Awakened

Apollyon Zalvider

Apollyon now stood in the pool of blood that he had created after he killed the men. Blood was covering his clothes, the corpses of the bodies that were near him reeked of rotting flesh, and the smell would completely turn anyone who was nearby but Apollyon... He didn't have any reaction to it. Actually, Apollyon just stared down at the blood that was now at his feet, not a single hint of emotion was spread across his face.

After a minute, he felt a raindrop hit his head which caused him to look up in reaction to it. It had begun to rain. "Damnit... How can things get worse now?" Apollyon groaned, bringing his hands to his face and then shaking his head as he now looked at the corpses that were around him. He sighed and then walked over to the corpses. Once he was beside both of the corpses, he set his hands down on each of them and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his amber eyes flashed and the bodies disintegrated into nothing. "There, at least there won't be any clean-up needed." He murmured before he stood up and looked around before he began walking down the street, wanting to find shelter from the rain that was falling down upon him.

-

It wasn't until morning that the rain had stopped, Apollyon was sitting under a stable that he had found. He hadn't gotten a wince of sleep the night prior, not like he actually needed any sleep, it was like his body was never tired. "The rain has stopped. About damn time." Apollyon got up and left the stable, not intending to stay there any longer than he needed to. With that, he made his way out to the streets to be able to get out of Aperon.

As he walked through the streets, he looked towards the exit of the city though something then suddenly caught his eye. There was a big mass of people that happened to be near the exit of the city. Since he was already this close to an exit and couldn't be asked to go out to find another one, Apollyon decided to investigate what was happening and caught the attention of everyone that was there. Whenever he took a good look, there appeared to be a massive march going on that led into the city. It wasn't the march itself that caught his attention, it was actually the people in it.

The people in the march were wearing clothes that you'd see a traditional monk or priest wear, they were chanting a prayer as they walked, ringing bells, and carrying essence with them as they walked. "The Eternal Church," Apollyon murmured as he watched the march in front of them all, narrowing his eyes at all the priests who were in the march. "Didn't think that I'd run into them while I was here... Well, I guess they are the biggest religion within the realm. I should feel stupid for not expecting a visit from them." Apollyon murmured.

The Eternal Church, a church that preached that everyone must become pure and cast those who are impure out if they wish to reach... Eternity. Nobody knew what Eternity was, there were many different theories of what it could be. Is it a place? Another realm? A person? The list goes on. Almost every human in Akranes felt the same views as this church but Apollyon... He had no affiliation with the church, he genuinely wasn't a religious person but he felt people had the right to preach though he wasn't too fond of the church's main values. "Aye, I'll follow through with what they preach when they can define to me what 'Pure' is." Apollyon thought to himself, continuing to watch the march that was happening in front of them all.

One of the monks that were in the march was carrying a flag of the church, Apollyon had spotted it almost immediately. The symbol of the church looked to appear to be the sun with a moon on the inside of it lying on its side and stars coming out of the moon's crescent. After watching the march for a good bit, Apollyon lost interest and then turned to begin leaving the area, just wanting to get out of the city at this point. Once the march had got a good bit away, so did the people, giving Apollyon the chance to leave which he did.

-

Apollyon left the city, turning his head to look at it once more before shaking his head and looking forward again. "Glad to be out of that place... Damn humans, all they seem to care about is themselves." Apollyon murmured to himself as he walked down the path that lead out of the city.

Things were much more peaceful outside of the city, there weren't crowds of people that you had to get through. Apollyon much preferred being out in the wild rather than being in big cities, he genuinely found it much more peaceful to be out in the wild, even if there were monsters and many other dangers that you had to deal with. He began humming to himself as he walked through the streets, being content with his own thoughts... He'd been like that for a while now, just on his own, he didn't travel in groups as most people did, he was completely on his own and honestly, he didn't mind it that much.

"Now... I still need to be able to go and find food somewhere. That meal I got at the bar last night was mediocre at best." Apollyon spoke to himself while he walked. He had made his way into a deep, dark forest that most travelers would be made to go through on their own though he wasn't bothered by it one bit. Suddenly, he heard a sudden tree branch snap. He blinked and looked in the direction that the snap came from, only to notice a bunch of bushes begin to rustle strangely. He frowned and watched the bushed warily, being careful in case something came out.

After a minute, a small kitten suddenly walked out of the bush, walking with a limp on one of its front legs. It seemed to have been hurt somehow. Apollyon tilted his head and crouched down to look closer at the small kitten. "Hmm? Now, what is a little kitten like you doing out here all alone?" Apollyon asked gently as he reached to pet the kitten. The kitten yelped and limped away from him which caused Apollyon to back off a bit. "It's scared... That's understand-"

Apollyon was suddenly caught off guard when he all of a sudden caught an arrow that had flown toward his head. He had caught it without any difficulty and watched it before he looked back into the treeline. Suddenly, a barrage of arrows had been sent flying toward him and the kitten. Apollyon didn't hesitate, with cat-like reflexes, he quickly picked up the kitten and used his body to block the arrows, each arrow snapping when they hit him. He held the cat to his chest and glared at the tree line. Without a moment's notice, a group of goblins suddenly charged out of the bushes, each carrying makeshift weapons and each one of them sending growls toward Apollyon and the little kitten in his arms.

When Apollyon wasn't looking, a goblin suddenly jumped down from a tree and tried to take off his head... But Apollyon was fast. He quickly bent forward, dodging the blow. As he did so, he twisted his body and swung his leg around so fast it hit the goblin hard in the head, sending it flying into the forest as blood poured from its head. The other goblins took this as a sign of attack and each one of them suddenly charged right at Apollyon. The purple-haired male gritted his teeth but he knew what he had to do. With reaction speeds that seemed incomparable, he dodged and countered each attack that the goblins sent his way, using only his legs to counterattack which was enough to take down the goblins attacking.

Eventually, it was only a few goblins left. Apollyon didn't even have a scratch on him though the kitten was only getting more terrified. With that, Apollyon suddenly went completely still, his eyes narrowing right at the goblins who were there and all he did was say one word. "LEAVE!" He shouted. Suddenly, the goblins felt like they were being loomed over by a monster beyond their wildest nightmares. Each one of them let out horrifying screams and quickly retreated into the woods, fear in each of their expressions.

Once the goblins had retreated, Apollyon fell down on one knee, letting out a breath of relief once they had all left. He watched the ground and kept the little kitten close to his chest. "Shit... This kitten... Was being hunted by those things... If I wasn't there... It would've-" Apollyon couldn't finish his sentence, he just watched the little animal that was in his arms, frowning and then closing his eyes.

-

The young Apollyon walked out into the large arena, only wearing a big shirt that went down to his knees and underwear. His long purple hair flowed behind him and his many eyes looked around curiously. This was his promise, if he grew stronger, he'd be able to fight in the arena with the others... Father had promised that to him because he was the strongest... And Father was never wrong.

-

After spending a good half an hour regaining his composure, Apollyon stood right back up and let out a sigh. "Now, I know there's a Demi-Human village not far from here... Maybe, someone, there is looking for you... Or at least will look after you." Apollyon frowned as he watched the kitten before he looked forward and began walking towards the Demi-Human village. As he walked, he kept a tight hold of the kitten in his arms, the kitten was injured and weak. But Apollyon...

... He was the strongest, he had to watch over the weak.