Chapter 8 Epilogue: Tod ist nur der Anfang

He let out a breath of smoke after inhaling the toxic gas into his body, he was staring at the sight created by none other than himself. His son’s dead friends were all over and he simply scoffed at their weakness, he looks at the boy who had tried his best to defeat him.

“Boy, I will even kill yer dead if you try to stop me. I only stopped midway because I was afraid she wouldn’t forgive me for not warning ya”

He threw the burning cigar that he had gained from a rich noble into the blood of the young ’uns, personally he didn’t like killing people who were far too weak from himself. His son actually came close but didn’t know what to do in a crucial moment, the boy needed to go out more, learn more things. Of course it would be hard to deal with things when he had only one arm, things would be very interesting if he got up and actually wanted a rematch. He started walking down into the forest looking back at the murder site he had just made and smiles as it had reminded him of the old days when he used to hunt down all manners of monsters, it was also the same night that he met Sage who was dyed in blood. A woman’s only sexy when covered in the blood of either her enemies or that of monsters, this was something that he told himself as it was his preference. But under that cutthroat personality of hers was a kind heart that healed him, he remembered the days when she invited him for dinner she was dressed like a girl would and he found her enticing. She smiled at him with such love, taught him things outside of slaughter and finally as time passed he learned to love her and let go of the blood soaked past.

Looking at Eric he knew he could see the boy was raised very laxly because he wanted him to live a good life. If it had been his past self he would have dropped him into the most dangerous forest to fend on his own, his wife the one he cared about died giving birth to a runt like him. But he loved his little runt son and even smiled however the demons offered him something that he would have needed to try for over a thousand years, that is the resurrection of his wife. It was very clear he knew what he needed to do, in order for her to return the secret passage his son just used was going to be enter point for the demons. He walks ever deeper into the forest and is reminded of his goal which makes him smile as he is so close to regaining the love of his life, finally with time he reaches the entrance Eric had used.

He closed his eyes and stopped moving for a moment thinking about the good old days, it had been a night like this one as well and he had gone out to kill a horde of monsters that had risen to cause grief to a city, he had a horse back then too and rode into the darkness with sickles in his hands. He had planned on killing both the horde of goblins and kobolds as well as the orcs who were in the area however he didn’t expect the sight he saw: the corpses of the goblins who lay on the ground and had been reaped by the sword of a woman who was covered in blood wearing a dusty recently bloodied coat, grey monster hide turned into denim, Fierce Serpent snake boots. Her red long hair was tied into a ponytail and her sharp sea green eyes sprang on him with a lethal gaze and he had to act quickly thus blocked her assault almost instantly before kicking her in the gut throwing her off by a few meters. Her tremendous speed had made his blood become excited as he fought her with more effort than he did with the goblins who he put down from time to time, she was his equal in battle and fought him using the same techniques that would shame any well established warrior because of their fluidity and straight forward brutality. Sword and sickle were singing in the night until they both stopped.

“Well I’ll be someone who can not only keep up with me but have the same style of fighting that I have”

“Yer just as good missy, was bout to ask ya name becuz I respect the way yer fight”

“The name’s Sage, what’s yours”

She picked up a stray long grass stalk and began to chew on it as she talked to him.

“I have no name, I am only called by my profession”

“And what’s that an adventurer?”

“Yeah they call me by number too, fourteen o-five”

“Well how’s Hunt for ya?”

“Why’d yer call me dat for?”

“You hunt for a living and only care about hunting monsters”

“Not til now that is”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I found me love”

“I would like to say the same thing, shall we have our first date after we hunt?”

“Sounds good”

That was how the two met on a moonlit sky and the corpses of monsters. She was still in his heart after for so long, she had died 16 years ago when she gave birth to their son. He came to love and nurture his son. Slowly as if sensing something he opened his eyes and was about to move until he felt the cold edge of the blade on his neck.

“Tsk tsk tsk tsk Hunt are you lagging after taking care of Eric for so long?You used to be faster than this”

It couldn’t be, his eyes were wide in shock as he tipped the sword upwards and rolled out of the way from the slash that was done afterwards. He pointed the shotgun at the person who had silently gone behind him without so much as a presence.

“…….Sage”

“Long time no see, how were you doin’ old chap”

“……You’re back”

“A promise is a promise and he kept his end of the deal. C’mon now quit your cryin’ that ain’t like you at all”

“What?”

He had been shedding tears that he hadn’t done in years since the day of her death. He looked away for a moment before smiling and wiping his tears away, he stood up properly and began to walk towards her with the shotgun and sickles put away of course.

“It must’ve been hard for you”

He hugged her and could smell her, feel her and even sense she was alive. Sage was right here in his arms and he knew that he had done the right decision, she even appeared in the same clothes that she wore when he first met her. 

“Say, Hunt”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s go do some killin’ just like the old days, the demons are laying in wait right now and need to know where to enter”

“Alright then, let’s go then. We can have our little reunion when all iz said and done”

“Right as always”

Both their green eyes lit ablaze a green glow that was the beginning of the embers of chaos that would happen to the city at the hands of the demons as they walked towards the entrance that Eric and his friends used to escape. 

☆

Roswell could see the smoke rise to the sky as the flames of the city being attacked by the demons had already taken place, he was glad that he was nowhere to be found near that place. Smiling as he watched from afar he continued to walk forward away from the curse of the demons, the hill he was on showed him the insight he needed to know about where to go next as he began to run down it.

“Well, well, well it seems someone doesn’t learn when they are told.”

Roswell’s eyes widen in shock as he hears a familiar voice and leaps out of the way as he now tumbles down the hill as opposed to going down naturally. He breaks a lot of bones and groans as he tries to get up, suddenly as if waiting for that moment his muscle tendons are all cut and now he can’t move. 

“I told you that the night is long and we have much to do however you did not listen to what I had to say thus you are here. Well then you shall be punished for your ignorance dear chap”

The old man’s face twisted into a grimace filled with wrath and malicious happiness as he began to laugh turning into a large shadow that enveloped Roswell as he screamed loudly. No one could hear him in the darkness as parts of his body were being removed and cut off piece by piece, and once all of his skin and limbs were taken off he began to burn in an inferno. His own personal hell came until he was nothing but a drop of blood on the ground.

☆

Eric woke up from a nightmare that his friends had died and his father had thrown away his humanity in order to revive his mother however he wasn’t inside of his bedroom as he got up he could feel that his arm was missing, he was surrounded by the corpses of his friends. A sense of despair had taken over his heart as tears began to rise as he had failed to prevent his father from accepting a deal with the devil. The night was beginning to end and he had to make his way towards the city, he gets up and picks up the sword his dead friend used and starts to walk towards the city. Sprinting despite feeling intense pain in his arm as he ran, he finally reached it surprisingly. The smoke was an indicator that his father had achieved his plan, he enters the secret passageway and runs inside of it. He had been expecting screaming and the sounds of slaughter from all angles or at least the celebrating of the demons but he was surprised nothing was happening. He finally reached the surface with his eyes open wide after he exits the abandoned church.

“……what?”

The people had been living fairly normal lives, they were surprised that he had lost an arm but other than that they were just fine. The only buildings that were burnt were the ones that were in the noble residential area, the casualties were on their side as he soon came to find out. Curious Eric asks a question to one of the stall owners.

“What happened?”

“Ah Eric, it’s you. What happened to your arm?”

“That’s not important, what happened here?”

“Well we were given a choice by the great Matel-sama, either we could live or the nobles were to be killed.”

“You chose the nobles?”

“Obviously, at first we thought the demons would trick us and kill us all but they didn’t and kept to their word. Life continued as if it never stopped, I am kinda glad that we are all still alive”

This was a type of shock he never experienced before thus as he ran towards the execution site to where criminals were to be killed the crowds of both people and demons were cheering as the nobles were being executed in an array of ways: hanging, burning to stakes, decapitation amongst other things. He sees the last one of them die before screaming and running towards his father who cut off the head of the baron falling down to the ground.

“Yer came good to see you ,son”

“WHY?!WHY DID YOU SIDE WITH THE DEMONS FATHER!”

“To get me back isn’t he such a darling”

“….What..”

Suddenly a woman nearly as tall as his father touched his shoulder and smiled, the sense of emotion he gained from this was different. He felt like he knew her at the same time he didn’t but when he came to the conclusion it was already on his mind.

“Mother….?”

“That’s right Eric, in the flesh. I never thought you would be this sensitive. I guess telling your Pa that raising in a safe environment was wrong”

“This is wrong all of it is-“

“Want to die on it?”

“What?”

“I said want to die on it?It seems you are on a rant about what’s right or not but that doesn’t make sense for someone who is my kid. So do you want to die for that?”

“I will if I have to”

“Great, be sure to dodge alright”

“I’ll be sure to-”

Without a single warning his head had been sent flying, his response time was far too slow and he was even shocked to see that she was so much agile that he was. This woman that was his mother had been just as a monster as his father was, she looked at his spirit and smiled.

“Oh dearest child, if you were not slow you could have actually put up a fight. I guess your dad’s a little angry. Back you go”

His spirit was dragged back to his headless body whose head reattached itself to its neck with the first thing him seeing his father holding a shotgun to his face.

“Well kid, this ends our lil relationship. I don’t have weakling kids, I hope you find better and more normal parents in your next life.”

His head burst into a million pieces as he began to scream in pain as it had reached his very soul, he kept on screaming with his parents laughing at him as their green eyes were glowing in the growing light as the dusk was slowly rising from the pits. Drowning into the darkness as their laughter in the dusk could still be heard very loudly. But his death was only the beginning of something far more sinister.