73 A lost soul, A wandering solider, and A Blighted Warrior

"I see...." The Madam would comment with a heavy breath; after listening to everything Riyku had to say. From what he could remember of his parents. His childhood, his experience as a Hunter, his family, his tribe, even his innate ability over control of the shadow. All the way till the attack, then his time in the sub-space where he was told he was going to be sent to the Underworld, following with the events afterward that transpired till now. She had listened to each and every detail carefully and clearly. There had been times she wanted to cry, and times she wanted to lash out, but she remained in composure, unlike Racheal who seemingly happened to do just the opposite.

"The fact that you recall everything from your time in the Middle World makes you quite the unique person, alone. After all, not just any demon can recall everything from their past life. It's more normal for us to just recall bits and pieces. Adding Skeith to the picture makes things a bit excessive; however, maybe that is why you are able to recall everything. That or because of the contracted Entity." The Madam would comment with a thoughtful expression. In truth, she was just throwing out speculation on how or even why he was able to recall everything so perfectly.

"Well, it no longer matters." Riyku would remark which drew Racheal's and the Madam's eyes upon him. They could see it even if he was actively expressing such. That he had given up on something. Racheal was about to speak up when Riyku stood up so she bit her lower lip and watched him make his way towards the door. "I'll start tomorrow. If you do not mind, I want to get the lay of the land." Riyku's tone was slowly drifting into a chill. Unlike the usual warmth it used to have, it was holding a more chilly texture. "I will-" Racheal stood up and was about to offer to go with him, but he had already opened the door was moving on. The Madam would place a hand upon Racheal's shoulder while standing up herself. "There is nothing you can or say as of this moment. You can only support him. Watch over him and keep him safe." The Madam would remark and Racheal would nod while sniffling.

Riyku was already out and about in the Depths of Crimson Ash. He had been surveying the area. It was like some kind of underground city of sin. The buildings appeared shoddy and the people even more so. Aside from the events he had seen on display during his first arrival the area was on par with innate sin itself. He had garnered attention from onlookers. Some even started tailing him in secret.

"You have followers." Skeith's voice would echo within Riyku's mind. "I am aware." Riyku would mutter, his tone of voice still as cold as before. "What are you going to do?" Skeith inquired with a bored tone of voice. "If they threaten me or stand in my path they will have to die." Riyku would retort and not a moment sooner did one of them call out to him.

"Hey, kid! Wait up! Let's talk!" A rough voice, following with hastened steps to follow after Riyku who was still moving forward. When the person placed an arm around him Riyku would stop in place his expression downcast at the moment. "We just wanna talk. You got some cool looking arm there. Is that a Contracted Entity?" The demon male would speak up in question. Riyku would hear several other footfalls. Eventually, he was surrounded by four others excluding the male who had his arm draped around him like they were best friends or something.

"Get out of the way." Riyku would mutter. The male would tilt his head to the side. "Aye, did you say something?" He would lean forward to try and look at Riyku's face. "I said..." Riyku would grasp the male's face with his right claw and drag him towards the ground while slamming him into it. "Get out of my way!" Riyku exclaimed, ominous killing intent seeping from his body as he glared at those around him. At first, they stepped back in fear, like a predator would when they came across something stronger. This instinct was the moment Riyku acted and dashed towards another man that was in front of him. Diabolical Energy swirling within his right claw which he used to swipe at the man. Arches of electrical energy from his claws were shot at the man who was too paralyzed to think on what to do so ended up being chard when the electrical energy clashed with him.

One of the members would knock an arrow into the bow she was holding and release the shot with some elemental energy attached to it. Riyku would lean back and catch the girl with his left hand while pivoting towards the other guy who had finally drawn two daggers and was charging him. The sudden burst towards him caused him to stop mid-charge which was Riyku's opportunity to capitalize on the man's mistake. Riyku would reach out towards the man and take hold of his clothing to yank the man towards himself. He would then viciously thrust the elemental arrow into the demon's gut, over and over as if it were some kind of dagger before kicking the man to the ground and turning around to toss the arrow with enhanced strength alongside a runic magic circle that increased the velocity of an object when it passed through it. The target was the woman of course.

The woman would cower in fear and squint her eyes shut while preparing for her death, but when the arrow never made contact she opened them to see another woman before her. Muscle and sexual allure were captivating that both men and women would fall prey to this woman's appearance. She was wearing a sports bra as tank-top and black jeans for pants. Scars quite visible to show just how many battles she had been in and if that was not proof enough the woman was even wearing an eyepatch. Probably lost her eye. She would snap the arrow in two with a fearless grin. "And who do we have here causing trouble on our turf?" The woman's voice was rough and mature. Just like The Madam her age was not displayed by appearance.

"That bitch is still alive!?" Skeith exclaimed rather boldly from Riyku's subconscious. Riyku had taken note of Skeith's rather anxious tone of voice but pushed it aside for the moment to focus on the person before him. "Would it change anything?" Riyku would retort while glaring the woman down. "Hmph, it might. At best, you would become a slave though." The woman would remark while cracking her knuckles. She would reach into the pockets of her pants and pull out what appeared to be brass-knuckles, but were pitch black and held this rocky texture and molten lava design.

"You need to avoid this woman at all cost, kid." Skeith would speak up. This caused Riyku's brow to rise. "Avoid her? Is she strong or something?" Riyku would mutter. "Strong doesn't even compare to it. She is a Warlord. I thought she died back then when The Shadow King was running rampant, but it seems she managed to escape and live her life out here." Skeith would reply. Riyku would exhale a heavy breath. "So you are saying that I am weak?" Riyku would mutter once more. Skeith was silent for a moment before speaking up with a tinge of excitement in his voice. "I did not say that. You should be able to beat her with my help."

"Good..." Riyku would place his hand on his chest. "I do not know who you are. I do not care for your name. However, if you are going to stand between me and my goals. I will show you no mercy." Riyku would speak up and as he finished the Blade of Annihilation would seep from his chest hilt coming out first. Taking hold of the blade he would swing it to his side and take a stance. The woman's eyes rose as he recognized the blade. "W-Where did you get that sword!?" The woman called out. "That does not concern you. Step aside, or else." Riyku was firm with his resolve; his murderous intent flaring wildly. The woman's lips curved wide once more before dashing towards Riyku without warning. Her speed was uncomparable, she was before him within a split second which caused him to step back. Even though he was surprised he was able to guard against the powerful straight that caused him to slide back.

The woman charged towards him once more, coming at him with a flurry of powerful blows that he managed to guard against. "Are you just going to sit here and take this? Come on Kid, where is the flare? Where is that desire to kill? Let loose already. Your murderous aura is already flaring out; now act on it!" Skeith's voice resounded from the blade which caused the woman's brow to arch when she heard it. "If you die here, then your promise to them will mean nothing!" Skeith exclaimed. These words caused something in Riyku to click. He was no longer being pushed back and instead was now on par with the woman. He was counterattacking which caused the woman to defend against the blade while counter-attacking in her own right.

"Good, good... you are doing good, Kid." Skeith's voice showed thrill. The blade starting to shimmer and Riyku's murderous aura that was flaring out wildly would start to come to a calm and quiet aura. "Yes, control your rage. Your anger. Your urge to kill. Channel your emotion... make it your weapon." The words were similar to what Astraia once told him. That emotion could be used as a weapon when applied in the correct manner. She taught him to how to channel it by focusing it on one thing like a funnel. He was funneling his emotion into the blade. Since the blade was also providing him with power, he was enhancing his own strengths in turn. IT was an endless cycle and before the woman knew it she was being pushed back.

"What did you do, demon!?" The woman glared at the blade as if talking to Skeith. Skeith snickered in return. "Nothing. The kid is doing all the work after all. You messed up, Warlord Revere. The fact that you underestimated the kid means you will die." Skeith's crackle caused the woman to growl. "Scerw that." Instead of going on the defensive, she decided to take a direct attack from the blade which caused it to plunge into her arm. She had used it to defend instead of using her knuckles. This caused a brief opening when she took advantage of in order to land a powerful straight against Riyku's face which sent him flying. The strength behind the fist left a resounding 'BOOM' along with Riyku crashing into the ground several times before crashing into one of the shoddy buildings. Screams would erupt from the building and various scantly dressed demons would run from the building.

The woman would look at the large opening in her arm and bite back a scream. "Hannah!" She called out to the demon who was holding the bow. The demon would hastily make her way to the Warlord's side and offer her an expensive-looking vial with a purple liquid. The Warlord took the vial and downed the liquid. Shortly after any minor scratches, she had sustained along with the large wound she just undertook were completely healing up. "So that boy has Skeith at his side. Still, it doesn't seem like he can use Skeith's power or even The Blade of Annhilition correctly." The woman would flex her arm to make sure everything healed properly. "Why was he attacking you anyway?" The woman looked from the wreckage towards Hannah who was sweating lightly.

"Ummm... Rann'an wanted to take that boy's Contracted Entity. But the boy killed all of them and was going to kill me until you saved me. Thank you, Master!" Hannah would bow with gratitude but the Warlord could only huff. "So that idiot disobeyed my orders once more and ended up dying? Well, whatever. Now I have to clean up his mess. I need to talk with Madam Evie before--" The Warlord was caught off when she felt a distant chill in the air. Her eyes shifted towards the wreckage and her body slowly started to shiver. "M-Master?" Hannah would call out seeing her Master's disturbed reaction.

"Get down!" The Warlord shouted as she forced Hannah to crouch down to the ground with her in which a large black blade shot forward with a thrust, stopping just past them. If they had still been standing they would have their brains skewered. The blade black would seep back towards the wreckage, but more so towards Riyku's shadow. He stepped from the wreckage while getting out of it. His body bruised heavily and black blood had been running from his head and nose. "Ah... you dodged it." Riyku would call out. "Why did you dodge...?" He would ask while stepping from the wreckage, stumbling around a bit. "Why are you attacking me?" He would ask once again. "Why are you in my way?" He would continue with another question. "Ah... forget it. Overlord Skill..." When Riyku spoke 'Overlord Skill' something inside the Warlord told her to run away and get out now, but she could not move. Even if she tried to command her body to move, it was stricken with fear. Not because of Riyku... but because of the energy was feeling. It was similar to... The Shadow King.