Soul Diablo: The Butcher.
Soul Edge, an infernal blade that devours the souls of it's victims. Originally forged as a normal sword, but after being bathed in blood and hatred over and over again through constant battles, the sword turned into a demonic weapon and gained a wicked soul, which is known simply as Inferno. It's evil has plagued the world for generations, and many has sought it out, hoping to claim it's evil power for themselves... But others are chosen champions, who seeks Soul Edge in order to destroy it, and free the world from it's evil. One of these champions, was Sophitia Alexandra.
Having a humble back round, being the daughter of a Greek baker, and worked at her family bakery, Sophitia was chosen by the gods to hunt down and destroy Soul Edge, and it's current wielder, if needed. Unable to refuse a request from the gods, Sophitia accepted and was granted a special sword and shield to aid her in her quest.
Sophitia had been wandering the lands for a long time now, with little information of Soul Edge's whereabouts. She finally found a villige and hoped she could rest there for the night. But when she arrived, she noticed the people looked very frightened. She wounder why. She found a wounded townsman by an Cathedral, she ran up to help him, he looks up at her weakly.
"Please, listen to me. The Archbishop Lazarus, he led us down here to find the lost prince... The bastard led us into a trap! Now everyone is dead...Killed by a Demon he called the Butcher. Avenge us! Find this Butcher and slay him so that our souls may finally rest..." He said as he passed away from his wounds.
Sophitia laid his body down to rest. She silently vowed his death would be avenged. But she wasn't dumb enough to go hunting for a killer without an solid idea of what she's up against. She headed in to the village to ask around. She headed near the town center and saw and old man.
The old man noticed her "Ah, I don't believe I've seen you here before, young lady. Would you stay a while and listen?".
Sophitia walked up to him "If you have any information about what is going on here, I would be more than willing to listen. What happened here? And why is everyone so scared?".
The old man's face grew dark "It seems that the Archbishop Lazarus goaded many of the townsmen into venturing into the Labyrinth to find the King's missing son. He played upon their fears and whipped them into a frenzied mob. None of them were prepared for what lay within the Cold Earth...Lazarus abandoned them down there, left in the clutches of unspeakable horrors - to die".
He confirmed what Sophitia already knew from the dying man. She was appalled that an Archbishop, a supposed holly man, could be capable of something so horrible. But what matters now is that this Demon, needed to be stopped before it kills anyone else. So Sophitia decided to put her quest to find and destroy Soul Edge on hold until this matter had been dealt with, since this Butcher sounded just as evil as Soul Edge.
"Thank you for explaining it" Sophitia said with a respectful bow.
But as she walked away, the old man said one more thing "Careful young one. If you plan on going after this demon, I highly recommend you prepare yourself the best you can. You can't face the Butcher unprepared".
"I will, thank you" Sophitia said and decided she needed more information before going after the butcher.
She decided to ask the other townsfolk to see if they knew more. She noticed a woman standing outside her home, so she might as well ask her.
Sophitia walked up to a woman "Excuse me, I found an dying man who said he had been attacked by something called the Butcher. Do you know what it could be?".
The woman thinks "When Farnham said something about a Butcher killing people, I immediately discounted it. But since you brought it up, maybe it is true".
Farnham... If he was the one telling people about this Butcher, then she should try to find him and get information from the source. After being told where he normally sits to drink, She soon found him... He reeked of alcohol, and was clearly distraught.
Sophitia walked up to him "Excuse me".
"Can't a man drink in peace?" Farnham said as he drinks again.
"Sorry, I was told you knew something about The Butcher" Sophitia said.
The man's eyes became wide as horrible memories flashed in front of his eyes "Big! Big cleaver killing all my friends. Couldn't stop him, had to run away, couldn't save them. Trapped in a room with so many bodies...so many friends...noooooooooo!".
He was in a drunken depression. Sophitia knew she wouldn't get any more information out of him, but there was one thing she got out of his panicked screams: The Butcher was a horrible monster. And it needed to be stopped. But she needed more information first.
She headed to the towns healer and asked him.
The Healer's eyes grew grim as he remembered dealing with the aftermath of the demon's rampage "By the Light, I know of this vile Demon. There were many that bore the scars of his wrath upon their bodies when the few survivors of the charge led by Lazarus crawled from the Cathedral. I don't know what he used to slice open his victims, but it could not have been of this world. It left wounds festering with disease and even I found them almost impossible to treat. Beware if you plan to battle this fiend...".
The more Sophitia learned about this Butcher, the more concerned she became. Was she really dealing with a demon? She continued collecting information, heading to the local black smith next. The moment she asked about the butcher, he too had a flash of bad memories.
"I saw what Farnham calls the Butcher as it swathed a path through the bodies of my friends. He swung a cleaver as large as an axe, hewing limbs and cutting down brave men where they stood. I was separated from the fray by a host of small screeching demons and somehow found the stairway leading out. I never saw that hideous beast again, but his blood-stained visage haunts me to this day" He explained in horrific details.
Sophitia decided to make one last stop, visiting a woman who lived near the village, named Adria. She was known as a witch, and while Sophitia wasn't one to judge people based on what she's heard... for some reason she got an uneasy feeling when she approached the woman's house. She looked inside and noticed Adria working on some potions.
Adria looked up "Ah, a new face. What brings you to my humble home?".
"I'm about to go after a demon the townsfolk calls The Butcher. I just wanted to make sure if you had more information for me" Sophitia answered.
"The Butcher is a sadistic creature that delights in the torture and pain of others. You have seen his handiwork in the Drunkard Farnham. His destruction will do much to ensure the safety of this village" Adria explained, not really revealing anything Sophitia didn't already know, but she did make it even more clear that The Butcher was a serious threat, and it's death would make the villaige safer.
"Thank you, I'll be on my way" Sophitia said as she turned to leave.
"Wait a little" Adria said and Sophitia turned back to her, and Adria put something in her hands "Take this with you. It could save your life one day. And ensure the safety of your family".
Sophitia looked surprised "How do you know about my family?".
Adria only smiled "I don't, but you have the face of a woman who's heart lies with her loved ones. And it would be such a waste for such a bright light to be extinguished".
Sophitia didn't know what to say to that, so she just thanked Adria and left... And said woman watched her leave with a suspicious smile.
Feeling she had everything she needed, Sophitia headed back to the Cathedral and headed down to the dungeon. It was dark, with only a few torches providing light... and she heard screams nearby... like someone was being cut open. She reached a door... and saw blood flowing out from under it. She hated the mere thought of stepping in blood. But she had no choice. She opened the door and instantly wanted to throw up... the room was full of horrifically mutilated corpses, blood everywhere...
Only distraction from the horror was the sound of chopping... She looked and saw a large creature cutting up some flesh.
Sophitia readies her sword and and shield "Your time has come to an end, demon!".
The Butcher looks at her, his eyes glowing with evil excitement "Ah... Fresh meat!".
The large demon stomped towards Sophitia and swung it's meat cleaver as if it was a battle axe. Sophitia was sent tumbling out of the room from the force of The Butcher's blow, demonstrating it's inhuman strength. Sophitia got up quickly, avoiding another swing from the cleaver, remembering what the town haler told her, if she's even wounded by the bloodstained cleaver, she could die from a massive infection, she needed to keep her guard up or she's dead. She deflected The Bucher's next blow and stabbed him in the side... This only angered the demon as he delivered a powerful blow to Sophitia's face, knocking her down, and causing blood to flow from her nose.
The Butcher grabbed her leg and raised his cleaver to cut it of. Reacting quickly, Sophitia slashed his arm, causing him to drop her. Sophitia got back up and used her shield to block an over head strike. The blow forced her down on a knee, but she forced the demon's weapon to the side and slashed his chest, making him growl in pain and anger. Sophitia decided to press her own attack, striking at the demon with her sword, but the Butcher grabbed her sword with his hand, causing blood to drip from his hand. It ripped Sophitia's blade from her hand and tossed it away, leaving her with only her shield. The Butcher then began hammering against Sophitia's shield with all it's might.
Any normal shield would've shattered from such an relentless onslaught. Luckily, Sophitia's shield was not ordinary, but the force of the blows made her stumble back until her back hit a pillar. The Butcher prepared another power full strike, but Sophitia dodged the blow, causing the Butcher's cleaver to be briefly stuck in the pillar. Sophitia needed to retrieve her sword and the Butcher tried grabbing her, but Sophitia quickly struck it across the face with her shield, causing blood to fly from it's mouth and she even knocked out one of it's teeth.
Sophitia ran over to her sword and reached to pick it up... but suddenly she was grabbed from behind by the enraged Butcher and tossed in to a wall. Before she could recover, the Butcher grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall hard. The Butcher roars in her face as he raised his cleaver, finally ready to claim his fresh meat... But Sophitia stabbed him through the neck. In his blind fury, the Butcher failed to notice Sophitia had managed to hold on to her weapon and as she pulled her sword free, it backed up, blood gushing from the wound... Sophitia let out a short shout as she cut the Butcher's head off, finally putting an end to the sadistic demon.
Sophitia was breathing hard. Never in her whole life had she been this close to death. Had she lost her grip on her sword when the Butcher grabbed her, her dismembered body would've joined the rest of the Butcher's victims. She was lucky... and she knew it. She would need to be more careful when facing her future enemies, or next time she might not be so lucky.
She left the Butcher's horrible lair, and headed back to the town where the Healer had look at her. She had managed to avoid being wounded by the Butcher's cleaver, so no infection to worry about. But the healer still advice her to rest for a while before she heads out, a suggestion she could not refuse. Being tired and filthy, Sophitia took the chance to bathe and get some much needed sleep...
However, her slumber was far from peaceful, as her dreams was plagued by horrific form of a demon... but this demon was different, it was bigger, and much more terrifying... Sophitia woke up the next day with no idea of what that demon was... Maybe it was Soul Edge, taunting her, meaning she was on the right track. She will find it and fullfil her quest.
But little did she know... a Demon far worse than anything she's ever faced was lurking in the darkness... and Sophitia's victory over the Butcher had earned her the attention of this mysterious being... Said demon was watching her from the darkness... with an evil grin...
Sophitia's trials were far from over.
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Just something I threw together out of boredom, and I highly doubt this will become a full story. Think of it as a late Halloween story if you want.
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Tell me what you think.