The Devil and The Assassin
Chapter 7 – Red Like Madness
WARNING: This chapter has not been beta read; I only proofread this.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy tail, Hiro Mashima does.
Akihiro was yet to realize how dangerous they were, seeing that he had calmed down after facing the wrath of the demon princess. But he was hiding behind a set of demons as well, unfortunately of low class. They weren't even worth anything to the royal family and was regarded as filth. But still, they charged at Lucy who merely curled her lip in annoyance.
"Those who allow themselves to be degraded should die," she sneered, ignoring the pointed look her tamer was giving her. "And to lower yourselves even more… are you masochists?"
A demon whimpered, her body trembling in hesitation. Lucy saw this as an opening and grinned with malice, running forward with her arm spread to her side, fingers curling. The other demon reacted quickly and forgot about her fear for the superior, fighting back instead. She sent a kick to the princess' face which was avoided and before she could send another kick, her ankle was gripped and she was thrown to the ceiling. Her back hit the chandelier and she choked, eyes growing wide before falling back on the floor.
Lucy watched it all happen with an amused look, paying the dead demon no heed when all was done. She faced the rest with the same smile of insanity, her head tilted back lightly to look down on them. They growled, their pride swelling and they charged at her too.
Jellal realized that a demon, no matter how high-class, no matter how graceful, was brutal. He stood to the side, watching Lucy as he fended off some of the old men's bodyguards who began appearing out of nowhere. He watched her nails sinking into flesh, tearing it open and ripping their limbs apart. He watched the fire trail behind her, following her every move and burning everything in her path. He almost shuddered. He had seen that look before at the arena, but at that time it was merely for competition. For their pride. For their freedom. And he was watching from the sidelines.
Up close, it was much more terrifying.
His opponent delivered a palm-strike to his chest which he dodged, swiping his leg at his feet. Before the man could even fall, Jellal was already behind him, leaving behind a strike with his sword. The bodyguard screamed in pain and dropped to the ground moments later.
He frowned and looked behind, leaning the back blade of his katana on his shoulder, sidestepping another attack. He eyed his demon quietly, observing her inhuman movements. She was killing demons like they weren't her kin. It was terrifying. And annoying.
He turned back to the bodyguards in front of him and narrowed his eyes. They looked frightened rather than determined. He smirked. "What kind of bodyguards are you? You're practically shaking in fear."
His question was left unanswered. Well, he wasn't expecting one anyway. Swinging his sword down, he got into a stance and sucked in a deep breath, eyes never leaving their trembling forms. "Amaterasu: Repent!" The blade danced with flames, leaving deep gashes on their bodies when he pulled it down to make slashes.
His katana, Izanagi, was covered in blood by the time he was finished with them. He didn't feel right about killing lives that weren't demons but since they were protecting people who were corrupted, who were disgusting, he had no choice. He didn't feel pity for them but regret. Regret that he didn't kill them sooner. He could have saved a lot more children if he had known about them earlier.
He looked over his shoulder to find Lucy enjoying her battles. She continued fighting without a weapon, using only her hands to do her bidding. She didn't seem to be having trouble too, seeing that she was still unscathed. But she was stained with blood, from head to toe, although some places were still clean. It almost seemed as if she bathed in it.
"Your katana has a name?" Lucy shouted over the screams, giving her tamer a side-glance.
"This is one of my collections," he muttered reluctantly. "But yes. Why?"
She laughed bitterly. "You used a different one for the Midnight Feast."
"I don't use this much."
"Good," she said, licking her lips. "I have the other pair and I don't want our swords to match. Izanami will go dull."
He rolled his eyes and stared down at the men with graying hair. They cowered in fear, clutching at each other's vest and trying to escape. He resisted the urge to snarl in revulsion. He hated these kinds of people. They were selfish and greedy. He honestly didn't understand how their minds worked.
He felt a tug on his sleeve and found himself staring at the little girl his demon found. He covered his disgusted expression with a smile, patting her head. "What is it?"
"M-My friends," she mumbled, sniffling. "S-Save them, p-please."
Jellal chuckled and ruffled her hair, gently pushing her behind him. "We will. But first, we must kill them," he told her, easing her fear for now.
Yuki nodded and stepped back a little, not wanting to be a bother to the assassin. She could sense his loathe for the men but she couldn't find it in her to be afraid of him. She felt the same way after all. For a child, even she knew what disgust felt like. And that was how she felt towards the men who wanted to sell them for drugs.
She balled her fists and dug them into her dirtied dress. Her breathing quickened, watching with unblinking eyes while Jellal delivered the final blow to her captors. She wanted to look away but couldn't, her gaze fixed on the way the assassin's katana shone under the light despite being colored red. She remembered how the men begged at his feet, screaming to be spared, giving him a huge amount of money to leave them be.
But Jellal scoffed and kicked them away, landing another blow on their bodies. She didn't flinch, not even once, at the sight of their brutal murder. She almost felt satisfied that they were finally dead. She knew that that was wrong—to wish for someone else's death. But she didn't care anymore.
Suddenly, she felt a hand wrapping around hers. She looked up to see her brother looking at her with a sad smile. She squeezed his fingers and returned to watching the assault take place.
"Yuki," Daiki called softly, tugging his little sister to his attention. "You have to look away."
The said girl didn't move. "I—I can't."
"This isn't a sight for us to see," he muttered under his breath, unable to stomach the amount of gore he had seen for the day. Unlike Yuki who could bear the carnage, he – on the other hand – felt like vomiting. He looked away and gritted his teeth, his body stiffening at the screams that echoed in his ears.
He could also hear someone running in the halls. But that didn't matter. Whoever that was, he was going to die by the hands of their saviors. "Yuki," he whispered, his voice almost desperate. "Look away, please."
Those words worked like magic on her. As soon as she heard them, she bowed her head, shielding herself from the view. Some part of her was glad that she couldn't see the cruelty anymore, but another part of her, the curious side, still wanted to see how things were going to end.
She closed her eyes and listened to the cries they created, to the begging they were doing, to the screams that shook the building. A chill worked its way down her spine and she clutched her brother's hand even tighter, her throat contracting. The sounds were like music to her ears—a crescendo. It was beautiful, it was dark, and it was enticing. But she knew that she only thought of it that way because she wasn't looking at what was actually happening.
She then heard the demon who saved her laugh, her amusement sending another jolt through her. "Me? Submissive? Hah!" There was a crunch and then a whimper. "I am doing this for my freedom. Imagine how repulsed I feel, working with a human."
Yuki was surprised. She didn't know that they weren't on good terms. Well, she knew it was to be expected because they were from different races but they worked so well together. Was that all a façade? If so, then it was deceiving. It was played out well.
"You can kill him," Lucy suggested, shrugging. "That is, if you can get past me."
"Who knew that the Demon Princess could be so obedient? Protecting your tamer like that. What a disgrace."
There was a scream.
"I'm not. I just do not want to die."
Yuki flinched. She forgot that the tamer's death would be the demon's too. Out of the blue, she felt pain in her other hand and realized that she dug her nails in her palm too hard. She wiped the blood on her dress and focused on the floor, trying not to watch the scenes unfolding in front of them.
Daiki noticed his sister's distress and bit his lower lip, gently pulling her to the side, away from the bloodshed and into the corner where they would be untouched. She released a shaky breath and raised her head, meeting his gaze.
"Will we be okay, aniki?"
He swallowed thickly, looking at his own reflection in her eyes. "We will be."
Lucy panted heavily, looking at the myriad of burning bodies around her. She had been fighting nonstop for about half an hour, the nobleman's low-class demons surging endlessly. They were weak, yes, but their numbers made up for it and she was getting tired. She hadn't gotten enough rest since the tournament and she wanted to end this mission as soon as possible.
Another demon lunged at her and she simply threw him to the side, his head slamming into the wall. Lucy lifted her arm to her nose for a quick whiff and drew back in disgust. She smelled of decay and black blood.
She glanced over at her tamer. Jellal was faring quite well, thanks to his katana. He had less blood on him and seemed to be close to finishing up the rest of the demons. All that was left now was Akihiro.
His wrinkled face twisted with fury. "You think you can kill me?"
Lucy raised a fine brow, mirth dancing in her eyes. "Are you implying that we can't?" She sharpened her nails and narrowed her eyes to slits. "I, myself, would be enough to end you."
Akihiro shook with laughter and he cried, "Let's see if you can!"
Smirking, the blaze around Lucy grew and she pounced on him, katana ready to strike. The fire engulfed them both as she finished him, his screams swallowed by the flames. Blow after blow, she attacked. She was merciless. He was begging for clemency. And when she was done, her eyes glowed a fiery red, sending a message throughout the room that she was not to be messed with.
"Finally!" Lucy exclaimed, stretching her arms behind her back. "I thought the mission would never end."
Jellal rolled his eyes. "It wasn't even that long," he muttered, carefully guiding the children towards the carriage. Akihiro and his affiliates were all dead and the children were freed, along with Yuki and Daiki who hadn't planned on leaving. It took a while to evacuate the building, especially with the amount of fire that Lucy had caused, but it was doing fine.
"By the way," she said, seated casually on the ledge of a window. "Who were those intruders that you mentioned?"
The assassin paused, frowning. "Oh yeah, I don't—"
"Looks like we've got our work covered."
Eyes narrowing dangerously, Lucy jumped onto the ground beside Jellal, avoiding the shard of ice that flew into the window. She snarled furiously. "Who are you?!"
Before Lucy could attack, her tamer blocked her with an arm. "Wait, I know them," he replied, watching three silhouettes step out from the building. "Natsu?"
"Hey Jellal!"
Team Natsu stepped into the light and Lucy wrinkled her nose in distaste. She had never seen them before, but she hated the stench of humans. Earlier it was fine because there were demons too, however being the only demon in the group was proving to be rather irritating.
Meanwhile, her tamer was busy making greetings with the newcomers. "What are you doing here?" he asked, puzzled. "I thought the emperor gave this mission to us."
Gray nodded, bringing his cigarette to his lips. "Yeah, but he wanted us to make sure that you were to do it properly, especially with your demon around," he explained coolly, ignoring the seething princess behind Jellal. "Heard she's quite the catch."
"She's a pain in the ass, that's what."
Natsu sniffed the air and then whistled in astonishment, circling Lucy as if she was a showcase at a museum. "Well, she does feel like an actual demon, and not like the lower class." He grinned, swinging an arm over the blonde's shoulder. "Nice to meet you, princess!"
She bristled, pushing him away. "I make no pleasantries with humans," she growled, eyes narrowed before turning her back against them. "Fernandes, if you need me, I will be indisposed. Don't bother me until tomorrow."
Tail flicking, the gate beneath her opened and she jumped through.
Jellal sighed, scratching his head in frustration. The demon really did know how to get on his nerves and he hated it.
"Well," Erza mused, arms folded across her chest. "That was interesting."
"As you can see, she is not exactly easy to handle," he drawled, pocketing his hands. He would have to talk to the Emperor about this—maybe tomorrow. "It's draining enough to have her out, but to maintain that contact for several hours is too much. It wouldn't be so hard if she just gave in, but she's a handful."
"Well," Gray butted in, breathing out a cloud of white smoke, the stench of cigarette making the rest of them wave their hands over their faces. "She is the demon princess. I would be disappointed if she surrendered so easily."
Natsu nodded, grinning. "Bastard's right."
"Shut it, pinky."
"What's got your panties in a twist, snowflake?"
Erza sighed. "And here they go again…"
Jellal chuckled, watching as the two rivals began bickering. The redhead looked at them, irate clearly written all over her face, and she stomped over to grab the both of them by their shirts. "Will you two behave?!"
"H-Hai!"
Ah, how nostalgic.
Jellal hadn't seen Team Natsu for a while now as they were assigned on missions that were usually away from his own location. Nevertheless, he grew up with the trio, training with them whenever he was able. Like what Ultear said, they weren't as good as him, but they were strong on the battlefield. The four of them were equally terrible at taming demons though, so he wondered why the Emperor mixed up their roles.
He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes, relishing the rare moment of peace.
"You alright, Jellal?"
He opened an eye and glanced at Erza, noting the way her hair flew gently behind her, that red river cascading down her back. Once upon a time, he would have given the world to her. She was his childhood crush, the girl who never bowed down to anyone and dominated the air like it was her own. Alas, some feelings were never meant to last, and eventually, he gave up, focusing on his life as an assassin instead. Things weren't so bad this way.
His lips curved ever so slightly, offering the redhead a smirk. "Just thinking."
When he got home, he walked in to find Lucy seated on the edge of his bed.
Blinking almost stupidly, he stared at her, unable to say anything while she glared at him. She looked odd in a pair of satin pajamas, her hair noticeably damp by the wet marks on her dress shirt. She looked fresh—which was strange because she was a demon. If he looked carefully, he might even forget that she had such pointed ears.
He inwardly slapped himself and closed the door with his foot, leaning back against it.
"What are you doing here?"
Silence.
Sighing, he proceeded to unbutton his shirt, noticing with slight frustration that she seemed unaffected by his lack of modesty. He shrugged the article off and headed to his closet for a fresh change of clothes. Still, she did not speak, simply observing him with that watchful gaze of hers.
"Enjoying yourself, demon?" he asked instead, deciding that he would much rather provoke her than be unnerved by her staring.
Lucy scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Do not flatter yourself; I was merely wondering when you would realize that I have completely drained you of your power and it is irritating."
He stopped in his footsteps, raising his eyebrows.
"I will give it back."
"Wait, you took it?" he asked, almost dumbfounded.
"No," she quickly said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "What would I do with human energy if they were still alive? It is a hindrance to my movements, but it happens because there is a link between us. I do not like it."
"Then give it back."
She was beginning to grow incredibly annoyed with the human. "Exactly why I am here," she hissed. "Hurry up."
He finished changing (even his pants) and finally approached her. Her ears were bare for the first time, gone were the earrings that adorned it, and so were the rest of her. It seemed to him that demons were not always vain and he nearly slapped himself for thinking about it. He was not going to fraternize with the likes of them—it was against his rules. Besides, he supposed he was just learning about them. They were not always on the battlefield after all.
Standing before her, he cocked his head to the side. "Now what?"
She lifted her eyes to him, peering through her thick lashes, and for a moment he wondered how lashes could look so enchanting. But he tucked that deep within the recesses of his mind, not wanting to admit to himself that he had just nearly called the demon attractive.
Suddenly, he was pulled forward. A noise of protest strangled in his throat, and once again he was pinned to the bed, Lucy sitting on top of him with her hands on either side of his face.
"You…!"
"Quiet," she told him. Something about the way she spoke made him shut up, but he could not resist the urge to scowl. What was she doing, straddling him like she owned him when it was the other way around?
Lucy breathed out. Carefully, she lowered her head to his and he froze, looking directly into her eyes as their foreheads touched. There was a sense of warmth flooding his senses while a soft pink light surrounded them.
He could not look away. Her eyes were truly beautiful—it reminded him of Titania's scarlet hair. He had always loved the color, it screamed of destruction and romance, chaos and something much more than it let on. He would not—could not—deny that he loved the demon's eyes. He wished he could force himself to hate it, but with what little control he had left, it was hard to do so. The effect of his power returning was making him dizzy, so he concluded that the dizziness must be the reason why he was thinking irrationally.
She closed her eyes and the spell was broken. He swallowed hard, feeling his heart thunder in his chest for the adrenaline that he felt.
It was a few seconds later when she finally pulled away. She refused to look at him and he was glad for it. He didn't know what he would do if he saw the color of her irises again. He didn't trust himself to stay sane until he got a good night's sleep.
"There," she mumbled. Did her voice sound weak? He didn't know. He must be imagining things.
He opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.
"I will leave now."
He watched her get off the bed, walking towards the center where he had unconsciously opened the gate. Her back towards him, he tried not to think about how slender she looked in this particular clothing. Without another word, she slipped into the portal, leaving him to his own musings.
He lowered his head and held it in his hands, taking in deep breaths. The effects of the link between them were making him delusional and he did not like it. Not one bit. After all, for a second he was almost tempted to touch her hair and run his fingers through them. Was it as soft as it looked? Did it smell nice? Was it—
He laughed bitterly. He must be losing his mind.
A/N: Oh, won't you look at that! After three years, an update at last! Damn, I feel horrible, I'm sorry. Things went way out of hand, but I am back and my muse is much more obedient now. Granted, it's difficult to maintain my updates when I have so many stories but I like writing nonetheless. Did you enjoy that little fanservice? Ha! I missed JeLu. I haven't read a good one in a while, so I may as well contribute to the fandom.
I missed you all! Tell me about what happened while I was away on your review! I adore reading your comments, and since I've been gone for so long, come on, welcome me back! Hahaha, I also have an ItaHina story up by the way and I update it daily because the chapters are drabble-esque. Anyhow, if you have any questions, ask away and I will answer them as soon as I'm able!
"Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven." — Arthur Miller, The Crucible
Bye! -Anne :D
- Please support/read my other stories: Celebrity Issues, Forgotten Memories, Nyctophilia, Life's Challenges, Queen of Stars, A Love That Lasts Forever, Fragile and Going Against The Current.
