6 -{Ark II-Beldon: Chapter VI: The Good Of Darkness}-

Darkness may not always be evil, and Light might not be so good. However, who is one... to truly judge? - Erebus.

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"Ugh... That steak got the best of me..." Ralph groans.

"I know how you feel..." I grumble as I push open the door.

"Please return soon!" Sinta'rin yells ecstatically as we left the restaurant.

"No problem, we'll come back whenever we're able to!" Ella yells back.

"You guys seem to be fast friends?" I question Ella.

"Not really, we've been friends for about three months now," She replies almost instantly.

I just nod, mainly because I don't know how to respond to that.

"Anyway, here..." She reached into her travelling pouch, then pulled out a cloth sack which clanked its contents as she placed it in my hands.

"What is this?" I raise an eyebrow before she ushered me to open it.

And so I follow her gesture and open it; revealing the cloth pouch was full of Aureus coins. I'm not even sure how much is in here but, that's... that's way too much.

"This is so that you can buy yourself an actual sword or something..." Ella explains.

"But I could get a sword for half of what's in here..." I confusingly look from the pouch and up at her.

"Well, it was your birthday presents from the last two years... Mom told me to keep all of it until I found you again... if I ever were to find you again..." Her face drooped.

I don't necessarily respond with words, however, I wound up just hugging her. Silence enveloped only to be broken by the chatting of the citizens wandering through the street.

I pull away with, "I can't thank you enough..."

"Don't. It was mom's gift to you anyway, not me," She shakes her head before turning away from me, "Now, don't spend it all in one place."

She laughs and I just smile with shaking my head, "Yeah, yeah, I'll try my best not to."

And with that our group departed going our separate ways. Ralph went to gamble back his losses at the gate, and Ella and Valair were to go shopping for god-knows-what.

Then there was me... I would be browsing for a new blade...

"If I knew where any kind of weapon shops were located..." I sigh as I slow down my steps to look at a directional sign.

"HELP!" A distant almost inaudible scream pierced the sound of the crowds around me.

I turn towards where it originated, then around to the people around me. They were completely oblivious to the scream which had just went over their heads. Then the thought hits me... Right... none of them probably have the hearing capabilities of an elf, like I do...?

And so without any means of a weapon to fight with, I weave through the crowd making my way into the alleyways the scream had reached out to me from. Although it's harder than I would have thought to track the sounds of a person in distress while also try to traverse a maze-like alleyway.

With another scream, it almost feels as if it had rippled through the walls and ground. Negativity... right, why haven't I of just been tracking that instead?

And so I begin to trace the trail of anguish through the winding ways. Then I reach my destination, however, not at all exhausted like someone would be from that kind of 'exercise'. 'Cause, you know, I feed off of negativity...

I cram my gold pouch under a few fallen bricks, out of sight, out of mind. Then I slide up to the corner of the last turn and peer around the corner to see three soldiers confronting a woman; defending a beaten, maybe unconscious, man.

Suddenly one of the soldiers orders another to attack the woman; shoving her to into some wooden crates.

"Should a Lady be more graceful than that?" The, my guess, leader smirks.

I round the corner without hesitation, "Hey! What do you think your doing!?"

All three of them turn towards me, sending a slight cold shiver down my spine, "Mind your own damn business, kid!" The leader shouts.

"Yeah!" One of his lackeys yells out in agreement only making the leader glare at him.

"Pfft... shouldn't soldiers like you be licking some general's boot?" I grin; shoving down the fear in the pit of my stomach.

"Yeah, and shouldn't a rich snob like you be pickin' up after your mama?" He recoils.

I narrow my eyes at him as he turns away from me. Damn, think, what can I do to drive their attention away from her? Can necessarily take them all on with just my bare hands, and...

– Ugh, quit you complaining already! – Demoros appears from thin air, – Do all you know how to do is complain? –

– Yeah, yeah, same old, same old, – I roll my eyes, – Just tell me what to do. –

– Good. Now collect up some of the dark energy, obviously, – He sarcastically begins.

– And? –

– Form it in the palm of your hand. –

– Like this? – I question before a black crystal like shard gradually forms into my hand.

– Look you did something correct for once! – He cheers.

– No time for celebration! We got the work to do! – I run along with his joke.

– Okay, fine... – He sighs – levitate it into the air then aim and fire, simple. –

– Easy for you to say, – I frown.

However, it only takes a second, or two, before it's up about a few centimetres off my hand. Then I aim next to the leaders head.

I remove a few hairs from his head as it burrows into the siding of the building. He then turns with anger in his eyes to my smug face.

"Oh, how bad of rich kid me... I was actually aiming for that melon you call ahead," I taunt him.

Flames almost jump from his eyes as he, and his lackeys draw their blades. However, he turns to them, "I'll take this one by myself." His growl instantly forces the other two to sheathe their weapons and watch.

He carries a shimmering red scimitar, which seems to reflect a fiery orange when the light hits it just right. Although it looks like a nice blade, theirs one critical flaw... Scimitars are for slashing opponents not stabbing, so all I have to do I dodge every swipe.

And yet the first thing he does his lung at me with a stabbing blow. I shake my head while sidestepping at the last possible moment.

"You... you dodge my attack? But that man said no one would be able to?" The leader questions my actions.

"Well, it would seem you purchased the wrong weapon from the wrong tradesman?" I smirk.

"No matter," he grumbled, "No one taunts me, and gets away with it!"

I grin as he lunges at me once again although this time slashing his blade into the cobbled path. I come to a halt with a slight skid before turning towards his angered face as he pulls his blade from the ground.

"Is it just me, or do you really not know how to use that scimitar?" I cross my arms.

He grits his teeth before running once more at me, however, when he strikes for my head I simply duck underneath his sluggish attack. I grin before uppercutting him in the centre of his jaw. Not necessarily a move to take someone down, but effective to cause them a little disorder.

He stumbles back with a few blinks, and a clenched jaw, then after a moment he mutters, "You'll pay for that."

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" I tilt my head slightly, "I couldn't hear it over your buddies gasps."

"You son of a..." I cut him short as I silhouette myself.

I only respond with a grin of delight, this form doesn't even faze me with as much as I'm feeding from him.

"You know, you being a Cursed is kind of a plus for me...? The leader also grins, "now I don't need a reason to kill you."

He narrows his eyes before sprinting towards me, plunging his blade into empty air. I then almost instantly grab his calf a yank it from the ground.

His blade clatters down the alley away from his lackeys as he crashes to the ground. He groans as I lean down to his face.

"Next time don't try to stab with a slashing weapon such as a scimitar..." I taunt as he looks at me, "And if you really are a soldier maybe start acting like one, and quit harassing the people you're supposed to serve."

"You..." I slam his head into the ground hard enough to knock him out, but not hard enough to actually kill him.

"Save it..." I whisper, "I don't want to..."

A throwing knife flew into my left bicep causing me to freeze up.

I pull it out without any kind of pain left behind from the wound; just anger...

I stood up with a frown before turning to the remaining two soldiers, "Really..." I question them, "a throwing knife?"

One of them was a swordsman, and the other was some kind of knife-master? Maybe?

The swordsman held his blade firm, however, a trickle of fear flowed through his veins. And the other, well, his eyes were already about to explode as my gaze flew over them.

I grin before unfurling my wings, and thankfully the alley was wide enough to support enough room for them. The knife-master's blades clash with the ground as he froze solid for my overcasting shadow. Then the swordsman's blade began to quiver.

"Time for death," I smirked before I flew at them. Causing the swordsman to bolt farther down the alley without looking back for his comrades, "Well, are you going to join him?"

The knife-master's narrowed his eyes before two more blades slid out from under his sleeves. He swung only to be met with empty air.

I fling his own throwing knife into his left shoulder as I skid to a halt. He shrieks in pain before pulling the blade free; to then meet my gaze and faint.

"Well, that was anti-climactic," I bring my wings back in, however, they still remain visible due to the dark mist.

I then walk to the woman who was now cowering in fear alongside the alley's wall.

"Miss, are you alright?" I ask before I reach to where she resided.

Her brown hair spilt down from her shoulders and over the ground around where she sat. Although her head was buried in her knees with her tan-ish hands cover it. She wore a soft green dress with stopped at her ankles revealing her blackened leather shoes.

"Miss, it's alright, they're gone now," I reached out my head to only recoil it back as I realised I was still in my silhouette form.

I release the form, and it feels as if a slight weight, I hadn't realised was there, had been suddenly lifted. That's better...

"Please, miss, I just want to know if you are alright...?" I take a step closer towards her with sincerity in my words.

She raises her head as her arms slowly rise and fall from her head. I'm taken aback by the orangey hue of her eyes which seem to split themselves from the darkness around her.

After a second I put a smile across my face as I reach my hand out to her once more. And this time she takes it with, maybe a little shaky, open hand.

However, not to my liking... A blade runs deep into my thigh before I hear her soft shoes patter down the alley. My face twitches as anger courses through my veins.

I almost instantly lung into the air after her, and within only a short moment land in front of with my wings spread out enough to block her exit.

"Why?" I almost growl at her, "I help you, and you drove a dagger in my leg?"

She stares at me, unmoving, with eyes widened and filled with the intent to flee.

"Why, why would you do something like this?" I grumble, "I saw you protecting a, presumed to be, innocent man, and then I try to help and it flips like a coin? What the hell, man!? I saved you, and you strick me and bolt?"

I can see her shiver underneath my narrowed gaze, and I grit my teeth as she goes to speak but holds her tongue.

"Say it," I growl.

"Y-y-you're a-a C-C..." she stutters.

"A Cursed?" I tilt my head, "Why does that have to matter? I'm not some kind of monster, you know. I just tried to save you after all."

"B-b-but..." she tries to speak once again, however, I raise my hand to stop her.

"Forget it," I groan, "what's done is done, remember that."

I close my wings before limping to the leader's sword. I slump to the ground as I go to grab it. I pull the woman's dagger free from my leg; only causing intense pain to rip through my body. I grunt before placing the blade of the scimitar on the wound.

Heat burns the wound closed and I almost break my teeth with another groan of agony. So, I was right... this blade's been tampered with some kind of...

– It's a fire augmentation, – Demoros pops up, – ha-ha, stole your thunder. –

I roll my eyes as I sluggishly place the blade beside me, still holding it tightly. I then push my weight onto it as I hoist myself up from the ground. I then turn towards the way I came.

The woman from earlier was still oddly standing there...

That was before I collapsed to the ground.