Grendel: Devil Tales #3
悪魔物語
Chapter 3: Words for pain
Darkness surrounded Black Hanekawa as her senses returned to her slowly, her ears captured the faint sound of the wind, howl from some wild animal in the distance…and the crackle of fire against wood. She opened her eyes, a brief flash blinded her before her sight readjusted itself.
First thing that was realized was that she laid on her back, she saw a wooden roof. She felt something wet on her forehead.
She reached to touch it and realized it was indeed a soaked rag, she took it off and looked around her surroundings. It was the interior of the Shirohebi shrine…or what was left of such a place, it was mostly worn down and nearly torn down after so long, no one had come in 15 years.
The shrine
So long
What happened?
Her mind quickly manifested the memories of what happened before, a sense of unease descended upon her as she remembered the return of Kako, the Hysteria Tiger. How did he come back? Was it even possible? He was absorbed by her, becoming part of her master, Tsubasa Hanekawa. How could he become separated and manifested once more?
Her thoughts were put aside as she got up by the upper half of her body, with a faint, stinging feeling of lesser pain all around. She looked down on her body, she had almost no injuries, the burns on her body were gone and the only one remaining was on her right leg.
What?
Where did…?
She took notice that her leg had been treated, someone had bandaged her wound. She recognized the color of the rag covering her wound. Dark blue, like the cloak of…
"I see you're awake." Black Hanekawa quickly turned her gaze to the right, where the voice came from. She saw the devil standing on the doorway into the temple. His arms crossed, no weapons visible, yet the same dreadful and dangerous feeling surrounding his image was felt.
Him
Black Hanekawa's body tensed a bit at his sight. He looked at her bandaged leg.
"Your wound was deep. The others healed quite fast." His commentary did spark a measure of curiosity in Black Hanekawa. How did her wounds heal so fast?
"You tried to jump at me when I first met you, your positions were ready to hold, not slice. I figured your grip had some…enhancement. Proved my theory right when I made you touch my armor, you drained some of my energy shields and your injuries were healed. Most of them, anyway." His remark was most likely to be the truth. She could heal most of her injuries thanks to her Energy Drain.
She just stared at him, but he simply turned around.
"You seem to be better now." The devil proceeded to leave after his words were spoken. Black Hanekawa tried to move, but a sting of pain emerged from her bandaged leg.
"Mreeowch." She grunted. Catching the attention of the departing devil, he turned his head to look at her.
"Not that better, it seems." He remarked. She looked at him once more.
"Where are you going, meow?" The question was strange indeed. Why did she ask him that? She didn't know it herself.
"Why would you care?" He had a point, Black Hanekawa had a disdain for humans, why would she want to know.
"Curiosity, meow." She replied "You are a purrrty weird human, I've never seen anyone like you here. Also, I want to know why you helped me, meow" Grendel stared at her.
Bold cat
Curiosity can kill a cat
That is the quote, right?
"Forgive me. But none are reasons that would benefit me." She grunted in her mind at his statement.
He's right.
All those things offer nothing to him.
Black Hanekawa smirked a little.
"Nyahaha! What if I said purrrty please?" She said as she positioned herself as if she was stretching a bit, pushing her breasts up to make them very noticeable.
Men always fall for this.
It always worked against Araragi-kun.
Grendel may have a mask, but the position of the head could tell he did not part his gaze from her eyes. He didn't look at her obvious teasing. He was not interested in that, maybe he was a very focused man. Or...he was a gentleman and avoided seeing an intimate part of a woman's body, keeping his sight on her face.
The devil's a gentleman
He said nothing, as if waiting for another reason.
"I get it, meow. Would I be right to assume you're after that bald monster?" Grendel nodded. He now knew Black Hanekawa had an encounter with his prey, this explained how she got her injuries.
"I could easily find him for you, meow." She said as her ears twitched a little, Grendel tilted his head to the side faintly, her offer now presented some benefits for him.
"This is a turn around. I assume you wish to do the same not as repayment, but because we possibly share a common grudge against that thing." Grendel explained, Black Hanekawa was somewhat surprised at this.
Smart devil
He saw right through my intention
He knows I want to hurt that thing that attacked me.
"Meow…you're very smart, human." She remarked with a smirk, Grendel stared at her for short seconds before he motioned for her to follow him with a small move of his head.
"Be careful as you walk." He said and Black Hanekawa tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes a bit.
"Meow? What makes you think I'll follow you, human?" Her question resounded with a hint of annoyance that a human was taking a sort of authority position towards her. Grendel didn't respond and simply walked into one of the many empty rooms within the shrine.
Black Hanekawa sat where she laid for a minute before she meowed of annoyance as she slowly got up and followed to where Grendel had gone, limping all the way as she was still injured. When she reached the room she found Grendel had set up a fire with what rubble he found from the ruins of the shrine. He spared a glance at her before he finished adding more rubble to raise the flame as he sat on one end in front of the fire.
"You should sit in front of the fire. Cold will make your wound hurt more, not to mention you could catch a cold yourself." Grendel said as he started to look for something in his belt.
Is this
The devil?
Black Hanekawa meowed as she licked the back of her hand.
"I'm an oddity. Such frail things don't affect me, meow." She kept a look of self-righteousness until she noticed Grendel's eyes staring at her. Those eyes…were indeed disturbing.
Yes
He is the devil
Contradicting her own words, Black Hanekawa sat like a cat on the other end in front of the fire. She began to feel warm in the heat. Grendel had pulled out something, the afflicted cat couldn't see well what it was because of the flames distorting her vision of it. But she noticed that whatever it was, he was using it to sharpen the twin bladed spear weapon he had.
"Why are we sitting here, human?" Black Hanekawa asked, Grendel spared no look at her as he kept sharpening his weapon.
"Patience. That abomination is far more cunning than you might think, it would have seek shelter by now. It'll be easier to find him once he comes out. I agreed to let you aid me in this, but you are in no condition to fight him. We take this time to rest and prepare our blades." He explained as he finished sharpening his spear.
"Meow?" Black Hanekawa expressed. While her look simply revealed some confusion, inside she felt uneasy at what he said…abomination. Was that thing something like her?
Abominations
And humans
Are always at war.
"So you hunt monsters, meow?" She asked, he nodded before he looked at her as he put away his spear.
"Monsters…human or not. Supernatural or not. I kill them all." Grendel said coldly, one could tell there was no sign of emotion behind his mask except for a stealthy anger within him.
Kill
Like those men at first.
"You know, human. When I first saw you, you…ripped apart those men, meow." She said, finding the perfect term to refer to what he had done exactly.
"Yes."
So blunt
No hesitation
Ruthless devil
"I have to say, human. At first glance, anyone would purrty much believe you were some sort of hero or vigilante, meow." Black Hanekawa readjusted herself to be laying on her back on the floor, her hands behind her head, her torn pajamas indeed showed some of her bra and she began to playfully move her legs, like a distracted child.
"They were hurting another human, an innocent one. And yet, you killed him off too, meow. What are you exactly, human?" Grendel pulled out a big hand pistol, its size was ridiculously large that anyone would think it was a toy…but looks can be deceiving. He removed the box-shaped clip of ammo and began to calibrate its scope.
"I'm no hero. Not anymore…I am just the execution made manifest." He said as he looked at her, the cat raised an eyebrow.
"When I say I hunt down and kill monsters, I mean those that are defined by their actions. I can…tell what they have done in their hearts. I can smell the corruption inside them. The stench is what tips them off; those corrupted people, they are the weed of the universe, and I have come to rip it out and burn it. Starting with the cultist I've been tracking down." The devil explained, no hesitation in his voice. The conviction in his words reassure he means all he said.
"How can you tell exactly, meow?" She tilted her head to the side, she was indeed curious to know more.
"I smell their blood. The stronger their stench is, the worse their corruption is." Grendel explained as he put the pistol aside and took hold of the box-shaped ammo clip. Hanekawa narrowed her eyes at what he said.
Blood
Smell blood
Like a vampire
"Are you a vampire, meow?"she asked, no joyful tone as before.
"Not entirely, a half-vampire." Grendel's confirmation made her feel at unease.
Half-vampire
Like Araragi-kun
The masked devil looked at her and it was his turn to tilt his head in confusion.
"I take it you have…a history with vampires. Someone close to you." The statement stung in her heart, he was right.
"Not me, meow. My myaster." She said as she closed her eyes and rolled over in her position, her breasts resting against the floor now and she began to lick the back of her hand.
"Your…master?" He asked confused, she let out a small cackle.
"Nyahaha…in case you haven't noticed, human. I'm an oddity, I exist as the result of an aberrational cat spirit possessing a human girl, my myaster…in this case." She explained, but Grendel sniffed the air without her noticing.
She says
Her master
As if two personalities inhabit the body
But she isn't
Not anymore
"Anyway, meow. So you're just a half-human, half-vampire." She said as Grendel continued to clean the ammo clip, removing the rounds within. She noticed that the bullets were larger than many in human weapons, they were the size of a small can of soda.
"Not really." He replied.
"Meow?" She sat like a cat again and scratched her cat ear with her foot.
"It would be a long story." He said as he looked at her.
"We have to wait, don't we? We could spend the time with you telling me your story, meow." She said with a smile. Grendel began to reinsert the large rounds back into the ammo clip.
"If I were to tell you about the origin of my abilities, you would be forced to know about my own origins too." Grendel explained, with a tone of warning not for it being something of a delicate subject, but more to warn of a long explanation.
"Nya, what is a story without its context, meow?" She smirked playfully and twitched her ears a bit
That fake smile
Why does she persist with it?
Grendel sighed faintly as he put away his gun, and looked at her. The fire between them keeping them warm. He pulled out yet something else out of his belt. It was two cans of canned sardines. He tossed one to her and she caught it with no issue.
"Meow?" She let out as she noticed it.
"You look hungry." He said flatly.
"I'm a cat, human. An oddity. I don't need to eat, meow." She said inspecting the canned sardine in her hand…she was distracted as a grumble echoed from her stomach. The cat's eyes opened wide and could feel her cheeks warm up and blush out of the embarrassing sound. Grendel let out an obvious chuckle from behind the mask.
"You may be an Oddity, but you are still human. Eat up." He commented before she let out a tired meow and opened the can and began to eat the sardines.
"As you can tell, I am not from this world. You could say I am from a different universe. Here, in your world, it's the 21st Century. In mine…it's the 26th Century." He said as he opened his canned sardines. The cat was interested, she was right. He was from the future…A future, to be precise.
"In my time, humanity expanded through the stars. We were attacked by a cult of alien races called the Covenant." Black Hanekawa narrowed her eyes on this.
Aliens
Really?
Grendel's mask's eyes narrowed at her.
"You really believe I would be lying?" His tone was cold, he must've been telling the truth. Grendel continued.
"My world…my planet, its name was Harvest. It was the first to fall to those aliens. My world was burnt to ashes. I was the only one from my family who survived. Eventually I became a soldier, to fight for our worlds and save people, but the Covenant was too relentless. They tried to eradicate us because of their false beliefs. They almost succeeded…but we survived." Grendel's voice had a faint tone of sorrow in it. Black Hanekawa could see it.
"After the war I was given a chance to become more than a simple soldier. I became a Spartan." Hanekawa raised her eyebrows.
"Spartan, meow?"
Spartan
Like those of ancient times
My myaster read about that
She studied that in school
"Yes. Super Soldiers in my world. I became stronger and faster. I kept fighting my battles….until the storms erupted. Walls of reality started to crumble, beings from different realities, different times and worlds…the war escalated." His tale was incredible so far. Hanekawa's head took a straight position to pay more attention. She would've considered this story nothing but a ridiculous story narrated by a child. But the man, the devil in front of her, was a manifest of this context to be true. His composure, his aura, his voice. He has indeed survived all he speaks of.
"During the war, I met new allies. Great warriors like me…even true Angels of Death. I met new battle brothers…and I…met my beloved." Black Hanekawa's ears stood up and her eyes opened a bit as she heard that last part.
Beloved…
Lover?
The devil
Loves someone
"Beloved, meow? You met a woman, meow?" Grendel nodded as he finally opened his canned food, he took hold of his mask and pulled it up to expose the lower half of his face.
The cat noticed some of his features. He had a clear skin but not smooth, rather asper, he was indeed older than Koyomi Araragi; maybe around his 30's. He had a scar on the lower left side of his cheek and another across his lips. He took a bite out of the first sardine, which came after the small second where Black Hanekawa took quick notice of his sharp fangs.
He was telling the truth, he had vampire features.
Was this man…a super soldier with vampire abilities?
After he ate his first sardine, Grendel continued.
"Yes. She came from a…world that one could say was fantasy. At first, we were enemies, but soon we grew closer to each other. Eventually When we won the war, we married each other. But then she was taken from me." He took another bite, his aura grew darker.
"A thrice cursed cult took her from me as a sacrifice to their obscene beliefs. I tried to get her back…I couldn't on my own. I asked my colleagues and brothers in arms to help me…yet they refused. And so I lost her…" As he said those words, Grendel's gaze fell, as if hiding his face from Black Hanekawa. The cat noticed how one of his hands had closed into a fist and began to shake lightly.
Loss
Affected by it
Even the devil can be human
The devil looked up again and his mask's eyes narrowed at what he was to tell next.
"I confronted those I consider "brothers". Countless times I sacrificed much to aid them for tasks that were not even my own…and when I asked for their aid once…they turned their backs on me." Hanekawa tilted her head as she crossed her legs while she sat.
"You know, human. I would say that you are purrrty much a gullible person, meow. Naive, even. You expected too much from them, meow." Hanekawa said, perhaps in a way to get a cackle and see how this human would react.
"Yes, I was." Not the reply she expected. He was aware of it, no denial nor a feeling of annoyance over her comment.
"I was naive then. I told them I had nothing left to tie me to their side so I walked away. They didn't take it well. The high command wouldn't allow people to see them weak, to see one of their super soldiers walking away…so they sent their people after me. Not to capture…but to kill me." At this, Black Hanekawa was surprised and not at the same time. She would expect humans to do this, but she also felt pity and empathy for him.
Grendel and Black Hanekawa…their situations were indeed different, yet the core of their traumas were the same: The loss of people they loved. The betrayal of people they once considered friends. Abandoned…
I never believed
I would share so much with another human
Besides my master
Grendel finished eating his meal and pulled down his mask, covering his entire face once more.
"And….what did you do to them, meow?" She asked, honestly more intrigued towards the story, she could not tell why.
"They tried to hunt me down, I was forced to defend myself and I killed them. But the anger, the rage…I lost my wife. My beloved, the one I cared for with all my soul…and she was the only one who truly loved me back.
The feeling of betrayal by those who I fought and shed blood with for years…they casted me aside. And I lost my vision…everything was red. I fell into a deep and dark rage." His voice had begun to run deep, the cat was unable to tell if it was another being's voice or his rage was growing.
"Eventually I was captured. They witnessed me lost in my rage and bloodlust…and instead of locking me up or just putting me out of my misery…they used me as a weapon. Unleashed me against the enemy…they used me as a weapon." Grendel explained, Hanekawa couldn't understand why he was so calm as he explained his tragic backstory.
"Frankly, I don't remember much of that fight. Just flashes here and there and all of them were just butchered foes. But when I regained some sanity, I was the only one left alive. Buried beneath a large pile of corpses." He said as he tossed aside the empty can of his meal.
"So, you crawled out of there and where did you go next, meow?" Hanekawa asked while she sat with her legs crossed.
"I made my way to the nearest colony. And what I found there broke me in a way. In the war our Alliance vowed to secure the protection and peace for all our realities. My wife and I fought for a dream…and what they had done to our dream ..." He said with anger rising in his voice.
"Meow?" Hanekawa asked, she could tell he was containing his rage.
"They turned it into a bloated, rotting carcass of a visage. We fought for reason and hope. And the high command of my world, they made our worlds be driven by fear, hate and ignorance. All so they could attain the benefits from the war." Black Hanekawa would be lying if she said she wasn't somewhat disturbed at the anger exuding from Grendel.
The rage was noticeable, as if he was too unstable and ready to tear anyone in close proximity, but he looked so calmed too. He took a deep breath before continuing.
"As I kept going into hiding, I stumbled across a vault near the government's palace. Inside I found many…things. Artifacts, relics from worlds not completely discovered…" The devil took out a book hidden behind his cloak. Hanekawa's cat ears twitched as her eyes focused on the book.
"A book, meow? What could be so important about it?" Hanekawa asked while Grendel kept his gaze into the book. It had no cover art nor a title, the material of its cover was made of old leather.
"This is the first Journal…of the first Grendel."
First Grendel?
Was there another devil before him?
"One of the many journals of the first Grendel, a man called Hunter Rose. He was a sociopath, he controlled crime in his home. A despicable man." His description of Hunter Rose made Black Hanekawa raise an eyebrow.
"Meow? Hardly a role model or inspiration to wear his identity. Isn't it, human?" She had a point.
"You are correct. But I couldn't deny the genius, the effect, the result that Grendel left wherever it went." His words echoed with truth.
The mantle of Grendel
The eyes of the devil
They were efficient in all its incarnations
The manifestation of aggression
"So…you took on that name, made yourself the mask and began to find and kill anyone you considered corrupt, meow. From ruthless tyrants to lowly acts of sin, purrty much anyone you considered a threat, meow." Black Hanekawa mentioned and Grendel narrowed his eyes, but beneath the mask he was indeed making a small smirk.
"Impressive. You solved the last piece of that story. You know a lot, don't you?" Grendel complimented and the cat let out a rather adorable cackle before she licked the back of her hand.
"I don't knyow everything, meow. I just knyow what I knyow."
Full of herself
And yet somewhat humble
What a strange girl
"I see." The devil mentioned.
"In other words, human, you're some sort of anti-hero, meow." The afflicted cat concluded, but the devil shook his head.
"No. I care not for the innocent. Mercy is rarely my verdict. Only the guilty concern me." He said as he got up from his spot.
"And what about me, meow?" Grendel stopped at her words and turned to look at her.
"You said you smell the blood of those around you and you could tell if their actions were corrupt or not, meow. I'm purrty sure you did that to me too, if I'm still alive, then I wasn't corrupt as the others, meow." The cat's conclusion was astonishing. She had indeed been listening to every word he said.
She is bright.
Attention to every detail
"Yes. You weren't like others. Since you asked me why…it's because I learned of your past. Your smell was not of corruption, but of suffering, betrayal, sorrow, anger…all things I share." The devil was right. They share those dreadful feelings. Not the exact situations, but the same outcomes. Abandoned, alone, depressed, enraged.
He's right
We both have been abandoned and betrayed in our own ways.
Grendel began to walk out and Hanekawa followed him slowly, due to her still healing injury. He kept a steady pace so she wouldn't fall behind.
"Is that why you saved me, meow?" Black Hanekawa would lie if she said she wasn't somewhat desperate to learn the truth.
He's a hunter
A killer
The devil
Why would he save me?
"Perhaps. Perhaps it was that I did not wish to see another, who suffered like me, to end up with no chance of revenge…or perhaps it was a small remnant of the man I used to be." He made a small smirk beneath his mask, Black Hanekawa could feel him do so even if she wasn't able to see his face.
"So you know, human, I'm an oddity, meow. Humans and oddities can't coexist." The afflicted cat said with a smirk, if he had saved her before. He must be looking for a friend…or something more.
Foolish human
She was more than sure that he would ask why, just as Araragi Koyomi did once.
"I am not looking for any kind friendship. You know where the man I'm looking for is, you help me find him and you can kill him. Then we go our separate ways." He said bluntly, she was somewhat surprised.
Directed
"I wonder, human. Why is it that you share your story so freely? Meow. You don't hesitate. Most wouldn't be so eager to share a tragic past." Hanekawa's question made sense, why would he be so…unaffected.
"It still hurts to remember…but I don't let it get the best of me." He said plainly.
"Why, meow?" She insisted to know, such a curious cat.
"Because it's what has defined me." His response made her stop for a moment as she saw him walk towards the city again. The dawn of the morning almost arrived, she would lie if she said she didn't notice that there was some level of hurt in his words as he told his story. His memory of his wife, his loss…it had all made him thirsty for nothing but revenge.
As he kept walking away, she stared at him from the howl of a wolf in the distance echoed through the field. She followed him again.
The howl of a wolf…
How fitting.
"Vengeance and revenge are just two words for pain" - Michelle Shocked