The Grim Legion

by Kindred Ult

  "Yea," Sean seemed ashamed and shuffled his feet while still looking down at the ground. "But, he just doesn't seem as evil as they said vampires were."

  "Listen, don't let him fool you. You know what he did to…Mark, and what he tried to do to Nasoren. This is just something vampires do. They try to make you think that they're not that bad, and once you trust them, they kill you."

  "Yea, but, what if, you know, Mark…deserved what happened to him?" Sean was looking down, so he did not notice Jake walking towards him until he was right in front of him. Sean looked up in time to see Jake slap him in the face. He fell to the ground and put his hand to cheek. He felt blood, and for one rage-filled second, he felt the unmistakable urge to rise to his feet and rip Jake apart. However, even as the feeling formed he was terrified of it and smashed it down. He just looked back up to see Jake trembling. Jake stared back down at him before speaking in a trembling voice.

  "Never, Never say anything like that ever again! Those beasts killed my wife, and thousands of others without any provocation. It doesn't matter whether this particular one deserves what he's getting or not. The fact is that his race is evil, and as a result, he must be destroyed. This was our job before, during, and after his murder of Mark and anyone else. We are vampire slayers for Devourer's sake! Now get up and get ready before I have you sent back to the academy to relearn the basics of our job."

  Once again Sean looked at the ground. Now he was ashamed for bringing up his doubts. He knew that Jake was right, and he had joined the vampire slayers because he wanted to destroy evil, but this just seemed different than anything any of his instructors had told him. "Yes sir."

  Jake's face softened a bit. "Good," he held out his hand, "Now get yourself on up to your feet mate."

  Sean smiled and took the hand. Just as he got back to his feet he saw the Vampire move. "They're going."

  Demenn, not waiting for Wulf to make a move, ran at him. He tucked his sword close to him and closed the gap quickly, while yelling out an unintelligible battle cry. At first Sean could not make any sense of what he was saying, but then, even when he figured out what it was, it made no sense to him.

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen. Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." He reached Wulf and swung at him both all of his might, using a two handed grip. Wulf, having been the aggressor for the entire match up until now, was taken by surprise. He was forced to dodge backwards while lashing out with one hand. Demenn ducked under the strike, but then he placed his hands on the ground and launched himself to the side, dodging the second attack as well. He got back up to his feet to spun to his left, barely dodging a kick that splintered the side of a tree that it glanced against, and sliced a line across the outstretched thigh.

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." Wulf lunged forward with both of his hands outstretched. He placed them at different heights so that Demenn could not dodge, but Demenn leapt over the attack and spun while in the air, barely dodging a vicious snap from Wulf's jaws, and slashed another line down Wulf's shoulder blade.

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." He landed, was swept by Wulf's tail, grabbed Wulf's tail in the air, and chopped it off. He landed on his back, but he was back up in a second.

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." Wulf Spun around, sweeping his right fist around in a devastating arc that would that would have crushed Demenn had it hit him. Demenn bent backwards, placing one hand on the ground for balance, and avoided the strike. By the time Wulf lost momentum, Demenn was right in front of him, and inside his guard.

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." Demenn shoved his sword deep into Wulf's gut, It cut clean through his abdominal muscles, large intestine, and even dug into his spine. This last part was Demenn's undoing. For while Wulf screamed his pain and agony to the moon, Demenn's sword was too embedded for him to pull it out with one wrench. Before he could try a second pull, Wulf wrapped his hands around Demenn, his claws cutting numerous deep holes into Demenn's body. Demenn's arms were pinioned, but he still lifted his leg and kicked his sword farther into Wulf's body. Wulf only growled and lifted Demenn into the air until he feet dangled above the ground. Demenn tried to struggle, kicking strenuously and jerking his body around, but it was far too pointless. Wulf's strength was superior as he slowly squeezed his hands, breaking Demenn's ribs in the process. Wulf grinned.

  "Ah, now that you mention it, Demenn, I do remember your family. Your father, heh, he tried to stop us with a pickaxe, even shoved it into my chest. Fool, too bad he was too weak to do anything more than that. Especially after we ripped off his arms, gouged out his eyes, and then ripped open his ribcage. I remember him whimpering, even up until we feasted on his first lung, strong fellow that one. Most give up and die after about the first or second arm. Your mother kept screaming his name in a most pathetic way. It was your sister, however, that really made me remember. She was such a beautiful girl, far too beautiful to just pass by. In the end, her heart was even more delicious than she was. It's too bad she died so soon, I would have loved to have taken her with me and kept her as a—." Wulf stopped. A look of surprise was sketched on his lupine features.

  Demenn's skin began to turn black, and his muscles and bones began to grow in size as well. He growled in pain as horns burst from his head, twisting until they resembles goats horns, and wings burst from his back, flowing in the night wind. Wulf stared in amazement as he realized that Demenn was now staring him in the face with purely red eyes. His feet rested on the ground and he was now only a head shorter than Wulf. Wulf stared in amazement for a second.

  "B—but you need to be a first class to achieve that power." He gasped, before suddenly realizing that his claws were not digging into Demenn's flesh any more, and that all of Demenn's wounds were healed. Demenn stared at him with eyes of malice.

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." Demenn's voice was convoluted, it seemed like several voices overlaid each other, and his teeth were jagged. His hands came up and clasped onto Wulf's arms. For a moment, the two titans struggled with one another, both of their muscles straining to overcome the other. Then, however, Wulf's arm that had been slashed gave in, breaking at the point of the cut. Demenn quickly twisted his wrist, tearing Wulf's arm off before grabbing the other arm with both hands and kicking Wulf in the stomach. Wulf howled in fear and pain as his second arm was torn from his torso.

  In moments, Wulf's healing factor kicked in and skin grafted itself over the stumps of what was left of his arms. Wulf regained his senses and kicked out with one of his feet, but Demenn dodged to the side, grabbed the leg with one hand as it passed, pulled Wulf forward, and chopped the leg off with his elongated nails on his other hand. Wulf lost his balance and was about to fall when Demenn grabbed his last remaining appendage with one hand while digging his other up into Wulf's chest cavity from below. Without a second's hesitation, Demenn ripped that leg off, leaving Wulf with no arms or legs as he fell to the ground. Of course, Wulf's healing factor did manage to close the wounds for him. Demenn stared down at Wulf's torso.

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen."

  Wulf growled with rage.

  "Say it!" Demenn slashed Wulf across his face, cutting gashes into it. "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen!"

  "K—Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." Wulf gasped out.

  "Again!" Demenn's wings flexed and shot outward, and his horns grew a bit more out of his head.

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen." Wulf could barely speak from the pain.

  "Louder murderer. Louder spawn of Lucifer."

  "Kyrion, Nicole, Helen!" Wulf yelled out with all of his strength.

  "Good!" Demenn shoved his hand into Wulf's chest, ripped out his still-beating heart, and shoved his fangs into the side of it. Once he drained all of the fluids from it, he shoved the rest of it into his mouth. Even as he finished, Wulf's healing factor broke, and all of the wounds he had received suddenly burst apart, with blood spurting from every conceivable area. As he died, Demenn felt the surge of power that came from Wulf's heart blast into him even as he returned to his normal, humanoid form. He screamed in agony as the rushing bloo
d now healed his wounds, which he had thought were healed by his transformation, and he could immediately tell the differences inside him. He knew that he was stronger, faster, and that his senses were keener. He gasped in relief and pain. It was finally over.

  However, he stiffened when he heard a gunshot and felt wood rip into him. 'That is right. The slayers.' He felt his strength drain from him because of the wood that was still inside his body and slumped to the ground. 'Oh well, I guess it is better this way. I am evil, after all.'

  Sean screamed with pain and grabbed his should while Jake ran towards Demenn. He had seen the hit, but he had to make sure that he was dead. That had been one hell of a fight, but now it was time for justice to be paid. He was just glad that the vampire had reverted from his…Other form to normal, otherwise they probably would have been killed. As it was, he walked up to Demenn and held his wooden stake with both hands. He stood over the corpse and raised the stake above his head.

  "I'm sorry, vampire, but this is how things must be done. You are evil, the werewolves are evil, and we must cleanse evil. We must—" He never got to finish his sentence. Suddenly, he looked up to see that he had no hands. Then he looked behind his shoulder to see them land on the ground a ways away from him. His mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened, but once it did he looked down to see Demenn in a kneeling position, with his sword in one hand and his other hand digging the bullet out of his side. Demenn looked at Jake and smiled.

  "You know, usually I would say something like 'evil is a matter of perspective', but this time, I will admit it and agree with you. I am most definitely evil." His smile did not seem arrogant, smug, or evil, but that just made it all the more malevolent.

  "S—Sean!" Jake turned around to see his partner rolling on the ground, screaming with pain and clutching his shoulder. Then Jake heard Demenn's voice right next to his ear.

  "He cannot help you. Unfortunately, no one can help you. You will die tonight. Look at it this way though, at least you are not going to become damned for all of eternity. No, you will go to wherever those who do good deeds go. Consider yourself lucky, Jake, to not be counted among the damned." The words comforted Jake, and he ceased the screaming he had not noticed he had started. "Do not worry, you will not become one of us tonight, I will make sure to drain everything from you. Now close your eyes." Jake obeyed, and after he felt Demenn's teeth pierce him, he never opened them again.

  Sean was still screaming by the time Demenn had retrieved all of his weapons and cut out the other werewolves' hearts. He finished sewing the arteries of the last one, so that the blood would stay in it, while he walked up to Sean. Sean was covered with sweat, and his eyes were full of fear. He looked at Demenn before letting out another scream and rolling onto his side, still grabbing at his shoulder. Demenn rolled him back over so that they were facing each other.

  "What's, what's happening to me?" Sean's voice trembled in pain.

  "You seem to have been bitten by a werewolf, Sean." Demenn stared at him. His expression was emotionless.

  Sean's eyes opened even wider as a new fear entered them. "What's that mean?"

  "It means that you will soon turn into a werewolf, and become one of them for eternity, or until you are killed and your heart is devoured." Demenn's eyes softened with pity for this young man.

  "Is there any way to stop it? I don't want…To become a werewolf." Sean grimaced as another burst of pain flowed from his should to the rest of his body.

  Demenn stared into Sean's eyes. His face hardened. "I do not blame you. Yes, there is a way, but there is only one way."

  "What? What way?" Sean's eyes sparkled with hope once again.

  "You have to be beheaded by a silver weapon before the curse turns you."

  Fear filled Sean's face once again. "You mean…You mean I have to die?"

  "Yes, either that or become a werewolf. I am leaving here soon. I will not kill you if you decide to live, but you must decide for yourself. Do you want to live a life among the beasts, or do you want to end your life now?" Demenn stood and pulled out his spear.

  "I…I…I…Can't I have a bit to think?" Sean was panicked and hyperventilating.

  "You have about a minute before you enter the pre-werewolf phase, after that, I am leaving so that you will not track me."

  "Well, well, um. I guess I'll uh. Demenn?"

  "Yes?"

  "I refuse to live my life like that. I have devoted my life to ridding the world of evil. I cannot become part of it. Could you please kill me? I cannot…Do it myself. I can barely move, it hurts so much." For just a moment, Sean's eyes cleared of all pain and panic, and he spoke with complete conviction.

  Demenn smiled. "I wish I had the strength you do when it was my turn to choose. Very well, I would say that I will see you again, in the afterlife, but I think that we will be going to different places. Oh, and when you get there, tell Jake that I'm sorry."

  Sean smiled back at him. "I will, is it okay if I close my eyes?"

  "Yes, please do so." Demenn settled into a back stance and readied himself.

  Sean kept his smile on his face and clamped his eyes shut. "D—Do…" his voice faltered.

  "I know." Demenn slashed down and, in one smooth motion he sliced Sean's throat open, sending blood flowing over Sean's clothes and making him gasp from the pain. Another cut sent the side of the spear halfway through his throat, and with one more slash, Sean's head rolled away from his body. Somehow, he was still smiling.

  Demenn stared down at the head before he turned away, cleaned his weapons on Jake's shirt, and set off on his way back to the vampire castle.

  'I really am evil.' He shook his head to try to clear Sean's smile from his mind.

  - 22 -

  Repercussions

  Repercussions

  "He's killed…about nineteen people already sir, and that's not even countin' the Darken. That's more than any single vampire or werewolf has killed in the last thirty years. There's no doubt that we need ta' destroy this evil vamp." The speaker, a short, stocky dwarf, stood in front of a desk. His large hat had been removed, and his long brown hair fell to his waist, while his beard was braided and almost hung to the floor. He had brown eyes that seemed overly large for such a small body, and was dressed in a large cloak and a wide hat that looked a little ridiculous on him.

  "Uh, sir, if I could just correct the short one. The six on the road were reported to be bandits, so it is probable that they attacked him and he fought and killed them in self-defense. In regards to that, it appears that one of then escaped. The men who reported the deaths said that their leader, Jaxon, was not among the dead." The second speaker was a tall elf who stood beside the dwarf. He was also dressed in a brown cloak, but had taken off his large hat. His flowing blonde hair fell to his shoulder blades, and seemed to be the only hair he possessed. His face was beautiful, as all elf faces are, but a cloth was wrapped around his eyes. Unlike his partner, this elf wore his cloak with a bearing that seemed to befit an elf.

  "Bah, don't listen to him sir, even though they may have been bandits (and successful ones at that), that fact still doesn't excuse him killing them. Even if it did, he should be hunted down just for killing that young man, who was just trying to protect his sweetheart." The dwarf was speaking to his superior, but he was looking up at the elf, daring him to rebut.

  The elf shook his head. "About that, the autopsy that was conducted on the young man stated that he was stabbed from behind. There was no way that he could have 'fought off' the vampire after being stabbed in the back. Also, he had several scrapes and a bruise on his groin area, indicating a knee strike. I think that we need to re-think our opinion on just what happened in that forest."

  "The young girl herself said that that's what happened. Why would she lie for a filthy vampire murderer, and against him on top of that." A quick flash of white burst through the dwarf's voluminous beard as he smiled in triumph.

  "Now that part I have yet to figure out, but I think that the gi
rl did not want to spoil the young man's reputation. This whole situation turned out well for her, by the way. She joined the paladins about two months ago, and the paladin commander himself said that she is already a skilled fighter and mage."

  The dwarf harrumphed loudly. "So yer saying that the vampire rescued the girl from the boy?"

  The elf sighed quietly. "Yes, that is what I believe."

  "Bull, but even if that was true, what about the seven innocent humans and two vampire slayers he killed. He brutally mangled the seven, cut out their hearts, and even carved 'Tyrion, Nicole, Helen' into one's chest. That happened not even a month ago."

  "While I cannot excuse the slayer's deaths, I believe that the others were definitely werewolves (Why else would he pull out their hearts?), and that the vampire fought along with Sean and Jake against them. It looked like he would have let them go, from my observations of the area, had Jake not attacked. Sean was a mercy killing, he was becoming a werewolf, but Jake's death was, as you said, unforgivable." The elf seemed to be concentrating very hard, as if he were pulling up a mental map of the area he had been to.