[Demon's Descent] by WALKER and silvershot - Blue Strokes

Darkness.

Nothing but pitch-black scorches my eyes even when they’re open.

How I’ve longed for the touch of natural sunlight. The feeling of the wind brushing on my skin. The quaking of the ground beneath me with every step I take.

I was part of a proud race. We used to roam the land. Stood on top of all. The undisputed kings of the food chain… and yet, look at me now.

Pathetic. Unable to even escape this tiny excuse of a prison, these feeble chains. Trapped like a helpless animal awaiting its slaughter.

My hide has gone weak. My fangs dulled. My eyesight weary. For a long time, I might have been the one to spread terror, but now... I fear that my body will finally give up.

I hear a creak at the trap door. The paltry light of the torch illuminates whatever it can. The time has come, it seems.

Enters a warrior. Nay, an insect. The tiny, insignificant bugs that dared bare their fangs at us. Look at the way they flaunt their so-called weapons, how they “outsmarted” their way to survival…

Repulsive.

The way they traded their claws and fangs for the iron skeleton on their bodies, the steel blades on their hips… These unworthy critters have lost their right to be called a species.

The insect pushes a plate toward me. This is not an act of mercy, but to humiliate me further. A being of my caliber having to bow down and accept the life source from another, in a portion that will inevitably not satiate my hunger... nothing stings more.

“Enjoy your last meal, great evil,” the creature speaks at last. “You are set for execution at dusk.”

“… You puny beings never learn, do you? Do you think you can kill me with just that?”

“Learn? We’ve done nothing but learn, monster. We weren’t blessed with armored bodies, fangs that can tear flesh in half, or claws that break even the toughest stones. It’s why we learned, evolved, adapted, and got to where we are today.”

Hehe. Learn. Adapt. Evolve. Such pretty words coming from a clueless worm.

“What are you laughing about?” He draws his sword. What a feeble grip. This one has yet to taste the real world.

“Just to show how wet behind the ears you are. Now scram.”

“You can’t make my heart falter with your wicked words, fiend.”

Alas, it seems like my time for amusement has ended for the day as the insect turns his back towards me and leaves the premises. The faint light from the torch has also fizzled out, and darkness once again engulfs the room.

A long life I’ve had… only for it to unceremoniously end like this. This bitterness… I won’t be able to swallow it. An end to my rain like this is beneath me.

… Am I hearing things? Is my imminent death causing my mind to play tricks on me?

No, it is real. I can feel the dirt falling onto my scales. There is a battle happening outside.

Heh. It’s about time they get an actual challenge.

A crashing sound like a thunderstrike. Debris falls like a meteor shower, and with them, a burst of shining light invades my cell. Though I welcome the warmth of the sun once more, this is hardly the scene to enjoy it.

Crawling out of the rummages is none other than the worm from before. However, he is nothing like the same being when he was still facing me. His armor has long been tattered and battered, while his sword has already been broken in half. Gone were the eyes of disdain, now the only thing left within him is pure, unfiltered fear. The kind of fear that I couldn’t hold a candle to.

How vexing. Have I grown so weak, that I cannot remain the being they fear most?

No matter. This is clearly my chance to escape… if only I could get rid of these chains holding back my limbs and wings.

“Ugh…”

So, he finally wakes up.

“… Ah! Get away from me, monster! I know you feed on our blood!”

All that talk from before, and now all he does is scurry away from my spot. What a bore.

“I need not fill my appetite with your filthy blood.”

“Well, well. You’re certainly matching my expectation!” A voice calls out from above, and before I can react, the figure has already descended with a jump.

These inferior creatures have gone complacent about their current domination, and so they have already lost their edge… or so I thought. But the being before me is nothing like the ones I’ve seen before.

Though he bears the form of the same pathetic bugs that had trapped me, something about him is… different. Something more… feral. More primal. Something… akin to myself.

There is no such thing as armor or equipment on this one. He stands there, face-to-face with the other insect bare-handed. And while his body is covered in the shameful blue of the other one’s blood, the warrior himself exudes a crimson bloodlust like no other.

“S-State yourself, intruder!” The injured one lets out a squirm of defeat. One of his shoulders is already broken and his legs are shaking in fear. It’s over.

And yet, he still has what it takes in him to ask. As if a big mouth is the only redeeming feature that these insects have.

“W-Why have you broken into this place? Do you not realize its importance? And the lives that died in your hands… did you not feel anything for them?”

“Lives? ...” The warrior tilts his head and raises his voice. “What ‘lives’? You mean those bugs that I squished just now?”

“Squished…” His opponent’s face pales. This is the first time I’ve seen the critter show any sign of rage.

It’s faint, but the flame of hatred and vengeance has lit up in his eyes.

But, comparing that to the fiery wrath of the warrior in front of him… there was no chance from the start. Insects shall remain insects.

Everything is over in a flash, with a single movement from the mighty warrior. It was not a flashy move, nor was it a particularly smart one, but the brutality that it brings is nothing like the paltry punishment that those so-called dominant species used.

The warrior’s teeth sink into the insect’s broken arm. His hand grabs onto his target’s head. Twist, Crack. His mouth tears off the arm, while his hand tears off the neck.

Such ferocity. Such wickedness. Such… mesmerizing beauty.

The warrior stands facing me. He raises his hand towards me, and with a swift slash, breaks off the chains holding me back.

“O’ Mighty Warrior, I thank you for freeing me from this dreaded prison. State your wish, and I will fulfill it to the best of my abilities.”

“Save it, demon,” the warrior lets out a wry grin. “I can see your true colors. We are of the same kind

– the kind that’s rotten to our cores.”

Hehe… I knew it. He is the one.

“Ahem… Let me rephrase, then. O’ Angel of Darkness, my partner in crime. Shall you join me in our conquest of bringing the world to our knees?”

“Now that’s more like it, demon. Come, let’s destroy the world together.”