The Ninth || Chrollo x Reader

XXIII. The Slaughter

    And so it begins.

    The Phantom Troupe and I exit the abandoned building, and we separate, broken off into pairs, or singulars. My boots crumble the bits of concrete on the ground as I walk in solitude. I wander around the streets of Swardani, alone in body and in my mind.

    There is not a single though that flows through me, rather I see the world, and it sees me. My vision sharpens, and the colors seem brighter than they once were. Sunlight filters between the green leaves of the trees that shade me from the sun, and the sound of my breathing is steady.

    Towering around me are the many skyscrapers of the city, the windows shine like crystals beneath the light. The sounds of people talking, and walking, and living fill my ears. Breathing and laughing, the civilians converse amongst each other as they continue in their days.

    It is a beautiful city, is it not?

    Again, it is instinct that drives me towards the fields. There is something in those fields, something magnetic that continues to attract me. It is only there that I am truly at peace, among the grass and the plains. There is something comforting about loneliness.

    I sit, and feel the moisture of the grass soak into my black pants. My leather jacket repels the dew, and my hands are met with the roughness of the plants. I feel the heat of the sun on top my head, and from the distance, I hear a person approach.

    Chrollo Lucilfer sits beside me, smiling warmly. Though we do not speak, the silence is natural. The sounds of chirping birds and laughing children fill up the silence between us.

    And perhaps it is because I am here, there is no hatred that I feel for him. I am weary of anger, weary of hate. I cannot summon an ounce of these emotions anymore. My soul tires of this pain.

    "Mother, how do monsters come to be?" The girl asked, her eyes wide in curiosity. Her mother holds the book beside the flickering candlelight, and together they sit, wrapped together with the warmth of a cotton blanket.

    Her mother mused, her finger pressed onto her lips, and she replied, "Well, perhaps they are born that way." She smiled ruefully and added, "Though I'm not sure, what do you think, (y/n)?"

The girl paused before answering, thinking of how she could possibly answer. "Maybe something bad happened to them and then they became bad." Her answer inexplicably bothered the girl, and she did not let it rest.

Leaning closer to the girl, her mother's eyes shone with a strange sort of light when she said, "The real monsters of this world? They are not born like that. Nobody is born bad, it's because they went through bad things that they are now bad. Remember that, okay, (y/n)? Remember to understand them, and understand why they are that way."

My mother's words ring in my head, echoing and twisting around my thoughts. My eyes stung with bitter tears, but not a single drop fell. I was barren of emotions, the cost of the lives that I'd bought for revenge.

Revenge on him. Revenge on them. Revenge for her.

I glance at Chrollo who amusingly looks at me in return. Though he does not say a word, his eyes are full of things left unsaid. As I look at him, I see the shadows, flickers of souls that cry out to me, curse me, and spit on my name.

Their cries begin to dull, they fade as he speaks to me, saying, "What is it, (y/n)?"

What is it?

I'm not sure, what it is. What they are. What I want. Even then, I merely reply, "It's nothing."

I'm nothing.

But with him, I'm something.

With him, I have something.

                         ***
"Ah, it feels like yesterday this was happening, right, (y/n)?" Shalnark asks me, his lips in a lopsided smile. His blonde hair is now dull under the dim moonlight and the grey lights that hang from the posts of the city.

"Yeah, you could say that," I suppose. I open my mouth to speak once more, but Shalnark's voice cuts in.

"It felt like forever that you, Machi, Nobunaga, and the others were gone." Shalnark says, as he crosses his arms behind his head. We stroll along the streets, biding time before the start of the final heist. Together, we are dressed in our usual clothing, Shalnark in his outfit of pastel shades, and I in my new outfit.

The clothing that I'd ordered in Yorknew fit perfectly, the fabric of the leather jacket designed in a way that reminds me faintly of snake scales. My pants are of the same fabric as my last, rather this time, they are black to suit the coat as well. Replacing the inner sheaths of my last jacket, I now wear a belt around my waist, with multiple blades tucked away, and hidden behind the fabric of my coat. My fingers are bare, empty without the rings I'd once worn, and small, glass bottles hold gunpowder are also attached to my belt.

Walking in acquainted conversation, Shalnark and I continue to roam the empty streets, and the sounds of crickets and the howl of the night wind blow freely through the night.

Once again, we approach the stone-tiled street, lined in trimmed bushes and sleek lights. The Hunter Association Building is lit up, busy, with the sight of silhouettes that glide among the windows. I grasp my License between my fingers, and flash it towards the two men in the front. I smile faintly in amusement, and Shalnark does as well.

The two men's eyes flash in alarm, as they'd been yawning and paying no attention to the two Hunters that'd approached them. Their jaws clench, and as one's mouth begins to open, a small device is tossed from Shalnark's hand.

It is a symphony of flames that rises from the lobby, flickering and lashing like the tongue of a serpent's. Crimson heat radiates from the building, and screams of horror cry out in alarm. Blood splatters at my feet, and I approach the lobby once more.

Revenge is a selfish thing. But does selfishness not live among the hearts of every human? I ponder my thoughts, though I do not hesitate to kill. Around me, the corpses continue to pile before me, their bodies rising higher and higher.

I do not fear hell. And as it seems, I am already in it.

Author's note: If you liked the chapter please remember to vote! See you again soon!
~Amorevolous