Belzac practically crawled into the hut, exhausted and feeling dirty down to his marrow. He'd done that same deed at least a dozen times, but every time he felt his soul become that much thickly covered in grime. Every time he was forced to do this work, he feared he'd grow an affinity with the grisly business, and it scared him deep to his core. That day would someday come, he knew...once you've lived a life long enough even in direct opposite of how you feel you begin to consider it your life, and not the work that needs to be done. He just hoped that moment was a long way away.
Falling onto the ground, he took off his overcoat that was covered in filth, and tossed it away from him. Even if he were forced to do the work, he would not relish the thought of having his clothes sullied with it and on his person.
"May all those souls rest in peace?" He asked whatever entity rules the universe, and sank to the ground and drifted off into restless sleep.
He was woken less than three hours later, as an explosion rocked the building, sending straw and other materials down on his head. "What the hell is going on?" He asked, and noticed no one was in the hut with him, though it had been filled with half a dozen of his men when he'd passed out.
A strangled cry from outside made his blood cold, and he cautiously approached the door, and peaked outside. A single Wingly stood in the middle of the carnage from earlier, blood oozing from its body. Most of it probably human, but from the look in its eyes, and the deep shuffle it used to walk, the Wingly was probably deeply injured; close to death, even. In the last few strangled moments of the Winglies life, it decided to punish humans, for no accord.
Belzac's blood instantly boiled, a feral growl escaping his lips. He felt his face turn red with anger and intense want of destruction that flooded his senses. Ignoring the obvious rule of never confronting a Wingly no matter how injured, he picked up his oversized axe and ran at the Wingly, teeth bared.
He was on top of her—the gender obvious up close—in a moment, coming completely in surprise. The Wingly didn't expect a human to attack directly, and alone, so she was unawares. His axe bit deep into her chest as he plunged it down, grunting with the exertion. Her eyes widened in shock and pain, perplexing Belzac with the last vestiges of his understanding. As her eyes became dark voids of nothing, his sense returned to him, and his entire body felt numb.
The Winglies inert body struck the ground at the same time as Belzac did. In all his time under Diaz, he'd never taken another life, and he'd never planned on it, either. Now he'd foolishly broken his own commandment, and for no real gain. Looking around, he saw not a single person injured beyond what they'd received earlier in that day from the other attack. This Wingly was just frightened and afraid, and near death. Belzac had let his rage overcome himself, and turned him into the beast he'd feared for more than a year.
"Mother of Night..." he intoned, mimicking his father in his prayer to whatever deity he'd worshipped. He looked right into the eyes of the young woman from earlier. Shirley...she was forced to witness my savagery, what kind of human am I to force that onto another human? He asked himself silently, and received no word back, condemning himself.
She looked at him as if he were as bad as the Winglies. The disgust and contempt on her face was brighter than the moon overhead. "I...had no choice. She, she was...she's a Wingly! Don't look at me that way!" Belzac yelled, looking away from her, to hide his face in dismay. Even as he wiped the tears from his face, which has streamed down his face, the look on her face was stuck in his mind.
"Who killed this beast before I had a chance!" A loud, brisk voice shook the deathly quiet town. "I've been hunting this beast for two days, and you have the audacity to kill it!" Belzac turned his head, and looked at a large man in purple drab, a necklace of...human around his neck, though Belzac could not tell from the distance he sat at.
"I killed her just now...though I did not want too." He looked around for Shirley, but she was not around. His words for her more than anyone, but since she was not around, they would suffice for the man who looked at the dead Wingly woman as a lost prize.
"You bastard! I should kill you where you blubber like a baby and take you as my trophy." He glared at Belzac, grimacing. "But you're so pathetic, you'd sully my other hard-earned trophies. You don't deserve to be adorned with some of the warriors I've fought." He spat on the ground, and looked around at the rest of the people.
He shook his head once more, and kicked the corpse of the Wingly, sighing softly. "I was to hunt this Wingly and then find a man named Belzac, on order of Emperor Diaz."
Belzac's throat tightened as he gaped at the man. Could he be Kanzas, the man Diaz spoke of before leaving on this mission? That isn't possible! Belzac reeled back, but was too shocked to speak.
"Did he die in this attack? If so, who was his second-in-command?" Kanzas looked at the people again, and again was met with silence. He growled, and shouted, "do I have to beat it out of you people?!"
Belzac stood up, and coughed. "I am Belzac. Emperor Diaz said he was going to send a man after us, by the name of Kanzas, before we left the capital. Are you he?"
Kanzas reared back, roaring with laughter. His eyes shone with amusement, and his entire body quaked with it. He laughed for a good five minutes before calming down. "At first I thought you joked, but from the determined look on your face, I know this not to be the case. So you are General Belzac, right-hand man to Emperor Diaz along with General Zeig? Your pathetic resistance needs me more than I ever thought, if you can be a leader." He laughed again.
Belzac said nothing, even as Kanzas laughed again, and mocked him openly. He sneered, and walked towards the hut that Belzac had designated as the momentary base of operations, until they moved from the village and took the people to the capital.
"Aren't you just a pretty little thing." He heard Kanzas say, and immediately sprung to his feet, stalking after the man.
"Leave me alone." Shirley said, looking defiantly at Kanzas, who stood before her, an amused grin on his face.
"Leave her alone." Belzac said, his jaw set, and his eyes determined. Kanzas chuckled more, and put his hands on his waist.
"I can take care of myself." Shirley said practically spitting on Belzac as she shoved him and Kanzas aside.
"Fiery little she daemon, wouldn't you say?" Kanzas said, poking Belzac with his elbow.
"Don't touch me. Anyone who hunts another person is nothing more than garbage to me." Belzac spoke vehemently.
Kanzas grabbed Belzac with an iron-tight grip. "Listen to me, and listen good. I won't hesitate to gut you like a fish should you get in my way." He face and voice spoke of no amusement at all, only cold calculations. "I really hope you give me a reason to do so." He let go of Belzac, and walked into the hut gruffly.
Belzac sighed deeply, and sank to the ground, leaning against the hut, and closed his eyes. He didn't think sleep would ever come to him, but even before he had fully formed that thought, he was unconscious.
Shirley looked back at the two men, and snapped her head back around just as quickly. No better than ravenous beasts. She said to herself, and grew angrier she had no choice but to rely on them. Winglies could attack at any moment, and she'd be defenseless like last time. I vow to here, forever, and myself I will never be helpless again! I will become strong enough to defend myself! She took out her small dagger that almost all women carried, and cut a nick into her palm, and smeared the blood all over her hand. Clenching it tightly, she closed her eyes and prayed to the Mother and the Father, to give her strength.
The night was cool all around her, the air already forgetting what occurred in it less than a day ago, and the death that monster Belzac has caused less than ten minutes past. But Mother Nature was always like that. She never let anything ultimately pervade her majestic world. And Father Time always erased the damage done by the beings that scuttled about the planet.
Shirley gave a pained smile, and let her long red, flowing hair down, and shook her head once. Even in the twilight her pale grey eyes shone like two stones set deep in her skull. Her features were magnificent, marking her a rare beauty. She had a haunting smile, which left people in a daze when she gave it. The wind swirled around her, tossing her hair around, and it cooled her fevered soul. She could barely breathe she felt so dirty. Her mother had died and she hadn't done a thing to save her...nor had she been able to do anything to save her. That was the worst part of all. Even if she had tried to save her, Shirley would've ended up another singed or frozen corpse that Belzac and his team had to clean up.
That thought gave her shivers. Mother...your death will not be in vain. Even if I must desecrate everything you stood for and destroy your killers, I shall do so, and consider their penance light! She twirled slightly in the wind, the wind caressing her, sending shivers down her spine. It was as if she could feel Mother Nature around her, breathing on her back, tickling her neck with soft tendrils.
Dropping to the forest floor, the grass comforting her, she drifted off to sleep to thoughts of her mother.