Deception

Chapter 0: found her

Cricket chirps playfully danced in the eerily quiet grounds, while dusty winds swept the grime off the once-beautiful housing skyscrapers of Eastland. I took one final look from the seventh-floor edge of a decayed building. The scenery of the old war painted the horizon with fallen rubble, sand, dust, and blood. I entered the dim, teetering room, illuminated only by the light of the afternoon; the hunt was young, and my prey stood somewhere near me. The sniff of the dangerously dense air made me tighten my gloves, as tinkling chuckles filled the room. "Da, itraku ko irabrene?" Who are you in this place? a growling voice from the shadows spoke. It soon emerged from the corner of the ceiling, revealing itself. Eight spider legs clung to a grinning, rectangular face, the right eye gouged out, never closing, never resting. A pointed nose and a long tongue bore the mark of the Güdwigth clan on its forehead— a circle with the four constellations of their blood magic.

"Oh? Fey ko... Pipra?" Oh? A demon? the inhumanly tall figure asked, curious yet defensive, scrutinizing me as an animal checks its prey. It was suicide to hunt a demon alone; it was even more suicidal to hunt them in their nests.

I dashed to the right as it jumped, sticking to the ceiling again. It used it like a trampoline to launch back at me. I bounced back as it hit the floor, shaking the building; the entire tilt of the floor shifted to the side of the demon. One more attack like that, and this skyscraper would come down. In haste, I snapped my fingers as the face lunged at me. The strings of blood woven by my fingers entranced its body.

"Huh?!" it huffed in confusion. The creature fought to wiggle free, slicing its flesh against the thorns of the black, bloody rope around its arms and head. "Atraku ki! Tav saul breinnai ni!" Let go! If not for the small house! protested the eight-limbed creature. I crouched next to it, holding its trembling jaw in my palm. What a poor wretch. I pitied them; madness and power only take you so far, but a functional brain—now that's a valuable prize.

"...HA!" it shouted as one of its limbs broke free, swinging toward my head. The speed of its limb shattered the sound barrier as I caught it with my left hand. The explosive force from that stop rammed air through the room, pushing away the burnt furniture, shattering the remaining glass in the windows, destroying the doors, and severing my arm in return.

"Miva Miva." Useless Useless. I said, grinning through the pain; I had lost my arm so many times that it had become ticklish. The gushing blood flowed across the wooden floor before leaping onto the demon and completely restraining all its limbs. Due to the impact, my long hair flew back, revealing my cursed eye now visible in the right eye socket.

"...Ko," the creature mumbled. "Shiaku! Shiaku rafria iyh ko satra!!" I won't die to the likes of you! You traitors! it yelled.

"Can you just shut the fuck up?" I replied. The last thing I needed was to hear 'traitor!' again. It's not like I chose to be the way I am. Why would anyone accept being in such a weak state? Ah yes, to keep my brain intact. I looked at the demon in agony. It screamed again, but I quickly silenced it with a cut to its throat. It bled a black substance from its mouth and neck—too bad these poor bastards cannot regenerate like I do. Not all demons can regenerate. Those who do are cursed with weaker forms, destined to become playthings. The roles have reversed now.

I reveled in the silence of the room; the calm settling of the dust provided a relaxing sensation as I turned the demon's head around. "Try not to choke on your blood," I said, before slicing through its feverish dark and gray skin. I extracted the black demonic brain, severing all the nerves connected to the limbs. Imagine how much a brain this size would sell; demon organs are always in high demand in the market, and if you can turn them into a weapon, they fetch an even higher price. Besides, those legged creatures are challenging to capture to begin with, making them perfect for trophy hunting. I let go of the oozing brain into the red freezing capsule; nitrogen began infusing the chambers as soon as I closed the lid. This should make for a good day's hunt; however, I caught a glimpse of a glimmer from the darkness. Within the broken closet door, exposed from the fight earlier, I spotted a... chrysalis? What were they doing here, constellating a butterfly? Its size was one third of my body, and its roots pierced the ground. The smell of rotten plague and death began seeping out of it.