Friend or Foe

Cracks of bones resonated like bolts of thunder, following the cruel moans of mercy that would never come. Blow after blow came crashing over the Dragon Priest, caving in his head, till his eyes popped like balloons and his teeth, once rooted in his mouth, were hammered inside his skull with his severed leg.

Blood swirled as if caught in the middle of a storm as the Silver Devil crackled in a fiendish light, his grip tightened, and with a ruthless abandonment, Zariel tore the jaw off the Dragon priest and jammed the severed leg down his throat, watching the huge bulged, and laughed as if he'd seen the funniest thing. He howled.

"I can feel your heart. I can feel it! Thud-dum! Thud-dum! Thud-dum!! Thud-dum!! That's right, keep trying to keep yourself alive. Allow me to enjoy this! How long has it been!"

Jamming the entire leg deeper down, Zariel backed away with such a bright grin he snapped his fingers, summoning a small dagger. " Zhu and I always loved to play operation. Will you sing for me?"

Horror and fear had crowned the priest as he gargled, trying to plea and call for help, yet only darkness appeared. Blinded for the first time in life, all he could think was to flee: To run away from the devil.

"Where are you going?" Zariel sang, watching as the half-dead cripple tried to crawl his way to freedom. He licked his lips. "I've always had this vision to peal a man from head to toe and with a draconic bloodline like yours. You'll live! How fun! How Fun!"

Zariel leaned claw just near the ear and whispered. "It's just you and me. Shhhh. I'll be gentle. I'll even look into the Weave and send your cock to your mother or wife, or whichever… Or I might just make you eat it. How fun! So many options!"

Struggling to stand, Ella, stood petrified at the devil she was watching. The cold lord she'd always looked up to was gone… There was only a devil. A vicious demon set on blood. A horrid beast whose mask had finally dropped.

Her lips buckled as her hands came over her mouth, watching as Zariel took extra care of his pet. Starting with the fingers, the toes, the hands, the feet, the chest, the…. By the second hour, Ella found herself on her knees, trembling.

"Goodness. I must be rusty! Two hours!" Said Zariel, somewhat ashamed of his time. " Maybe I can find a few to practice on. You'd think it would be muscle memory by now. It is not like riding a bike." He stretched his arms and cast a cleansing spell to renew his horrid exterior. "Oh… before I kill you. You know I'll keep a veil of your blood to paint with. Who knows. Maybe some distant part of you will live on for a couple of hundred years."

Clapping his hands together, Zariel suddenly frowned, looking down at the latest masterpiece, and clapped his palm over his forehead as realization dawned. " Why did I do this again? Goodness, I feel like Arsene. Hmmm. Ah! Yes. You attacked for some reason… And now I need your soul to have a little peek."

Plunging his dagger through what remained of the priest, Zariel's fingers suddenly began to glow a stary silver, and without hesitation, he scooped his hands through the priest's brain, tearing away a small withered flame.

"W-W-Why?" muttered Ella with her hands over her mouth. "Why do that to him?"

"You see this?" Zariel answered, lifting the small white flames with a single finger. " this is called a Soul Flame: Every conscious living creature has one. It's the foundation of, well… freedom. It's your soul. It's not supposed to be this dim and weak, but all the fun I just had was a little too much for this priest. The torture was just to break him while also entertaining me. The stronger he is, the harder it is for me to look inside."

"You can do that?"

"Nope!" Zariel said, scratching his cheek. "It'll be my first time. Just wanted to try it, and I figured what better time than now? Might not even work."

Ella stared for a long time. "Master… are you a demonic cultivator? Someone who kills for—"

"I don't need a reason to kill someone, Ella. By the Nines! I never understood why some people can't grasp such a simple concept. It's not hard. Most of the time, I kill because it conveniently gets me what I want. And sometimes it doesn't."

Zariel turned his eyes towards the withered soul flame. " Like this little soul. I've got a fifteen percent chance of success." He looked back at Ella and studied her troubled features. "You've got a problem with it?"

"I," she started and paused for a long time. " I don't know. I can no longer tell what's right and wrong: This priest tried to kill us… But was it right to enjoy tormenting him?"

A look of understanding and pride seemed to wake as Zariel smiled. " Wow. You seem more understanding than Aurelia. Maybe I should start teaching you all more seriously."

Ella was not amused. But rather stood shaken as something clicked within her. She lowered her head, fingers clenching, and spoke. " Why are you training us? Surely it's not because Aurelia wished it."

The smile on Zareils lips turned scary. "Why ask now?"

"Fear."

"Fear of what?" came his reply.

"You."

Heart seizing, Ella felt a particular cold so sharp piercing her bones she dared not raise her head. Not when she felt the silver devil's eyes digging into her flesh.

"Look at me," He said softly, and yet all Ella heard was the devil's sinful voice clawing at her soul. " I will not ask again."

Ella's head dipped even further down as sweat trailed down her neck. "Master…" She whispered, raising her head to the warmest smile she'd ever seen on Zariel.

"I'll not be the one to betray you, far from it. I train you because I see potential and a lesson to be taught to Aurelia. You've seen behind the mask. You know what type of person I am. What I'm capable of…. Aren't you curious what type of person Aurelia is? Is she a friend or perhaps a foe?"