Haaah-huuuuh, haaa...
No...
I can't run anymore...
My legs... Hurt...
I sit under a tree and take a breather...
And cry.
While it's not my first time seeing dead people... This is too much...
All those mutilated bodies, eyes wide open with fear... Who did this?...
It was supposed to be my "first" commission... Why is it so?...
I hate this...
If I could only...
!!!
Watch out!!!
Huh?...
In the blink of an eye, my head turned on its own and something sharp grazed my cheek and pierced my shoulder... It took a while for me to register the pain, and it hurts a lot.
Dumbass, we have to run, quick!!!
I can't! I'm too exhausted already!
Shit! Get up you damn asshole! Because if you don't...
"Hmm-hm-hm-hm~"
The RED ORDER will kill us.
The who?...
"Hm-hm-hm~, it seems that the long postponed criminal is finally taking his move! And I was just passing by~"
That person... She looks like a young woman, but there is something seriously wrong about her... Don't tell me... Is she?
"Hi-yah!" The girl lunges another knife into my right shoulder and now I'm completely immobolized. She lunches two more onto my legs as well and I cry out in pain.
"Ahh~ always love when they do that! But now, you, our dear criminal - will you come out and play? I promise I'll be gentle as my master told me to be~" She then gets on top of me, her body feels unnaturally cold
Is that it? I'm going to die by the hands of this... Being, who is going to torture me.
Well, may as well end the day here. It is a shame that I will never...
*Shink*
Suddenly, a flash of white appears from the side and pierces the girl, revealing itself to be... A stake?... Soon, more join and the girl falls down, and out of nowhere, a guillotine appears above her neck and falls down.
For some reason... She didn't bleed. She didn't bleed at all, and the insides... Were hollow and seemingly gaseous. She blankly stared as she began sinking into the ground.
?????
Sinking into the ground? W-What was she?...
...
Soon, a tall figure appeared, with long silver hair, its face obscured. It pierces the girl once more as she sinks and then looks at me. There's a very... Alien feeling emitting from them that I can't explain, it's as if I'm seeing a whole another being.
"... I guess Rookie has the capability of actually tracking criminals."
Huh?
It coldly points the stake towards my golden eye. At this point, the primal fear finally was awoken in me and I began to cry once more, begging for my life.
"Please... What do you want?... What did I do wrong?... Please... Save me..."
"... A criminal is still a criminal. And unfortunately it is my duty to follow the orders..."
But just as they were about to kill me, I see a familiar flaming nail pierce the side of their arm, and the figure, briefly looking at the direction of where the bullet came from, immediately retreats.
"Fortune!..."
I hear Aden scream out and with all my might, I scream back "I'm here!! I can't get up!! I'm stuck!!"
"Guys, come on!"
Aden shows into view and immediately removes the blades piercing my body
"Geez, who did this to you?..."
"... I don't know. There was this deranged girl, and she was the one to pin me against the tree. And then there was this giant guy who stabbed her and beheaded her. And then he tried to kill me--"
"Alright, that should do it. Can you stand up, bud?" I shake my head and he gently picks me up, giving me some support
"GUYS, I FOUND HIM!!!" He tells and in the distance I see Émile and Virgilia traversing through the foliage.
"Oh god! Dude, how did you manage to survive this???" Émile asks and tries to prod, to which Aden hisses at them to back off. Virgilia then comes forward and takes off her hat.
"... I sincerely apologise, Fortune, truly. It seems I've overestimated your tolerance for violence. I'll try to be more accommodating towards your needs next time. Let's just... Get back on track."
The walk is silent, Virgilia looks sullen, while Émile seems to be oblivious to it all. Aden then breaks silence for me.
"I know you are right for... Being extremely mad at Virgilia right now, but I can't emphasize enough that... For us it truly is ordinary. Sure for the first commission ever, it is off-kilter, if I was in your shoes I would've been very angry... But that's how things usually go with Daemons.
---
"What do you mean we can't save them?! They're right here! W-We need to call medics or something!..."
"Aden."
"Sure the previous cases were bad, but this?!... Can't you just... Have healing spores or something?!"
"Aden, I can't."
"Why do we have to kill them?! Look at them! They're clinging onto life! We... We can't just do it!"
"No Aden. They're too far gone. You have checked their pulse, right? That clinging is merely basic survival instinct, yet they're fully aware of the pain they're going through. They might not look too much on the outside, but their insides are beyond repair... Let's just get over it."
---
They're creatures of hatred. And that violent scenery... Is their way of expressing it. It is said that if someone dies with a strong sense of hatred, regret or despair in their heart... They will eventually become a daemon. It might happen the day after, might happen a century later... But once they become a daemon... They're driven by a sense of revenge in a way.
Sure there are some benevolent ones, it's the ones that Virgilia keeps tabs with... But they're still doing those things out of revenge for something they... Couldn't do I suppose."
Hmm...
"So I do apologise for letting that happen. I should've been probably more assertive about introducing you to this sort of stuff... Virgilia is a benevolent person, she's just harsh you know? And knowing her... She's beating herself up for this. Still, don't run away and stay close to us, alright? If it wasn't for yours truly, you would've been dead."
"Y-Yeah... Thanks..."
"Eh, nah, just doing what is right, you know?" He smiles "At least you're alive, and that's what counts."
He then remembers something "By the way, do you feel anything? You know, the trail? You're kind of our lead, you know?"
"Oh right, one sec guys..."
Closing my eyes and focusing, the view comes again, and somewhere afar... I can feel it. The trail...
"Y-Yeah we gotta go this way..."
Just who were these guys...
Those... Are the RED ORDER.
What is it?
This is... A group assembled by the so-called regent of the Certain King, to keep the daemons at bay in his stead. This group consists of the most violent, most unstable individuals in the underside; all to keep all of us in lane.
Then...
You've literally experienced how they handle things. If it wasn't for me, you would've been dead, dipshit. They will make sure your death is going to be as excruciating as possible. And want to know the worst part?...
What?...
They will pursue you. If one of them got wind of you, all of them do.
And only this time I'm willing to co-operate with you. Don't get it twisted - I'm only doing this because you're still my vessel.
If they had targeted your soul instead, I would've let them claim you.
...
I need to talk to Virgilia about it...