Ch.1

Running, that was what she could think about at the moment. That is all her mind could think about as she and her daughter ran down the darkened alleyway besides survival. They had to escape; they just had to; otherwise, their pursuers would subject them to a fate worse than death. Guilt started to worm its way inside her heart as she looked back to her daughter, whose face was drenched in fear, as she led her by the hand.

While she and her daughter were not poor by any means, that did not mean they free of labor, both had worked throughout the capital, and she was able to land a job at the royal treasury as keeper, but this opened up to the road that led them to their current predicament. It started small a few coins here, a few pouches there, and while it was illegal, it was necessary to survive in the corrupted capital. All she wanted was the best possible future for her daughter, and now her greed would cost them both.

They continued to run; however, their luck was about to end. The duo turned right only to run into a dead-end with panic and dread following. The mother and daughter turned to run, but the sight of torchlight made them hug the wall as much as possible, hoping that by some miracle that the wall would swallow them as the mob came closer. The mother could only look at her daughter's petrified gaze as she squeezed her hand, praying that by some miracle, they wouldn't be spotted.

Her prayers would go unanswered as the light made its way toward them, revealing four men holding torches and armed with clubs, axes, and shortswords. One stepped forward with a lecherous grin upon his face. "Well, it looks like we caught up to you. Do you know how much trouble you've caused me tonight bitch? I swear, no matter where you go, you can never trust a whore with money."

The mother stood in front of her daughter as the man got closer. He simply grinned wider, as did the rest of his group as they advanced. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about her; the way I see it, you're both gonna be rightly punished for tonight, you damn thieves." He looks back to his gang. "I have dibs on the youngin, but feel free to share her mother!"

The thugs rushed the poor woman, and while she was pinned, her daughter was grabbed by the leader. The daughter tried to holler and scream, but this just seemed to excite the man further. "Go ahead, scream; no one will care that a few greedy whores have to pay their due." The leader proceeded to kiss his victim, forcing his tongue into the daughter's mouth as he began to feel her up. The gang decided to help themselves either by taking off their pants or stripping the mother down bare.

The mother simply closed her eyes shut tight, hoping that this nightmare would just end.

*CRACK*

The sound of a loud crack and the smell of burnt flesh greeted all in attendance. The leader of the gang was on the ground, covered head to toe in flames. He tried desperately to put the fire out as he screamed, but nothing, not even rolling on the floor, could put them out; if anything, it seemed to make them grow stronger. All eyes turned to the alley entrance to see what could have caused such a horrendous display.

The sight that greeted them looked like it came from hell itself. A wall of fire blocked the entryway and in front of it stood a menacing figure. The figure appeared to be a man of six feet in height clad in a mixture of red and black armor with orange cloth hanging from his waist. The gauntlets and boots were clawed, which helped the figure maintain a look of terror, but it was the helmet that genuinely struck fear into the hearts of men and women alike. The black helmet was styled into a demonic skull that covered the wearer's head completely, orange eyes filled with a burning rage bored through the thugs as they cowered in fear, and flames danced off the top in between the curved horns adding to a look of fury.

Whether from bravery or fear, one of the thugs raised a hand-ax and charged at the figure. The firey was simply standing there waiting; by the time the thug got close enough, the horned man sidestepped the swing, grabbed the thug by the throat, and held him in the air. Within seconds the man was set ablaze from seemingly inside his own body as within seconds, his body, bones, and all, was turned to ash and fell freely from the horned man's grasp.

The fiery being looked from his ash-stained hand to the last two thugs and, with a smooth but sinister voice, uttered one simple phrase.

"How boring."

In the blink of an eye, fire covered his form, and he disappeared only to reappear in a small, controlled burst of fire right next to the two thugs with swords made of flame in each hand. Before either thug could move, the fire man swung both weapons, decapitating them before they could reach for their weapons. The bodies feel with the grace of potato bags, and as they did, the fires died down.

The mother and daughter had scurried further to the back to avoid the confrontation, but the moment those orange eyes landed on them, they knew they would not escape unscathed. The horned man walked towards them and kneeled to be at eye level with them.

"Are you alright?" The firey being asked in a somewhat monotone voice.

The women sat rigged for a second, this thing this beast had asked about their well-being? That couldn't be right; this was a demon, wasn't it?

"Y-yes, we're f-fine; those men weren't able to d-do anything too heinous before y-you a-arrived," the mother said as she held her daughter close.

"I see…" The fiery being got up and turned to leave.

"W-wait…" The figure stopped and turned to see the daughter was now standing. "T-thank you for saving us, sir."

"...You're...welcome." The figure said almost uncomfortably so.

"No, really, you're a hero for standing up to those guys; they've-" she was cut off by harsh laughter.

"A hero? I'm not a hero; as a matter of fact, I hate those who would call themselves such things. Because chances are they're only heroes for two things and two things only fame and fortune. Take it from someone who knows." The figure continued to walk to the alley entrance.

"W-wait, could you tell us your name at least?"

The fiery man paused for a minute and turned to look at the pair.

"Drakonnan"

AN: Yes I'm alive, trust me I know Iknow I'm late, but stuff has happened and this was my one time I got to publish as well as say 'Hey I'm not dead' but yes this is a story I've been thinking about for a while and now I've finally got it published let me know what you think and yes Drakonnan is gonna be a little OP but there is a reason for it which will be explained soon.