Devil in Shepherd's Robes

Ch 8: Survival of The Fittest

Its flesh clung to its bones like a child being torn apart from its parents. The lacerations were deep, enough to kill any ordinary person. But a person, this creature was not. The large bony protrusion ripping through its skull curved like the crescent moon, its grotesque head and face resting upon its bony shoulders. A face not even a mother could love. Its milky white eyes burned with a fiery rage, their focused gaze fixated on its gnarled right hand, the left having been torn off leaving nothing but a bloody stump.

The gray rat-like demon sat upright upon the bricks lining the alley, the chilling air surrounding it as if to say, 'you are completely and utterly alone'. The city of Ygdransi peered down at the creature, every spiteful and hate filled demon within it could sense the presence of this maniacal beast. Hatred radiated from it, like a toxic barrier to keep anyone and everyone far away.

"Black hat... golden watch... golden hair... wind... black hat... golden watch... golden hair... wind..." It muttered, repeating the words as if it were afraid to forget them.

A sudden gust of wind burst forth from the other end of the alley, throwing the demon off balance and onto the cold hard ground. It wasn't used to this weakness; its physical body had never been so useless. It was a disgusting feeling, being filled with such animosity, only for its own body to betray itself in the end. As it tried to pick itself back up off the ground, a voice echoed through the alley, bouncing off each moss-covered brick lining the wall and ground alike.

"Black hat, golden watch, golden hair, wind... how do you know them?" A quiet yet powerful voice projected, reaching the rat-like demon's ear holes and filling them with a sense of dread. Whoever this voice belonged to was much stronger than the rat demon itself, and it was fully aware of that fact. Nobody had dared to approach it in this state, its burning hatred alone was enough to keep even the strongest of demons at bay.

"Who are you... what do you want?" It rasped, trying to conceal the fact it had been too badly wounded to put up much of a fight. It's voice alone sounded pitiful in comparison to this monstrosity speaking to him, hidden within the shadows of the alley.

"You don't seem to know their names... but I do." The voice said, echoing slightly louder now, "The tall man dressed in all black, with his gold pocket watch brazenly displayed. And the other, the girl with the short golden hair who controls the very wind itself."

The rat-like demon felt a wave of quiet desperation fall upon its shoulders. If this strange demon knew of these two, then perhaps it could use this stranger to its advantage. Find out their names, hunt them down, and finally end the one who caused its suffering.

"You... you know of them? Tell me... who are you?" It croaked.

"I'm afraid that information is not any of your concern. However, I have no issues telling you who they are and precisely where to find them... if you're interested, of course." The voice said, its sinister tone growing ever so hate-filled. Whoever this demon was, they most certainly harbored the same thrashing anger towards the two.

The rat-like demon stood slowly, using its bone protrusion to stabilize itself as it caught its balance against the brick wall. It tried to peer into the shadows surrounding it to catch a glimpse of the other demon, but it was far too dark to see any details.

"Tell me! I want nothing more!" It screeched, its raspy voice making a horrible gurgling noise as it spoke, as if its throat had been torn out and replaced over and over again.

Laughter shortly ensued, echoing through the alley with a ferocity that made the rat-like demons anger pale in comparison. As quickly as it began, it abruptly halted.

"The man in the hat's name is E, while the golden haired girl is May. As for where they are... I'll need to know your intentions before revealing that." The voice said, a small snicker following its statement.