My fist clenched, and my voice rose. On the other side, I heard shouts back, which made my hands loosen just slightly. Wood ripped from the door, as metal ripped through the cabinet. Light filled the dark tunnel, small beams appearing through the holes—an orange glimmer illuminating my figure. Within a few moments, the case had been reduced to a pile of rotten wood, loose pieces of small white notes floating through the air.
From the other side, the commander rushed in, his sword in his one hand. He dashed by me, his weapon at the ready. Our eyes met for a moment, and it seemed as if he let out a deep breath. He stood behind me, hovering over my shoulder.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
Turning around, I smiled. "I'm more than alright!" I assured him, licking away a small drop of blood that dripped from my mouth.
He sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly. "Where did the man go?"
My eyes darted to his and then to the ground. "He left me behind and ran away."
He looked at me, his face hardening for a moment. Then he pointed into the darkness with his sword. "Two of you, check the hallway; he can't have gotten far..."
Running forward, two members of the group dashed into the darkness. The commander turned back towards the room, signalling for me to follow. Quickly we made our way back out to the main room, the other two members following behind me.
As we entered the original room, my stomach tightened. All around were armoured individuals running through the room, freeing the entrapped girls. Throughout the room were wails; tears flooded each of their faces. Outside of the darkness, I noticed that many of these girls had bruises all over their bodies. Some even lay motionless in their cages. My eyes fell upon one of these girls, one with red hair; my feet began to move towards her, but the commander quickly pulled me away.
With a glance, I noticed that her chest had not moved once... After an armoured individual stepped in front of the girl, my head turned back towards the commander. We continued to walk forward, past the broken Marcus, who multiple men were carrying away. We navigated by the corpse of the girl the robbed man had forced to kill herself, her lifeless face looking into my soul. Light glinted off my eyes; my head turned away slightly.
In the end, her body was draped with a white blanket and placed in the corner of the room, which contained at least half a dozen other blankets. Taking a few more wobbley steps, I halted; the commander in front of me stood still as well. Blocking our path was a little girl with black hair and green eyes. The one that I had first noticed. Tears ran down from her eyes as she wrapped her hands around the commander's waist.
"Thank you! Thank you so much, mister!" She shouted, burying her head into the commander's stomach.
She wailed, her tears soaking into the commander's clothes. He stood there motionless for a moment. His hand was trembling slightly. Slowly he raised it and began to pat the girl on the head. After a few minutes of her crying, she stepped away, showing a shaky smile. The commander smiled as well, quivering slightly before walking past the girl.
Passing her, our eyes met for a moment. While walking away, I felt her gaze linger upon me until I left the room. The two remaining members stayed behind to help with the situation. The commander and I slowly made our way up the staircase, the only sound being the flickering of flames within the lanterns.
After what felt like an eternity, we made it out of the building. Darkness engulfed the street, with only the dim orange glow of the lanterns lining it. Wind blew through the sky, small droplets of water falling upon my face. Loud rumbles echoed through the sky as, in the distance, bolts of light danced through the clouds. Through the streets we walked in silence until the commander finally halted.
"I'm sorry, kiddo, sorry that you had to go through that..." His fists clenched as he spoke. "I was afraid; even though we've only spoken once, I was afraid that I would lose you too." He turned around, small tears mixing with the now-pouring rain.
I looked at him, my eyes darting to a hole in my shirt. My hands fidgeted behind my back. "Don't worry about me; I'm fine... But thank you for coming to find me." I said, bringing my gaze to meet his.
He laughed, wiping his face with his sleeve. "No problem, kid..." He sighed. "So, did you find a place to stay?" He asked.
"No, but Matt did get me these three delicious fruits! They were so tasty; I wish he bought me more!" I told him excitedly, my red eyes lighting up as I described the three fruits and how they tasted.
"Hahaha, his coin pouch must have been hurting after buying those!" He laughed for a few seconds before returning his expression to normal. He hesitated for a moment, his hand brushing his chin. "How about you stay with me?"
My arms froze, and my eyes widened. He wanted to take me in? "Why?" I asked.
He stood in the middle of the street, rain falling upon him. "Why? Well, because you deserve the best, kiddo, and I don't want you to be shipped off to one of the big-city orphanages."
My chest tightened, and my hands shook slightly. Tears brewed at the edge of my eyes. "Then I'll stay with you..." I said, my voice trembling. With a big smile plastered across my tear-ridden face, I followed him, beginning my new life in Clara Astrum.
Days flew by; the green leaves that blanketed the trees within the Lumere Forest faded to gold, the warm air grew colder, and the creatures of the forest began to disperse. Before I realized it, an entire month had passed.
"This was it, the one-month anniversary since I had started staying with the commander!" I shouted as I got out of bed. He has taught me so much about what being a human is like! I've learned so many interesting things, but today will be different... Today he said he would teach me to use a sword.
Where I have been staying was a bedroom on the top floor of the commander's home. It was apparently one of his daughters' old rooms... but other than that, it was amazing. It had a cabinet full of clothes, a drawer with a mirror, a lantern for light, and a massive bed just for me! But what I have learned is that humans require sleep, but as a demon I don't need to go to bed; I find it a waste of time. So instead I've been sneaking out to train my skills.
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Name: Luna
Title: ####
Race: DemonBorn (Mythical)
Tier: 1 (fledgling)
Class: Devourer (Mythical)
Lvl: 2 (150/200)
Blood: (21.7/150)
Skills:
Intrinsic:
Tier 1
Gluttony lvl 1- ???
Gelatinous Form lvl 3->5- 36.8 blood
Body Density lvl 2->4- 24.5 blood
World's Knowledge lvl 1- ???
Tier 2:
One With Acid lvl 2- 4 191.5 blood
Regular:
Tier 1:
Demonic Regeneration lvl 7->8-124.2 blood
Heightened Perception lvl 4->6- 55.2 blood
Earthen Sense lvl 2->4- 24.5 blood
Sticky Slime lvl 1->3- 17 blood
Voice of Command lvl 1- 7.5 blood
Tier 2:
Pain Nullification lvl 6- 67 352 blood
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I was surprised by how fast my skills levelled up after only training all night for an entire month. But as they got higher in level, the slower it was for them to level up, and the already high-level skills barely increased at all. Pain Nullification was one of them; it must be that unless I experience an incredible amount of pain, it will take ages for it to level up.
The same goes for Demonic Regeneration; it only increased by one, and that was after a month of cutting myself. For it to level up, it seems that I will have to sustain considerable damage. Looking at the majority of my other skills, I smiled as they levelled up just from me using them over and over again. My eyes fell upon a skill near the bottom of my status. I never got to use Voice of Command because the slimes that I encountered in the forest did not seem to be affected by it.
I would have looked for other creatures, but it would have been too risky. According to the commander, the forest is filled with dangerous monsters, so he told me that if I ever wanted to go into the forest, I should never stray far from the town alone. So while sneaking out at night, I listened, never drifting more than one kilometre away from the town's borders. Because of this, my EXP did not increase much, as throughout the entire month I only slayed eight level one slimes.
Looking out of the window that I had climbed through to return to my room, I sighed. It was still dark outside. Before returning every night, I bathed in a nearby stream, but my hair was still slightly wet.
Slowly, I hopped out of bed before tidying it up completely. Next, I moved to the cabinet in the corner of my room and opened it. Within, I took out leather pants, a linen shirt, and a leather vest. Undressing, my dirty clothes fell to the floor. Grabbing the new outfit, I quickly put it on. Igniting the lantern within my room with a match, I examined myself in the mirror. My pale skin shined as the lantern illuminated it, my red eyes glowing slightly in the darkness. My white hair fell in front of my eyes, and I grabbed a weathered black cord from within the cabinet, where I wove it through my hair into a messy tie.
Smiling, I turned away, extinguishing the lantern, grabbing my dirty clothes off the floor, and then opening the door, exiting the room. Making my way down a small hallway, I reached the stairs, where I quickly descended. Approaching the commander's room, I silently entered. Taking slow steps through the room, I reached the side of his bed where he slept, breathing deeply. Reaching down next to the bed, I picked up his dirty clothes and added them to the pile in my arms. Slowly retreating, exiting the room and closing the door.
I quickly left the house. In the backyard was an empty bucket, which I put the clothes in. Hoisting it up, I carried it through the forest until I reached a calm stream. Filling the bucket with water, I began cleaning the clothes until they were spotless. They were drenched, but all the stains were gone. Returning home, I hung them on a clothesline, letting the wind dry them.
Breathing out, my eyes wandered through the world, watching as the golden leaves swayed, some falling from the trees. Looking up, the sky began to brighten slightly as the sun appeared on the horizon. Umbra Astrum began to fade in the other direction. Well, that's my first task done. Now breakfast. Heading back inside, I cooked some rice quickly before plating it. Right after finishing, the commander came out of his room.
"Good morning, Luna," he grumbled while yawning.
"Good morning, sir," I replied happily.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Roderic," he said.
"Oh yes, sorry. Good morning to you, Roderic," I corrected myself.
Sitting down at the table, he coughed into his arm. "Liora taught you well, but you don't have to be up before the sun; you can do your chores whenever you wake up."
"I know... but I prefer doing it before sunrise; it makes my day feel less crowded," I said.
"Fine, if it is what you like, then you can keep doing it." He sighed. "Alright, are you ready to learn some swordsmanship?"
I looked at him while smiling. Nodding my head quickly, I answered. "Yes!"