Crimson Moon

"Throughout the sands of time, there is a legend. A legend about the deeds of a certain man. As the story gets passed from generation to generation, that man's title changes. He, the man of legends. He, the champion of champions. He, the slayer of Gods. Though no matter the title he's been given, two things remain unchanging: his accomplishments and his unknown identity."

From within a diminutive storage room filled with boxes ranging in sizes sat a man on top of a makeshift chair of some of those boxes. The man had dark hair that shined from natural grease and was cut unevenly as if he had done it himself without care. He posed near a flickering light within the stiff room, holding a book with a leather backing and pages stained yellow from withstanding the ordeals of time.

"How could a man, a hero, who took arms against the Gods possibly go unnamed throughout history?" The man spoke out loud in a forced, deep tone.

"Still spouting that same old nonsense?" Lost in thought, the man heard an exasperated voice calling out, demanding his attention with a hard 'thump' that followed. The man turn to face the owner of such a voice with a tired look. Near the storage room door stood a youthful girl with curly hazel hair that reached her shoulders. Her dark brown eyes examined deep into the soul of the man currently slacking from his responsibilities as a small store manager. "Not you mention you're talking to yourself in a storage room. How creepy." She took a step back and gasped. "Wait, you're not a psychopath, right? You're not gonna do anything to me in this dark room, right?" She joked.

"Like I have any interest in a brat like you." The man rolled his eyes.

"A brat? You're only a couple of years older than me; if anything, I'm more mature than you. So, in this case, you are the brat."

The man gave her a scorning look before rolling his eyes. "Anyway, if you stay any longer in this dirty room, you'll get your cute uniform all dirty." The man stood up and brushed off his clothing. "You know employees shouldn't even be in here without permission?"

The girl turned around, facing the door. "I have permission." With her right hand, she spun a small set of keys around her index finger. "Besides, actions like that will keep you forever alone. You joke around about how it doesn't bother you, but I'm sure it really does." With those parting words, she left the room, leaving nothing but the echoing sound of the metal door closing.

"I don't need to hear that from anyone, Jasmine." The man sighed as he held his chest. "Definitely not from you." He then reached out towards the flickering light that dangled alone in the room. "What am I doing, anyway? Why am I still here…" With a long pause, he held the book to his chest. "I swear-" The lonely light burnt out before he could finish. "…I hate this place."

Hours pass as the store hours end and the witching hour begins. The man, welcomed by stuffy cold air, stood alone at the doors to the store with a small bag in hand. A crimson moon glistens brightly within the black sea of tiny specks. With a disapproving grunt, the man held his bag close with his hand inside. He trekked down a rocky path of large smooth stones alongside a mix of buildings varying from hundreds of years old to recently built.

The streets were eerily silent, with no life to be seen. The only sounds he heard were his steps and his anxious breathing. While the man's eyes darted from side to side, he kept walking directly towards his next destination.

"HHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEELPPPPPPPP!!!!!!" The stillness of the night was abruptly interrupted by a desperate cry for help, followed by the haunting echoes of something being beaten and pained sobbing in the darkness. A pair of shadows projected on the side of a building between the gaps was not far from where the man walked. "I swear I don't know what you are talking about. Please, just let me go!"

"Sounds like a classic case of a bum being caught in the inner districts." Despite the ongoing conflict, his anxious breaths normalized as he found peace in an ordinary scene. He lowered his bag and continued walking normally. As he passed the alley entrance, he gave a quick passing glance at two figures: one middle-aged woman who was gravely wounded; and a middle-aged man shrouded by a black mist in the shape of a snake. The snake's fangs were embedded into the man's chest, towards his heart. As the man tried to swiftly walk past the alley without being noticed, the woman screamed out.

"S-s-sir…P-please…" Her voice was weak as if she were barely holding onto her life. "I don't wanna die…"

"Don't wanna die? DON'T WANNA DIE!?" The middle-aged man shouted. He gazed into the woman's eyes with a deadly stare. The snake-like mist coiled around his torso, causing the man's skin to blacken. The mist that shrouded him became more visible to the man watching as he spoke. "Wouldn't we all just want to live in peace?" He kicked the woman in the chest, causing her to cough up blood. "But that's a dream far from reach!" He kicks her once more. "All because your damn kind keeps scamming us hard-working slum dwellers trying to escape those sleepless nights in the cold." The middle-aged man then crushes her left leg and the sound of bones breaking echoes as the woman lets out a pained scream. "I AM SO SICK OF BEING TREATED LIKE TRASH!" He then grabbed the woman by her hair and dragged her body toward a wall. He then held her in the air.

"EEKKKEK!!" The woman squirmed as she kept her eyes fixed on the bloodthirsty gaze of the man before her. "P-p-please… I have a f-family…" Tears mixed with blood flowed endlessly down the woman's face as she kicked her assailant in a frantic attempt to free herself. "P-please! I'll cancel all your debt and give you enough money to last you a lifetime. I-I'm s-sorry!! Please just forgive me!!!"

The middle-aged man's expression went blank as he lowered the woman to the ground. Just as the woman was about to give a soft sigh of relief, the man grabbed the back of her head and slammed her into the wall several times. Each slam was stronger than the last until her skull could not handle it anymore and burst like a watermelon. Blood spattered towards the man, watching the whole thing silently. Standing there, he slipped something into his bag and stared at his work uniform.

"Tch, I was hoping never to get blood on this manager's uniform. I don't need that brat mouthing me off any more than she already does." The man said, bothered by the bloodstain more than the killer before him.

"You say brat, but you have feelings for her, Lance." A voice familiar to him echoed from the rooftops as the man in the alley lunged toward Lance with superhuman speed.

"Feelings? Get a grip. Like anyone would fall for that annoying sister of yours, Jess." Lance said calmly as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small military-grade knife. He tossed his bag to the side and sidestepped his attacker, causing him to fall. "Whoa there, I think you missed. Try not to be so inflexible with your attacks," Lance taunted as the man stood back up.

The man's eyes harbored hatred towards Lance. "Damn upper-class scum! You are all the same!" He threw a left hook toward Lance. Lance grinned as he dodged. "You all look down on us and think you are just better!" The man threw attack after attack at superhuman speeds.

"Hey, what you need is to focus. If you throw your punches out wildly, you're not gonna hit-" Just as Lance tried to finish mocking the man's inability to land a hit, the man tried to kick him in the guts. Just before it could hit, Lance parried the attack and slashed behind his leg with his knife. The man fell to the ground. Lance stood before him, catching his breath. "Man…you are fast… I'll tell you that much." He spoke between breaths.

"Sorry for the wait!!!" A tall woman with hazel hair dressed in a black military uniform jumped from the roofs and handed Lance a rifle. She gripped a long sword glistening with an unnatural crimson light in her right hand. "You know it's hard to load an anti-demon round into your standard-issue rifle."

The immobilized man stared at Lance with his eyes bloodshot red. "What have we done to you? Why must we constantly be treated like shit?" Blood dripped down his eyes as his anger was replaced with grief. "We just wanted to live a normal life like you lot? But no! Why must we be punished by the sins of our father's fathers!? It's not fair!!!"

"The answer is quite simple, really." Lance pointed the barrel of his gun at the head of the man before him. "Before we are born, we throw the dice. Some of us are just luckier than the others." A clicking noise echoed as Lance disengaged the safety. The man looked away in disappointment as he knew his time was up. "Life is unfair; it's plain to see. But I'll fix that."

*BANG*

The man's head exploded like a pinata filled with only brain guts and blood. As the man's headless body slumped to the floor, the snake-like mist that had once covered the man's heart detached itself and gave Lance a scornful hiss before slithering away.

"Not today!" Jess said as she drove her blade through the head of the snake into the ground below.

"You can't resist for much longer." The snake hissed bitterly as it dissipated.

"Nice assist!" Lance said, giving Jess a thumbs up before dropping his rifle gently onto the ground, avoiding blood puddles. He walked over to the woman's remains and reached into her pockets. Jess watched silently from the alley entrance while she sheath her blade. Lance pulled out a small ID card from the woman and tossed a calling card of his own design onto the corpse. He then approached the man's body and knelt before it. "Sorry, you had to work your damn hardest just to be met with fate such as this. But as I said before, I'll break this corrupt system. I will follow the steps of the unnamed hero."

"Still spouting that nonsense?" Those familiar words compelled Lance to glare daggers at Jess, who laughed them off. "But I won't be like my adorable sister and call it absurd. We walk a dark path. We need something to hold on to if we want to stay sane. I pray that she never learns of what we do."

"Same," Lance muttered as he stood up. "Anyways, let's head back to HQ before the Castle Town Police or the Paladin's Corps arrive."