Acting in Anger

"We're finally here, Rachel." I hear Arthur say this, and I suddenly feel like yawning once again. This must be the 40th time I've yawned since we left home, but I cannot help it.

It is too unbearably boring, living like this and being forced to travel from point to point before getting halfway to my destination.

Unknowingly, I yawn again and Arthur rolls his eyes.

We take our first steps into the Demon Realm, and immediately I am greeted by sunny skies and a lively atmosphere. I am horrified by the sight.

Where are my purple clouds? Where is the eternal night sky and the everlasting light of its two full moons?

The very first thing I notice is almost enough to bring tears to my eyes. The sky of my realm is ruined, and will take an excruciating amount of effort to restore.

Of course, any kind of effort is excruciating to me, especially in this horrid human body that can barely pass for a demon-human hybrid.

Arthur smiles when he sees the sky, and I glare at him with intent to pulverize. He taunts me with a face and leads the way.

We are now in the teleportation hub of the demon realm, which was erected by the Mortal-Heaven Union. It was actually built atop the site of my large-scale teleportation circle, but of course this fact has been buried through history.

I overlook the place. They have repurposed some old stone ruins to act as a roof, and have built numerous minor teleportation stations. There are notches in the floor that invisible currents of mana escape from, forever fueling the magic circles so they do not fade away.

Within these underground 'battery' structures, are a series of magic nodes that prevent the mana from escaping and seeping into the earth. All it requires is someone to come refill it when it is all expended, which is something I have laughed at during my research.

If they were even the least bit smart, they would simply cast long-range energy transfer spells and set up crystals at the other end. That way, refilling the batteries would require FAR less effort.

Sure, the magic stones would be a lot less efficient, as they would need to be refilled a lot more frequently, but that would eliminate the need to come to the hub.

Practicality should always be valued above efficiency- at least in my opinion. Any option that eliminates the most effort is the right option, without a doubt.

"Rachel? Rachel, what are doing over there? This one goes to North Fantasia."

Arthur's impatient voice snaps me out of my scrutiny. I see him waving from one of the many magic circles, and I nod and saunter over to him.

During my leisurely stroll, a sound catches my ears; I hear the zipping of space-time as a teleportation concludes. Being bored and in no hurry, I ignore Arthur's annoyed face and stop to look over at who has arrived.

Initially, a stumbling silhouette appears before the mana disperses and I can clearly see who has arrived. That stumbling person is pale-skinned, wearing rags, and has fallen on their face.

Behind him, a hazel-haired young man and young woman appear as well. The young man's arms are still outstretched, making it clear that he was the one who pushed the person on the floor.

I turn to face them, and only then do I realize that the person in rags on the floor is a demon.

My heart instantly begins to bleed, and I clench my fists. I had tried to prepare myself for the sight beforehand, but I know now that preparation is impossible.

The emotions, instantly, are more than I can handle. I am not one for suppressing emotions. I act on them.

The young man cleans his arms with a handkerchief then folds them behind him, not wanting to sully his white jacket. His companion, the young woman, interlocks her arms with his and giggles.

"Come on, Little Runt! We need to get to New Runia this instant. The Royal Runia College has invited us personally, you know!" Her voice is grating to my ears, squeaky and tinged with an egotistical tone.

The young demon is bald-headed and covered in scabs, bruises and recently-healed burns. At first, it would be impossible for me to have known, but the moment they pick themself up I realize.

It is a young demon girl, seriously malnourished.

"Of course, milady, milord. New Runia, was it? Right this way, right this way."

She begins to lead them to a magic circle in the distance, and I take a breath.

For the half of my soul that belongs to Razalith, this is the first time it has seen one of its kin being treated this way.

I grind my teeth and clench my fists even tighter, then I feel Arthur's hand on my shoulder.

"Rachel, this is the way it is today. You can't blame them. They aren't the ones truly responsible."

Hearing his words, I force myself to continue allowing Arthur to touch me. He only serves to piss me off even more.

"You misunderstand, Arthur."

He lets out a breath and removes his hand, thinking that I will let them off. I then turn to face him, and he sees the unbridled hatred painted on my face.

"From the moment they arrived with her, those two had sentenced themselves to death."

Ignoring anything else Arthur has to say, I begin making my way to them. I shake off his attempt at stopping me, then hasten my steps with a tiny amount of mana.

"Central Faeterria, Eldwood Landing- ah, New Runia! Here it is, my lieges."

The demon girl directs them to the magic circle, and they remove her from their path with magic; they do not want to brush against her.

Before they leave, she falls to her knees and puts her hand on the floor. The young woman sees, and her nose wrinkles. She gets her companion's attention, and he scoffs.

"Want payment? We wasted two whole minutes because of how long it took you to draw that shitty magic circle."

He looks to the girl on his arm and then grins wickledly.

"Fine. Here's your payment!"

He raises his leg and prepares to stomp down on her hand, ready to crush it with a mana-enchanced manoeuvre.

Before his shoe can so much as touch her hand, I command a magical force to hold his foot in place.

"Hng! Telekinesis?" Finally, he looks away from the demon girl and sees me coming toward him. I stop at her side and help her up, and he is still struggling to free his foot.

The young woman tries to help him as well, but they cannot free him from my grasp.

"You, hey! Let me out of this! Hey!"

He shouts, but I do not acknowledge his words. Instead, I tend to the girl and say, "When the dead speak, they are often unheard."

The girl looks at me in confusion, and I smile down at her.

"What's your name, little one?"

"I'm called Little Runt. I don't really have a name..."

The young woman calls out to me in a loud voice, "What's your problem, bitch? Butt out and be on your way, or you'll regret it!"

I glare at her, and she freezes when she senses the murderous intent in my white eyes. They both halt their attempts for a moment, shaken to their cores by my unfettered hatred.

"Do not interrupt Cake and I again, or you will regret it."

I look away from them, focusing on what matters most.

"C-Cake?"

"Yes, I've taken the liberty to name you."

"You ...named me? You can do that? It's that easy?" I see tears in her eyes when she asks this. She must have hated the name 'Little Runt.'

"I did. You and all your kin are mine to name, and you are all deserving of worthy names."

The two pieces of dead meat behind me are still silent, but I can hear them struggling to free a single foot from the hold of my magic. They do not know that I already have their lives in an unshakeable grip.

"Why Cake? Isn't that a food that rich people eat?"

"Anyone can appreciate the beauty of Cake," T stroke her face and dry the tears as they run, "not just the rich."

"Just as the ingredients of a cake must be rigorously mixed into a batter, your ingredients have been violently stirred to produce who you are now. What do you think, Cake?"

The young girl looks at me and slowly nods, "I like it. Cake. Cake. My name is Cake."

Patting her on the head, I say, "Good. Now, go over to that young man over there. His name is Arthur, and he is my brother. He will watch over you until I'm finished sweeping away the specks of dust behind me."

Cake obediently leaves, and I finally refocus on the side of me that is boiling over with rage.

With a snap of my finger, the telekinesis lock is removed and the young man's foot is freed.

He stumbles backward, but the girl helps him to get his bearings. He clears his throat and straightens his jacket and undergarments, trying to regain some dignity.

"I don't know who you are, but don't think we'll just let you walk away. Even if you're the daughter of the emperor himself, which I doubt by the look of you, there's no way Edward is going to let this slide. Right Edward?"

I do not care for his name. He looks at me with a deep frown and raises his hand.

"For that, you burn."

His mana arises, flowing from his magic well and into his arm. A sweltering heat overcomes the area, and particles of mana breathe an orange flame into being.

He holds the tiny flame in his hand, as if it's supposed to get me on edge or flustered. It is a mediocre flame, and an even worse ignition method.

"You're in for it now! Set that ugly bitch on fire!"

He rotates his arm and the flame follows. Once his palm is facing me, he begins his spellcast: "Cleansing Flame of the Ancients, melting all manner of darkness and evil, your humble servant requests your aid. Vanquish my foe; Augus!"

The flame swells and swirls, growing into a raging sphere like a miniature sun. With a thrust, the fireball shoots away from his hand and comes flying toward me.

He is intent on reducing me to ashes, but just this little attack is insufficient. I look at the fireball, focusing my mental energy. The space between us is not large, but the caster is simply too mediocre to make it go any faster.

After a few seconds, it reaches me.

"No."

With that, my mental energy halts the fireball and it is suspended before me, unmoving.

"What!? A one word cast?"

The young duo exchanges shocked glances and I see the young man gulp.

"It has to be a one word cast, but what spell? 'No?' Is that even a spell?"

Their ignorant muttering amuses me, but not nearly enough to change my mind. I look at the fireball and instantly focus my mental energy again.

"Grow, crescere." My mental energy acts to accomplish the task, and it draws out some mana in order to cast a simple spell. The fireball in the air before me grows while instantly changing colors from orange to violet, and they notice.

"Shit! Ana, that's not a normal Ancient Flame anymore! We have to run!"

He grabs her and they turn around to run into magic circle. Seeing this, I divide my focus so as to keep the changing fireball stable. I look at the magic circle and see that it is about to activate, but I cannot have that.

"No."

Again, their eyes widen and they experience true and utter shock.

"What the fuck is that spell, Edward!? How can she do this!?"

"I don't know! I don't fucking know, okay!"

Standing in the magic circle, they both start desperately calling out to it.

"Activate! Magic circle, activate!"

"Work! Work, work, work! Damn you! WORK!"

The fireball, violet and raging, releases a biting cold into the air that even I feel slightly. Barely satisfied, I look at them and cast the spell that seals their fate.

"Augus."

My work is done, and so I turn around and begin my return. My fireball takes less than a second to reach them, and no amount of screaming can stop it.

It first freezes them solid, then melts them down in their entirety. Even the magic circle is destroyed, and the mana within the underground battery ignites and explodes. A small crater now replaces the New Runia magic circle and its immediate surroundings

Nothing is to be seen of the two humans that were once there.