Nobusada pulled against an invisible force that held him down as the air hummed with each pull. He didn’t know what that man, that thing, did to him but no matter what he did he couldn’t break free. He remembered the creature dragging him and Nohru down into the basement and throwing them against the wall as it went back upstairs. Since then, it was like a weight was holding him in place; no memory of any spells or bindings.

“Nohru, are you still there?” he called out to the man who was pale and shrivelled up, giving Nobusada no response yet was still breathing, whimpering under his breath.

Nobusada felt tears of fear stream down as he continued to pull against the magic, finding no way to get himself free. Then suddenly his heart skipped as he heard the door upstairs open followed by a series of heavy thudding footsteps followed by lighter steps. From the stairs, he saw a big and pale tattooed man come down the stairs, now able to get a better picture of his attacker and recognise him from his glowing red eyes.

From behind the big man came a much shorter woman with tanned skin and brown hair in a light blue and white nightgown, gripping onto a large ornate silver longsword. She was young and beautiful and Nobusada realised this is the girl they heard about.

This creature that attacked them must be the man that bought the house.

The young woman came forward with the creature off to her side. “I did my best to keep them alive for the time being,” the creature spoke softly. “I healed the wounds to their necks so they do not lose too much blood.”

The young woman nodded and approached Nobusada, drawing her sword and pointing it at his neck and he could feel an energy emanate from it. “Who are you and why are you here?” she questioned with an intense look in her brown eyes.

Nobusada prayed in his mind, hoping for salvation, praying that any god that would listen. His prayers were met by the creature letting loose a deep growl that carried the ear-piercing sound of a high pitched and haunting scream.

“I-I-I-I…W-We heard the m-man who l-lived here w-as r-r-rich,” Nobusada slowly answered as his heart deafened him.

The creature ceased its growl and turned to the woman with a soft expression. “The one pissing himself is named Nagai Nobusada. The one thinking about his life’s choices over there is Ujie Nohru.”

Nobusada felt terror strike him, not knowing how the creature could know their names.

“They came here believing I was rich,” the creature continued its explanation. “They intended to kill me in my sleep and take both you and my belongings from me.”

“Define ‘take’ me,” the woman instructed the creature.

The creature turned to face the woman and let out a low growl that shook Nobusada, as if the creature’s growl announced his sin.

“P-Please, if you let us go, we’ll turn the other way,” Nobusada pleaded, wanting to prostrate himself.

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” the creature growled. “The dumb one with you looks like he’s given up on life.”

“T-Then let me go and you can have him!” Nobusada begged with fresh tears, his bladder now empty at this point as he was willing to sell out his partner in crime. “I’ll just leave the city and never come back. You’ll never see me again, I swear. No– Better, I work with the Himinn family. I can warn them to stay away from you and even pay damages.”

The young woman thought about the offer and took her sword away from Nobusada’s neck as she considered. “That is almost tempting,” she replied in a soft voice. “Being able to be left alone for once would be nice. What do you think, Arylos?”

Arylos? Nobusada thought. He recognised this name.

“I have to agree with you,” the creature responded while stroking its beard. “And the pissing one was just praying for some kind of salvation so we might just have a deal.”

Nobusada’s heart froze. He knew the name was familiar. That was one of many gods he just prayed to.

The young woman scoffed and knelt down in front of Nobusada. “You see, that would actually mean something,” she spoke softly, almost in a friendly voice. “For the past year, all I wanted was for us to be left alone. A simple request, really. And yet it seems like every other month of that year, someone has been coming after us. So if you can tell them to leave us alone, we would almost have a bargain.”

Nobusada felt a touch of warmth come to him, hopeful for freedom. Followed by a sharp and stabbing pain in his thigh as he watched the girl take her sword and stab his leg, all the while with a warm smile. Nobusada could feel the pain but was too terrified to scream, whimpering in shuddered breaths.

“One small problem with that,” the woman continued, her voice going dark yet her smile sweet and gentle. “You wanted to break it up yourself. You wanted to ruin what we have here, just like all the rest.” She twisted the sword, finally warranting a scream from the man. “And that makes me really mad,” she whispered in a dark tone. “We had a touch of normalcy for three months and we’re already back into the thick of it because of you.”

Nobusada felt terror wash over him as he realised what she was saying. The girl laughed and cracked a smile that chilled his blood. She took the sword out and turned to the creature. After a moment of unspoken words between them, she nodded and sheathed her sword while heading back up the stairs, leaving the two men with the creature.

“Well now, that is unexpected,” the creature smirked while watching the girl leave. After a moment, they could hear the door close and the creature turned with a menacing smile and his eyes shone a bright orange with slit pupils.

Nobusada’s silent prayers went unheard as he saw the creature’s tattoos glow orange and long black claws grow from his hands and four black wings of stone sprout from his shoulders, crowned with wings of flame. The creature’s laughter sounded on the air like an ominous wind.

“W-Wait!” Nobusada pleaded. “I-I had done nothing to you! It was Nohru who went to kill you!”

The creature growled and with blinding speed launched towards the frozen Nohru and ran his claws into the frozen man’s throat as the creature licked its teeth. “Then you can watch,” the creature growled.

Nobusada felt as though he had seen the pits of the deepest hell as he watched the creature bite into Nohru and begin tearing him as the man convulsed and tried to scream but found no voice. The creature pulled skin from muscle, shredded fat, and broke bone, devouring the man bit by excruciating bit. As horrifying as the sight was, Nobusada couldn’t look away, watching this thing, this monster, devour his friend as he was powerless to stop it; tearing him apart like a rabid animal, a starved carnivore.

Nobusada felt a scream form in his throat but before he could let it out, the creature glared at him and his throat went shut, as if an invisible hand held his throat in a vice grip. The terrified man choked on his lack of air, trying to reach for his throat while fighting against the force holding him down. And yet he wasn’t blacking out; it was as though his life and his consciousness was in the hands of this beast.

He could not faint nor die without the monster’s permission.

He watched the creature look up from his half-devoured prey, still twitching in agony as blood dripped from the creature’s fanged mouth. The creature set down the corpse and approached Nobusada, smelling the scent of fear, the sign of a well-marinated meal.

The creature finally came close and a blinding and searing pain overcame Nobusada as he was slowly torn apart by the creature. And yet his horror knew no end as he felt the pain in his mind as well as his soul; as if the creature was fracturing him entirely as a sea of flames formed of burning souls filled his mind. The torrent of fire and blood swept Nobusada away as the screams filled his mind, taking away the pain as well as his existence.

He was no longer himself; he was a part of the one.

Iris took a seat at the dining room table with a shuddered breath. She knew she just condemned the two men to death and Arylos was just waiting for her permission. It still shook her to her core. No matter how she looked at it, she ordered the death of two humans.

She could have let them go, she felt she should have. But she had this desire, this drive that she couldn’t explain. Three months of peace only for someone to try taking it again. It snapped a nerve in her and she let her emotions get the best of her. Was that the right decision? Was there even a right decision?

She held her hands together and rested her forehead against them, trying to get in control of her breathing and her emotions. She knew that just like Arylos, she had to protect her home and if she wanted to prevent Nageki from happening again, she would have to fight and likely kill her own people. What was more important then; her life or her sins?

After minutes of silence, knowing just what was happening in the basement, she finally heard the door to the basement open. She steadied her breath as she heard familiar footsteps approach her.

“You know, sometimes I think I know you,” she heard Arylos’s familiar growl. “And then there are times like now where you throw me for a loop completely.”

Iris rubbed her eyes and looked towards Arylos. He didn’t have a drop of blood on him but she noticed that his skin had more colour to it and didn’t hang so close to his muscles. It was a minor change, but she could see it and it made him look a little healthier; more alive.

“What if I told you to let them go?” she asked while looking away, ashamed of what she told him to do.

“It is what you want, and so I would have let them go,” Arylos answered while taking a seat at the table near her.

“So you’ll just do anything I tell you?” Iris asked, scoffing at the idea.

“My concern is you and you alone,” Arylos replied with a laugh. “For all I care, whatever you say goes.”

“Why though?” she asked while looking back towards him and looking into his red eyes.

“Because this is your life too,” Arylos answered with a soft smile. “Regardless of if Nageki is my fault or not, you’re still my charge. You could tell me to dress in drag and dance and I should be more than happy to oblige.”

Iris blushed a little and covered her face. “Great, so I legitimately have a guard dog that I can just order around,” she laughed behind her hands.

“I’m pretty sure I made you a promise, didn’t I?” Arylos teased while getting up from the table. “You asked me to have the resolve to burn a mountain side if it means fighting or dying for you. I resolved to fight for you, and I did just that.”

“So then I need to find my own resolve,” Iris steeled her nerves, getting her anxiety under control. “We’re not going to be able to live in peace, but I don’t want to lose that so I should be ready to fight.”

“And I’m right here with you,” Arylos responded with a smile. “Since we had so much excitement this morning, I’ll prepare kouhi and breakfast for you.”

Iris nodded and contained herself. She realised something odd in that moment. She ordered Arylos to kill two humans to protect her home. Knowing that Arylos can and would do that, she felt no fear; she was not afraid of what he was going to do and instead had more confidence in his ability to do so. She knew he would and wanted nothing else but that.

But she was afraid of herself for being okay with it.