Eon grimaced, leaving the room with Max after the briefing.
Max, of course, was curious. This job had to have been rather interesting, for Eon to act in such a way...And since Max was going with him, he had an obligation to know, right?
“What kind of assignment is it?”
“An unpleasant one.”
“...Well, yeah, I got that, but details??” Max frowned. “Is it because it’s far? Or maybe you’re annoyed that they won’t send someone else??”
“Nobody really likes to go this far out. They save those kinds of odd jobs for someone like me, but that’s not really the issue here.”
“Then what is?” Max crossed his arms, pausing in his tracks and tapping his foot against the marbled floor, refusing to take another step until he got the details.
Eon was clearly hesitant, his eyes narrowing.
“It’s not the job as much as it’s...The location...Or rather, the habits of the people who live there.”
“...Okay? And the rest??” Max insisted, continuing to press the matter. His interest was piqued, especially seeing Eon so openly averting the subject. He had to know now.
“...It’s not really a thing around the Capital, but...Sahrim has a particular, nasty habit for dabbling in the Demon Trade.” Eon flicked his tail with a restless sway, switching between his normal, informal way of speaking, to a more formal explanation. A telltale pointer to his awkwardness on the subject. “Humanoid Demons are rare in Raoul. Those savage, beast like ones you saw before are more of the norm...To some people of particular...Tastes, I suppose, Humanoid’s are rather attractive to ‘collectors’ of sorts...Some even selectively trade and breed ones of desirable traits...And it goes without saying that the more exotic the Demon, the better…” Eon’s voice trailed off, his gaze dropping to Max as he hoped he would understand where he was going with this.
“...Ah.” Max certainly did catch his drift, but he took it in stride. “Aww, are you worried about me?” He teased with an amused flick of his tail.
“That’s-!! Of course I’d be worried. I’m sure the last thing you want is to end up as some creepy, rich man’s plaything.” Eon frowned at being teased, but he really was worried. No matter how you looked at it, Max was as ‘exotic’ as Demon’s got around here. “Any way you look at it, you stand out. You’re pretty easy on the eyes too.”
“Oh yeah?” Max grinned wryly. “Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere, Eon.”
Eon realized his slip of the tongue, his hand planting firmly across his own face in exasperation. It was much too late to fix that little slip up now.
“...Anyways.” He cleared his throat with a small scoff. “Once we get there, stick close, aight?”
“Yessir.” Max replied with a halfhearted salute.
Honestly, this guy...Eon just didn’t know sometimes.
As exasperated as he was, Eon felt relieved too.
Maybe because of their conversation from the previous night, Max’s attitude and disposition seemed to have shifted. He was much easier to talk to, like he lowered his walls, even if only just a little.
Eon just found himself wanting to look out for Max, even if he still didn’t understand why.
“...Well, I guess we have a long ways ahead of us then.” He spoke up again, stretching once they were outside. “I hope you don’t mind taking a hefty road trip.”
“I’m down for that. Beats being cooped up inside all day, every day.” Max chimed in response, feeling like getting away from the Capital might be good...For himself, and for Eon too. “Should we stop by your house for anything??”
“Mmm...I guess? We don’t need a lot though. I like to travel lightly.” Eon replied, walking just a ways before glancing over his shoulder. He knew by now that Max was always trailing just a little ways behind him, so he waited. He always maintained that slight distance, leaving just enough room for Max to close that gap when he wanted to. “...You tagging along, or you gonna stand there all day?”
Max didn’t respond with words, instead simply closing that little bit of space between them. Such was only natural to him.
...But their presence did not go unnoticed.
Eyes fell on the duo as they trailed off into the distance. Watching. Plotting.
A blood red gaze, brimming with hunger and animosity.
This insanity filled gaze stopped Max in his tracks, a shudder running from the base of his tail, to the tip of his ears. That feeling that left the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end.
He cast a cautious glance over his own shoulder, but as swiftly as he picked up on that feeling, it was gone. He couldn’t find the source no matter how he tried to search for it.
“Something up?”
Eon’s voice cut through Max’s vague sense of panic like a knife through melted butter.
Only for a moment, alarmed, emerald eyes met his two-toned ones, and then, his fur fell flat.
“...Nothing.” He nodded, pushing aside that sense of foreboding steadily rising within him. “It’s nothing.” He repeated, as though to convince himself. “Let’s head back.”
“Mmm…” Eon swayed his tail in response, wondering what could have caught Max’s attention...He was an awfully distracted fellow at times, wasn’t he? “Why don’t you head back first and wait for me? I just remembered that I forgot something.” He suggested thoughtfully.
Reluctance was the first feeling that seized Max in response, that sense of foreboding rising within his chest once more, nagging at him incessantly...Yet, he couldn’t seem to pinpoint the source.
“...Okay.” He finally agreed, parting ways with Eon as he began heading back to the house.
Being alone like this, he came to the realization that this was the first time he’d been without Eon since ending up in Raoul...The road looked inexplicably broad without that back walking just a ways ahead of him.
He was left with an odd, empty feeling.
Had he become dependent on Eon’s company?
Was he...Attached to him??
The thought...Left a feeling of unease lingering within Max’s chest, weighing heavily on his heart.
He shook his head to clear it, realizing he had already arrived, the little house visible in the distance. So, he made his way up the stairs, however…
His hand froze the very moment he had unlocked the door and closed it around the doorknob.
Something was wrong. He felt that in the pit of his stomach. Instinctively. Right down to his very core.
His instincts never betrayed him, and he’d be playing the fool to ignore them now. They practically screeched at him. His palms broke out into a cold sweat, the door seeming incredibly far away...Even as he stood just before it.
Ba-thump.
The sound of his heartbeat began pounding in his ears.
Ba-thump.
Louder. His throat grew dry, and he held his breath. His nerves were teeming with tension, ready to explode at any moment, a small voice warning him in the back of his mind...He wanted to run away, and yet, his hand remained closed around the doorknob, as though glued to it.
And then...Time seemed to grind to a halt the moment he moved, turning the knob slowly...Slowly...The door opened with a quiet creak as Max peered inside.
All was as normal as it could have been. He made out the coffee table and couch along the back wall, the bathroom door and the hallway just a little ways beyond them...Carefully, cautiously, he stepped into the room, scanning his surroundings.
Absolutely nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. The room was entirely undisturbed.
So then why…?
Max only realized it too late, that strange, faint scent that reached his nose, familiar, yet unfamiliar to him.
A presence just behind him.
“Surprise~” A voice cooed, Max catching a brief glance of gray-black hair as a clawed hand clamped firmly over his mouth. Muffled sounds escaped him as he fought back, forced to the hardwood floor, an unnatural weight boring down on him from behind.
He couldn’t throw his assailant off.
“Haha, I caught you…” A thrilled voice hummed in a sing song tune, elated by having effortlessly caught his prey.
That voice...Max recognized that voice, his heart dropping.
As he managed to move just enough to catch a glance of his attacker, his fears were confirmed.
It was Asato, his previously brown eyes now reflecting a deep, blood orange. That familiar contempt and animosity now replaced with and overly enthusiastic, jeering smile, as though he was absolutely delighted with this turn of events.
This was entirely unlike the Asato he had come to know. Was he looking at someone else entirely right now?
“Oh? Whatever could be the matter? You look as though you have questions...Ah, but you can’t ask them, now can you?” A laugh bellowed from overhead, lovingly stroking Max’s jaw before his claws dug in painfully. “You little Vixen...You noticed, didn’t you? Even though I’m always oh so careful about masking my scent...Can’t have you opening that little mouth of yours, now can I?” Asato leaned down, voice whispering against the back of Max’s ear, the hand clamped around his wrists tightening with more force. “I bet you’re curious, aren’t you? I suppose I can tell you...Since you’ll be taking it to the grave with you.” Asato cackled, his lips widening into a gruesome smile before splitting down to his jaws.
Max watched the scene unfold before him, a shudder passing throughout Asato’s body, his back deforming, cracking, tearing. The sound of rending flesh echoed as a lithe, black form burst forth from underneath Human skin, jaws agape, massive, white fangs glinting just by Max’s face.
The weight pressing down on Max doubled, threatening to crush him underneath. Yet the hand never left from his mouth, deforming into elongated, scaly fingers, claws enlarging, scraping against his skin roughly. Deliberately.
This Demon was unlike any other Max had seen thus far. Larger than those from before, it’s thick, scaly hide protruded vicious plates and spikes, it’s thorny tail whipping to and fro in barely hidden excitement.
“Such a pity, wasting this Human’s skin…” The Beast sighed, seemingly troubled, but only just. His voice deepened, no longer holding any, definitive gender. “How many years has it been since I’ve been free like this…? Ah, I remember that little village...What a feast, it was! I had a particular amount of fun with this one...I was tearing apart his precious thing he called ‘mother’ as he walked in. That fury, that resentment...That despair in his eyes as I gutted him while he still breathed….How thrilling it all was!” The beast shuddered, euphoric as it recalled the memories. As if reliving the moment. “I love it, you see...Love it when they scream, but more than that, their eyes. The terror, the hate, the moment they realize there’s no hope or salvation as the lights in their eyes flicker out...It gives me the chills...But as I ate, and I ate, and I ate...It all became so bland. The flavor of Human flesh was as tasteless as cardboard. As foul as a rotting carcass…” The Demon hoisted Max’s torso upwards, still pinning his lower body with one of it's muscular legs, and Max’s body screamed in protest, straining at the awkward position...And then, his blood went cold, a chill running up his spine as a disgustingly, moist tongue slid across his skin, a low growl echoing from just behind his head. “...Lately...I’ve been craving something a little more...I thought about that other, Demon brat...Eon, was it? Ah, but you’ll do nicely…” The Demon nuzzled it’s scaly snout into the nape of Max’s neck, inhaling his scent. “...I don’t know what it is about you, but you smell delectable...Plus I owe you for all those little nasty comments the other day, don’t I?”
Pain flared throughout Max’s body as teeth sank into his previously injured shoulder.
“I’d love to hear you scream, but I’ll settle with the look of frustration and despair in your eyes as I gut you while you’re conscious.”
This...This was beyond Max’s worst imagination, pain continuing to burn across his skin, settling within his core.
Would he just...Let this happen? To spend his last moments as another Demon’s meal? Perhaps he should resign himself to such a fate.
With this...Everything would finally be over. He accepted that outcome, silently, and obediently...But it was as he had done so, that Eon’s image flashed throughout his mind. Fleeting, but powerful.
Why? Why did he have to see him now, of all times??
Fight.
A voice echoed from deep within.
Fight.
No, he refused. He didn’t want to fight anymore.
He was tired.
Why couldn’t he just give up here?? He just wanted it all to be over, and yet…
Something long since buried deep inside him stirred, thrashing about, desiring freedom.
A bright ball of heat, threatening to burst within, like a turbid torrent, it simply couldn’t be contained.
He...Was losing. A thin thread growing taut within him.
F i g h t.
And then...It snapped, a shattering sound echoing throughout his mind.
A bestial, high pitched cry resounded from the Demon as it lurched back. Blood orange eyes went wide with shock as a tendril like line pierced through the side of it’s jaws, blood pooling down to the floor.
“What the hell?!” The Demon screeched, staring at the scene before it in disbelief. It’s eyes fixated on Max, who should have been down for the count...But it was quite the opposite.
The tendril like blade piercing it’s jaw wriggled about, protruding from Max’s back, his wounds closing effortlessly.
His forearms began to grow dark, an ugly, unnatural black spreading up to his biceps like a sickness. Hardened skin began overtaking his usually, pale arms, green, crystalline like protrusions lining the black like thin blades. Colorful markings in hues of blue spiraled along his pale skin, writhing as though they were alive, pulsating, and at the center of the backs of his hands, sat strange, orb like protrusions, glowing eerily like a Demon’s eyes.
It was an unearthly sight...But what struck an overwhelming sense of fear within the Demon’s heart...Was Max’s eyes.
The whites had gone entirely black, pupils needle thin to the point of nearly disappearing, surrounded by a glowing green that peered back at the Demon emotionlessly.
“What are you?!” The Demon screeched in fear and rage, freeing it’s jaw from the lashing tendril.
But there was nowhere to run to.
Like a cornered animal, the hunter became the hunted as Max closed the distance.
From his back, another of those blade-like tendrils protruded, followed by another...And another as they lashed against the floor with a whip-like sound.
The cowering Demon incited something within him. A visceral hunger, deep, bottomless, even...And only then, did the faintest of smiles cross his expression.
A violent spray of red, a guttural screech, and all fell silent.
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