James Miller
It had been a long night as I drove the carriage through a thundering storm towards Hekylo. Dazu was sleeping in the back of the carriage while I sat looking out for bandits and magical beasts. It reminded me of when Gean and I were driving through the long forest of the east.
"So what do you wanna do before you die?" Gean asked as we drove through the forest.
"I dunno, find a girl, maybe have a family, what about you?" I asked.
"I'd like to find a nice place to spend the rest of my days, just relax, ya know?" I nodded my head as we continued to drive. Eventually we reached an abandoned gas station and decided to fuel up. As Gean was filling up the car I decided to see if there was any food in the convenience store. As I entered I heard a strange soft chanting from a door in the back. I moved closer towards it as the chanting grew in volume. I opened the door to what I discovered to be a basement. It was filled with hooded men and a woman tied to a chair that was bolted down to the floor. She was in the middle of a large red mentagram with all sorts of signs around it. They all looked at me as one of them began to stab the woman.
"Help me!" she screamed in desperation. My instincts took hold and I ran out of the store and hopped into the car.
"Gean! Start the fucking car!" I screamed.
"What? Why?" he asked, extremely confused.
"Cultists in the basement! Now start the fucking car!"
"Got it!" Gean shouted back as he dove into the driver's seat and started the ignition. Just as we pulled out of the gas station, the hooded figures began to swarm out of the building. "Are they following us?!" Gean asked in a panic.
"No… they're just standing there…" I said in disbelief.
"Really?! Thank Christ!" Gean sighed.
"Consume her. Make her yours. Claim her! Make her into a subject of yours and yours alone!" The serpent demanded.
"Fuck off," I replied as I looked back at Dazu who was still resting.
"You can't protect her forever, you know," the serpent hissed. "And when you fail I'll be there to tell you 'I told you so'. You need power, right? Well I have it. Become my intent, my being, and you will have all of my power."
"And how exactly would I go about obtaining it?" I asked.
"You need only summon me. I'm only a low ranking devil after all, so it won't take much," It cackled as its visage was made clear. It was snake with black scales and three fin-like horns on its head which looked like reversed claws. It had a split tongue and serrated teeth. Its eyes had yellow pupils. "My name is Ouroboros," it told me.
I felt arms around me. "James, are you awake?" she asked in a sleepy tone.
"Yea, I'm up, are you ok?" I asked.
She joined me up in the front of the carriage as we crested over the hill. "I'm ok. I was having a bit of nightmare though," she replied, a bit downtrodden. I put an arm around her, trying to comfort her. "Thanks, James," she said with a small smile.
It must've been an hour or two until we reached the town of Hekylo. There was a small contingent of what appeared to be magic soldiers. They all wore blue cowls with a rose-shaped pin keeping it together. There was a woman wearing a metal helmet with a horn on it and a metal breastplate. There was a bladeless sword on her hilt. There was a woman just under the aforementioned woman's height. She wore a barebones outfit with a Gordimer bra and pair of boxers all in white.
Dazu and I were approached by the two. "What business do you have in this town?" The woman with the breastplate asked in a stern tone of voice.
"Just passing through. My partner and I were accosted by some bandits so we're quite tired," I said, throwing in the little white lie in order to evade any suspicion. The woman eyed the carriage, then shot me a suspicious look with an eyebrow raised.
"I see… Well be sure not to cause trouble in town," she advised as she waved us through.
"So those are the Blue Rose Knights," Dazu said as she gave a quizzical look.
"Blue Rose Knights?" I asked.
"Yea, one of the Magic Knights squads led by Charlotte Roselei. I wonder what they're doing here though?"
"Don't know, and at the moment I don't care. What I want is a nice, safe place to sleep. In the morning we'll discuss what to do next, that sounds good to you, Dazu?"
"Yea, that works for me," She said as we approached an inn called The Maiden's Reprieve. We entered and paid for a night, the two of us unpacked our things and went to bed. Just as I dozed off I felt Dazu snuggle up close to me and wrap her arms around me and nuzzled her head in my chest. "You're so warm," she whispered. I felt her give me a soft kiss on the cheek before she went to sleep.
"She's yours for the taking, human," Ourobros demanded.
"No! I'm not going to betray her trust like that! She's my responsibility now,"
"You're no fun, human…."
"I have a question for you, Ouroboros."
"Oh this should be interesting…" he said with a chuckle.
"What cost do I have to pay to use your abilities?" I asked.
"Entertain me. The realm of devils is boring so you doing anything is entertaining," he explained.
"Understood," I replied. I fell asleep, the now warm body of Dazu under me, and the soft, thick blanket over me.
I awoke to the smell of burning flesh and horrified screams.
Vanessa Enoteca
Elvira, Samantha and I had stopped by a village that a duke had been killed in. Apparently a rival noble had sent assassins to kill him. Everyone in the village seemed to be happy. A woman who was in a good mood by the name Ephira let us stay in her house.
"So who are you looking for, Vanessa?" Ephira asked me as she handed the three of us some tea.
"A man by the name of James, he's wearing a dark green overcoat with a black bull head on it, have you seen him?"
She raised her eyebrows in surprise before replying. "Oh is that so? Well I think I've seen the man you're in search of, but it would smooth my heart if you three stayed the night."
"Really?! That's great! And yes, we'll stay the night," I replied, taking a sip of my tea.
"That's great! By the way, there were some suspicious people going around the village, so be careful when you leave," Ephira warned. "I think they're a bandit group, but I don't know for sure. As for where James went, he was headed up the mountain from what I could tell."
"Thank you so much, Ephira," I thanked her. We chatted idly for the remainder of the evening before retiring to bed. I fell asleep only for a horrific nightmare to grow within my mind.
I walked down a dark alley. I turned the corner into the street to see the corpse of James Miller. There was a gaping hole through his head and many more in his body. A tear rolled down his cheek. "Vanessa, why didn't you save me?" he asked. I took a step back, only to feel my back hit a brick wall, the alley was gone.
My legs shook as he crawled towards me. "Why did you let the captain stab me? Why do you hate me?"
"I don't hate you! I've been trying to find you!"
"Liar!"
"I'm not lying! Please!" I begged as his body was still once more. I woke up that night crying alone.
"James," I whispered to myself, "Please be safe."
Hey there! Sorry for the short chapter! Work has got me tired since its from 11pm to 9am. But I like writing and so this is why I write! So the mysterious devil reveals himself! Ouroboros.
