7 The Devil on Board-1

In a small dark cabin aboard the ship, a lantern flickered tiredly. A stringent scent of wine and something more dangerous whiffed around but it didn't bug them.

They were two. Two men. Wearing ripped up vests and red bandannas, thin lines of smoke rose from the cigerettes between their lips. The coffee table in middle was overstacked with stained whisky bottles and overused stacks of cards. They were still at a game and their gazes stayed intently in the sets they had at hand.

However…

"It's strangely quiet this tim,eh?"

The one with a half shaved beard passed the comment to the tanned guy with a worn out tattoo on his cheek.

He glanced over and down swiftly.

"Well, would you prefer the other way around."

"Ha ha! No thank you, the Bastards are already a real pain as they are. Welps, as long as they spit good cash for us."

"heh, as if dopes like us is gonna get a lick pf that.."

"Why you son of a ....! You'll be caught dead coughing shit like that!"

Both of the men laughed loudly. The tanned guy threw his deck on the tray.

"Damn this is getting boring, You up for a round?"

The shaved guy crooked a smile.

"You b*tch, I'm finally about ta win and you end up haywirin the mother**** game!"

"Whatever" The other one shrugged as he corked open a bottle.

He kept drinking till the bubbles went down skimming the feet of the label outside.

"Let's go up the deck for a while. Gill's boys are probably on patrol now. They won' mind anything."

"you sure? Cause if Andrew finds out we've been messing with positions, we'll pretty much be deadmeat."

"well, whaddya know. Andrew isn't on board today."

The shaved man widened his eyes in surprise.

"Not even Andrew, then don't tell me –"

"you think he's got time for stuff like this?"

The tanned man slammed his now finished bottle on the overcrowded tray, causing some cards to litter the black floor.

"You know there has been some trouble lately an' we're already on a tight routine. I suspect the boss'll even have the leisure to step a foot out of base."

"anyway," The shaved guy glanced at the walls, "we probably shouldn't talk like this-walls have ears, you know."

The tanned man shrugged as he stood up making the empty alcohol bottle fall on the floor.

"I'm not joking around, Jay, this is the perfect chance to too look around the deck. Who knows we might find something good.. ah nevermind. Forget that part."

It was indeed an impossible wish to think that Andrew Kenderhearth would leave anything of real value after guarding the ship so lightly.Even by normal stadards, the guard on this cargo was way too flimsy.Not counting solo merceneries like him and jay, "Drake's Scale" guild, the infamously shady Drake's scale guild, had assigned only one of their personal forces on the cruise. And that too Gillard "Gill" Ranndall's force, rumoured to have even lost battles to normal humans. Sure the mission was insignificant , by astounding measures considering their record….but still.

"How could he be so sure that nothing would screw up. That the ship or cargo won't be seized or the runaway bastards won't rebel?" Though they did not fetch much of a cash, they could become lethal to Vaselia if let to run amok.

Trusting the loyalty and strength of Gill's force? Never. Even the marketmen knew the gossip that their connection to the organization was only in name. Besides, their power wasn't anything to brag about.Thogh they might seem remarkable to the naked eye, Gill's squad was around the same level as independent merceneries possibly a notch lower.

Then why?

It was then when his eyes finally met jay's that had been staring at his direction for a while.

And his vision staggered the very moment. He felt a grasp coil around his heart and shake it firmly. It was scary and alarming. Jay's gaze held such blankness.

They held gazes for a while. Then Jay broke the stalemate with his trembling lips.

"Y…Yo..You.. really don't know.." His voice sounded totally different from the careless tone he was using moments ago. "O..of course..you were late today-skipped introduction..yes, yes it's obvious why you wouldn't know. Ha ha!"

Jay chuckled nervously. "I thought for a sec you were just messin' with me, Cavin."

The other one called Cavin frowned. Nothing Jay said made a single sense to him..but he couldn't shrug of his the impeding warning his instincts were shouting to him.

"Jay, stop skipping around and tell me the BLOODY POINT!"

Jay twitched his facial muscles a bit at the Cavin suddenly raised his voice. Yet something held his throat making the following words quite straining to say. He wet his lips.

"It is awfully quiet today....jay,who's keeping watch on the Bastards?"

Cavin's . " He….he is on board today?" Suddenly he felt the temperature in the room drop. Jay sullenly lowered his stare on the mangled card decks on the tray. Cavin felt a cold sweat break down.

Now, everything made sense. If that person truly was on this cruise, then it is quite natural for the bosses to be so lax….no, rather they were being way too cautious seeing that they had sent in one of their personal forces as well. But if he had been around him for so long, then….why didn't he sense him?

Cavin squatted down in tension, his shivering hands wiping the sween of sweat around his face. Myst was dormant within every man who practised it on a regular basis. Although it was not impossible to conceal the 'Aura' repelled constantly, it required crazy skill and was unbelievably straining.

That person….Cavin swallowed the saliva stuck at his throat…..

Nine…..exactly nine months ago….

He was a monster. Swords,guns,spears,shields,arrows lay sprawled and broken across the cracked floor. Cavin was on his knees shaking and stuttering just like now. His eyeballs bulged open, the veins in his arms and legs popping out of exhaustion. He tried to suck in huge gasps of breath…but each time he breathed his lungs threatened to collapse. Dark….it was so dark around…like someone had sprayed ink into the air. It was liquid , dense and overwhelming. 'hah….hah…..hah….' he he waited for the pressure to crash him as he patirntly endured the toxic breaths forcefully. 'why…why am I still awake…no-why am still alive.." He couldn't move his eyes but he didn't need to. He watched the sweat from his face drip down in the puddle of blood below..crimson and clear…flowing like a stream from the bodies mangled around him. The shadows homed in closer and his breaths were strangled at last. This is my limit….he thought…but he didn't collapse, not yet…the pain from his wounds and strained muscles were becoming number as time passed..but the aura crashing down on him was far more hellish.

<plop!Clank!> two shards of metal dropped in front of his view. The levish carvings near the edge was familiar..that insignia of a lion…no question. He'd even recognize it in hell. It was his own blade, the bade that he used formery to shred up steel thick steel and iron bars like butter..his prescious Empowered sword…

"And that monster sliced it like he was cutting paper!" A cold chill sizzled through his veins. An ethereal sceream exploded in his brain, his mind nearly capsizing out of the terror.

Yet he couldn't help it-the impulse. Slowly, he lifted his eyes to look above the shadow looming in front.

There he stood. The darkness wisping and withering around him like mist and at thw same time growing and enveloping his body..But he stood and Cavin saw him as clear as day. He met those eyes for less than a split of a second. And that was the worst mistake he had ever made in his life..

Afterwords, Cavin remembered nothng- his name, his appearance, even how the eyes he stared into looked…bbut he remembered that hopeless feeling of being overwhelmed by mere Aura alone.

Yet, if that person was able to hide this much aura and for this long time, then…

"he's even more of a monster than he was before."

Ha..ha ha..hahahahahahahaa...!!!

And here he was within meters distance with the incarnation of Devil himself bragging about snooping around in HIS territory..

"Jay"

"Yea.."

"…. …. … thanks.." His partner had really saved his neck over here today. " The last thing I'd want is to face that demon spawn again..ha ha..i'd even go to hell rather."

"Hmm and I wonder who this 'devil spawn' you're talking about is. He must be a formidable being."

The owner of the new voice took a step forward, caually strolling out of the shadow in the corner of the room. It was a single,harmless, soundless footstep. But The air in the room changed drastically. Despite being fairly skilled Myst users..Jay and Cavin found themselves unable to even drop an eyelash. The same chill that held Cavin on a chokehold that day coiled around them at a sluggish careless pace. The blood in their brains froze, nausea creeping over.

Cavin was more appalled.

"he' s… he's strong…"

No, he was strong before too. The difference was that now he could display the same strength at leisure, almost effeortlessly.

The footsteps grew closer. The room was small, after all. The two men didn't even get enough time to dip a bead of sweat. He leaned back on the filthy tray stacked with booze and torn cards.

"Well,well." He smiled amiably at the frozen duo. "I believe we may start our acquaintances, don't you think?"

The duo couldn't muster the force to reply.

" Excellent! I'm glad you agreed, I do hate forcing stuff out of people.