The smell of the
forest foliage hung heavy with the morning dews in the air. The sunlight
permeates the canopies of leaves, brought on the morning life to the forest
creatures. It would had been another day but it was not so that morning. Even
the bull frogs are keeping their vigil from under the water surface; keeping
its croaks to the bubbles there. There was the swooping hawk which came in for
the morning catch but had to veered off with flapping wings to elevate it
flights up. The changes was due to the presence of a upper look of a man and
body of a goat with the bended legs on the hoofs. It was not everyday that the
son of the devil travelled this far, but the tales of the man-devil had reached
the ears of those who lived here.
The man-devil
crouched on the fallen moss covered log across the stream, raised its nasal
passages to bear on the scents that was in the air. Man had travelled there,
and the distinct odor musked by sweat and dirt, did not hide the foul smell of
its breath. These Orcs are filthy creatures not only in the skin but with their
diet of meat and fermented fruits. The one sought by the man -devil was there,
it travelled in the group of five.
Then a new scent
was picked up by the man-devil; that of Man and despite the musky smell, it had
the scent of blood. May not be of the man but that of the Orc that died from
its slashes. It was the instinct of the devil that preserved the head of the
man-devil when it leaped to the stream banks. The blade had cut in deep into
the bark of the tree, but its handler had pulled the blade out with ease.
"Akuma, I
stand for my lord's daughter. Freed her and you are free to leave." The
one who spoke was bare chested man with the skirt with leather flaps that
cushioned it from deadly cuts. His legs was encased in the loose pants tucked
into the dark leather knee high boots. The man had a three foot blade held in
his hands with the stance of a trained killer.
"The name is
Damen, son of Lucifer." The man-devil replied with dis-taste to be
associated with the namesake from the eastern land. "Akuma displeased my
father's image. He wants to be known as Lucifer."
"A devil
remains one in whatever identity it remain hidden behind." The one
wielding the blade had chopped the fallen log to halved it and stride forward
towards the man-devil. The blade wielder was a warrior of eastern descent but
his current oath was to the King Kurd of Karzak in the inlands of the continent
after the sea of desert and cold barren land. The masterless warrior had
wandered far and then served as mercenary for the King. His tasks was disturbed
by the capture of Princess Iuya by the ruthless Lord Darck of Turkmes. The Lord
was a wizard with the dark arts had conjured up the servants of Orcs to
performed the act.
The blade missed
the man-devil by the whiskers of his horned tail. Damen jumped up to the thick
branch and on instinct released the hell fire flame from his left hand towards
the river. The unique flame did not dissipate in the water but reached to the
stream bed like a streaking lightning that blew a hole there.
"The o-yuma
showed it fangs. " Sagunto on the stream banks leaped up with the blade
had it removed the branch with the cut but the elusive man-devil had leaped to
another branch for safety.
"Stop!"
Damen hollered out in the commanding voice that was inherited from his father.
"I command thee."
Sagunto felt his
body weakening and he used the blade to hold himself up. He called on the
Amaterasu for help to restored his strength, but even then his knees buckled
over. He fell onto his knee and glared to the crouching man-devil. Damen voiced
out his words.
"Listen to
me, Sagunto. I am not your enemy. I want to rescue your care, and have her
return to her father." Damen looked to the warrior. "You are worthy
of her too, but....."
"I am not her
worth, but her equal. I too ....loved her." Sagunto replied. "There
can be no love between man and devil offspring."
Damen felt the
words that pierced his soul; he was the offspring of Lucifer and a lady of Man.
He was raised by his human mother; hidden from the eyes of the public in the
deep forest protected by the servants of his father. He was tainted by birth
but his raising was rich with much learning from the masters. He was given many
lessons to prepare him for the position beside his father, but the man-devil
soon breached the code of conduct. He befriend Man and soon became entranced by
the beauty of Man. Princess Iuya took only his heart but also his allegiance to
his father. He battled many of his father's servants then, and even the
previous masters of his teaching. That was when the Wizard Darck pleaded for
the Orcs' help, Lucifer gave the consent and made his son took on the hunt.
"Aargh!"
Sagunto broke the spell that imprisoned his body by Damen. He pushed himself up
and held the blade to swing at the man-devil. The blade was not of any blade
molded by masters craftsman but was given its power by the metal it was casted
from. The metal from the higher skies that sailed the dark skies had reached
the home of the craftsman, and it was from there the blade of Ikazuchi-no-Kami
- a thunder god, was made. When called on the power, it streak out a slash
power of over twenty paces in length but it eats into the soul of the wielder
with a searing pain. Damen was hit by the power of the blade and thrown back by
ten paces against the trees with the red welt on his chest. He does not bleed
nor had his bones broken, but the flesh of his frame quivered from the pain it
felt.
"Yuk...yuk,
the warriors tires themselves for my killing." The Orc emerged from the
trees with the broad sword in its right hand. "I Orluk, called for your
heads."
The resounding
laughter of the Orc split the tranquility of the forest as more creatures took
to run for safety.
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