Long time since my last update, too long, and I'm sorry. With the holidays, I've been busy, but I've finally found the time to post this. Enjoy.
Chapter 7
In the mansion's library, five guards had surrounded Reptile, who wore a hood, cape and cowl to hide his appearance. Eye-marks looked down at the battlefield from a balcony, all the while stroking the pendant around his neck. His guards had relinquished their assault rifles in favor of survival knives. Eye-marks allowed himself a smile, something that was rare for him. This could be good. The demon within him was delighted at the thought of blood, whether the intruders or his own men's.
One of the guards charged forward in a ridiculous attempt to impale the Raptor. Reptile merely brought a round house kick to his opponent's head that spun his neck around. Wasting no time, the hooded creature leapt and landed a foot on another guard's neck. Sharp claws burst from beneath the cloak and tore another guard's chest open.
"Do either of you know what fighting style that is?" Eye-marks asked his concubines and personal bodyguards. They were a pair of demons succubae; plucked from the Netherrealm and chosen for their bloodlust and attraction. One wore a red kimono while the other wore purple. Both wore mask that hide the lower half of their face.
Both shook their head humbly.
"Notice how he sidesteps rather than blocking. This gives him a much more aggressive edge over my guards. It rather simple to overwhelm most opponents with such violent attacks." He smiled again, memories of bloodied battlefields all throughout the Edenian realm. "The form is called Crab, and I've only known one warrior to use it in all my life."
The hooded creature slipped behind the final guard and shot a fist into his back, paralyzing him to the floor.
"Reptile," Eye-marks shouted. "What is the meaning of this? Still Kahn's lapdog?"
The Raptor lowered his hood and kneeled on all fours in the most submissive position he could muster, one he'd used in the past when faced with his superiors. "I have come to offer services. You are strongest. You are stronger than Soul-eater or Skull-mask. I am your servant."
"And, why did you deem it necessary to kill several of my apparently, over paid associates?"
"I wished to show incompetence of these pitiful soldiers. They are incapable of guarding one as vital you."
Eye-marks chuckled. "These men are simply cannon fodder. Nothing more, nothing less. Any assassins foolish enough to attempt my life would need to fight my two personal bodyguards. Kia, Jataaka," he ordered, and the two concubines leapt down the battlefield. "Kill them, Reptile, and you may serve me. Lose, and you may serve as an example of what will happen to intruders."
The Raptor removed what was left of his cape and cowl so all he wore was his armor. The succubae drew a pair of sai from their baggy sleeves and Reptile pulled the broadsword from his back.
Red-whore twirled the sai carefully, slowly moving to a vantage point. Reptile pretended not to notice. In a blur, the she-demon threw one of her two weapons. Reptile lifted the broadsword to knock the projectile out of the air. Behind him, Purple-slut lashed forward and the Raptor was barely able to sidestep. She struck again, and this time Reptile parried.
Weapons locked with a clang.
Reptile kicked a rear claw into Red-whore, who had attempted to surprise him from behind.
The Raptor grabbed Purple-slut's hair in his free claw and brought her skull to his. The head butt knocked her back and the Raptor swung. The blade cut the succubus from head to heel: her body splitting apart in a shower of blood. But suddenly, the crimson caught fire and the corpse burst into flames. The hot, burning inferno claimed Reptile's sword and he was forced to chuck it to the ground.
Reptile took a breath, which he immediately regretted. Red-whore jammed a sai into the Raptor's shoulder, forcing him to the floor. He rolled as the she-demon brought an axe kick down through the air he'd been moments before. He scrambled to his feet and caught a second kick to his ribs. Spinning, he threw the she-demon across the floor.Reptile picked up a sai off the ground and threw it threw the she-demon's eye. Her body erupted into a fit of flames: a tribute to the Raptor's victory.
Above him, Eye-marks clapped as he leapt down from his balcony. "Very good, Reptile. You have showed that my guards are indeed incompetent, unworthy of protecting my life," he looked disgustedly down at the smoldering corpses that had served as his concubines not an hour before. "But you. You are quite the fighter. It is apparent to me that your skills haven't deadened at all, perhaps even improved in your absence from the public's eye. You should serve as my protector. And when I grow all powerful, you may have anything you like."
Eye-marks was so close Reptile could spit on him. It didn't surprise the Raptor, his opponents always underestimated him: in combat and in everything else. He was aware he wasn't the smartest of creatures, but he knew how to survive, yet few gave him even that much credit. It was frustrating.
Beneath the pad of his foot, the Raptor felt a survival knife, one that must have been dropped by the guards he'd killed. Wrapping his hind talon around the metal dagger, he chucked it into the air, caught it, and jammed it into Eye-marks' back. That didn't seem to be enough, the demon still drew breath. Reptile pulled the blade out and shoved it again into his back, then caught the falling body. He shoved the steel into the demon's throat next, and then left it in his heart. He yanked the medal from Eye-marks' neck moments before the body burst into flames.
With this medallion, Reptile would finally know the truth about his species. He closed his claw, savoring the cold sensation against the pad of his palm. The species he'd never known except in his dreams.