"Good Lord! What happened to his arm?"
"How can that women adopt that abomination and live with that freak?"
"Must be the son of the Devil himself..."
The young boy looked up to his guardian's face, only to find shame and embarrassment. She rushed her son quickly through the crowd, shielding his face from the discriminating glances and glares thrown at him.
"Momma? Why do they look at me like that?"
Tears rolled down the cheek of his mother. She hugged him tight. He didn't understand all of this prejudice, this discrimination. She hoped he would never know.
The boy opened his eyes.
Blood splattered across the walls. A limp body on the ground, still as a mouse. The wretched smell of death filled the air. The moonlight seemed to illuminate the pale skin of the corpse. The boy lifted up his arms. He gasped at the sight.
They both were covered in blood. The blood of the only person who ever cared for him.
He was in shock.
"What did I do?" the boy wailed in terror.
The villagers came to the nearly abandoned house. Once they saw the crime, their disgust in this child had deepened. It was considered the biggest crime to kill your parents, no matter if it was biological or not. The sentence was banishment, or even death.
"Jay. I need to know something." said Valufor as he took a sip of wine.
"Shoot. What do you want to know?" Jay replied.
"Why did your mother take me in? You could have left me to die. I am the Demon Child after all."
Jay stared at the table and took a deep breath.
"Our family serves God, and God doesn't discriminate. My mother found you in the alley near Grubeck's shop, almost insane. You were muttering to yourself about blood. She took pity on you and took you in."
"So if you didn't serve God, you would have left me for dead?"
Jay was silent after that.
The Slayer lightly pulled at the chains on his arms. He knew why people threw dirty looks at him. How could he have chosen if he wanted this demon or not? It wasn't his choice.
"You're right. It wasn't your choice." a voice rasped.
The Slayer whipped around. Who had said that?
"What a foolish mortal." the voice said with a chuckle.
Valufor started to panic a bit. Who the hell was talking to him?
"Jay, can you hear that?" he whispered.
"What are you talking about? No one is calling you. You're probably just dizzy."
Valufor grabbed his glass and took a large swig of wine. He shook his head and almost fell of his seat. Suddenly, his vision turned red. His breaths turned into gasps. He had to prop himself on his Zanbato just to keep from falling. He felt sick to the stomach and sauntered to the back of the bar. Unfortunately, he bumped into the very person he didn't want to meet.
"Hey boss, look! It's that kid you beat up two days ago!"
A rough, cloth covered hand held Valufor up by the neck.
"Hey, you little shit, are you back for another beating?"
A fist connected with Valufor's stomach sending him into a group of people. The table was smashed in half and the splinters of the wood were merciless, jabbing into his arms and sides. The Slayer attempted to get up, only to fall back down again, for his vision was blurring and turning red again. A foot smashed onto his chest and he felt the bones crack inside. Valufor screamed in pain and tried to pry the leg off of his body. The Grappler smirked at his attempt to live. Grabbing his shirt, the Grappler lifted him up and flung him across the room.
Valufor felt the air swish past him, bracing himself for impact. Unexpectedly, the Grappler Shoulder Tackled him just before when he was going to land.
Smashing against a wall, Valufor tried to stand up, but fell in a slouch on the floor. Sweat was pouring down his forehead.
"Let me help you, mortal." the voice repeated.
"How can you help me?" he said, coughing up a bit of blood.
"Ha, look at the fool! He's talking to himself now!" the Grappler sneered.
"I can sense your anger, mortal. I can release it."
Valufor felt a burning rage in his heart, remembering all the things that people had called him. Teased him. Taunting him. His demon arm started to glow red like lava, bright as the sun. His eyes turned red and he stood up. All pain from the fight faded away. The only thing he felt was the years of boiling rage finally exploding within his mind.
"Kill. Kill. KILL." the voice commanded.
Bellowing like a demon, Valufor sped toward his enemy and swung his sword, delivering a grievous wound through the light armor he was wearing. The Zanbato cut through the skin like a warm knife through butter. The Grappler shrieked in pain, holding his chest in burning pain, for the blade was covered with dark red energy. Red blood leaked out of the slash. When the demon Valufor saw the bloodleak, a grotesque smile appeared on his face.
"Gore Cross!" the possessed Valufor roared.
The demon arm whipped out, the dark energies coming together to become a large red cross, glowing like his eyes. Slashing his sword pushed the cross and it collided with the Fighter, sending him skidding across the floor. Valufor, out for blood, did the final finishing move.
"Mountainous Wheel!" he bellowed.
Jumping into the air, Valufor raised the sword above his head and brought it down.
"What are you doing? Get out of the way!" he screamed.
Jay stood in front of the crippled Grappler and took hold of the blade. Jay went down on his knee on the impact of the attack. Still holding the blade, he wrenched it out of his brother's hands and threw it across the room.
"Cure! Slow Heal!" Jay yelled.
Jay charged and touched Valufor on the forehead. Jay's holy fingers seemed to scald the skin of the Slayer. Valufor shrieked and held his head in agony. The red in his eyes suppressed and his arm diminished in color.
"I am so sorry, Siusha. I'll pay for the damages of the broken tables and the wall." Jay said apologetically.
Siusha, instead of getting angry, smiled which gradually turned into a fit of laughter.
"It's alright. My customer's haven't seen a fight in a long time. You guys sparked up the place!"
"Thank you for your mercy. God bless you." Jay said, saying a prayer.
Jay departed, wondering how Valufor could become to lustful for blood.
Then he remembered what Grandis had said.
"In other words, he's taking control of his mind."
Jay shuddered at the thought of the demon taking over. He had heard that one Slayer had leveled an entire city in a fit of rage.
"Please, God. Help this man..."