wanted to be left alone and there were often annoying pests droning around my head. It’s been dormant ever since I graduated school in Japan. Now, the demons want to rear their grim heads once again.

I slowly turned around to face her.

“Of course, it was.” I responded.

She had no idea what to say back to me, slightly shocked by my statement.

“So, who is it you are trying to impress?” I asked. I can feel the sinister grin taking over my face.

“What does that matter? You do know I can kill you at any moment.” The woman scoffed.

“But you won’t.” I quickly replied.

“What?!” The woman snapped at me.

“You can’t kill me, because that won’t impress anyone.” I remarked, as my words took form in the darkness.

She swiftly grabbed me to slam me against a nearby tree, causing my body to stiffen up slightly.

“I can and I will Kill you!” She gripped the upper part of my shirt to scream in my face.

“Oh, come now. Who are you trying to impress? Is it your boss? Maybe your father? Or… Your brother?” Looking deep into her eyes, waiting for the perfect wince in them.

Her eyebrows shifted to more anger and her chin lowered slightly.

“Good choice! I would want to impress him too.” I added with a vile smirk.

She quickly threw me to the ground again with more anger; again causing more dirt to be forced into my small wounds.

“How do you know about him!” She demanded.

I slowly got up on my hands and knees again. Glanced at Írui and Elros, both very worried. I tried to give them a smile to show them that I have everything under control. Regrettably, I don’t know if they saw me? Or something else that looked like me.

“Who doesn't know him? He's a legend. He’s done everything. And how could anyone forget what he’s done for you.” I sat on the dirty ground.

“H-How do you know that!” She screamed in a confused panic.

“I’m just surprised how much he actually pays attention to you.” I mocked.

She leaped at me, growling with rage in every movement!

“Ryo!” - “Ryosuke!” The others shouted in fright.

My neck and chest immediately felt the flow of burning liquid. It was my own blood. Even though I can feel its heat inside me, it felt like the purity of uncontrollable fire when it rushed on my bare, dirt covered skin. My eyes were closed: lying flat on my back, I slowly opened my eyes, my blood was dripping on my neck and upper chest, with the woman over me, on the verge of tears.

I just barely stopped her attack.

I saw my ring. I softly touched it with my thumb. She was aiming for my neck but I managed to redirect it, by getting stabbed in my left forearm.

“Well, this won’t do… He’s going to get upset with you, when he finds out that you lost your elegance.” I scolded.

“What?” She straightened her back, her eyes started to turn red, she was blinking fast.

I grabbed my forearm to slow the bleeding. The pain that I was experiencing had to be the worst physical pain I’ve ever felt in my life… But it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I was inside her head and I could see all of her darkest secrets.

“He’s going to regret not giving this job to that other girl.” I suggested, altering my voice to show pity.

“No he wouldn’t! Shut up! I’ll kill you!” She screamed, with tears running down her face.

“Go ahead. You'll just be wasting everyone's time. Again, like always… You’ll never make him proud.” I admonished with a condescending demeanor.

Her face became more distressed. Her entire body was trembling with worry and fear. Each breath she took, was being forced through her teeth.

“How pathetic...” I whispered, glaring at her in disappointment.

“Stop!” She begged, discarding her weapon.

“Honestly, how long have you been lying to yourself?” I asked, looking down on her.

“No… No I’m not...” She looked around at her group, fully distraught, breathing heavily. Her eyes started to flood with tears.

“Go!” She yelled at her group.

“I said GO! Now!” She screamed one more time. They then fled into the forest. Dropping our belongings.

The woman backed off of me to scoot to the carriage. I'd be lying if I said this was the first time I made someone cry in front of me. The only difference was, I had to do it so I could protect someone.