Devil Spawn

SWHOOSH!

The mist tore with a whistling sound as a figure appeared from within it.

The figure in question, was a young girl with fair skin and black hair muddied with dirt. Her hair rustled violently in the wind as she descended, as so with the shorn and stained undergarments that barely concealed her body.

She screamed as she fell through the mist, her body merely a victim to the relentless pull of gravity. The frightening speed at which she descended promised nothing but a bloody, gruesome death.

As the young girl fell, tiny sparkling droplets could be seen ascending from her delicate face like a trail of glitter.

These were her tears.

The tears one had after committing a great felony; succumbing to temptation.

Indeed.

Vicki, the falling girl, had succumbed to the temptation of saving her life over her friend's.

Was this a great felony?

Non!

But through the eyes of this young inexperienced girl who had been deeply indoctrinated to the norms of human society, this was a grave sin.

A scar that would never leave her soul for as long as she lived.

"UWAAAHHHAHAHAH! UWAAAHHHAHAH!"

The girl cried as she fell, descending into the maws of the elusive mist that enshrouded the tenebrous realm of the Wyvern Mountain.

 ...

SPLISH! SPLISH!

My eyes fluttered open as I awoke to the sound of water.

W-water?!

At the mention of water, my eyes immediately flew open and my right hand gripped Empty Dial tightly.

My gaze looked around, trying to realize where I was until it finally settled.

I-is that a house?

My gaze instantly caught sight of an odd silhouette in the darkness.

I frowned when I gazed forward, feeling as if something was off until my eyes flickered.

There's no mist...

Upon realizing that open secret, I suddenly felt naked.

It was strange.

Wait...w-why am I thinking about this...?

I rubbed my temples and slowly rose to my feet.

"Where am I anyway?"

My gaze wandered around slowly, taking in the new space I had found myself in.

"I-is this a... valley?"

I muttered to myself as I looked around, trying to decipher my environment.

The darkness of night made it terribly hard to see, but I persevered.

Taking a step forward, I advanced towards my only guiding light.

The house in the distance.

I stared at it for a moment, my expression uncertain and my heart uneasy.

I lingered for a moment and then continued walking.

As I walked, a strange indignation rose in my heart, threatening to throw me in a spiral of madness but I pursed my lips tightly and kept my thoughts away.

What was done was done.

The past couldn't be undone.

SPLISH! SPLISH!

The sound of rushing water kept me on edge as I trotted across the riverbank.

STEP! STEP!

The sole of my feet felt utterly sore as I walked but I just had to grin and bear it.

After all, the pain in my heart...

Stop...stop...I can't cry now...

I kept my lips tightly shut, as if stifling a scream.

My right hand gripped Empty Dial tightly while my left hand supported it. My breathing was low and husky, and my legs shivered as I walked.

I thought of turning to look back but stopped myself.

The intensity of what I had done was already too much to bear....

If I looked back now, I'll just collapse into a mess.

I couldn't handle the guilt.

TMP! TMP!

I took another step and then fell to my knees.

"Ah!", I blurted out and turned to my legs; they had several red marks and blisters, obvious signs of overstraining and extreme exposure to biting cold.

[You are in critical condition.]

I heard the game speak but I ignored it.

Why am I hurting? Dave's probably hurting several times more...

I placed my hand on the ground and pushed up, forcing myself back to my feet.

My legs quivered again but I stood my ground and continued to walk

My gaze remained fixated on the house as I approached it steadily.

I walked a couple of meters forward before collapsing again, but this time, my legs went numb; loosing feeling entirely.

I stared at them in disbelief before biting my lower lip. I turned my head back to the silhouette and whispered, "Maybe...I should just rest...for a while..."

I lowered my head and placed it on the ground, before closing my eyes so I could enter a slumber.

The moment I closed my eyes, I was consumed by a profane bliss.

A pleasure I never wanted to leave behind.

A pleasure I wanted to fall deeper into.

My body grew cold and the silent weakness that slept within it began to blossom.

I wanted be awash in this pleasure, to soak in it.

But of course...

[Bloodlust detected.]

My body trembled at the sound, and immediately my eyes snapped open.

I twisted my head back and saw the source of my discomfort.

[Level 3. Tree Troll.]

The odious beast stepped out of the darkness, causing the moon to illuminate its dreadful silhouette.

I stared at it and it stared back.

Its gaze seemed to convey a message,

'We meet again.'

Silence engulfed the world for what seemed like an eternity, dragging on until I finally made a move.

I placed my hands on the ground, my fingernails digging into the soil and the sound of rushing water becoming more apparent.

I forcefully twisted my body so I was facing the Troll.

Once I turned to it, I stared at the Troll for a moment before bowing my head.

And then...

Suddenly, in a loud voice, I spoke,

"PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU! SPARE ME!"

I pleaded for mercy.

"PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

I cried my heart out as I pressed my hands together.

Silence took rein once again before suddenly being broken by a sound.

TMP!

It was the sound of a footstep.

I looked up slowly and locked gazes with the Tree Troll who had stopped before me.

It looked down at me with its black eyes; its expression was unreadable but I saw something...

A strange emotion inside its eyes.

My eyes widened when I realized it.

Pity.

Suddenly, I saw a shimmer of hope.

I reached out to it, and widened my palm to grab it.

Hope...hope...

But of course...Reality could never be so kind.

CRASH!

Suddenly, I felt the violent impact of a hard and jagged surface collide brutally with my face.

[You have been wounded.]

[You are in critical condition.]

Those two sentences echoed in my head as I was sent flying, and crashed into the ground.

A blurred black object flew past my periphery, as I tumbled on the ground before hitting a hard surface and stopping.

Blood spewed forth from my broken nose and old wound. My right eye refused to open, it was purple and swollen.

I laid on the ground like a broken marionette.

My blood spilled down my face and into the ground, painting it red.

I stared in the darkness, as my face and body stinged with unbearable pain.

To think...I asked a monster for mercy...and thought...I woul...d be pitied...

Pity...? That wasn't pity...I saw...

What I saw was ...

I remembered the Troll's black eyes.

"Malice..."

I whispered as my breathing grew hitched and my heart came to a halt.

...

In the darkness of night, under the pale radiance of the grey moon that hung above the Wyvern Mountain.

A house, or rather...a cottage rested at an elevated position above a rushing clear stream.

The old cottage was elegant and tastefully ancient, having been fashioned from black timber and lusterless metal. The building was a two-story building and had clear-cut proportions and measurements, like it was the work of a perfectionist.

The cottage was surrounded by a fence of cobblestone which had carvings of runic text engraved on it.

The engravings were unknown yet pleasant and lovely to look at, even the moon seemed to enjoy basking it in its radiance.

Within the fence was a well-tended garden and a dirt path leading to the door of the cottage.

On that dirt path, laid a beautiful damsel, awash in blood.

Blood bathed her head and the ground beneath it.

The damsel's still body was littered with evidence of frostbite and excessive strain.

It was obvious she had suffered greatly before falling into the mercy of death.

A stark trail of blood could be traced back to her killer, an odious Tree Troll.

The Tree Troll stared at her with murderous glee, yet...it didn't seem satisfied.

It took a step forward wanting to devour her utterly, when suddenly it's gaze wandered to the fence.

Suddenly, it's eyes widened and a terrible scream escaped its mouth before its timber body exploded into a million shards.