Delusional Mephistopheles

I slammed my feet on the earth, ignoring the burnt ash beneath my flesh, launching myself forward, but before I could draw myself nearby, I felt a sharp tug from my wrist, thorns pressed against my wrist, I snapped my attention from him, towards over my shoulder, let a low-pitched snarl, pupils slitted furiously, I spun around, I've realized Rosetta used her rose whip to let my guard down, made me squirmed helplessly against her grip.

"Let me go! What are you—?!"

"I'll never let you hurt anyone, while I was here to stop you!" Rosetta responded, gritted her teeth, desperately backing away by herself, I pushed myself even further, forcing myself to draw closer, but Rosetta was stubborn to give up, she give a sharp tug, I tugged back, this time was powerful than her.

"I say let me go!!"

"Ah—?!" Rosetta yelped, her fingers curled around the hilt of her whip, her heels digging deeper on the ground, struggled to maintain her position, unfortunately she felt herself dragged with my strong tug, twirl around alongside with her, screech.

With a high-pitched yell, I torn the vines apart from my wrist using my flaming claw, threw Rosetta away sending her crashed against the trunk, leaving her injured from the impact, breathing heavily, crimson dripped from her lower lips, winced from pain, Hiku and the rest of her team rushed towards her side. Violet cried, kneeled in front of her girlfriend.

"Rosetta! Are you… okay?"

"I-I'm fine…" Rosetta commented, wincing, she felt her translucent wings fluttered weakly, her mint-green eyes landed on my trembled form, my pupils shrink in guilt, I step back away, hands trembled.

I didn't mean to… I mumbled, my chest slowly rising and falling. Hiku and her team looked at me with concern and frightened look across their faces.

"I-I'm s--- sorry—!"

I turned away and immediately climbed on my brother's back and bolted from the scene, sobbing. Rosetta rise herself from the ground, Violet warned her but she didn't listen, rushing towards my shrinking silhouette from the distance, she winced, her hand raised.

"Kyou, get back —!" she cried, collapse on her knees, tears spilled from her face into ground beneath her, raised her weak hand despite she was injured from my accidental. General Naoryuu observed them, half-transformed, he heading straight behind them, hands tucked behind him with a devilish laugh.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here? The girls worried about the monster~!" he feigned concern with mocking tone.

Hiku snapped her position, her brow narrowed furiously, pupils slitted, armor gleamed from the moonlight glow, she raised the hilt of her etervictus blade.

"You—!"

She let a sharp gasp as she felt the fingers curled around her wrist, Rosetta shook her head with pleading look.

"Hiku please… don't, breath please."

Hiku paused pull her blade, staring at Rosetta's mint-green eyes, she knows her friend telling the truth, she let a deep breath, lowered her blade on the ground, until a scale hand snatched her etervictus blade.

"Wha—?!"

Then from Rosetta's staff, Violet's warhammer and Sylvia's spear. General Naoryuu's shadow loomed in front of them, with devilish laugh, he transformed something even more worse— he was a Mephistopheles, his demon form. Black horns glinted like obsidian.

"Oh-no… our weapons! What should we do!?" Violet panicked, with eyes wide beneath her visor.

"I-I don't know—! Kyou left us here, we're vulnerable to fight back!"

"We're so doomed..."

"My fellow guards! Take them!" General Naoryuu demanded, the guard's obeyed, their form shifting, bones cracking, transformed something into more bizarre and dangerous, without a word Hiku thrashing helplessly against their grip.

"Let me go, cowards!"

"Shut up, kid. You've should obeyed or else." one of the guard demanded, their voices was deep and distorted, their hands running on Hiku's hand towards the silver ring of her index finger.

"No—! Give me back that!"

"What if I say no?" One of the guards laughed, continue to taunt her. Sylvia cried against the other guards, squirmed, her axolotl frills flattened furiously, desperately to break free. "Don't you dare to made my girlfriend cry! Or else, I'm going to devour you alive!" she shouted, face red.

But the guards just let a maniacal laugh, distorted as they dragged them away from nowhere. General Naoryuu let a thunderous roar reverted back on entire forest, alongside the city further away, the guards laugh echoed as they dragging the four girls from the wilderness.

~~~

I stirred from my unconsciousness, but something felt off… instead of reality; I've found myself from the strange vivid world mixed disturbing place instead of reality the trees floating from above, dark gray sky and shadow silhouette of the anyone alongside Hiku and her team loomed around me with an empty smile, eyes was hidden beneath the shadows. My eyes wide and sunken, the dreaming world seems wrong, almost snag.

I explored the unfamiliar place, my reptilian feet tapping against the dark floor, although the clouds began to snag, the voice echoed through my ears, the sound of my parents' growls one last time before they passed away. Then… the innocent laugh reverted, my ears perked up, shift my attention to the innocent child. Wait, it could be… my younger self? I thought to myself, I observed the scene from the distance.

"What's this place…? It's seemed almost familiar…"

My younger self, innocent, the atmosphere was calm and peaceful unlike the present version of me and my entire wilderness, crawling as couple of massive shadow loomed above, the mother T-Rex, my mother, and the king Rex, my father. Alongside with the five hatchlings, They spent nudging my small side with her massive snout, carefully not to bite hard enough to break a skin, except she left a crescent mark on my tail, faint but their presence was still inside of my cold heart.

My gaze softened at the scene, the nostalgia hits me hard from the years of lost after my family's death. I swallowed hard and immediately ran, my hands raised, reaching desperately towards them, but until the world around me began to corrupted, distorted sound, the sky changing into pitch-dark with a gradient of crimson.

I let a sharp cry as I stumbled on the darkened floor, as the memory keep haunting me through mind and soul, the shadow shifted, molding into resembled General Naoryuu, my estranged father with a grin though his eyes was hidden beneath the dusk, my eyes wide in terror, then the shadow molding into the citizens—from my past. Their words kept repeating itself over again.

"Monster!"

"This girl might've be a future serial killer!"

"There's no escape, kid. Just accept your fate before your life endangered!"

"Monsters like you should be gone for good!"

then it change once again, the twisted version of my parents with menacing glare, their massive legs loomed, almost like a pillars of strength. Then the shadow molding once again, a doppelganger of my grown up version of my younger brother, alongside with his siblings, still tiny, but eerie version, sending shivers through my spine.

"No…" I mumbled, my gaze focused from above, the shadow molding, shifting into resembled of Hiku Hiroshima with a wide grin made my hair of my neck lifted, and uncomfortable, then the black liquid transformed into Sylvia, Violet and Rosetta, their words mixed and echoes around the corrupted dream.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!" I cried out, screamed in agony, as my hands began to moved between my head, clutching the sides, pressing my palm deeper against my ears, my eyes squeezing shut, as their voices and the dinosaurs' howl, the sound of flames from the wilderness swirling together, haunting almost I feel delusional, the corrupted liquid slowly crawled on my body, swallowed me whole into the nightmare madness. The shadow changed once again, it become a tall man it's face was made in shadows, almost a mixed from the black mist.

~~~

The Mephistopheles… my nightmare who kept haunting me through the years, waiting from my dreams, observing my movements I thought they're myth, I was wrong, but then. The Mephistopheles spoke, their voice was eerie whisper and distorted.

"Kyou Naoryuu… born from innocent into vengeance."

My ears perked up at my name, hands pulled away from my side, I answered, asking. "W-w-what?! H-H-How did you know my name?!"

The Mephistopheles silent, their form still loomed above me, their gaze lowered, fixed at my small form. The realm covered in pitch-dark, except the single sakura tree sat on the top above me, falling leaves fluttered from the wind. I snort in frustration, tapping my reptilian feet on the ground. I sat on the soft pile of grass, while the sakura petals drifting from above, stared at him with suspicion gaze, my tail tucked beside me, waiting for their words until for the sake of my time.

To be Continue…