Two horns made of pure energy sprouted out of her head. With how condensed and opaque the mana was, any individual would think it was an actual horn.
"A.. a demon!"
The nonchalant behavior was suddenly broken by one of the followers. He fell to the floor, shaken by the death of the saint, and the sinful appearance of the heir.
The other followers did as a follower would, falling to the ground.
"Q-quick! Someone! Get help!"
One of the followers scurried from their fallen position, rushing toward the sanctuary's entrance.
Lyrei turned her head at almost a neck-snapping speed.
— I'm not sure what this power… is. But I'll use it to ensure that I can get out of here without being caught.
Lyrei looked at the saint's corpse one last time. The tiny part inside of her, at the farthest edge of her consciousness, felt a tinge of sorrow. But it was what she had to do.
She soared through the air.
— I feel so… light.
Sticking her hand out, her now claw-like fingers stuck into the follower's chest. She essentially pinned him to the wall.
She quickly pulled out, leaving a hole in the follower's chest. He slid down the wall motionlessly, a stain of blood following, marking the stone wall.
The horrific sight scared the other followers. They cried out.
"Brothers! We must fight!" one yelled out.
They came to the conclusion that there was no way to get out of it besides fighting. Seven- no, six well-trained men versus a measly fifteen-year-old elf that's never fought a day in her life?
[Cast: Holy Arts: Bladed Wings]
A row of sharp, glowing, almost glass-like shards, flew toward Lyrei. It was a number of them.
— They look so.. slow?
A pair of wings sprouted out of her back, shielding her from the unforgiving shards of energy raining.
"Now!"
One of the followers dashed, finding a path through all the shards.
Her winds moved faster than he did, quickly revealing herself, again.
[Cast: Demonic Saint Art, Thousand Dragons]
— It feels like second nature.
Her hands came together, in a praying position.
— Like… I've done this all before.
Sprouting from her back, almost like wings, more so like an infestation, black-scaled dragons rose into the air. Their eyes glowed a sinister red.
The sight was terrifying enough to make the follower pursuing her stop in his tracks.
"The… king… of all demons?"
Those few words left the follower's mouth. Along with the helplessness in his eyes, his hands shook fiercely.
"You all! Don't be discouraged!"
[Cast: Holy Arts: Golem]
Several golems of light manifested into the air, crashing into the dragons.
A battle of attrition formed.
While the followers struggled to maintain their form, Lyrei sat there, her eyes closed.
— I've.. always been like this, haven't I? This power. The saint was just a little push.
Her fingers interlaced with each other, the strength of the dragons increasing.
— After I kill everyone here, how can I escape? I'll be wanted across the country for murdering a saint. I have to shift the blame and frame someone somehow.
Crk!
The golems shattered!
The dragons collected the followers in their mouths, crushing them with relative ease. The guts flew into the air, a red mist filling the air. The smell of iron was prevalent.
There was one left.
"Ah! Seems like the problem solved itself."
"St-stay away from me!"
"A follower gone insane, straying from the way of Ogthos. In his blind and crazy rage, the cultist uses blood rituals in order to kill the saint during the ceremony. I managed to escape, just barely. That sounds good with you, right?"
She playfully tapped his cheek.
From the corner of her eyes, one of the mangled, chewed-up corpses rose. She fell on her bottom, startled.
"You have a knack for this sort of thing."
The mangled corpse had bright red eyes. The muscles making up it's face stretched far enough to show some smile, though the skin on his face was far too out of place.
"You... shut up! What the hell do you know about me?"
"What I do know, is that you killed everyone here. You seriously think you did it for a good reason? Face it. You enjoy this kind of stuff. Are you finally starting to understand this is who you really are?"
"You aren't real."
"I would be if you didn't kill me, as well. This is the price that you have to pay!"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she let out an erring screech, falling to her knees. She shut her eyes tightly and sealed off her ears.
"You can do all of that, but you'll still be able to hear and see me. Even more now, heh."
. . .
. .
.
"It's... gone."
Julian jumped out of bed. Something felt different today. Whether it was how the birds were chirping, or how the air gently tickled his skin.
No, it wasn't either of them. That unfamiliar buzzing, that he always felt after contracting with that artificial spirit. Life felt so familiar.
"My... only source of power... it's gone!" he yelled out.
He had lost one of his main trump cards.
"Damn it... damn it.. god damn it!" he ran to the bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror.
What had happened? What caused this sudden change? Thousands of questions rushed through his head. He was trying to remember all the things that had happened to him. Retracing all his steps.
He couldn't come to a conclusion.
"Shit!"
In pure frustration, his fist slammed into the mirror, shattering. His right eye twitched.
He stared at his hand, dripping with blood.
. . .
. .
.
(Author's Note)
i had been trying to do daily chapters, since i realized my schedule was very inconsistent. i apologize for missing a few days. i'm actually supposed to be grounded right now. so, i shouldn't even be uploading this chapter. i was sneaky enough and managed to borrow my brother's laptop.
but, i'll try to continue and be somewhat consistent!