Greetings, it's taken quite a long time to publish something new, but here I am, still alive! This story was once titled Deformed Hero, based on some outdated and outright ridiculous ideas I had many, many years ago in 2014. But this year, I have decided to revise the writing style as well as the plot because after skimming through the old version, I dreaded reading past the prologue (queue the vomit emojis).
I hope this version is better, enjoy. :)
Marks of Vice 1: Into the Wild
Introduction
The night sky revealed its first few stars in the dark violet sky as it faded to a black-blue. With the darkness of the moonless night hanging over this bleak Underworld, it seemed as though every creature went to sleep as the crimson sun descended on the black horizon.
But not all life was lost in the night.
Here stood a group of demons, nomad Natives to this Underworld: two tomcats, a young doe, a buxom bird, an unsighted female, an ex-Human female with metallic attachments for toes and fingers, and a Dullahan male. The peculiar group stood upon a massive brick wall which surrounded a lonely, old prison. This ancient building witnessed the lives and deaths of millions of demons through the centuries in an ethnic cleanse, ridding the Underworld of rare creatures to appease the glorious Empire.
But tonight, all of this would change.
The Blond tom peered down at this setting, narrowing his one good eye as he whispered, "This is the place." The strange creatures disappeared on the other side. One happened in that prison will stay buried in its cracked, grey walls for years to come.
Creatures moved slowly through chambers, dragging their feet on the maroon dirt. Metal cuffs tightly restrained their ankles, necks, and wrists, connected to thin tungsten chains to restrict aggressive actions. Many creatures wore muzzles that never came off unless they needed food and fluids, which they received through straws to ensure their snapping jaws could not rip into the throats of their guards. All of the prisoners were weak from hunger, depression, or both. Most fell ill due to their living conditions and the food, or so they thought it was food. When the prisoners were sleeping, one could not tell whether they were resting or already dead.
But hunger, metal bondage and the smell of misery were nothing for a certain group of robust children, long since accustomed to their living conditions. Reiji, Takeshiro, Shugo, Ushizumo and Ryoichi. It is not certain whether they were born in captivity or outside their cage, but Ryoichi was 12, Shugo, 12, Ushizumo, 11, Reiji, 9, and Takeshiro, 7. This dreary prison stood on the outskirts of the great Empire of Dominique, named after the notorious Queen Dominique I.
In the past, this villainous monarch was sentenced life-long imprisonment in a powerful Earth prison called Tartaros. King Demos the Terror, her young brother, ruled in her place. Demos was dubbed Terror because his liberating the great Empire from a reign of darkness was a terror for those who most benefited from such heinous traditions.
But this is not a story of Underworld, this is the story of Reiji Sagara, a descendent of an ancient race of Elves which no longer exists in name, but in a thin, miniscule vein of blood. Reiji was born in that very prison to a single mother and an absent father (perhaps he is dead). Reiji never did learn her mother's name, but she was such a kind, gentle spirit. Although this protective Elfine was starved as every other prisoner, she persisted in making Reiji feel safe. Each passing day was a breath of fresh air because no one knew much much time they had left. Reiji's mother, even in her final hour, made sure Reiji knew that this was not the end of her.
"Don't be afraid, my daughter," Reiji remembered her mother saying. "We will not be forgotten by King Demos. Soon, his people will set us free." Raiji looked up to her mother with naturally clouded, golden eyes. "Do you promise, mom?" she questioned. Mother held her daughter in a comforting embrace. Reiji recounted her mother's skin being so warm and soft, her being bosom the safest place to lie her little head.
"Of course I promise," she assured Reiji. "The spirits of our ancestors are always watching, casting a light of hope on us."
On the quart, surrounded by massive, magically charged walls, Reiji sat alone, drawing little sketches and shapes in the black dirt with a stick. In secret, Reiji would use Hair Shower magic to write whatever she learned from the oldest prisoners. The stick swerved and formed a circle, overlapping the first one with strange markings reading "love" on the inside as well as similar term along the inner circle. On that inner circle line outside the soft words, the dark haired girl wrote different words for "hate." It was no special circle, but it meant something to her.
"Hey! Boob Beast!" a child's voice, mocked her, slicing through her concentration. Dropping the stick, Reiji looked towards the source of the voice, seeing the very children she despised. They had always bullied and abused her for her brown skin and early puberty, which caused her body to develop faster than all of the other children. To them, she was dark monster with a perverted body. One girl, older, tall and skinny, sneered, "You freak!" and kicked Reiji in the legs, knocking her to the ground. The little girl whimpered in pain, but did not cry out.
"Get up, slum-skin. We wanna play a game called Mark The Beast," she smirked. "Are you are the beast. Grab her Kiki," she ordered to the shorter, chubby male child. He grabs her arms firmly with tough, porcelain textured hands. Reiji tried to pull away, but Kiki was a very strong demon. They dragged her away, taking her into a corner to where no one could see their antics. Reiji remained silent, aware that begging for mercy was out of the question
"Face it, Boob Beast," the ring leader said, looking dark at her. "If you weren't as obese and hideous as your weird mama, maybe you would have a shot at equity in this place!" Reiji's heart sank at the sound of that demon insulting her mother, the greatest creature taken, *stolen* from her, just two months ago.
"Let's start the game," the third child, a buff male as tall as the ringleader, grinned. Kiki held both of her arms behind her back. The feeling of the tungsten cuffs was soft compared to his big hands. The ringleader pulled out a small, shining pocket knife from inside her shirt and handed it to the buff male. "You mark first, Otto," she said to him, who accepted it gleefully.
"My pleasure, Miss Mars." Otto took the knife, then knelt before Reiji, who trembled in fear. He made taunting faces at her, mocking her terror, then chuckled, grabbing her cheeks. Reiji's cries and screams were muffled as the demon cut from the top right of her forehead down to her left cheek. Blood leaked from the wound; pleased, Mars grinned at the gruesome sight.
Save me! Someone, please! Reiji cried internally, hurting too much to use her words. Mucus ran from her nose as she let out sob after sob. The trio laughed at her suffering, completely desensitized to abuse already. Then, Otto rested the tip of the pocket knife on the top left side of Reiji's forehead. The male sliced slowly across her face. Finally, Reiji screamed, but her moving her face made the blood come down faster, her skin burning from the severe cuts. The dark crimson fluids dripped from her chin and down on her ripped grey shirt The dirt beneath her was stained with her blood as well. Reiji felt her knees buck beneath her, the blood loss going straight to her head. Mars took the knife, intent on slicing the terrified child's face.
Please, Reiji silently pleaded for mercy. Mars grabbed her dark green hair, lifting her head to meet the villain's brown eyes. Reiji shouted in pain, breathing heavily. "You're pretty tough, for a nine-year-old, Boob Beast. And there's so much blood!" she snickered.
Reiji forced a smile across her lips. "I get it... from my mother."
"Che!" Mars scoffed. She was about to make another cut until a war cry cut her off.
"RAI-TARA!" Reiji widened her eyes in surprise as Ushizumo and Shugo charged at the group. A taller dark haired male, Ryoichi, came in behind the duo. Mars switched the knife to offense mode, but soon came down as Shugo sent an Emerald Dragon uppercut to her chin. Ushizumon flew at Otto with a kick to his throat, he torn, pink dress fluttering in the wind. The dark haired boy took Reiji from Kiki, who was distracted from the unexpected attack. His arm shifted into that of a bear's and struck Kiki in the nose. Blood dripped as he doubled over, crying in pain. The oldest boy, Shugo, ran over to her and kneeled beside her. "I'm so sorry that we came late Reiji," Shugo apologized. Reiji did not care, she was just glad they came anyway. She hugged Shugo, getting blood on his shirt. Ryoichi changed both his arms to strong a animalistic pair as he carried reiji away from the scene. Mars and Otto were stunned, while Kiki cried, holding his bloody nose.
Suddenly, when they had come around the corner, they were met by a group of six guards. They yanked the group of five apart, taking them away separately. Shugo and Ryoichi were taken by force; Reiji was released from his grasp, facing in the dirt, nearly on her face. Ushizumo was yanked by a Sky Feral. Raiji was a pulled onto her feet by an Ice Devil. Ryouichi by a Lightning Feral and Takashiro, who was alone, was grabbed by a King Dragon Feral The Dragon humanoids took them back inside the prison to lock them in their cells again.
"No!" Shugo tried to reach for Raiji, but she was out of his hand's reach. "Let go of me, you scaled beast!" Ushizimi shouted, hitting her little fists on Flame Feral. He glared down at her. She stopped hitting him and sobbed the whole way. "I'm so weak against the glare of a Feral…" she whimpered.
As the children were brought back inside, they passed by the cafeteria, worn with age and lack of use, then carried down a white hall, the walls and ceiling made of bricks. The guards stopped at a double-door cell. The sound of growls were heard on the other side. This was not their cell block. The double doors opened.
"You plan raid on suspect, you be punishment," the King Feral growled. The five demon children were forced into the cell, immediately locking the cell doors behind them. That was where they would rest, but all of this soon changed that fateful night.
Six hours went by. The little demons were cold, hungry, and defeated. Shugo sulked in a corner near Takeshiro, who slept soundly on Reiji's lap. "It's hopeless, we just aren't strong enough against them," Ushizumo murmured glumly. Reiji nodded in agreement. Her face ached from her injury. The bleeding had stopped hours prior, drying on her face; it was difficult to clean when they only had their shirts to wipe her face with. She was certain this would leave a scar.
Suddenly, Shugo burst into green flames, lighting the entire cell an emerald green. "I said, I am sick of confinement!" the ginger haired demon roared. "We didn't do anything wrong, we're just kids!" In the midst of his outburst, Shugo exhaled a burst of emerald green flames, blowing the doors off the wall. The emerald spread rapidly, taking the Ferals guards. The green fury rapidly licked away at their rough, scaly flesh in a matter of seconds. Smoke and cooked flesh spread in the air. As the guard were preoccupied with staying alive, the five children escaped. Ryouichi chose to carry Reiji like an injured bride as they ran through the halls, left, right, then straight towards the first gates. Shugo carried the blind Takeshiro, who was not safe running through the fire.
On the other side were prisons in their cells, wide awake without a doubt. Awoken by the commotion, the smoke, the roars and cries of the dying guards, sleep was no longer possible. The children hurried away as the emerald flames crept into the cells one by one, causing a great fright. The mixture of terror and pain were incomprehensible underneath the blaring alarms triggered by the smoke. Reiji shakily covered her ears as the banging of the cells and the cries for help overwhelmed her sense of hearing. Stunned by the emotional trauma of that night, Reiji could hardly detect the explosion erupting in the block they escaped from. The ground was shaken by the power of the explosion.
Before the number of deaths rose any higher that the guards, the cell doors opened by chance of a certain doe's fist pounding through a passcode which functioned to open every cell in emergencies. Hordes of prisoners escaped through every emergency exit. Even in the chaos brought by Shugo's sparks of adolescent rage, the young, old, slowest, and weakest of the hordes were assisted; the threat of falling victim to suffocation or death by trampling was too high at the moment. Nonetheless, everywhere Shugo went, the emerald chased its maker ferociously; the fire obeyed Shugo's anger, striking the bodies of the prison guards and engulfing larger, swallowing them in a furnace.
The seven nomad demons were caught by surprise as an explosion blew out the east wing of the building on the second floor. Green flames and light grey smoke rose up from the blown side, bathing the dark surroundings in a green light. Several hundreds of endangered demons escaped through emergency exits, seeking refuge from the first by the magically charged walls. The masses watched at the prison they called home collapsed in the massive bonfire. All the demons were silent as the seven unknown demons emerged from the wall across the property. Gear strapped to their lower bodies allowed the nomads to soar high into the night sky to land before the frightened creatures. The doe stepped forward first, lowering her light grey ears to appear non-threatening. As the nomads approached, panic increased. Some even began to claw at the wall, although their nails were brittle from malnourishment.
But because the seven did not strike the civilians, the panicking settled down. The emerald fire blazed on, gradually lowering its threat level from discord to lesser, harmonious fire.
"We have come to help, "the doe declared. Her voice traveled to the ears of all the prisoners, despite the pink bandana covering half her face. Her eyes were covered by protective, bronze goggles. She wore a grey turtleneck, black leather gloves, dark and slim trousers, and black boots up to her calves. The little demon continued.
"King Demos personally requested our aid in scouting this territory. We found this prison, assuming it was desolate and abandoned, but what my comrades and I have witnessed is that this place is far from that! We come to set you free!" she announced. The prisons' reactions were of poor effort due to their exhaustion. The tomcat with tanned complexion and white hair approached the gates. He raised his in swift motions hands, joining them at a triangular shape. A dark red mass of energy combusted from his palms, blowing the brick wall gate apart. The debris flew outwards, covering a radius of several meters. The Dullahan, the buxom bird, and the ex-Human joined the prisoners at the main entrance.
Reiji could hardly believe this was all real. She had dreamed of this day for so long, it seemed impossible for a moment.
"What's going on?" Takeshiro asked, furrowing his brows doubtfully. His eyes moved rapidly as he tried to open them, to no avail.
"We're free, King Demos sent his people to liberate us," Reiji whispered. Tears welled in her hot eyes, dripping freely. She trembled with emotion. Ryouichi held her as her legs bucked. The tanned demon cried as they were walked out of a grave and into the world at last. Those nine years Reiji spent in darkness felt like a distant nightmare now. The civilians watched as the nomads spread out.
"We are you designated navigators to your new homes," the doe explained. "We were each assigned a city or town to take civilians to where you will all be given homes, clothing, security, food, and other resources to assist in healing your mental and physical health. I represent the city of False Line," she concluded, placing her hands on her chest.
"I am the major city Jupetoresoid," the dark skinned tomcat said.
"Foretitou," the blond tomcat added.
"Demiterum," the Dullahan announced.
"Twilight Zone," the blind female said. She wore a mask over her eyes. Ushizumo tapped Takeshiro's shoulder. "That Twilight lady is blind," she whispered excitedly. "I told you, you're not alone." The young boy smiled. "R-really? I'm not alone?"
"You were never alone," Reiji assured him quietly.
"I represent the trading town of Magnoramus, Loner Tribe," the ex-Human chirped. She smiled in a friendly manner, immediately attracted a few elder civilians. One of them hugged her, crying tears of joy.
"We thought you'd never come," the old one smiled. "You have such a wonderful smile!"
"I represent the country trading center of Saint Demos," the buxom bird declared.
Once the nomads listed their assigned places of living, the civilian demons did as they were told and split into the seven groups. The process lasted nearly a quarter of an hour to make the groups as even as possible. Reiji and her friends were ushered towards Magnoramus, as they were running out of options. The quintuplet group stayed close together. Among the cluster of civilians was Mars, to Reiji's surprise. The young girl averted her gaze when Mars looked over. When Reiji looked up, Mars had walked somewhere else. Then, they were off in seven different directions, Magnoramus at the far east.
As they walked in silence, Reiji began to doze off. She was caught by Ryouichi just as she was beginning to sleep walk. The beast soul demon chuckled. "We're about to rest, the colorful lady said so," he informed her. Reiji nodded quietly. "Rest, I really need that," she rasped.
"I almost forgot!" Ushizumo blurted, shaking Reiji fully awake. "It's your birthday right now," the little ginger beamed at her friend. Reiji cracked a smile, having forgotten about the anniversary of her birth. Shugo jumped up, hollering in joy.
"We're free! We're really free!" he sang, running up to the front of the traveling group. Ushizumo hugged Reiji and Takeshiro tightly. Ryouichi shapeshifted his arms into long, feathery wings, embracing all three of them at once. Reiji's clouded sight was blocked by the beautiful golden limbs as they were held to a halt. Shugo came back, throwing his arms around Ryouichi. "I love my friends," he murmured. Ryouichi cackled, pushing him off.
"Gross, you smell like ashes!" the beast soul demon teased.
"I smell like victory!" Shugo retorted, pushing him back.
Their small bickering declined, as they were too happy to fight each other that night. Reiji looked around for Mars, the demon who despised her. Mars was nowhere to be found. Oh, well. Reiji had nothing more to worry about.
It's over. Nothing will hurt me again.
~ Reviews are encouraged if there is anything I need to work on again. :)
- ML