Chapter Four: Divulgence

Dashing through the burning streets, Tomas soon came to a halt when he spotted a church a short distance away from him. A large crowd had gathered in front of the holy place, but not willingly. More cult members, each armed with a different weapon, were holding the villagers captive, and some of the residents were people Tomas recognized. Sitting on the short staircase that led to the church's entrance was Irena, and her son Eduard was standing beside her, his gaze following one of the red-cloaked figures as they paced back and forth before the crowd. Then Tomas noticed Hugo standing with his daughter Katerina, who was crying and holding on to her father's pant leg as if her life depended on it. Seeing the girl so terrified made Tomas want to murder each and every one of those cult member, but of course he was not going to do that. Not if he could help it.

"Stop." Tomas had only taken a step forward before Enenra demanded that he halt. "Let us see what they want. If things take a turn for the worse, then you can intervene. But for now, keep to the shadows, alright?" Tomas had opened his mouth to argue with the demon, but he quickly closed it. The silver-haired man was also curious as to why this particular cult was so interested in Vesnice Rudá. So, Tomas did as he was told and stayed out of sight. Fortunately, it did not take long for something of interest to happen.

Coming from the distance were two more cult members, each walking on either side of a man who was unknown to Tomas. But he assumed that this newcomer someone of importance, the one running this whole operation most likely. Even his attire was very distinct from his henchmen with his long, black jacket and silver shoulder pads. There was also a strange symbol on the back of his coat, a symbol that resembled a dragon's face and was crimson in color. Tomas made a mental note to look into that later.

"Greetings, citizens of Vesnice Rudá." The man's voice boomed as he addressed the terrified crowd. Everyone's attention was now on black-clad stranger. "Do not be afraid. You all will be spared, if you cooperate."

Eduard scowled and stomped towards the man despite his mother begging him to stop. "What the hell do you want with us!? We've done nothing to you, yet you come and cause all this chaos! Who do you think you ar－!?" A sudden punch to his face followed by a kick in his gut by two cult members ended Eduard's rant and he fell to his knees in pain. Irena quickly came to her son's side and held onto him with tears welling in her eyes.

"As I said－" The black-clad stranger spoke while looking down at the mother and son. "You will be spared if you just cooperate. If any of you fall out of line again, we will not be as merciful as we were for him." The man pointed a finger at Eduard before walking away. "Now as for what we want, we are searching for someone. A demon that is walking among you as of now."

The village's residents looked at one another, frightened and confused. A demon? There was no way that was possible, right? But Tomas knew very well that it was possible, because he was sure the demon the stranger was referring to was with him now. Enenra. But how was the cult even aware of Enenra's presence in Vesnice Rudá? Tomas thought about that as he continued listening to the black-clad stranger.

"All we want is for this demon to reveal itself to us. If you bring it forward, then we will leave peacefully. Do you all understand?" The man must not have thought that what he was requesting was completely insane, especially to those not aware of the supernatural. Everyone continued to stare wide-eyed at the cult members, not sure how they should proceed. After all, no one among them looked much like a "demon".

The black-clad stranger pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as he became irritated. "Look, is there someone among you that seems…off? Someone that you may not have seen before today?" That seemed to ring bells in a few of the townsfolk's heads as they began whispering to one another. Seeing that he was going to be pointed out sooner or later, Tomas decided that now was the time to show himself before anyone got hurt. Enenra did not like it, but if they did not step forward now, the cult may start killing people one by one until something went their way.

So, Tomas slowly walked towards the crowd of villagers with his hands up as a sign of surrender. "Alright. I give up." The silver-haired man now had all eyes on him and three cult followers sprinted in his direction, surrounding Tomas with their weapons raised. He sighed. "There's no need for that. I won't fight back. Just as long as you leave the villagers alone."

"Ah." The black-clad man stepped before Tomas and he took a moment to examine the silver-haired man. "So, you are the sacrifice."

"Never been called that, but I much prefer Tomas if you don't mind."

The stranger chuckled. "My apologies. Tomas it is then."

"Well, while we're in the middle of introductions－" Tomas looked to the other members of the cult briefly before his gaze fell back on their leader. "Mind introducing yourselves?"

The black-clad man smirked and waved his hand, signaling for the three cloaked figures encircling Tomas to lower their weapons. They hesitated for a moment, but with a glare from their boss, the cult members soon did as they were told with Tomas slowly letting his arms fall back to his sides once he realized he was safe. For now at least. The leader then continued. "I am known as Mavado." The man, now known as Mavado, motioned to the cult members still surrounding Tomas. "Our clan is not known to many as we prefer to keep our existence a secret. But for you, Tomas…we have made an exception."

"I'm flattered." Tomas said, sarcasm evident in his voice. "But was it really necessary to terrorize an entire village just to gain an audience with me?"

Mavado placed a hand under his chin as though he was lost in thought. "Perhaps not. But that does not matter. What matters is that we finally have found you." Then, much to Tomas' surprise, Mavado suddenly knelt before him along with his henchmen. "And we would be honored if you joined the Red Dragon Clan."

Now it was Tomas' turn to be confused. The last thing the silver-haired man had expected from these intruders was to be invited to join their clan. Especially one that Tomas had never heard of before. What was this Red Dragon Clan? What was their purpose? And most importantly, what made them believe Tomas would ever ally himself with the main ones responsible for his suffering?

"Tomas, calm yourself." Enenra could feel the anger growing within his host's very soul. Tomas found it harder to keep his composure the longer he looked down at Mavado, who still awaited his answer. The silver-haired man clenched his fists tightly at his sides and gritted his teeth.

"Why the hell would I ever join you?" Wisps of smoke began to appear around Tomas' form. "Don't you remember what your clan did to me all those years ago? You MURDERED me. Burned me alive as a sacrifice to a damn demon!" His eyes then flickered from their normal silver color to crimson. "Do you know how much I suffered because of your actions!? How much…blood is now on my hands because of this…this－!"

"I understand that you are angry, Tomas." Mavado spoke calmly to Tomas, raising his head from the ground as he did so. "But know that the ones responsible for your murder did so without our knowledge. The Red Dragon never authorized their actions, I assure you."

That seemed to calm Tomas down just a bit. The smoke surrounding him slowly receded. "W-What? I don't…I don't understand."

Mavado stood from the ground and his men immediately followed suit. Their boss then continued to speak to Tomas. "You have many questions, my friend. And we know you came here in search of answers. It was a wise decision." Mavado held out his hand. "For we have the answers you seek. Please…come with us. We will tell you what we know, I promise you."

Tomas' eyes had returned to their normal state and he took a step back from Mavado, furiously shaking his head. "How can I trust you? After all that has happened, after all you have put them through－!" As he pointed behind Mavado, Tomas finally took a moment to really look at the faces of Vesnice Rudá's residents. There was a fair amount of confusion, which was understandable, in many of the townsfolk's expressions, but there was also fear. And…disgust. It was then that Tomas came to a realization.

All of this happened because of HIM. If Tomas had not come to Vesnice Rudá in the first place, none of these events would have occurred. The village would not be up in flames and the people would not be held hostage by an obscure cult. At this point, it did not matter what Tomas wanted to do. What he NEEDED to do was to get Mavado and his minions far away from this town before anyone gets seriously hurt. Or even killed.

Making a decision, Tomas took a deep breath and then began to speak in a low tone. "If I…If I choose to go with you…will you keep your word and leave this village be?"

"As I said before, we will leave once you were found. I am a man of my word."

Tomas was not sure whether to believe Mavado's words, but he had no choice. So, hesitantly, the silver-haired man grabbed Mavado's hand and shook it. "…Fine. But if you betray my trust, I will make you pay dearly for it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely." And with a snap of his fingers, Mavado commanded all his men to back away from townsfolk and come to him. "Shall we proceed then?"

Tomas only nodded in response and as he moved to follow Mavado, a voice stopped him in his tracks. "Wait, Tomas!" The silver-haired man turned back to the crowd and saw Hugo approaching him with Katerina in his arms. A few of the cloaked men were preparing to stop the father and daughter, but Mavado held his hand to them so they would not attack. Hugo stood before Tomas and the silver-haired man was relieved to see that his friend did not look upon him with fear or disgust. But Hugo was clearly worried and concerned.

"Look…I don't quite understand what's going on. Or what…who you really are, but－" Hugo sighed, unsure of what he should say. "Deep down, I'm terrified, Tomas. A part of me…is telling me that I should stay away. From you, from…all of this." Tomas stayed silent as he, too, was not sure what to say. So, Hugo continued. "But part of me also believes that you're not a bad person. We haven't known each other for that long, but from what I've seen…you're no demon. No matter what this guy says."

Hugo jutted his thumb at Mavado briefly to confirm who he was referring to. Not that Tomas needed the confirmation. "And I know the whole "glowing red eyes" thing you did just a second ago doesn't really help your case, but－"

"Hugo. It's okay." Tomas gave his friend a genuine smile. "I understand. Thank you for your words." The silver-haired man then looked to Katerina, who had been surprisingly quiet through their whole conversation. It made Tomas think back to when they were in the forest and Katerina had talked non-stop through their short journey to Vesnice Rudá. Now she was silent, but her eyes told Tomas much about what the girl was feeling. He hated how scared Katerina looked and how he was part of the reason why she was so terrified.

But despite what Tomas thought, Katerina reached out to the silver-haired man with a flower in her hand. It was a white flower with six petals and a short green stem. "Now Mommy can be with you too." Then, without waiting for a reply, Katerina placed the flower behind Tomas' left ear. Tomas could have sworn his heart skipped a few beats from the child's heartwarming gesture. Elder Gods, was he a sucker for kids.

"Tomas－" And the moment was ruined due to Mavado again addressing Tomas. "We need to leave. Now. We have already wasted too much time here."

Tomas sighed but he knew he needed to go. Before leaving, however, the silver-haired man whispered one last thing to Hugo. "The clock tower. There's someone there that may need some help." Hugo frowned, confused as to who his friend was referring to, but he simply nodded and backed away. Katerina waved goodbye to Tomas, who waved back with a smile, and then followed Mavado and the other cult members out of Vesnice Rudá.

"That's gotta be him." A woman stated, her red hair glistening under the moonlight. She was holding a pair of binoculars up to her eyes to get a better view of the village below. "Looks like Kano knew what he was talking about."

Beside her, a man with short, blonde hair was brandishing a knife, a heavy sigh leaving his lips to express his boredom. "Yeah, yeah. So the guy looks like someone straight out of an anime. Big deal. I bet I could beat him."

The redhead scoffed at her comrade. "We're not here to fight anyone, Kobra. We're simply here to do surveillance."

"Why's Kano so interested in this "Smoke" guy anyway? Is it because he got his ass whooped in the tourna－"

"Kobra!" The woman put down her binoculars and looked at Kobra in disbelief. "You shouldn't talk about Kano like that."

"Well, it's the truth, isn't it?" The blonde shrugged and twirled the knife so he was holding the blade. "Kira, I'm not trying to badmouth Kano, okay? I'm just saying that he's become obsessed with this ninja ever since he came back from that tournament." Kobra then held the handle of the knife to the woman, Kira. "I know you see it too."

Kira took a moment to stare at her weapon, a Butterfly Knife that was part of a pair. These blades were given to her by Kano, the leader of the Black Dragon clan, and she always made sure to take care of them properly. And yet, Kobra was playing with them as if they were toys. Snatching the knife away from her ally, Kira turned it around multiple times, examining its features as if it was her first time seeing it.

"Kira－" Kira again looked at Kobra when he addressed her. "Calm down, will ya? No need to be so cranky."

"I'm not－!" Kira stopped herself and took a deep breath before starting over. "Kobra, I'm not cranky. I just wish you would take missions more seriously."

The blonde man held his hands up. "Alright. You win." Kobra's face dropped into a more sincere expression. "I'm totally serious right now. No more jokes. No bullshitting. Just my eyes on the prize."

"Promise?" Kira asked while placing her hands on her hips.

"Promise." Smiling, Kobra held his hand out to Kira. "Mind if I borrow those binoculars for a sec?"

Kira nodded her head and handed the binoculars to her blonde comrade. He then lifted them up to his eyes and looked through the lens. His smile, however, slowly faltered and this did not go unnoticed by Kira. "What's up?"

"There's some…old man standing on one of the rooftops."

"What?" Kira quickly grabbed the binoculars from Kobra to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, there was someone standing atop a building that had fortunately been left alone by the fires. The man's hair was short and predominately black, but there were a few gray hairs here and there. Kira's frown deepened the she looked at the stranger. "It's almost like…" The redhead trailed off as the man's face slowly turned in her direction, as if he knew Kira was there watching him.

"Excuse me." Both Kira and Kobra gasped and spun around to see who had appeared so suddenly. Strangely enough, it was the old man that now stood before them, which should have been impossible considering that Kira had seen him on the rooftop only seconds ago. How did this stranger arrive at his current location so quickly? The old man paid no mind to Kira and Kobra's shocked faces and spoke once more. "Do I have the pleasure of addressing members of the Black Dragon Clan?"

Kobra was the first of the two Black Dragons to snap out of his state of shock and he scowled at the stranger. "Why do you wanna know, old man? You better get out of here before you get hurt."

The man smiled and shook his head. "I will take that as a "yes". All Black Dragon members must share their leader's arrogance."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" One of Kobra's hand suddenly ignited, literal flames reacting to their owner's anger.

The old man could not help but chuckle at the blonde's poor attempt at intimidation. "You call that fire, child?" Kira could feel the air around her warmer by the second and became a bit harder to breath because of it. And as she looked upon the stranger again, the redhead's eyes widened at the unexpected sight. The old man, now fully engulfed in flames, raised a burning hand towards Kobra. "Now, unless you would like to know the true power of pyromancy, I suggest you both tell me what I want to know."