Death and Darkness

Chapter 13

And so a war was brought. Gods and Hell clashed on Earth, bringing about storms, fire, and blood. The cracked sky broke further still as an army of Angels descended from the Heavens.

Delta cursed in Spanish, a tone of awe and terror.

"This might be the end of me," I told her softly. "If I do go down, in the future, I hope you'll think of me fondly."

The Shadow quirked an eyebrow. "Why do I feel like you're making a reference I'm not getting?"

"It's... it's Phantom of the Opera," I muttered a little disappointedly.

"Oh. Nope, haven't seen that either!"

I sighed. "Gods damn you."

A saber whipped to my side, blocking a clawed hand from reaching me. Delta pushed the Demon back and finished him with a single thrust of her blade.

"You okay? Your hand looks pretty screwed up," she said.

"You may be way older and more powerful than me, but that doesn't mean I'm entirely useless," I replied coldly, dismembering a Demon.

Delta smiled proudly. Her body moved in a blur as she struck down over a dozen Demons and Hounds at a time. I worked on the Hell-spawns one by one, receiving more blows than my friend. Bruises speckled my skin and cuts drew bloody red over milky pale. My breaths became shallow. I was becoming slow.

"Keep up, Reaper!" Delta encouraged.

I stared at the Demons and Hounds before me, ready to attack. Then suddenly they were people, laughing and taunting me.

"Wimpy Reap! Wimpy Reap! Always feeling, not to keep!" they sang.

"What's the matter, Maxi? Too emotional to fight back?"

I flinched from their blows, clutching my bleeding ankle on the ground as they punched and kicked.

"The Trainers won't be here to help you now, pansy Maxi!"

"KIARA!"

I swung my blade into the Demon, splitting its torso in half while hearing their mocking voices, judging voices.

"Don't stoop to Max's level. You'll never get anything done if you start feeling like him."

"How much you wanna bet he'll quit after cycling his first life?"

"The Generals will see him and kick him out for sure! We don't need weaklings in our race."

"I heard he has a pet! A baby one. Imagine a powerful being of death with a kitten! How embarrassing..."

"Kiara, look out!"

I sidestepped the Hound's claws, severing its limb before striking its eyes brutally. I growled angrily, kicking the body off my scythe as it dissolved into ashes.

"I don't need your help!" I shouted back at Delta.

She gave a confused and hurt look, dodging the blade of an Angel. I hadn't realized that the feathered asses of Heaven had also been aiming for my friend as well.

"You seem distracted," a familiar voice said as he fought off a Hound.

I turned to see a General Reaper, spilling the guts of the dozen. I recognized him.

"Have I not trained you well enough? Don't let anger control your actions. Instead, manipulate it to be your strength."

"What strength? I have none," I replied bitterly, decapitating a Demon with more force than necessary.

"Self-deprecating as usual, my pupil? You didn't move up the ranks because I pampered you. Out of the ten Trainees I selected, you finished first." My mentor took a widespread swing, obliterating the surrounding Hell-spawns. "I am one of the Seven Generals of Reaper-kind. While Trainers teach their students basic subjects on being a Reaper, I have much stricter means of being a Mentor. Favoritism does not exist under my roof. You know that as well as I."

I took a moment to take in the cold of his piercing eyes, but I couldn't ignore the pride directed at me just beneath the iciness. What am I doing?