- Blood Rivers Flow Like Fallen Rain [3]

No survivor, among the dozens hiding and seeking shelter inside the different buildings, moved. They stared on in awe, the masked warrior before them created a scene like that of pure fantasy.

But this world was already fantasy enough for Lia.

"Run!"

She yelled at the top of her lungs, the mask's inhuman voice hiding the feminine tone behind it. None of the survivors suspected a thing.

They had seen no one else but this mysterious masked man defeat these monsters, and yet now, he was telling them to run like all hell's breaking loose.

It was only then did they finally begin to realize the severity of the situation, when an ear piercing sound came from deeper in the town.

"Craaaaw!"

The sound of what appeared to be a large bird rang out like a bell in everyone's heads, many of the survivors present even covering their own ears to quell the ringing. It felt like it was bouncing around in their skulls, slamming against their heads, their eardrums, and even sending shivers down their spines in fear.

"Run!!"

She yelled again, her own inhuman voice drawing out that of the large monstrous creature.

This time, a few survivors snapped out of their shaking fear and awe, and began to use the rest to get up and move.

Rian and Lukali were among the first, rushing to help children, elderly men and women to safety, silently stealing glances at her in her masked form.

'They don't know…do they?'

'Depends on if you let yourself be known.'

Cain answered from inside her head, his voice appearing somewhat tired and worn.

'Maybe I'm just reading too much into it.'

She brushed her hand over the hilt of Evegallien which was embedded in the stone pathway, bits of stone cracked from the force and steel.

'Perhaps.'

Lia drew the blade to Cain's words and turned her focus down a narrow street, the general direction that monstrous sound had come from, lying just down that lonely stone pathway.

'Shall we?'

Cain asked, the exhaustion disappearing, replaced by some form of emotion she couldn't place.

'Ah…'

Excitement.

Leave it to Cain to be excited about something like this.

She turned her focus from the street and looked up high in the sky where the tips of the buildings and roofs made of thatch met the orange and yellow streaked sky.

On the edge of one of these roofs stood a man, on the very tip, with his hands behind his back, face turned to the sky.

As if drawing his attention to her, Cain looked down to find Lia staring at him from behind the white eyes of the mask.

He smiled when his eyes met hers, and Lia felt a warm feeling encompass her, enveloping her entire body, her soul, and her mind.

The world around them disappeared and she found herself drawn to Cain's aweing figure as it stood in the sky, against the setting sun. To her, he looked like a god, but to him, she looked not like a mortal down below, but rather, a person who wished to be on the top with him.

This made him smile, as he told himself inside, reassuring himself, the words he repeated over and over again.

'Power rules the world. And I shall make you power itself.'

As the sun blinded Lia for a moment, glinting off Cain's figure, Lia narrowed her eyes to keep the sun from burning them. But when she opened them again, she found no man standing where he once did.

The position was vacant, waiting for someone to take it.

'Let's go Lia. You and me.'

Inside her head, she heard the simple words of a man who inspired fear in the fearless.

'You and me?'

She asked, suddenly feeling stupid for doing so.

'You and me.'

With his words, she smiled, turning back to the empty street, she began her walk in the direction of the monsters, of the monstrosities.

And unknown to her knowledge…

…a monster worse than the storybooks.

A human.

***

When Lukali had awoken that morning, his head fell through to a pounding headache. They were moving that day, from the inn that had kicked them out due to rumors, to the Hunter's Post, a place that would only serve to increase his aching mind.

But he didn't complain.

When they got there, Lia had suddenly introduced the idea of an annual competition - a race that would pin Hunter against Hunter in terms of points for quite a large sum. More so than any of them could gain from one Hunting trip alone.

The cheers and cries he heard that day in support of the Race only served to split his skull with a migraine.

But he didn't complain.

Later that same evening, Rian and himself found their time would be better spent honing their skills, and what better way than to try out this Race of Hunts and Hunters Lia had proposed. If they failed, they learned a few things. If they succeed, they make a few extra coins.

After all, that thousand gold was certainly a large and hefty sum, however, they both knew that they couldn't rely solely on that one pay out alone. Best to start earning while they had the chance.

It was a long and grueling process of Hunting down several small and numerous monsters, both passive and aggressive.

His mind refused to settle down, even when he was focused on his bow shots, honing that skill was everything. He knew he needed to let go of the past, serve and contribute to Lia and Rian.

In hopes of not being left behind.

He took up the bow, and with it, his palace was solidified. As was his greatest fear of losing that security, as well as his friends.

His head hurt.

But he didn't complain.

When they were coming back, the day had already passed. No more than twelve monsters had been killed, as that was all they were able to carry in the small cart they had rented.

Twelve. It certainly wasn't comparable to the twenties or thirties in count of monsters other Hunters were bringing back.

But it was fine. Lukali didn't complain.

Yet, as they were walking back to the Post to visit Lia, offer her their help, and finally get some much needed rest, he found something odd about the town at that moment.

"Rian."

He stopped looking towards the ground, his face askew in a frown.

"What's the matter? Your head still hurts?"

Rian turned to him, only to find his friend's face focused solely on the ground, eyes wide but his frown heavy.

When Rian looked too, he got a chill down his spine.

The small bits of rocks and stones, the kind kids would kick and throw, causing mischief with. Gravel. Loose rock. Stones.

They were dancing. Violently dancing on that same ground, vibrating and shaking, bumping and jumping.

Suddenly the whole ground was vibrating, and with it, Lukali could hear the sounds of clashing, banging, and sounds of pain ring out throughout the town.

Women and children ran for cover, men died from falling debris, and people of all types, young and old ran to the square looking for cover.

A wide open space, away from the falling debris would be safe right?

At first Lukali mistook it for a small earthquake, but his hopes were soon crushed.

From the buildings they came crashing through wood and brick. From the streets they came tumbling down, pushing past carts, horses, people - all that stood in its way was either crushed, or simply flung aside.

Monsters. Horned monsters of mass proportions.

By the time Rian's hand grasped his shoulder, snapping him out of the paralyzing fear he had, they were surrounded. Five in counting and growing fast. Those that didn't stay around moved on, smashing through buildings and carts, fences and walls.

They were destroyed walking.

His head hurt. But he didn't complain.

It all flew by in a flash.

"Lukali!"

His mind was elsewhere, the blurred voice nothing more than a whisper in his ear.

"Lukali!"

A firm hand grasped his shoulder, but he didn't move.

'My head hurts.'

Flashing images, screams of pain and wails of sorrow filled his head, playing constantly on repeat over and over again.

Images of a man, dressed in black, eyes glowing.

Red - Ren. They called him "Red Ren." A symbol of his anger.

Purple - Ben. Always arrogant.

Yellow - Sphen. He was greedy

Another image, this time of the same man, but with white eyes, standing over a fire, looking down…

Down? Down on him as a boy.

'White…Ken…'

Neutrality.

The firm hand gripped his shoulder tighter, sending a shot of pain through his arm, though only temporary, as it pulled him back, flinging him around to face the owner of such a strong hand.

Rian.

He snapped out of it, his eyes fluttering around the square looking for the owner of that worried voice.

His eyes met Rian's, as they looked deep into each other's eyes.

Rian could see something there on the other side, but he said nothing.

Lukali nodded his head, assuring that he was ok, as they both slowly turned to face the open square, where a hooded figure in black was walking away.

They met eyes once again, both seeing what the other was thinking.

His head hurt.

Some monsters were going to die.

He didn't complain.

He didn't need to lie.

The real monsters were coming out tonight.

***

-Tap!-Tap!-Tap!-Tap!

The sound of footsteps rang out across the room, the silent sounds of wood creaking below their constant steps, moving back and forth, back and forth, back and forth from one side of the room to the other.

-Tap!-Tap!-Tap!-Tap!

An inpatient girl - a woman, pacing up and down the room, her hands behind her back, her face covered in an ugly frown.

Around her, in different parts of the room, four men leaned against the wall in different positions. Some sat on chairs, twirling daggers in their fingers. Others stood silently looking out the window.

Finally, the woman had enough of the silence, and stopped her pacing, turning to the red eyed man.

"How much longer?"

The red eyed man said nothing. He turned to bruhs the curtains aside by the window, silently looking out the glass on the town.

Again, the woman asked, her voice firmer and stronger.

"How much longer?"

"Not long."

Seeing the man speak up, the woman believed she had gained some traction in their conversation, and continued.

"You said if you let those animals go, we would have had her by now. I didn't spend the day hiding this little job of yours for nothing."

The man was calm when he spoke, but his words were like a knife in the soft skin of the woman.

"We said what we said. You must learn patience, understand?"

"Don't tell me what to do. I control this city, and if you hadn't given me something useful, I would have taken your heads off your shoulders!"

The lady was clearly agitated, as she lashed out without any warning, before going back to her pacing, silently chewing at her nails.

The man took notice of this and commented on her poor emotional state.

"If you're afraid you'll be caught, you need not fear. All that matters now is that we get that girl, you get what you want, and we leave with her companion."

Turning to face him, the woman's frown had returned.

"And for what reason do you want her companion? They're all guilty in my eyes and if I wanted to-"

The red eyed man was about at his breaking point, and just as the lady said those next words, a dagger flew by her neck, slicing a small bit of skin and flesh, leaving a small scar bleeding and dripping blood.

"Shut. Up."

The woman didn't move, her face frozen in shock, as he slowly raised a hand to brush against the slightly burning scar on her neck.

Bringing her hand back, she saw the small bits of blood left on her finger tips, and suddenly, anger overtook her.

However, she never got to speak, as the man continued where he left off, cutting her voice off before it could ever leave her throat.

"If I wanted this - If I wanted that. None of that matters to us. You're here with us, and if WE wanted to, you would be dead. The only use you are to us is our common goal. Don't mess it up, otherwise…"

His eyes passed over the other three present, their own glowing eyes meeting his. Suddenly, everything grew silent with his next words piercing to the ears.

"...you won't live to see the moon tonight."

The woman didn't say anything, her own sharp and piercing eyes meeting his red glowing ones.

Screams of men and women rang from outside, as well as the monstrous sounds of the inhuman creatures terrorizing her town.

Monster she had let loose with the help of these four men.

A third party, a lowly gang takes the fall, she gets what she wants, and everything is finally in her control.

A rising city like the Outpost would serve as a great purpose to start her dreams of power.

But his man had just threatened it with such simple words.

She was angry in more words than she could describe.

The red eyed man could see that his words hurt her pride, but didn't seem to care, until a small and slight change in the air told him of something else going on behind the scenes - something he couldn't see.

Another presence entered the room, and it was behind him.

Slowly, he turned, already half expecting to know who it was.

In the corner, a cloaked figure in tethered robes stood in the shadows. Their face was covered by a small face mask of a demon with disgusting features and curling teeth.

"Your summons?"

The man asked, not at all wired that a summons had showed up, nor was he worried about his life. Even if the summons he was looking dead eyes at were fast, his brothers could easily kill off the woman before he reached them.

And the woman knew this too.

"Don't ever threaten me again. I rule this town, and no one can escape me. So don't think that just because we're on the same side that I'll let you get off easy."

The red eyed man smirked behind his bird-like mask.

"So easily would you kill your own people simply because your pride was hurt. And you call yourself a leader."

He gestured to the window, where screams were still vividly calling out in the evening.

However, the woman paid no attention to his gesture, and kept her eyes locked on him.

"I'm teaching this town a lesson. And one you would do well to remember if you don't want to be out there, where they are, do you?"

Red eyes scoffed, and moved to the window, turning his back to both the woman and her summons.

"Just hold off on your arrogance a little longer. They'll be here soon."

As the woman looked out the window, seeing the setting sun set behind the tall mountains of her landscape, the tall and rising trees of her forest, and behind the rooftops of her town, she sighed.

"We'll see."

None of them took notice of the seventh man who entered the room.

Not even the summons.