The Slasher

By Tariot

My name…my name is Gene. Or at least that’s what my name used to be. I am called the Slasher now. Once, I was a human. Once, I was free of guilt and sin. But unfortunately, all that changed. I often ask myself where everything went astray. I ask myself “Why did this have to happen?” But then again, I realize the truth of it all. I realize that I committed these sins deliberately.

Several years ago…two, five, maybe ten…I cannot accurately recall the number because my crimes have blinded my once sharp memory…I tried to escape from a place that the Romalians have dubbed ‘White House’. No, to call it merely a place would be to be extremely generous. It is more than simply a place, but rather a hell, a spawning pool for death. When my clan, a village of sword masters had been slaughtered, those bastards had captured me. They, the Romalians, had done the same to many other villages. They sought out all the young children in my village such as myself, to try and take advantage of my mastery of the blades. Though it was but a child, my father had trained me several times before and the skills of my ancestors flowed within my blood.

When they took me to White House, I met a boy from a clan who could control fire. His name was Elc. I also met a girl who was from a clan that had complete mastery over the oceans. Her name was Mariel. There were also many other children, but to me, they were nameless. I befriended Elc at first when the scientists of White House were ‘training’ me. They called it training, but I describe it as torture. They had me fight monsters…over and over again. I failed against all of them. Usually when I lost, I would get yelled at by the scientists and be told to try harder. I called it as a bluff as they never did anything.

However, one day, there was a merciless Blood Fiend. It was their strongest monster and I had realized this when it struck me a wound with its huge scythe. I was bleeding all over the place. I was expecting some of the White House staff to try and assist me like they usually did…but this time was an exception.

They were tired of my repeated failures. They were giving up on me. I was about to die when I saw the creature incinerated by a flash of fire. Its corpse burned and fell over. Behind it, I saw a boy about my age. He wore a white coat like me and a bandanna. I realized he had snuck into this hellish arena and saved my life. However, before we could exchange introductions, the White House staff had taken us both into custody. We were taken to the main director of White House, Gallarno. He was impeccably dressed and had a detestable smile, a smile that I would soon grow to hate.

“What is wrong with you, Elc!?” he yelled at the boy next to me. “Why did you save this child? He has nothing to do with you whatsoever! He has killed many people! He was there when he burned your village to the ground and he laughed!”

“I don’t believe a word of it!” Elc yelled back at him. “You told me that you came to my village to talk peace and you say my village attacked you first! But I know that’s a lie! You came to my village for the statue of the Fire Guardian and you killed everyone I ever knew and loved!”

“Ooh. Harsh words from a child. Then again, you killed some of my soldiers when you resisted. Perhaps I should say “Harsh words from the killer.” Gene, are you sure that you want to befriend a boy of this caliber? You must focus your sword ability, not waste your time with befriending little murderers!”

“Shut up!” I told him. “My father used to tell me to live my own life. He told me that I chose who my friends were. He told me to train in the ways of my ancestors, but also to live my own life. You can’t tell ME what to do!” This infuriated Gallarno. He rose up from his chair rather abruptly and slammed his fist on the desk.

“Do you DARE TO DEFY ME!?” he screamed at the top of his lungs. His face was beet red, but not the kind that you would have when you’re blushing. Rather, the kind that you have when you’re angry. “I took you in and I am honing your abilities! HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME!!!” A second later, several Romalian guards stormed in. Their gray uniforms, their faceless expressions, and their huge bayonets all reminded me of the terror when my village was destroyed. They were the ones who destroyed my village.

“You destroyed my village!” screamed Elc. “You have no right to insult us!”

“Guards! Take them to the detention hall!” commanded Gallarno.

“Yes sir!” they said in unison and they grabbed us without much effort. I was still struck by the terror, but Elc was far more resistant and struggled the entire time.

“You killed everyone I loved!” he screamed. “I’ll send you to meet them! You monster!”

However, his screaming was in vain as we were taken to a dark area with very little lighting. They were not many children there. The children here were all very dirty and disgusting looking. Was this to be our new home? I didn’t want to end up like these children. I had already seen enough horror in my life. A day passed by. During that day, we had harsh conditions. We had very little food offered to us, and the food that was offered to us was of very low quality. We were served rotten and wilted fruits, but that was it. The chamber was very cold. I thought I was going to die in this place. Elc didn’t say much, except his usual angry outbursts for this whole place.

However, the next day when I woke up, a scientist was speaking to another one. I couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying, but I could vaguely understand it. I believe they were talking about the environment and our cooperation. The scientist then left. One of the guards walked over to our cell and dragged Elc and I out. Elc, woken up from his rest, was in a fit.

“What do you think you’re doing!? I was trying to take a nap!” he yelled at the guard.

“Shut up brat! Our head scientist, Dr. Vilmer has ordered us to take you two brats to the Kindergarten Area. You better be thankful you little brats, ‘cause the Kindergarten Area is the most peaceful and calm area in this rat-infested place! And I know I am, ‘cause with you gone, I won’t have to put with as many of you little rats!”

“Why you—“ began Elc.

“Elc! Calm down!” I told him. He looked at me with a face of puzzlement.

“He insulted us! You’re just going to let that slip by?”

“There’s nothing else we can do. Just calm down.”

“Fine then! I’ll just…try to…but if you wake me up EVER again, I’ll make you regret it!” Then, another guard walked over to us.

“Please come with me.” Elc seemed to heed my advice as he decided to go along with this plan. When we arrived at the Kindergarten Area, there were many playthings such as slides and there were also sandboxes. I also noticed that there were considerably more children here—and they were much healthier looking children at that. However, one girl in particular struck my attention…and I noticed that Elc seemed to be staring at her as well. I also noticed the guard had left. Before Elc went to talk to her, however, he looked at me.

“We haven’t introduced ourselves yet, have we?” asked Elc.

“I guess not,” I replied.

“Oh! Well then, my name’s Elc, but I’m sure you figured that out already by that little argument with Gallarno.”

“My name is Gene,” I told him. “But my friends call me Ginie…I mean they used to call me Ginie…”

“’Used to?’ What do you mean, ‘used to?’”

“My clan…a tribe of sword warriors…were murdered…my friends were taken away and I never saw them again. I don’t where they are now.”

“They’re probably here,” stated Elc. “My clan was the Pyrenians, a tribe of people who could use fire magic. But they set fire to my village, killed everyone I knew and loved, and stole the statue of the Fire Guardian!”

“I…I’m sorry.”

“Its alright. I’ve gotten used to it.”

“That’s good to hear. But…who is this Gallarno?”

“Gallarno is the director of this place.”

“Then, he controls everything that goes on here, right?”

“That’s right. You’re probably thinking of sucking up to him…but don’t. I did know a kid here who constantly tried to get on Gallarno’s good side and eventually he did. Never saw him again. In other words, don’t trust anyone at this place, except the kids.”

“Thanks, I’ll remember that.”

“Hey, who is that cute girl?” he said and he looked in the direction of the girl I saw before. This time, however, I got a better look at her. She had long blonde hair and a pretty face. She also wore a white coat like us. In fact, I noticed pretty soon that everyone here wore a white coat. I couldn’t help but stare at her. “Hey, don’t stare, or else she’ll notice!” he whispered to me.

“Alright…” I replied. However, then I noticed he was walking over to talk to her. I followed him.

“Hello there, my name is Elc,” he told her. “What is your name?”

“My name is Mariel,” she replied. “What’s your story?”

“Huh?” replied Elc in a state of surprise and confusion.

“I mean, why are you here?” she asked him again.

“Oh…my family, my village was slaughtered by these monsters…and then they took me here. But I don’t know why though.”

“That sounds identical to what happened to me and everyone else here. I was part of a village that had control over the water…but then THEY came and killed my family. They took my friends and I away. I’ve never seen my friends again.”

“I’m sorry.” I said to her.

“Oh? And who are you?” she asked.

“My name is Gene.” I told her. “Actually…my friends used to call me Ginie…but I have no idea where my friends from my village are…”

“Gene,” said Elc. “I’ll be your friend. Do you care if I call you Ginie?”

“No, not at all,” I replied. “Thank you, Elc.”

And so time passed. Of course, when I say ‘time’ I mean months and years. I eventually shed my shyness and became somewhat of a sidekick to Elc. I could tell that Elc liked Mariel. Sometimes I liked to tease him by calling Mariel over. Those…those were perhaps my greatest days of joy. I finally had friends. Friends who I could count on. Friends who would stand by my side. However, that was all subject to change. Elc, as well as Mariel, and I began to notice that some of the kids began to disappear. It was not until that one day that Elc and Mariel snuck out the Kindergarten Area that I found out the true purpose of their disappearance.

It was one fateful morning that Elc and Mariel came to me, pale as ghosts.

“What’s wrong?” I asked them.

“Monsters…” was all that Mariel could say.

“They’re changing the kids into monsters!” Elc exclaimed. “That’s why they’re disappearing! We have to escape!”

“But how?” I asked him. Before he could answer that question, a scientist came in, with several guards behind him.

“Them!” he shouted. “They snuck into our Chimera chamber! Grab them!” Elc and Mariel ran for the other exit. I followed. As we ran through the various hallways of White House, our pursuers did not give up. Eventually, we had escaped. We were free! Or so we thought. Now we had to go through the confusing and twisting pathways of the forest, which led here.

“How are we supposed to get out?” asked Elc.

“I’ll hold them off!” I said.

“No Ginie! Don’t try to be the big hero!” said Mariel. “We have to escape TOGETHER!”

“Yeah, Ginie!” said Elc. “We won’t leave you!”

“If I don’t use myself as a decoy, they will find us both! Sorry, guys!” I said and I ran to my pursuers. “Run!” I yelled. With no other option left, they both did.

“Aha!” laughed one of the guards. “Hey doc, we found ‘im!”

“Excellent work,” laughed the scientist. “You two, bring him with us. The rest of you, don’t give up that chase!” I struggled the entire time, but I could not free myself. Eventually, they brought me back and threw me back into the Kindergarten Area. In fact, an hour later, Mariel was brought back too.

“Mariel,” I asked. “Where is Elc?”

“He…he escaped…”

“That’s good…”

“But…but I wonder what will happen to us?”

A day later, Gallarno beefed up the security to prevent a second escape. He also put me back into my ‘training’. My chance of escape had been lost. I had no choice but to fight against the monsters. I channeled my hatred for this place into my blade as all of my opponents had tasted my steel. Years passed, and every single monster died against my sword. One day, however, Gallarno requested a meeting with me. He still looked as cocky as ever, with that damn smirk across his face.

“What the hell do you want?” I asked him.

“Ooh, quite the arrogant one, aren’t we?” he taunted me. “Several years later, you would not even fight a monster…but now…you’re more than happy to kill them.”

“You made me into this you bastard.”

“You’re right. I’ve broken your spirit. The only thing left for you to do is fight. But anyway, I brought you here for a reason. The time has come for your ‘graduation’.” He said with a tint of sarcasm in his voice.

“You’re going to change me into a monster?” I asked.

“Correct. Your remarkable skill with the blade will prove invaluable to my plans.”

“If that’s the case, I refuse.”

“You have no right to refuse.” He said. Then, he took out a small black orb. It was about the size of an eyeball. He let it go and it flung right into my chest. It actually went beneath my skin and I felt the pain of it burning my chest.

“What the hell did you do to me!?”

“I’ve attached your strings, my puppet. For you see, I am the puppet master, and you are a puppet. He then took out a small remote of sorts and pressed a button. I felt like I was being shocked.

“You bastard!” I yelled at him.

“Now, now, Ginie, don’t hate me, that was a small shock. But if you refuse to cooperate, you will feel more pain.”

“I think you’re bluffing.”

“Well now, that’s a false assumption,” he said and he shocked me in what felt like a sword piercing my chest.

“Damn you!…Fine then. I accept.”

“Excellent! Come with me!” He took me down the many corridors that would eventually lead to the Chimera Lab. On the way, however, I encountered Mariel. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, with long blonde hair.

“Ginie!” she said. “Don’t go with them! You have to fight them!”

“Guards! How did this one escape? Toss her back into the Kindergarten Area!” They obeyed, and they grabbed her by her arms. She was still struggling and screaming, screaming for me to resist me.

“Damn you.” I told him.

“Oh now, now, this is fate! It is fate that your village was destroyed and that you are my puppet now!”

“Fate!?” I exclaimed as I lost my temper and tried to run him through with my sword. He held the remote again and I tried to ignore the pain at first, but I realized that he had stunned me with all the electrical volts. I had no choice but to stop.

“That’s right. Realize you’re place as a puppet.” We eventually reached the Chimera Chamber and he strapped me to the device. He turned it on. The experience that I went through as I was twisted into a monster was unbearable. When it was over, I looked at my pale hands. My fingers had become long and slender and my skin had become extremely pale. They brought me out of the Chimera Lab and into a large room. It had a huge mirror there. Gallarno opened some of the cabinets.

“What the hell is this?” I asked him.

“We’re going to find a new…costume to suit your new form,” he said, chuckling. “After all, the Slasher must look imposing!”

“The Slasher?” I asked him.

“Yes, the Slasher will be a serial killer who will torment the continent of East Aldia. You will play that role. Look into the mirror.” I looked into the mirror and I saw myself. I immediately became overcome with dread at what I had become. My eyes had become a disgusting yellow, and my hair had been completely removed during the transformation process. Gallarno had the guards completely strip me nude and he brought out a long trench coat, a normal long-sleeve shirt, and a pair of jeans. He also brought some shades. He told me to put them on and I did.

“Now, what do you want me to do?” I asked him.

“Focus all your energy into your palm.” He told me. I did, and a huge blade erupted from my palm. The blade was covered with my blood.

“You…”

“You will be taken to East Aldia, where you will meet my faithful companions, the Cabal. And then, you will play the role of the Slasher.”

“Damn you to hell, Gallarno!”

“You know, I really am getting tired of your little outbursts! Perhaps I should kill you here right now. But no, you are far too useful to me to kill.”

“Before we go…I want to talk to Mariel.”

“Fine then. But make it quick.” I was led back to the Kindergarten Area where I saw Mariel playing with some of the children. Some of the kids ran at my sight and Mariel looked at me.

“Who are you!?” she asked in rage. “Have you come here to torment these poor children?”

“Mariel,” I said.

“Ginie? Is that you?” she asked.

“Yes.” I replied.

“Ginie…what has become of you?”

“I…I had no choice…they are manipulating me through a device they put inside me.”

“Ginie…why did you come here?”

“I am going to East Aldia. I just wanted to say goodbye to you before I left.”

“Goodbye,” she said in a low and solemn voice. “Please…please don’t give into their tricks and their deception! You are better than that!”

“No Mariel…I am not better than that.” I told her. “I’m a monster…look at me!”

“Ginie…you body might be that of a monster, but your mind is not.”

“You don’t understand! I have killed many monsters that they used to ‘test’ me. And you know those monsters are really our friends…” Then, she slapped me hard across the face.

“Ginie, listen to you! You are not a monster! You are only a monster if you see yourself as one!”

“And I do see myself as one! Innocents have died by my blade…I’m sorry Mariel.”

“Well then, is that it? Goodbye Ginie…I hope you find your answer.” She then went up and kissed me on the cheek.

“Mariel…”

“I don’t see you as a monster, Ginie. I could never see you as a monster.”

“Thank you, Mariel…” Then, I left and went back to where Gallarno was waiting.

“Are you ready?” he asked me.

“Yes,” I replied. We left the White House and we entered an airship with a huge blood red crest on it. I assumed it was Romalian. The trip was a short one though as we soon landed in East Aldia. Several men with mysterious coats and large top hats greeted us.

“’Ey boss, nice to see ya!” one of them said in a rather thick accent.

“How are things going?” Gallarno asked.

“We just recently sent that dumb bastid Alfred.”

“Ah yes…Shante’s brother. Threatening to kill his sister was an excellent way to manipulate him. And once we are finished with him, we make her think we have Alfred captive to manipulate her.”

“What do you want with me?” I asked him.

“Yo boss, who’s ‘dis losa?” he asked in his thick accent.

“He is the one I told you about,” he said. “The Slasher.”

“The Slasha? Oh yeah, that guy you told us about that would help control ‘dis town!”

“Slasher, the time has come to test your resolve.” Gallarno said. “Tonight, there will be people walking on the Aldian bridge. There are always people walking on the bridge, because they want to go to Prodias or Indigos. Anyway, tonight, I want you to go there and slaughter as many people as possible. The Cabal will block the sides of the bridge to prevent anyone from escaping.”

“Fine then.” I said. I had no choice in the matter. Night quickly stretched its black hand over the once blue sky and I was walking with the Cabal to the bridge. The people on the bridge instantly shrieked at the sight of us and ran for the other side. However, that way was also blocked with more of the Cabal.

“Slasha, time fer ya ta’ prove your worth!” one of the Cabal said. I concentrated and I made my sword erupt my palm. I walked across the bridge and I noticed a young woman, about twenty or so, cowering at my sight. She had a short skirt on and she was very pretty. She also had a sleeveless shirt on.

“Please don’t kill me!” she cried. “I’ll give you all the pleasure you want!”

“Ah…a whore.” I said. “I’ll make you cry my name…and then I’ll make that pretty throat of yours run red.” I went over to her and kissed her on her lips and forced my tongue into her mouth. Then, I stripped her nude and I ravaged her and made her moan and scream. And I enjoyed it. The torment that Gallarno put me through, the change that happened to me, and the fact that I was being used put so much hatred through me that I found it enjoyable to channel my hatred through torturing my victims. I had finally become a monster, in both mind and body. In effect, I had become just like Gallarno. And I had hated myself for it. When I was done with her, I eviscerated her insides and I continued to walk. I found a rather obese man dressed in sloppy clothes.

“Don’t hurt me!” he said. I looked closely at his face and I could see he was eating something.

“Don’t you know that talking with your mouth full is impolite?” I said as I brandished my blade. The blood of my previous victim shone in the moonlight and ran him through.

“Damn you to hell, you freak!” he yelled at me through his dying breath.

“Freak!? I’ll show you!” I cried in anger as I cut out his tongue and left him to bleed to death. The next person I saw was a little child.

“Please, stay away you bad person!” she yelled at me. In that child, I saw myself, my childhood. This child had a happy childhood, she had a chance to live her life, something that I would never have. And I wanted to make her suffer for it. So I killed her as well. The blood of my victims coated my sword as I walked onwards and saw a skinny pale man on the side of the bridge, who was shaking and shivering. His hair was a mess and he had very poor clothes on.

“D-don’t kill me, man!” he begged.

“Shut up, you pathetic excuse for a man!” I shouted and I slit his eyes, blinding him. I left him to bleed to death as well. My last victim was a rather strong man holding an axe.

“Hey asshole! Who do you think you are!?” he insulted me.

“I think that I am a predator,” I answered him. “And you are my prey.” I went over to him and he attempted to cut me with his axe. However, I dodged his blow and I cut his head off. The Cabal went over to me and congratulated me.

“Well done, Slasha! Da boss will be proud of ‘dis achievement!” We went back to Gallarno’s house as the Cabal reported my crimes. Then, Gallarno called me in.

“Excellent work. You seem to be filling the role of the Slasher quite well.”

“Now what?”

“You’re quite impatient, aren’t you? But rest assured, I can give you new victims.”

And so, every night, the Aldian Bridge became a slaughterhouse. As my steel tasted the blood of more victims, it became redder and redder. Their screams were like instruments; when I played them simultaneously in my head, they became an orchestra. For several nights, this pattern continued. The blood of my victims coated my blade, the screams of whores and criminals filled the air, and people soon grew to fear the name of the Slasher. Pretty soon, I was known as a wanted criminal and several Hunters even tried to stop me. But they died as well, as their careers were cut short by my blade. A day after I was known as wanted criminal all around East Aldia, Gallarno called me in for an urgent matter.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“Your victims were all very beautiful,” he said. “They have all died by your blade. But I have hard reports that your victims were nothing of a challenge compared to your abilities. So I found a new victim for you. Actually, that would be victims, but I’ll get to that later. You remember Elc, don’t you?”

“Yes…what about him?”

“I have found him. He and another one of my escaped test subjects are hiding in Prodias. Tomorrow night, you will go and kill them. Normally, I would have preferred to bring them back alive, but they have interfered in too many of my plans.”

“Yes.” I replied.

“I’m surprised that you want to kill Elc.”

“He escaped. I did not. I hate him for it.”

“Ha, ha, well now, that certainly makes this little drama all the more interesting, doesn’t it?”

“Shut up.”

“Your anger is beautiful. It will make you stronger. But don’t concentrate that anger on me. Save it for Elc.”

The next day seemed to go by very slowly. I wanted to see Elc so desperately, and I wanted to make him pay in his own blood. Finally, night came and a woman named Shante led me to where Elc was. I was aware that the Cabal was using her and I wanted to make them pay for the pain that they caused me and prevent them from hurting anyone else. Yet, at the same time, I wanted to kill others to concentrate my anger. I climbed up the building and I broke in his window. I saw him…he had grown so much, like me, but he was free. I also noticed he had a beautiful girl with him and what appeared to be a wolf-beast with her. The Cabal busted in and blocked the exit.

“Time ta die, ya scum!” The Cabal said, laughing.

“The only one’s who are scum are you, for breaking into someone’s house!” said Elc. “Didn’t your mommy teach you any manners?”

“Elc, be careful! They have the Slasher with them!” stated the girl.

“I know, Lieza! Don’t worry, we won’t die!” Then, the Cabal changed into monsters themselves, Orcs as a matter-of-fact.

“Paundit!” cried the girl, who was apparently named Lieza. The wolf-beast blasted the Cabal monsters with cold breath, which caused them to shiver and cry out in the pain that had been brought to them. All the while, I had been dealing with Elc. He pulled out a spear and lunged at me with it. I was not quick enough to dodge it as it had caused a slight wound in my shoulder. Then, I attempted to cut him in two with my blade. I gave him a scrape across his leg, however, it was not enough to stop him from plunging his spear into chest. Wounded, I could not stop bleeding.

“Damn!” I cried in pain. I used one of the abilities that came with this monster form, a teleportation ability, and I teleported to Prodias. Several of the Cabal were waiting for me there.

“’Ey, Slasha, wut’ happened?” asked one of them.

“Shut up!” I growled at him. “I need…I need help!”

“’Ey you!” he said to one of the other Cabal members. “Call Gallarno and tell ‘im wut’ happened!”

“Yeah, boss.” He went to a nearby telephone booth and began dialing the number. A few minutes later, he looked back at me. “’Ey Slasha, Gallarno wants ta’ see ‘ya!”

“Get BACK!” I threatened them. I swung my blade at them to try and cause fear.

“Slasha, ‘ya need help!” said one of them. “Come on wit’ us, Gallarno’s just gonna help ‘ya!” I realized that my efforts to scare them were in vain, and the wounds eventually made me lose consciousness.

When I came to, I woke up in a bed of sorts. I was feeling MUCH better, and all of my wounds were gone. However, I also noticed that Gallarno and four other Cabal were standing at the other end of the bed.

“I am aware of your…failure.” He said. The way ‘failure’ rolled off of his tongue was so filled with disappointment; it was like a father scolding his son. “So thus I have decided to punish you.” The four Cabal standing next to him immediately transformed into their Chimera alter egos, Stone Golems to be exact, and jumped on my bed. They all tried to strangle me, but I grabbed them and threw them on the wall with ease, breaking their backs.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” I asked enraged.

“Punishing you,” Gallarno replied rather matter-of-factly. “My question is, if you were able to handle four of my best men, how were you defeated by two children and their pet?” I remained silent for a while, until Gallarno spoke again. “I believe you hesitated to kill Elc. You still harbor feelings of friendship for him, and your memories blind you.”

“That’s a load of shit!” I shouted at him.

“Is that so? Then how come he was able to defeat you?”

“Because…because he is far more well-trained that your pathetic lackeys!”

“But he is a mere human and I gave you the powers of a god!”

“This…you call this…freakish, mutated body of mine the power of a god!? All it is, is the power of cowardice and despair!”

“Despair is the only true joy.”

“Are you delusional!? If you didn’t have that device, I would have made you one of my victims by now!”

“Is that so?” he asked. Then, he picked up the device and threw it on the floor and stepped on it with his foot, crushing it. Then, he transformed into a Chimera as well. I recognized it as a Mad Puppeteer type of Chimera.

“So the puppet master finally shows his true colors, eh?” I asked in a mock tone of voice.

“Come on, Ginie!” He yelled at me. “That’s right! I called you Ginie!”

“You have no right to use that name, you freak!” I lunged at him with my blade, and he parried it with his staff.

“Freak? Look in the mirror! You are the one who has coated his blade with the blood of so many innocents!”

“Damn you!” I screamed and I knocked the weapon out of his hand and I hand my blade to his neck.

“Come on…do it!” he shouted at me. “Kill me! Add me to your list to victims! After all, retribution and death would be so like you, my dear Slasher!” For a moment, I held my blade to his neck, doing nothing, then, I removed my blade from his neck. He quickly regained his posture and reverted back to his original form.

“You…you filthy bastard…”

“You can’t do it…because you know if you do, you’ll lose whatever spark of humanity you had left in you forever. Rest up. Tomorrow, Elc will come here tomorrow.” And so, I did. I was assigned with six Cabal as protection. As time passed, I heard the screams of monsters being slain, as well as Elc’s voice, full of confidence. Pretty soon, the door was knocked open, and I saw Elc, that girl, and her pet. At that point, my mind wasn’t exactly in a sane state. In fact, I was feeling quite murderous.

“Ha, ha, ha…” I laughed to greet him. “Welcome, Elc.”

“Do I know you?” he asked me.

“Yes, yes,” I replied. “We used to be friends.” For a moment he was silent. Then he had a look of bewilderment on his face.

“That voice…!? Ginie!?”

“Correct, Elc. We can still be friends you know. Just come with me. You’ll be granted power beyond your wildest imaginations.”

“I’m sorry, Ginie! But I can’t!”

“Then…if you’re not with me, you’re against me.”

“No, Ginie! I don’t want to fight you!”

“Shut up! Taste but a third of the power you abandoned when you ran away all those years ago!” The Cabal immediately shape-shifted into Ogres and they all rushed them. Elc quickly summoned a firestorm, which burned them pretty badly, and then that wolf-beast, Paundit or whatever his name was, blew his frigid breath on them, killing all of them but one. The girl, Lieza, whipped the survivor, killing him. Then, they started advancing towards me.

“Ginie!” said Elc. “Why aren’t you fighting me!?”

“I only fight honorably, Elc.” I replied. “Come. Fight me!”

“Ginie! I don’t want to do this!”

“There is no other way to do this. I’ve gone too far to turn back now.”

“Elc, be careful,” said the girl. He turned back and looked at her.

“Lieza…” he said solemnly.

“Hmm, quite a pretty girl,” I said. “Is she a substitute for Mariel? You better be careful around this one, miss. He seems to be quite skilled at abandoning his friends, like he abandoned Mariel and I long ago!”

“That was different, Ginie!”

“No, it was not! We gave our freedom to help you escape, and you use your opportunity for a good life to come right back into the claws of this hell!? Don’t you realize how much we gave up? Chances are she’ll end up sacrificing herself for you and then another innocent will have lost their freedom!”

“Ginie! I came back here to right the wrongs and stop Gallarno!”

“Is that so? Then kill me! I have stained my blade with the blood of many innocent people! I am no different than Gallarno!”

“I can’t do that! You’re my friend!”

“Haven’t you heard a word I’ve said? Fine then! Looks like I’ll have to write it out for you—in your own blood, that is!” I lunged at him, and he narrowly dodged my slash. Then, I raised my sword to try and cleave him in two, but he blocked it with his spear.

“Ginie! Stop this, now! This is madness!”

“I AM mad! Kill me Elc! Or else I won’t hesitate to kill you and rape that sexy girlfriend of yours!”

“Why you…!” This set off a fuse and it caused Elc to stab me repeatedly in my chest with his spear. When it stopped, he quickly realized what he had done and I had slumped to the floor. He held me in his arms and his eyes were full of tears.

“Elc…” I said.

“Ginie! Don’t die!” he pleaded with me.

“Even…even after all my threats, you still care for me?…Why Elc?” I asked him.

“Because I know what it is like, Ginie. I know what it is like to be plagued by hatred and doubt. I know…that you don’t really mean that! Lieza! Please! Heal him!”

“I’ll try!” she said and she cast a spell on me. My wounds were healed somewhat, but not enough to make a significant difference.

“No! Lieza, try harder!”

“Elc…stop…young lady…please, I beg you to let me die…I am sorry for what I had said…please, watch after Elc…and Elc…live a good life…and please, I beg you to save Lily…don’t let her become a monster like me…” Then, I lost all control of my body, and my vision became filled with blackness. I was free…the next thing I saw was that my body had changed back to human flesh. A pillar of light surrounded me, and I saw Elc. I also saw, Mariel, and an older man and woman. I assumed they were his parents. I also immediately realized why I was here. Elc’s doubt had destroyed him. He still held my true memory, my closest memory in his heart, and I was still able to exist because of that. He turned to face me, after Mariel, and his parents had encouraged him to live a good life.

“Elc, you must not let the past destroy you,” I told him. “Live your life to the fullest, as I was unable to. Just remember, that you can always shape your future.” And then, he was freed. In that, our spirits became free as well. Free, from my pain, I eventually, began to forget everything that had happened to me…and I was grateful for that. I thank Mariel, and his parents, and myself for giving him the encouragement to move, but most of all, I thank him for obtaining the strength to let go and free not only himself, but me as well…

Elc…thank you…

~Fin~


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