A crazy laugh was echoing in the dark forest. The sound was getting interrupted by the thunders aggressively roaring in the rainy night.

"Is that all?" a black haired with red tips man said once he cleaned his blade on the corpse of a man. He kicked the body to distance it from him, to then stare with his flaming shiny red eyes the other men, who were trembling.

"W-who are you?" asked one of the men trying to keep the hold on his sword without trembling, but the smile and those eyes a bit covered by the wet hair of the swordman were making it hard to do so.

The swordman looked at the tent where the men were staying for the night, away from the village near the forest and noticed a little girl, who had a her face covered, and just a brown tunic on to cover her naked body. Her feet were full of cuts and that made the swordman laugh even more.

"You're so disguting. I feel ashamed to make my blade taste your skin" he laughed "But I am glad I met you after all" he walked, letting his sword tracing a line with its blood on the ground "I have been asked to look for a little child for the village chief and to bring her home" he started laughing again as his free hand was keeping his own face

"What's... with this laugh?" one of the kidnappers said, as he stepped back.

"I thought it was boring, I didn't expect that I had to deal with kidnappers" he smiled and he pointed the sword at them with a maniac smile "Please, let's play a little more"

"W-wait!" one out of the four man, stepped further "You're a mercenary, right? I can pay you double! It's about money, right?"

The swordman tilted his head, keeping the sword pointed at the man, who swallowed air like had anxiety by just looking at the man in front of him.

"Pay the double?" he asked and the men nodded.

"We... We sell slaves most of the times, we do have a lot of money! More than that chief whose village is already in a poor state" the man smiled as he noticed the swordman's stare being neutral after his speech.

"Pay double... and I will just need to let you go?" he asked as he passed his blade on his free hand, cutting a little bit under the stare of the men, who had no idea what the man in front of their eyes was.

"Yes! Yes!" the man said, but in a glance he had in front of his eyes the blade of the swordman piercing his shoulder. The long black tailcoat of the swordman was soaking wet, just like the owner, no matter how heavy the soaked clothes were, his movements were just so fast.

The men stepped back, and they could swear they saw the red garment under the tailcoat, the red tips of his hair and his eyes almost shining, emanating an aura of a malicious fire... The aura he was having around was almost making them feel under the influence of a spell that couldn't make them move.

"I never change client during the contract I established" he laughed "Did you think I was a pig like you?" he kept laughing and kept his head out of the burst of laughs he was having again. He was literally in a pure state of adrenaline and pleasure.

"D-DIE!" the men surrounded him and the swordman elegantly dodged an attack, and in a slash he made a man fall to the ground with his chest pierced with a strenght that was inhuman.

The three men trembled as they noticed their companion fall to the ground, bleeding with the aggressive rain beating his body mercilessly.

"You will soon meet him" the four shouted as they saw the swordman jumping high, while holding his sword that looked like it was shining along with the eyes, that were the only thing they could see in that dark night.

Two red eyes, a flaming blade, slashing them and ending their shouts and begging for their lives.

"You all should be glad, not everyone is blessed with death" he smiled as his foot touched the part of skin of a man who was still exhaling his last breath "I am Rey" he pointed his sword to the throat of the man who was already dying "Thank you for the fun" he said before slashing again and again his throat. He was almost getting a satisfaction from the blood pouring and dirty his clothes.

He could hear someone crying. He stopped slashing the corpses and came close to where the little girl was held.

"I am not here to kill you" Rey said as he crouched down in front of the little girl "I did get paid to bring you alive back to the village" he continued. He did untie the ribbons that were covering her mouth and eyes.

As soon as the little girl could see, she stopped trembling as she saw Rey's red eyes, but then shouted as soon as she saw the corpses of the men shattered.

Rey sighed annoyed as he stand up "Do you want to come back to your village? If you don't collaborate I will bring you back dead, telling them I came too late, I will get anyway my payment" he smiled as he pointed the sword at the little girl.

The little girl stand up and kept crying as probably the cuts on her feet at the contact with the soaked ground wasn't doing any good.

Rey looked at her and started walking "Follow me and don't run away." he didn't get any reply, probably the little girl was even more scared than when she was with the kidnappers.

Rey and the little girl after an hour of walking under the rain, managed to get back to the village.

One of the guards that was simply a man under a wooden little structure with a torch, noticed the demon with the little girl and ringed the bell.

The chief came running along with the other poor people of the village.

"Meredith!" he shouted once he noticed the little girl staying still next to the swordman like a statue, but as soon as she saw her dad, she cried louder than ever and run to hug her dad.

"Oh my... thank you, thank you!" the chief cried, looking at the swordman who was crossing his arms.

"The chief must have been desperate to ask for that swordman's help" one of the village men whispered.

"It's rumored he's actually a demon..."

Rey's eyes looked towards the villagers without saying a word, he had an apathetic stare on, thing that made them feel in awe.

"Where's my payment?" he asked to the chief, who was still holding his daughter.

"Oh, sure sure" he looked toward one young man, who was probably the older brother of the little girl. The young man gnashed his teeth and took a pouch of silver coins and threw it on the ground.

Rey looked at the pouch of money on the soaked ground and then his red eyes looked into the young man who did throw it.

"Why did you do that Leo?!" the chief shouted, as the other villagers were scared of the reaction of Rey.

"Why did YOU do that, father?! We're already in an awful situation, we can't even keep our families and that swordman asked for a high price for a mere rescue mission!"

Rey laughed and everyone looked at him "Then, why didn't you do it?" he asked as he reached for his sword making the little girl cry.

"No daddy! He killed the whole camp! Don't kill this camp too please!" the little girl cried and the villagers tremble

"He took out a camp of soldiers by himself?" a villager stepped back, while some threw themselves on the pouch that was thrown on the ground.

"Please, don't kill us" begged a woman as she held, with her trembling hands, the pouch of silvers.

Rey took the pouch of silver to then look at the village Chief.

He walked away, giving them his back as he kept getting drenched by that aggressive rain, but everyone felt again scared once they saw his figure stop.

"The camp was full of slave commerciants and soldiers... There are probably some treasures and resources if you are really that desperate to survive" he turned with an amused smile, like he was challenging them "But don't get heart attacks from my swordart masterpiece made with those pigs blood"

The chief, tried not to tremble as he walked closer to the swordman who turned completely, to look at the old man, who looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you for your kindness, swordman, but our situation is due to the commerce row controls... There's something the Emperor's guards guard since the previous Emperor's era... The guards do not make us pass unless we pay them a..."

"I don't care, it's your problem, unless you want me to pay to get rid of them" he cut him off.

"I won't" the man looked at Rey, who looked confused "You're a mercenary, you look for treasure and fights to live... What I am saying is... The soldiers guard the entrance of something that it's told to be a sanctuary where the previous Emperor made his secret treasure room"

Rey crossed his arms as he felt interested by the story "Nobody knows why, but the Emperor died and he left a scroll where it was told to always guard that entrance for the next centuries, like a sorta of holy duty of every Emperor, even though the actual Emperor probably doesn't even care since we have never seen him getting here to check"

"What does it make you think then... That there are treasures in those ruins?" Rey asked and the old man coughed for a moment and looked into the red eyes of the swordman.

"Everyone has eyes but not all can use them, if the Emperor wrote to have guards there forever, there has to be a reason"

"The previous Emperor was a fool and most of the people and soldiers though he was cursed and lost his mind" Rey said as he closed his hands into fist.

The old man looked at Rey and closed his eyes for a moment.

"I just wanted to repay your kindness for the camp with another possible new path for you as... As mercenary you don't really have anywhere to go, I get you will do as you wish anyway" he bowed and looked at Rey, who wasn't even looking at him anymore "Thank you, farewell"

Rey kept staring at the dark sky, the moon was covered by the clouds.

"Treasure huh?" Rey smiled evilly "Well, if they won't let me check, I might have fun with some guards at least"