Chapter Two – A New Face
"Uncle! I wanna challenge you to a duel of weapons!" Millie yelled from her room, "If you lose, then you owe me a new familiar!"
"Sure…Watch me beat you AGAIN." Alucard replied.
"That was before, but this time I will win," she yelled back.
A 17-year-old Millie ran down to the first floor of her uncle's mansion, with her long, scarlet hair. It looked like it was almost like blood streaming down from her head in thin lines. Her speed was unbelievable, for she got down to the anteroom in only a few seconds. She was really eager to finally beat her uncle at fighting. It was only a few months since she first got her weapon of choice, a soul reaper-type scythe, and she was already trying it out.
Alex, at 7, was quite intelligent, and more mature that most of her peers. She was the type to be introverted and secretive. Occasionally, she would tell her sister or uncle about what goes on in her life, but she usually keeps things to herself. Most days of the week, she could be found hidden in her room, building new machines to play with. But today, she planned to watch Millie fight Alucard and loose horribly. 'When will she ever learn…Uncle is way too powerful for her,' Alex thought, 'and we just started our training 3 months ago…too bad for her.' At this, she chuckled and walked to the indoor arena behind their manor.
The arena itself was about three-fourths the size of the mansion, equipped with training grounds and a mini-stadium. The training grounds were the scenes of many grueling sessions with their uncle. Alucard thought it was best for them to learn to fend for themselves while out in rough country. Out in the spaces between each city in Kariad, there was always a danger at every turn. Rogue demons that broke the protection code ran amuck, killing townsfolk and razing their villages. The law enforcements of the nearby cities would only protect the towns nearest to the main city, so those who lived on the outskirts of the county borders were out of luck.
But because Alex and Millie were under the care of their uncle, it was absolutely necessary that they learn to fight.
"Get ready to loose." said Millie confidently.
"Funny…you usually don't be so happy about it when you taste defeat…" replied Alucard smugly. "Alex, are you ready with the signal?"
"Almost…hold on." Said Alex as she ran towards the stands. When she reached the stands, there was a red flag and a black flag. The red flag represented Millie, if she won, and the same for Alucard's black flag.
"Here are the rules: whoever is the first to get tired out, knocked out, or forfeits first loses. And to the winner go the spoils, which a new familiar for Millie, and bragging rights for Uncle. Fighters cannot hit below the belt (ahem, Millie) or above the neck. Also, fighters cannot overuse their taunting abilities, or the crowd will become bored. Alright, to commence this battle, I will now hit this gong with my bare hands!"
All it took was for that gong to vibrate for Millie and Alucard to immediately go at it. Both fighters used their best tactics to work their ways through the other's protective mental shields. Exhausting it may be, but it helped them both to build up their strengths and weakness to the point where they could have control over what to use and when to use it. But unfortunately, only one can win, and only the most experienced fighters get those spoils….
I had never fully grasped the concept of friendship, because for most of my life, I was all alone. The slayer school that I went to, called the School of Popular Sorcery, sucked, and sometimes made my loneliness even worse. I would constantly get into fights with other kids about how I looked, acted, and talked. They all thought that I was 'weird' and not apart of their cliques. I had a flaring temper back then, so there was some girl fighting with me almost every week. But to be honest, I really didn't like to fight. It was only a defense mechanism, a way to get away from the trouble those people have caused.
But today feels unusual, as if something unexpected was going to happen. I kept getting these weird vibes all throughout the trip to my new school. I even was to the point of shivering! But, as usual, I'll suck it up and go to class with a tough heart. That's how it always has been…
"Class, I want you to meet the new student, Naida. Everyone, please give her a warm welcome to The School of Ancient Sorcery!" said Mr. Tomoe, as he gave me handshakes and lead me to my seat in the middle of the room. I really wanted to sit in one of the window seats, but I guess this one is fine. As the teacher goes on with the lesson, I can almost sense people giving me strange stares…or am I just being paranoid? Anyways, I wish that the teacher would give a more thorough lesson on rogue demons. I want to learn how to kill one, so I can get revenge on…nevermind. A girl with dark red hair light brown eyes in front of me just turned around. What does she want?
"Hello, newbie. My name's Millie. I guess yours is Naida…cool name. Wanna know what we've been studying so far?"
"Sure," I say, faking my meekness.
"Good, now let's see…right now we're learning about being a bounty hunter for the government, so…hold on, I have to get my notes." She said. Then she asked permission from Mr. Tomoe to go get some stuff from her locker. Then she walked out of the door. She talks too much…
Well, there's my first friend here, and I made it through half of the day without getting bothered by stupid people. I guess this school isn't so bad after all, if you take out the preps, the freaks, and the jocks. Oh well…Hmm…a little girl with black hair is seen walking with a tall man with the same color hair. Are they father and daughter or something? No…the man's looks are a little different from the girl's. But there is a resemblance, like how they both have steel gray eyes. And the girl from this morning is with them as well. The man must be here to see them off, like the other parents of the kids in my class. Ugh, it makes me sick to see these people worry so much about their children! I think I'm just gonna turn around and watch the sky for a bit...
"Hey, where are your parents? Aren't they going to see you off before the exam?"
"Wh-What?" I say as I turn around to see the little girl staring at me.
"Your parents. You know, the ones who copulated together to have you. Where are they?" she asks.
"Oh...I don't have any. They're both dead…" I say and hang my head a little.
"Oh…sorry. Well, do you want to be in our group?" she questions me again. Man, she asks too many questions…
"Your…group?"
"Yes, our group. The teacher told us to get into groups of three for this test. He said that it was going to be hard, since we're going to be tracking down a large group of rouge demons in the Shari Woods…"
A group of rogue demons? Could they possibly be the ones? No…the chances of them being the same ones are too low. Nevertheless, it's always best to go and see. I looked at my new group as they did the same, with their assortment of beautiful eyes. The man had seemed to be taking a special note on me while he looked.
"Sure, I'll join you guys."
Millie turned away from her conversation with Alucard to see Alex and the new girl walking towards them. She waved at them, and ran to the girl to welcome her into the group. Alucard eyed the green-eyed girl suspiciously, and wondered about her for a few minutes.
"How could someone of such rarity be living down here?" he said to himself.
"Huh? What did you say Uncle?" Millie asked.
"Oh, nothing…"
"Okay…" she said, thinking that he had gone monetarily crazy.
Alex tugged on his black jacket and whispered, "So you can sense it too…I guess I wont be the only rare one around anymore." She then smiled at this.
When it was time for the parents to go, Alucard gathered the girls in a circle and told them not to say a word about their 'secret lineage', nor about their special abilities. Doing so would literally jeopardize their lives. Alex would have to keep telling Millie to shut up about these secrets, since she has a big mouth. Naida, oblivious to that they're talking about, goes to ask what exactly will they be doing in the woods. The teacher restates what he said about their mission, and goes off to get the other kids. Naida scowls at the undesired answer, and walks back to her group members.
Millie and Alex say goodbye to their uncle, and then head off to the rest of the groups to receive briefing. Naida tags along, unsure about what to do. Then she asks Mr. Tomoe again about the mission, and he explains it now in detail to everyone else.
"Students, as you all know, you have been training for the last 2 years for this opportunity. This is a rare chance to see for your selves what it feels like to become a rogue hunter, able to earn a living off of hunting down scoundrel demons that pillage, rape, kill, and demoralize the poor villages in the plains. The city council in Lamina gave us the OK, so you kids can do whatever you want to the demons.
"Bring them back alive, dead, or just their heads are ways to get your rewards. Remember, the bottom line is TEAMWORK! If there's no teamwork, then someone could die. So that's why it's so important that you all work together. Also, it's wise to band together with other groups to fend off large groups of demons, so that way, they'll be the ones who are outnumbered. Well, when I make the signal, you all must use your stealth abilities to get into the forest without being seen. That is all." Before Mr. Tomoe gave the signal, Naida asked one more question. Everyone groaned in annoyance.
"Um…sensei? Who is the leader of this group? I just wanna know…"
Mr. Tomoe answered, "The main leader of the rogue demons is a female demon named Moko. She is of the low-level kind, and demands more power for her people. But she has yet to reveal her real intentions."
"Moko…I was right!" Naida growled in anger. She then raced off into the woods before the teacher could object.
"Someone go after her! She can't go in there alone! Everyone, go into he woods and start killing those demons immediately!" Tomoe sensei exclaimed.
'Mother…Father…I'll avenge your deaths most honorably!' Naida thought as she ran between the trees.
Instantaneously, Millie and Alex raced into the woods after Naida. Everyone back at the edge was scrambling into it, killing any demons in sight. Miraculously, Naida had been able to dodge the incoming demons, and headed straight for the thickest part of the rebel group. Indefinitely, Moko was there, ordering the other demons to counter the onslaughts of students. She had noticed that Naida had appeared suddenly from the trees.
"You are…Moko, correct?" Naida asked as she stared down the lesser demon.
"Yeah, and why does a little runt human like you want to know?" she replied.
"I want answers!" yelled Naida to the female demon.
"Answers, eh? Well, you wont get the chance to listen to them, because my henchmen will rend you asunder! Mwahahahaha!" she laughed. "I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance!"
"Fine…if death is what you want, then death is what you'll get." threaten the young girl.
Just then, 3 tough-looking demons came from the bushes and surrounded her. They looked like they were ready to eat her alive, but Naida stood there with the same look in her eyes. She prepared to take on the demons, but lucky for her, Millie and Alex found her just in time. Seeing a potential rumble, Millie smiled with glee and took out her scythe. Alex stood in the shadows to stay out of the fight. She couldn't risk fracturing her fragile body, although she could put up a good fight with her daggers. Still, it was best for her to stay hidden and 'heal' her companions when needed.
Back to the fight, the two guards came up to Naida and aimed punches at her. But they were too slow, because she jumped up into the air. Without warning, she promptly materialized a broadsword from her hands and slashed into the air. The force from her sword caused an aerial shockwave to surge through the air, hitting one of the demons on his shoulder. Both Millie and the other demon stared in awe as the wounded one cried out in pain. The force of the shockwave caused the surrounding tissue to melt away, bone and all. It looked as though it were a sickening way to die, since the demon twisted and thrash about in pain. Then it finally died. Millie had never seen such an attack before, only in schoolbooks. Alex, who watched the whole thing, shouted out to her sister about what Naida just did.
"Millie! That attack was called Shockwave Pulsar, and only a very few people can do it," yelled Alex from the trees. "It's very weak, but it's still a non-elemental attack…which means…"
"Which means that she is what I thought she was?" said Millie.
"Correct," responded Alex.
The other demon still stared at his friend's corpse, and became very frightened of the girl hovering above. Then it cowered and ran away in fear of meeting the same death. Naida was just about to do another attack on the fleeing demon, when Millie dematerialized and appeared in front of it.
"And just where do you think you're going?" she asked"
"Wh-Wh-What the hell are you people! Are you some kind of mage?" yelled the demon as he freaked out.
"Well, yes. We are mages. And we've come to slay your kind. Your leader's demands will never be met, because the High Council will turn their backs on rogue demons like yourselves…" Then, she gave him a dark glare and made a huge gash in his chest with her scythe. Almost instantaneously, dark, misty energy came rushing out, and was absorbed by her blade. The demon fell to the ground; a soulless body now lay at Millie's feet.
Not far from the site, Moko stared with wide eyes and what had just happened. 'They couldn't have done these things if they were ordinary humans…so they must be mages!' she thought. Too afraid of what the two might do to her, she turned and fled deeper into the woods. Naida spotted her running, and flew after her, chasing her through thickets and thorny bushes. Being hurt form the plants didn't bother at all; she was out for Moko's wicked blood. Alex got up and followed them, hoping with sick pleasure to see the demon get butchered.
Moko ran for what seemed hours, not tiring once. She finally stopped at an oak tree to catch her breath. She had hoped that Naida gave up chasing her so far into the forest. But her hopes were dashed as she looked up. Naida was right above her, giving her a basilisk' glare. Then she swooped down for the kill.
Moko held her hands to her face and waited for thee blow, but Naida stopped. When she finally opened her eyes, Naida's face was right in hers!
"Wait, please! Don't kill me!" Moko pleaded.
"And why shouldn't I?" said Naida, unfazed by Moko's crying.
"I'll tell you about how your family died!"
"I already fucking know! I saw everything with my own eyes!" Naida screamed.
"But, I can tell you who did it…"
"You killed them," A flat response came from Naida, "and I'm going to kill you to get their revenge!"
"WAIT! I'll tell you why I killed them, but please don't kill me!" Moko begged.
Forgiveness wasn't in Naida's mind as she chopped off Moko's head in rage. She could have listened to Moko's side of the story, but Naida had already known enough. By being killed, Moko had received vengeance for her family's deaths. Alex had just reached the area when she saw Moko's headless body lying in the leaves. Then she looked at Naida, who was nearly in tears. She walked over to her and gave her a hug.
"Alex…what are you doing here?" she said with watery eyes.
"I came to see if you needed my help, but it looks like you didn't…" Alex said
"Yeah…I killed her that easily." She said back
"…I heard what Moko said to you about your family," Alex whispered, "I feel sorry for what you've gone through…"
"There's no need to be, Alex. That's gone in the past, and I just needed to get rind of the remnants."
"Yeah. Hey, do you wanna…you know, become adopted?" said Alex with mild surprise.
"Adopted? I've been through that too many times…"
"But you could get adopted by our uncle. But I don't know if he'll agree…"
"Adoption so soon? Looks like I'm gonna set a new record." said Naida as she pets Alex's hair.
"Let's go back to the sensei…but first, we have to get Millie. Who knows what she's doing to those corpses right now…"