His steps quickened as soon as he had reached the ground floor of the abandoned house. The basement was very quiet and calm now, with the single person dead, leaving only the ghost to be hunted next. The thought alone was enough to creep him out... the absurdly fast and quiet presence she had... combined with her skills in killing with one shot.
The sight he had to pass through while reaching this place was horrifying enough for him as the master of these beasts who were supposedly more stronger then him if he hadn't learnt how to control or manipulate their minds. Who or whatever that ghost is... I need them under my control! I need to use them to attract more allies and fulfil my mission for the Leader of the Torture Cell!
This was his current goal, to capture the ghost species and trace down the person that nasty and crueling leader wants back. Although, not much was told about that person that is being hunted by hundreds of entities at once, it is also stated the warning that the person has more powerful presences armoring them... that disturbing their peace would rip him... a mere human... apart.
His curiosity stayed at this mentioned point, all around the same topic. Who was this person... and what the Torture Cell's leader wanted from them. Perhaps a task that they would assign knowing how strong they are or many using their bonds to those strong species to fulfil a sort of political related problems... but nothing landed on one precise deduction, meaning the person's story was far more connected and tied then what seems to be told.
His steps came to a stop as he reached the end of the stairs, as blood dripped down from the top platform as it rolled down with the sound of creaking. "What happened here..." He softly muttered while glancing up. His vision caught sight of a pale faced, expressionless girl with dark hair at the root that reached halfway and then turned silver all the way to the end.
She was visibly seen in a green vintage cost with darkened areas where blood seemed to have spilled, drenching her sleeves as if she had just partially bathed in the thick, red, dark liquid that spilt from the monster's bodies. Her eyes were souless black, making her entire standing figure look like a ghost with bloodied hands and the dead beast body at her grip as she rolled it down the steps with no hesitation.
The body fell towards where the maniac was standing, where a small golden key rested in place, and covered in blood the places of the chain it had touched. It was a horrifying sight to describe in words that sent shivers down his spine, along side an anger which ticked him off that a normal human had seemed like a ghost all this time and had reached a place he wouldn't have let any other rescuers to reach.
"Hello..." The girl spoke while tilting her head sideways as her eyes shadowed from above with the dim lighting of the basement that was actually filled with cartridges and barrels. "You took long enough... to grab a set of keys and open the door?" She questioned while placing her bloodied pmfingers against her already stained face. Bandages wrapped around her, over her clothing as it stained red onto the white fabric. They were tightly wrapped around her right shoulder and around her waist where it seemed to be a stab wound.
"A severed human wants to challange me?!" He laughed with a horrid tone while enjoying the way she was clad in redness and injuries. "A mere human who is your age... never dared to step in here and defeat such powerful beasts... who are you?" He asked at the end while flinging the keys to the side, knowing the door was already open.
"Someone who is very well tied to an abandoned empire... is there a problem?" She answered while taking steps towards the staircase as her shoe left bloody prints along, trailing her walk. "Besides... you have the audacity to trap children... especially a five year old?" Her eyes turned angered and fierece as her voice turned cold.
"What did you expect? A five year old is more active then a full grown adult." The maniac responded while clenching his knife at his side and raising it towards her direction. "And... you must be precautious of how far you descend towards me... you don't want to get killed." He added with eagerness in his voice.
"Trust me... you will say something the opposite of what you said when I start placing my attacks against you." She came to a stop at the middle of the staircase while locking her gaze at the maniac. "I work better when I am enraged... so you should be the one to take my advice." A smirk landed on her face as she glanced up to see the children slowly coming out of the room, getting a proper view of the maniac, and sometimes looking towards the bloodied girl.
"Are you willing to traumatize them with having them experience this live?" The maniac spoke while lowering his knife. "Just that a child like you have decided to walk the path of violence... doesn't mean you have a free will to force the others into the same road as you."
"Then you admit you fell guilty for what you did?" She asked while shifting her gaze back at the man at the end of the steps. "Of course not... I am not guilty... I am just warning you so you don't accumulate on sins."
"Well sadly... I will have to stack up on one more by taking out a major problem factor out of the ecosystem." The hair pin spin around her fingers in a playful manner as the maniac lost complete control of his sanity and charged forward with his knife held high and his steps falling two at once as he sprinted towards her direction with an evil laugh. The girl stood still for a very long while as she watched the man reach her step in the blink of an eye and held out the knife high above his own head.
"Have fun while it lasts." Her smile turned sinister as she clenched her clip with her fist against the sharp blade precisely, as she used her force to pick up the blade out from her as an obstacle and kicked the maniac st the stomach, causing air to rush out of him at once. He fell backwards while still gripping his knife tightly at his fingertips. Aefia returned to her usual standing position and stared at the man with anticipation of fighting back. "A simple movement....and you are exhausted?" She asked with a mocking tone of voice.
Hearing this, he stood up and ran towards her again, but only this time did she jump off the stair's perimeters and landed on the ground below with her heels lightly clicking on the ground. He jumped forward too, but missed his footing as fell to his knees immediately. But his desperation was not at a lose since he immediately got up and held out his knife again, but she was already determined to end it here.
Her clip clenched tightly as she slightly ducked and grabbed onto his wrist while twisting it and piercing her pin into his chest, and pulling the knife out of his grip by holding the sharp edge and tossing it up in the air. Her fingers wrapped against the firm handle as she caught it in time before it fell further towards the ground. Then, in one swift movement, she sent the blade into the side of his neck and pushed him backwards. "And that... should be enough to kill the person." She stepped back while dusting her fingers against themselves.
Her gaze lifted to the kids who were watching it all until now. "Was that easy to catch?" She asked finally while pulling out her pin from the wound and sending her fingers against the surface. The children nodded in unison as she smiled, to ask another question. "So how do you think you could use this move in real-life situations if you were ever to face any?"
The children silenced down as the sedate basement became intimidating now that the maniac was gone. "To... defend ourselves in danger?" The youngest asked while stepping forward. "Yes... and you will have to remember this very well when I take you to the place I want to keep you in." She added after a short while as her fingers pulled out the broken watch from her pocket.
Glancing backwards, she noticed the dungeon slowly shifting and quickly signed for the children to come down as she glanced at the sheep mask the maniac was wearing. As their footsteps echoed against the wooden surface of the steps, her fingers entrances the masked and pulled it free from the fallen dead body. I will keep this... as a trophy... too much of a waste to watch it decompose into the dirt along with his dungeon. As soon as the mask pulled free, she noticed the maniac's body dissapear.
***
"Uh... so you want the children to stay here?" Helio asked while placing his hands inside his pockets as he stared down at the floor. Why is it always that I have to face her? And no other person? And at a time I can't even speak about it?! But he soon realized she was standing right in front of him. "Look I am not here all the time–"
"They are quiet... what's the matter with having the others to stay for them? The demoness is controlling her five siblings and three more shouldn't be a problem. You have been at this for half an hour... And I don't have the energy." She spoke while clapping her hands. "And what does this have to do with your presence... of course I know you have other things you have to go at the office..." She stared at him for a response.
"... Nevermind... I will drop them off." He finally held up his hands in defeat and took off with the children followed him, trying to avoid stealing a second glance at her. "And one more thing... They are practically orphans now." Aefia added while turning halfway around. But instead of being shocked, he answered calmly. "And what does that have to do with me?"
"Aren't you concerned?"
"Well they have your help and they have people to take care of them."
"Wow... That's savage..." She spoke while crossing her arms in front of her. "I think I like it... Compared to your naive concerned behaiviours back then."
And as soon as he heard it, a smile popped onto his face in a thought of success. She said she liked it! Although he had never really said it, it was obvious by now why he would be the one who volunteered to stay by her side and never complained about a thing she had asked from him.
"Wait... Why are you smiling?" Aefia asked while narrowing her eyes at him.
Oh heck no... What the hell did I do? He thought to himself as he turned more straight faced within a second. "Well... I was just glad that you survived... Despite being clearly covered in blood." He added in a state of panic that he avoided from showing physically.
"Oh... Thanks? ... Oh wait... That reminds me. I would like to steal a bit of your element to heal myself if I can." She spoke while snapping on a childish smile. "And I know it won't hurt much for you to trade it... Will it? In fact, I am already bleeding from my injuries like heck."
"Use it wisely though..." He spoke while stepping forward and offering a hand. But she only reached out for his wrist, pressing her thumb onto his pulse and absorbing the lime green light, then stepping back. "That should be enough... Thanks." She added while taking a last glance at the kids, then vanishing into thin air.
"Alright... Let's get going." Helio spoke to the kids with a jealous tone. Why didn't I get her last glance? Am I still that far out or is it because I am not her type? ... But at least I managed to impress her today... Shouldn't that be a part of the success? He thought to himself while smiling at the last part.
The exit to the dungeon lead them back to the entrance of the back door of the watchshop. And they exited through the front door, which was now going to be left open for the rest of the time unit the landlord came to shut it down and find new tenants. She was actually going to say that once they had grown to a point that they could provide for themselves or maybe the eldest sibling was old enough to rerun the business and provide for his younger siblings.
But until then, she had to hand over the custody to the demoness to take care of them, otherwise she would hand over their responsibilities to her lady and her son. And if they don't want to raise them, Aefia was going to take matters into her own hands and have them govern the abandoned empire at her steed. And this was going to be an easy task for them, given they were Nikoanians and probably knows the history of their rulers, which they could use to raise this empire in return.
Then, her hands finally lay on the door that led to the dungeon, and she sealed it shut with metal and fire. The children were amazed to see she was capable of doing these, and occupied her with multiple questions of how this was done.
Due to the long stay at the prison, their clothes had turned ragged and she was lucky enough to find spares. Simply, she put them all into a bag and handed each respective to the children before taking them into the other dimension. And upon entering there, they were dragged away by the beauty of that empire.
With those memories stuck to her mind, she appeared in front of the shop, and no one noticed her sudden summoning. Now... I did tell him to go buy himself whatever he wanted. Her gaze searched the entire market as she looked for the butler she had brought along with her. Then, after walking a few yards, Cedric was the first to find her. "Hey! Over here!" He shouted while waving his hands in the air.