The Slayer - Chapter 1
It had been ten years since Kyoko had been free. Ten years of enslavement. Of killing.
She looked up at the familiar gray stones of her cell's ceiling. During the first few months of her enslavement, she had tried to chip away at the solid rocks, desperate for freedom.
The indents were still there. She stopped, however, when the Master beat her half to death when he found out. So she decided to wait for the right time for her escape.
As the top Arena fighter and being a fish-man half-blood, she quickly became his most precious slave. Because of this, she was his longest lasting slave, as well. The slaves that had been bought at the same time as her had all been either beaten or worked to death.
I guess I should consider myself as lucky.
She rolled over on the narrow cot and looked out the bars of her cell door. She was met with the same dull gray as the ceiling. She brought her hand up and traced the crescent shape of a puckered scar curling around her left eye out of habit. She had gotten it on the first day the Master threw her into the Arena many years ago. It was the day she killed her first living thing, and the day she learned this place was kill-or-be-killed.
She frowned when it suddenly started itching. It only did that when something was going to happen. Nine times out of ten, it wasn't good. She immediately swung herself off the cot and strode over to the door. She rested her hands on the sea-stone bars and leaned out as far as she could, but she could see nothing but the empty, cell-lined hall.
Her frown deepened. Her time as an Arena fighter taught her not to ignore her instincts. It was what kept her alive all this time. Her eyes flickered from place to place, never resting on any one thing more than a second.
She absentmindedly reached up and scratched her scar. The fact that it still itched made her nervous. Time seemed to slow as she watched the end of the hall, waiting for something to happen. And after what seemed like hours, something did.
From somewhere in the distance, she heard the clanking of a guard's armor. As he turned a corner and into Kyoko's sight, she could see him stiffen when he saw her hanging out her cell door. It must have been his first time seeing the Arena's Slayer.
She kept watching him as he slowly walked towards her. Kyoko knew he was coming for her because there was no one else in the Arena cells. She was the only fighter for the Master. The rest had died off and he felt no need to replace them with Kyoko in his roster.
As the guard got closer, she could see the nervous shifting of his eyes. He refused to look at her, as if she could kill him with a glance.
He eventually made it to her cell and stuttered pathetically, "M-move away f-from the d-d-door!"
She did as he asked smoothly, her mind was already moving a hundred miles a second. It was obvious that this young man was new to the Master's ranks. It would be easy to snap his neck. Escaping would be a synch after that. All she would need to do is sneak into the palace above and slip over the walls.
Kyoko felt excitement build within her as the guard brought the cell key out and slowly twisted it in the lock. The Master was a fool to send him here by himself.
She didn't feel the least bit sorry when the the guard pulled open the door and she rushed out to broke his neck. Kyoko did make it painless, though. It was a small courtesy he probably didn't deserve.
She stared down at him for a couple seconds before running down the hall at a speed only she could reach. Her fish-man blood made her stronger than most humans, meaning she was faster than most as well. Kyoko sped around a corner and stopped at a split. One way she knew well. It led down to the pits of the Arena. So she turned and looked at the other way, the one she assumed to lead to the palace.
She felt her heart pound noisily in her chest. Kyoko desperately hoped it led to the palace. If not, she might loose her freedom forever. The Master would take more precautions, making it impossible for her to escape again.
Sweat coated her palms at the thought. I can't be caught. I'll kill whoever sees me, if I have to!
With that thought, Kyoko raced down the hall that she prayed took her to where she wanted to go. She ran up stairs, lifting her hopes. Up meant above ground. And above meant freedom.
At the top of the stairs, she was met with solid oak doors with the Master's crest engraved on it. Her scar began to itch again, warning her of danger beyond the doors. But Kyoko couldn't turn back. This was her chance for freedom, and it wasn't something she would give up easily.
She pushed the doors open and stepped through, finding herself in an overly ornate room. Sitting in the middle of it was none other than the Master himself. He was the same as she remembered him. Overweight with small, beady eyes that gleamed with greed and cruelty.
The very sight of him made her tremble with fear. Kyoko was caught. She watched as he smiled widely when he saw her shoulders sag in despair.
"It looks like little Kyoko actually thought she could escape!" he bellowed as he snorted with laughter. The guards surrounding him glanced fearfully back and forth between me and the Master.
Her mind went blank with fear as the Master continued to gloat. She would be beat and she would never see the light of day again. Her only escape now was death.
What do you think you're doing! a voice within her shouted, Are you not named Slayer? You are the strongest fighter in the Arena and one that has kept the title the longest. Before you stands a man you despise. Why do you do nothing? You are Slayer Kyoko Reika!
She slowly looked up at the man before her. Why was she afraid? He was nothing more than a man. He is no different than the other men she's killed. Kyoko glanced down at herself. Why hasn't she done anything? She is a Slayer, a killer of men and women alike.
If she was going to die anyway, then why should she hold back?
"Are you even listening to me?" the Master said. He cheeks began to turn red in his anger.
She ignored his statement as she analyzed the people in the room. She counted a total of ten guards, all equipped with heavy armor and swords like the man dead in front of her cell. The armor made it difficult for them to move fast, but also made it hard for her to harm them.
"Kyoko!" the Master shouted angrily. Her eyes darted over to meet his daringly. He looked shocked for a moment before ordering, "I command you to come here! You shall be punished for your insolence!"
She smirked amusedly. This man once scared her? He was nothing but a fat man that could barely move on his own. She chose to stay where she was and continue her stare.
The Master's face began blotching as he lifted a finger and said, "Bring her to me, you fools!"
The guards surrounding him immediately jerked into action. They all ran towards her with their hands out stretched, as if they thought they could grab Kyoko. She easily pushed the closest set of hands away, making the man stumble into another guard.
She drew the stumbling man's sword and faced the rest of the guards. They seemed to be surprised that Kyoko would defy the Master's orders so blatantly. They glanced at each other before coming at her again with the same strategy. She swung the heavy sword in her hands easily, making the flat side hit one of the guards on the side of his head. This made him fall onto another which made the other guard stumble back and fall.
The eight remaining guards looked down at the two unconscious men, giving her an opportunity to take out the next closest guard in the same manner. She would not kill unless she was forced to, anymore. She wanted the Master to be the last one to die by her hands.
The remaining seven guards looked at her one more time before charging at her again. She smoothly swung the sword in a wide arc, making the guard fall heavily to the ground, knocked out by the powerful swing. She stood there for a while, staring at the unconscious bodies underneath her before looking up at the Master.
His eyes were wide and his once botchy face was drained of all color. He sat, looking between his useless guards and Kyoko. She shifted the sword in her grip and started stepping over the people beneath her towards the man that bought her all those years ago. A man she hated with her entire being.
When he realized she was coming towards him, he quickly dropped to his knees and begged, "Don't kill me, please don't kill me!"
Her nose wrinkled in disgust as his sobs echoed throughout the room. She approached the crying man and raised her stolen sword above his bowed neck and didn't hesitate to bring the heavy sword down, effectively severing it from his body.
She waited for some sort of relief. For her pain to suddenly disappear. For the brand on her back to disappear. None of these things happened. Instead she stood over the dead body of a World Noble, wondering what she should do now. She couldn't live with other people, normal people. She would have a giant bounty now for killing a Noble.
She stared down at her dead owner. For the first time in ten years, she was free. And she didn't feel any different. What could she do? Even in death, the man made her suffer. She would be on the run for the rest of her life.
She was taken from her thoughts when she heard a shrill scream. Kyoko whipped her head around and saw a young woman, probably a slave to the dead man at her feet, standing in the doorway of the exit.
Kyoko dropped the bloody sword and starting running towards her. She didn't know how long she was standing there, but it was long enough that someone had time to come to the room and see her, and that was all that mattered to her.
She pushed past the woman and rushed down unfamiliar halls, searching desperately for the exit.
For now, she would focus on one thing at a time.
She breathed a sigh of relieve when she saw the exit to the palace. By now, at least a dozen slaves and guards had seen her face. She dashed through the door and ran for the gate.
As soon as she reached it, sirens started blaring. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. She preferred to see the palace this way. People running to and fro with chaos all around.
She turned back around and said to herself, I'll just take things one day at a time.
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